“I am the bread of life; he who comes to me shall not hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst.” (St. John 6:35)
One of the Church’s most sacred and beautiful traditions during the feast of Pascha, is to bless a large, upright bread called the Artos – a Greek term meaning “leavened bread or cake.” This special bread usually has a depiction of the Resurrection upon it and symbolizes the presence of the Risen Christ, “the Bread of Life Who nourishes us with the food of His divine mercies.”
Near the conclusion of the Paschal Liturgy, the priest blesses the Artos with a special prayer and sprinkles it with Holy Water. The Artos is then placed on a small table before the Iconostasis where it remains throughout Bright Week. It is customary, whenever the faithful enter the Temple, for them to kiss the Artos as a way of greeting the Risen Christ.
The Artos serves to remind us of all the events connected with the Resurrection, but is also in keeping with an ancient custom initiated by the Apostles. Following Christ’s Ascension, whenever they sat down to an ordinary meal, they would leave a place at the head of the table empty for the invisibly present Christ and would set bread there. The Church therefore maintains this tradition by using this special Paschal bread to remind us of the Risen Lord Who is the Bread of Life.
