“It was their practice to Sabbatize on Saturday, and to celebrate Sunday as a day of rejoicing and festivity. While, however, in some places a respect was thus generally paid to both of these days, the Judaizing practice of observing Saturday was by the leading churches expressly condemned, and all the doctrines connected with it steadfastly resisted.”—Sabbath Laws, p. 280.
The time had now come, when, as stated by Coleman, the observance of the Sabbath was deemed heretical; and the close of the fifth century witnessed its effectual suppression in the great body of the Catholic church.
CHAPTER XX.
SUNDAY DURING THE DARK AGES.
The pope becomes the head of all the churches—The people of God retire into the wilderness—Sunday to be traced through the Dark Ages in the history of the Catholic church—State of that festival in the sixth century—It did not acquire the title of Sabbath for many ages—Time when it became a day of abstinence from labor in the east—When in the west—Sunday canon of the first council of Orleans—Of the council of Arragon—Of the third council of Orleans—Of a council at Mascon—At Narbon—At Auxerre—Miracles establishing the sacredness of Sunday—The pope advises men to atone, by the pious observance of Sunday, for the sins of the previous week—The Sabbath and Sunday both strictly kept by a class at Rome who were put down by the pope—According to Twisse they were two distinct classes—The Sabbath, like its Lord, crucified between two thieves—Council of Chalons—At Toledo, in which the Jews were forbidden to keep the Sabbath and commanded to keep Sunday—First English law for Sunday—Council at Constantinople—In England—In Bavaria—Canon of the archbishop of York—Statutes of Charlemagne and canons of councils which he called—The pope aids in the work—Council at Paris originates a famous first-day argument—The councils fail to establish Sunday sacredness—The emperors besought to send out some more terrible edict in order to compel the observance of that day—The pope takes the matter in hand in earnest and gives Sunday an effectual establishment—Other statutes and canons—Sunday piety of a Norwegian king—Sunday consecrated to the mass—Curious but obsolete first-day arguments—The eating of meat forbidden upon the Sabbath by the pope—Pope Urban II. ordains the Sabbath of the Lord to be a festival for the worship of the Virgin Mary—Apparition from St. Peter—The pope sends Eustace into England with a roll that fell from Heaven commanding Sunday observance under direful penalties—Miracles which followed—Sunday established in Scotland—Other Sunday laws down to the Reformation—Sunday always only a human ordinance.
The opening of the sixth century witnessed the development of the great apostasy to such an extent that the man of sin might be plainly seen sitting in the temple of God.[784] The western Roman Empire had been broken up into ten kingdoms, and the way was now prepared for the work of the little horn.[785] In the early part of this century, the bishop of Rome was made head over the entire church by the emperor of the east, Justinian.[786] The dragon gave unto the beast his power, and his seat, and great authority. From this accession to supremacy by the Roman pontiff, date the “time, times, and dividing of time,” or twelve hundred and sixty years of the prophecies of Daniel and John.[787]
The true people of God now retired for safety into places of obscurity and seclusion, as represented by the prophecy: “The woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.”[788] Leaving their history for the present, let us follow that of the Catholic church, and trace in its record the history of the Sunday festival through the period of the Dark Ages. Of the fifth and sixth centuries, Heylyn bears the following testimony:—
“The faithful being united better than before, became more uniform in matters of devotion; and in that uniformity did agree together to give the Lord’s day all the honors of an holy festival. Yet was not this done all at once, but by degrees; the fifth and sixth centuries being well-nigh spent before it came into that height which hath since continued. The emperors and the prelates in these times had the same affections; both [being] earnest to advance this day above all other; and to the edicts of the one and ecclesiastical constitutions of the other, it stands indebted for many of those privileges and exemptions which it still enjoyeth.”[789]
But Sunday had not yet acquired the title of Sabbath. Thus Brerewood bears testimony:—
“The name of the Sabbath remained appropriated to the old Sabbath; and was never attributed to the Lord’s day, not of many hundred years after our Saviour’s time.”[790]