Eucharistic Minister and Visitor Licensing 

From TITLE III, CANON 4: Of Licensed Ministries 

A confirmed communicant in good standing or, in extraordinary circumstances, subject to guidelines established by the Bishop, a communicant in good standing, may be licensed by the Ecclesiastical Authority to serve as Pastoral Leader, Worship Leader, Preacher, Eucharistic Minister, Eucharistic Visitor, Evangelist, or Catechist. Requirements and guidelines for the selection, training, continuing education, and deployment of such persons, and the duration of licenses shall be established by the Bishop in consultation with the Commission on Ministry. 

A Eucharistic Minister is a lay person authorized to administer the Consecrated Elements at a Celebration of Holy Eucharist. A Eucharistic Minister should normally act under the direction of a Deacon, if any, or otherwise, the Member of the Clergy or other leader exercising oversight of the congregation or other community of faith.  (The Diocese of Long Island requires that all training for Lay Ministers happens on the congregational level through the parish) 

A Eucharistic Visitor is a lay person authorized to take the Consecrated Elements in a timely manner following a Celebration of Holy Eucharist to members of the congregation who, by reason of illness or infirmity, were unable to be present at the Celebration. A Eucharistic Visitor should normally act under the direction of a Deacon, if any, or otherwise, the Member of the Clergy or other leader exercising oversight of the congregation or other community of faith.  (The Diocese of Long Island requires that all training and certification for Eucharistic Visitors happens on the Diocesan level) 

Attaining a Eucharistic Visitor License

ALL the following requirements (3) must be satisfied to attain a lay Eucharistic Visitor License: 

1. Attend in-person Eucharistic Visitor Training

  • This workshop will prepare those nominated by their clergy to act as Lay Eucharistic Visitors to those hospitalized, confined to rehabilitation and nursing institutions, as well as the homebound. Content will include Eucharistic theology, and role-playing for Eucharistic visits.  The required Safe Church training should be completed online through your parish.  

  • For registration, assure first that you are sponsored by your parish clergy and have them then contact Diane Muscarella, Director of Operations at The George Mercer Jr. Memorial School of Theology.  

  • Please see the Eucharistic Visitor’s Checklist form to go through the process of attaining a license, including Safe Church modules and the Eucharistic Visitor License Request Form. 

  • Click here for upcoming workshop dates. 

2. Safe Church Training

For information on Safe Church training, please click here.

3. Background Check

For information on obtaining a background check for all lay employees or volunteers, Contact Nancy Signore, Human Resource Manager.

Once ALL of the requirements have been satisfied, please submit a completed and signed Eucharistic Visitor request form – link to safechurchEV@dioceseli.org for the issuant of your Eucharistic License.   

Please note – the original license will be sent to the parish for their records.  They will be instructed to make a copy for the parish files and the original should be given to the recipient of the license. 

Eucharistic Visitor Information Webinar

Celeste, Diane, Aissa, and Jim discussed the process of becoming a Eucharistic visitor and the training process for the ministry of Safe Church care for elderly and disabled people. They also discussed changes and additions to the Episcopal Diocese of Long Island's website regarding safe church information, the challenges of conducting group trainings online, the process of conducting background checks, and the implications of incidents involving church volunteers.

Resources

Eucharistic Visitor Checklist

For those interested in becoming a Eucharistic Visitor

Click Here

Eucharistic Visitor License Request Form

To be completed by local clergy-person

Click Here

Important Contacts