'Lord's Day': the return of the old title for Sunday

[Kosmas Damianides]

I have noticed that more and more people are using this term "Lordsday" in reference to what we commonly know as Sunday. i think this is good because it is KYRIAKI in the Bible, ie the "Lord's Day". It was also called this in old English anyway. I think?

[Edward Henderson]

Dear Kosmas,

Among traditionalist Orthodox circles in the English speaking world, this is becoming the practice. Just like, we are saying Pascha instead of Easter, Theophany instead of Epiphany, Nativity instead of Christmas (although there is nothing wrong linguistically or theologically with using Christmas or Epiphany).

As for the days of the week, Old English never used Lordsday, rather Sunnandaeg, following the other Germanic languages from which it is rooted.
Thus:
Sunday= day of the Sun
Monday= day of the Moon
Tuesday= Tiwaz day (Germanic pagan god of war
Wednesay= Odin or Woden's day (chief Nordic and German pagan god)
Thursday= Thor's day (Nordic pagan god of thunder)
Friday= Frigga's day (Odin's wife, Nordic pagan goddess)
Saturday= Saturn's day (Roman pagan god of agriculture)

It is a strange phenomenon with English that even after England was Christianized, the language retained names for the days that are clearly rooted in Paganism. Perhaps this is mainly because the ecclesiastical language of the English Church, even when it was Orthodox, was Latin.

[Elias Young]

Does this mean that we can refer to Saturday as "Sabbaton" or "the Sabbath" as do the Greeks in their civil calendar?

[Jill]

...Sabbath, which, in turn, is derived from the Hebrew Shabat...

[Edward Henderson]

You can call the days of the week whatever you like.
http://www.monachos.net/mb/clipart/smile.gif

[Eugene]

Also, in Hebrew "Sabbath" means both "the seventh day" and "the day of rest", it has little to do with Saturday exept the fact that the Judaist's Sabbath falls on Saturday. But we Christians can as well consider Sunday as Sabbath and apply the God's commandment to observe Sabbath (the seventh day) to Sunday. If our Pascha doesn't aligh with Judaist's Pesakh, our Sabbath may as well not have to allign with Saturday.

[Leandros]

(Hebrews 3:16-4:11)

“Who were they, who provoke (God) although they have heard His voice? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt? And with whom was He angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the desert? And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed? So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief.

Therefore, since the promise remains of entering in the “promised land” of rest (that God has prepared), let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them (the Israelites in the desert); but the word which they heard did not profit them, because they did not accepted the hearing with faith. While, we who have believed, we shall enter that rest, (contrary to those for whom) He has said: “So I swore in My wrath, they shall not enter in the promised place of rest, which I have prepared for them”, although the works of God were finished since the creation of the world.

For He has spoken in a certain place (in the Scripture) of the seventh day in this way: “And God rested on the seventh day from all His works”. And again in the reported place: “They shall not enter in the promised place of rest, which I have prepared for them”.

Since therefore it remains that some to enter it, since those to whom it was first preached did not enter because of their disobedience, therefore again He designates a certain day, which He calls “Today”, for which David have said, after many years, as it is reported in Scriptures: “Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts”

For if Joshua (the Son of Nun) had given them (the Israelites in the desert) the place of rest, then He (God) would not have spoken of another future day. There remains, therefore, a (day of) rest for the people of God, (like God rested on Sabbath Day). For, he who has entered (in the ‘promised land’ of rest, he has himself also ceased from his works, as God did from His.

Let us therefore be diligent to enter that (land of) rest, lest anyone fall (short) according to the same example of disobedience.”

Dear Friends,

According to St Paul, the “rest” of God is neither finished, nor does it interest just God.

The “rest” concerns every Christian, according to the passage: ”Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me,“Write: ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on’”. “Yes,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them.”” (Revelation 14:13).

We have to go back, in order to understand the “future day of rest”.

“To Adam he said, "Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, 'You must not eat of it', “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return." (Genesis 3:17-19)

This passage shows that Adam came out from the way of being “rest”, he felt out of the “Seventh Day of Creation”. He felt out of the day of “rest”.

For this reason, Lamech named his son Noah: “He named him Noah and said, ‘He will comfort us in the labor and painful toil of our hands caused by the ground the LORD has cursed.’ ” (Genesis 5:29). Lamech knew that, although the “curse of God” was on Earth, somewhere there was a “place of rest”. Lamech prophesized that his son, Noah, had a mission to carry out according to the plan of God, in guiding His people into “the place of rest”.

So, if Adam felt out of the Seventh Day of Creation, on what day did he went to?

