The Preparation of the Eucharistic Bread
Question:
What are the conditions required for the one who prepares the Eucharistic bread?
And is it appropriate for it to be made outside the church, by women and children?
Answer:
The process of preparing the Eucharistic bread includes kneading it, cutting it, stamping it, sealing it, and baking it.
It is carried out in a place in the church known as “Bethlehem,” in reference to Bethlehem where the Lord Christ was born.
The following conditions are required for the one who prepares the Eucharistic bread:
He should be one of the consecrated servants of the church, devoted to work in it, and it is preferable that he holds one of the ranks of the deacons.
He should be pure during the preparation of the bread, both in body and in spirit.
During the preparation, he recites psalms, hymns, and prayers, because these are sacred times, and so that his mind is not occupied with worldly matters and material concerns.
He should be knowledgeable in this ecclesiastical work, so that the bread is suitable for the selection of the “Lamb,” appropriate for offering in the Holy Mysteries, in terms of its proper baking, kneading, and quality.
He should not deviate from the specific rite of the Eucharistic bread, and should not add any substance that ought not to be added. The perforations in the bread must also follow the rite. Therefore, we do not approve of it being made in homes, nor that it be made by someone not consecrated for ecclesiastical service.
An article by His Holiness Pope Shenouda III – in El-Keraza Magazine – Year Eight (Issue Forty-Five) 11-11-1977
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