Diversity or Disunity? A Reformation Controversy Over Communion in Both Kinds

Abstract

In principle, a distinction has often been made between the Church’s faith and its order, between what is essential to Christianity and the structure required to preserve that essence. In practice, this distinction has never been a clear-cut one, and the ideal of a unity of faith which can tolerate a diversity of rite has rarely been achieved. On the one hand, as Flacius Illyricus reminded Melanchthon in the Adiaphoristic controversy, the external organization, rites, and customs of a church are an organic expression of its beliefs: lex credendi becomes lex orandi. On the other, as Geoffrey Wainwright amongst others has noted, doctrines have frequently been formulated to reflect or to justify existing liturgical practices: lex orandi becomes lex credendi. A matter of order can become a matter of faith, and in the process what was once regarded as legitimate diversity can come to be seen as illegitimate disunity.