Continued
Concerning the first question it would seem highly probable
that the weekly Sabbath fast arose in Rome as an outgrowth or
extension of the annual paschal Sabbath fast, since we noticed,
192 (1) that the latter was an integral part of the Easter-Sunday
celebration - strongly advocated by the Church of Rome - and (2)
that the weekly Sabbath fast was known in Rome possibly already
early in the second century.
With regard to the second question as to whether the paschal
Sabbath fast expressed not only the sorrow for Christ's death but
also a Christian contempt for its authors, namely the Jews, we
find explicit statements to that effect. In a document of the
first half of the third century, 193 known as the Didascalia
Apostolorum, the unknown author deals at length in chapter 21
with the question of the paschal fast. He prescribes a partial
fast "with bread and salt and water only" from Monday to
Thursday, "but on the Friday and on the Sabbath," he says,
"fast wholly and taste nothing." 194 The reason for the fast is
stated repeatedly "It is on account of the disobedience of our
brethren [i.e., the Jews] that you are to fast." 195 During the
Sabbath fast the Christians were to keep a vigil "praying and
interceding for the destruction of the People [i.e., the Jews],
because they erred and confessed not our Saviour." 196 The writer
then adds:
Fast then on the Friday, because thereon the People killed
themselves in crucifying our Saviour; and on the Sabbath also
because it is the sleep of our Lord; for it is a day which ought
especially to be kept with fasting; even as blessed Moses also,
the prophet of all [things touching] this matter, commanded. For
because he knew by the Holy Spirit and it was commanded
......
192 See above pp.63-69.
193 Concerning the date of composition of the Didascalia, see,
Quasten, Patrology 2:147 ; cf. R. Hugh Connolly, Didascalia
Apostolorum (Oxford Clarendon Press, 1929), pp. lxxxvii-xci.
(Hereafter cited as Connolly, Didascalia Apostolorum.)
194 Connolly, Didascalia Apostolorum 21, p.189.
195 Ibid., p. 184 ; cf. also pp. 180-181, 189, 190, 192; the
Apostolic Constitutions, 5,15 similarly state, referring to the
paschal Sabbath fast: "Ye ought therefore to bewail over them,
because when the Lord came they did not believe on Him " (ANF 7
:445); Epiphanius also affirms: "In fact the very apostles
establish: When they [i.e., the Jews] feast, we should mourn for
them with fasting, because in that feast they fastened Christ on
the Cross" (Adverms Haereses 70,11, PG 42, 359-360.
196 Connolly, Didascalia Apostolorum 21, p.189.
......
him by the Almighty God, who knew what the People were to do to
his Son and His beloved Jesus Christ. 191
The author proceeds then to show how God, in view of the
evil the Jews would do to Christ, laid upon them the Sabbath as a
perpetual "mourning for their destruction." 198 In the Apostolic
Constitutions, a later ecclesiastical constitution (dated ca.
A.D. 375) based largely on the Didascalia, in a similar vein the
Christians are enjoined "to fast the day of the preparation and
the Sabbath-day entirely" because "in these days ... He was taken
from us by the Jews, falsely so named and fastened to the cross"
199 While fasting, according to the same document, the Christians
are "to bewail over them [the Jews] because when the Lord came
they did not believe on Him, but rejected His doctrine, judging
themselves unworthy of salvation." 200
In the light of these indications it would seem that some
Christians at least understood the paschal Sabbath fast to be not
only an occasion to mourn the death and burial of Christ but also
atime to remember and condemn the crime committed by the Jews.
This leads us to the third question we raised above
regarding a possible causal relationship between the introduction
of the weekly Sabbath fast and the abandonment by some Christians
of the observance of the Sabbath. Thus far we have estabished
that the weekly Sabbath fast seems to have originated in Rome as
an extension of the annual paschal Sabbath fast, which seemingly
expressed not only the Christian's sorrow for Christ's death but
also contempt for its authors namely the Jews. Since we have also
noticed that the Jews honored the Sabbath especially
......
197 Ibid., p.190.
198 Loc. cit.; Rordorf points out that "in the Didascalia the
institution of the Sabbath is interpreted as a 'preventive
punishment' of the Jewish people" (Sabbat, p.40); Justin, as we
shall see (see below p.104) regards the Sabbath in a similar
fashion.
199 Apostolic Constitutions 5,18, ANF 7, 447.
200 Ibid., 5,15, p.445; Cotton recognizes the anti-Judaic
motivations for the Sabbath fast. He writes: "We may well assume
that anti-Jewish considerations, so prominent in Victorinus, were
by no means absent as a factor in hastening the observance of the
Sabbath fast" (Sabbath, p.67); similarly Righetti comments:
"One notices in some churches in the East, as well as in Rome and
Spain, a strong tendency to emphasize the Sabbath with a fast,
probably because of a certain anti-Semitism, as Victorinus of
Pettau in Stiria (d. ca. A.D.300) leaves us to suppose"
(Righetti, Storia Liturgica, 2:38); see also the texts and
comments that follow.
......
by feasting and rejoicing on that day, the extension of the
annual paschal Sabbath fast to the weekly Sabbath may well
represent the attempt of some Christians to abandon and
substitute not only the annual Jewish Passover, but even the
weekly Jewish Sabbath. We shall briefly refer to some Patristic
testimonies which seem to substantiate the validity of this
hypothesis.
Augustine, in his "Epistle to Casulanus," already cited,
reports the charges of a Roman "nameless Metropolitan " who said
of those:
who on the seventh day of the week refresh themselves soberly and
moderately with food ... that they prefer Jewish rites to those
of the Church, and are sons of the bondwoman; that they are
governed not by the righteous law of God, but by their own good
pleasure, consulting their own appetites instead of submitting to
salutary restraint; also that they are carnal and savour of
death, and other such charges, which if he had uttered against
even one servant of God, who would listen to hire, who would not
be bound to turn away from him ? 201
Even though Augustine dismissed as groundless these charges
which this anonymous Roman prelate had launched through a
treatise (which was sent to Augustine for refutation by
Casulanus), the fact that he (i.e., Augustine) refuted his
arguments at length would seem to indicate that there were
Christians like Casulanus who were concerned and confused by the
insistence of the Church of Rome on the Sabbath fast, and who
were seeking guidance on the matter.
It is interesting to notice that Augustine was baffled by
the insistence of this Roman Metropolitan who made "only the
seventh day's repast" the sign of being carnal, even if one
fasted instead "for five successive days of the week." 202
The charges that the Christians who ate their meals on the
Sabbath "are sons of the bondwoman" and that " hey prefer Jewish
rites to those of the Church" are indicative of the unusual
effort put forth by the Church of Rome to break away from any
veneration of the Sabbath, regarded as a Jewish institution.
The polemic work "Against the Calumnies" of the Greek 203 of
......
201 Augustine, Epistle to Casulanus 36, par 4 NPNF 1st Series
1:266
202 Ibid., par. 8, p.267
203 The treatise, entitled in Latin Adversus Graecorum Calumnias,
was composed in the form of a debate about the year 1054 by
Cardinal Humbert. The Cardinal had been sent by Pope Leo IX early
in 1054 as papal nuncios to Constantinople to endeavor to bring
back the Greeks into conformity with religious practices of the
Roman (Latin) church.
......
Cardinal Humbert of Rome, provides additional evidence in this
regard. The Cardinal argues that the Latins in no way resemble
the Jews in their observance of the Sabbath, since on that day
they "do all sorts of work, even as in the preceding five days
and fast [on the Sabbath]..." 204 He proceeds then to show to
the Greeks that they are the ones who judaize since they, observe
the Sabbath in the identical manner of the Jews. While the
document per se, due to it late date (ca. A.D 1054), carries
little weight in a studt of the Sabbth fast in Rome in the early
centuries, the lengthy quotation„ from "the most blessed Pope
Sylveater" (A.D. 314-335), which Cardinal Humbert cites to
dissuade the Greeks from the observance of the Sabbath, provides
significant insights into the motivations, for the enforcement of
the Sabbath fast in Rome. Pope Sylyester states:
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 (exsecratione
Judaeorum). In fact all the disciples of the Lord had a
lamentation on the Sabbath, bewailing the buried Lord, and
gladness prevailed for the exulting Jews. But sadness reigned for
the fasting apostles. In like manner we are sad with the saddened
by the burial of the Lord, if we want to rejoice with them in the
day of the Lord's resurrection. In fact it is not proper to
observe, because of Jewish customs, the consumption of food
(destructiones ciborum) and the ceremonies of the Jews. 205
In this statement Pope Sylvester contrasts the different
"theological meanings and manners of observance which existed
between
......
