agape

¹aga·pe

noun \ä-ˈgä-(ˌ)pā, ˈä-gə-ˌpā\

Definition of AGAPE

1

: love feast

2

: love 4a

Origin of AGAPE

Late Latin, from Greek agapē, literally, love

First Known Use: 1607

Other Christian Religious Terms

Pentateuch, blasphemy, curate, doxology, eremite, iconoclasm, liturgy, orison, pneuma, reliquary

²agape

adjective or adverb \ə-ˈgāp also -ˈgap\

Definition of AGAPE

1

: wide open : gaping <with mouth agape>

2

: being in a state of wonder

First Known Use of AGAPE

1667

agape

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

In the New Testament, the fatherly love of God for humans and their reciprocal love for God. The term extends to the love of one's fellow humans. The Church Fathers used the Greek term to designate both a rite using bread and wine and a meal of fellowship that included the poor. The historical relationship between this meal, the Lord's Supper, and the Eucharist, the meal of fellowship and the sacrament, is uncertain.