Fraction (religion)
[5] The Catholic Church recommends that the bread for use in the celebration "be made in such a way that the priest at Mass with a congregation is able in practice to break it into parts for distribution to at least some of the faithful".
"[6] The actual rite is described as follows by the General Instruction of the Roman Missal: The priest breaks the Eucharistic Bread, assisted, if the case calls for it, by the deacon or a concelebrant.
The fraction or breaking of bread is begun after the sign of peace and is carried out with proper reverence, though it should not be unnecessarily prolonged, nor should it be accorded undue importance.
[6]At the 2005 assembly of the Synod of Bishops some participants deplored the practice whereby "the Fractio Panis is gradually assuming an inferior role to the peace".
"[9] On 8 June 2014, the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments sent to the presidents of episcopal conferences a letter requesting correction of excesses that had crept in regarding the sign of peace.
[10] In the restored Gallican Mass of the Western Orthodox Church, in which leavened bread is used exclusively, the fraction occurs immediately after the anaphora and prior to the Our Father with its introduction.
The method of the fraction varies from a simple breaking into pieces by hand to a more elaborate cutting with a liturgical knife known as a spear, as is commonly done in the Byzantine rite.
From Septuagesima until the end of Holy Week, the alleluia is omitted, and the responsory is sung more simply to Gregorian psalm tone 2.
In the churches of the Anglican Communion, the rite is similar to that practised in the Roman Catholic Church, and consists of the priest breaking the Host in half and making an exclamation, such as "We break this bread to share in the body of Christ", and the faithful making a response, such as "Though we are many we are one body, because we all share in one bread" The response may change during certain liturgical seasons, or according to the rite being celebrated.
The host is broken in two, the priest elevates and ceremonially separates the two halves while saying "The bread that we break is a participation of the body of Christ".
The square portion occupied by this stamp, the "Lamb", is cut out before the Divine Liturgy during the preparatory rite and is the only part consecrated during the Epiclesis.
This was a controversial practice among Protestants during the Reformation, as it shocked the sensibilities of Lutherans, who believe Christ's body to be physically present in the Eucharist.
