On December 12, 2024, Deir el Balamand Museum and the Department of Archaeology and Museology (DAM) at the University of Balamand (UOB), inaugurated an exhibition titled “The Holy Bread from Offering to Sacrifice” at the Deir Museum.
Oikonomos of the Lady of Balamand Monastery Archimandrite George Yaacoub, along with the Director of DAM, Dr. Patricia Antaki and her team, welcomed UOB deans, professors, staff, and notable guests to the opening event.
The exhibition showcases the origins and process of preparing the Holy Bread, beginning with the Mystical Supper and progressing to the recipe for the Holy Bread. It also provides a detailed explanation of the history and reasons behind the use of the Holy Bread marking, or the stamp of the Holy Bread, which began as a tradition in the Byzantine period and continues until today. Additionally, the exhibition covers the role of the stamp in preparing the Holy Bread for the Holy Communion.
The exhibition also explains the Proskomide process, performed during Matins on the altar located to the left of the Holy Altar Table, where the priest cuts the Prosphora using a Lance. It further explores the housing of the Holy Bread in the Tabernacle on the Altar inside the sanctuary, where the Holy Body and Blood of Christ, sanctified on Holy Thursday, are preserved inside the Tabernacle, for communion of faithful in special cases such as baptisms or sickness.
It is worth noting that the exhibition will remain open to visitors throughout the month of December, and a souvenir shop for the monastery’s museum has also been opened.