Communion cup

A communion cup is a ritual liturgical vessel, a variant of a chalice, used by only one member of the congregation.

This manner of administering consecrated wine at Holy Communion has become established in various Christian denominations, either as a general practice or as a temporary arrangement; for example, during epidemics.

In Scandinavia, the consecrated wine can be shared in the Church of Norway from a single chalice (from which everyone drinks in turn), from communion cups (særkalker),[1] or through intinction.

The Norwegian Women's Sanitation Association (Norske Kvinners Sanitetsforening) was a key driver behind the innovation; it also helped to acquire communion cups for several churches.

[10][11] In the UK they appear to have been invented by John Henry Jowett around the turn of the 20th century in response to health concerns related to the size of his congregation.

A tray of communion cups dating from c. 1950
A set of British Communion cups dating from around 1926