Eighth Day and Christian Worship

Cyprian, Epistles Direct teaching

...ng in the newly formed and newly born person, when we embrace what God has made. As for keeping the eighth day in the Jewish circumcision of the flesh, a sacrament was given beforehand in shadow and in practice. But when Christ came, it was fulfilled in truth. For since the eighth day, that is, the first day after the Sabbath, was to be the day on which the Lord would rise again, and would give us life, and give us circumcision of the spirit, the eighth day, that is, the first day after the Sabbath, the Lord’s Day, came first as a figure. This figure ceased when the truth came afterward, and spiritual circumcision was given to us.

Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho Supporting witness

“Now, sirs,” I said, “it is possible for us to show how the eighth day possessed a certain mysterious import, which the seventh day did not possess, and which was promulgated by God through these rites.

Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho Supporting witness

since He commands that on the eighth day—even though it happen to be a Sabbath— those who are born shall be always circumcised?

Tatian, The Diatessaron Supporting witness

60 and they rejoiced with her. Luke 1:59 And when it was the eighth day, they came to circumcise the child, and called him Zacharias, calling him by the name of his father.

Ignatius, Epistle to the Magnesians (Long Version) Supporting witness

Looking forward to this, the prophet declared, “To the end, for the eighth day,” on which our life both sprang up again, and the victory over death was obtained in Christ, whom the children of perdition, the enemies of the Saviour, deny, “whose god is their belly, who mind earthly things,” who are “lovers of pleasure, and not lovers of God, having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof.” These make merchandise of Christ, corrupting His word, and giving up Jesus to sale: they are corrupters of women, and covetous of other men’s possessions, swallowing up wealth insatiably;

Hippolytus, Exegetical Fragments Supporting witness

...did not say "night and day," but "one day," referring to the name of the light. He did not say "the first day." For if he had said "the first day," he also would have had to say that the second day was made. But it was right to speak not of "the first day," but of "one day," so that by saying "one," he might show that it returns in its orbit and, while it remains one, makes up the week.

Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho Direct teaching

... profane it. The command of circumcision, instructing them always to circumcise the children on the eighth day, was a symbol of the true circumcision. This is where we are circumcised from deceit and sin through Him who rose from the dead on the first day after the Sabbath, that is, through our Lord Jesus Christ. The first day after the Sabbath, while remaining the first of all the days, is also called the eighth according to the number of all the days in the cycle, and yet remains the first."

Tertullian, On Idolatry Supporting witness

for to the heathens each festive day occurs but once annually: you have a festive day every eighth day.

Tertullian, De Corona Supporting witness

We count fasting or kneeling in worship on the Lord's day to be unlawful.

Tertullian, Apology Supporting witness

...an obstinate refusal to offer sacrifices, he found in their religious services nothing but meetings early in the morning for singing hymns to Christ and God, and sealing their way of life by a united pledge to remain faithful to their religion, forbidding murder, adultery, dishonesty, and other crimes. In reply, Trajan wrote back that Christians were by no means to be sought out. But if they were brought before him, they should be punished. O miserable deliverance. Under the necessities of the case, it is a self-contradiction. It forbids them to be sought out, as innocent, and it commands them to be punished, as guilty. It is at once merciful and cruel. It passes by, and it punishes. Why do you play this game of evasion with yourself, O Judgment? If you condemn, why do you not also inquire? If you do not inquire, why do you not also absolve? Military stations are set throughout all the provinces for tracking robbers. Against traitors and public enemies every man is a soldier. Search is made even for their confederates and accessories. The Christian alone must not be sought, though he may be brought and accused before the judge, as if a search had any other end than that! And so

Ignatius, Epistle to the Magnesians (Long Version) Supporting witness

...you would have believed Me, for he wrote of Me;" and again, "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it, and was glad; for before Abraham was, I am;" how shall we be able to live without Him? The prophets were His servants, foresaw Him by the Spirit, and waited for Him as their Teacher, and expected Him as their Lord and Saviour, saying, "He will come and save us." Let us therefore no longer keep the Sabbath in the Jewish manner, and rejoice in days of idleness; for "he that does not work, let him not eat." For say the [holy] oracles, "In the sweat of your face shall you eat your bread." But let each of you keep the Sabbath in a spiritual manner, rejoicing in meditation on the law, not in relaxation of the body, admiring the craftsmanship of God, and not eating things prepared the day before, nor using lukewarm drinks, and walking within a prescribed space, nor finding delight in dancing and applause which have no sense in them. And after the observance of the Sabbath, let every friend of Christ keep the Lord’s Day as a festival, the resurrection day, the queen and chief of all the days [of the week]. Looking forward to this, the prophet declared, "To the end, for

Didache, The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles Supporting witness

Do not let your fasts be like those of the hypocrites. For they fast on the second and fifth days of the week. But you should fast on the fourth day and on the Preparation (Friday). Do not pray like the hypocrites. Instead, as the Lord commanded in His Gospel, pray like this: "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread, and forgive us our debt, as we also forgive our debtors. And do not bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one (or, evil); for Yours is the power and the glory forever." Pray like this three times a day.

