ARTOS

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ARTOS – A loaf of bread, with an icon of the Resurrection of Christ on it, representing the Bread of Eternal Life, which during Easter Week is placed on the analoy. The custom of having this bread in church dates back to the time of the Apostles, who always left an empty place at the head of the table to honor the memory of Christ. It was their firm belief that He was invisibly present with them. On St. Thomas Sunday a prayer is read over the Artos and then it is cut up and distributed to the people as they come to kiss the cross.