There is one off handed reference in NT. I want to know if that was solidly started with the Apostles or later? Paul would go to the Syngogue on the Sabbath. Do the Armenian, and Coptic churches have the same custom? How about any other branches of Christianity not descended from the Roman Catholic tradition? Wondering if it was a change made by Roman Catholic Church when it was changing holidays etc. to not be so Jewish like. I know in India they meet on Saturday. Why Saturday there?
Not so interested in thoughts of right or wrong but more the history of the traditions. Please only serious answers from people who have real knowledge on any part of the subject.
CatKween2007-10-08T01:46:26Z
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Christians started meeting on Sunday about the same time Constantine 'converted' (early in the 4th century). The idea was to make christianity 'acceptable' to the common 'pagan' by merging the day of Christian worship with the day of Sun worship (literally Sun-day). Also because it was 'fashionable' to be a Christian many people joined the church who were not converted and so saw no reason to exchange their traditions for the teachings of the church.
There is no place in the Bible that supports the change in the day of worship, a fact that is openly admited by the Roman Catholic Church, they claim that changing the day is a mark of their authority as the Mother Church.
Places such as India and Africa continued to worship on Saturday as they had originally been taught by the Apostles because they had not come under the influence of the Roman Catholic Church. In some of these cases this continues to this day, in others missionaries from various churches have caused a change in the day of worship.
Martin Luthur discovered that the Bible supported the worship of God on Saturday but because he was so firmly convinced about the doctrine of Righteousness by Faith he saw keeping Saturday as works, something he was eager to avoid having left the Catholic system of paying penance to earn your way to heaven. As a result the Churches of the Reformation also kept Sunday.
It is interesting to note that Jesus expected people to still be worshiping on Saturday (referred to by the Jews as the Sabbath) in the last days when he said "Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath." Matthew 24:20 during his dialogue about the end of time with his disciples.
An excellent website about Saturday and Sunday worship is http://www.sabbathtruth.com/
The practice of meeting on Sunday was started by Jesus.
Jesus chose Sunday as his resurrection day.
Jesus appeared to the apostles after his resurrection, on a Sunday, at least two weeks in a row.
Then shorlty before he ascended to heaven, Jesus requested that the apostles gather in Jerusalem to await the descent of the Holy Spirit, on Pentecost Sunday.
Under the continuing influence and guidance of the Holy Spirit, the apostles began to regularly get together along with all the early Christians on Sunday, and celebrate the Lord's supper, which would later be known as the holy sacrifice of the Mass.
In the Catholic church, the practice continues today, and Sunday is also the official universal feast day of the church.
22 different Catholic rites worldwide, follow this practice, as well as most of the orthodox churches.
And being NOT Jewish was never the point. The point was to become authentically Christian.
Under church law, the Sunday observance may be properly accomplished on Saturday afternoon/evening, in addition to, or instead of Sunday, when necessary.
The Catholic church remains as the only authority on earth with the God-given power to make these types of determinations.
I believe you can trace it back to the destruction of the temple by the Romans during the first rebellion in 70 AD. If you get a chance read Joesephus' account, it is not for the weak of stomach. The gentile Christians (Greeks) left the city before it was raised. So you could say it was at that time. Later the Jews kept being persecuted by the Romans. So Christians started distancing themselves.
Its sad but Jews were attacked throughout the empire at that time due to the uprising. The General who became emperor stood outside the gates of the city and was livid to have to lose troops. It is stated they he told the defenders that in all of Gaul he only had 1,500 troops stationed. He was mad they had murdered the troops in Judah and telling them he was going to crush them. It's interesting the battle and the three different factions inside.
If it had not been for a stormy night and the General in charge of the city letting the gate guards off, the zealots would not have been able to open the gates for the other group outside the gate and the city could have been saved. The zealots started it and had been confined to the Temple. Once the other group got in they and the zealots were able to take over and murdered many, in the end they caused so much suffering, but it was said it would happen.
The Christians didn't have a real easy time of it either, but decided they would worship on Sunday. So instead of starting the week on Sunday we start on Monday. That's where it started and yes the later churches changed stuff. To get different peoples to join they made exceptions.
Josephus was a Jewish general that was defeated and became friends with the Roman and wrote away.
There are more details, but you got the idea. Take care.
If you are looking for more info on church changes you should check out How Satan turned America agianst God by Bill Grady it's got a ton of stuff, aobut a 1000 pages. www.gradypublications.com
wally has an excellent answer. He gives the Biblical information necessary to understand the first day of the week worship assembly. The only thing I would add is that gathering together on the first day of the week is in keeping with the entire Bible's concept of giving God the first and best of everything.
Not sure about a lot of other Christ-believing groups. But it is my understanding that Saturday worshipers, like 7th Day Adventist, believe that no specific command is given to worship on Sunday. I'm Christian; not a branch of the Catholic Church, but descendant of Jesus' church He established on the day of Pentecost.
Up until the beginning of the church, God's people were used to going to synagogue on the seventh day of the week (Saturday) which was called the Sabbath. This was a holy day to the Lord, the fourth of Ten Commandments God gave Moses. "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy" (Ex. 20:8). This was, and will always remain, the official Sabbath. However, after Jesus rose from the dead on the first day of the week, Sunday, the New Testament shows that the early Christians began meeting together on this new day as a weekly commemoration of their new life in Christ. "Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight" (Acts 20:7). (See also 1 Cor. 16:2)
Although they were no longer bound to a rigid code of laws or Sabbath keeping (Gal. 3:10-11, Col. 2:16), it is believed that the early church probably came to view Sunday as a combined observance of the Sabbath and the resurrection day of Jesus (Acts 20:7, 1 Cor. 16:2). This day of Christian worship came to be called the Lord's Day (Rev. 1:10), a day to fellowship in celebration of the resurrection, to worship, pray and study the Word together.