On Maundy Thursday we will hold an Agape Meal as our evening service. Agape is the Greek word for selfless love and affection. It is the word generally used for God’s love in the New Testament, for love of neighbour and Christian brethren, and for love in the family. Greek has several other words for love, such as eros—sexual love and appreciation, philia—affectionate regard and friendship (can also be used to describe enthusiasm for something), storge—familial affection and respect, and xenia—hospitality towards travellers.
Agape meals were common in the early Church. The letter of Jude refers to Agape meals. It warns that some in the Church have changed the grace of God into a licence for immorality and that through their conduct they have blemished the Agape Meals in the Church. These celebrations were an important means to keep the community together. Paul and the Church Fathers, as well as other ancient sources, refer to Christians meeting together to eat a meal. The Eucharist was part of these Agape Meals, but later on the Meal and the Eucharist became separate, with the Eucharist being far more formal.
Celebration of the Agape Meal waned over the centuries, but was still celebrated among churches in Ethiopia and India. Among the St Thomas Christians in India it was common to have cakes made out of rice-flour, bananas, honey and sugar cane at these feasts.
Seeking to recover the practices of the Early Church, Moravians and Brethren reintroduced the celebration of Agape Meals. These special occasions were meant to foster the bonds of community. John Wesley learned of the practice from the Moravians and encouraged Methodists to celebrate “Love Feasts”. However, they are no longer that common among Methodists. From there they have also been reintroduced to Catholic and Anglican churches.
In the later 20th century, it became quite common among Christians to celebrate seder meals, a form of Passover celebration that was developed in Rabbinic Judaism. It is important to note that this was not exactly how Jesus would have celebrated Passover, though some elements of the Passover meal are the same.
There has been some debate about how appropriate this is. In 2025, the General Synod Standing Committee of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia (GSSC) has ratified a statement asking Anglican Christians not to participate in the practice of ‘Christian Seders’ that imitate the Jewish tradition of Seder meals overlaid with Christian themes. It states that “Christian Seders” are superficial attempts of appropriation of the religious traditions of another religion and that they not only disrespectfully approach the Jewish festival, but also trivialise celebration of the Christian holy days.
In my opinion the theology behind the GSSC statement is somewhat shallow and mainly based on the modern fear of appropriation. However that may be, Bishop Peter has recommended Agape Meals as a good alternative. In an Agape Meal the Passover, Communion and fellowship can all be celebrated together. Not being an official Eucharist, it also provides the opportunity to use some ancient liturgies (from the 2nd century AD) rather than the approved liturgies that were produced from the 16th century onwards.
For Agape Meals on Maundy Thursday it is recommended not to have meat-based dishes, but rather a vegetarian meal with bread, cheese and some leafy vegetables. With so many guidelines to take into account, I hope that we will nevertheless have a good Maundy Thursday celebration.