The mission however did not succeed. The treatise was composed as
a further attempt to dissuade the Greeks from holding on to
curtain divergent religious practices such as the veneration of
the Sabbath. The significance of the document for our study is
twofold : (1) it substantiates the existing divergent attitude
toward the Sabbath between the East and the West; (2) it quotes
the earlier testimony of Pope Sylvester (ca. A.D. 314-335) which
offers additional insights into the motivations for the Sabbath
fast.
204 S.R. E.Humbert, Adversus Graecorum calumnias 6, PL 143, 936.
205 Ibid., PL.143, 93f; The authenticity of the document seems
confirmed (1) by the fact that other known documents, such as the
famous decretal of Innocent I (see above p.68), are accurately
quoted (PL 143, 93f); (2) by the fact that Popes like Hadrian I
(Epist.70, ad Egilam Episcopum, PL 98, 335) and Nicolas I (Epist.
152, Ad Hinc-marum, PL 119, 115f) refer to Sylvester's statement
to defend the Roman Sabbath fast.
......
Sunday and Sabbath. The former, in fact, was to be observed as a
joyful day in memory of the resurrection while the latter was to
be regarded as a day of mourning on account of the burial of
Jesus. It is worth noticing however that Christians were enjoined
to mourn and abstain from food on the Sabbath, not only to
remember Christ's burial and the bewailing disciples, but also to
show contempt for the Jews (exsecratione Judaeorum). It is
clearly stated in fact that it is "because of Jewish custom -
more Judaico -" that meals and ceremonies are prohibited on the
Sabbath. The fast of the Sabbath appears then to have been
ordered on one hand to urge the Christians to renounce the Jewish
Sabbath and on the other hand, to provide greater honor and
recognition to Sunday. "We are sad" (on the Sabbath), Pope
Sylvester writes, "to rejoice in the day of the Lord's
resurrection." 206 The same motivations for the Sabbath fast are
emphatically presented by Victorinus; bishop of Pettau (c. ca.
A.D. 304). He writes:
On the seventh day, He rested from all His works. On this day we
are accustomed to fast rigorously so that on the Lord's day we
may go forth to our bread with giving thanks. We must fast even
on Friday in order that we might not appear to observe the
Sabbath with the Jews, of which the Lord of the Sabbath himself,
the Christ, says by His prophets that His soul hateth. ... 207
Even though Victorinus does not write directly from Rome.
208 since he was bishop of Pettau in present-day Austria, his
testi-
......
206 Loc. cit.
207 Victorinus of Pettau, De Fabrics mundi 5, CSEL 49, 5; in the
Didascalia Apostolorum 21 the Christians are similarly advised to
fast on "Friday and the Sabbath" because of what the Jews did to
Christ, but to "eat and make good cheer, and rejoice and be glad
[on Sunday], because that the earnest of our resurrection,
Christ, is risen" (Connolly, p.190); Canon 29 of the Council of
Laodicea (Mansi 2:570) ordered "that 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." In all of these texts the order to fast or to work
on the Sabbath seems to be designed on the one hand to depreciate
the Sabbath and on the other hand to enhance the prestige and the
solemnity of Sunday.
208 Even though both Regan (Dies Dominica, p.64) and Cotton
(Sabbath, p. 6) attribute the statement of Victorinus to the
Roman custom, there does not seem to exist valid indications that
justify such a connection. Nevertheless Victorinus' testimony is
of great value for the West.
......
mony well reflects the attitude toward the Sabbath of certain
Western Christian communities, which we have found exemplified
particularly in the Roman sources. Two reasons are explicitly
given by Victorinus as a justificatiion for the Sabbath fast.
First, the fast of the Sabbath predisposed the Christians to
enter into the observance of Sunday more eagerly and gratefully.
In other words the depreciation of the Sabbath was designed to
give greater honor and value to Sunday. Secondly, by fasting on
the Sabbath Christians were to show their radical break from the
Jewish Sabbath. It is worth noticing that even the Friday fast is
prescribed for the very same reasons. We may wonder in what way
the Friday fast was contributing to avoiding any semblance of
Jewish Sabbath observance. The answer seems to be found in the
fact that the extension of the fast over two days made the fast
of the second day particularly severe. Duchesne notes: "The
Sabbath fast was the most severe as no food could have been eaten
since the Thursday night" 209 It would seem then that the Friday
fast, by intensifying the feeling of hunger on the Sabbath was
designed to achieve two objectives. On one hand, it heightened
the sense of distinction from Judaism or, to use Pope Sylvester's
stronger words, "the execration of the Jews" 210 On the other
hand, as Rordorf points out, "after two days of abstinence, the
festival on the Sunday following could be celebrated all the more
joyously." 211
A strict Sabbath fast would naturally preclude also the
celebration of the Eucharist, since the partaking of the "Lord's
Body" would be regarded as breaking the fast. Disagreement
existed, however, on this matter. Tertullian, for instance,
speaking of the two fasting days (stationer, i.e., Wednesday and
Friday), tells us that in North Africa many thought that their
fast would be "dissolved by the reception of the Lord's Body,"
212 and for this reason they absented themselves from the
religious services on those days. Tertullian himself opposed such
view, believing rather that the reception of the Eucharist made
the fast more solemn. To reconcile the keeping of the fast with
the partaking of the Eucharist, Tertullian suggested to those who
were troubled in their conscience, to take the "Lord's Body "
home and to eat
......
209 Duchesne, Worship, p.233; this, however was true only for the
annual paschal fast. The weekly Sabbath or station fasts lasted
usually until 3 p.m.
210 S.R.E. Humbert, Adversus Qraeeorum calumnias 6, PI. 143, 936.
211 Rordorf, Sunday, p.143.
212 Tertullian, On Prayer 19. ANF 3:68f.
......
it after the completion of the fast. 213 In Rome, however, we
know for certain that Saturday was not only a day of fasting, but
also a day in which no liturgical celebration was allowed. Pope
Innocent I, in his famous letter to Decentius already quoted,
which was later incorporated into the Canon Law, established that
"as the tradition of the Church maintains, in these two days
[Friday and Saturday] one should not absolutely (penitus)
celebrate the sacraments." 211 Pop Innocent I's decretal is
confirmed by the testimony of two contemporary historians,
Sozomen 215 (ca. A.D. 440) and Socrates (ca. A.D. 439). The
latter writes:
For although almost all churches throughout the world celebrate
the sacred mysteries on the sabbath of every week, yet the
Christians of Alexandria and at Rome, on account of some ancient
tradition, have ceased to do this. 216
Socrates does not explain why in Rome and Alexandria there
were no Eucharistic celebrations on the Sabbath. He states
however that the custom went back to "an ancient tradition."
This would allow us to suppose that the proscription of the
celebration of the Mass and the injunction of fasting, due to
their close nexus, may have originated contemporaneously,
possibly early in the second century as part of the effort to
break away from Jewish rites, which we have discussed above.
217 Sozomen's description of the customs prevailing in his day
is strikingly similar to the one of Socrates, but he speaks only
of religious assemblies, without reference to any Eucharistic
celebration. He confirms however that while "the people of
Constantinople, and almost everywhere, assemble together on the
Sabbath, as well as on the first day of the week," such "custom
is never observed at Rome or at Alexandria." 218
In the light of these cumulative evidences, it appears that
the Church of Rome played a key role in early Christianity in
emptying the Sabbath of every cultic significance 219 and in
consequently
......
213 Loc. cit.
214 Innocent I, Epist. 25, 4, 7, Ad Decentium, PL 20, 555; the
letter is passed into the Corpus Juris, c. 13, d. 3, de
Consecratione.
215 Sozomen, Hist. Eccl. 7, 19, PG 67, 14ff.
216 Socrates, Eccles. History 5, 22, NPNF 2nd Series, 2:132.
217 See above pp.72-74 and below pp.86f.
218 Sozomen, Eccles. History 7, 19, NPNF 2nd Series, 2:390.
219 Mosna aptly comments: "In the weekly liturgical celebrations.
Rome differentiated herself from all the Eastern communities as
well as from many in the West, drawing nearer somewhat to the
usages of Alexandria.
......
urging the adoption and exclusive observance of Sunday. The
proscription of the celebration of the Mass and the injunction to
fast on the Sabbath, while on one hand it was apparently designed
to devaluate the Sabbath by making it a non-liturgical day, on
the other hand it urged and enhanced the observance of Sunday.
A question arises at this point: Why did the Church of Rome
assume such an intransigent attitude toward Jewish institutions
like the quartodeciman Passover and the Sabbath, urging Christ-
ians to renounce and replace them with new dates and meanings?
