Sacramental bread facts for kids
Sacramental bread is a special kind of bread used in a Christian ceremony called the Eucharist. It's also known as Communion bread, Communion wafer, or simply the host. This bread, along with sacramental wine, is a key part of the Eucharist. Depending on the Christian tradition, the bread can be either leavened (like regular bread with yeast) or unleavened (flat, without yeast).
In the Catholic Church, people believe that during the ceremony, the bread truly becomes the Body of Christ. Other Christian traditions, especially in the East, believe this change happens at a different point in the service.
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Sacramental Bread in Christianity
The word host comes from the Latin word hostia, which means 'sacrificial victim'. This term can describe the bread before or after it's blessed, but it's most often used after it has been blessed.
Eastern Christian Traditions
Most Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches use leavened bread for the Eucharist. This leavened bread symbolizes Jesus' resurrection from the dead. This special bread, called prosphora (meaning 'offering'), is made from only four ingredients: fine white wheat flour, pure water, yeast, and salt. Sometimes, holy water is added to the dough.
Armenian Rite
The Armenian Catholic Church and the Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Church are different. They use unleavened bread. This is because leaven can symbolize sin, and using unleavened bread shows that Christ was without sin.
How Eastern Orthodox Bread is Made
Only a believing Orthodox Christian who has recently been to Confession can bake the prosphora. They also pray and fast while baking. Before baking, each loaf is shaped by putting two dough disks together and pressing a special church seal onto it. The prosphora must be fresh and not old or moldy when it's used in the church service.
Often, people will bake several prosphora and bring them to church. The priest then chooses the best one to be the main bread for the service. The other loaves are blessed and given back to the people after the service. This bread is called antidoron, which means 'a gift returned' or 'in place of the gifts'.
Eastern Catholic Churches
Like the Eastern Orthodox Church, most Byzantine Rite Eastern Catholic Churches use leavened bread for their prosphora. However, the Maronite Church now uses unleavened bread. The Syro-Malabar Church uses both unleavened bread and leavened bread that has a special "Holy Leaven" added to it.
Western Christian Traditions
Catholic Church
In Western Christianity, the host is often a thin, round, unleavened wafer. The Roman Rite of the Catholic Church uses unleavened bread, similar to the bread used in the Jewish Passover. Church rules say that hosts must be made only from wheat flour and water. They must also be fresh so they don't spoil.
Often, nuns make hosts to help support their religious communities. In New Zealand, a group called the St Vincent de Paul Society even hires people with intellectual disabilities to bake and prepare the bread, giving them jobs.
The Catholic Church encourages the bread to be made in a way that the priest can easily break it into pieces for people during Mass. This act of breaking the bread shows that everyone shares in one bread, symbolizing unity and love.
For people with celiac disease (who cannot eat gluten), special low-gluten bread can be used. This bread is still considered valid for the ceremony as long as it's mostly wheat and water.
Protestantism
Protestant churches have many different practices for sacramental bread.
- Lutherans and Anglicans often use unleavened wafers, similar to Catholics.
- Reformed Christians often use rolls that are broken and shared with the people.
- Some churches, like the Christian Congregation of Brazil, use leavened loaves of bread.
- Among those who use unleavened wafers, there's still variety. Some are square or triangular instead of round, and some are made from whole wheat flour.
- Some churches, like the Churches of Christ, use matzo (a type of unleavened Jewish bread).
Latter-day Saints
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints doesn't have strict rules about the type of bread used for their sacrament. Their scriptures say that it doesn't matter what you eat or drink as long as you remember Jesus' body and blood. Different congregations might use store-bought bread or homemade bread. If someone has food allergies, they can use rice cakes or other gluten-free breads. The bread is broken into pieces just before it is blessed by a priest.
See also
- Host desecration
- Prosphora
