A
akemner
Guest
If i may, i would like to make a couple of points on the Sabbath and Lord’s Day, as seen from the Christian East.
The Sabbath (Saturday) still maintains a place of importance in Christianity, though this seems to have been lost a bit in the West (probably owing to the rise of Saturday evening Masses for Sunday). In non-germanic speading countries, Saturday is pretty much always refered to as Sabbath (in that language). In the Eastern Churches, this importance, while no where as great as on the Resurrection day (as Sundays are often called), it is still a day when Divine Liturgy ought to be celebrated. In many Orthodox monasteries, the brotherhood is required to assemble in this day and receive Communion (this is especially true if the monastery has sufferagan parishes, and the monks need to celebrate Resurrection Day with the laity). During the Great Fast (or Great Lent), most days are a-liturgical, that is, no Divine Liturgy can be celebrated (there is instead a communion service that was codified by Pope St Gregory the Great), except for Saturdays, Sundays, and the Feast of the Annuciation (and parish partonal feast if it fall during this period). This is owing to the ancient custom that every Sunday be celebrated as a little Pascha, ei, in honor of the Resurrection, and every Saturday be honored as the Sabbath (though it is not a day of rest, like Sunday). Saturdays are dedicted to praying for the dead, and honoring the martyrs (the first is dedicated to a miracle that saved thousands of Christians in the first decade of the Fourth Cen., three of the Lenten Saturdays are All Souls Days, one is dedicated to the Mother of God, and the last celebrates the resurrection of Lazarus).
So it is not correct to say that the Sabbath is no more, but the principle Christain celebration is the day after, in honor of Our Lord and Savior’s Resurrection, and the place of the Sabbath is diminished with respect to that.
In Christ,
Adam
PS, is it just me, or does no one clebrate Mass on Saturdays anymore? Whe i was younger, this was one of the highest attended non-Sunday days, and was usually celebrated in honor of the Blessed Mother. Is this still the case where many of you live?
The Sabbath (Saturday) still maintains a place of importance in Christianity, though this seems to have been lost a bit in the West (probably owing to the rise of Saturday evening Masses for Sunday). In non-germanic speading countries, Saturday is pretty much always refered to as Sabbath (in that language). In the Eastern Churches, this importance, while no where as great as on the Resurrection day (as Sundays are often called), it is still a day when Divine Liturgy ought to be celebrated. In many Orthodox monasteries, the brotherhood is required to assemble in this day and receive Communion (this is especially true if the monastery has sufferagan parishes, and the monks need to celebrate Resurrection Day with the laity). During the Great Fast (or Great Lent), most days are a-liturgical, that is, no Divine Liturgy can be celebrated (there is instead a communion service that was codified by Pope St Gregory the Great), except for Saturdays, Sundays, and the Feast of the Annuciation (and parish partonal feast if it fall during this period). This is owing to the ancient custom that every Sunday be celebrated as a little Pascha, ei, in honor of the Resurrection, and every Saturday be honored as the Sabbath (though it is not a day of rest, like Sunday). Saturdays are dedicted to praying for the dead, and honoring the martyrs (the first is dedicated to a miracle that saved thousands of Christians in the first decade of the Fourth Cen., three of the Lenten Saturdays are All Souls Days, one is dedicated to the Mother of God, and the last celebrates the resurrection of Lazarus).
So it is not correct to say that the Sabbath is no more, but the principle Christain celebration is the day after, in honor of Our Lord and Savior’s Resurrection, and the place of the Sabbath is diminished with respect to that.
In Christ,
Adam
PS, is it just me, or does no one clebrate Mass on Saturdays anymore? Whe i was younger, this was one of the highest attended non-Sunday days, and was usually celebrated in honor of the Blessed Mother. Is this still the case where many of you live?
