Anagape feast, orlove feast,[b] refers to acommunal meal thatChristians and others such asFreemasons share.[2] The name derives from theKoine Greek wordἀγάπη (agápē), meaning divine love.
Theearly church began the practice of agape meals to foster fellowship among believers.[2][3] These early Christians initially celebrated theEucharist as part of the love feast, but between the late 1st century and around 250 AD, the two rites became distinct.[4][5][6] Today, churches that revive this tradition typically use terms like "love feast" to describe meals distinct from the Eucharist.[7] In theEastern Orthodox Church and variouspietistic traditions, Christians continue to celebrate love feasts to strengthen fellowship among parishioners.[8]
Scripture mentions the agape meal inJude 1:12, and many scholars describe it as a "common meal of the early church."[9] TheNew Testament contains additional references to such meals, including1 Corinthians 11:17–34, andIgnatius of Antioch, in hisLetter to the Smyrnaeans, uses the wordagape. Around 111 AD,Pliny the Younger wrote toEmperor Trajan describing how Christians met on a set day to offer prayers to Christ and then returned later in the day to share a "harmless meal."[10][7]
TheCoptic tradition preserves similar descriptions of communal meals, especially in writings attributed toHippolytus of Rome, though he does not use the termagape. In contrast,Tertullian does use the term. By the timeCyprian (d. 258 AD) wrote, the Church had separated the Eucharist from the agape, reserving the Eucharist for the morning and the agape for evening fellowship.[7] TheSynod of Gangra (340 AD) mentioned love feasts in condemning a heretic who forbade his followers from attending them.[11]
Although theQuinisext Council of 692 AD still referred to the agape feast, most churches soon abandoned the practice—except for churches inEthiopia andIndia.[7][12] In 1800,Carmelite friarPaolino da San Bartolomeo observed that the ancientSaint Thomas Christians in India continued to celebrate the agape meal using their traditional dish,appam.[12][13] In the 18th century,Radical Pietist groups such as theSchwarzenau Brethren and theMoravian Church also embraced the love feast. TheMethodist Church continues this tradition today.[8]
In more recent times,Anglicans and groups involved in the Americanhouse church movement have either revived or adopted similar practices.[14] The love feast has also served as anecumenical tool, fostering unity between Methodists, Anglicans, and others.[15][16]
Paul the Apostle'sFirst Epistle to the Corinthians provides the earliest reference to a meal of the type calledagape, although the term appears only implicitly in 1 Corinthians 13. ManyNew Testament scholars believe that the Christians in Corinth met in the evening to share a common meal that included a sacramental act involving bread and wine.[17] In 1 Corinthians 11:20–34, Paul associates the rite with participation in a more general communal meal.[18] This meal involved participants bringing their food and eating together in a common room. However, the gathering sometimes deteriorated into mere eating and drinking or displays of wealth, especially in Corinth, which drew Paul's sharp criticism:
"I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and to some extent I believe it. No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God's approval. When you come together, it is not the Lord's Supper you eat, for as you eat, each of you goes ahead without waiting for anybody else. One remains hungry, another gets drunk. Don't you have homes to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing?"[19]
The Greek termagápē (ἀγάπη) also describes meals in Jude 1:12 and some manuscripts of 2 Peter 2:13.[20][21]
Shortly after 100 AD,Ignatius of Antioch mentioned the agape feast.[22] Around 112 AD,Pliny the Younger wrote to EmperorTrajan, reporting that Christians met before dawn, prayed to Christ as a divinity, took solemn oaths to avoid wrongdoing, and then gathered to share a harmless common meal, likely the agape feast.[23][24] Corinthian selfishness and gluttony caused the rescheduling of this meal.[25]
Tertullian also wrote about these meals,[26][27] though his descriptions remain somewhat unclear.[7]
Clement of Alexandria (c. 150–216 AD) distinguished between luxurious agape meals and the spiritualagape expressed through participation in the food that comes from Christ.[28] Critics sometimes accused these banquets of gross indecency.[29] Philip Schaff, referring to Clement'sStromata (III, 2), explained that the Christianagape likely disappeared early due to abuse by groups like theCarpocratians. Genuineagapæ were apostolic in origin (2 Peter 2:13; Jude 12), but hypocrites sometimes abused them even during apostolic times (1 Corinthians 11:21). In theGallican Rite, remnants survive in thepain béni; in theEastern Orthodox Church, in theἀντίδωρον (antidoron) oreulogiæ, also known asprosphora, distributed to non-communicants after theDivine Liturgy.[30]
Augustine of Hippo condemned drunkenness at meals in North Africa that accompanied funerals or commemorations, distinguishing such meals from the Eucharist. He wrote, "Let us take the body of Christ in communion with those with whom we are forbidden to eat even the bread which sustains our bodies."[31] He noted that Milan had already forbidden such customs before his arrival.
