Bread and wine

[Tellyontellyon]

They use some modern wine and wafers very often these days for communion.
But I'm guessing the bread and wine that Jesus used were quite different.

Do any Christians still use that particular type of bread and that particular type of wine anymore? Or at least a best guess at what that original was like.

Wouldn't it be better to taste the bread and wine as the apostles did?

 

[HTacianas]

They use some modern wine and wafers very often these days for communion.
But I'm guessing the bread and wine that Jesus used were quite different.

Do any Christians still use that particular type of bread and that particular type of wine anymore? Or at least a best guess at what that original was like.

Wouldn't it be better to taste the bread and wine as the apostles did?

There's no real rule on modern vs. ancient bread or wine. I think there are some requirements for it but I don't know what they are. We have the bread and wine of the time we live in.

 

[chevyontheriver]

They use some modern wine and wafers very often these days for communion.
But I'm guessing the bread and wine that Jesus used were quite different.

Do any Christians still use that particular type of bread and that particular type of wine anymore? Or at least a best guess at what that original was like.

Wouldn't it be better to taste the bread and wine as the apostles did?

Catholics use only naturally fermented crushed grapes, unfortified, , no sugar added, no sulfides or other additives. A low alcohol option is must, a partially fermented wine. This wine is then cut with some water.

Aside from maybe the variety of grapes, this would be pretty much the way Jesus would have drank it. But variety has a big influence on taste, so maybe it would taste different.

As to the bread used in the host, Catholics use only wheat and water, without any extra ingredients. Latin Rite Catholics use unleavened bread, while I think Eastern Rite Catholics use leavened bread. There is the option to use low-gluten wheat, but not to substitute other grains instead of wheat.

You can make the case for leavened or unleavened but basically without added sugar even the leavened bread will be pretty flat like a Pita.

 

[Tigger45]

Catholics use only naturally fermented crushed grapes, unfortified, , no sugar added, no sulfides or other additives. A low alcohol option is must, a partially fermented wine. This wine is then cut with some water.

Aside from maybe the variety of grapes, this would be pretty much the way Jesus would have drank it. But variety has a big influence on taste, so maybe it would taste different.

As to the bread used in the host, Catholics use only wheat and water, without any extra ingredients. Latin Rite Catholics use unleavened bread, while I think Eastern Rite Catholics use leavened bread. There is the option to use low-gluten wheat, but not to substitute other grains instead of wheat.

You can make the case for leavened or unleavened but basically without added sugar even the leavened bread will be pretty flat like a Pita.

Just as a side note our local Maronite parish uses wafers.

 

[Andrew.H]

The Orthodox Church uses leavened bread and a sweet red wine, served from the chalice together.

 

[Tigger45]

The Orthodox Church uses leavened bread and a sweet red wine, served from the chalice together.

Yep and administered with a spoon.

 

[chevyontheriver]

The Orthodox Church uses leavened bread and a sweet red wine, served from the chalice together.

Any particulars about the types of grain used in the bread, or any other ingredients?

 

[Aussie Pete]

They use some modern wine and wafers very often these days for communion.
But I'm guessing the bread and wine that Jesus used were quite different.

Do any Christians still use that particular type of bread and that particular type of wine anymore? Or at least a best guess at what that original was like.

Wouldn't it be better to taste the bread and wine as the apostles did?

Since we don't really know, we do not know what we are missing. Who can make bread and wine exactly as in Jesus' time? It's way more important to have the right attitude. 1 Corinthian 11:17-30 covers this in detail.

 

[Paidiske]

This blog post is mostly concerned with the question of gluten, but does go into some discussion about possible grains used in Jesus' culture. God goes Gluten-free?
The short version is that any attempt to reconstruct exactly what was eaten at the last supper would be speculative, at best.

Would it be better if we could? We'd have to ask, "better in what way?" Feeling that we're doing something historically "authentic" might satisfy a sort of purist desire, but if we believe that we do this in order to encounter God, then I think we have to acknowledge that that encounter is by the grace of God, not by the accuracy of our historical re-enactment.

 

[Andrew.H]

Any particulars about the types of grain used in the bread, or any other ingredients?

I won't pretend to be an expert, I just know off hand that it's always red wine and the bread is always a simple risen loaf.

I did look around and found an article from a website that purely exists to discuss the Prosphora though, I can't attest to it's veracity. Why Prosphora Must Be Pure

The basic gist is that both the bread and the wine must be as pure and uncorrupted as possible. No additives, spices etc for either.

 

[RileyG]

They use some modern wine and wafers very often these days for communion.
But I'm guessing the bread and wine that Jesus used were quite different.

Do any Christians still use that particular type of bread and that particular type of wine anymore? Or at least a best guess at what that original was like.

Wouldn't it be better to taste the bread and wine as the apostles did?

it depends on the Church and their understanding of Holy Communion.

In the West, Catholic Church uses unleavened bread and ordinary wine for Holy Communion and we believe in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist (Communion). The faithful usually only receive the host and only the priest drinks the precious blood, depending on local custom.

The East, Eastern Orthodox Church uses leavened bread and wine and believes in the real presence in the Eucharist. The body and blood are mingled together and received on a spoon (usually).

Protestants are all over the map.

Some Protestants use ordinary crackers, loaf, or juice and may or may not believe in the real presence and see it as a memorial. I went to a UCC service once where the faithful eat a piece of bread together and take a shot of juice in memory of Christ's death for their Communion service.

It really boils down to Eucharistic theology IMO.

 

[ViaCrucis]

They use some modern wine and wafers very often these days for communion.
But I'm guessing the bread and wine that Jesus used were quite different.

Do any Christians still use that particular type of bread and that particular type of wine anymore? Or at least a best guess at what that original was like.

Wouldn't it be better to taste the bread and wine as the apostles did?

The Last Supper would have involved an unleavened flat bread, that kind of bread is still common throughout the Middle East. And the wine would have likely been mixed (wine cut with water).

The bread and wine and the way they are administered largely depends on several factors, the largest is the difference between East and West. The use of unleavened bread is Western, which is where those classic wafer hosts come from. The East however uses leavened bread. In fact this is an area of major contention between Western and Eastern Christians to this day, more specifically a contention between Catholicism and Orthodoxy. It may seem superficial, but these positions are based on deeper and older theological positions that inform them.

-CryptoLutheran

 

[chevyontheriver]

The Last Supper would have involved an unleavened flat bread, that kind of bread is still common throughout the Middle East. And the wine would have likely been mixed (wine cut with water).

The bread and wine and the way they are administered largely depends on several factors, the largest is the difference between East and West. The use of unleavened bread is Western, which is where those classic wafer hosts come from. The East however uses leavened bread. In fact this is an area of major contention between Western and Eastern Christians to this day, more specifically a contention between Catholicism and Orthodoxy. It may seem superficial, but these positions are based on deeper and older theological positions that inform them.

-CryptoLutheran

I think the clear enough consensus is that the bread would be wheat bread and the wine would be natural wine cut with water.

As to the variety of grape, I have heard no speculation.