Sacramental bread
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Sacramental bread, sometimes called Lamb or Host is the bread which is used in the Christian ritual of the Eucharist.
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[edit] Eastern Orthodox
The Eastern Orthodox Church continues the ancient practice of using leavened bread for the Eucharist. Thus, the sacramental bread symbolizes the Resurrected Christ. The sacramental bread, known as prosphora, may be made out of only four ingredients:
- the finest (white) wheat flour
- pure water
- yeast
- salt
Sometimes, holy water will be either sprinkled into the dough or on the kneading trough at the beginning of the process.
The baking may only be performed by a believing Orthodox Christian in good standing—having preferably been recently to Confession, and is accompanied by prayer and fasting. Before baking, each loaf is formed by placing two disks of dough, one on top of the other, and stamping it with a special liturgical seal. The prosphora should be fresh and not stale or moldy when presented at the altar for use in the Divine Liturgy. Often several prosphora will be baked and the priest shall choose the best one for the Lamb (Host) that will be consecrated.
The implements used in the mixing and baking of the prosphora are set
[edit] Roman Catholic
A host is a portion of bread used for Holy Communion in many Christian churches. In Western Christianity the host is often a thin, round unleavened wafer. Most of the Eastern Christian churches use a host cut from a leavened loaf of bread (see Lamb).
The word host is derived from the Latin, hostia, which means "victim" or "sacrificial animal." The term can be used to describe the bread both before and after consecration, though it is more correct to use it after consecration - "altar bread" being preferred before consecration.The Roman Church teaches that at the Words of Institution the bread is changed into the Body of Christ through transubstantiation.
In the Roman Catholic Church, hosts are often made by nuns as a means of supporting their religious communities. In the Latin Rite, unleavened bread is used in continuation of the custom begun in the ancient Jewish Passover ritual which is also known as the Feast of Unleavened Bread. It is required that the hosts be made from wheat flour and water only (Code of Canon Law, Canon 924). The Eastern Catholic Churches and the Eastern Orthodox Churches use leavened bread for Prosphora (the Greek word for Eucharistic altar bread). Exceptions to this are the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Armenian Catholic Church, the Syro-Malabar Church and Maronite Church, which due to the historical liturgical latinisation, have adopted (or been forced to adopt) the use of unleavened bread. Some traditions proscribe the use of spiced, flavored or sweetened hosts, while others allow it. However both Eastern and Western traditions insist that the bread must be made from wheat.
The General Instruction of the Roman Missal §321 recommends that "the eucharistic bread ... be made in such a way that the priest at Mass with a congregation is able in practice to break it into parts for distribution to at least some of the faithful. ... The action of the fraction or breaking of bread, which gave its name to the Eucharist in apostolic times, will bring out more clearly the force and importance of the sign of unity of all in the one bread, and of the sign of charity by the fact that the one bread is distributed among the brothers and sisters."
[edit] Protestant
In the varying Protestant denominations, there is a wide variety of practices concerning the sacramental bread used. Some use leavened loaves of bread, some continue to use unleavened wafers like the Roman Catholics, and some use matzo. Even among those who use the unleavened wafers, there is a great deal of variation: some are square or triangular rather than round, and may even be made out of whole wheat flour.
[edit] Notes
[edit] Bibliography
- Tony Begonja, Eucharistic Bread-Baking As Ministry, San Jose: Resource Publications, 1991, ISBN 0-89390-200-4.
[edit] See also
- Body of Christ
- Sacramental wine
- Prosphora
- Opłatek
- 1825 Anti-Sacrilege Law (France)
- Liturgical latinisation
- Lamb (Liturgy)
[edit] External links
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