Sabbath

:This article concerns the Sabbath in Christianity. For the Sabbath in Judaism, see Shabbat. For other uses see Sabbath (disambiguation)

Early observance of the Sabbath

In the Early History of Christianity, the first Christians were Jews and Jewish Proselytes, who on the weight of Biblical evidence, are usually assumed to have kept the Jewish customs, observing the Sabbath from Friday's sunset to Saturday's sunset. These Christians are sometimes refered to as Jewish Christians. This practice may have continued at least until Herod's Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed in A.D. 70. There is evidence that some Gentile Christians also observed the Biblical Sabbath, many centuries into the Christian Era, and even up to the present time. At the same time, a widespread Christian tradition, from early on, was to also meet for worship on the first day of the week, Sunday.

Related Topics:
Early History of Christianity - Jews - Proselytes - Jewish Christians - Herod's Temple - Jerusalem - 70 - Gentile - Christian Era

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The Apostolic Constitutions, generally dated in the 4th century and found in the Ante-Nicene Fathers collection state: #2.36 http://www.ccel.org/fathers2/ANF-07/anf07-41.htm#P5614_2026032 the Sabbath should be observed by resting and studying the Law; #6.19 http://www.ccel.org/fathers2/ANF-07/anf07-46.htm#P6492_2246960 the Law has not been dissolved as Simon ( probably Simon Magus ) claims and cites ,; #7.23 http://www.ccel.org/fathers2/ANF-07/anf07-47.htm#P6800_2300896 keep the Sabbath and the Lord's Day festival.

Related Topics:
Apostolic Constitutions - Ante-Nicene Fathers - Law - Simon Magus

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It is known that Gentile Christians sometimes openly observed the Biblical Sabbath in conjunction with first-day Sunday worship, because the Council of Laodicea http://www.ccel.org/fathers/NPNF2-14/2ancyra/Laocns.htm around 365 attempted to put a stop to the practice. Some conjecture, then, that prior to the Laodicean council Saturday was observed as a Sabbath and Sunday as a day of worship, primarily in Palestine; but after the Laodicean Council, Saturday observance was forbidden. This is often considered an attempt of the early Christian church to distance itself from Judaism which had become unpopular in the Roman Empire after the Jewish-Roman wars. The 59 decrees of the Council of Laodicea are part of the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers collection: #16 http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf214.viii.vii.iii.xvii.html states the Bible is to be read on the Sabbath, #29 http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf214.viii.vii.iii.xxxiv.html states Christians must not judaize by resting on the Sabbath but must work that day and then if possible rest on the Lord's Day and any found to be judaizers are anathema from Christ.

Related Topics:
Council of Laodicea - Judaism - Roman Empire - Jewish-Roman wars - Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers - Judaize - Anathema

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In the 5th century, Socrates Scholasticus Church History book 5http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/26015.htm states:

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:"Nor is there less variation in regard to religious assemblies. For although almost all churches throughout the world celebrate the sacred mysteries on the sabbath of every week, yet the Christians of Alexandria and at Rome, on account of some ancient tradition, have ceased to do this."

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Also in the 5th, Sozomen Church History book 7http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/26027.htm states:

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:"Assemblies are not held in all churches on the same time or manner. The people of Constantinople, and almost everywhere, assemble together on the Sabbath, as well as on the first day of the week, which custom is never observed at Rome or at Alexandria."

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Basis of first day observance

There are two instances in the New Testament where the first Christians are explicitly said to have come together on the first day of the week to break bread, to listen to Christian preaching (') and to gather collections (') for the financial assistance of others.

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It was also on the first day, according to all Christians, that Jesus was raised from the dead (, , , ). The disciples of Jesus also claimed that on that same evening, called "the first day of the week", the resurrected Christ came to them while they were gathered in fear ('). Eight days later, on the first day of the week, Jesus is said to have appeared to them a second time ('). The writer called Luke, in the Acts of the Apostles, writes that "After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God." At the end of forty days, the Christians believe that Jesus ascended into heaven while the disciples watched ('). Ten days later, at the onset of the feast of Pentecost (See: Shavuot) the Christians say that the Spirit of God was given to the disciples of Christ, establishing the Christian Church, on the first day of the week.

