The Kiss of Peace is an expression of reconciliation and unity between the people present at a liturgical assembly.
It originates with the widespread custom, in the ancient Western Mediterranean world, of people greeting each other with a kiss on the cheek. This was the custom in ancient Judea and was also practiced by Christians.
Scriptural references
It is clearly the custom referred to by Jesus when he defends the sinful woman at the house of Simon the Pharisee: “You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not stopped kissing my feet (Luke 7: 45).
The Apostle Paul instructs the Churches on three separate occasions: “Greet one another with a holy kiss” (Romans 16: 16, 1 Corinthians 16: 20, 2 Corinthians 13: 12). Similarly, Saint Paul tells the Thessalonians, “Greet all the brothers and sisters with a holy kiss” (1 Thessalonians 5: 26). The chief apostle Peter likewise closes his first epistle with the instruction, “Greet one another with a kiss of love” (1 Peter 5: 14).
Early Church
Two early reports concerning the Eucharistic celebration in the early Church confirm that the Kiss of Peace was an integral element of Christian liturgy. Justin Martyr (100-165) clearly echoes the Apostle’s instructions: “Having ended the prayers, we salute one another with a kiss.” Hippolytus of Rome (170-235) gives a more detailed treatment: “After the catechumens have finished praying, they do not give the kiss of peace, for their kiss is not yet pure. But the faithful shall greet one another with a kiss, men with men, and women with women. Men must not greet women with a kiss.”
The Kiss of Peace continued to be part of Christian worship, although its exact location in the service differed according to local custom. In the Roman Rite this exchange takes place at a later point in the Mass because of the understanding that it is a means of preparation for the reception of Holy Communion. In the Byzantine tradition the Kiss of Peace seems to have always been exchanged right before the Anaphora. Its position here is due to a very early interpretation that relates it to the preparation for bringing an offering to the altar, so that one may “first be reconciled to [one’s] brother or sister” in accordance with Mathew 5: 23-24.
Scholars who study the historical development of the Divine Liturgy make some important observations regarding the Kiss of Peace. For example, early sources show clearly that it was originally exchanged not merely among the bishops and priests as today, but among the deacons and lay people as well.
Also, the Kiss of Peace was likely only exchanged between neighboring worshippers, as opposed to everybody in the congregation exchanging with everybody else in the congregation – such a rule meaning that the rite could have been accomplished with a minimum of time and confusion.
Byzantine practice
These same scholars tell us that by the time of Philotheos, Patriarch of Constantinople (latter half of the 14th century) the Kiss of Peace was no longer exchanged among the people in the congregation, but nobody seems to know why, although there is some suggestion that the exchange had become irreverent and disruptive. The practice seems to have died out in the West around the same time.
It is interesting to note that, while today in the Byzantine Rite the Kiss of Peace is usually given on the shoulders, no less a luminary than Saint John Chrysostom (late 4th century) mentions that it was at one time exchanged on the lips. By the end of the 11th century it had become the practice during Great Lent to kiss only on the shoulders, not on the lips.
That the Kiss of Peace was an element of the liturgy also in the lands of Rus’-Ukraine is evidenced by various Slavic manuscripts of rubrics, and some of these even as late as the 17th century include the rubric “і цілуються в уста” (“and they kiss on the lips”) (although by this time it was likely a directive only for the clergy).
Even today this giving and receiving of the Kiss of Peace by everyone in the congregation (clergy and laity alike) remains in the rubrics of the ritual of forgiveness at the beginning of Great Lent during Forgiveness Vespers and at the exchange of the Paschal Kiss (also between clergy and laity alike) during Resurrection Matins.
In the Latin Rite, the “offering of peace to one another” (note the terminology) was restored in 1969 following the directives of the Second Vatican Council. This initiative specified that the exchange was to be carried out according to the customs and mentality of the people, as determined by local bishops’ conferences.
General Directives
In accordance with the Byzantine tradition, the liturgical rite is referred to as The Kiss of Peace.
In essence, the Kiss of Peace is not a mere salutation or greeting, but rather a public profession of love for one another and a sign of mutual forgiveness, which precedes the Symbol of Faith (The Nicene Creed). Mutual love for one another and unity in the true faith are essential prerequisites for the celebration of the Eucharist.
Praxis
In the Divine Liturgy, after the Great Entrance and the Litany for the Gifts, the priest faces the people and blesses, saying: Peace be with all. The choir responds: And with your spirit. The priest remains standing at the Royal Doors, facing the people.
The deacon, standing at his usual place before the iconostasis, turns to the faithful (if no deacon, then the priest, facing the people) continues: Let us love one another so that we may be of one mind in confessing. The choir responds: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, the Trinity, one in being and undivided.
The Kiss of Peace among the laity may be offered in the following ways:
By shaking hands; or By a reverent bow toward our neighbor.
The one who initiates the greeting says, Christ is among us; while the one who receives the greeting responds, He is and will be! At certain times of the year, this exchange is replaced by the appropriate festal greeting, for example, “Christ is Risen!”, “Indeed He is Risen!”