Herrens dag och solens dag - Några kyrkofäder om söndagen

Abstract

The first Christians were Jews. They observed the Sabbath, hut they also celebrated the first day of the week as the day of Christ’s resurrection, the Lord’s Day (Rev 1:10). In the second century, after the definite breach with the Synagogue, the celebration of the first day was regarded both as a characteristic of Christianity and a sign of the new age that had come with Christ, and as an anticipation of the great day of the Lord. Many authors also stressed that a true sabbath is to be a rest from wickedness. Constantine the Great decided that the day be a day of rest for the whole Empire. In the army many Mithras worshippers were to be found, and they accepted the first day as the day of the sun. This fact caused no problem for the Christians, as Christ is called the sun of righteousness (Mai 4:2). W hen the day became a day of rest, several scriptors developed rules for the Lord’s day to be properly celebrated.