Study Guide Island Christianity
Table of Contents
Sacraments
One of the jobs of Wampanoag ministers such as John Tackanash was to administer
the “sacraments” (communion). Communion wine symbolized Christ’s blood;
hence in drinking the wine, church members literally joined themselves to
the body of Christ, a common metaphor for the Church. Communion was precious,
hence cups were made from silver, a rare commodity in the colonies (Peterson).
This cup is probably similar to those used in services on the island of
Martha’s Vineyard at the time when Experience Mayhew wrote Indian Converts.
(This particular cup was owned by the First Church of Boston when it was
under the stewardship of Increase Mather, father of minister Cotton Mather.)
Notice the simple but elegant lines that adhere to the Puritan plain style.
Communion cups are mentioned in the wills of island residents and in Church
records. In 1732 the Old South Church, with the encouragement of Experience
Mayhew, presented the native congregation on Martha’s Vineyard with two
silver flagons (Hare 212).
At right: John Hull (1624–1683) and Robert Sanderson, Sr. (1608–1693). Wine cup United States, Massachusetts, (Boston), 1660–80. Silver 20.3 cm (8 in.) Museum of Fine Arts, Boston: Anonymous gift 1999.91 (Source: http://www.mfa.org/collections/object/wine-cup-43280)
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