Apostolic Constitutions, Apostolic Constitutions Supporting witness

... able. But from the evening of the fifth day until cock-crowing, break your fast at daybreak on the first day of the week, which is the Lord's Day. From evening until cock-crowing, stay awake and gather together in the church. Watch and pray, and entreat God. As you stay up all night, read the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms until cock-crowing. Baptize your catechumens, read the Gospel with fear and trembling, and speak to the people the things that lead to their salvation. End your sorrow, and ask God that Israel may be converted, and that He may allow them a place of repentance, and the remission of their impiety. For the judge, who was a stranger, washed his hands and said, "I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see to it." But Israel cried out, "His blood be on us, and on our children." Matthew 27:24-25. And when Pilate said, "Shall I crucify your King?" they cried out, "We have no king but Caesar: crucify Him, crucify Him; for everyone that makes himself a king speaks against Caesar." And, "If you let this man go, you are not Caesar's friend." And Pilate the governor and Herod the king commanded Him to be crucified. And that oracle was fulfilled which says, "Why

Cyprian, Treatises Supporting witness

...nd the sacred rites have now increased in number. For we must also pray in the morning, so that the Lord's resurrection may be celebrated by morning prayer. And the Holy Spirit pointed this out before in the Psalms, saying, "My King and my God, because I will cry to You; O Lord, in the morning You shall hear my voice; in the morning I will stand before You and will look up to You." And again, the Lord speaks through the mouth of the prophet: "Early in the morning they shall watch for me, saying, 'Let us go, and return to the Lord our God.'" Hosea 6:1 Also, at sunset and at the close of day, we must pray again. For since Christ is the true Sun and the true Day, when the sun and the day of this world depart, and we pray and ask that light may return to us again, we pray for the coming of Christ, who will give us the grace of everlasting light. Moreover, the Holy Spirit in the Psalms shows that Christ is called the Day. "The stone," He says, "which the builders rejected, has become the head of the corner. This is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day which the Lord has made; let us walk and rejoice in it." Also the prophet Malachi testifies that He is c

Peter of Alexandria, Canonical Epistle Supporting witness

Zonaras says, "The fourth and sixth days of every week must always be kept as fast days. No one will find fault with us for fasting on those days," and he adds the reasons for this. But we should not fast on the Lord's Day, because it is a day of joy for the Lord's resurrection. And on that day, he says, we have received the rule that we should not even kneel. Therefore, this phrase, "we have received," should be carefully noted. It means that this is commanded to us according to tradition. From this it is clear that a long-established custom was accepted as law. Moreover, the great Basil also adds the reasons why it was forbidden to bend the knee on the Lord's Day, and from Passover to Pentecost. Read also the sixty-sixth and sixty-ninth Apostolical canons.

Apostolic Constitutions, Apostolic Constitutions Supporting witness

...tion which will overtake them. But ten days after the ascension, which is the fiftieth day from the first Lord's Day, keep a great festival. For on that day, at the third hour, the Lord Jesus sent on us the gift of the Holy Ghost, and we were filled with His energy, and we spoke with new tongues, as that Spirit suggested to us, Acts 2:4. And we preached to both Jews and Gentiles that He is the Christ of God, determined by Him to be the Judge of the living and the dead, Acts 10:42. Moses bore witness to Him and said, "The Lord received fire from the Lord, and rained it down," Genesis 19:24. Jacob saw Him as a man and said, "I have seen God face to face, and my soul is preserved." Abraham received Him as a guest, and acknowledged Him to be the Judge and his Lord. Moses saw Him in the bush. Concerning Him he spoke in Deuteronomy: "The Lord your God will raise up to you a Prophet from your brothers, like me; you shall hear Him in all things, whatever He says to you. And it shall be that every soul that will not hear that Prophet shall be destroyed from among his people," Deuteronomy 18:15. Joshua the son of Nun saw Him as the captain of the Lord's host, in armor, for their help agai

