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Sacramental bread, also calledCommunion bread,Communion wafer,Sacred host,Eucharistic bread, theLamb or simply thehost (Latin:hostia,lit. 'sacrificial victim'), is the bread used in the Christian ritual of theEucharist and the body ofChrist. Along withsacramental wine, it is one of two elements of the Eucharist. The bread may be eitherleavened or unleavened, depending on tradition.
Catholic theology generally teaches that at theWords of Institution the bread's substance is changed into theBody of Christ, a process known astransubstantiation. Conversely, Eastern Christian theology generally views theepiclesis as the point at which the change occurs.
The wordhost is derived from theLatinhostia, which means 'sacrificial victim'. The term can be used to describe the bread both before and afterconsecration, although it is more correct to use it after consecration.
With the exception of Churches of theArmenian Rite, theMaronite Church, and theSyro-Malabar Church,Eastern Orthodox Church,Eastern Lutheran Churches andEastern Catholic Churches useleavened bread for the Eucharist. Thus, the sacramental bread is theResurrected Christ. The host, known asprosphorá or aπρόσφορον (prósphoron, 'offering') may be made out of only four ingredients: fine (white)wheat flour, pure water, yeast, and salt. Sometimesholy water will be either sprinkled into the dough or on the kneading trough at the beginning of the process.[citation needed]
Because leaven is symbolic of sin,[1] theArmenian Catholic Church and theArmenian Apostolic Orthodox Church traditionally offer unleavened bread (although it is distinctively different from the kind used by theCatholic Church) to symbolize the sinlessness ofChrist.[1]
The baking may only be performed by a believing OrthodoxChristian in good standing, having preferably been recently toConfession, 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 thealtar for use in theDivine Liturgy.
Often several prosphora will be baked and offered by the faithful, and the priest chooses the best one for theLamb (Host) that will beconsecrated.[citation needed] The remaining loaves are blessed and offered back to the congregation after the end of theDivine Liturgy (Eucharist); this bread is called theantidoron (αντίδωρον,antídōron), i.e. a 'gift returned', or 'in place of the gifts'.
TheEastern Lutheran Churches, which employ theByzantine Rite, use leavened bread for theprosphora (the Greek word for Eucharistic altar bread).
TheByzantine RiteEastern Catholic Churches (like theEastern Orthodox Church) use leavened bread forprosphora.[2]
TheMaronite Church has adopted the use of unleavened bread due toliturgical Latinisation. TheSyro-Malabar Church uses both unleavened bread as well as leavened bread to whichHoly Malka is added.[citation needed]
A host is a portion of bread used forHoly Communion in manyChristian churches. InWestern Christianity the host is often thin, round, unleavened hosts.
In theRoman Rite,unleavened bread is used as in the JewishPassover or Feast of Unleavened Bread. TheCode of Canon Law[3] requires that the hosts be made from wheat flour and water only, and recently made so that there is no danger of spoiling.
Hosts are often made bynuns as a means of supporting their religious communities. However, in New Zealand, the St Vincent de Paul Society hires individuals with intellectual disabilities to bake, cut out, and sort the bread, thereby offering paid employment to those who would not otherwise have that option.[4]
TheGeneral 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 thefraction (breaking of bread), which gave its name to theEucharist 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."[5]
In 1995 Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (the futurePope Benedict XVI), then Prefect of theCongregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, wrote a letter to the Episcopal Conferences in which he expanded the Code of Canon Law, stating that low-gluten bread would be considered "valid matter" for hosts as long as no additional substances "alter[ed] the nature of the substance of the bread".[6] Since the 2000s, hosts with low gluten content have been manufactured in the United States, especially in parts of Missouri and New York.[6] People withceliac disease must follow a strictgluten-free diet[7] and maintain it for life to allow the recovery of the intestinal mucosa and reduce the risk of developing severe health complications.[8]
In theCatholic Church theTree of Life inBook of Revelation verse 2:7 is the Eucharist.[9][better source needed]
In theLutheran Churches that use the Western Rite,unleavened bread is typically used (as in the JewishPassover); these are called hosts.[10][11] Hosts are made by a number of Lutheranreligious orders, as well asmonks andnuns, to support their religious communities. Lutheran seminaries andreligious goods stores, such as theConcordia Publishing House, make hosts as well. Hosts often contain a cross,crucifix orIHS Christogram on them.[10]
In the varyingProtestant denominations, there is a wide variety of practices concerning the sacramental bread used.Anglicans vary by thechurchmanship of the congregation where many will use leavened breads while others—much like Roman Catholics and Lutherans—use unleavened bread.Reformed Christians use rolls which arebroken and distributed to the faithful.[12]
TheChristian Congregation, a Pentecostal denomination, uses leavened loaves of bread. Among those who use the unleavened hosts, there is a great deal of variation: some are square or triangular rather than round, and may even be made out ofwhole wheat flour.
Some, such as theChurches of Christ, usematzo.[13]
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has no strict rules on the type of bread used for sacramental purposes. Latter-day Saint scriptures state: "For, behold, I say unto you, that it mattereth not what ye shall eat or what ye shall drink when ye partake of the sacrament, if it so be that ye do it with an eye single to my glory—remembering unto the Father my body which was laid down for you, and my blood which was shed for the remission of your sins." (Doctrine and Covenants 27:2) Different congregations may use either commercial bread or homemade bread prepared by members of the congregation. It is permissible to substitute rice cakes or other gluten-free breads for members who suffer from food allergies.[14] The bread is broken into fragments just prior to being blessed by one of the officiatingpriests.
InMandaeism, thepihta (Classical Mandaic:ࡐࡉࡄࡕࡀ,lit. 'opened; something broken apart or into pieces'[15]: 3 ) is a type of sacramental bread used with rituals performed byMandaean priests. It is a small, round, biscuit-sizedflatbread that can either be salted or saltless, depending on whether the ritual use of the pihta is for living or dead people.[16]
The pihta is not to be confused with thefaṭira, a small, round, saltless, half-baked biscuit also used in Mandaean rituals.[16]
Every Sunday, Mandaeans participate in a baptismal mass (maṣbuta) involving immersion in flowing water (yardna) by ordained priests. The baptized then consume pieces of salted pihta blessed by a priest in order to restore their connections (laufa) with theWorld of Light (seeMandaean cosmology).[16]
A lack of symptoms and/or negative serological markers are not reliable indicators of mucosal response to the diet. Furthermore, up to 30% of patients continue to have gastrointestinal symptoms despite a strict GFD. If adherence is questioned, a structured interview by a qualified dietitian can help to identify both intentional and inadvertent sources of gluten.
Wafers are used instead of ordinary bread at the commuion, on each of which there is a figure or impression of a crucifix.
Media related toHosts at Wikimedia Commons
