View source for Sacramental bread

{{Short description|Bread used in the Christian Eucharist ritual}}
{{more citations|date=October 2021}}
[[File:Oblater Alterbrød 3.jpg|thumb|Unleavened hosts on a [[paten]]]]
{{Communion}}
{{Cookbook|Communion Wafers}}'''Sacramental bread''', also called '''Communion bread''', '''Communion wafer''', '''Sacred host''', '''Eucharistic bread''', the '''Lamb''' or simply the '''host''' ({{langx|la|hostia|lit=sacrificial victim}}), is the bread used in the Christian ritual of the [[Eucharist]] and the body of [[Christ]]. 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 Church|Catholic]] theology generally teaches that at the [[Words of Institution]] the bread's substance is changed into the [[Body of Christ]], a process known as [[transubstantiation]]. Conversely, Eastern Christian theology generally views the [[Epiclesis#Eastern churches|epiclesis]] as the point at which the change occurs.

==Christianity==
[[Image:Patene-byzantine.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Lamb (liturgy)|Lamb]] and particles placed on the [[diskos]] during the [[Liturgy of Preparation]] for the [[Divine Liturgy]]]]
[[File:Syro-Malabar Rite of Renewal of Holy Malka.jpg|thumb|right|Rite of Renewal of [[Holy Leaven]] in the [[Syro-Malabar Church]]]]
===Etymology of ''host''===
The word ''host'' is derived from the [[Latin]] {{lang|la|[[Glossary of ancient Roman religion#hostia|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.

===Eastern traditions===
{{Main|Prosphora|Azymes}}
With the exception of Churches of the [[Armenian Rite]], the [[Maronite Church]], and the [[Syro-Malabar Church]], [[Eastern Orthodox Church]], [[Eastern Lutheranism|Eastern Lutheran Churches]] and [[Eastern Catholic Churches]] use [[leaven]]ed bread for the Eucharist. Thus, the sacramental bread is the [[Resurrection of Jesus|Resurrected Christ]]. The host, known as {{transliteration|grc|[[prosphora|prosphorá]]}} or a {{lang|grc|πρόσφορον}} ({{transliteration|grc|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.{{cn|date=October 2021}}

====Armenian rite====
Because leaven is symbolic of sin,<ref name="stgarmenianchurch">{{cite web |last=Galstyan |first=Voski |date=2020-07-10 |title=Why do we use unleavened bread for Holy Communion? |url=https://www.sgarmenianchurch.org/communion-unleavened-bread/ |website=St. George Armenian Church |access-date=2025-08-19}}</ref> 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]].<ref name="stgarmenianchurch" />

====Eastern Orthodox Churches====
The baking may only be performed by a believing Orthodox [[Christians|Christian]] in good standing, having preferably been recently to [[Confession (religion)|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 offered by the faithful, and the priest chooses the best one for the [[Lamb (liturgy)|Lamb]] (Host) that will be [[consecrated]].{{cn|date=October 2021}} The remaining loaves are blessed and offered back to the congregation after the end of the [[Divine Liturgy]] (Eucharist); this bread is called the {{transliteration|grc|[[antidoron]]}} ({{lang|grc|αντίδωρον}}, {{transliteration|grc|antídōron}}), i.e. a 'gift returned', or 'in place of the gifts'.

====Eastern Lutheran Churches====
The [[Eastern Lutheranism|Eastern Lutheran Church]]es, which employ the [[Byzantine Rite]], use leavened bread for the [[prosphora]] (the Greek word for Eucharistic altar bread).

====Eastern Catholic Churches====
The [[Byzantine Rite]] [[Eastern Catholic Churches]] (like the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]]) use leavened bread for [[prosphora]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Waters |first1=Ian |last2=McGuckin |first2=Robert |date=2016-01-01 |title=Eastern Catholic Churches in Australia: Canonical Issues for Catholic Clergy and Pastoral Workers |url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=115857880&site=eds-live&scope=site |journal=[[Australasian Catholic Record]] |volume=93 |issue=1 |pages=85 |via=[[EBSCOhost]]}}</ref>

The [[Maronite Church]] has adopted the use of unleavened bread due to [[liturgical Latinisation]]. The [[Syro-Malabar Church]] uses both unleavened bread as well as leavened bread to which [[Holy Leaven|Holy Malka]] is added.{{cn|date=October 2021}}

===Western traditions===
====Catholic Church====
{{main|Eucharist in the Catholic Church}}

[[File:Kleste na hostie detail.jpg|thumb|left|Detail of tongs for baking hosts]]
A host is a portion of bread used for [[Holy Communion]] in many [[Christianity|Christian]] churches. In [[Western Christianity]] the host is often thin, round, unleavened hosts.

