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Do Catholics use unleavened bread for communion?
Catholic Church A host is a portion of bread used for Holy Communion in many Christian churches. In Western Christianity the host is often thin, round, unleavened hosts.
What bread can I use for communion?
Many churches in America use communion wafers, actual small, pale wafers made especially for that purpose. Some Protestants use normal unleavened bread, others use wafers. Most Orthodox churches use leavened bread, but not the Armenian Orthodox Church.
Did Jesus use unleavened bread at the Last Supper?
According to Christian scripture, the practice of taking Communion originated at the Last Supper. Jesus is said to have passed unleavened bread and wine around the table and explained to his Apostles that the bread represented his body and the wine his blood.
Why is communion unleavened?
The ancient Jews were instructed to use unleavened bread during the feast of Passover. This is scripturally and historically linked to the fact that, in their hasty exodus from Egypt, there was no time to fully knead the dough and allow the bread to rise before baking it (see Dt 16:3).
Why was unleavened bread used at Passover?
This has to do with the story of Passover: After the killing of the first born, the Pharaoh agreed to let the Israelites go. But in their haste to leave Egypt, the Israelites could not let their bread rise and so they brought unleavened bread.
What is the difference between unleavened bread and leavened bread?
Leavened bread contains baking yeast, baking powder or baking soda – ingredients that cause the dough to bubble and rise and create a light, airy product. Unleavened bread is a flatbread, often resembling a cracker. Other than the leavening agent, the ingredients in the two kinds of bread are similar.
Can I use normal bread for communion?
Either leavened or unleavened bread is acceptable. “It is appropriate that the bread eaten in Holy Communion both look and taste like bread. The use of a whole loaf best signifies the unity of the church as the body of Christ and, when it is broken and shared, our fellowship in that body (1 Corinthians 10:16-17).
Why was unleavened bread used for Passover?
Why do Christians use unleavened bread?
Unleavened breads have symbolic importance in Judaism and Christianity. Eastern Christians associate unleavened bread with the Old Testament and allow only for bread with yeast, as a symbol of the New Covenant in Christ’s blood.
Is the Passover and the festival of unleavened bread the same thing?
In Israel, Passover is the seven-day holiday of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, with the first and last days celebrated as legal holidays and as holy days involving holiday meals, special prayer services, and abstention from work; the intervening days are known as Chol HaMoed (“Weekdays [of] the Festival”).