azyma (ἄζυμα)
- Language: Greek
- Romanized: azyma
- Original script: ἄζυμα
- Gloss: unleavened things
The term behind the medieval azymes dispute in The Schism Over Leaven. The plural neuter names the unleavened breads of Passover and stands at the center of the East-West argument over the valid matter of the Eucharist.
Concordance Aid
Reading Note
Example passages: Exodus 12; Matthew 26:17; 1 Corinthians 5:7-8; the East-West leaven dispute.
Azyma carries more than a recipe. In Passover memory and later Christian controversy, unleavened bread becomes a marker of time, purity, identity, and ecclesial argument. A small bread word becomes a cultural boundary marker.
Translation Range
Unleavened things, unleavened bread, Passover loaves.
Not To Be Confused With
Azyma is not the same thing as prosphora. Azyma names unleavened bread; prosphora names offering bread, especially in Greek Orthodox liturgical use.
Translator’s Choice
Translating azyma as “unleavened bread” is usually clearer than leaving it as “azymes.” The older term is useful when discussing the medieval controversy itself.
Related entries
- Prosphora — Greek (leavened) offering loaves
- Eucharisteo — to give thanks
- Artos — bread, loaf