[[File:Hostia i komunikanty.JPG|thumb|Catholic [[Azymes|unleavened]] hosts of differing sizes]]

In the [[Roman Rite]], [[unleavened bread]] is used as in the Jewish [[Passover]] or Feast of Unleavened Bread. The [[Canon law (Catholic Church)|Code of Canon Law]]<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20210320072046/http://www.vatican.va/archive/cod-iuris-canonici/eng/documents/cic_lib4-cann879-958_en.html Code of Canon Law - Book IV - Function of the Church Liber (Cann. 879-958)<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> 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 by [[nun]]s 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://vinnies-wellington.org.nz/altar-breads/|title=Altar Breads|location=Wellington, New Zealand|publisher=Society of St Vincent de Paul|access-date=18 March 2018|archive-date=21 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180321072851/http://vinnies-wellington.org.nz/altar-breads/|url-status=live}}</ref>

The [[General Instruction of the Roman Missal]] §321 recommends that "the eucharistic bread{{nbsp}}[...] 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.{{nbsp}}[...] The action of the [[fraction (religion)|fraction]] (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."<ref>[https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/ccdds/documents/rc_con_ccdds_doc_20030317_ordinamento-messale_en.html#I._THE_BREAD_AND_WINE_FOR_CELEBRATING_THE_EUCHARIST Roman Missal §321]</ref>

In 1995 Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (the future [[Pope Benedict XVI]]), then Prefect of the [[Congregation 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".<ref name="thinkprogress.org">{{cite web|url=http://thinkprogress.org/health/2014/12/29/3607228/low-gluten-communion-wafers/|title=Low-Gluten Diet Alternatives Have Reached A New Frontier: The Catholic Church|website=[[ThinkProgress]] |access-date=2015-01-03|archive-date=2015-01-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150103230120/http://thinkprogress.org/health/2014/12/29/3607228/low-gluten-communion-wafers/|url-status=live}}</ref> Since the 2000s, hosts with low gluten content have been manufactured in the United States, especially in parts of Missouri and New York.<ref name="thinkprogress.org"/> People with [[celiac disease]] must follow a strict [[gluten-free diet]]<ref name=CiacciCiclitira2015>{{cite journal| vauthors=Ciacci C, Ciclitira P, Hadjivassiliou M, Kaukinen K, Ludvigsson JF, McGough N |display-authors=etal | title=The gluten-free diet and its current application in coeliac disease and dermatitis herpetiformis| journal=United European Gastroenterology Journal| year= 2015 | volume= 3 | issue= 2 | pages= 121–135 | pmid=25922672 | doi=10.1177/2050640614559263 | pmc=4406897 | type=review}}</ref> and maintain it for life to allow the recovery of the intestinal mucosa and reduce the risk of developing severe health complications.<ref name=SeeKaukinen2015>{{cite journal|vauthors=See JA, Kaukinen K, Makharia GK, Gibson PR, Murray JA|title=Practical insights into gluten-free diets|journal=Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology|volume=12|issue=10|pages=580–91|date=October 2015|pmid=26392070|doi=10.1038/nrgastro.2015.156|s2cid=20270743 |type=Review|quote=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.}}</ref>

In the [[Catholic Church]] the [[Tree of Life (biblical)|Tree of Life]] in [[Book of Revelation]] verse 2:7 is the Eucharist.<ref>Schmitz, Fr. Mike. "Day 359: John's Apocalypse — The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)" Ascension Press. 24 Dec. 2021. YouTube. https://www.YouTube.com/watch?v=cLKNkdyrb94</ref>{{better source needed|date=January 2025}}