Related Topics:
Jesus - Raised from the dead - Acts of the Apostles - Pentecost - Shavuot - Spirit of God

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These events are cited by some Christian teachers and historians, believed to have written very early, as the reason that Christians gathered on the Lord's Day, the first day of the week, including Barnabas (AD 100), Ignatius of Antioch (AD 107), Justin Martyr (AD 145), Bardaisan (AD 154), Irenaeus (AD 178), Tertullian (AD 180), Cyprian (AD 200), Saint Victorinus (AD 280), and Eusebius of Caesarea (AD 324) '. These early Christians believed that the resurrection and ascension of Christ signals the renewal of creation, making the day on which God accomplished it a day analogous to the first day of creation when God made the light. It is a day of fulfillment of the Jewish Shabbat which preceded it, an "eighth day" on which sin was overcome and death was conquered. Therefore the first day has become like the seventh day when God's creating work attained to its goal, a day on which man attained to the goal of rest in God. Reasoning this way, some wrote of the first day as a greater day than the Sabbath, an "eighth day" on which, through Christ, mankind was redeemed out of futility and brought into the Sabbath-rest of God. However, these writers do not call the day a Sabbath.

Related Topics:
Barnabas - 100 - Ignatius of Antioch - 107 - Justin Martyr - 145 - 154 - Irenaeus - 178 - Tertullian - 180 - Cyprian - 200 - Saint Victorinus - 280 - Eusebius of Caesarea - 324 - Resurrection - Ascension

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The Didache (70-75 AD) mentions "the Lord's Day", which in extrabiblical literature always refers to Sunday{{ref|Archer}}. "On the Lord's own day, gather yourselves together and break bread and give thanks." Presumably this indicates Christians were meeting on Sundays, and "breaking bread" would suggest the presence of religious observances of some kind.

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The Epistle of Barnabas (120-150 AD) uses Isaiah 1:13 to suggest that the "eighth day" marks the resurrection, and as such denotes the completion of God's work of saving mankind from sin. Although there is dispute over whether this is a correct interpretation of Isaiah, it indicates that Sunday observance had at the very least taken hold at the time it was written.

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Ignatius of Antioch in Letter to the Magnesians 9.1 is the first Christian writer to suggest replacing the Sabbath with the Lord's Day.

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It is worthwhile to note that in 321 AD, while a Pagan (and supposedly a sun-worshipper), Emperor Constantine the Great issued an edict, part of which dealt with the issue of a day of rest:

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"On the venerable day of the Sun let the magistrates and people residing in cities rest, and let all workshops be closed. In the country however persons engaged in agriculture may freely and lawfully continue their pursuits because it often happens that another day is not suitable for gain-sowing or vine planting; lest by neglecting the proper moment for such operations the bounty of heaven should be lost."

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Although this does not indicate a "change" of the Sabbath, it does favor a different day for rest, in the cities at least, over the Jewish Sabbath day. The dominant religions in the regions of the world where Christianity was developing were Pagan, and in Rome, Mithranism, specifically the cult of Sol Invictus, had taken hold. Mithranism met on Sunday. Some theorize that, because the practice favored the Christian day by coincidence, it also helped the church to avoid implicit association with the Jews. Jews were being persecuted routinely at this time, and for this reason Constantine's edict, and Christian reception of it, is sometimes labelled anti-semitic.

Related Topics:
Sol Invictus - Anti-semitic

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The Roman Catholic Church teaches that the early Church met on Sunday according to its own authority, and not on the basis of any Scriptural mandate to do so. Keenan's Doctrinal Catechism, a Catholic Catechism, declares that there is no scriptural basis for first day observance:

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"Q; Have you any other way of proving that the Church has power to institute festivals?

