Sabbath and Sunday in early Christian Theology (under construction)

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FenderTL5

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The following quotations show that the first Christians understood this principle and gathered for worship on Sunday.

The Didache​

“But every Lord’s day . . . gather yourselves together and break bread, and give thanksgiving after having confessed your transgressions, that your sacrifice may be pure. But let no one that is at variance with his fellow come together with you, until they be reconciled, that your sacrifice may not be profaned” (Didache 14 [A.D. 70]).

The Letter of Barnabas​

“We keep the eighth day [Sunday] with joyfulness, the day also on which Jesus rose again from the dead” (Letter of Barnabas 15:6–8 [A.D. 74]).

Ignatius of Antioch​

“[T]hose who were brought up in the ancient order of things [i.e. Jews] have come to the possession of a new hope, no longer observing the Sabbath, but living in the observance of the Lord’s day, on which also our life has sprung up again by him and by his death” (Letter to the Magnesians 8 [A.D. 110]).

Justin Martyr​

“But Sunday is the day on which we all hold our common assembly, because it is the first day on which God, having wrought a change in the darkness and matter, made the world; and Jesus Christ our Savior on the same day rose from the dead” (First Apology 67 [A.D. 155]).

The Didascalia​

“The apostles further appointed: On the first day of the week let there be service, and the reading of the holy scriptures, and the oblation [sacrifice of the Mass], because on the first day of the week [i.e., Sunday] our Lord rose from the place of the dead, and on the first day of the week he arose upon the world, and on the first day of the week he ascended up to heaven, and on the first day of the week he will appear at last with the angels of heaven” (Didascalia 2 [A.D. 225]).

Origen​

“Hence it is not possible that the [day of] rest after the Sabbath should have come into existence from the seventh [day] of our God. On the contrary, it is our Savior who, after the pattern of his own rest, caused us to be made in the likeness of his death, and hence also of his resurrection” (Commentary on John 2:28 [A.D. 229]).

Victorinus​

“The sixth day [Friday] is called parasceve, that is to say, the preparation of the kingdom. . . . On this day also, on account of the passion of the Lord Jesus Christ, we make either a station to God or a fast. On the seventh day he rested from all his works, and blessed it, and sanctified it. On the former day we are accustomed to fast rigorously, that on the Lord’s day we may go forth to our bread with giving of thanks. And let the parasceve become a rigorous fast, lest we should appear to observe any Sabbath with the Jews . . . which Sabbath he [Christ] in his body abolished” (The Creation of the World [A.D. 300]).

Eusebius of Caesarea​

“They [the early saints of the Old Testament] did not care about circumcision of the body, neither do we [Christians]. They did not care about observing Sabbaths, nor do we. They did not avoid certain kinds of food, neither did they regard the other distinctions which Moses first delivered to their posterity to be observed as symbols; nor do Christians of the present day do such things” (Church History 1:4:8 [A.D. 312]).

“[T]he day of his [Christ’s] light . . . was the day of his resurrection from the dead, which they say, as being the one and only truly holy day and the Lord’s day, is better than any number of days as we ordinarily understand them, and better than the days set apart by the Mosaic law for feasts, new moons, and Sabbaths, which the apostle [Paul] teaches are the shadow of days and not days in reality” (Proof of the Gospel 4:16:186 [A.D. 319]).

Athanasius​

“The Sabbath was the end of the first creation, the Lord’s day was the beginning of the second, in which he renewed and restored the old in the same way as he prescribed that they should formerly observe the Sabbath as a memorial of the end of the first things, so we honor the Lord’s day as being the memorial of the new creation” (On Sabbath and Circumcision 3 [A.D. 345]).

Cyril of Jerusalem​

“Fall not away either into the sect of the Samaritans or into Judaism, for Jesus Christ has henceforth ransomed you. Stand aloof from all observance of Sabbaths and from calling any indifferent meats common or unclean” (Catechetical Lectures 4:37 [A.D. 350]).

Council of Laodicea​

“Christians should not Judaize and should not be idle on the Sabbath, but should work on that day; they should, however, particularly reverence the Lord’s day and, if possible, not work on it, because they were Christians” (Canon 29 [A.D. 360]).

