"....the priest takes one of the bread of oblation or prosphora in his left hand and the lance in his right hand, and touching the lance on the seal of the prosphora, he elevates them both to the level of his head and says: "Thou hast redeemed us from the curse of the law by Thy precious Blood. Nailed on the Cross and pierced with a spear, Thou hast bestowed immortality upon mankind, O our Savior, glory to Thee."
Then the priest makes the sign of the Cross over the Credence with the prosphora and the lance, reciting; 'Blessed is our God, always, now and forever and from all ages to all ages.'
Then he makes the sign of the Cross with the lance three times over the seal of prosphora, saying each time, 'In remembrance of our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ' (1 Cor 11:24. Luke 22:19).
Next the priest cuts out a portion of the bread from the central part of the prosphora's seal in the shape of a cube, called Amnos (Lamb), which at first represents the Body of Christ and into which it later changes. As the Offertory service is a commemoration of the early life of Christ, which was a time of preparation for His Public Ministry, the priest goes back to the prophecy of Isaiah who foresaw long beforehand the Sacrifice of the Messiah (Is. 53:7-8).
Hence the priest, thrusting the lance into the right side of the seal (the priest's left), says: 'He was led as the sheep to the slaughter.'
Then thrusting the lance into the left side, he says: 'And as a lamb before his shearer is dumb, so He opens not His mouth.'
Then the priest thrusts the lance into the upper part of the seal, saying: 'In his humiliation justice was denied Him.'
Finally, thrusting the lance into the lower part of the central square, he recites the words of the prophet, who contemplated the wondrous origin or lineage of the condemned Lamb: 'Who shall declare his generation?'
Then the priest inserts the lance beneath the seal and lifts up the cubic portion of the bread, the 'Amnos' or 'Lamb', and places it on the center of the Paten, saying; 'For His Life in removed from the earth.'
This removal of the Lamb from the prosphora denotes the seperation of Christ from the flesh of the Virgin Mary--the Birth of the Fleshless One in the flesh.
The priest, turning the Lamb downwards, makes with the lance a deep crosswise cut as a sign of His death on the Cross and says: 'The Lamb of God, Who takes away the sin of the world, is sacrificed for the life and the salvation of the world (John 1:29. 1 John 2:2).
Then the priest turns the Lamb upwards and pierces it with the lance on the right side, marked 'NI' saying; 'One of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately there came out blood and water. And he who saw it bore witness and his witness his true.' (John 19:34-35)
The priest, thereupon, pours wine and water into the Chalice; then he blesses them, saying; 'Blessed is the union of Thy Holy Gifts, always, now and forever and from all ages to all ages.'
The wine and water represent the blood and water that ran out of Christ's side, which later will be changed into His blood.
The priest afterwards cuts out portions from another prosphora or from the same in memory of the Saints, placing these portions on the Paten beside the Lamb, since the Saints had a burning desire to be everywhere with their Lord. The first triangular portion is in memory of the THeotokos. In cutting it the priests recites, 'In honor and memory of our Blessed and Glorious Lady Theotokos and Ever-virgin Mary, through whose intercessions do Thou, O Lord, accept this Sacrifice upon Thy Heavenly Altar.'
This portion in placed on the right side of the Lamb with this prophetic recitation: 'On THy right hand stood the Queen, clothed in vesture wrought with gold and arrayed in many colors. (Ps 44:10)
The priest next cuts nine additional smaller triangular portions in memory of: the Archangels and Angels, the Prophets, the Apostles, The Holy Fathers and prelates, teh Martyrs, the Holy Ascetics, the Holy Unmercenaries, the Ancestors of our Lord Joachim and Anna, the Saint of the day and All the Saints, and the Saints whose Liturgy is celebrated (i.e. St John Chrysostom). All these portions are placed in three columns on the left side of the Lamb. Thus, Christ, appears among His nearest and dearest persons.
Finally, the priest cuts a big portion of bread out of which he cuts little particles for living persons: the Archbishop, the bishops, the priests, the deacons, etc; for those who offered teh prosphoras, and for persons whom he desires to mention by name or whom he has been requested to remember. He also cuts particles in memory of the departed; patriarchs, bishops, priests, the fathers of the Church, the bishop who ordained him if he is among the departed, etc., of those whom he has been requested to remember, and those whom he himself wishes to remember, praying at the same time for remission of their sins. At the end he cuts a particle in behalf of himself: 'Remember, O Lord, my unworthiness and forgive all my sins, both voluntary and involuntary.'
All those particles in memory of the living and departed persons are placed below the Lamb."
