The origin of Sunday worship has deeper historical roots than most people know. It is the day which most Christians attend church. However, what is the origin of Sunday? Let us take a historical guide into one of the most prominent teachings of Christianity. We will uncover the culminating circumstances that mixed two religions together.
The Sacred Day of the Sun-god Mithra Became the Foundation for Sunday Worship
Location and time are relevant to the origin of Sunday worship. The context begins in 1st century Rome. At that time, Mithraism, the worship of the sun-god Mithra, rapidly became the most influential religion in the Roman Empire. This pagan religion was derived from Zoroastrianism, an ancient Persian religion. The worship day in honor of Mithra the sun-god was Sunday, according to the Catholic Encyclopedia.
At the same time, as Christianity began to spread more and more, they received persecution from both Jews and Romans. To the Romans, they were no different than Jews because they kept the Sabbath day and believed in one God. Since conflict between the Jews and Romans existed prior to the spread of Christianity, anything that the Jews did was also blamed on the Christians. As tensions between Christians and Jews peaked during the 2nd Jewish-Roman war, Christians began to feel resentment towards the Jews. They began to view the Sabbath merely as a day of worship of the Jews who persecuted them. To them, they wanted to be distinguished as separate from the Jews.
Evolution of Sunday Worship Into a Christian Day of Worship
The Western church, located in Rome, wanted to avoid further persecution from the Roman Empire. To do this, they wanted to gain favor from the Romans by participating in their day of worship. They convinced themselves that perhaps they could convert them to Christianity. This moment in history could not come at a better time than when Constantine was emperor of Rome. He saw this sentiment as a means to unite the whole Roman empire into one strong power.
This political and religious plan came into play during the 2nd century. In collusion with the Western church, now known as the Roman Catholic Church, the Roman Emperor Constantine decreed Sunday worship as a legal holiday in A.D 321. Constantine never intended to make Sunday law a day to worship the Son of God, but he proclaimed it as the venerable day of the Sun god (Mithra). The Roman Catholic Church accepted Sunday worship. From this time on, the Western church influenced all the other churches to worship on Sunday. As a result, most of them were forced to surrender their faith to the Roman sun-god religion.
Conclusion
This new religion attempted to mimic the faith that Jesus and the Apostles taught and preached, but it was fundamentally different. At the center of its religious ceremony, it was no longer Jesus who was worshiped. Rather, it became the sun-god Mithra. Although many people forgot about its origins, it can never replace the biblical day of worship, Sabbath day. This historical guide brings us to a clearer understanding so we can make decisions in our life of faith.