ἐφόδιον,
Viaticum, i.e. provision for a journey, and here for the
journey through this life. It is applied metaphorically by other
Fathers (a) in this general sense, to the reading of Holy Scripture,
Prayer, and Baptism, and (b) in a special sense to the Holy Eucharist
when administered to the sick and dying, as a preparation for departure
to the life after death. Council of Nicæa (a.d. 325), Canon xiii. “With respect to the
dying, the old rule of the Church should continue to be observed, which
forbids that any one who is on the point of death should be deprived of
the last and most necessary viaticum (ἐφόδιον).”