THE HOLY LEAVEN: APOSTOLIC CONTINUITY IN THE SYRIAC, CELTIC, AND GAULISH CHURCHES
An Icon of a Bishop Consecrating Holy Leaven in the Ancient Church. The Holy Leaven Connects the Church with the Story of the Last Supper and Insists on the Historical and Material Continuity of the Church's Culture! “ The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened... ” Matthew 13:33 By Bp. Joseph ( Ancient Church of the West ) INTRODUCTION In the divine economy of salvation, God has continually chosen to work through material means to communicate His grace. From the anointing oil of the prophets to the hem of Christ’s garment that healed the bleeding woman (Mark 5:25–34), the physical world is not cast aside in the Christian faith but sanctified. Nowhere is this principle more evident than in the Holy Eucharist, wherein the Incarnation continues to be made manifest through bread and wine transformed into the Body and Blood of Christ. Within the Assyrian Church of the East, a unique tradition has preser...
