Peace greeting
The greeting of peace is a ritual act of the members of a religious community to express the desire of the believers for peace , love and unity among people.
Development in the different religions
Judaism
Shalom , the Hebrew word for peace, has always been used in Judaism as a greeting (Hebrew שלום עליכם, Shalom aleichem; “Peace be with you”). In the Tanach it says:
- 1 Sam 25.5
He sent ten young men and said to them, Go up to Carmel, and when you come to Nabal, greet him in my name with a greeting of peace.
- 1 Sam 30.21
David returned to the two hundred men who had been too exhausted to follow and who had been left by the Besor stream. They met David and his people, and when David came up with his people, he greeted them with a greeting of peace.
- 2 Sam 8.10
he sent his son Hadoram to King David with vessels made of gold, silver and bronze. He gave him the greeting of peace and congratulated him on defeating Hadad-Eser in the war; Toï was at war with Hadad-Eser.
- 2 Sam 18.28
Ahimaaz shouted the greeting of peace to the king and prostrated himself before him with his face to the ground and said: Blessed be the Lord your God, who has delivered (you) the men who have raised their hand against my lord the king .
- 1 Chr 18.10
he sent his son Hadoram to King David with vessels made of gold, silver and bronze. He gave him the greeting of peace and congratulated him on defeating Hadad-Eser in the war. Toë lived at war with Hadad-Eser.
Thus, in the Jewish tradition, the greeting of peace was a particularly dignified and respectful kind of greeting. However, this way of greeting was only used to emphasize the specificity of the other and cannot be compared to a general greeting. It was felt to be particularly honorable to meet the weaker or inferior with this form of deference.
Christianity
In the early Christian communities it was quite common to send this greeting to every person with whom one came into contact: When you come into a house, then wish him peace ( Mt 10.12 EU ). The sign consisted of the holy kiss (cf. Rom 16.16 EU , 1 Cor 16.20 EU , 2 Cor 13.12 EU ).
In the case of the church father, Augustine , the kiss of peace took place in Holy Mass before communion , according to Tertullian and Cyprian at the end of the divine service, before the beginning of the Eucharistic celebration. In the papal mass of the early Middle Ages, the peace greeting was exchanged among the clergy at the beginning of the holy mass, after the entry. To pass the celebrant's kiss of peace to the faithful in the liturgy , the Pax table came into use in the 13th century . This was in use until the beginning of the 19th century, in some congregations also until the Second Vatican Council .
In the Roman rite today, the greeting of peace stands immediately before receiving communion , when the faithful testify to one another of ecclesiastical communion and mutual love before they receive the sacrament. This rite consists of a "local sign" (usually a handshake or a ritual hug) combined with the acclamation : "Peace be with you."
For some time now, the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Order of the Sacraments of the Roman Catholic Church has been considering moving the greeting of peace to another place in Holy Mass, before the preparation of the gifts , as is the case in the Ambrosian Rite or the Neocatechumenal Way (which the Advance of the greeting of peace at Holy Mass in 1988 ad experimentum ) is the case. The postponement of the peace greeting to an earlier point in time refers to the passage in the Gospel of Matthew ( Mt 5,23f EU )
- If you bring your offering to the altar and it occurs to you that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there in front of the altar; go and be reconciled with your brother first, then come and offer your gift.
With a circular dated June 8, 2014, the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Order of the Sacraments put these considerations aside and also qualified them as liturgical abuses: (1.) The introduction of a "peace song" that was already used in the Roman rite due to the shortness of time there is no provision between the greeting of peace and the breaking of bread, (2.) that the believers move from their seats to exchange the greeting of peace and move around in the church, (3.) that the priest moves away from the altar or from the choir to meet some believers to wish peace, (4.) that on certain occasions (Easter, Christmas, baptism, first communion, confirmation, marriage, consecration, religious profession, funeral) the greeting of peace is used as an opportunity to exchange congratulations or expressions of condolences.
Islam
In Islam , the greeting As-salamu 'alaikum (“Peace be upon you”) is customary among Muslims at every encounter. There are, however, differing opinions among scholars as to whether it should also be spoken to non-Muslims. For more information, see under Salām and under dar al-harb .
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Liturgical Institute Trier (ed.): General introduction to the Roman missal . Paulinus-Verlag, Trier 1970, p. 82.
- ^ Hans Bernhard Meyer: Eucharist. History, theology, pastoral care. Regensburg 1989 (Church service. Handbuch der Liturgiewwissenschaft, part 4), p. 121.196f.
- ↑ https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/cardinal_arinze_pope_considering_moving_sign_of_peace
- ↑ Georg Dietlein, On the discussion of the place and form of the peace greeting, in: Gottesdienst, 47th year, 16/2013, pp. 132-133
- ↑ [1]
- ↑ Georg Dietlein, The Greeting of Peace in the Liturgy. Notes on the circular of the Congregation for Divine Service, in: Gottesdienst, 48th year, 17/2014, pp. 137–139; ders., Greetings of Peace and Kiss of Peace. Notes on liturgical practice, in: THEOLOGISCHES, Volume 44, Issue 11/12 from 2014, pp. 595–604.