The History of Sunday Observance
"Remember to keep holy the Sabbath day." (Ехodus 20, 8)
In the Old Testament a separate commandment of God prescribed the observance of the Sabbath day. This day was to serve as a continual reminder to the Israelites of the creation of the world, of all that God had done for them and of the covenant Не made with the people. In the New Testament this obligation of worshipping God was transferred to Sunday. The decree of the Second Vatican Council on the "Constitution on the Liturgy" declares: "Ву a tradition handed down from the apostles which took its origin from the very day of Christ's resurrection, the Church celebrates the paschal mystery every eighth day; with good reason this, then, bears the nam of the Lord's Day or Sunday."
The Sabbath Law commanded above all rest from all physical labor. The chief Sunday obligation of the first Christians was to encounter the risen Christ by participating in the Sacrifice of the Holy Eucharist and uniting with Him in Holy Communion.
Small wonder, then, that Sunday from the very beginning was kept as an important feast of the Lord and the foundation of the Liturgical Year. The observance of Sunday has a long and interesting history, which, because of its importance, we shall briefly outline over the Sundays of St Philips Fast.
Observance of Sunday in Apostolic Times
Sunday should not be considered as merely a substitute or the Old Testament Sabbath. As a creation of Christianity it is filled with a profoundly Christian meaning. This is evident the great variety of names given to it. What was the meaning of Sunday to the Apostles and the first Christians?
Sunday - The First Day
The last day of the week, Saturday, was sacred to the Jews. It was the symbol of God's rest after creating the world, whereas the first day of the week was sacred to the Christians, for it was the symbol of the new creation begun in the Resurrection of Christ. As Eusebius of Alexandria (5с) says: "It was on this day that the Lord began the first-fruits of the creation of the world, and on the same day He gave to the world the first-fruits of the Resurrection."
Sunday - Sun Day or Day of the Sun
The ancient Romans, following the Egyptians, called Sunday the "Day of the Sun" from which comes the English name "Sunday". То the early Fathers of the Church this name had a profound meaning, for they considered the sun as the symbol of Jesus Christ: St. Justin the Martyr ( 165) says: "We соmе together on the day of the sun on which God, changing darkness and matter created the world, and on which Jesus Christ our Saviour arose from the dead. Eusebius of Caesarea similarly remarks: "It was on this day that at the time of creation when God said, ‘Let there be light', there was light; and on this day also arose the Sun of Justice on our souls."
Sunday - The Eighth Day
As early as the second century, Christian writers began calling Sunday the eighth day. The Epistle of Pseudo-Barnabas says, "And we, too, rejoice in celebrating the eighth day; because on that day Jesus rose from the dead, appeared to the Apostles and ascended into heaven." Origen ( 254) says: "The number eight, which contains the power of the Resurrection, is the foreshadowing of the world to come. St. Ambrose gives the number eight the meaning of redemption: "The number eight is the fulfillment of our hope."
Sunday - The Day of the Lord or The Lord's Day
This name which appears for the first time in the Book of Revelation of St. John (1, 10), and was quickly taken up by Christians, and in time replaced the name day of the sun. The "Day of the Lord" refers to Christ, who through His Resurrection on Sunday became the Lord, Conqueror and Teacher.
The Observance of Sunday
The observance or celebration of Sunday from the very beginning was one of joy and festivity, for every Sunday reminded the first Christians of the joyous event of Christ's Resurrection. For this reason, all signs of penance and sorrow, such as kneeling and fasting were set aside. Two things characterize the Christian's observance of Sunday, namely, assistance at the Divine Liturgy and abstinence or rest from strenuous physical work.
The First Characteristic - The Eucharistic Sacrifice
Participation in the Divine Liturgy is the chief characteristic of keeping holy the Lord's Day. Although in the first centuries Christians assisted at the Divine Liturgy frequently, even daily, nevertheless, Sunday was a day of special observance for the whole Christian community. In the writing called the Didache or Teaching of the Twelve Apostles, which is attributed to the second century, we read: "Assemble on the Lord's Day and break bread and offer the Eucharist; but first make confession of your faults, so that your sacrifice may be a pure one."
At first, the presence of all the faithful at the Sunday Divine Liturgy was not an obligation imposed upon the faithful by the Church. Custom and zeal led them to observe an unwritten law. Legislation regarding Sunday observance came at a much later date, when zeal of the early Christians had already diminished.
The first laws of the Western Church, which obliged the faithful to be present in church on Sunday, were promulgated by the Council of Еlvіrа, Spain, at the beginning of the fourth century.
In the Eastern Church, the local Council of Sardica (modern Sofia, Bulgaria) in 347 mentions in the eleventh canon that there exists a law handed down by the Holy Fathers, that anyone who lived in the city and did not assist at the Divine Liturgy for three successive Sundays must be excommunicated from the Church. This same law is repeated also in the 80th canon of the Council of Trullo (692).
Recalling the Sunday obligation of participating in the Divine Liturgy, the decree of the Second Vatican Council on "Eastern Churches" declares: "The faithful are bound to take part on Sundays and feast days in the Divine Liturgy or, according to the regulations or customs of their own rite, in the celebration of the divine office."
The Second Characteristic - Rest from Work
The second characteristic of sanctifying Sunday is rest from strenuous physical work. During the first centuries Christians did not enjoy freedom of religion and were persecuted. For the early Christians, therefore, Sunday was an ordinary workday. Since they had to work during the day, they conducted their Sunday services in the late evening, or early morning.
Sunday rest began to assume greater significance when in 313 A.D. the Church was granted complete religious freedom under Emperor Constantine the Great. The first laws regarding Sunday rest did not come from the Church, but from the state. In 321 A.D. Emperor Constantine issued an edict, in which he decreed: "On the most revered day of the Sun let all judges, townspeople and all labourers rest. Only let the farmers in the villages work freely without hindrance". The historian Eusebius ( с.340) testified that the Emperor Constantine the Great made Sunday a day of prayer, ordered all his subjects to put aside their work, and excused all Christian soldiers from duty so that they might attend Sunday Service.
Concurrent with civil legislation, the Church began more and more to enjoin her faithful to abstain from physical work on Sunday. The Council of Laodicea in Asia Minor in 364 prescribed Sunday rest "as far as possible". Emperor Leo the Wise (886-911) forbade farmers to work on Sunday. The Patriarch of Constantinople Nicephor (806-815) declared that Christians should not even travel on Sunday, unless it was necessary. As early as the eighth century we find more and more local synods prescribing Sunday rest.
In the West, Emperor Charlemagne in 789 banned work on Sunday as a violation of the third commandment of God. In 1234, under Pope Gregory ІХ, the law of Sunday rest became a universal practice in the Latin Church.
Conclusion
It is evident that the celebration of Sunday is the oldest and a very sacred Christian tradition, which originated with the Apostles themselves. Consequently, participation in the Divine Liturgy and the observance of Sunday rest should be for us a natural practice of evident spiritual value. We must not forget that obligation to keep Sunday holy is not only a Church law, but basically also a divine law from which no dispensation can be given. Even if for grave reasons we cannot be present in Church for Sunday services, nevertheless, we are obliged to keep Sunday holy in our own way. We can do this, for example, by frequent remembrance of God, longer prayers, spiritual reading, and guarded speech and conduct.
Abridged from "A Byzantine Rite Liturgical Year" Fr. Julian Katrij, OSBM, 1983
