CHAPTER 12: Sabbath-keeping after the apostles (3) - Easter
Sunday and Sabbath fasting
12.1 Introduction
In
addition to the developments outlined in the previous chapters, there were two
other measures instigated by the church in Rome which came to have a
significant impact on Sabbath-keeping. One measure was the transfer of the
annual Pascha (Easter) from the Sabbath to Sunday.
The other was the turning of the Sabbath into a day of fasting.
12.2 Changing the annual Pascha (Easter) to Sunday
History
indicates that the post-apostolic church instituted an annual Pascha[1] (later called “Easter”) in
the second century.[2] The Greek church
historian, Socrates of Constantinople (born AD
380), wrote that it most likely evolved from local practice and acknowledged
that neither Jesus nor the apostles instructed believers to observe this feast.[3] The churches in Asia Minor
observed the annual Pascha on the fourteenth day of
the first month (the date of the Jewish Passover), regardless of which day of
the week it fell on, while the church in Rome observed it on the following
Sunday.
In AD 196, Victor, Bishop of Rome attempted to
impose the custom in Rome on all the churches. However, the churches in Asia
Minor refused to comply, and it led him to issue letters of excommunication and
to urge the other bishops to sever links. During the course of the struggle, Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons attempted to mediate by reminding
Victor about his predecessor, Sixtus (circa AD 116–126), who observed the annual Pascha on Sunday while tolerating those who did not. This
reveals that the origin of Easter Sunday can be traced back at least to the
time of Sixtus and to Rome. Victor’s strategy failed
to change the practice of the eastern churches, and it was not until AD 325 that a more uniform approach was agreed,
at least in principle.
In AD 325, Emperor Constantine convened the First
Council of Nicaea in Bithynia. It was attended by two to three hundred bishops
from different parts of the Roman empire. The council
agreed for all the churches to observe Easter on the first Sunday following the
first full moon after the spring equinox (21 March). The church historian,
Eusebius Pamphilus, documents these words of
Constantine in his letter to the churches following the meeting:
When the
question arose concerning the most holy day of Easter, it was decreed by common
consent to be expedient, that this festival should be celebrated on the same
day by all, in every place…And truly, in the first place, it seemed to every one a most unworthy thing that we should follow the
custom of the Jews in the celebration of this most holy solemnity, who,
polluted wretches! having stained their hands with a nefarious crime, are
justly blinded in their minds…Let us then have nothing in common with the most
hostile rabble of the Jews. We have received another method from the Saviour.
The Ecclesiastical History of Eusebius Pamphilus
Constantine
presented the case for Easter Sunday in two ways. Firstly, he argued the need
for a uniform approach, and secondly, he said that Christians should avoid
emulating the Jews. In making the latter point, he was echoing the popular view
of many Christians before (and after) him.
12.3 Fasting on the Sabbath
By the end
of the second century, the church in Rome had established a practice of fasting
on Fridays and Sabbath days. By the time of the Spanish Council of Elvira
(circa AD 300), the Sabbath fast had
become a custom in the west. In contrast, Sunday was a feast day on which the
church celebrated the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
In fact,
the Sabbath fast was yet another practice that went against the teaching of
God:
And the
Lord spoke to Moses saying, “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them:
‘The feasts of the Lord, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations,
these are My feasts. Six days shall work be done, but
the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do
no work on it; it is the Sabbath of the Lord in all your dwellings.’ ”
Leviticus
23:1–3
The
Sabbath was meant to be a feast, a day of joyful celebration, but the
post-apostolic church turned it into a gloomy fast day and justified this move
by arguing the need to mourn the death of Jesus. Pope Innocent I (AD 401–417), for example, said, “The Sabbath
should be observed as a fast day, because on the Sabbath the Lord was laid in
the tomb and the disciples fasted.”[4] Pope Sylvester (AD 314–335) had earlier gone as far as to say
that fasting on the Sabbath demonstrated contempt for the Jews and their
feasting: “If every Sunday is to be observed joyfully by the Christians on
account of the resurrection, then every Sabbath on account of the burial is to
be regarded in execration of the Jews.”[5]
12.4 Conclusion
In
conclusion, the church in Rome introduced and promoted two practices to elevate
the status of the Lord’s Day. One was the celebration of the annual Pascha (Easter) on Sunday; the other was the Sabbath fast.
Both were part of the church’s on-going strategy to steer Christians away from
the allegedly Jewish Sabbath, and to establish Sunday as the official Christian
holiday.
© January 2012 True Jesus Church.
