Lamb (liturgy)
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The Lamb is the square portion of bread cut from the prosphora in the Liturgy of Preparation at the Divine Liturgy in the Orthodox Church and in the Eastern Rites of the Catholic Church. The Lamb is placed in the center of the diskos. The prosphoron from which the Lamb is cut is a loaf of leavened bread, formed in two layers to symbolize the hypostatic union of the human and divine natures of Christ. It must be made only from the finest flour, yeast, salt and water, and is stamped on top with a seal forming a Greek cross and the Greek letters IC, XC, and NIKA (which stand for, "Jesus" "Christ" and "Victory"), indicating that through the Cross and Resurrection, Jesus Christ has gained the victory over sin and death. The portion of the loaf demarcated by the seal will be cut out as the Lamb.
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