The answer to this question seems to be found in that complex of
social, religious and political tensions which, as we have
endeavored to analyze earlier in our study, existed among
Christianity, Judaism and the Empire, and which were particularly
felt in the imperial city. We noticed, 220 in fact, that the
following factors were in and were experienced by the Church of
Rome in a special way: (1) the Church was composed there
primarily of converted Gentiles; (2) Christians experienced in
the city an earlier differentiation from the Jews than elsewhere
in the Empire; (3) the Jews were particularly unpopular in Rome
due to their exclusive customs and constant rebellions; (4)
anti-Judaic fiscal measures were passed at this time by the
imperial authorities which indirectly urged the Christians to
clearly differentiate themselves from the Jews to avoid a
taxation they (the Christians) would regard as unjust; (5)
Hadrian's prohibition of the practice of Judaism in general, and
of the circumcision and Sabbath in particular, similarly
encouraged a break from those typical Jewish customs, especially
on the part of those Christians who were living under the
immediate attention of the Emperor; (6) social and theological
conflicts were particularly acute in Rome, as evidenced
......
First of all, Friday and Saturday were non-liturgical as far as
the celebration of the Eucharist is concerned. Already concerning
Alexandria, the testimony of Socrates has been reported. While in
all the Churches of the Christian World it was customary to
celebrate the Eucharist on the Sabbath, the Alexandrians and the
Romans, on account of an ancient tradition, refused to do so;
this information is confirmed by Sozomon. Further on, while in
all the Churches of the Orient, at Milan and in Africa because of
the veneration for the Sabbath day one would not fast, at Rome
and in Spain on the contrary such a day was consecrated to
fasting" (Storia della domenica, p.330). Mosna suggests that Rome
influenced the disappearance of the veneration of the Sabbath:
"Perhaps in this the example of Rome (which never had any special
cult on the Sabbath) must have acted and been influential"
(ibid., 354).
220 The social, political and religious situation of the Church
of Rome is treated above pp.53-61.
......
by Justin's polemic Dialogue with Trypho, composed in the city by
the middle of the second century. 221 In addition to these
factors, which were present in their totality only in Rome, it is
worth considering the influence which Marcion's anti-Judaic and
anti-Sabbath attitude might have exerted in the Church of Rome.
Rordorf recognizes the possible influence of Marcion in the
introduction of the Sabbath fasting. He writes: "Another factor
which may perhaps have influenced the Church at large; may have
been Marcion's habit of fasting on Saturday in order to
demonstrate his hatred against the God of the Jews." 222 In
fact, according to Epiphanius (ca. A.D.374-377), Marcion ordered:
the fast on Saturday justifying it in this way: "Because it is
the rest of the God of the Jews," he says, "who has created the
world and has rested on the seventh day; we fast in that day in
order not to accomplish on that day what was ordained by the God
of the Jews." 223
It is worth remembering that it was in Rome itself that
Marcion established himself toward A.D. 137-139, exercising an
enormous influence on the local Christian community. It is a fact
that even after his expulsion from the Church (ca. A.D. 144) he
had a large following in Rome. Be founded a separate church in
Rome which irradiated its influence "in length and in width with
a surprising rapidity, in a special way in the East as far as
Persia, and Armenia, thus surpassing in extension and importance
all other gnostic groups." 224 It could be objected however that,
since Marcion's dualistic theological teachings were condemned
and since he himself was excommunicated by the Church of Rome, he
could hardly have influenced the Christians in Rome or elsewhere
by his Sabbath fast teachings which were motivated by his strong
contempt for the Jewish God of the Old Testament. To answer this
objection, we ought to consider the extent of the influence of
Marcion's teaching.
It is a fact that Marcion's dualistic and anti-Judaic
teachings spread far and wide, attracting especially those who
leaned against the Jews. Justin testifies that "Marcion, a man of
Pontus, who
......
221 Justin's writings and his attitude toward the Jews as well as
toward the Sabbath will be analyzed below; see pp.101f.
222 Rordorf, Sunday, p.144.
223 Epiphanius, Adversus haereses 42, 3, 4, GCS 31, 98.
224 K.Bihlmeyer and H.Tuechle, Storia delta Chiesa, 4 vols.
(Brescia Morcelliana, 1969), 1:186.
......
is even at this day alive, ... by the aid of devils, has caused
many of every nation to speak blasphemies." 225, Tertullian, for
example, in North Africa, found it necessary to defend the
Christians from the influence of Marcion's teachings by producing
his longest treatise, Against Marcion, which he admits to have
revised in three successive editions. 226 Concerning the Sabbath,
Tertullian argues against Marcion that
even if as being not the Christ of the Jews, He (i.e., Christ of
the N.T.) displayed a hatred against the Jews' most solemn day,
He was only professedly following the Creator, as being His
Christ, in this very hatred of the Sabbath; for He exclaims by
the mouth of Isaiah: "Your new moons and your Sabbaths my soul
hateth." 227
The thrust of Tertullian's lengthy and elaborate arguments,
presented particularly in books 1, 2, 4, 5 of Against Marcion, is
to show, contrary to what Marcion taught, that the type of
Sabbath keeping originally intended by the God of the Old
Testament is identical to Christ's teachings regarding it. 228
There is therefore no contradiction but harmony between the
teachings of the O.T. and of the N.T. regarding Sabbath-keeping,
in as much as they both derive from the same God who was the God
of both dispensations. While Tertullian as a Montanist totally
rejected Marcion's teachings regarding the Sabbath fast, it is
worth asking if perchance some Catholic Christians in North
Africa were affected by them. In chapter 14 of the treatise On
Fasting we have already noticed 229 that Tertullian chides the
Catholic Christians, saying "You sometimes continue your station
even over the Sabbath, - a day never to be kept as fast except at
the Passover season, according to a reason elsewhere given." 230
Is it possible, we may ask, that these Christians who extended
their Friday fast over to the Sabbath day were, indirectly
perhaps, influenced by Marcion's teachings? Tertullian suggests
such a possibility in the following chapter of the same treatise,
where he refers to:
......
225 Justin, I Apology 26, ANF 1: 171.
226 See, Tertullian, Against Marcion 1, 1, ANF 3: 271.
227 Ibid., 4, 12, p.362.
228 For an analysis of Tertullian'e arguments against Marcion,
see Strand, Essays on the Sabbath, pp.31-38.
229 See above p.69.
230 ANF 4: 112.
......
the heretics who would enjoin perpetual abstinence to the extent
of destroying and despising the works of the Creator; such as I
may find in the person of a Marcion, a Tatian, or a Jupiter, the
Pythagorean heretic of today. 231
It is interesting to notice that Tertullian in his effort to
defend the Montanists (to whom he then belonged) from the
apparent accusations of adding or prolonging the fasting days,
not only attacked the Catholics (i.e., the accusers) for fasting
on the Sabbath (a day in which the Montanists never fasted) 232
but he also cites the example of Marcion as being one of the
heretics who advocated "perpetual abstinence to the extent of
destroying and despising the works of the Creator." 233 While it
must be admitted that the statement does not mention specifically
the Sabbath fast but a "perpetual fasting," the fact that
Tertullian cited Marcion as an example, who we know emphasized
especially the Sabbath fast, would load us to suppose that
Marcion exerted a considerable influence in North Africa on the
fasting question, and that possibly he may have influenced
indirectly those Christians (whom Tertullian rebukes) who were
practicing the Sabbath fast.
If the influence of Marcion was felt in a distant Christian
community such as that of North Africa, we may wonder to what
extent his anti-Judaic and anti-Sabbath teachings affected the
Christians in Rome, since there was his headquarters. Justin, who
labeled Marcion as an offspring of the devil, testifies that even
then (ca. A.D.150) he was teaching in the city and that "many
have believed (him) as if he alone knew the truth." 234 The
influence of Marcion was apparently so strongly felt in Rome even
half a century later as to call for a refutation of his teachings
by Hippolytus. While the latter's treatise Against Marcion is
unfortunately lost, 235 we noticed earlier that in his Commentary
on Daniel, Hippolytus condemns those who ordered "fasting on the
Sabbath." 236 Was Hippolytus' condemnation of the Sabbath fast
......
231 Tertullian, On Fasting 15, ANF 4: 112; (italics mine);
concerning Tatian, Irenaeus informs us that he was initially a
disciple of Justin Martyr, but that later he accepted certain
Marcionite views (Against Heresies 1, 28, ANF 1:353).
