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love feast

A Dictionary of the Bible | 1997 | | Copyright

love feast The meal which preceded the Eucharist, called in Greek an agape, which means literally ‘self-giving love’. These meals, mentioned in Jude 12, and possibly 1 Cor. 11: 17 ff., were continued in the early Church (cf. Acts 20: 7 ff.) in the evening of the Lord's Day, and were intended, as the name suggests, to be a time for God-centred community love. However, it is clear that this admirable intention was gradually eroded by the acids of unrestrained paganism and by the 4th cent. CE it was deemed advisable by the Western Church that the meal, in spite of being an occasion for acts of charity, should be disconnected from the Eucharistic commemoration of Christ's living presence. There then grew up the contrasting custom of fasting before communion.

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W. R. F. BROWNING. "love feast." A Dictionary of the Bible. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

W. R. F. BROWNING. "love feast." A Dictionary of the Bible. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O94-lovefeast.html

W. R. F. BROWNING. "love feast." A Dictionary of the Bible. 1997. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O94-lovefeast.html

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Love Feast

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions | 1997 | | Copyright

Love Feast: see AGAPE.

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JOHN BOWKER. "Love Feast." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

JOHN BOWKER. "Love Feast." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-LoveFeast.html

JOHN BOWKER. "Love Feast." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-LoveFeast.html

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Free newspaper and magazine articles

	"Love Feast" is church's gift to the community.(NEWS) Newspaper article from: The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, VA); 12/19/2004
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