The Fraction or () is the ceremonial act of breaking the consecrated

sacramental bread Sacramental bread, also called Communion bread, Eucharistic bread, the Lamb or simply the host ( la, hostia, lit=sacrificial victim), is the bread used in the Christian ritual of the Eucharist. Along with sacramental wine, it is one of two elemen ...

before distribution to communicants during the

Eucharist The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instit ...

ic rite in some Christian denominations.

One of four actions

It is almost universally recognized that the rite of breaking the bread is one of the four actions that make up Christian Eucharistic

liturgies Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...

: # taking bread and wine (the offertory) # giving thanks to God over the bread and wine (the consecration) # breaking the bread (the fraction) # distributing the bread and wine (the communion)

Western Christian

Roman Rite

In the Roman Rite of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, it is accompanied by the singing or recitation of the ''

Agnus Dei is the Latin name under which the " Lamb of God" is honoured within the Catholic Mass and other Christian liturgies descending from the Latin liturgical tradition. It is the name given to a specific prayer that occurs in these liturgies, and ...

''. The ''Agnus Dei'' is "the liturgical chant which from ancient times has been sung at Mass at the time of the ''fractio panis'', or the Breaking of the Bread, which precedes the Communion Rite of both the priest and the people". The

recommends that the bread for use in the celebration "be made in such a way that the priest at Mass with a congregation is able in practice to break it into parts for distribution to at least some of the faithful". It does not rule out the use of small hosts, "when the number of those receiving Holy Communion or other pastoral needs require it".''

General Instruction of the Roman Missal The ''General Instruction of the Roman Missal'' (GIRM)—in the Latin original, ''Institutio Generalis Missalis Romani'' (IGMR)—is the detailed document governing the celebration of Mass of the Roman Rite in what since 1969 is its normal form. ...

'', 321 It goes on to say: "The action of the fraction or breaking of bread, which gave its name to the Eucharist in apostolic times, will bring out more clearly the force and importance of the sign of unity of all in the one bread, and of the sign of charity by the fact that the one bread is distributed among the brothers and sisters." The actual rite is described as follows by the ''

'': In speaking of the bread to be used at

Mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different eleme ...

, ''the General Instruction'', 321 recommends that At the 2005 assembly of the Synod of Bishops some participants deplored the practice whereby "the ''Fractio Panis'' is gradually assuming an inferior role to the

peace Peace is a concept of societal friendship and harmony in the absence of hostility and violence. In a social sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (such as war) and freedom from fear of violence between individuals or groups. ...

". In the apostolic exhortation issued by

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the soverei ...

following that assembly, he said of the sign of peace: "During the Synod of Bishops there was discussion about the appropriateness of greater restraint in this gesture, which can be exaggerated and cause a certain distraction in the assembly just before the reception of Communion. It should be kept in mind that nothing is lost when the sign of peace is marked by a sobriety which preserves the proper spirit of the celebration." On 8 June 2014, the

Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments it, Dicastero per il Culto Divino e la Disciplina dei Sacramenti , type = Dicastery , seal = Coat of arms Holy See.svg , seal_size = 100px , seal_caption = Coat of arms of the Holy See , logo = , p ...

sent to the presidents of

episcopal conference An episcopal conference, sometimes called a conference of bishops, is an official assembly of the bishops of the Catholic Church in a given territory. Episcopal conferences have long existed as informal entities. The first assembly of bishops to ...

s a letter requesting correction of excesses that had crept in regarding the sign of peace.

Western Orthodox

In th
restored Gallican Mass
of the Western Orthodox Church, in which leavened bread is used exclusively, the fraction occurs immediately after the anaphora and prior to the Our Father with its introduction. This is slightly earlier than in other western rites, in which the fraction typically takes place at some point after the Our Father. The method of the fraction varies from a simple breaking into pieces by hand to a more elaborate cutting with a liturgical knife known as a spear, as is commonly done in the Byzantine rite. The action is accompanied by the singing of a responsory drawn both from the Emmaus account in the Gospel of Luke (Luke 24:13-35) and a selection from the opening verses of chapter 9 of the Book of Proverbs. From Septuagesima until the end of Holy Week, the ''alleluia'' is omitted, and the responsory is sung more simply to Gregorian psalm tone 2.

Anglican

In the churches of the

Anglican Communion The Anglican Communion is the third largest Christian communion after the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Founded in 1867 in London, the communion has more than 85 million members within the Church of England and other ...

, the rite is similar to that practised in the Roman Catholic Church, and consists of the

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

breaking the Host in half and making an exclamation, such as, "We break this bread to share in the body of Christ", and the faithful making a response, such as, "Though we are many we are one body, because we all share in one bread" The response may change during certain liturgical seasons, or according to the rite being celebrated. A Fraction Anthem may be sung or spoken during the rite.

