What kind of bread is used to prepare and consecrate the Holy Eucharist?
Since the days of the Apostles, Christians have used ordinary “daily” bread, which is leavened, so that the Eucharist, the “pure offering” of Malachi, might be offered everywhere and at all times, even by the Gentiles (Mal 1:11; see Q043, Q319).
The leavened bread also reminds us that the Body of Christ is a risen Body, according to the Lord’s own image: “To what shall I compare the Kingdom of God? It is like yeast, which a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, until it was all leavened” (Luk 13:21).
It is likewise important that the bread brought forward and offered be made by members of the Christian community, not industrially produced. The Orthodox Churches have maintained the practice of using only bread specially prepared by hand, by the faithful, for this purpose, a pleasing offering to the Lord (cf. Phi 4:18).
The use of a single loaf accords with the mind of Christ, who willed that in every city there should be unity: a single Eucharist, celebrated by a single bishop, with communion in a single loaf and a single cup. As the Apostle explains: “we, who are many, are one body, because we all partake of the one loaf of bread” (1Co 10:17).
As St Ignatius of Antioch writes:
Take heed, then, to have only one Eucharist: for there is one flesh of our Lord Jesus Christ, and one cup for the unity of his blood; one altar, as there is one bishop, together with the presbytery and the deacons, my fellow servants, so that whatever you do, you may do it according to God. (St Ignatius of Antioch, To the Philadelphians, 4)
In the Gospel of St John, the Forerunner identifies the Lord as “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (Joh 1:29; see Q542, Q607): Christ is the fulfillment of the Passover lamb and of the lamb of Isaiah’s prophecy, “He was led as a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he opens not his mouth…” (Isa 53:7–8 LXX; see Q323).
When the loaf (prosphora) is set apart to be consecrated as the Body of Christ, its center is cut out while this prophecy of Isaiah is recited; and this portion, called the Lamb, is alone consecrated and used for Holy Communion. As the Apostle writes: “For Christ, our Passover, has been sacrificed in our place. Therefore, let us keep the feast, not with old yeast, neither with the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth” (1Co 5:7–8; see Q029, Q540).
The paschal or Passover lamb was the lamb which the Israelites, at God’s command, slew and ate in memory of their deliverance in Egypt:
They are to take a lamb for each family… the whole assembled congregation of Israel shall slaughter it at twilight. They shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it… It is the Passover of the LORD… The blood shall be a sign for you: when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague shall destroy you… This day shall be a day of remembrance for you; throughout your generations, you shall observe it as a perpetual ordinance. (Exo 12:1–14)
During the rite of preparation, the right side of the Lamb is pierced with the spear as the presbyter recites the words of the Gospel: “one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and immediately, blood and water came out. He who has seen this has borne witness, and his testimony is true” (Joh 19:34; see Q118, Q323).
At that moment, wine and water are poured together into the chalice, as the presbyter says: “Blessed is the union of Your Holy Things, always, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.”
In addition, just before Communion, when the consecrated Lamb has been placed in the chalice, hot water, the zeon (“boiling”), is added, with the words “the warmth of faith, full of the Holy Spirit”: a sign that the Blood of the risen Lord is living and warm, and that the Spirit gives fervor to the faithful.
