The kiss of peace is an ancient traditional Christian greeting, also called the holy kiss, 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 liturgy. Many denominations use other forms of greeting (besides literal kisses) to serve equivalent purposes; these include handshakes, gestures, and hugs, any of which may be called a sign of peace.
History
It was the widespread custom in the ancient western Mediterranean for men to greet each other with a kiss. That was also the custom in ancient Judea and practiced also by Christians. However, the New Testament's references to a holy kiss (, ) and kiss of love () transformed the character of the act beyond a greeting; furthermore, in the early Church, "the verbal exchange of 'peace' with a kiss appears to be a Christian innovation, there being no clear example in pre-Christian literature." The holy kiss was thus followed as a biblical teaching, rather than a cultural tradition. Such a kiss is mentioned five times in the concluding section of letters in the New Testament:
Romans 16:16—"Greet one another with a holy kiss" (Greek: ). 1 Corinthians 16:20—"Greet one another with a holy kiss" (Greek: ). 2 Corinthians 13:12—"Greet one another with a holy kiss" (Greek: ). 1 Thessalonians 5:26—"Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss" (Greek: ). 1 Peter 5:14—"Greet one another with a kiss of love" (Greek: ).
The early Christian apologist Tertullian wrote that before leaving a house, Christians are to give the holy kiss and say "peace to this house".
Since the aforementioned epistles were addressed to Christian communities they would most probably have been read in the context of their communal worship. It has been noted that these mentions of the holy kiss come at the end of these epistles, indicating "that the kiss was shared in conjunction with the benedictions at the conclusion of worship services" though it soon "became associated with the Eucharist" and thus "its location during the worship service moved forward in time to the celebration of Communion." The holy kiss was seen as an essential part of preparing to partake in the Eucharist:
For the early Christians, the holy kiss "was associated with the peace and unity given by the Holy Spirit to the congregation."
The writings of the early church fathers speak of the holy kiss, which they call "a sign of peace", which was already part of the Eucharistic liturgy, occurring after the Lord's Prayer in the Roman Rite and the rites directly derived from it. St. Augustine, for example, speaks of it in one of his Easter Sermons:
Augustine's Sermon 227 is just one of several early Christian primary sources, both textual and iconographic (i.e., in works of art) providing clear evidence that the "kiss of peace" as practiced in the Christian liturgy was customarily exchanged for the first several centuries, not mouth to cheek, but mouth to mouth (note that men were separated from women during the liturgy) for, as the primary sources also show, this is how early Christians believed Christ and his followers exchanged their own kiss. For example, in his (), Latin priest-poet Sedulius condemns Judas and his betrayal of Christ with a kiss thus, "And leading that sacrilegious mob with its menacing swords and spikes, you press your mouth against his, and infuse your poison into his honey?"
The kiss of peace was known in Greek from an early date as (, "peace", which became in Latin and peace in English). The source of the peace greeting is probably from the common Hebrew greeting ; and the greeting "Peace be with you" is similarly a translation of the Hebrew . In the Gospels, both greetings were used by Jesus – e.g. Luke 24:36; John 20:21, John 20:26. The Latin term translated as "sign of peace" is simply ("peace"), not ("sign of peace") nor ("kiss of peace"). So the invitation by the deacon, or in his absence by the priest, "Let us offer each other the sign of peace", is in Latin: ("Offer each other peace" or "Offer each other the peace").
From an early date, to guard against any abuse of this form of salutation, women and men were required to sit separately, and the kiss of peace was given only by women to women and by men to men, with closed mouths.
The holy kiss was distinguished as a ritual only to be partaken of by baptized Christians, with catechumens and non-Christians not being greeted this way. Apostolic Tradition specified with regard to catechumens: "When they have prayed they shall not give the kiss of peace for their kiss is not yet holy".