Lutheran

Certain

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

churches, such as the

Church of Sweden The Church of Sweden ( sv, Svenska kyrkan) is an Evangelical Lutheran national church in Sweden. A former state church, headquartered in Uppsala, with around 5.6 million members at year end 2021, it is the largest Christian denomination in Sw ...

, make use of a rite similar to that of the

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

and Anglican churches. The host is broken in two, the priest elevates and ceremonially separates the two halves while saying "The bread that we break is a participation of the body of Christ.". The priest then brings the two halves, still elevated, back together as the congregation responds "So are we, though we are many, one body, for we all partake of the same bread.". The Pax then follows immediately after.

Eastern Christian

In the

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops vi ...

and Eastern Catholic Churches of the Byzantine rite, leavened bread is used for the Eucharist. The round loaves, or

prosphora A prosphoron ( el, πρόσφορον, ''offering'') is a small loaf of leavened bread used in Orthodox Christian and Greek Catholic (Byzantine) liturgies. The plural form is ''prosphora'' (). The term originally meant any offering made to a ...

, are stamped so that a

Greek cross The Christian cross, with or without a figure of Christ included, is the main religious symbol of Christianity. A cross with a figure of Christ affixed to it is termed a ''crucifix'' and the figure is often referred to as the ''corpus'' (La ...

is in the center, with the letters " IC XC NI-KA" (Greek for "Jesus Christ conquers") occupying the quarters formed by the cross' arms. The square portion occupied by this stamp, the "

Lamb Lamb or The Lamb may refer to: * A young sheep * Lamb and mutton, the meat of sheep Arts and media Film, television, and theatre * ''The Lamb'' (1915 film), a silent film starring Douglas Fairbanks Sr. in his screen debut * ''The Lamb'' (1918 ...

", is cut out before the

Divine Liturgy Divine Liturgy ( grc-gre, Θεία Λειτουργία, Theia Leitourgia) or Holy Liturgy is the Eucharistic service of the Byzantine Rite, developed from the Antiochene Rite of Christian liturgy which is that of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of ...

during the preparatory rite and is the only part consecrated during the

Epiclesis The epiclesis (also spelled epiklesis; from grc, ἐπίκλησις "surname" or "invocation") refers to the invocation of one or several gods. In ancient Greek religion, the epiclesis was the epithet used as the surname given to a deity in reli ...

. As part of the Liturgy of Preparation, the priest cuts the Lamb part way through crosswise into four sections from the bottom, leaving the bread united by the stamped crust on top. At the Fraction, which follows the

Lord's Prayer The Lord's Prayer, also called the Our Father or Pater Noster, is a central Christian prayer which Jesus taught as the way to pray. Two versions of this prayer are recorded in the gospels: a longer form within the Sermon on the Mount in the Gosp ...

and the

Elevation The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § Ver ...

, the celebrant breaks the Lamb into four portions along the cuts already made, as he says the words: "Broken and divided is the Lamb of God, which is broken and not disunited, which is ever eaten and never consumed, but sanctifieth those that partake thereof." He then arranges the four pieces crosswise on the edge of the '' diskos'' (paten). On the invitation of the deacon, "Fill, Master, the holy chalice," the celebrant takes the piece with the letters "IC" and places it into the chalice saying, "The fulness of the cup, of the faith, of the Holy Spirit." The portion with the letters "XC" is used for the communion of the clergy. The two portions "NI" and "KA" are divided into small pieces and placed in the chalice for the communion of the people. The portion "IC" is not used for communion, but is consumed by the deacon along with any other consecrated elements left over at the end of the Liturgy (see

Ablution in Christianity In Christianity, ablution is a prescribed washing of part or all of the body or possessions, such as clothing or ceremonial objects, with the intent of purification or dedication. In Christianity, both baptism and footwashing are forms of abluti ...

Protestant Reformation

Reformed Christians symbolize their belief that Christ is not physically hidden in the bread by breaking the bread. This was a controversial practice among Protestants during the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

, as it shocked the sensibilities of

s, who believe Christ's body to be physically present in the Eucharist. Lutherans mocked Calvinists by calling them ''Stuttenfressers'' (roll eaters).

References

Bibliography

*Barry M. Craig, ''Fractio Panis: A History of the Breaking of Bread in the Roman Rite'', Studia Anselmiana 151/Analecta Liturgica 29, Rome: Pontificio Ateneo S. Anselmo ankt Ottilien: EOS 2011. {{ISBN, 978-3-8306-7426-9 Calvinism Eucharist