The Miracle Chapati or Chapati Jesus is a chapati, or flat unleavened bread, roughly eight centimeters in diameter with, what believers claim, is an image of Christ miraculously burnt on it. The chapati was baked by Sheela Antony of Bangalore, India in early September 2002, enshrined in Bangalore, and visited by thousands of believers and curious onlookers. [1]
The baker of the Miracle Chapati, Sheela Antony, a devout Catholic, baked dozens of chapatis daily. One day in September 2002, she had given her children some to eat. Her daughter refused to eat one, remarking that it was burnt. Anthony was on the verge of discarding it, [2] but on inspection noticed that the burn mark resembled Christ, an opinion confirmed by her daughter and many of her neighbours. She handed it over to her parish priest, George Jacob, who agreed and promptly pronounced it a miracle. It was then put it in a glass case for exhibition. [3]
Over the next few days, nearly 20,000 Christians traveling from as far as Mysore and Chennai went to the central shrine of the Retreat Centre, where the chapati was on display, to pay homage and offer prayers to this piece of bread. Apart from Christians, a number of Hindus and Muslims also visited the Centre to view the chapati. Information on the chapati was broadcast on Indian national television and reported by The Times of India, The Times and the British Broadcasting Corporation. [4]
One Indian journalist, initially skeptical, claimed to have "different feelings" on witnessing the bread in person. [1]
Skeptics[ who? ] assert that the mind often sees what it wishes to, and that the chapati does not actually resemble Jesus any more than it could resemble South America, albeit from a different angle. [5] Furthermore, as there are no contemporary descriptions or likenesses of Jesus known, it is impossible to know what Jesus looks like.
Matzah, matzo, or maẓẓah is an unleavened flatbread that is part of Jewish cuisine and forms an integral element of the Passover festival, during which chametz is forbidden.
Transubstantiation is, according to the teaching of the Catholic Church, "the change of the whole substance of bread into the substance of the Body of Christ and of the whole substance of wine into the substance of the Blood of Christ". This change is brought about in the eucharistic prayer through the efficacy of the word of Christ and by the action of the Holy Spirit. However, "the outward characteristics of bread and wine, that is the 'eucharistic species', remain unaltered". In this teaching, the notions of "substance" and "transubstantiation" are not linked with any particular theory of metaphysics.
Chapati, also known as roti, rooti, rotee, rotli, rotta, safati, shabaati, phulka, chapo, sada roti, poli, and roshi, is an unleavened flatbread originating from the Indian subcontinent and is a staple in India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Kyrgyzstan, Sri Lanka, the Arabian Peninsula, East Africa, and the Caribbean. Chapatis are made of whole-wheat flour known as atta, mixed into dough with water, oil (optional), and salt (optional) in a mixing utensil called a parat, and are cooked on a tava.
Roti is a round flatbread originating from the Indian subcontinent. It is commonly consumed in many South Asian, Southeast Asian, Caribbean, and Southeast African countries.
The ichthys or ichthus, from the Greek ikhthū́s is a symbol consisting of two intersecting arcs, the ends of the right side extending beyond the meeting point so as to resemble the profile of a fish. It has been speculated that the symbol was adopted by early Christians as a secret symbol; a shibboleth to determine if another was indeed Christian. It is now known colloquially as the "Jesus fish".
In Christianity, a disciple is a dedicated follower of Jesus. This term is found in the New Testament only in the Gospels and Acts. Originating in the ancient Near East, the concept of a disciple is an adherent of a teacher. Discipleship is not the same as being a student in the modern sense; a disciple in the ancient biblical world actively imitated both the life and teaching of the master. It was a deliberate apprenticeship which made the fully formed disciple a living copy of the master.
The real presence of Christ in the Eucharist is the Christian doctrine that Jesus Christ is present in the Eucharist, not merely symbolically or metaphorically, but in a true, real and substantial way.
The miracles of Jesus are miraculous deeds attributed to Jesus in Christian and Islamic texts. The majority are faith healings, exorcisms, resurrections, and control over nature.
Sacramental bread, also called Communion bread, Communion wafer, Sacred host, Eucharistic bread, the Lamb or simply the host, is the bread used in the Christian ritual of the Eucharist. Along with sacramental wine, it is one of two elements of the Eucharist. The bread may be either leavened or unleavened, depending on tradition.
The Words of Institution, also called the Words of Consecration, are words echoing those of Jesus himself at his Last Supper that, when consecrating bread and wine, Christian eucharistic liturgies include in a narrative of that event. Eucharistic scholars sometimes refer to them simply as the verba.
Eucharistic miracle is any miracle involving the Eucharist, regarding which the most important Christian denominations, especially the Catholic Church, teach that Christ is truly present in the Eucharist, which is by itself a Eucharistic miracle; however, this is to be distinguished from other manifestations of God. Eucharistic miracles are most known and emphasized within the context of the Catholic Church, which distinguishes between divine revelation, such as the Eucharist, and private revelation, such as Eucharistic miracles.
Eucharistic theology is a branch of Christian theology which treats doctrines concerning the Holy Eucharist, also commonly known as the Lord's Supper and Holy Communion.
People have been found to perceive images with spiritual or religious themes or import, sometimes called iconoplasms or simulacra, in the shapes of natural phenomena. The images perceived, whether iconic or aniconic, may be the faces of religious notables or the manifestation of spiritual symbols in the natural, organic media or phenomena of the natural world. The occurrence or event of perception may be transient or fleeting or may be more enduring and monumental. The phenomenon appears to approach a cultural universal and may often accompany nature worship, animism, and fetishism, along with more formal or organized belief systems.
Sacramental union is the Lutheran theological doctrine of the Real Presence of the body and blood of Christ in the Christian Eucharist.
Eucharist is the name that Catholic Christians give to the sacrament by which, according to their belief, the body and blood of Christ are present in the bread and wine consecrated during the Catholic eucharistic liturgy, generally known as the Mass. The definition of the Eucharist in the 1983 Code of Canon Law as the sacrament where Christ himself “is contained, offered, and received” points to the three aspects of the Eucharist according to Catholic theology: the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist, Holy Communion, and the holy sacrifice of the Mass.
Easter traditions are customs and practices that are followed in various cultures and communities around the world to celebrate Easter, which is the central feast in Christianity, commemorating the resurrection of Jesus. The Easter season is seen as a time of celebration and feasting, in contrast to the antecedent season of Lent, which is a time of penitence and fasting.
The holiday of Easter is associated with various Easter customs and foodways. Preparing, coloring, and decorating Easter eggs is one such popular tradition. Lamb is eaten in many countries, mirroring the Jewish Passover meal.
Bread has a significance beyond mere nutrition in many cultures in the Western world and Asia because of its history and contemporary importance. Bread is also significant in Christianity as one of the elements of the Eucharist; see sacramental bread. The word companion comes from Latin com- "with" + panis "bread".
Chapati also known as roti, safati, shabaati, phulka and roshi, is an unleavened flatbread originating from the Indian subcontinent.