A Russian Orthodox priest uses a lance to cut pieces of communion bread from the ‘prosphora’, the unconsecrated offertory bread. The remainder will be cut up into rough squares and handed out to everyone in the congregation at the end of the service. Orthodox churches use leavened bread, because the Greek word for bread used by Christ at the Last Supper (artos) is quite distinct from the word for the unleavened bread eaten at Passover (azymos).
Part 1 of 2
AHMED was a curator of the library in seventeenth-century Constantinople. He had two Russian slave women, one a beautiful young girl whom he kept at home, and the other an older lady he allowed to go to church.
When she returned, Ahmed noticed, the two women would be closeted together for a time, and afterwards a delightful fragrance would hang around the younger one. He pressed the girl about these conversations, and she revealed that her companion brought home blessed bread for them to share.*
It was taking quite a risk for a Muslim, but Ahmed just had to see what went on in this church for himself.
From a discreet corner, he watched the strange rites, full of unfamiliar music and colour and movement, and was astonished to see that whenever the Patriarch gave a blessing with his fingers, rays of light danced upon the congregation. This happened several times, but the lights never danced upon Ahmed, and it cut him to the heart.
This ‘blessed bread’ is not consecrated communion bread, but the loaf from which the communion bread has been cut. The leftover bread, known as ‘antidoron’, is distributed to everyone without distinctions at the end of the service, and often taken home to those who have been unable to attend for any reason.
Précis
Ahmed was a Muslim official in Constantinople in the 680s. He had a Christian slave girl, who led Ahmed to become curious about her faith and he went incognito to a church in the city. There he saw what seemed like light falling on others but not on him, and was deeply distressed by it. (55 / 60 words)
Part Two
The Chora Church in Istanbul (Constantinople). The current building dates from the 11th century, though a church stood here as long ago as the fifth. By Ahmed’s day, it had been converted into a mosque, and remained so until 1948 when it became a museum. It is internationally known for its beautiful mosaic icons.
AT last, Ahmed went to the Patriarch and asked him to baptise him as a Christian. The Patriarch gave his consent, and even allowed Ahmed to continue to attend the mosque and serve his Muslim masters, much as Elisha did for Naaman.*
This went on until one day Ahmed was sitting with three of his colleagues, and they fell to discussing life’s greatest blessing. One asserted loftily that it was wisdom, another said it was women, and a third said food was the best that life had to offer, before turning to Ahmed to ask, ‘What do you say?’.
Ahmed heard a voice say quietly, ‘Life’s greatest blessing is the Christian faith’, and realised it was his own.
The other took it as a joke. ‘Are you a Christian, then?’ he laughed.
‘Yes’ replied Ahmed, serenely.
Christianity was tolerated in Constantinople, but not apostasy. On May 3rd, 1682, Ahmed was executed at the hands of the Ottoman government.
See Elisha and Naaman the Syrian. Following his conversion, Naaman, who lived in the 9th century BC, was of course a Jew. His master, King Ben-Hadad II of Syria, remained a pagan. Islam did not come into existence until the early 7th century AD.
Précis
Ahmed was so impressed by the church at Constantinople that he asked to be baptised. His conversion was kept secret for safety’s sake, but he let the truth slip in conversation with his Muslim colleagues at the library, and was denounced as an apostate. He was executed on May 3rd, 682, and is honoured as a Christian martyr. (57 / 60 words)