41
edits
Changes
Remove redundancies, and the use of 5 loaves is not universal enough to put here.
[[Image:Discos Chalice.jpg|left|thumb|150px|The Chalice with the Diskos and Star]]
The bread and wine are prepared for the liturgy on the Prothesis. The [[chalice]], a cup that contains pure sweet grape wine, and a round plate on a stand called the diskos or paten, that holds the bread that is made of pure wheat flour, are kept on this table. Usually, there are five loaves representing our Lord’s miracle of feeding the ''five thousand men besides women and children'' with only five loaves of bread (Matt. 14:17-21). These vessels are normally decorated with iconographic engravings, Christian symbols, and the sign of the cross. The top of each loaf is impressed with a seal bearing the sign of the cross.
Also on this table is a special liturgical knife, symbolically called the [[spear]], that is used for cutting the eucharistic bread ([[prosphora]]) and a liturgical [[spoon]] for administering holy communion to the people. There are also special covers for the chalice and diskos and a cruciform piece of metal called the [[asterisk]] or star that holds the cover over the eucharistic bread on the diskos. A sponge and cloths for drying the chalice after the liturgy are also usually kept here. The Prothesis is decorated in a manner similar to that of the altar table. Above the Prothesis may be found various [[icon]]s, often one of Christ praying in Gethsemene: "Let this cup pass..."
