Patin

The patin is a liturgical vessel used during the consecration and cutting of the communion bread. During the Russian Orthodox liturgy, the patin symbolises both the manger in which Jesus was born in Bethlehem and the Lord’s Sepulchre. Like the communion cup, the patin was regarded as a holy vessel. Its iconography addresses the sacrificial and paschal symbolism of the communion service and the theme of the celestial service of Christ the Lamb.