232 See above p.81, fn. 5.
233 See above fn.1.
234 Justin, I Apology 58, ANF 1: 182.
235 Eusebius (Hist. Eccl. 6, 22) and Jerome (De Viris illustribus
61) mention the treatise Against Marcion which Hippolytus wrote,
but which unfortunately has not come down to us.
236 See above p.65.
......
directed exclusively against the Marcionites? Since we noticed
that the Liber Pontificalis reports the contemporary decretal of
Pope Callystus which enjoined a seasonal Sabbath fast, 237 it
would seem then that the custom was not exclusive of the
Marcionites, but had been adopted by Catholics (particularly in
Rome) as well. This does not exclude the possible influence of
Marcion on the Church of Rome on this particular question of
Sabbath fasting. Considering, in fact, the acute social and
theological tension which, we noticed, existed in Rome at that
time between Jews and Christians, it would not be at all
surprising if Marcion's anti-Judaic and anti-Sabbath teachings
were favorably received by many Christians there. By this we do
not mean to attribute to Marcion the exclusive responsibility for
the introduction of the Sabbath fast. In fact, if our previous
conclusion is correct that the weekly Sabbath fast arose as an
extension of the annual paschal Sabbath fast (in conjunction with
or soon after the introduction of the Easter-Sunday), 238 then
probably it was already practiced by some at least in Rome prior
to the arrival of Marcion. However, this does not preclude the
possibility that Marcion's anti-Sabbath teachings might have
added strength to a custom perhaps only recently introduced and
therefore not yet accepted by the majority of the Christians.
In this regard it is worth remembering that Justin, a
contemporary of Marcion in Rome, while, on one hand, he
repudiated as "ridiculous and preposterous" 239 the notion that
the Sabbath of the Old Testament was given by a different God, on
the other hand he did not hesitate to designate the Sabbath as a
mark of unfaithfulness of the Jews, imposed on them by God to
distinguish and separate them from other nations. 240 The
existence in Rome of such a strong anti-Sabbath attitude
undoubtedly offered a favorable ground to Marcion's Sabbath fast
teachings.
It would seem, therefore, that the Sabbath fast, which was
strongly advocated by the Church of Rome, not only reveals the
tension which existed in Rome between Jews and Christians, but
it is also indicative of the drastic measures taken by the Roman
ecclesiastical authorities to force a radical break with Judaism
and to lead the Christians to worship exclusively on Sunday. In
the East, however, where Jewish institutions constituted, as
A.P.Hayman
......
237 See above pp.65-66.
238 See above pp.67-69.
239 Justin, Dialogue with Trypho 23, 1.
240 See below pp.103f., for Justin's concept of the Sabbath.
......
rightly points out, 241 "a perennial attraction ... for the
Christians" probably due to the constant influx of converts from
the synagogue, not only was, Sabbath fasting prohibited, but
special reverence was shown to the Sabbath (as well as to Sunday)
by conducting regular religious services.
In the light of the cumulative evidences which have been
examined, it would seem likely to suppose that in Rome the
devaluation of the Sabbath on the part of the Christian
community, mostly of pagan extraction, took place in the first
half of the second century. This would be part of that process of
differentiation from Judaism which became necessary for the
various reasons considered, as for instance: the unpopularity of
the Jews in Rome, the anti-Judaic fiscal measures, the awakening
Jewish nationalism and the constant Jewish rebellions, the
prohibition of the practice of Judaism by Hadrian (which included
Sabbath observance), the influence of Marcion, and the derogatary
campaign of the Jews against the Christians. If it was in Rome
that the break with Judaism occurred earlier and more radically
than elsewhere with the abandoning of the Sabbath observance it
is plausible to assume that it was there also and for the same
motivations and at the same time that Sunday was introduced as
the new day of worship by the majority of the Christians. The
Easter-controversy would seem to furnish some further indications
to support this thesis.
......
241 A.P.Hayman, ed., and trans., The Disputation of Sergius the
Stylite Against a Jew, Corpus Scriptorium Christianorum
Orientalium, vol. 339 (Louvain : Secretariat du Corpus SCO,
1973), p.75; it is interesting to notice the rationale adopted by
those Syrian Christians who, for instance, "gave oil and
unleavened bread to the synagogue" (22: 12). Sergius quotes them
as saying: "If Christianity is good, behold, I am baptized as a
Christian. But if Judaism is also, behold, I will associate
partly with Judaism that I might hold on to the Sabbath" (22, 15
p.77). Hayman offers a significant comment to this text: "It is
possible to cite; evidence proving that the Disputation of
Sergius the Stylite is witnessing here to a situation endemic in
Syria from the first to the thirteenth century A.D). From the
warning of the Didascalia in the third century to the canons of
the Jacobite church in the thirteenth, the Christian authorities
strove to counteract the perennial attraction of Jewish
observances for Christiarns. Not only in Syria, but, throughout
the Orient, and occasionally in the West, the Church was
perpetually confronted with the problem of Judaising Christians
as Marcel Simon's comprehensive study of the phenomenon has
demonstrated. The Church's anti-Jewish polemic was motivated, not
by any abstract theological considerations, but by a very real
threat to its position" (ibid., p.75). See below p.118, fn.
377-378 for patristic references to Sabbath keeping in the East.
.................
To be continued
Anti-Judaism and the Origin of Sunday!The Great Easter/Passover Debate
by the late Dr.Samuele Bacchiocchi PhD
Rome and the Easter-Controversy.
Epiphanius, we noticed, reports that the controversy over
Easter celebration,"arose after the exodus of the bishops of the
circumcision [ca. A. D. 135]." 242
The controversy, as we have seen, was primarily over the
actual day on which Easter was to be celebrated. Some celebrated
Easter on the 14th of Nisan according to Jewish reckoning and
were called Quartodecimans. Others (the majority of the
Christians according to Eusebius) 243 had adopted a new date,
that is, the Sunday after the 14th of Nisan, on which to
celebrate their Easter. 244 The cited statement of Epiphanius
implies that the Gentile-Christian leaders who settled in
Jerusalem after 135 introduced at that time the Easter-Sunday
custom and by this action provoked the controversy. The
controversy may have been caused by a significant segment of the
new Christian membership who (being still loyal to the
quartodeciman custom) refused to accept the change. Bagatti, a
specialist in the history of the Judeo-Christians, holds, on the
other hand, that the conflict was provoked by the Judeo-
Christians, who "after a temporary withdrawal, returned to the
city rapidly," opposing the Easter-Sunday innovation. 245
Two questions arise at this point. First, from where did
the Gentile Christians who colonized Jerusalem after 135 learn
about the Easter-Sunday custom? Were they the innovators or had
they learned about it previously from elsewhere? Secondly, what
is the relationship between the yearly Easter-Sunday and the
weekly-Sunday? Were the two feasts regarded perhaps as one
similar feast that commemorated at different times the same event
of the resurrection, or were they considered as two different
feasts which fulfilled different objectives? If the two were
treated as one similar feast, it would seem plausible to suppose
that the birthplace of Easter-Sunday could also be the place of
origin of the weekly Sunday observance, since possibly the same
factors acted in the same place to cause the contemporaneous
origin of both.
......
242 Epiphanius, Adversus Haereses 70, 9, PG 42, 355-356 ; the
text is quoted and discussed at length above; see pp.45f.
243 Eusebius. Hist. Eccl. 5, 23, 1; the accuracy of Eusebius
statement is discussed above; see p.49. fn. 121 and p.31, fn.49.
244 Differences arose later, especially between Rome and
Alexandria, in the calculation and determination of the
particular Sunday on which Easter was to be celebrated. For a
concise treatment, see Duchesne, "Worship," p.238; ef. also C. J.
Hefele, "A History of the Christian Councils" (Edinburgh: T. and
T. Clark, 1883), 1 : 318-334.
245 Bagatti, "L'Eglise," p.8; Bagatti's reasons are given above;
see pp.30f. and p.43.
......
