>>I believe the Assyrian Church of the East practices communion in hand. I saw it in a YouTube video.<<
WOW! I think that’s pretty cool. I think that everyone who wants to receive in the hand should go to an Assyrian Church of the East.
It’s kosher for Catholics to receive communion in their parishes as far as the Catholic Church is concerned.
Is Virginia considerd the East?
I am fairly sure the Assyrians would practice communion in the hand, as that was the normative practice throughout the East until the introduction of the communion spoon (properly called “labis”, meaning “tongs” in reference to the passage from Isaiah now quoted after the communions, “lo, this has touched your lips and will purge away all your iniquity”), which I think dates to the 5th century at earliest — though it may have been as late as the 8th.
Of course, I’m not sure whether advising folks who want communion in the hand to become Assyrians is sound advice: they’ll end up venerating Nestorius and Theodore of Mopsuestia as saints.
[:-)==== (Orthodox monastic smiley)