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A: Had she not such power she could not have instituted one in which all modern religionists agree with her - she could not have substituted the observance of Sunday the first day of the week, for the observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week. A change for which there is no Scriptural authority"

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Other Roman Catholic sources can be cited, to show that according to the Catholic Church, there is no scriptural basis for neglecting Saturday observance: "Nowhere in the bible do we find that Jesus or the apostles ordered that the Sabbath be changed from Saturday to Sunday. We have the commandment of God given to Moses to keep holy the Sabbath day, that is, the seventh day of the week, Saturday. Today, most Christians keep Sunday because it has been revealed to us by the church outside the bible." (Catholic Virginian, Oct. 3, 1947) Other Sunday-observing Christians complain that the Catholic Church is exaggerating the independence of the Church's authority, from Scriptural warrant. Their rationalization for observing the Lord's Day as a fulfillment of the Sabbath, freeing the Christian from the Sabbath ordinances given to the Jews, is because of the general sense of Scripture in light of the identity, teaching, death, resurrection, and present reign of Jesus, the "Lord of the Sabbath", revealed in Scripture.

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Sunday vs Saturday

Eastern Orthodox churches distinguish between "the sabbath" (Saturday) and "the Lord's day" (Sunday), and both continue to play a special role for the believers, such as the church allowing some leniency during fasts on both of them, and having special Bible readings different from those allotted to weekdays; though the Lord's day with the weekly Liturgy is clearly given more emphasis. Catholics put little emphasis on that distinction and most of them, at least in colloquial language, speak of Sunday as the sabbath (The Catechism of the Holy Catholic Church on the Sabbath: http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/p3s2c1a3.htm). Many Protestants have historically regarded Lord's Day, Sabbath, and Sunday as synonymous terms for the

Related Topics:
Eastern Orthodox - Catholics - Protestant

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Christian day of worship (except in those languages in which the name of the seventh day is literally equivalent to "Sabbath" — such as Spanish, Italian, Russian, Modern Greek, and of course Hebrew). For most Christians the Lord's Day is distinct from the Sabbath, and some Protestants consider it non-binding for Christians. Relatively few Christians regard the first day observance as entailing all of the ordinances of Jewish Shabbat. A minority of Protestants keep Saturday, the seventh day, as the Lord's Day and the Christian Sabbath. The Ethiopian Orthodox observe a Saturday Sabbath.

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Acts 20:7 says that, "On the first day of the week we came together to break bread", where Paul preached until midnight. One must remember, however, that according to Jewish tradition (and as described in the Bible, Leviticus 23:32), a day begins when the sun goes down and this meeting apparently gathered in the evening, at dinner time. So, those who have believed that the Christians kept the Sabbath on the seventh day argue that this meeting (Acts 20:7) would have begun on Saturday night. Paul would have been preaching on Saturday night until midnight and then walked eighteen miles from Traos to Assos on Sunday. He would not have done so, if he had regarded Sunday as the Sabbath, much less boarded a boat and continued to travel to Mitylene and finally on to Chios. Sabbatarians often claim that Biblical evidence suggests that Paul was a lifelong Sabbath keeper for the sake of the Jews, and if Sunday was now the Sabbath, then this journey would have been contrary to his character. Those opposed to a Sabbath claim that the practice had been abolished by this time, and thus would have no impact on Paul's actions.

Related Topics:
Bible - Traos - Assos - Mitylene - Chios

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Some doubt that this is an instance of Paul keeping the Sabbath, although it may be if it shows him waiting until the morning of the first day to continue his work. The focus of the story is about Eutychus, his accident, and his resurrection, not the changing of the Sabbath from the seventh day to the first day of the week.

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Also in Acts 2:46, they went to the Temple in Jerusalem and broke bread from house to house "daily". There is no mention of the Sabbath, and it is debatable whether this is a reference to Communion. There are many instances of the Gospel being taught and preached on non-specific days as well as daily. One example is in Mark 2:1-2 another is Luke 19:47-20:1, where it clearly indicates that Jesus himself taught and preached daily.

Related Topics:
Temple in Jerusalem - Communion - Gospel - Mark - Luke

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Christians who reject the religious observance of the first day argue, based on the reasons given above, that there is no significance given to the first day, the breaking of bread, nor the preaching; they are merely mentioned as events that might take place on any day of the week. The majority of Christians, who accept the practice of Sunday worship, suggest these actions are indicative of a new reverence for Sunday in connection with strictly Christian ceremonies; and the majority of these believe that Sunday is a Sabbatical day, a resting day set aside for worship of God through Jesus Christ, and see no continuing obligation to keep the Saturday ordinances in their Jewish form.

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