The homily below was given on 7 August 2011 by Fr. Demetri Tsigas of Saint Katherine Greek Orthodox Church in Melbourne, FL. He e-mailed it out to various people and I am including it here because it is such an excellent sermon and a good explanation of the bread, wine, oil, and wheat ceremony celebrated in the midst of the Great Vespers of various feasts. Please read and learn:
In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen.
In the Holy Cross Priest’s Edition of the Liturgy Book, besides the Divine Liturgy, we have three other services included: The Trisagion Prayers (said for the departed on any occasion); The Memorial Prayers (said for the departed on special occasions — 40 days & annually –with the boiled wheat, Kolyva); and The Artoklasia (“Bread-Breaking”) Service which derives from Christ’s miracle in which he received five loaves and fed the five thousand men and their families (probably around 15,000 people in total). This miracle is found in all four Gospel accounts (Matthew 14:13-21; Mark 6:30-44; Luke 9:10-17; John 6:1-14) with small variations. Today I’d like to focus our attention on the Artoklasia service (In Slavonic, it is called the Litiya; in Romanian, the Litia).
As a young child, the one thing I looked forward to as I was suffering through what felt like an interminably long festal Great Vespers Service (all in Koine Greek), followed by what seemed an equally long sermon in Katharevousa (academic Greek), was the arto (short for artoklasia, the sweet bread from the “Bread Breaking” service). Boy were we disappointed when it was overcooked, dry or unsweetened instead of moist and sweet. When it was really good, we’d try to go back for seconds or try to get an elderly family member or friend to give us some of theirs.
The liturgical origin of the service seems to actually come from the monastic typicon where it was part of the all night vigil. The service was celebrated at the end of Vespers. Five round loaves of sweet bread were set on a table on the Solea (raised area in front of the Iconostasis, “icon stand or screen”) along with wine, olive oil and wheat. This actually served as the only meal until Holy Communion in the morning. After the bread was blessed, it was distributed to the faithful along with the wine. The oil was used to anoint the faithful. The wheat was ground and used to make proforo (the “offering bread” used in the Divine Liturgy for Holy Communion and Antidoro, the blessed bread given at the end of the service “in place of the gifts”).
It’s roots go back even deeper. Besides the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves, there are two accounts of Jesus “breaking bread”. The first is at the Last Supper. In Matthew’s Gospel (26:26), we read, “And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, ‘Take, eat; this is My Body.’”After the resurrection, we have the account of Luke and Cleopas on the road to Emmaus discussing all the events leading up to and including the crucifixion of Christ. The resurrected Christ appears to them and speaks with them. The disciples don’t recognize Him however, until He is revealed to them later, in the evening, at the breaking of the bread (Luke 24:30-31).
Besides the Gospel accounts, the Artoklasia also recalls the Agape meal which St. Paul references in 1 Corinthians (11:17-34). At the Agape meals, the Christian communities would gather to receive the Body and Blood of Christ in Holy Communion and for a common meal. The Agape meal served a charitable purpose by providing a meal to the poorer among the brethren and a reminder of their unity in Christ. As in today’s Epistle (also from 1 Corinthians, 1:10-17), St. Paul is upbraiding the Corinthian Christians for their divisiveness and selfishness.
The Artoklasia is properly celebrated at the end of Vespers, though by Economia (dispensation), it can be celebrated at the end of the Divine Liturgy or even after Orthros. Five round loaves of sweet bread are offered by faithful families or individuals on behalf of themselves or others. Most often this is done for the living on special occasions such as name days or anniversaries. Unlike the Euchelaion or Holy Unction service (the blessing and anointing with olive oil) which is offered for those who are sick, this is a celebratory service in which we thank God for His blessings and protection and ask Him to continue to keep us safe; to continue to bless us both spiritually and physically.
Besides prayers directly to Christ, we ask the intercessions of a long list of great saints of our Church and finally of the Theotokos as the priest censes around the table.
The priest then takes up one of the loaves and reads the final prayer, “Lord Jesus Christ our God, who blessed the five loaves in the wilderness and with them fed the five thousand: Do You, the same Lord, bless these loaves, the wheat, the wine and the (olive) oil (if they are present), and multiply them in this city (or town), country and parish (or community), in the homes of those who have brought these gifts, and in all Your world; and sanctify all those who receive them. For You bless and sanctify all things, Christ our God, and to You do we give glory, together with Your Beginningless Father, and the All Holy, Good and Life-giving Spirit, now and forever, and to the ages of ages. Amen.”
Finally, we sing a verse from Psalm 33 (34), verse 11: ???????? ?????????? ??? ????????? ?? ?? ??????????? ??? ?????? ??? ?????????????? ?????? ??????, literally, The Rich have become poor and have hungered, but they who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.
Our faith is an ancient one. It has known God like no other faith and continues to reveal and live a rich and full relationship with our Creator. We are thankful for all His rich blessings to us. We not only read and know His Word, the Holy Bible, we live it in a full and rich way. We live out the Bible in our holy traditions but more especially, there is no more powerful witness to our faith than in loving God with our whole being and witnessing to that love by loving one another; manifesting the unity that the Trinity lives out among the three persons of God.
My brothers and sisters, as we are about to begin another new school and ecclesiastical year, let us count our blessings and give thanks to our good and gracious God. He is our Provider. Let us embrace one another and show the same compassion Christ did for the poor in today’s Gospel reading. Let us show the world that we are different and special in that even though we may have differences of opinion, and can express them quite emphatically, at the end of the day we embrace one another and are united in our humble and complete love for God and for one another.
By the way, I am told that even monks are known to have knockdown-drag-out “discussions”, but afterward leave their differences on the table and sincerely embrace one another. If only some of our Parish Councils and General Assemblies could do the same (preferably minus the knockdown, drag out part of course).
May God give us the will and the grace to make this our reality here in the spiritual family of St. Katherine.
To God be the glory, now and forever, and to the ages of ages. Amen.
P.S. As an aside, very few of us have access to a grain mill anymore, so in the Greek practice, usually only wine and olive oil are set out with the loaves. Most often, the wine is used for Holy Communion and the olive oil is used in the church’s oil lamps and/or for Holy Unction (Euchelaion). Note that “white bread” (white flour) is a relatively new invention. Clearly, in antiquity (more than 100 years ago), prosforo was made of whole wheat bread. In Greek churches where the wheat is set out with the loaves, it may find its way into Kolyva (boiled wheat used for Memorial Services).
Father, Bless!
Do I read rightly or was the “arto” part of every vigil service? Sundays and all the Greater Veasts do usually have a “Great Vespers” assigned. Or am I missing some part of the liturgical equation?
Yes, the arto was originally part of every all night vigil service for the monastics. It was, in one sense, the one bit of economia allowed them, as technically they would not eat from the evening meal until the Divine Liturgy. But, on many Feast Days, if you notice, you are supposed to fast on the vigil day (the pre-feast). For many monastics, this meant that the day before the pre-feast they would eat their last meal until the pre-feast was done. But wait! The Great Vespers of a Feast begins the fast for the Feast! So, it would be quite possible, if one were to be fully strict, to have fasted well over 36 hours before the Divine Liturgy of the Feast ended.
The artoclasia allows the monastics to have something, at least, during that period. That is why traditionally the arto bread is cut in such large chunks! It is not simply celebration, but also the meal that keeps you going until after the Feast Day Divine Liturgy. Note that for some Feasts, the post-feast also carries a fast. So, if you add it up, from the night that begins the pre-feast to the post-Vespers meal of the post-feast, a monastic would eat twice, once the arto and once the lunch following the Divine Liturgy of the Feast.