The Liturgy in the Early Church Conception
The Mystery of the "Sabbath"
Observance of the "Sabbath"
The word "Sabbath" is a Hebrew word "Shabbath" means "rest." Moses says, "Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you." This divine commandment was of great importance, as God related the "Sabbath day" to Himself, saying, "You shall keep My Sabbaths, for this is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations." He gave an important commandment that not only a man, but also his son, daughter, manservant, maidservant, his cattle and the sojourner who is within his gates, ought to observe the Lord's Sabbaths. Whoever should despise it, would be guilty of dishonoring God Himself and should be put to death.
And we can sense the importance of this commandment when we note how every time the people of the Old Testament wished to return to God, they first read the Holy Bible and observed the Sabbath.
The Sabbath Before the Law
Moses says, "and on the seventh day God finished His work which He had done, and He Rested on the Seventh day from all His work which He had done. So God blessed the Seventh day and hallowed His work which He had done in creation."
We understand that the "Seventh day" was known as the "Lord's Day" even before receiving the written Law. It takes its existence from God Himself Who blessed the seventh day of the creation. Perhaps Adam, who told his sons about it, knew this idea, but as the sons of Adam turned away from God, they used any day of the week as a day of physical rest and refreshment. Some nations gave this
day a religious meaning, as in Babylon, who considered the Seventh day a feast of Mardub and Sarpanitu. On that day they refrained from working, traveling and speaking. At night, the king offered gifts to the gods.
Before receiving the written Law, the people of the Old Testament were ordered to observe the Sabbath or the seventh day by not collecting Manna on that day.
But when the Ten Commandments were delivered, the fourth one ordered men to observe the Sabbath as the Lord's Day, asking them to observe it on the seventh day. The Law ordered them also to celebrate a Sabbatical Year every seven years, saying that is a "Sabbath to the Lord."
An Eternal Commandment
Our Lord came not to abolish the Law but to fulfill it. But we hear one of His disciples say, "Let no one, then, call you to account for what you eat or drink, or in regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ." St. Paul never disregarded the eternal command of observing the Sabbath, but orders us to fulfill it, not in the literal meaning of the word but in its deepest sense, through its reality, i.e. "Christ" Himself.
In his epistle to the Hebrews, the same apostle connects God's rest on the seventh day "the Sabbath," with the seventh day which was mentioned in the Law, and the rest, which was realized by the nation on their entrance to the Promised Land, and the ultimate rest in eternal Life, that is the Real Sabbath.
Our Real Sabbath
1- the Eucharist is Our "True Sabbath"
The observance of the real Sabbath, and not the shadow or the symbol, is what all the Church assembles together around the altar, offering in Jesus Christ the only acceptable Sacrifice to God, and receives His Holy Body and Precious Blood as a Divine Gift from the
Father to the Church.
Thus, we can say that we observe the Sabbath not with idleness as the Pharisees did when they applied the precept to the most trivial acts, and forbade many works of necessity and mercy, but we accept the Lord Jesus as our Sabbath (our Rest). The Pharisees wished that Christ would live with their narrow conception of the Sabbath. But He declared that He was not a slave of the literal Sabbath, but its Lord. Now by the presence of the Lord in His Church every Eucharist, we can say that we celebrate the Sabbath, not as a shadow, but as a pledge of the eternal Sabbath, whence we see our Sabbath face to face in His kingdom.
2- Sabbath as a Feast of Joy
The Sabbath has a special prayer mentioned in the Old Testament in the ninety-second Psalm. It is a hymn of joy and thanksgiving to the Creator, Who created everything for the rest of mankind.
Among the feasts, the Sabbath occupied a foremost position. And in our church, the Sabbath, the Eucharist which is celebrated on Sunday, precedes all the feasts, not for the historical reason, that it was observed before the other feasts, but because it is a source of joy to the Church.
Every week the Church celebrates a weekly Pascha, bearing a testimony to the resurrection of her Lord, practicing with joy the resurrection in her life on earth, waiting for the resurrection of body too. St. Paul says. "Every time you eat this bread and drink from this cup you proclaim the death of the Lord until He comes."
In the weekly Eucharist we celebrate the Joyful feast of the Pascha that shines upon us, and delivers us from grief, and we experience the triumph over death in the Risen Jesus Christ.
Fr. Schmemann says: "In the Orthodox tradition... the Eucharist has always preserved its festal and joyful character. It is first of all the sacrament of Christ's coming and presence among His disciples and therefore it is the celebration - in a very real sense - of His Resurrection. Indeed it is the coming and presence of Christ at the Eucharist that is a proof for the Church of His Resurrection. It is the
joy and the burning of hearts, experienced by the disciples of Emmaus to whom Christ revealed Himself in the breaking of bread (Luke 24:13-35), and it is the practical knowledge of the Resurrection... The Eucharist is still the same coming and presence of Christ, the same joy and burning of heart."
3- Sabbath as a Sign of Redemption
"You shall remember that you were a servant... and the Lord your God brought you thence with a mighty hand and outstretched arm; therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day."
Thus, the Sabbath was a remembrance of the rest in the Promised Land. It was also a shadow, as St. Paul says, "For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later of another day. So then there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God." The other rest is the memorial of the mighty hand of God which delivers us from the slavery of sin and brings us into true liberty, not by remembering the events of the cross and resurrection, but by participating in the crucified and risen Body of Christ.
Hence every Sunday, we celebrate the New Sabbath by practicing our salvation from sin through the Communion, i.e. the Eucharist.
Until our Savior's coming, we shall observe the Sabbath spiritually, having rested from sin.
