In spite of its ambiguous use of mythic symbols and themes, the history of Christian doctrine,
from its origins to the present day, testifies to the systematic
excision of legendary and mythical elements from Christian orthodoxy.
Even folk practices, based on legend, were policed and suppressed.
In 692, for example, the Quinisext Council (also known as the Trullan Synod), an episcopal council convoked by the Byzantine emperor Justinian II, prohibited baking bread in the form of the Virgin Mary’s placenta, as was the custom on the afterbirth day (that is, the day after Christ’s birth).
