“Erban” - albeit a byzantinization, has been distributed in a great deal of Maronite parishes I’ve visited. Even the name (قربان) means sacrifice referring to the fact that it is a host. It is decontextualized antidoron. Likewise, it is not entirely foreign for the children to ask the priest for unconsecrated hosts.
Just to clarify, even the use of the term “qourban” is likewise a byzantinization. In any case, yes, it’s done in some maronite parishes (at least in the US) but the bread itself is normally also of the Byzantine style but slightly sweetened. When I’ve seen it done, though, it was always after a funeral or 40-Day Memorial or anniversary for a departed parishioner. (In some places in the Patriarchal Territories, I believe the traditional sweetened hull wheat is still used for that.) FYI, at one time, those loaves were commercially available in Brooklyn (the bakery was owned and operated by AOC folks).
Please expand on this. Is it a Greek word?
No, it’s an Arabic word.
So, how is it a byzantinization? Isn’t Arabic the vernacular for the Maronite Church in the Middle East?
Unfortunately yes, it is the vernacular. In any case, it’s the use of the term itself (along with the practice of distributing the bread as a type of antidoron) that is a byzantinization. Both are merely an imitation of Melkite/AOC custom and usage.
I believe our parish switched to this after an emergency room trip to reattach a finger tip . . . It’s supposed to be His blood, not the priest’s