St. Clement of Alexandria
4- the Lord's Day
God says, "My Sabbath," and in the New Church the New Sabbath is called the "Lord's day," or the day of the "Kyriake," "Kyriak." The word "Kyriak" was used for matters concerning emperors. So it means that the day "which the Lord has made," is the day when the heavenly King takes possession of our hearts as a divine Emperor. St. Ignatius says, "Those who once lived according to the ancient order of things have come to the new hope, observing no longer the Sabbath, but the Lord's day, the day on which our life was
raised up by Christ and by His death."
5- the Eschatological Significance
The Sabbath, the seventh day or the last day of the week, has an eschatological meaning as it refers to the end of this world.
In the Old Testament, people were ordered to cease working, and to devote the seventh day to worship. This would enable their hearts to be lifted up to heaven, to ask for true rest, which is eternal life.
Now we have entered the pledge of eternal life, the kingdom of God, the world to come. We no more celebrate the seventh day, but the eighth (i.e. Sunday) and let it be called the first day, that means we leave the seven days of this time on earth so as to enter the new eighth day which is above this time and the first of the coming world.
It is no longer necessary to remember the end of the world on the seventh day, but we need to meditate on the beginning of the new life on the eighth day, the day of Christ's resurrection! For St. Paul says, "Therefore, if any one is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old has passed away, behold, the new has come."
On the Seventh day, the Lord sent upon the earth the flood after speaking to Noah, and Eight persons were saved in the ark so that they might enjoy the new creation.
For the same reason on the Eighth day after birth, the newborn must be circumcised, so that he would be a member of the people of God.
Number Eight has an eschatological meaning, which explains why the eighth beatitude promises the kingdom of God.
For this reason the Church celebrates the Eucharist on the Eighth day, Sunday, entering the world to come, opening the gates of heaven, by her communion with her heavenly Bridegroom.
Meyendorf says, "The custom of celebrating the Eucharistic Liturgy on a daily basis is a relatively recent practice, both in the East and the West. However it has never become widespread in the East,
hence the Orthodox Church has not issued any obligation for its priests to celebrate the liturgy daily and it is not regarded as their specific task. It is an act involving the whole Church retaining for the liturgy some of its meaning as a 'public function,' a solemnity involving the whole community and normally taking place only on Sundays and Feast days." This signifies and foretells the world to come.
Hence, both as a memorial and as an anticipation of the world to come, the Eucharist is the function by which the Church identifies itself with the kingdom of God. This is the essential meaning of the celebration held on the eighth day of the week, i.e. "The Lord's Day."
6- the Sabbath and Perfection
God says, "Incense is an abomination to me, New moon and Sabbath... I cannot endure... wash yourselves; make yourselves clean." As much as we are clean from iniquity, God rests in us and we rest in Him. That is true of the Sabbath, that we wash ourselves by the cleansing Blood of Jesus Christ.
He who does not sin truly observes the Sabbath.
The perfect man is he who is always occupied with the words, the actions and the thoughts of the Word of God, and is always living in His Day, and all his days are the Lord's Days .
They did not undertake servile work on the Sabbath day. As for us we do no servile work on the Lord's Day, that is the day of resurrection.
The Jews did not leave their houses, and as for us let us not leave the house of Christ, let us remain in the Church.
The Jews did not kindle fire on the Sabbath, let us, by contrast, kindle the fire of the Holy Spirit, and let us burn out every vice and every sin .
7- Sabbath and the Day of the Sun
St. Justine speaks to the heathens about the first day of the week, which they call "the day of the sun," saying that that is a proper name, for on this day the True Sun shone by His resurrection. On the first day of creation, the light appeared.
The New Sabbath in the New Church
St. Basil the Great says that there are many things descending from the tradition of the apostles beside the written teachings. Among these things is the sanctification of the first day of the week.
1- The Lord was accustomed to meet His disciples after His resurrection on the first day of the week. He appeared to them on the Sunday of the Easter itself. On the same day He accompanied His two disciples who were journeying to Emmaus, spoke with them, quoting from Moses and the Prophets, and broke the bread. On the following Sunday He appeared to His disciples too.
After the ascension, they assembled for worshipping on Sunday when the Holy Spirit descended on them.
St. Paul invited the Corinthians to make a collection for the poor brethren of the faith in Jerusalem; this collection should take place "on the first day of the week." The Acts tells us about his departure from Troas. It says, "And on the First day of the week, when we the disciples were assembled to break Bread…"
From these indications, we have to conclude that already in the fifties of the first century, at least in the Pauline communities, Sundays were observed, if not as the only day, then at least as the principal day, on which the Breaking of Bread that is the Christian worship took place. This day is then called in the language of the Jewish Miliaw "the
Cf. St. Clement of Alex: Strom 6: 16.
St. Jerome also says: "It is called the day of the Sun by the pagans, we willingly accept this name. For on this day the Light rose again."
first day of the week."
Some Christians, who were from Jewish origin, observed the Saturday besides Sunday celebration, but gradually the shadow passed away and reality replaced it. The same thing happened with the Temple, the apostles continued to go there and pray while the new Temple, which is the Christian community, was already in existence.
- 2- In the second century, the disciples of the apostles, wrote about observing the new Sabbath. St. Irenaeus spoke about the Sabbath as a true worship and not limited to the literal meaning, i.e. the seventh day. Barnabas declared that God does not accept the Jewish Sabbath, but the one, which God made, that is the eighth day on which the Lord rose again. St. Ignatius says, "Those who live according to the old order of things have come to the new hope and observe no longer the Saturday but the Sunday."
- 3- The third and the fourth centuries are the golden age of the writings of the holy Fathers. Many Fathers spoke about the celebration of the Liturgy of the Eucharist on Sundays.
Until 321 A.D. the Christians observed Sunday, but they were obliged to go to work. Then in 321 A.D. Constantine issued an edict declaring Sunday as a public holiday.