John Chrysostom​

“[W]hen he [God] said, ‘You shall not kill’ . . . he did not add, ‘because murder is a wicked thing.’ The reason was that conscience had taught this beforehand, and he speaks thus, as to those who know and understand the point. Wherefore when he speaks to us of another commandment, not known to us by the dictate of conscience, he not only prohibits, but adds the reason. When, for instance, he gave commandment concerning the Sabbath— ‘On the seventh day you shall do no work’—he subjoined also the reason for this cessation. What was this? ‘Because on the seventh day God rested from all his works which he had begun to make’ [Ex. 20:10-11]. . . . For what purpose then, I ask, did he add a reason respecting the Sabbath, but did no such thing in regard to murder? Because this commandment was not one of the leading ones. It was not one of those which were accurately defined of our conscience, but a kind of partial and temporary one, and for this reason it was abolished afterward. But those which are necessary and uphold our life are the following: ‘You shall not kill. . . . You shall not commit adultery. . . . You shall not steal.’ On this account he adds no reason in this case, nor enters into any instruction on the matter, but is content with the bare prohibition” (Homilies on the Statutes 12:9 [A.D. 387]).

“You have put on Christ, you have become a member of the Lord and been enrolled in the heavenly city, and you still grovel in the law [of Moses]? How is it possible for you to obtain the kingdom? Listen to Paul’s words, that the observance of the law overthrows the gospel, and learn, if you will, how this comes to pass, and tremble, and shun this pitfall. Why do you keep the Sabbath and fast with the Jews?” (Homilies on Galatians 2:17 [A.D. 395]).

“The rite of circumcision was venerable in the Jews’ account, forasmuch as the law itself gave way thereto, and the Sabbath was less esteemed than circumcision. For that circumcision might be performed, the Sabbath was broken; but that the Sabbath might be kept, circumcision was never broken; and mark, I pray, the dispensation of God. This is found to be even more solemn than the Sabbath, as not being omitted at certain times. When then it is done away, much more is the Sabbath” (Homilies on Philippians 10 [A.D. 402]).

The Apostolic Constitutions​

“And on the day of our Lord’s resurrection, which is the Lord’s day, meet more diligently, sending praise to God that made the universe by Jesus, and sent him to us, and condescended to let him suffer, and raised him from the dead. Otherwise what apology will he make to God who does not assemble on that day . . . in which is performed the reading of the prophets, the preaching of the gospel, the oblation of the sacrifice, the gift of the holy food” (Apostolic Constitutions 2:7:60 [A.D. 400]).

Augustine​

“Well, now, I should like to be told what there is in these ten commandments, except the observance of the Sabbath, which ought not to be kept by a Christian” (The Spirit and the Letter 24 [A.D. 412]).

Pope Gregory I​

“It has come to my ears that certain men of perverse spirit have sown among you some things that are wrong and opposed to the holy faith, so as to forbid any work being done on the Sabbath day. What else can I call these [men] but preachers of Antichrist, who when he comes will cause the Sabbath day as well as the Lord’s day to be kept free from all work. For because he [the Antichrist] pretends to die and rise again, he wishes the Lord’s day to be held in reverence; and because he compels the people to Judaize that he may bring back the outward rite of the law, and
subject the perfidy of the Jews to himself, he wishes the Sabbath to be observed. For this which is said by the prophet, ‘You shall bring in no burden through your gates on the Sabbath day’ [Jer. 17:24] could be held to as long as it was lawful for the law to be observed according to the letter. But after that the grace of almighty God, our Lord Jesus Christ, has appeared, the commandments of the law which were spoken figuratively cannot be kept according to the letter. For if anyone says that this about the Sabbath is to be kept, he must needs say that carnal sacrifices are to be offered. He must say too that the commandment about the circumcision of the body is still to be retained. But let him hear the apostle Paul saying in opposition to him: ‘If you be circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing’ [Gal. 5:2]” (Letters 13:1 [A.D. 597]).




This article is an extremely detailed look at Sunday worship before Constantine
There's some really good reading there.

longer quote from Justin Martyr

"Gentiles, who have believed on Him, and have repented of the sins which they have committed, they shall receive the inheritance along with the patriarchs and the prophets, and the just men who are descended from Jacob, even although they neither keep the Sabbath, nor are circumcised, nor observe the feasts.