Apostolic Constitutions, Apostolic Constitutions Supporting witness

...ction. Let slaves rest from their work during all the great week, and the week that follows it: the first in memory of the passion, and the second of the resurrection. For they need to be taught who it was that suffered and rose again, and by whose permission He suffered, and who raised Him again. Let them have rest from their work on the Ascension, because it was the conclusion of the divine arrangement by Christ. Let them rest at Pentecost, because of the coming of the Holy Spirit, who was given to those who believed in Christ. Let them rest on the festival of His birth, because on it an unexpected favor was granted to men: that Jesus Christ, the Word of God, should be born of the Virgin Mary for the salvation of the world. Let them rest on the festival of Epiphany, because on it there was a manifestation of the divinity of Christ. For the Father bore witness to Him at His baptism, and the Paraclete, in the form of a dove, pointed out to the bystanders the One about whom that witness was given. Let them rest on the days of the apostles, for they were appointed as your teachers to bring you to Christ and made you worthy of the Spirit. Let them rest on the day of the first marty

Origen, Against Celsus Supporting witness

If it be objected to us on this subject that we ourselves are accustomed to observe certain days, as for example the Lord's day, the Preparation, the Passover, or Pentecost, I have to answer, that to the perfect Christian, who is ever in his thoughts, words, and deeds serving his natural Lord, God the Word, all his days are the Lord's, and he is always keeping the Lord's day.

Tatian, The Diatessaron Background

... you have spoken truly." The woman said to him, "My lord, I see that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshipped on this mountain, and you say that Jerusalem is the place where people must worship." Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You worship what you do not know, but we worship what we know, because salvation is of the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father also seeks such people to worship him. God is Spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth." The woman said to him, "I know that the Messiah is coming, and when he has come, he will teach us everything." Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am he."

Apostolic Constitutions, Apostolic Constitutions Background

They began to hold a council against the Lord on the second day of the week, in the first month, which is Xanthicus. Their discussion continued on the third day of the week. But on the fourth day they decided to take His life by crucifixion. Judas knew this. He had been corrupted for a long time, but then the devil himself struck him with love of money. Although he had long been trusted with the money bag, John 12:6, and used to steal what was set apart for the needy, the Lord still did not cast him off, because of His great patience. More than that, when we were once eating with Him, and He wanted both to bring Judas back to his duty and to teach us of His own foreknowledge, He said, "Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me." And when each of us said, "Is it I?" the Lord was silent. I, who was one of the twelve and more beloved by Him than the rest, rose up from lying on His bosom and asked Him to tell me who it would be that would betray Him. Yet even then our good Lord did not say his name, but gave two signs of the betrayer. One was by saying, "He that dips with me in the dish." The second was, "The one to whom I shall give the morsel when I have dipped it." Even

Origen, Commentary on John Background

.... As for those feasts, one of the twelve prophets says, Hosea 9:5, “What will you do in the days of assembly, and in the days of the feast of the Lord?” But Paul says in the Epistle to the Hebrews, “But you have come to Mount Zion, and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to tens of thousands of angels, the assembly and church of the firstborn, who are written in heaven.” And in the Epistle to the Colossians: “Let no one judge you in food and in drink, or regarding a feast day or a new moon or a sabbath day, which are a shadow of the things to come.”

Apostolic Constitutions, Apostolic Constitutions Background

but assemble yourselves together every day, morning and evening, singing psalms and praying in the Lord's house: in the morning saying the sixty-second Psalm, and in the evening the hundred and fortieth, but principally on the Sabbath day.

Acts 20:7 Background

And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight.

John 20:1 Background

The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre.

Matthew 28:1 Background

Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb.

Hippolytus, Exegetical Fragments Typology

...is, a Sabbath of Sabbaths. It also includes, beyond these complete Sabbaths, a new beginning in the eighth, of a truly new rest that remains above the Sabbaths. And let anyone who is able observe this in the Psalms, where it is worked out with more than human exactness, so as to discover the reasons in each case, as we will explain them. For example, it is not without purpose that the eighth psalm has the title, "On the wine-presses," since it includes the perfection of fruits in the eight. For the time to enjoy the fruits of the true vine could not come before the eight. And again, the second psalm titled "On the wine-presses" is the eightieth, containing another eighth number, namely, in the tenth multiple. The eighty-third, again, is formed by the joining of two holy numbers, namely, the eight in the tenth multiple, and the three in the first multiple. And the fiftieth psalm is a prayer for the forgiveness of sins, and a confession. For just as, according to the Gospel, the fiftieth received remission, thus confirming that understanding of the jubilee, so the one who offers such prayers in full confession hopes to receive remission in no number other than the fiftieth. And ag

