The Eucharist – Leavened or Unleavened
Leaven in the Holy Bible symbolizes evil and sin, while unleavened bread symbolizes righteousness.
This is evident from the saying of the Apostle Paul in his Epistle to the Corinthians:
“Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened.
For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven,
nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” (1 Cor. 5:7–8).
Perhaps in the same meaning, the Lord Christ said: “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees,” meaning their hypocrisy.
For this reason, the grain offering, which symbolized in the Old Testament Christ in the flesh, was made of unleavened bread (Lev. 2).
And in the command concerning the Passover lamb, they used to eat unleavened bread for seven days,
as a symbol of the justification they received by the blood of the lamb. In this, the Scripture says:
“You shall remove leaven from your houses. For whoever eats leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel.” (Ex. 12:15).
The Lord Christ in His incarnation was without sin, represented by the unleavened bread. But the Eucharist has leaven placed in it.
How can this be reconciled?
The answer is that Christ is righteous, yet He bears the sins of the people.
The Lamb offering represents Christ who carried the sins of the whole world. He is unleavened, yet He bears the leaven of the people for whom He died.
The Lamb offering does not represent Christ only in His birth or in His life on earth,
but rather represents Him as the Redeemer who died for our sins. Therefore, we say in the confession before communion:
“Given for us for salvation, remission of sins, and eternal life to all who partake of Him.”
Article by His Holiness Pope Shenouda III – Al-Kiraza Magazine – Year Eight (Issue Seven), 18-2-1977
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