Question
Why does the Orthodox church use leavened bread and most Protestant fellowships use unleavened bread? I am a member of the Church of Christ (Restoration Movement) and we use unleavened bread because we assume that is the type of bread used at the Last Supper. When was unleavened bread brought introduced to the church?
Answer
Actually, leavened bread has always been used in the Eastern Church. In fact, at one point in time, a great controversy raged over the fact that in the Eastern Church leavened bread was used, while in the Christian West unleavened bread was the norm.
In the Christian East there is no concern for using the exact type of bread used at the Last Supper—known in the Orthodox Church as the “Mystical Supper.” Christ “leavens” our lives, so to speak, and the purpose of the Eucharistic celebration is not to “recreate” or “reproduce” a past event but, rather, to participate in an event that is beyond time and space and which, in fact, continues to happen each time the Eucharist is celebrated in fulfillment of Our Lord’s command.