Bread and Leaven in the Biblical and Patristic Tradition

Abstract

AbstractThe debate concerning the type of bread to be used at the Eucharist, that is, whether it should be leavened or unleavened, finds its basis in three distinct historical/theological questions concerning the sacrament as found in Scripture and tradition. The first involves the meaning of “leaven” and whether it should be understood as a good or bad thing. The second, and perhaps most contentious issue, was the debate surrounding the date of the Last Supper, and whether the meal Jesus shared with the apostles before his death was a Passover meal eaten with unleavened bread. The third issue, related to the second, was the practice of the undivided church and what type of bread Christians used when “they came together and devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers”.