<P> Other Western Christians are limited by stricter conditions . Those who do personally share Catholic belief in the Eucharist (as the body and blood of the risen Christ, accompanied by his soul and divinity, under the appearances of bread and wine) are permitted to receive the sacrament when there is danger of death or, in the judgement of the diocesan bishop or of the episcopal conference, some other grave necessity urges it and on condition that "the person be unable to have recourse for the sacrament to a minister of his or her own Church or ecclesial Community, ask for the sacrament of his or her own initiative, manifest Catholic faith in the sacrament and be properly disposed". </P> <P> The Catholic Church does not practise open communion, holding that reception of Holy Communion is reserved for those who are baptized . In general it permits access to its Eucharistic communion only to those who share its oneness in faith, worship and ecclesial life . For the same reasons, it also recognizes that in certain circumstances, by way of exception, and under certain conditions, access to these sacraments may be permitted for Christians of other Churches and ecclesial Communities . Thus it permits Eastern Christians who are not in full communion with the Catholic Church (Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodoxy and Assyrian Church of the East) to receive Communion from Catholic ministers, if they request it of their own accord and are properly disposed, and it applies the same rule also to some Western Churches that the Holy See judges to be in a situation similar to that of Eastern Christians with regard to the sacraments; however, Eastern Orthodox Churches do not reciprocate this and forbid Eastern Orthodox Christians from receiving Communion in Roman Catholic churches . For other baptized Christians (Anglicans and other Protestants) the conditions are more severe . Only in danger of death or if, in the judgement of the local bishop, there is a grave and pressing need, may members of these Churches who cannot approach a minister of their own Church be admitted to receive the Eucharist, if they spontaneously ask for it, demonstrate that they have the catholic faith in the Eucharist, and are properly disposed . Exceptions do occur, however . Notably, Pope John Paul II gave Holy Communion to Brother Roger, a Reformed pastor and founder of the Taizé Community, several times; in addition Cardinal Ratzinger (later Pope Benedict XVI) also gave Brother Roger the Eucharist . Moreover, after Brother Roger's death, at the Mass celebrated for him in France, "communion wafers were given to the faithful indiscriminately, regardless of denomination". </P> <P> The Catholic Church distinguishes between Churches whose celebration of the Eucharist, as well as holy orders, it recognizes as valid and those of other Christian communities . In the case that it is impossible to approach a Catholic minister, that it is a case of real need or spiritual benefit, and that the danger of error or indifferentism is avoided, the Catholic Church permits its faithful to receive Communion in Orthodox Churches, although Orthodox Churches do not honour this and only permit Orthodox Christians to receive Communion in Orthodox Churches . The Catholic Church does not ordinarily allow a Catholic to receive communion in a Protestant church, since it does not consider Protestant ministers to be priests ordained by bishops in a line of valid succession from the apostles, although Lutherans, Moravians, and Anglicans teach that they ordain their clergy in lines of apostolic succession . It applies this rule also to the Anglican Communion, pursuant to Apostolicae curae, a position that the Church of England disputed in Saepius officio . </P> <P> Confessional Lutheran churches, including the Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod and the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, practice closed communion and require catechetical instruction for all people before receiving the Eucharist . Failing to do so is condemned by these Lutherans as the sin of unionism . This teaching comes from 1 Corinthians 10: 16 - 17 which says, "Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all share the one loaf" and Paul's teaching of fellowship in 1 Corinthians 1: 10, "I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought ." These Lutherans also take seriously God's threat in 1 Corinthians 11: 27, 29 that "Whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord . A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of this cup . For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself ." Therefore, the belief is that, inviting those forward who have not been first instructed would be unloving on the church's part, because they would be inviting people forward to sin . This is described as akin to letting someone drink poison without stopping him . </P>

Can a catholic receive communion in an episcopal church