Antidoron

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Antidoron (Gk., ‘instead of the gift’). In the Byzantine liturgy the part of the eucharistic loaf which is not consecrated, but is blessed and distributed to the congregation at the end of the service. Non-Orthodox thus receive it ‘instead of’communion, and it is considered a symbol of ecumenical fellowship. A similar custom (‘pain bénit’) survives in the Roman Catholic Church in France.

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