The Love Feast (Agape) (Biblical)

The love feast is a meal set in the context of Christian worship, usually the Lord's Supper. It expresses the spiritual aspect of fellowship and compassion within the body of Christ.

It is generally recognized that primitive Christian worship was set in the context of a meal in the home of a member of the local congregation (see Acts 2:42–47). Here foodstuffs were brought by those who were blessed with abundance, and through their generosity shared with the poorer members of the assembly. Together they ate and worshiped the Lord. The relationship between worship, the meal shared in the Lord, and concern for the needy brothers and sisters is clearly recognized by the early church.

The Lord's Supper, originally celebrated in the context of the love feast or agape meal, was distinguished from it in Pauline instruction (1 Cor. 11:17–34) and came to be observed separately. There is evidence that the agape feast continued to be celebrated as a distinct event into the fourth century. It has been revived in the contemporary liturgical renewal, and many churches celebrate it in members' homes prior to the Maundy Thursday service, as a memorial of the meal in the upper room before Jesus instituted the Lord's Supper on the night of his arrest. The occasional "fellowship supper" held by many Christian congregations today bears a certain resemblance in spirit and function to the ancient love feast.