TheCouncil of Laodicea (364) issued Canons 27 and 28 to restrict abuses like taking home provisions and holding meals in churches.[32] TheThird Council of Carthage (393) and theSecond Council of Orléans (541) reaffirmed prohibitions on feasting in churches. TheQuinisext Council (Trullan Council) of 692 forbade offering honey and milk on altars (Canon 57) and excommunicated those holding love feasts in churches (Canon 74).[33][34]
The ancientSaint Thomas Christians ofIndia continued celebrating agape feasts, featuring their traditional dishappam.[12][13]
The medievalGeorgian Orthodox Church used the termagapi for commemorative meals or distributions of food to clergy, the poor, or travelers during funeral anniversaries. Legacies and foundations ensured these meals' continued celebration.[35]
After theProtestant Reformation, some Christian groups sought to revive practices from theNew Testament Church. TheSchwarzenau Brethren (1708) included a love feast—comprising feet washing, a shared meal, and the Eucharist—among their "outward yet sacred" ordinances. TheMoravian Church, led byCount Zinzendorf, adopted a form involving a simple meal, testimonies or devotional addresses, and missionary letters.[36]
John Wesley, founder ofMethodism, admired the Moravians during his travels to America. After hisconversion in 1738, he introduced the love feast to Methodism. Because ordained ministers were scarce, Methodists used the love feast as an alternative toHoly Communion.Primitive Methodists especially celebrated love feasts before their decline in the nineteenth century.[37]
Several Oriental Orthodox churches continue the tradition of the agape meal, including theSaint Thomas Christians ofIndia.[8] Many attendees travel long distances to participate, and priests preside over these love feasts.[38] Communities often celebrate love feasts to mark the ordination of a new priest, with attendees bringing gifts.[38] TheEthiopian Orthodox Church celebrates the agape feast every Saturday, and manyCoptic Orthodox churches also maintain this practice.[39]
TheSchwarzenau Brethren groups, including the largest body, theChurch of the Brethren, regularly hold love feasts featuringfeetwashing, a communal supper, and communion, accompanied by hymns and scriptural meditations.[40]
Descendants of the Schwarzenau Brethren, such as theBrethren Church,Old German Baptist Brethren, andDunkard Brethren, continue practicing love feasts rooted inNew Testament accounts of theLast Supper. TheGrace Brethren also observe the love feast. Typically, the Brethren combine the agape meal (often including lamb or beef and soup) with feetwashing before the meal and communion afterward. They generally use the term "love feast" to describe all three ordinances collectively. GermanRadical Pietism influenced the Brethren's early 18th-century establishment of the love feast, predating Moravian adoption.[41]
TheMoravian Church models its love feast on the early church's agape meals described in theActs of the Apostles, emphasizing unity and love. In European, Canadian, and American congregations, servers calleddieners distribute sweetened buns and coffee (or sweetened milky tea in parts of Europe) to worshippers seated in the pews. Congregational food and drink vary depending on availability; early colonial love feasts sometimes featured plain bread and water.[42]
Moravian love feasts focus heavily on hymn singing and music, often performed by an organ or choir. Hymns celebrate love and harmony, and attendees may quietly share testimonies or spiritual reflections. Christmas Eve love feasts frequently include elaborate musical performances, sometimes featuring trombone choirs or church bands as a call to worship.[43]
Congregations hold love feasts on special occasions such as church founding anniversaries. Regularly observed dates includeNew Year's Eve (with aWatchnight service),Good Friday, 13 August (commemorating the 1727 Moravian renewal), and Christmas Eve, when attendees receive lighted candles along with the bun and coffee.[43]
Methodists hold love feasts quarterly and on major feast day evenings, as well as duringcamp meetings.[15] They regard love feasts as a "means of grace" and a "converting ordinance," whichJohn Wesley affirmed as apostolic in origin.[15] A July 1776 account describes participants experiencing new birth and sanctification during the love feast:[15]: 93–94
We held our general love-feast. It began between eight and nine on Wednesday morning and continued till noon. Many testified that they had 'redemption in the blood of Jesus, even the forgiveness of sins.' And many were enabled to declare that it had 'cleansed them from all sin.' So clear, so full, so strong was their testimony that while some were speaking their experience, hundreds were in tears, and others vehemently crying to God for pardon or holiness. About eight o'clock, ourwatch-night began. Mr. J. preached an excellent sermon; the rest of the preachers exhorted and prayed with divine energy. Surely, for the work wrought on these two days, many will praise God to all eternity.
