1 Thessalonians 5:26

Greet all the brethren with an holy kiss.

This letter was first handed to the elders, who communicated it to "the brethren." In ; ; , it is, "Greet one another." Not able to greet the brethren in person, he begs the eiders to do it for him.

Holy kiss - pure and chaste. "A kiss of charity" ();-`a kiss of peace' (Tertullian, 'De Orat.' 100: 14); 'a mystic kiss' (Clemens Alexandrinus, 'Paedagogy,' 3: 11); a token of Christian fellowship (cf. ; ): not merely a conventional salutation, as in many countries. In the early church the kiss passed through the congregation at the holy communion (Justin Martyr, 'Apology,' 1: 65; 'Apostolic Constitutions,' 2:

57), the men kissing the men, and the women the women. So in the Syrian church, each takes his neighbours right hand, and says, 'Peace.'