I. In the Liturgy

The paten (Lat. patena, from Gk πατάνη/patánē, “flat dish”) serves as a container for the consecrated bread of the Eucharist; it is a functional parallel to the chalice holding the wine (Liturgical vessels, Liturgical implements). Originally it was as a platter on which the bread was broken and arranged; after the change to smaller hosts in West, it was reduced to a flat plate for a host, 12–20 cm in diameter, fitted to the top of the chalice (unlike the δίσκος/dískos used in the East). In Catholic and E…