Mondays are for Church History
10/14/24
Schaff, Philip. (2014). "Chapter VII. Public Worship and Religious Customs and Ceremonies." In History of the Christian Church. (The Complete Eight Volumes in One). Volume 3, Nicene and Post-Nicene Christianity A.D. 311-600, from Constantine the Great to Gregory the Great. (pp. 2124-2268). (Original work published 1889). Amazon Kindle Edition. (Personal Library). (sections 74-101).
"§74. The Revolution in Cultus." (pp. 2124-2127).
Schaff sees the public nature of Christianity when it became a licit religion to have moved a number of changes in the practices of Christians. Once it was socially more public, it was necessary to reach the society in a public manner, with more formal and rich ceremonies and hierarchies (Schaff 2014, p. 2124). This included expansion of the rituals within weekly observances as well as an expansion of the number and notable ceremonies within the various Christian festivals. Schaff sees this as a means of attracting people who were not already Christians but who would be drawn to a spectacle (Schaff 2014, p. 2125). The gains in expression of God's majesty and the ability to train and organize people were accompanied by losses in the forthright spiritual nature of a more primitive time. Schaff considers some level of paganism to have crept into the practices of Christianity at this time (Schaff 2014, p. 2126). Schaff cites a number of church fathers making negative statements about the syncretism of their time.
"§75. The Civil and Religious Sunday." (pp. 2127-2135).
Schaff, observing that Sunday observance has been the rule rather than the exception since the apostolic period then immediately refers to it as the "Christian Sabbath" and a day of rest akin to the "Jewish Sabbath" (Schaff 2014, p. 2127). He sees it as a needed cultural restraint intended also to draw people to Jesus as they remember the resurrection and the coming of the Holy Spirit from Acts chapter two (Schaff 2014, p. 2128). However, Schaff does observe that the earliest Christians did not see Sunday as a continuation of the Sabbath but rather in its significance as the day of resurrection.
Because the broader Roman and Greek cultures had no concept of any weekly day of rest, the observance of Sunday was purely religious. However, in the time of Constantine a recognition of Sunday as a day on which manual labor in cities, then judicial deliberations and military exercises would stop created both opportunities for worship and for confusion (Schaff 2014, p. 2129). The day of rest was "the day of the sun" and pagan groups were also accustomed to having festivals involving rest (Schaff 2014, p. 2130). Soldiers were required to attend Christian worship and to pray a prescribed prayer on command. The successors of Constantine added more exemptions of regular work and also more festivals, thus creating some confusion as to the purpose of a Sunday holiday.
Schaff notes the tendency for the state to do the work of the church, as well as a churchly attempt to govern state actions in regard to Sunday observances (Schaff 2014, p. 2131). He provides a fairly lengthy discursus on debates regarding posture in prayer from the time period. Schaff then returns (Schaff 2014, p. 2132-2133) to a discussion of the Sabbath, in which he conflates Sabbath and Lord's Day, though acknowledging the various Church Fathers considered the entirely separate.
10/14/24
Schaff, Philip. (2014). "Chapter VII. Public Worship and Religious Customs and Ceremonies." In History of the Christian Church. (The Complete Eight Volumes in One). Volume 3, Nicene and Post-Nicene Christianity A.D. 311-600, from Constantine the Great to Gregory the Great. (pp. 2124-2268). (Original work published 1889). Amazon Kindle Edition. (Personal Library). (sections 74-101).
"§74. The Revolution in Cultus." (pp. 2124-2127).
Schaff sees the public nature of Christianity when it became a licit religion to have moved a number of changes in the practices of Christians. Once it was socially more public, it was necessary to reach the society in a public manner, with more formal and rich ceremonies and hierarchies (Schaff 2014, p. 2124). This included expansion of the rituals within weekly observances as well as an expansion of the number and notable ceremonies within the various Christian festivals. Schaff sees this as a means of attracting people who were not already Christians but who would be drawn to a spectacle (Schaff 2014, p. 2125). The gains in expression of God's majesty and the ability to train and organize people were accompanied by losses in the forthright spiritual nature of a more primitive time. Schaff considers some level of paganism to have crept into the practices of Christianity at this time (Schaff 2014, p. 2126). Schaff cites a number of church fathers making negative statements about the syncretism of their time.
"§75. The Civil and Religious Sunday." (pp. 2127-2135).
Schaff, observing that Sunday observance has been the rule rather than the exception since the apostolic period then immediately refers to it as the "Christian Sabbath" and a day of rest akin to the "Jewish Sabbath" (Schaff 2014, p. 2127). He sees it as a needed cultural restraint intended also to draw people to Jesus as they remember the resurrection and the coming of the Holy Spirit from Acts chapter two (Schaff 2014, p. 2128). However, Schaff does observe that the earliest Christians did not see Sunday as a continuation of the Sabbath but rather in its significance as the day of resurrection.
Because the broader Roman and Greek cultures had no concept of any weekly day of rest, the observance of Sunday was purely religious. However, in the time of Constantine a recognition of Sunday as a day on which manual labor in cities, then judicial deliberations and military exercises would stop created both opportunities for worship and for confusion (Schaff 2014, p. 2129). The day of rest was "the day of the sun" and pagan groups were also accustomed to having festivals involving rest (Schaff 2014, p. 2130). Soldiers were required to attend Christian worship and to pray a prescribed prayer on command. The successors of Constantine added more exemptions of regular work and also more festivals, thus creating some confusion as to the purpose of a Sunday holiday.
Schaff notes the tendency for the state to do the work of the church, as well as a churchly attempt to govern state actions in regard to Sunday observances (Schaff 2014, p. 2131). He provides a fairly lengthy discursus on debates regarding posture in prayer from the time period. Schaff then returns (Schaff 2014, p. 2132-2133) to a discussion of the Sabbath, in which he conflates Sabbath and Lord's Day, though acknowledging the various Church Fathers considered the entirely separate.
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