And on the day called Sunday, all who live in cities or in the country gather together to one place, and the memoirs of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read, as long as time permits; then, when the reader has ceased, the president verbally instructs, and exhorts to the imitation of these good things. Then we all rise together and pray, and, as we before said, when our prayer is ended, bread and wine and water are brought, and the president in like manner offers prayers and thanksgivings, according to his ability, and the people assent, saying Amen; and there is a distribution to each, and a participation of that over which thanks have been given, and to those who are absent a portion is sent by the deacons. And they who are well to do, and willing, give what each thinks fit; and what is collected is deposited with the president, who succours the orphans and widows and those who, through sickness or any other cause, are in want, and those who are in bonds and the strangers sojourning among us, and in a word takes care of all who are in need. But Sunday is the day on which we all hold our common assembly, because it is the first day on which God, having wrought a change in the darkness and matter, made the world; and Jesus Christ our Saviour on the same day rose from the dead."



They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.
The Church is Eucharistic and Liturgical from the beginning.

This ain't controversial stuff.
 
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FenderTL5

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again, truncated for brevity.

There is error that entered into the church..
If true, this presents a very serious problem for you. Your authoritative source is the same source you say was/is in error.
That's a conundrum.

If you truly believed that then we wouldn’t be having this discussion...

If you believed..
That's quite presumptuous on your part, assuming you know more of what I believe than I do.

Again, the thread topic is the Theology of the Ancient Church. If you have a contribution from the early Church to share, please do so.
The thread is not about what modern Millerites think it should be. This section of the Forums is dominated by threads devoted to those teachings, lets allow this one to abide in it's own topic.
 
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SabbathBlessings

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If true, this presents a very serious problem for you. Your authoritative source is the same source you say was/is in error.
That's a conundrum.
Scripture is not error and there is no Sunday sacredness from scripture. I asked you to post your position from scripture, but instead you seem to prefer personal attacks, thats a choice one can make but not a convincing biblical one.
That's quite presumptuous on your part, assuming you know more of what I believe than I do.
I was just going by your words- In the Sabbath commandment there is only one day to keep holy, the seventh day Sabbath Exodus 20:8,10 and all other days are working days Exodus 20:9. There is no scripture where God identifies the first day as a holy day for Him or for us and we should not make something that is not holy equal to something God did deem holy. Something scripture tells us not to do Ezekiel 22:26
Again, the thread topic is the Theology of the Ancient Church. If you have a contribution from the early Church to share, please do so.
The thread is not about what modern Millerites think it should be.
Scripture showing the apostles and Jesus keeping the Sabbath and teaching the commandments of God is the Ancient church. Is there a better example than who we are commissioned to follow? 1 John 2:6
This section of the Forums is dominated by threads devoted to those teachings, lets allow this one to abide in it's own topic.
To be fair, this is the Sabbath and law forum - there is no Sunday law in the Word of God. It was never a sanctified day by God and its surprising people aren’t bothered by this and have no issue attacking the day that was by God or those who choose to observe it according to one of God’s commandments that He personally wrote and spoke. It makes me wonder if anyone stops to think which side they are on…we should learn from history. Those in the days of Christ all thought they were following God but ended up crucifying His only son. There is a spiritual war going on our only safeguard from not being deceived is the Word of God which is to be the light to our path Psalms 119:151 and if it goes away from scripture, it’s not coming from God. Isaiah 8:20. We have free will to believe what we want but we are called to come out of Babylon, from the false teachings handed down to us Revelation 18:4 and we must worship Him in Truth and Spirit John 4:23-24 all of the commandments including the Sabbath is Truth Psalms 119:151. Anyway, perhaps something to take up in prayer.
 
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FenderTL5

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Scripture is not error
The NT Scriptures came from within the same Church you declared in error at the exact same point in history.
Therein is your conundrum.

Scripture showing the apostles and Jesus keeping the Sabbath..
Anyone who reads the book of Acts can see the simultaneous trajectory of the Church's growth and expansion to include Gentiles also leads away from the synagogue on Saturday toward homes and Sunday, 1st day of the week gatherings. Acts 20 has the Eucharist and Paul preaching on the 1st day of the week. point blank, verbatim.

This trajectory continuous post-canon.
It is the early, post-canon that I'm most interested in and is in fact the subject of the thread.
If pointing this out seems like a personal attack then so be it. You keep trying to change the topic to be about your understanding and your church. There's plenty of other threads addressing that.

This forum is for discussing matters concerning the Law and matters concerning the Sabbath. They don't necessarily have to be congruent.
It's is possible to discuss one without the other.
 