====Lutheran Churches====
{{Main|Eucharist in Lutheranism}}

[[File:Konsekration Alsike Kyrka.png|thumb|300px|Lutheran priest [[elevation (liturgy)|elevating]] the host during the [[Mass (liturgy)#Lutheranism|Mass]] at [[Alsike Church]], Sweden]]
In the [[Lutheran Church]]es that use the Western Rite, [[unleavened bread]] is typically used (as in the Jewish [[Passover]]); these are called hosts.<ref name="Philp1890">{{cite book |last1=Philp |first1=Robert Kemp |title=The Denominational Reason why: Giving the Origin, History, and Tenets of the Christian Sects, with the Reasons Assigned by Themselves for Their Specialities of Faith and Forms of Worship |date=1890 |publisher=Houlston and Sons |page=99 |language=en |quote=Wafers are used instead of ordinary bread at the commuion, on each of which there is a figure or impression of a crucifix.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Communion Vessels |url=https://mtpisgahlutheran.360unite.com/communion-vessels |publisher=Mt. Pisgah Lutheran Church |access-date=16 May 2025 |date=2025}}</ref> Hosts are made by a number of Lutheran [[religious order]]s, as well as [[Christian monasticism|monks]] and [[nun]]s, to support their religious communities. Lutheran seminaries and [[religious goods store]]s, such as the [[Concordia Publishing House]], make hosts as well. Hosts often contain a cross, [[crucifix]] or [[Christogram#IHS|IHS Christogram]] on them.<ref name="Philp1890"/> 

====Other====
[[File:Lowry Robert W Eucharist.jpg|thumb|[[Presbyterian]] minister [[Robert William Lowry (pastor)|Robert William Lowry]] holding leavened bread and a chalice containing wine, during the consecration (Fondren Presbyterian Church, [[Jackson, Mississippi|Jackson]], [[Mississippi]], 2017)]]

In the varying [[Protestant]] denominations, there is a wide variety of practices concerning the sacramental bread used. [[Anglican]]s vary by the [[churchmanship]] of the congregation where many will use leavened breads while others—much like Roman Catholics and Lutherans—use unleavened bread. [[Reformed tradition|Reformed]] Christians use rolls which are [[fractio panis (practice)|broken]] and distributed to the faithful.<ref>{{cite book |last=Benedict |first=Philip |author-link=Philip Benedict |title=Christ's Churches Purely Reformed |location=New Haven |publisher=[[Yale University Press]] |year=2002 |isbn=978-0300105070 |page=205}}</ref>

The [[Christian Congregation of Brazil|Christian 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 of [[whole wheat flour]].

Some, such as the [[Churches of Christ]], use [[Matzah|matzo]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Wecker|first1=Menachem|title=Matzah Communion|url=http://ajlmagazine.com/content/112006/matzah.html|website=American Jewish Life Magazine|access-date=16 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160314094031/http://ajlmagazine.com/content/112006/matzah.html|archive-date=2016-03-14|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Latter-day Saints==
[[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.<ref>{{cite web|last=Christianson|first=Thira|title=Accepting Allergies|url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/friend/2011/09/accepting-allergies?lang=eng|work=Friend|publisher=Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints|access-date=10 November 2011}}</ref> The bread is broken into fragments just prior to being blessed by one of the officiating [[Priest (Latter Day Saints)|priests]].

==Mandaeism==

{{Distinguish|pita}}
In [[Mandaeism]], the [[pihta]] ({{langx|myz|ࡐࡉࡄࡕࡀ|lit=opened; something broken apart or into pieces}}<ref name="Secret Adam">{{cite book|last=Drower|first=E. S.|author-link=E. S. Drower|date=1960|title=The secret Adam: a study of Nasoraean gnosis|location=Oxford|publisher=Clarendon Press}}</ref>{{rp|3}}) is a type of sacramental bread used with rituals performed by [[Mandaean priest]]s. It is a small, round, biscuit-sized [[flatbread]] that can either be salted or saltless, depending on whether the ritual use of the pihta is for living or dead people.<ref name="Buckley 2002"/>

The pihta is not to be confused with the ''[[faṭira]]'', a small, round, saltless, half-baked biscuit also used in Mandaean rituals.<ref name="Buckley 2002"/>

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 the [[World of Light]] (see [[Mandaean cosmology]]).<ref name="Buckley 2002">{{cite book|last=Buckley|first=Jorunn Jacobsen|title=The Mandaeans: ancient texts and modern people|publisher=Oxford University Press|publication-place=New York|year=2002|isbn=0-19-515385-5|oclc=65198443}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Eucharistic miracle]]
* [[Host desecration]]
* [[Prosphora]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* Tony Begonja, ''Eucharistic Bread-Baking As Ministry'', San Jose: Resource Publications, 1991, {{ISBN|0-89390-200-4}}.

==External links==
* {{Commonscatinline}}
* [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01349d.htm New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia: Altar Breads]

{{CatholicMass|collapsed}}
{{Lutheran Divine Service}}
{{Baked goods with religious iconography}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Eastern Christian liturgical objects]]
[[Category:Eucharistic objects]]
[[Category:Religious food and drink]]
[[Category:Christian terminology]]
[[Category:Bread in culture]]
[[Category:Breads]]
[[Category:Catholic cuisine]]