The Holy Kiss

By Mark W. Christy, PhD

In the New Testament, the practice of kissing as a method of greeting and offering public displays of brotherly and sisterly affection seems to have been quite common. Once, when Paul was about to board a ship after having announced his departure and leading the believers to sense that they would never see him again, they “we[pt] aloud and embraced Paul, and repeatedly kissed him” (Acts 20:37).[i] Throughout the epistles, one finds Paul and even Peter repeatedly telling their audience to make use of the “holy kiss” in their greeting of one another (Rom 16:16; 1 Cor 16:20; 2 Cor 13:12; 1 Thess 5:26; 1 Pet 5:14). Since this custom is no longer commonly practiced in modern churches, many remain unclear about its meaning.

The kiss, it seems, was a common form of greeting in Paul’s time and continued being practiced as a formal part of worship in Western churches until around the 13^th century when it began to be replaced with embracing.[ii] During the 2^nd century AD, Justin Martyr (100-165 AD) mentions that the holy kiss was performed during the worship service right before communion was received.[iii] At the close of that century, Clement of Alexandria (150-215 AD) expressed concern that this act may be performed in an inappropriate way among some churches.[iv]

[i]Scripture references are taken from NASB1995.

[ii]Stephen Benko, Pagan Rome and the Early Christians (Bloomington, IN: Indiana University, 1984), 79-102;

[iii]Justin, Apol. 1.65.

[iv]Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor, 11.