1 Thessalonians 5:26

Greet all the brethren with a holy kiss Better, Salute (R. V.). The kiss, as the common sign of affection amongst kindred and near friends in meeting or parting, was universal in the primitive Christian assemblies, and is still a usage of the Greek and Oriental Churches, especially at Holy Communion. In the West the ceremony gradually died out during the Middle Ages. It was unsuitable to the reserved manners of the Germanic races. The custom was naturally liable to abuse and suspicion, when the simplicity of primitive Christian feeling declined; and it became the subject of numerous regulations in early Councils. The Apostle desires "a holy kiss" to be exchanged by those who heard the Epistle read, as an expression through the Church of his love to each of its members. So in Romans 16:16, after bidding the Church "salute" by name a number of his personal acquaintances, he includes all present at the reading of the letter by saying, "Salute one another with a holy kiss." The same thing is said in 1 Corinthians 16:20, followed by the words, "My love be with you all in Christ Jesus;" also in 2 Corinthians 13:12. In 1 Peter 5:14 the salutation is called "a kiss of love."