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trophy33

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In some of the videos I watch put out from former Adventists I learned a new term called "Bible Hopscotch" that refers to the way Adventists often jump around the Bible to make their case. Sometimes even clipping some verses, because the following passages might negate their special doctrinal position.
Yes, smoke screens, jumping from place to place, quoting too many verses, so that readers are confused which ones are important for the point they try to make, making multiple unrelated points... usual tactics of somebody who wants to look biblical, but who does not want people to actually read the texts in their context.

I call this tactics a puzzle - taking various single blocks (verses, sometimes even just half sentences or less) and placing them together, creating an image they want. And they even call it "Scripture".
 
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Pavel Mosko

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Yes, smoke screens, jumping from place to place, quoting too many verses, so that readers are confused which ones are important for the point they try to make, making multiple unrelated points... usual tactics of somebody who wants to look biblical, but who does not want people to actually read the texts in their context.

I call this tactics a puzzle - taking various single blocks (verses, sometimes even just half sentences or less) and placing them together, creating an image they want. And they even call it "Scripture".
When you can, please check out my new thread... Thanks :)


 
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SabbathBlessings

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The NT Scriptures came from within the same Church you declared in error at the exact same point in history.
Therein is your conundrum.
Many churches claim to be the church the apostles started but scripture gives us the characteristics of Christ’s Church…

Revelation 12: 17 And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. So we know it’s not a majority and what they do- keep God’s commandments. The devil goes to war with this group and don’t we already see this? We just need to figure out which side we want to be on.

Scripture shows us the fruit of a saved person.

Revelation 14:12 Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.

The Sabbath is a commandment of God that God gave both written and spoken now is written in our hearts and in the Sabbath commandment, there is no two holy days of the Lord in the Sabbath commandment- only one Exodus 20:10 and God claims it is My holy day Isaiah 58:13 something lacking for the Lord’s day is day 1 argument.
Anyone who reads the book of Acts can see the simultaneous trajectory of the Church's growth and expansion to include Gentiles also leads away from the synagogue on Saturday toward homes and Sunday, 1st day of the week gatherings. Acts 20 has the Eucharist and Paul preaching on the 1st day of the week. point blank, verbatim.

In Acts there is texts that show the apostles claim to keep every Sabbath preaching the gospel to Jews and Gentiles Acts 18:4 but no such text for day 1. They do break bread on day one but also show they break bread everyday, which doesn’t make everyday the Sabbath. Unless there is clear scripture where God claims the first day as His holy day, a day He sanctified, a day of worship, a day God blessed, it is just man reading into the scriptures of what is not there. Keeping mans tradition over the commandments of God which Jesus warns us about Matthew 15:3-9
This trajectory continuous post-canon.
It is the early, post-canon that I'm most interested in and is in fact the subject of the thread.
If pointing this out seems like a personal attack then so be it. You keep trying to change the topic to be about your understanding and your church. There's plenty of other threads addressing that.
I don’t read scripture if one of God’s commandments is not repeated in every chapter that means it disappears, but we have free will. The commandments are kept right until Jesus comes Revelation 22:14-15 and the Sabbath singled out that will be kept for worship for eternity Isaiah 66:22-23 God’s will in heaven is the same for His will on earth.
This forum is for discussing matters concerning the Law and matters concerning the Sabbath. They don't necessarily have to be congruent.
It's is possible to discuss one without the other.
It really comes down to -do we follow man-made rules above one of God’s commandments. We all have free will to decide the path we want to take.
 
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Leaf473

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The NT Scriptures came from within the same Church you declared in error at the exact same point in history.
Therein is your conundrum.
This is a significant issue. If anything, Sunday becomes prominent prior to the "table of contents" being fixed.
 
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FenderTL5

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FenderTL5

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This is a significant issue. If anything, Sunday becomes prominent prior to the "table of contents" being fixed.
Indeed. Also significant is the fact that the New Testament letters were written post Acension until about the end of the 1st century. Along with Acts, there's The Didache which was from the same time, and those that studied with the Apostles that have left a written record of celebrating the Eucharist on the day of His Resurrection, the Lord's Day, the 1st day of the week.
To argue the Church went into error at this point in time is to argue that the New Testament itself was from error.

We still honor the Sabbath. It is the day God rested from creation, it is the day Christ rested in the tomb, we continullay honor those who have gone to rest in Christ on the Sabbath. Fasts are rested on both the Sabbath and the Lord's Day equally,
 
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SabbathBlessings

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There's a few that have the liniage and history to prove it.
If it doesn’t line up with scripture we are warned. Isaiah 8:20

The church who claimed to change the Sabbath to Sunday admit they did so without the authority of the Word of God and wants everyone to know that those who keep Sunday instead of the Bible Sabbath follow the Catholic church and not scripture.

