Passing the Peace

Heard in the wild

The longer version

What it means

Partway through the service — often right before communion — the leader says something like "The peace of the Lord be always with you," the congregation answers "And also with you," and then everyone turns to their neighbors and repeats the exchange person to person, with a handshake, a hug, or a wave. It lasts a minute or two. Then everyone sits back down and the service moves on.

The point isn't social. It's a ritual of reconciliation: before coming to the Lord's table, Christians make peace with each other. The handshake is a small, physical way of saying "nothing is between us."

Why people say it

Jesus' first words to His disciples after the resurrection were "Peace be with you," and Christians have been repeating them to each other in worship since the first centuries. He also said that if you're bringing a gift to the altar and remember your brother has something against you, go make peace first. Passing the peace puts that instruction into the order of service.

How to respond

Say "peace be with you" (or "and also with you," if they said it first), shake the hand offered, and smile. You don't need to introduce yourself, though people may. If you'd rather not touch hands, a nod and the words are completely acceptable and nobody will mind. When it ends, sit down when everyone else does.

If you hear it in different churches

Standard in Catholic, Anglican/Episcopal, Lutheran, Methodist, Presbyterian, and Orthodox services, with small differences in wording and timing. Evangelical and Baptist churches don't usually have a formal peace, but many have a "greeting time" or "turn and say hi to someone" moment that serves the same social purpose without the liturgical meaning.

Where does “Passing the Peace” come from?

Paul closes several letters telling churches to "greet one another with a holy kiss," and by the second century Justin Martyr describes Christians exchanging a kiss before the Eucharist. The "kiss of peace" was a fixed part of the liturgy through the Middle Ages, gradually reduced to a formal gesture among the clergy. The Second Vatican Council (1962–65) restored the sign of peace to the whole congregation in the Catholic Mass, and Anglican, Lutheran, and other Protestant churches revived it in their own liturgical reforms of the 1970s and 80s. The phrase "passing the peace" is that modern Protestant version.

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