I. Early Christianity – II. Modern Times
I. Early Christianity
The Agape or love feast is a liturgically structured congregational feast. The first use of the term ἀγάπη (agápē, “love”) is found in Jude 12 and Ign. Smyrn. 8.2. The phenomenon is widely documented from as early as the 2nd century. Comparable to this are symposia, which are known also to Judaism, not least as a charitable institution (T. Job 10.1–3). H. Lietzmann assumed that, besides the Eucharist, which derives from Jesus' Last Supper (I), there e…