We shall give priority to the latter question, examining
first how the early Fathers viewed the relationship between
Easter-Sunday and weekly-Sunday. In a treatise "On Easter"
attributed to Irenaeus, it is specifically enjoined not to kneel
clown on Sunday nor on Pentecost, that is, the seven weeks of the
Easter period, "because it is of equal significance with the
Lord's day." 246 The reason given is that both feasts are "a
symbol of the resurrection." Tertullian confirms the custom but
adds the prohibition of fasting as well: "On Sunday it is
unlawful to fast or to kneel while worshipping. We enjoy the same
liberty from Easter to Pentecost" 247 Regan comments the text,
saying: "In the season extending from Easter to Pentecost, the
same custom was followed, thus showing the relation between the
annual and weekly feasts." 248 Origen explicitly unites the
weekly and the yearly commemoration of the resurrection: "the
resurrection of the Lord is celebrated not only once a year but
constantly every eight dlays." 249 Usebius simularly states;
"While (the Jews) faithful to Moses, sacrificed the Passover lamb
once a year ... we men of the New Covenant celebrate every Sunday
our Passover." 250
Pope Innocent I in the letter to Bishop Decentius of Gubbio,
already cited, confirms the unity existing between the two
feasts: "We celebrate Sunday because of the venerable
resurrection of our Lord Jesus Chirst, not only at Easter but in
actuality by the single weekly cycle [i.e., every Sunday]." 251
In the light of these representative testimonies, 252 it would
appear that in the Early Church the weekly-Sunday and the Easter-
Sunday were regarded by many as one feast that commemorated at
different times the same event of the resurrection. Since the two
festivities appear so strongly related, it is most important to
consider at this point the former question, namely, where did the
Easter-Sunday custom originate from and why? Ascertaining the
......
246 "Fragments from. the Lost Writings of Irenaeus" 7, ANF 1:
569-570.
247 Tertullian, "De Corona" 3, 4, CCL, 2, 1043; in tho treatise
"On Idolatry" 14, Tertullian, referring to the pagans, similarly
writes: "Not the Lord's dlay, not Pentecost, even if they had
known them, would they have shared with us; for they would fear
lest they should seem to be Christians" (ANF 3:70).
248, Regan, "Dies Dominica," p.97.
249 Origen, "Homilia in Isaiam" 5, 2, GCS 8, 265, 1.
250 Eusebius, "De Solemnitate paschali" 7, 12, PG 24, 701A; see
also 706C.
251 Innocent I, "Epist." 25, 7, PL 20, 255.
252 See also Athanasius, "Epistolae paschales," PG 26, 1389.
......
place and causes of the origin of Easter-Sunday is most important
at this point of our investigation, since possibly both feasts -
regarded as basically one - could have risen contemporaneously in
the same place due to the same motivations.
Eusebius in his "History of the Church," as we have already
seen, 253 reports at length the controversy which flared up in
the second century over the date for the celebration of the
Passover. Even though he himself was a defender of the
Easter-Sunday custom, in reporting the controversy he quotes
extensively the documents of both parties, thus transmitting to
us a valuable dossier of earlier sources. In brief, two were the
protagonists of the controversy. On one side, Victor, Bishop of
Rome (A.D. 189-199) championed the Easter-Sunday custom (which at
that time the larger part of Christianity had already accepted)
and threatened to excommunicate the recalcitrant Christian
communities of the province of Asia. On the other side Polycrate,
Bishop of Ephesus, represetative of the Asian churches, claiming
to possess the genuine apostolic tradition transmitted to him by
the apostles Philip and John, strongly advocated the quartode-
ciman custom and refused to be frightened into submission by the
threats of Pope Victor.
Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyon, intervened as peace maker in the
controversy. In his letter to Pope Victor, he not only dispays a
magnanimous spirit, but he also endeavors to show to the Roman
Pontiff that his predecessors, namely "Anicetus and Pius and
Telesphorus and Sixtus," even though "they did not observe it
[the quartodeciman Passover] ... they were none the less at peace
with those from the dioceses in which it was observed." 254
By stating that Victor's predecessors did not observe the
quartodeciman Passover, Irenaeus implies that they also, like
Victor, celebrated Easter on Sunday. The fact then that Irenaeus
traces back the controversy to Bishop Sixtus (ca A.D. 116-125),
mentioning him as the first, non-observant of the quartodeciman
Passover, would seem to imply that probably Easter began to be
celebrated in Rome on Sunday at that time (ca. A.D.120). 255
However,
......
253 See above pp.48f; for the account of the Easter controversy,
see Eusebius, "Hist. Eccl." 5, 23-25.
254 Lake, "Eusebius History" 5, 24, 14, p.511, the text is
examined above, see p.48.
255 In the light of Hadrian's policy toward the Jews and
Christians, we have suggested that Irenaeus' mention of bishop
Sixtus as the first nonobserver of the quartodeciman Passover may
well reflect an accurate historical situation. See above p.61.
......
while it may be unwarranted to establish the exact time of the
origin of Easter-Sunday on the basis of one passing reference of
Irenaeus (we must also make allowance for a process of
development prior to the affirmation of the new custom), there
seems to be no question as to Rome's being the place of its
origin. Later historical data confirm, in fact, the Roman origin
of Easter-Sunday. J.B.Pitra, for instance, has discovered and
edited the conciliar decree of the Council of Nicaea (A.D.325)
concerning the celebration of Easter, where it is specifically
enjoined:
All the brethren in the East who formerly celebrated Easter
with the Jews, will henceforth keep it at the same time as
the Romans, with us and with all those who from ancient
times have celebrated the feast at the same time with us.
256
Constantine, in his conciliar letter addressed to all the
bishops, after having deplored the disagreements existing
concerning such a renowned feast, similarly exhorts them to
embrace "the practice which is observed at once in the city of
Rome, and in Africa; throughout Italy, and in Egypt. ..." 257
Rome is listed first in both documents as the example to
emulate, undoubtedly because of her historical position and
because of the role of leadership she played in the controversy.
The question arises at this point: what caused in Rome the
abandonment of the quartodeeiman Passover tradition and the
consequent adoption of Easter-Sunday?
The answer to this question may provide a clue to
understanding also the motivations which caused the repudiation
of the Sabbath and the introduction of Sunday keeping, since, we
noticed previously, Easter-Sunday and weekly-Sunday were regarded
by many Christians as basically one feast.
Scholars usually recognize in the Roman custom of
celebrating Easter on Sunday instead of the 14th of Nisan, to use
Jeremias' words, "the inclination to break away from Judaism."
258 Lightfoot holds, for instance, that Rome and Alexandria
adopted Easte-rSunday to avoid., "even the semblance of Judaism."
259, M. Ri-
......
256 J.B.Pitra, "Juris eeclesiastici Graecorum historia et
monumenta" (Rome 1864) 1:435-436, cited by Ortiz De Urbina, in
"Nicee et Constantinople, Histoire des Concilm Oecumeniques," 12
vols.(Paris: Editions de I'Orante, 1963) 1:259; cf., Socrates,
"Hist. Eccl." 1, 9.
257 Eusebius, "Life of Constantine," 3, 19, NPNF 2nd Series, 1:
525.
258 J. Jeremias, "Pascha," TDNT 5: 903, fn. 64.
259 Lightfoot, "Apostolic Fathers," Vol.2, part 1, p.88; the full
quotation is given above; see p.51.
......
ghetti, in his monumental history of liturgy, also points out
that Rome and Alexandria, after "having eliminated the Judaizing
quartodeciman tradition," repudiated even the Jewish
computations, making their own time calculations, since "such a
dependence on the Jews must have appeared humiliating." 260
The Nicene conciliar letter of Constantinne, ferred to
above, explicit reveals a marked anti-Judaic motivation, for the
repudiation of the quartodeciman Passover. The Emperor in fact,
desiring to establish a religion completely free from any Jewish
influences, writes:
It appeared an unworthy thing that in the celebration of
this most holy feast we should follow the practice of the
Jews, who have impiously defiled their hands with enormous
sin, and are, therefore, deservedly afflicted with blindness
of soul.... Let us then have nothing in common with the
detestable Jewish crowd; for we have received from our
Saviour a different way ... Strive and pray continually
that the purity of your souls may not seem in anything to be
sullied by fellowship with the customs of these most wicked
men ... All should unite in desiring that which sound
reason appears to demand, and in avoiding all participation
in the perjured conduct of the Jews. 261
The anti-Judaic motivations for the repudiation of the
Jewish reckoning of Passover could not have been expressed more
explicitly and forcefully in the letter of Constantine. Nicaea
represents the culmination of the controversy initiated two
centuries earlier and motivated by strong anti-Judaic feelings
and one which had Rome as its epicenter.
In all th econtroversy Rome exercised a role of leadership.
We have noticed that it was in Rome that the Easter-Sunday
custom arose possibly under bishop Sixtus; it was to Rome that
Polycrates addressed himself to defend his different tradition;
it was to Rome that the Council of Nicaea pointed as the example
to follow on the Easter observance. Batiffol aptly comments in
this regard:
It is Rome alone that Ephesus answers and resists. We see
the authority Rome exercises in this conflict. Renan has
said rather appropriately in reference to this case: "The
Papacy was born and well born." 262
......