Q. Have you any other way of proving that the Church has power to institute festivals of precept?
A. Had she not such power, she could not have done that 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, a change for which there is no Scriptural authority.
—Rev. Stephen Keenan, A Doctrinal Catechism; New York in 1857, page 174


It is well to remind the Presbyterians, Baptists, Methodists, and all other Christians, that the Bible does not support them anywhere in their observance of Sunday. Sunday is an institution of the Roman Catholic Church, and those who observe the day observe a commandment of the Catholic Church.
—Priest Brady, in an address, reported in the Elizabeth, NJ ‘News’ on March 18, 1903.
 
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FenderTL5

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The church who claimed to change the Sabbath to Sunday
The Church did not change the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday, the Church honors both the Sabbath and the Lord's Day.
The Eucharist being celebrated on Sunday pre-dates 'The Roman Catholic Church,' there was only one Church during the first few centuries.
You're barking up the wrong tree.

Just curious:
Do you keep the daily cycle of prayers? There are specific prayers for orthros, 3rd hour, 6th hour etc
Do you follow the weekly fasts? If yes which ones.

If no, then why not?
 
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Leaf473

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We still honor the Sabbath. It is the day God rested from creation, it is the day Christ rested in the tomb, we continullay honor those who have gone to rest in Christ on the Sabbath. Fasts are rested on both the Sabbath and the Lord's Day equally,
I hadn't heard of this. Is it something found in the Latin rite part of the Catholic church? Or is it a more Eastern thing?
 
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FenderTL5

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I hadn't heard of this. Is it something found in the Latin rite part of the Catholic church? Or is it a more Eastern thing?
I can't speak for the Latin Church, I don't know.
It is certainly an eastern thing.
 
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SabbathBlessings

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The Church did not change the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday, the Church honors both the Sabbath and the Lord's Day.
The Eucharist being celebrated on Sunday pre-dates 'The Roman Catholic Church,' there was only one Church during the first few centuries.
You're barking up the wrong tree.

Just curious:
Do you keep the daily cycle of prayers? There are specific prayers for orthros, 3rd hour, 6th hour etc
Do you follow the weekly fasts? If yes which ones.

If no, then why not?
Well both churches claim to be the church founded by the apostles but scripture says that Church follows the commandments of God and the Sabbath commandment is a commandment of God. There is no day 1 sanctification by God in the Holy Scriptures.

There are no weekly fasts in the commandments of God scripture says we should fast but never tells us to fast weekly and there is no fast in the Sabbath commandment Exodus 20:8-11 this is a tradition of man adding to one of God’s commandments.

Anyway, doesn’t look like we are coming to any agreement, so I wish you well in seeking Truth to God’s Word.
 
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FenderTL5

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Well both churches claim to be the church founded by the apostles but scripture says that Church follows the commandments of God and the Sabbath commandment is a commandment of God. There is no day 1 sanctification by God in the Holy Scriptures.

There are no weekly fasts in the commandments of God scripture says we should fast but never tells us to fast weekly and there is no fast in the Sabbath commandment Exodus 20:8-11 this is a tradition of man adding to one of God’s commandments.

Anyway, doesn’t look like we are coming to any agreement, so I wish you well in seeking Truth to God’s Word.
You failed to answer the question concerning tthe daily cycle of prayers
 
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Pavel Mosko

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This is a significant issue. If anything, Sunday becomes prominent prior to the "table of contents" being fixed.
Yes this is a point I have been wanting to preach on. Here is a snippet of a Coptic Orthodox essay on the history of the Coptic Church. One of the unique aspects of the Coptic Church was it's calendar that came about around the time of the persecution of Diocletian, which is somewhere around 180-210 (Don't want to look it up).


That event was so jarring, that the Coptic Church changed it's calendar to whatever Roman or Egyptian one they were using at the time.

Church of Martyrs", H.G. Bishop Youssef

Let's look at the origin for the term, "martyr."

The risen Lord Jesus Christ said, "You shall be MY WITNESSES in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." (Acts 1:8)

As He sent out His disciples throughout the world, they were to be HIS WITNESSES. Thus the Greek word for WITNESS is "MARTYR." We may be witnesses for the Lord Jesus Christ by the way in which we live our lives, by setting a good example for others to follow, and showing others the love that we have for the Lord. But we may be called upon to follow our Lord Jesus Christ to the end of the way of the Cross. We may be asked willingly to give our lives rather than abandon our loyalty to Him.

