First of all, here is the paragraph that caused you to arrive at this page:

The Eastern Orthodox Church believes that Salvation [which they re-define as "Union in Christ"] comes through the process of partaking of the Eucharist, believing that the Eucharistic Host (wafer/bread) becomes the physical and Actual Body of Jesus Christ.

It surprises a few people that we refer to the Eucharist as the Wafer in a context where the webpage is refering to the Eastern Orthodox Church. 

So Why did we do this ? 

And WHY do we leave the word "Wafer" in there, especially since this is one of the opening pages that we have to Eastern Orthodox Pages ?

The first reason is that we wanted to find out the reactions of people. We found it interesting that some simply thought that on this basis alone, on the basis of ONE word, (that word being "Wafer"), they could judge the entire website and decide that no one here had Ever been orthodox - "obviously" - [except they were mistaken]. 

We wondered how many orthodox would notice the word, how many would find it unusual, and how many would react. We also wondered how many would read PAST that word, and either articulate or demonstrate that they understood that the website should be evaluated on the basis of their glancing/reading several pages and not simply one page. 

We were correct to give most Eastern Orthodox the benefit of the doubt, since most of them understood that our choice of words (the choice to use the word "Wafer") was simply a vehicle to help others think about these issues. 

Many Orthodox swore that the Eastern Orthodox Church had NEVER used wafers, only bread. But the challenge was that most of them had only one culture, often only a very small number of parishes or towns in which they experienced Eastern Orthodoxy. 

To those who have maintained that the Eastern Orthodox Church had NEVER used wafers, 

Our Response has consistently been the same: Prove it !

That simply causes many Orthodox to reply that they don't understand how to prove that something which has always been the case, has always been the case. 

Our reply to this, was to point to a historic method for what constitutes actual proof, using the following steps:

1. Identify all of the Patriarchates that claim communion among the Eastern Orthodox, As Eastern Orthodox

2. personally enquire, read, research, and find the documents and sources for each separate Patriarchate. 

3. using those documents for each patriarchate, trace the existence of the Patriarchate, and then its own individual use of Bread in that Patriarchate, from the Earliest possible time-period which can be documented. 

No documents from any patriarchates count, unless the documents can be proven or demonstrate to have been written prior to the year 1850, prior to the modern Politically Correct world of rewriting history. (Documents that are more recent may be taken as supplementary, but not as substitutionary).

4. Pay special attention to the changes in each patriarchate - if and when possible - during the 700s and 800s, as those changes apply to the Eucharist, or the Communion portion of the Liturgy, Liturgies, and/or Lectionaries (and any other documentation that may apply)

6. Be sure to note environmental conditions such as drought, wars, starvations, blockades of cities, conquests, papal bulls [pronouncements] prior to 1050, and other factors which you believe would affect bread, yeast, leaven, wheat, etc in the local community. (from the time of Christ to the year 1050 would be about One Thousand Years of potential documentation, per Patriarchate). IF the traditions truly are "HISTORIC", then finding the proof should not be that difficult. 

7. IF you can fulfill those tasks, IF you can find the documentation, IF the documentation is authentic, and IF those Patriarchates are found to have historically existed in remote antiquity (which remains unlikely in several cases), Then and ONLY then, will you be able to say that

"Wafers have NEVER been used in Eastern Orthodox Churches or Patriarchates"

For those who wish to undertake this task, we have simplified matters for you by providing you with a list below of the Patriarchates that claim current communion among the Eastern Orthodox. 

This exercise demonstrates several points. The first point is that many Eastern Orthodox like to think of themselves as Intellectual. We would like to suggest that there is a great difference between those who are intellectuals and those who merely wish to think of themselves as one. More to the point, we know that some Eastern Orthodox are simply recent evangelical arrivals to the Eastern Orthodox church. 

To those who have been Eastern Orthodox forever, this exercise compels the reader to at least ask themselves just what they know about the state of Eastern Orthodoxy around the world, not simply from official pronouncements, but from the way it actually is "on the ground" in a different country, or continent. 

To those who are evangelical newcomers to Eastern Orthodoxy, we wish to demonstrate that the same lack of intellectual rigor that they are accustomed to amongst the evangelicals is not a feature of the churches that they left, as much as it is a feature of the mindset which they carry within themselves, of a lack of intellectual self-discipline, and study. 

We are not pretending to have all of the answers. We hope we have a few of them, and we certainly hope that we have done more research and found more documentation and asked more of the difficult questions that most Eastern Orthodox AND many evangelicals spend their lives running from. 

But we also wished to point out that when it comes to what constitutes proof and documentation, each church and each individual Christian has a duty before God to learn what it means to earnestly contend for their faith, and to learn to advocate its virtue. This requires either the acceptance of the responsibility or the rejection of it. 

But those who accept this responsibility will enrich their own lives more than they know, and learn more about their faith by genuine and honest inquiry, rather than by a passive acceptance on Faith of many beliefs which turn out to have precious little basis. 

Merely possessing old traditions does not make them automatically good, wise, accurate or virtuous. It is easy to be spiritual these days. It is the "in" thing. It requires no deep thought, no commitment, no self-sacrifice. 

Many Eastern Orthodox believe that their faith is an intellectual one. We are open to the possibility but sadly have not found much evidence of this. Many Eastern Orthodox believe that their church is authentically grounded in History. We remain open to the possibility, but we have not yet found this to be the case, and we have found much material that has caused us to wonder whether this is the case at all. Most Eastern Orthodox know very little church history themselves, but almost all of them claim to know "someone who knows". 

It does not do any good to read the Philocalia or the Menaion if you cannot authenticate them as legitimate sources. For all you or we know, you might as well be reading Mickey Mouse. Both the Menaion and the Philocalia claim to be very old, but the evidence for that is entirely missing. 

If the Eastern Orthodox beliefs claim to be Intellectual, and intellectually-based, then being able to demonstrate those beliefs intellectually, and their legitimate historic continuity, should be welcomed. 

IF the Eastern Orthodox welcome this approach, then it would mean that they evaluate their own faith to be able to provide the answers. If the Eastern Orthodox Priests and Laymen do not welcome an intellectual approach, this would be one evidence of the opinion and confidence that the Eastern Orthodox have about their own faith. 

Asking hard questions, trying to think for oneself, learning how to find documents or establish their authenticity, those adventures are far more exiting than simply standing and reciting the liturgy for the 380th time. 

Just because a Caste of Priests has trouble finding historical answers, in no way suggests that they cannot be found.