Methodist love feasts typically include:[15]
Certain Methodist groups such as theMissionary Methodist Church and New Congregational Methodist Church also practicefootwashing.[44][45]
In theWesleyan Methodist Church, love feasts consist of bread and water from the loving-cup.[8][46] These love feasts aim to "promote piety, mutual affection and zeal".[8] Unlike Methodist Eucharist, love feasts are traditionally fenced, restricted to members, though non-members may attend once.[15]
Several Methodist hymns, including Charles Wesley's 1740 "The Love-Feast," were composed for this ritual:[15]
Come and let us sweetly join
Christ to praise in hymns divine;
Give we all, with one accord.
Glory to our common Lord.
Hands and hearts and voices raise;
Sing as in the ancient days;
Antedate the joys above,
Celebrate the feast of love.
Liturgical books of theAfrican Methodist Episcopal Church,African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church,Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, andUnited Methodist Church all include love feast services.[47]
Primitive Methodist Church congregations often hold large potluck-style love feasts.[48]
TheEvangelical Wesleyan Church Discipline mandates a quarterly love feast on each circuit, typically involving bread-breaking, praise, and testimony.[49] TheAllegheny Wesleyan Methodist Connection Discipline tasks pastors with holding love feasts.[50]
ManyEastern Orthodox Christian parishes hold agape meals (in Turkish,sevgi ziyafeti), commonly calledcoffee hour (Spanish:café comunitario), on Sundays and feast days following theDivine Liturgy, especially after thePaschal Vigil.[51]
The CatholicNeocatechumenal Way regularly incorporates an agape meal in the form of a light feast following the Eucharist on certain occasions.[52] Outside this, Catholic love feasts vary widely with local customs. Parishes often celebrate major festivals like apatron saint's day or theFeast of Corpus Christi with parish-wide food and drink. Common post-Mass traditions include informal gatherings with coffee and doughnuts, or communal meals and snack after the early-morningRorate Mass preceding Christmas. The festive Sunday family lunch or dinner often serves as ade facto love feast.[53]
TheCreation Seventh Day Adventists observe an agape feast as part of their New Moon celebrations, holding formal all-natural meals after the communion supper.[54]
For the early Christians, theagape signified the importance of fellowship. It was a ritual to celebrate the joy of eating, pleasure, and company.
During the days of the Early Church, the believers would all gather together to share what was known as an agape feast, or 'love feast.' Those who could afford to bring food brought it to the feast and shared it with the other believers.
The Christians of St. Thomas, says Fra. Paolino still celebrated their Agapae, or love-feasts, as was usual in former times.
An ecumenical approach for Catholics and Anglicans, along with Methodists, can be found Paul Caleb Roland's article "Wesley's Method Part I: Frequent Reception of Communion and the Love Feast."
Sed maioris est agape, quia per hanc adulescentes tui cum sororibus dormiunt. Appendices scilicet gulae lascivia et luxuriae
