Pax to all

THE PEACE - often chaotic and noisy in practice, but, when appreciated, most important for the salvation of our souls

Those who are old enough to remember public worship before the 1970s are able to recall how their own parish was introduced to the “Passing of the Peace”, what reasons were given by priests to justify the novelty, and how they felt about the innovation. To this day there is a minority who do their best to avoid this activity! Of course, where the Service is either the Tridentine Latin Rite or the Order for Holy Communion from the classic Book of Common Prayer then there is no such thing to” endure” or “enjoy”.

Let us note the basics of this innovation.

In the modern Roman Mass, after the Eucharistic Prayer and before the receiving of Communion, the Priest says:

Pax Domini sit semper vobiscum (The peace of the Lord be with you always.)

And the faithful respond:

Et cum spiritu tuo (And with your spirit – “And also with you”.)

Then the Priest says:

Offerte vobis pacem. (Let us offer [to each other the sign of] peace.)

And then either in an orderly way (from the ministers at the altar to the congregation row by row) or in a less orderly way (each moves about as he or she desires) people offer a sign (handshake, hug or whatever) of peace.

Not too long ago, the Pax Vobiscum was offered by the Priest but there was no actual invitation to the congregation to offer of a sign of peace, and people stayed on their knees.

Those who have visited a variety of R.C. churches in recent days report that the exchange of peace takes many forms and can take an extended time in some.

In the Anglican, Lutheran and Methodist Churches, which share a common shape to their modern Eucharistic Liturgy, the exchange of the sign of peace occurs in a different place to that of the Roman Church. It comes at the end of the Ministry of the Word & Prayer and before the beginning of the Eucharistic Prayer. However, though in a different place, the way it occurs in terms of handshakes and hugs is much the same as in the modern Roman Catholic parishes. It can devout and quiet or it can be a long, noisy and involved affair (including as I saw recently, drinking coffee and having a donut!)

Doctrinal Meaning

Its place in the Roman Rite is long-standing, going back to the late patristic period. The basic idea of it is that the peace (= the salvation and reconciling love) of God the Father through Jesus Christ and by the Holy Ghost made manifest in the Eucharist/Mass brings baptized believers together as one in Christ, and thus, as children of God and as brothers and sisters, the baptized share a sign of peace/salvation. They do not need to share a sign for the peace/reconciliation is given by God as a gift to all present, who are penitent and faithful; but the sign helps to make the gift of God real.

Its present place in the modern Liturgies of the Anglican Lutheran and Methodist Churches is based on what modern liturgists claim to find in the practice of the Church of the second and third centuries. Here (with women and men separated) there was, it is said, “a passing of the peace” and its purpose was to not only to accept God’s reconciling love offered in Christ and in the Eucharist, but also to provide opportunity for reconciliation between believers before the service moved along to the Communion.

So whether we take the meaning as from the early patristic era or from the medieval Latin Church, we have to admit that it is, in both cases, by no means at all a flippant matter; and it is certainly no occasion for idle conversation or silly remarks. It is an opportunity to receive the reconciling love of the Lord and to begin to know and feel what it is all about. Observation would seem to suggest that this activity called the passing of the peace though relatively new is already in need of reformation and renewal for it has become in so many places and ways a means for the expression of what we may call “the flesh” rather than of the humble and contrite spirit. Further, and this is worrying, for some people it assumes a position of primary importance in their experience of worship and they would find it hard to do without it. (Let us remember that the Church managed for most of her existence without a public “passing of the peace” and its revival between 1970s and 2005 has not universally been the means of reconciliation and salvation for congregations.)

Historical Note: In the C of E Order for Holy Communion from 1552, the Pax Vobiscum was removed but – and this is important – the Peace of the LORD was given to the people of God through the extension of the Blessing at the end of the whole Service. “The Peace of God, which passeth all understanding, keep your heart and mind in the knowledge and love of God and of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord: And the Blessing…..” However, in the Canadian BCP of 1960/62 the actual Pax Vobiscum is found at the same place as in the Roman Mass but without any indication that there is to be the giving of a sign one to another.

The Rev'd Dr. Peter Toon MA., D.Phil (Oxford)