The early Church thought of this death as the complete and final act of witnessing. Thus the term "martyr" has become to mean one who witnesses for the Lord Jesus Christ by dying for His Holy Name. The Coptic Church has innumerable martyrs and saints. It is historically famous for its long-suffering and courageous capabilities to sustain persecutions and hardships. In honor of these Christians who gave their life so that others might find theirs, lets discuss the Holy Spirit and His work in the life of the martyr.




Anyway, Sunday is integral to the Gospel. It is not only a piece of evidence for ancient Christianity preached but it is also one big way they proclaimed the Gospel itself! There is a kind of "performance art" aspect to ancient Christian Liturgical life, where it is not just your words but also your actions that are part of the message as well. The ancient Christians for instance adopted some of the Old Testament types and shadows and customs from the Tabernacle and temple to dramatize and illustrate the salvation of Christ, how Christ satisfies the demands of the law and how we partake of Hin in the Eucharist as the ultimate completion and fulfillment of those various prophecies etc. But anyway, doing this all on Sunday is part of that!

I will also point to one Coptic model of things, namely that "Christ Walking with the his Disciples on the road to Emmaus" is one microcosm / model of how the Church service is suppose to be run. The church service takes the liturgy of the synagogue as a model where we are walked through the scriptures and taught of Christ in the sermon/homily. But the second half of the service comes from the model of the temple where we partake of Christ. Because Christianity should not be purely academic, it should be like college in some of those science and other classes where you got Lab and the other part lecture. And I think there needs to be than in many ways, one concern I got as an Eastern Christian are the limitations placed on people unofficially on different sides of the western part of the Faith, whereby people assume a certain amount of intellectual understanding is needed for things like Baptism, Communion etc. Having the understanding is definitely beneficial and should be sought after, but I would argue their is a supernatural / spiritual dimension to our faith that is like that Shakespearean saying that says "There is more things in Heaven and Earth that are dreamt in your philosophy Horatio". (Young children and people with mental disabilities can be spiritually blessed by the sacraments in spite of lacking mental understanding of things).


But anyway, Sunday preaching and worship is one way that the Gospel message was preached and emphasized. And based on that, I think I can make a pretty good scriptural case, based on the famous passage of "believe not every angel" that messages that say stuff that Sunday is the mark of the Beast are themselves from the "Spirit of the antichrist" because that passage was made against the early appearance of the Docetic Gnostic heresy, that likewise contradicted an important bullet point of the preaching and witnesses of the ancient apostles likewise.
 
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SabbathBlessings

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You failed to answer the question concerning tthe daily cycle of prayers
We should pray daily and I do multiples times daily but can you please point to the scripture you are referring to.

Also, do you care to point to the scripture where God sanctified the first day, made it holy said it was a day of worship and is now one of God’s commandments? I asked this and only received a vague answer about breaking bread on day one which is not the same question I asked and the disciples broke bread daily.
 
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Pavel Mosko

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The Church did not change the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday, the Church honors both the Sabbath and the Lord's Day.
The Eucharist being celebrated on Sunday pre-dates 'The Roman Catholic Church,' there was only one Church during the first few centuries.
You're barking up the wrong tree.

Just curious:
Do you keep the daily cycle of prayers? There are specific prayers for orthros, 3rd hour, 6th hour etc
Do you follow the weekly fasts? If yes which ones.

If no, then why not?
Yes, one of the points I have tried to make, that I originally learned from an EO website 20-25 years ago, the ancient Christians honored the Sabbath as a lesser holiday. The Sabbath is still revered, it just isn't as great as Sunday the day of our salvation. It is seen as a preparatory day for Sunday now. But it is possible, to go to Church on the Sabbath depending on where you are and the size of the congregation. But the Sabbath and Lord's Day is where we get the weekend as a culture going back to ancient times.


This is incidentally one of the blatantly dishonest messages of the SDA, especially concerning Roman Catholicism. Sunday many be the main day of worship for them like the rest of Christianity, but any sizeable Roman Catholic congregation has church services that start on the Jewish Sabbath, and they do that not just to celebrate the unique day on the calendar, but because of their official rule of "Sunday Obligation", which is that if you don't worship at least once a week you are committing a mortal sin, unless there is good reason for it (emergencies and doctors excuse kind of stuff). But here is the kicker, while worship on Sunday is suggested it is not absolutely mandated. If you need to travel, or plan for a vacation as a Roman Catholic you can fulfill that "Sunday Obligation" by attending service as early as Friday evening (the start of the Sabbath), or with other services on Saturday, or Sunday including the afternoon.


