Roman Catholic Church

In the Roman Catholic Church, the only minister of the Eucharist is the priest.

The phrase "Eucharistic minister" has sometimes been used improperly to refer to an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion.
Laity may be appointed Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion only on a temporary basis and used only when there are insufficient numbers of priests, deacons, and instituted acolytes to distribute communion at Mass.

Anglican Church

In the Anglican Church the term Eucharistic Minister is used to denote someone who assists the priest in administering the bread and wine. Often this is in the form of the wine, but once licensed, a Eucharistic Minister is licensed to administer in both kinds (namely both the bread and the wine).

A further role of the Eucharistic Minister in the Anglican Church is for them to administer home communion to the sick and housebound. In some Anglican churches Eucharistic Ministers will take intinctured bread (bread from the communion table that has had a drop of blessed wine placed on it)directly from the communion services to housebound communicants in the surrounding area.