Clement of Alexandria, The Stromata (Miscellanies) Typology

...nth and the eighth. For the eighth may possibly prove to be properly the seventh, and the seventh clearly the sixth. And the latter is properly the Sabbath, while the seventh is a day of work. For the creation of the world was finished in six days. For the movement of the sun from solstice to solstice is completed in six months. During that time, at one point leaves fall, and at another plants bud and seeds ripen. They also say that the embryo is fully formed exactly in the sixth month, that is, in one hundred and eighty days, in addition to the two and a half, as Polybus the physician reports in his book On the Eighth Month, and Aristotle the philosopher in his book On Nature. Therefore the Pythagoreans, as I think, count six as the perfect number, from the creation of the world, according to the prophet. And they call it Meseuthys and Marriage, because it is the middle of the even numbers, that is, of ten and two. For it is clearly at an equal distance from both.

Irenaeus, Against Heresies: Book I Background

...ey claim that the arrangement made regarding the ark during the Deluge, which saved eight people, clearly signifies the Ogdoad that brings salvation. David also demonstrates this, as he was the eighth in terms of age among his brothers. Moreover, the circumcision that occurred on the eighth day symbolized the higher Ogdoad's circumcision. In short, whenever they find something in the Scriptures associated with the number eight, they claim it fulfills the mystery of the Ogdoad. Similarly, concerning the Decad, they assert that it is indicated by the ten nations God promised to Abraham as a possession. The arrangement made by Sarah, when after ten years she gave her handmaid Hagar to him so that he might have a son through her, demonstrated the same idea. Additionally, the servant of Abraham who went to Rebekah and gave her ten gold bracelets at the well, her brothers who kept her for ten days, Jeroboam who received the ten scepters (tribes), the ten courts of the tabernacle, the columns ten cubits high, the ten sons of Jacob initially sent to Egypt to buy grain, and the ten apostles to whom the Lord appeared after His resurrection—with Thomas being absent—all, according to them,

Origen, De Principiis (On First Principles) Background

...ommandments. For in the law, Moses is commanded to destroy every male who is not circumcised on the eighth day. This is exceedingly incongruous. Since, if it were related that the law was carried out according to the history, it would also be necessary to command that those parents be punished who did not circumcise their children, and also those who were the nurses of little children. The declaration of Scripture now is, “The uncircumcised male,” that is, who has not been circumcised, “shall be cut off from his people.” And if we inquire regarding the impossibilities of the law, we find an animal called the goat-stag, which cannot possibly exist, but which Moses commands to be eaten as being among the clean beasts. And a griffin, which no one remembers or has heard of as yielding to human power, but which the legislator forbids to be used for food. Respecting the celebrated observance of the Sabbath also, he speaks thus: “You shall sit, everyone in your dwellings; no one shall move from his place on the Sabbath day.” This command it is impossible to observe literally, for no man can sit a whole day without moving from the place where he sat down. With respect to each one of the

Origen, Against Celsus Background

The Jews say that the circumcision performed on the eighth day is the principal circumcision, and that which is performed according to circumstances is different;

Theophilus of Antioch, To Autolycus Background

...d the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day. And God said, "Let there be a firmament in the middle of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters," and it was so. And God made the firmament, and separated the waters under the firmament from the waters above the firmament. And God called the firmament Heaven, and God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day. And God said, "Let the water under heaven be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear," and it was so. And the waters were gathered together into their places, and the dry land appeared. And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters He called Seas, and God saw that it was good. And God said, "Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed after its kind and in its likeness, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after its kind, whose seed is in itself, in its likeness," and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, the herb yielding seed after its kind, and the fruit tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after its kind, on the earth, and God saw th

Irenaeus, Against Heresies: Book V Background

...d—if anyone carefully examines which of the seven days Adam died, they will discover it through the Lord's plan. By summing up the entire human race from beginning to end, He also gathered up its death. It is evident that the Lord agreed to death on the day Adam disobeyed God and died. Adam died the same day he ate. God had said, "On the day you eat of it, you will surely die." The Lord, by including Himself on this day, underwent His suffering on the day before the Sabbath, known as the sixth day of creation, when humanity was made. In doing so, He offered a new creation through His suffering, a creation out of death. Some claim Adam died in the thousandth year since "a day of the Lord is as a thousand years," and he died within those years, fulfilling the consequence of his sin. Whether we focus on disobedience as death, or that they were handed over to death and became indebted to it, or the fact that they ate and died on the same day, which is the day of preparation or the sixth day of the feast, on which the Lord also suffered; or whether we note that Adam didn't live past a thousand years but died within that limit, it follows that in all these meanings, God is indeed true