Anyway, this kind of thing sticks in my mind a lot from working a lot of jobs where you had an irregular schedule, working the night shift and the actual weekend was part of my workdays, my weekend didn't start until sometime around Monday to Wednesday usually. Going to church on Sunday was a luxury saved for vacation times.
 
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Leaf473

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Yes this is a point I have been wanting to preach on. Here is a snippet of a Coptic Orthodox essay on the history of the Coptic Church. One of the unique aspects of the Coptic Church was it's calendar that came about around the time of the persecution of Diocletian, which is somewhere around 180-210 (Don't want to look it up).


That event was so jarring, that the Coptic Church changed it's calendar to whatever Roman or Egyptian one they were using at the time.

Church of Martyrs", H.G. Bishop Youssef

Let's look at the origin for the term, "martyr."

The risen Lord Jesus Christ said, "You shall be MY WITNESSES in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." (Acts 1:8)

As He sent out His disciples throughout the world, they were to be HIS WITNESSES. Thus the Greek word for WITNESS is "MARTYR." We may be witnesses for the Lord Jesus Christ by the way in which we live our lives, by setting a good example for others to follow, and showing others the love that we have for the Lord. But we may be called upon to follow our Lord Jesus Christ to the end of the way of the Cross. We may be asked willingly to give our lives rather than abandon our loyalty to Him.

The early Church thought of this death as the complete and final act of witnessing. Thus the term "martyr" has become to mean one who witnesses for the Lord Jesus Christ by dying for His Holy Name. The Coptic Church has innumerable martyrs and saints. It is historically famous for its long-suffering and courageous capabilities to sustain persecutions and hardships. In honor of these Christians who gave their life so that others might find theirs, lets discuss the Holy Spirit and His work in the life of the martyr.




Anyway, Sunday is integral to the Gospel. It is not only a piece of evidence for ancient Christianity preached but it is also one big way they proclaimed the Gospel itself! There is a kind of "performance art" aspect to ancient Christian Liturgical life, where it is not just your words but also your actions that are part of the message as well. The ancient Christians for instance adopted some of the Old Testament types and shadows and customs from the Tabernacle and temple to dramatize and illustrate the salvation of Christ, how Christ satisfies the demands of the law and how we partake of Hin in the Eucharist as the ultimate completion and fulfillment of those various prophecies etc. But anyway, doing this all on Sunday is part of that!

I will also point to one Coptic model of things, namely that "Christ Walking with the his Disciples on the road to Emmaus" is one microcosm / model of how the Church service is suppose to be run. The church service takes the liturgy of the synagogue as a model where we are walked through the scriptures and taught of Christ in the sermon/homily. But the second half of the service comes from the model of the temple where we partake of Christ. Because Christianity should not be purely academic, it should be like college in some of those science and other classes where you got Lab and the other part lecture. And I think there needs to be than in many ways, one concern I got as an Eastern Christian are the limitations placed on people unofficially on different sides of the western part of the Faith, whereby people assume a certain amount of intellectual understanding is needed for things like Baptism, Communion etc. Having the understanding is definitely beneficial and should be sought after, but I would argue their is a supernatural / spiritual dimension to our faith that is like that Shakespearean saying that says "There is more things in Heaven and Earth that are dreamt in your philosophy Horatio". (Young children and people with mental disabilities can be spiritually blessed by the sacraments in spite of lacking mental understanding of things).


But anyway, Sunday preaching and worship is one way that the Gospel message was preached and emphasized. And based on that, I think I can make a pretty good scriptural case, based on the famous passage of "believe not every angel" that messages that say stuff that Sunday is the mark of the Beast are themselves from the "Spirit of the antichrist" because that passage was made against the early appearance of the Docetic Gnostic heresy, that likewise contradicted an important bullet point of the preaching and witnesses of the ancient apostles likewise.
Interesting that you bring up the Coptic Church :heart: Don't they consider the Book of Enoch scripture?

If scripture is demanded for everything, then one may wish to take a look at the table of contents of their Bible. Where is the scripture that says that is the correct table of contents?
 
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