1 Corinthians 16:20

1 Corinthians 16:20. All the brethren salute you. Salute one another with a holy kiss. This custom, which prevailed among the Jews, came doubtless from the East, where it still prevails as the mode of friendly recognition. Its adoption into the churches, as a symbol of a higher fellowship, would, in these circumstances, be almost instinctive, spontaneous, and immediate. In the present case the apostle probably meant that, on the reading of his Letter aloud in the assemblies, with the greetings expressed in it, they should in this way express their mutual affection (see Romans 16:16; 1 Thessalonians 5:26; 1 Peter 5:14). The practice thus came to have a fixed place in the church service coming in usually after the celebration of the Lord's Supper. It continued in use for a long time; but as the Church spread westwards, encountering more staid ideas and less demonstrative habits, the practice would grow less frequent. As a matter of principle, it will ever be the wisdom of churches, in such matters, to study the state of society and local ideas and usages; for what in one place is regarded as but a common expression of good feeling would in another be thought to border on indelicacy.