260 Righetti, "Storia liturgica," 2: 246.
261 Eusebius, "Life of Constantine" 3, 18-19, NPNF 2nd Series,
1: 524525; the letter of Constantine is found also in Socrates,
"Hist. Eccl." 1, 9; Theodoret, "Hist. Eccl." 1, 10;
262 Batiffol, "Primitive Catholicism," p.225.
......
P.V.Monachino, in his dissertation on "Pastoral Care at
Mi-lano, Carthage and Rome in the Fourth Century," similarly
concludes that the pattern of pastoral care common then in the
West had been probably developed in Rome.
The pastoral care was taking place according to a pattern
which probably was common at least in all the cities of
Western Christianity. And we do not think we err if we
affirm that the place where this type had been elaborated
was the city of Rome, even though we must recognize for
Milan some influence from the Orient. 263
The role of Rome in the abandoning of the veneration of the
Sabbath and in the adoption of the Sunday keeping would seem to
us to have been underestimated in recent studies. If one recog-
nizes, as Cullmann admits, that "in deliberate distinction from
Judaism, the first Christians selected the first day of the week"
264 or as W.D.Davits writes: "The Christian Sunday ... emerged
... in conscious opposition to or distinction from the Jewish
Sabbath." 265 then Rome emerges as the most logical place for
the origin of the Christian Sunday. This hypothesis seems to us
supported by the various concomitant factors which we have found
present particularly in Rome, as for examples: the premature
separation of the Christian community from the Jews, the pagan
origin of the majority of its members, then unpopularity of the
Jews in the capital city, the imperial fiscal anti-Judaic
measures, Hadrian's repressive measures against Jewish worship
such as the observance of Sabbath, the depreciation of the
Sabbath with the prohibition to celebrate Mass and the injunction
to fast, the in-
......
263 P.V.Monachino, "La Cura pastorale a Milano, Cartagine e Roma
net Secolo IV, Analecta Gregoriana 41 (Rome: Pontificia
Universita Gregoriana, 1947), p.407. Leonard Goppelt, "Apostolic
and Post-Apostolic Times" (London: Adam and Charles Black, 1970),
p.126, writes concerning the role of Rome as follows: "The Church
of Rome had already gained a certain superiority early in the
history of the Church. It became prominent as the church of the
capital of the world (Rom.1:8; 16:16), as the meeting point of
the entire Church (cf. the greetings in Rom.16; Col.4; I Peter 5
:13), as the abode of Peter and Paul (Ignatius, Romans 4,3; I
Clem. V. 4f.), and as the first great church to suffer as martyr
(Rev.17:6). Because of all this, as Luke points out she became to
a certain extent the successor of Christian Jerusalem, and as I
Clement demonstrates, she thus assumed the responsibility for
other churches."
264 Oscar Cullmann, "Early Christian Worship" (London: SCM Press
Ltd., 1966), p.10.
265 W.D.Davies, "Christian Origins and Judaism" (Philadelphia:
Westminster Press, n.d.), p.74.
......
fluence of Marcion especially in Rome, and the repudiation of the
Jewish quartodeciman Passover. Besides all these factors, present
in their totality only in Rome, 266 can be added the role of
spiritual primacy exercised by the bishop of Rome, the only one
capable of influencing, the rest of Christianity to adopt such a
new liturgical practice, as that of the commemoration of the res-
urrection on Sunday, both as a weekly and a yearly feast. 267
It is in Rome then that one encounters both the
circumstances and the authority necessary to accomplish the
abandoning of the Sabbath and the adoption of the commemoration
of the resurrection on Sunday both as a weekly and a yearly
feast. Mosna suggests further that Rome was influential also in
causing the disappearance of the veneration of the Sabbath toward
the end of the fifth century. He writes on this point: "Perhaps
in this the example of Rome (which never had any special cult on
the Sabbath) must have been influential." 268
These conditions did not exist in the East where, on the
contrary, Jewish influence survived longer, as is evidenced, for
example, by the veneration for the Sabbath and by the respect for
the Jewish reckoning of Passover. 269
................
To be continued
Anti-Judaism and the Origin of Sunday #9The Early "church fathers" and Sunday
Anti-Judaism in the Fathers and the Origin of Sunday
by the late Sammuele Bacchiocchi PhD
In closing this section on the evaluation of the influence
of anti-Judaism on the origin of Sunday observance, we shall
examine the testimonies of the Fathers of the first half of the
second century. We shall consider specifically the writings of
Ignatius, Barnabas and Justin, principal exponents of this,
period, in order to further verify the influence of anti-Judaism
on the origin of Sunday. The testimonies of these authors assume
a vital importance for the present study, inasmuch as they were
witnesses
......
266 Justin's polemical writings against the Jews will be
considered in the next section (see below pp.101f.), but it is
worth noticing that they also were composed in Rome.
267 Batiffol, "Primitive Catholicism," p.227, writes concerning
the excommunication that Pope Victor pronounced against
Polycrates : "The Bishop of Rome condemns their observance of
Easter as a usage that is against the Canon of the Apostolic
faith, and he cuts them off, not from the Roman, but from the
Catholic communion. He is conscious then, that such a sentence on
his part is legitimate. Irenaeus protests against the
excommunication of the Asiatics, it is true, but he does not
dream of questioning Victor's power to pronounce this
excommunication."
268 Mosna, "Storia della domenica," p.354.
269 See below p.118, fn. 377-378.
......
and protagonists in that process of separation from Judaism which
led to the depreciation of the Sabbath and to the adoption of
Sunday.
Ignatius.
According to Irenaeus, 270 Ignatius was bishop of Antioch at the
time of Trajan (A.D.98-117). The bishop argues "against the
Judaizing tendencies of his territory, which, not far
geographically from Palestine, had suffered the influences of the
synagogue and of the Judeo-Christians." 271 His language
suggests that the separation from Judaism was in process, even
though the ties with Judaism had not yet been severed. Rordorf
observes that "the real importance of this passage [Magnesians 9,
1] from Ignatius, however, is that it provides contemporary
evidence that many Gentile Christians were being tempted to
observe the Sabbath." 272
Ignatius in fact offers a valid testimony for a more
tenacious survival and veneration in the East of such Jewish
institutions as the Sabbath as compared with the West. It is
worth noticing that even though Ignatius underlines the necessity
of a dissociation from the Jewish way of living, he does not go
so far as to condemn the Sabbath as does Justin or Barnabas. 273
In his Epistle to the Magnesians 8,1,2, he writes: "For if we are
still practicing Judaism, we admit that we have not received
God's favor. For the most divine prophets lived in accordance
with Jesus Christ." 274
In chapter 9,1 he speaks of these Old Testament prophets
"who lived in ancient ways" and who "attained a new hope, no
longer sabbatizing - but living according to the Lord's life (or
Lord's day) (Greek is given here - Keith Hunt)". Even though some
interpret this text as referring to the Judeo-Christians who had
only recently abandoned the Jewish customs and adhered to the
Church, 275 in the examination of the text, 276 we have seen that
the prophets are the subject
......
270 Irenaeus, "Adversus haereses" 5,28,4, PG 7, 1200-1201.
271 Mosna, "Storia della domenica," p.95.
272 Rordorf, "Sunday," p.140.
273 See discussion that follows.
274 "The Apostolic Fathers," trans. E.J.Goodspeed (New York:
Harper and Brothers, 1950), p.215. (Hereafter cited as Goodspeed,
Apostolic Fathers.)
275 Rordorf, "Sunday," p.140 writes for instance: "We must,
therefore conclude that in Mag. 9, 1, Ignatius is referring to
Jewish Christian, who a short time, previously had fully attached
themselves to the main body of the church, which was composed
largely of Gentile Christians, and in so doing they had given up
their Jewish customs."
276 The text has been examined in chap.3, section 2.
......
of the discussion. The verb itself "(Greek is given - Keith
Hunt)" (came or attained) implies an action completed in the past
(II Aorist). The transla-tion of Bosio, for instance, "have
addressed themselves to the new hope," 277 is rather free and
interpretative. In fact, he interprets the expression "those who
lived in the ancient order of things "as" the Jews, who used to
live according to the Mosaic law, "but who recently" have
addressed themselves to the new hope." 278 He employes therefore
the present perfect to indicate their recent acceptance of
Christianity. The majority of translators, however, employ the
past tense. 278 Goodspeed, for example., translates "attained a
new hope" 280 implying a clear reference to the prophets who are
being spoken of in the context. Besides, in the following verse
(9, 2) Ignatius concludes by referring again to the prophets as
being "his disciples in the spirit" and who "looked forward [to
Him] as their teacher." 281
This concept of a spiritual Christian movement within the
Old Testament, of which the prophets are exponents and examples,
may seem to us unrealistic, but is indicative of the profound
respect of the author for the Old Testament. Regan writes in this
regard:
Ignatius' insistence on the role of the prophets in
preparing the way for Christ and the Church, evidences the
prevailing spirit of the authors of Christian Antiquity in
their deep rever ence for these saintly characters of the
Old Testament and their inspired message. 282
In this context the "sabbatizing" which Ignatius condemns,
the light of the conduct of the prophets, could hardly be the
repudiation of the Sabbath as a day, but as R.B.Lewis asserts
"the keeping of the Sabbath in a certain manner - Judaizing." 283
......
