Holy kiss

Farewell of Saints Peter and Paul, showing the Apostles giving each other the holy kiss before their martyrdom. (Alonzo Rodriguez, 16th century, Museo Regionale di Messina).

The holy kiss is an ancient traditional Christian greeting, also called the kiss of peace or kiss of charity, and sometimes the "brother kiss" (among men), or the "sister kiss" (among women). Such greetings signify a wish and blessing that peace be with the recipient, and besides their spontaneous uses they have certain ritualized or formalized uses long established in Christian liturgy.

In the New Testament of the Christian Bible, the injunction for believers to greet one another with a holy kiss is given in five verses.[1] The early Christian apologist Tertullian wrote that before leaving a house, Christians are to give the holy kiss and say "peace to this house".[2] Apostolic Constitutions likewise declared "Then let the men apart, and the women apart, salute each other with a kiss in the Lord."[3]

Among Conservative Anabaptists, such as the Conservative Mennonite churches and the Dunkard Brethren Church, the holy kiss is counted as an ordinance of the Church.[4][5] As such, denominations of Conservative Anabaptism observe the practice of the holy kiss.[5] Other denominations (such as the Catholic Church and Lutheran Churches) use various forms of greeting to serve equivalent purposes; these include kisses, handshakes, gestures or hugs, any of which may be called a sign of peace.

  1. ^ Rice, John R. (August 2000). Courtship and the Dangers of Petting. Sword of the Lord Publishers. p. 5. ISBN 978-0-87398-120-0. And five times in the New Testament, Christians are commanded to salute or greet one another with a holy kiss, or the kiss of brotherly love (Rom. 16:16; I Cor. 16:20; II Cor. 13:12; I Thess. 5:26; I Pet. 5:14). We suppose that in most cases, if not in all cases, it was intended that Christian men should greet Christian men with a kiss, and Christian women should greet Christian women so.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Stutzman2011 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ McDaniel, Michael (2006). "The Holy Kiss" (PDF). The Heartbeat of The Remnant. Ephrata Ministries. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  4. ^ Hartzler, Rachel Nafziger (30 April 2013). No Strings Attached: Boundary Lines in Pleasant Places: A History of Warren Street / Pleasant Oaks Mennonite Church. Wipf and Stock Publishers. ISBN 978-1-62189-635-7.
  5. ^ a b Dunkard Brethren Church Polity. Dunkard Brethren Church. 1 November 2021. p. 6.