“τὰς
εὐλογίας. The
word has this meaning in Chrysostom and Cyril of Alexandria also;
afterwards it came to signify consecrated bread, distinct from that of
the Eucharist. Vid. Bingham, Antiq. xv. 4, §
3.” (R.W.C.)
The custom of sending the bread of the
Eucharist was forbidden in the latter part of the 4th century by the
Synod of Laodicea, Canon 14: “At Easter the Host shall no
more be sent into foreign dioceses as
eulogiae.” Bp. Hefele (Councils II. p.
308) says—“It was a custom in the ancient Church, not
indeed to consecrate, but to bless those of the several breads of the
same form laid on the altar which were not needed for the Communion,
and to employ them partly for the maintenance of the Clergy, and partly
for distributing them to those of the faithful who did not communicate
at the Mass.” See Eusebius (Hist. Eccles. V.
24), with the note thereon in this Series.