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An agape feast, or love feast, refers to a communal meal that Christians and others such as Freemasons share. The name derives from the Koine Greek word ἀγάπη (agape]]), meaning divine love.
The early church began the practice of agape meals to foster fellowship among believers. These early Christians initially celebrated the Eucharist as part of the love feast, but between the late 1st century and around 250 AD, the two rites became distinct. Today, churches that revive this tradition typically use terms like "love feast" to describe meals distinct from the Eucharist. In the Eastern Orthodox Church and various Pietism traditions, Christians continue to celebrate love feasts to strengthen fellowship among parishioners.
Scripture mentions the agape meal in , and many scholars describe it as a "common meal of the early church." The New Testament contains additional references to such meals, including , and Ignatius of Antioch, in his Letter to the Smyrnaeans, uses the word agape. Around 111 AD, Pliny the Younger wrote to 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."
The Coptic tradition preserves similar descriptions of communal meals, especially in writings attributed to Hippolytus of Rome, though he does not use the term agape. In contrast, Tertullian does use the term. By the time Cyprian (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. The Synod of Gangra (340 AD) mentioned love feasts in condemning a heretic who forbade his followers from attending them.
Although the Quinisext Council of 692 AD still referred to the agape feast, most churches soon abandoned the practice—except for churches in Ethiopia and India. In 1800, Carmelites friar Paolino da San Bartolomeo observed that the ancient Saint Thomas Christians in India continued to celebrate the agape meal using their traditional dish, appam. In the 18th century, Radical Pietism groups such as the Schwarzenau Brethren and the Moravian Church also embraced the love feast. The Methodist Church continues this tradition today.
In more recent times, Anglicanism and groups involved in the American house church movement have either revived or adopted similar practices. The love feast has also served as an ecumenism tool, fostering unity between Methodists, Anglicans, and others.
"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?"The Greek term agápē (ἀγάπη) also describes meals in Jude 1:12 and some manuscripts of 2 Peter 2:13.
Shortly after 100 AD, Ignatius of Antioch mentioned the agape feast. Around 112 AD, Pliny the Younger wrote to Emperor Trajan, 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."They met on a stated day before it was light, and addressed a form of prayer to Christ, as to a divinity, binding themselves by a solemn oath, not for any wicked design, but never to commit any fraud, theft, or adultery, never to falsify their word, nor deny a trust when they should be called upon to deliver it up; after which it was their custom to separate, and then reassemble, to eat in common a harmless meal." Corinthian selfishness and gluttony caused the rescheduling of this meal.
Tertullian also wrote about these meals, though his descriptions remain somewhat unclear.
Clement of Alexandria (c. 150–216 AD) distinguished between luxurious agape meals and the spiritual agape expressed through participation in the food that comes from Christ. Critics sometimes accused these banquets of gross indecency. Philip Schaff, referring to Clement's Stromata (III, 2), explained that the Christian agape likely disappeared early due to abuse by groups like the Carpocratians. Genuine agapæ were apostolic in origin (2 Peter 2:13; Jude 12), but hypocrites sometimes abused them even during apostolic times (1 Corinthians 11:21). In the Gallican Rite, remnants survive in the pain béni; in the Eastern Orthodox Church, in the ἀντίδωρον ( antidoron) or eulogiæ, also known as prosphora, distributed to non-communicants after the Divine Liturgy.
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." He noted that Milan had already forbidden such customs before his arrival.
The Council of Laodicea (364) issued Canons 27 and 28 to restrict abuses like taking home provisions and holding meals in churches. The Third Council of Carthage (393) and the Second Council of Orléans (541) reaffirmed prohibitions on feasting in churches. The Quinisext Council (Trullan Council) of 692 forbade offering honey and milk on altars (Canon 57) and excommunicated those holding love feasts in churches (Canon 74).
The ancient Saint Thomas Christians of India continued celebrating agape feasts, featuring their traditional dish appam.
John Wesley, founder of Methodism, admired the Moravians during his travels to America. After his conversion in 1738, he introduced the love feast to Methodism. Because ordained ministers were scarce, Methodists used the love feast as an alternative to Holy Communion. Primitive Methodists especially celebrated love feasts before their decline in the nineteenth century.
Descendants of the Schwarzenau Brethren, such as the Brethren Church, Old German Baptist Brethren, and Dunkard Brethren, continue practicing love feasts rooted in New Testament accounts of the Last Supper. The Grace 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. German Radical Pietism influenced the Brethren's early 18th-century establishment of the love feast, predating Moravian adoption.
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.
Congregations hold love feasts on special occasions such as church founding anniversaries. Regularly observed dates include New Year's Eve (with a Watchnight service), Good Friday, 13 August (commemorating the 1727 Moravian renewal), and Christmas Eve, when attendees receive lighted candles along with the bun and coffee.
Methodist love feasts typically include:
Certain Methodist groups such as the Missionary Methodist Church and New Congregational Methodist Church also practice footwashing. (1987). 9780810321335, Gale Research Company. ISBN 9780810321335
In the Wesleyan Methodist Church, love feasts consist of bread and water from the loving-cup. (2025). 9780521818490, Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521818490 These love feasts aim to "promote piety, mutual affection and zeal". Unlike Methodist Eucharist, love feasts are traditionally fenced, restricted to members, though non-members may attend once.
Several Methodist hymns, including Charles Wesley's 1740 "The Love-Feast," were composed for this ritual:
Liturgical books of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, and United Methodist Church all include love feast services.
Primitive Methodist Church congregations often hold large potluck-style love feasts.
The Evangelical Wesleyan Church Discipline mandates a quarterly love feast on each circuit, typically involving bread-breaking, praise, and testimony. The Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist Connection Discipline tasks pastors with holding love feasts.
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