Origins of Dipping the Bread
Wednesday, July 27th, 2005Someone’s asked me about the origins of intinction as a practice. (Dipping the bread into the wine during communion).
From my research, intinction was introduced in the Eastern churches and is still the norm in the Maronite Church (originally based in Antioch, Syria). Many Eastern Orthodox churches use intinction. The practice there is for the priest to break the bread into pieces which are put into the cup. The mixture is ladled into the mouths of participants with a spoon/ladle.
Intinction must have been a common innovation in the Western church, judging by the number of condemnations of the practice from Rome.
From Pontifications, a Catholic blog:
“In 675 the Fourth Council of Braga prohibited the dipping of the holy bread into the chalice:
“The practice of giving the people eucharistic communion by means of intinction has no authority in the gospel, where he gave his disciples his body and blood: the bread was given separately and the cup was given separately. We read that Christ gave intincted bread to no one except to that disciple whom he revealed as a traitor by offering him a morsel that had been dipped.”
This prohibition of intinction was reiterated in the Middle Ages by the Councils of Clermont (1095) and London (1175).
“This use is not authentic,” Bernold of Constance wrote, “for it is contrary to the institution of the Lord” (11th c.). Pope Pascal II denounced the intinctio panis as a human innovation that violated the command of Christ (12th c.)”
Intinction has been allowed again in the Roman Catholic Church, but only by the priest.
So does anyone know about the development of intinction as a practice in Protestant churches? When are your first memories of its use?
Tags: Catholicism, Eastern Orthodox, sacraments, Worship