277 Guido Bosio, "I Padri Apostolici," Corona Patrum Salesiana
(Turin Paidea, 1942), 2:76.
278 Loc. cit., fn. 1.
279 C.J.Hefele, "Patrum Apostolicorum Opera" (Tubingen: Henrici
Laupp, 1892), p.138, translates "pervenerunt"; the same
translation is found in F.X.Funk, "Opera Patrum Apostolorum"
(Tubingen: H. Laupp, 1887), p.199; T. Zahn, "Ignatii et Polycarpi
Epistolae Martyria Fragmenta" (Leipzig: Doichert, 1876), p.37.
280 Goodspeed, "Apostolic Fathers," p.215; Kirsopp Lake, "The
Apostolic Fathers" (New York: The Macmillan Co., 1919), 1: 206,
similarly translates "came to a new hope."
281 Goodspeed, "Apostolic Fathers," pp.215, 216.
282 Regan, "Dies Dominica," p.26.
283 R.B.Lewis, "Ignatius and the Lord's Day," AUSS, 6 (1968) :
50.
......
"The contrast here then is not," as K.Strand aptly points out,
"between days as such, but between ways of life -- between the
Jewish 'sabbatizing' way of life and the newness of life
symbolized for the Christian by Christ's resurrection." 284
This is the sense which is explicitly given to the text in the
so-called "long recension" of the same Epistle:
Let us therefore no longer keep the Sabbath after the Jewish
manner, and rejoice in days of idleness. ... But let every
one of you keep the Sabbath in a spiritual manner, rejoicing
in the meditation on the law, not in the relaxation of the
body, admiring the workmanship of God, and not eating things
prepared the day before, nor using lukewarm drinks, nor
walking within a prescribed space, nor finding delight in
dancing and plaudits which have no sense in them. 285
Ignatius emphasizes repeatedly the necessity of making a
distinct separation from the Jewish customs. In "Magnesians" 10,
3 he writes: "It is wrong to talk about Jesus Christ and live
like the Jews. For Christianity did not believe in Judaism but
Judaism in Christianity." 281, In his letter to the
Philadelphians 6, 1 similarly the author reasserts: "If any one
expounds Judaism to you, do not listen to him. For it is better
to hear Christianity from a man who is circumcised than Judaism
from one who is uncircumcised." 287
These frequent recommendations to abandon the practice of
Judaism imply a strong Jewish leaning within the Christian
communities of Asia Minor. It is unlikely therefore to imagine
that in this climate the abandoning of the Sabbath and the
adoption of Sunday had already taken place. On the other hand,
the condemnation of such Jewish practices as "sabbatizing," that
is, the observance of the Sabbath in the manner of the Jews, and
the exhortation "to live according to the life of the Lord,"
constituted a valid motivation that would lead, in the course of
time, to the adoption not only of a way of life but even of a day
of worship which would be different from the one of the Jews. The
introduction of Sunday keeping in the Eastern communities would
then fall within that process of differentiation
......
284 Kenneth A. Strand, "Three Essays on Early Church," p.45.
285 Pseudo-Ignatius, "Epistle to the Magnesians" 9, ANF 1 :62-63;
cf. also PG 5, 767.
286 Goodspeed, "Apostolic Fathers," p.216.
287 Ibid., p.226.
......
from Judaism, which became necessary for the reasons discussed
earlier. Whether or not Sunday was already observed by any or by
few or by many in the province of Asia at the time of Ignatius
(ca. A.D.115) is hard to prove by the problematic passage of
Magnesians 9, 1 alone. The key sentence "living according to the
Lord's life (or Lord's day)" has been subjected to considerable
scrutiny in recent times by various scholars. 288 Fritz Guy,
after a careful textual analysis, particularly of a possible
cognate accusative construction, concludes that the text of
Ignatius is ambiguous and therefore "in the study of the 'Lord's
day' in the early Christian church ... cannot at the present time
properly be introduced as evidence indicating its [Sunday]
observance." 289 We have noticed, 290 however, (1) that in the
oldest Greek extant manuscript (Codex Mediceus Laurentinus) the
noun "life" is present, while the substantive "day" must be
either inserted or implied if a cognate accusative was intended;
(2) that the context clearly reveals that those who were "no
longer sabbatizing" were not the Gentile or Judeo-Christians, as
some scholars hold, but the ancient prophets, who though
historically living in Judaism, nevertheless were not judaizing,
but already "lived in accordance with Jesus Christ" (8: 2). The
fact that Ignatius urged the Christians to stop "practicing
Judaism" (8: 1) or "living like the Jews" (10: 3) and that he
condemned specifically their "sabbatizing" (9: 1), would seem to
imply that many Christians were still following traditional
Jewish customs, especially in the matter of Sabbath keeping. If
such were the case, it would hardly seem reasonable to suppose
that at that time the Christians in Asia had already radically
abandoned the Sabbath and were observing solely Sunday. On the
other hand, it must be admitted that Ignatius, by urging the
Christians to differentiate themselves from the Jews by
abandoning their customs, offers us significant insight on how
anti-Judaizing attitudes and efforts could have contributed to
the origin of Sunday. It should be remembered, however, that in
the East the break between Judaism and Christianity was gradual,
and never radical, probably on account of the constant influx of
converts from the synagogue, which contributed to maintaining, a
constant admiration toward Jewish
......
288 Ignatius' text is analyzed above in chapter three, section
two. See there for significant studies.
289 Fritz Guy, "Lord's Day in the Letter of Ignatius to the
Magnesians," AUSS 2 (1964): 17.
290 See, chapter 3, section 2.
......
institutions such as the Sabbath. Numerous Eastern Fathers, in
fact, fought constantly against the Sabbath which many Christians
seem to have observed in addition to Sunday. 291
Barnabas.
The Epistle of Barnabas, dated by the majority of scholars
between 130 and 138, was written by a pseudonymous Barnabas
probably at Alexandria, a cosmopolitan cultural center, where the
conflict between Jews and Christians was particularly acute. 292
Lightfoot writes in this regard:
The picture ... which it presents of feuds between Jews and
Christians is in keeping with the state of the population of
that city [Alexandria], the various elements of which were
continually in conflict. 293
Two major reasons make the epistle important for our present
investigation. First, because it does contain the first explicit
reference to the observance of Sunday, denominated is "eighth
day." Secondly, because it reveals how the social and
theological polemics and tensions which existed at that time
between Jews and Christians played a key role in the devaluation
of the Sabbath and adoption of Sunday by many Christians.
A careful reading of the Epistle of Barnabas reveals that
the author purposed to demonstrate the total repudiation of
Judaism as a true religion. While Ignatius condemns "Judaizing"
on the part of some Christians, Barnabas totally rejects
"Judaism" both as a theological and a social system. James Parkes
observes:
The whole of the epistle of Barnabas is an exposition of the
Church as the true Israel. It is heresy even to try and
share the good things of promise with the Jews. In tones of
unusual gravity, and with a special appeal, the author warns
his hearers against such mistaken generosity. 294
......
291 See above p.82 and below p.118, fn. 377-378.
292 The place and date of composition of the Epistle of Barnabas
is discussed above chapter 3, section 3; for a concise treatment
of the question, see Quasten, "Patrology" 1: 90-91; cf. also
Goodspeed, "Apostolic Fathers," p.19; William H. Shea, "The
Sabbath in the Epistle of Barnabas," AUSS 4 (July 1966): 150;
Lightfoot, "The Apostolic Fathers," part 1, vol.1, p.349; A.L.
Williams, "The Date of the Epistle of Barnabas," Journal of
Theological Studies 34 (1933): 337-346; H. Lietzmann, "The
Beginning of the Christian Church" (New York: Charles Scribner's
Sons, 1937), p.294.
293 J.B.Lightfoot, "The Apostolic Fathers" (London: Macmillan
Co., 1926), p.240.
294 Parkes, "The Conflict," p.84.
......
