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Concept
Sacramental bread
Summary
Sacramental bread, also called Communion bread, Communion wafer, Eucharistic bread, the Lamb or simply the host (hostia), is the bread used in the Christian ritual of the Eucharist. Along with sacramental wine, it is one of two elements of the Eucharist. The bread may be either leavened or unleavened, depending on tradition.
Catholic theology generally teaches that at the Words of Institution the bread's substance is changed into the Body of Christ (transubstantiation), whereas Eastern Christian theology generally views the epiclesis as the point at which the change occurs.
Bread was also used in Jewish Temple ritual as well as in the religious rituals of Mandaeism, Mithraism, and other pagan cultures similar to that of ancient Egypt.
The word host is derived from the Latin hostia, which means 'sacrificial victim'. The term can be used to describe the bread both before and after consecration, although it is more correct to use it after consecration.
Prosphora and Azymes
With the exception of Churches of the Armenian Rite, the Maronite Church, and the Syro-Malabar Church, Eastern Orthodox Church and Eastern Catholic Churches use leavened bread for the Eucharist. Thus, the sacramental bread symbolizes the Resurrected Christ. The host, known as prosphorá or a πρόσφορον (prósphoron, 'offering') may be made out of only four ingredients: fine (white) wheat flour, pure water, yeast, and salt. Sometimes holy water will be either sprinkled into the dough or on the kneading trough at the beginning of the process.
Because leaven is symbolic of sin, the Armenian Catholic Church and the Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Church traditionally offer unleavened bread (although it is distinctively different from the kind used by the Catholic Church) to symbolize the sinlessness of Christ.
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.
Official source
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