Fraternal Greeting Too Short at My Church

There is a part of a Christian church service when the peace is supposed to be “passed”. In my current parish, Grace Church NYC, this is done in a pretty muted fashion. I timed it before and it takes about 15 seconds, which probably allows most people to pass the peace to 2 people, maybe 3, tops. I regret this brevity. Tilting toward the other end of the spectrum, I found mention of a longer version in a book about the history of church gestures.

Originally (the passing of the peace) meant a kiss...This kiss was however given in a very precise and stylized way. The person giving the peace placed his or her hands under the arms of the person receiving it, leaned his or her head to the left and kissed the right cheek of the person receiving the peace, saying, “The peace of the Lord be always with you.” ... (medieval Christians, uncomfortable with this intimacy) invented the pax-brede, a disk of metal which was passed around and kissed...we are closer to the original idea when we clasp hands gut this needs special understanding. The tone is not “Hi, how are you?” but an expression of desire to be one in Christ, forgiving and forgetting any faults and wrongs.

This is from Lundy Pentz's Body Language, a little book, the kind that you pick up for a 50 cent honor system donation at the back of the church. Pentz is a biology professor. I was surprised to find her book was displayed in full at Google Books.

Comments

[Denise]

Ours goes on for quite a bit- I've never timed it, but I'd render a guess at a full minute. I usually have time to shake hands with everyone in my pew and those across the aisle, but aren't New Yorkers always in a hurry?

[Peter]

I'm rather introverted, but I like to appear friendly. At a Nashville full-gospel church a month ago, I got halfway across the church and was the last one to return to his seat after they called things back to order. Lots of hugs, but no kisses. Kisses go with foot-washing, I think: over-the-top stuff called for in the New Testament but not practiced in most circles.

Did the medieval plate stem in part from the Black Death? I've read that many churches stopped passing around a single cup back then for that reason.

[Denise]

We still use a communal chalice- the medical professional in me shudders at this, but the elders in the church refuse to change- another plague might just do the trick in changing minds.

[Evan]

Grace NYC has a pretty low drink-it to dip-it ratio. I'm way in the minority in actually drinking the wine. I do it for intimacy but if there are no wafers, I think everyone should sip because real bread dips so poorly! Always a crouton ends up in there in the cup for everyone else to stare at...