What Is Prosphora? The Bread That Begins Every Liturgy
Long before the first hymn is sung and the believers gather in the church, a humble yet sacred thing is already taking place in the kitchen making of the bread. Prosphora is a type of bread offered during the Divine Liturgy of the Orthodox Church . After carefully examining several sources, it is clear that the word itself comes from the Greek prospherÅ, meaning "to bring forth" or "to offer". It is not regular bread. Each loaf is imprinted with a seal that displays the letters IC XC NIKA - "Jesus Christ conquers" - a symbol that distinguishes it from the time the flour gets mixed until it completes baking in the oven. The preparation takes place through fasting before and praying, as well as through kneading the dough simultaneously. Archangel Michael Orthodox Church's Prosphora Bakers ministry is a ministry of dedicated service. During the Liturgy, the priest makes a cut on the prosphora in such a way that the resulting piece is called Lamb. ...