A. Harnack perceives that the polemic of Barnabas is directed
against the Judaizing Christians:
His polemics are, above all, directed against Judaizing
Christians. In no other writing of that early time is the
separation of Gentile Christians from patriotic Jews so
clearly brought out. ... He is thorough anti-Judaist....295
Barnabas in fact categorically condemns those Christians who
leaned toward a position of compromise with the Jews, saying
"Take heed to yourself and be not like some, piling up your sins
and saying that the covenant is theirs as well as ours. It is
ours, but they lost it completely just after Moses received it.
..." (4,6-7). In order to persuade these Judaizing Christians to
abandon Jewish beliefs and practices, Barnabas launched a twofold
attack against the Jews: 1. he defamed them as a people and 2. he
emptied their religious beliefs and practices of any historical
validity by allegorizing their meaning. As a people the Jews are
described as "wretched men" (16, 1) who were deluded by an evil
angel (9, 5) and who "were abandoned" by God because of their
ancient idolatry (4,14). They drove "his prophets to death" (5,
12) and they crucified Christ "setting him at naught and piercing
him and spitting upon him" (7, 19). Concerning the fundamental
Jewish beliefs, Barnabas endeavors to demonstrate that they do
not apply literally to the Jews, since they have a deeper
allegorical meaning which finds its fulfillment in Christ and in
the spiritual experience of the Christians. W.H. Shea has
synthesized in seven points Barnabas' systematic attack against
the fundamental Jewish beliefs:
1. The Sacrificial System: The sacrifices along with other
types, prophecies, and allegorically interpreted Scriptures find
their fulfillment in the life, death, and work of Christ. (Chs.
2, 5, 7, 8, 12)
2. The Covenant: The covenant made by God with the Jews at Mt.
Sinai was broken by their idolatry there, and it was never
reoffered to them. (Chs. 4, 13, 14)
......
295 "Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge," 1908
ed., s.v. "Barnabas" by A. Harnack; see also Constantin von
Tischendorf, "Codex Sinaiticus," ed. 8 (London: The Lutterworth
Press, n.d.), p.66, who similarly points out: "It is addressed to
those Christians who, coming out of Judaism, desired to retain,
under the Now Testament, certain pecularities of the Old...."
......
3. The Promised land: "The land of milk and honey" does not
apply to the possession of the literal Canaan by the Hebrews, but
to the Christian's present spiritual experience and his future
reward. (Ch. 6)
4. Circinncision: The true circtuncision is that of the ears
and heart of the Christian. Circumcision of the Jews is abolished
and when first given to Abraham was to look forward to Jesus on
the cross.( Ch. 9)
5. The Levitical Laws: The clean and unclean animals are
interpreted as representing the spiritual classes of men in the
world. "Moses spake it in spirit ... with this intent." (Ch.10)
6. The Sabbath: The Fourth Commandment does not apply to a
weekly holy day, but to a future seventh millennium. (Ch. 15)
7. The Temple: The literal Temple in Jertusalem was destroyed
and abolished. The true temple is the Christian in whom God
dwells. (Ch. 16). 296
This attempt of Barnabas to demolish the historical validity
of Judaism could make one suspect that he is a victim and
exponent of the anti-Judaic heresies of the second century. But
an analysis of his theology would indicate otherwise. In fact
Lightfoot comments: "The writer is an uncompromising antagonist
of Judaism, but beyond this antagonism he has nothing in common
with the anti-Judaic heresies of the second century." 297
similarly W.B. Shea observes that "on many of the cardinal
beliefs of Christendom the author is quite orthodox." 298
The repudiation and the separation from Judaism on the part
of Barnabas represent, then, not the expression of an heretical
movement, but a necessity felt by the Christian community of
Alexandria. We should recognize, however, that the author employs
an allegorical method and reveals an extreme attitude which is
not the expression of more representative Christianity. Lebreton
aptly comments: "By his anti-Jewish polemic, he testifies, not
......
296 W.H. Shea, " he Sabbath in the Epistle of Barnabas," A USS 4
(1966): 154-155.
297 J.B. Lightfoot, "The Apostolic Fathers" (London: Macmillan
Co., 1926), p.239; Lebreton-Zeiller, "Primitive Church," p.442
points out that while Barnabas condemns "the Jewish legalism,"
Marcion will attack directly "the very author of the Law,"
striking in such a way "not only the Jews ... but also their
God."
298 Shea, art. sit., p.151; see fn. 10, where the author
enumerates the fundamental orthodox Christian doctrines found in
the writing of Barnabas.
......
indeed to the deep thought of the Church, but, at least, to the
danger which Judaism constituted for it, and the Church's
reaction to the danger." 299 The same author offers a reasonable
explanation for the vigorous reaction of Barnabas against the
danger of Judaism.
We must remark in conclusion that this Jewish danger and the
strong reaction against it, can be explained by what we know of
the great influence of the Jews at Alexandria: previous to the
Christian preaching this great influence is shown by the life and
work of Philo; in the first centuries of the Christian era it
continued and threatened the church: it was at Alexandria above
all that the apocryphal Gospels, with their Judaizing tendencies,
were read. 300
Facing the danger of this Judaizing tendency within, the
Church, Barnabas launched his attack against certain Jewish
practices and ceremonies, defending "the radical thesis which the
Church never approved, and the danger of which will soon be
revealed by Marcion, that the old alliance never existed as a
positive law willed by God.... " 301
The depreciation of the Sabbath and the introduction of the
eighth day is part of this attempt which the author makes to
destroy the strongholds of Judaism. Let us consider briefly the
argumentation advanced in chapter 15 302 to repudiate the Sabbath
and to justify the eighth day:
(1) The rest of the seventh day is an eschatological rest to be
realized at the end of time (vv. 4-5).
(2) The sanctification of the Sabbath is impossible for man at
the present time, but it will be accomplished in a future age
(vv. 6-7).
(3) The present Sabbaths are not acceptable to the Lord, but only
the one which is future, which will mark the beginning of the new
world, that is the eighth day (v.8).
With these arguments Barnabas, "utilizing this weapon of
allegorical exegesis," 303 empties the Sabbath of all its
validity, for
......
299 Lebreton-Zeiller, "Primitive Church" p.442.
300 Ibid., p.443, fn. 10.
301 Ibid., p.441.
302 The chapter is quoted in full in chapter 3, section 3.
303 Lebreton-Zeiller, "Primitive Church," p.441; the author
observes that "Barnabas was only following the example of
numerous Jewish exegetes, who likewise allegorized the Law."
(Loc. cit.) Cf. Philo, "De migr. Abrah.," 89.
......
the present age, endeavoring to defend the church from the
influence of a Jewish institution so important as the Sabbath.
As we already noticed in the study of this chapter, 304 the
effort that Barnabas makes to supersede the Sabbath with these
intricate allegorical and eschatological argumentations is an im-
plicit recognition of the influence that the Sabbath was still
exerting in the Christian communlity of Alexandria. Barnabas
inserts the eighth day as an appendix to the discussion on the
Sabbath, presenting two justifications for its "observance."
(1) The eighth day is the prolongation of the eschatological
Sabbath: that is, after the end of the present age symbolized by
the Sabbath, the eighth day marks "the beginning of another
world" (v. 8). "This is why we spend (Greek given) even 305
(Greek given) the eighth day with rejoicing" (v.9).
(2) The eighth day is "also" 306 (Greek given) [the day] on
which Jesus rose from the dead" (v 9).
The first theological motivation for the observance of
Sunday is of an eschatological nature. The eighth day, in fact,
represents "the beginning of a new world." It is here that the
incoherence of the author--perhaps acceptable at that time
--appears. While, on the other hand, he repudiates the present
Sabbath inasmuch as this would have a millennaristic-
eschatological significance, on the other hand he justifies the
observance of the eighth day by the same eschatological reasons
advanced previously to abrogate the Sabbath. The resurrection of
Jesus is presented as the second or the additional motivation,
probably because it was not yet seen as the primary reason. This
intricate and irrational argumentation is perhaps indicative, as
Mosna perceives, "of the effort which Judeo-Christians were
making to justify their worship." 307
We seem to perceive in Barnabas' effort to justify the
"observance" of the eighth day more as a continuation of the
eschatological Sabbath - in spite of his sharp anti-Judaism --
rather than as a commemoration of the resurrection, the timid and
uncertain beginning of Sunday keeping. The theology and
terminology of Sunday are still dubious. There is no mention of
any gathering nor of any Eucharistic celebration. The eighth day
is simply the prolongation of the eschatological Sabbath to which
is united the memory of the resurrection.
......
304 See above chapter 3, section 3. 305 Italics mine.
305 Italics mine.
306 Italics mine.
307 Mosna, "Storia della domenica," p.26.
.....................
To be continued
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