It is important to realize that the only Day of Creation that did not end is the Seventh. For every other Day, it is written:

“And there was evening, and there was morning— the first day” (Genesis 1:5)
“And there was evening, and there was morning— the second day” (Genesis 1:8)
“And there was evening, and there was morning— the third day” (Genesis 1:13)
“And there was evening, and there was morning— the fourth day” (Genesis 1:19)
“And there was evening, and there was morning— the fifth day” (Genesis 1:23)
“And there was evening, and there was morning— the sixth day” (Genesis 1:31)

The seventh day, and mainly the eighth (the day of the NEW Creation), is described in (Zechariah 14:6-7): “On that day there will be no light, no cold or frost. It will be a unique day, without daytime or nighttime—a day known to the LORD. When evening comes, there will be light”

The contrast is intentional: in all first six Days of Creation “there was evening, and there was morning” but the Seventh day and Eighth day “when evening comes, there will be light” ! Prophet Zechariah makes clear that he talks about the Eighth Day, because he prophesizes (Zechariah 14:5-7): “…Then the LORD my God will come, and all the holy ones with him. On that day there will be no light, no cold or frost. It will be a unique day, without daytime or nighttime—a day known to the LORD. When evening comes, there will be light”.

No let us see how the Seventh and the Eighth Days are related. Actually they are one Day at the same time !

The Israelites used to begin the week from day one and they end with the Seventh day, the Sabbath. In the day of Sabbath they ceased all work because it was a day that represented the Seventh Day that God had finished His work and rested: "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.” (Exodus 20:8-11)

In the age of Christian Church, we use Sunday as the day of “rest” because on that day our Lord has Risen and by this event this day became the day of Salvation, the promised day that man arrived in the place of “rest” that God had prepared for him.

So, it became “the last day of rest” –the eighth day- and “the first day of the New Creation” at the same time. In Acts 20:7 it is written: “On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul began talking to them, intending to leave the next day, and he prolonged his message until midnight”, and “the first day” is written in the original Greek text as “one of the sabbaths …” (en de mia ton sabbatwn).

The coidentity of the Seventh day of Sabbath and of the Eighth day of Sunday is better realized in: “Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love…” (Ephesians 1:4)

As a Greek theologian, Mr B. Mpakouros, said in a published article of his -in Greek- (http://www.oodegr.com/oode/genesis/adam2.htm) about the Birth of Christ:

“Paradise…actually was another “time”, as far as human words can define realities that are beyond human intellect. In order to realize the upset that was caused in Creation from human fall, let us examine the following issue: The Creation of the World took place in “six” days, which were being fulfilled in succession, one after the other. Man was created on the “last”, Sixth, day. But his communion with God was not took place in this day but it took place primarily in the next day, the Seventh. This explicitly blessed Day was upset by the fall of man and we could – boldly- say that it was left “floating” without succession!

Human pleasure/will, by utilizing freedom as self-rule, disordered the dimensions of Creation and introduced to the “Time of Creation”, the “human Time” as a linear succession of events, that is the Human “History”. Because God respected the freedom of men, it was not possible to initiate any other way of approaching His creature, other than to ENTER INTO HUMAN TIME AS AN “EVENT”. The human creature, in the age after fall, is missing from the Creation of God and he is living in his own creation !

Of course, this ENTRANCE of God into Human History upset the historical becoming and it introduced a new constancy: to be inclined to an orbit that would drive man at his original “birthplace”, from which he was substantially missing. In this context, the man of the fallen “age/time” has to enter in the NEW PROPOSAL of life and to seek for unification of his “free” will with the providence of God. Only then, the aim of history will be restored into the original aim of Creation, from which man have drawn away while he was explicitly forewarned by God… Therefore the Incarnation of God is not a metaphysical event. It is a “physical” event as long as it restores the World in the condition that it was in its physical dimension, before the creation of a non-physical reality by the intervention of man. This non-physical reality is experienced by humans as permanent in time, due to the human finitude intellect.

The birth of God, provides the substantial content to History, which does not have a “substance” by itself, because it was not constituted with divine origin, but it is founded as an “appearance”, as an illusion of a “hidden” reality…”

In this context, the naming of time is not changing the reality; neither is it providing anything new.

Sunday remains “Sunday” and has no need to be called by another name, but time, in the Christian era, is no more unfolded in a linear way. It is unfolded cruciformly.

May God bless us, all.

[Marie-Duquette]

To All,

It seems to me that there is no need to get upon a "band wagon" to re-name Sunday, the Lord's Day! It seems to me that every day is to be the "Lord's Day" At least that is how I see it! Each morning as I awake, it is for me a "New Day" a gift from God, offered to Him to His praise and glory, in thanksgiving for the Breath of Life, as I strive to live more fully in Christ, this "today" of my life in preparation for, and as part of the great "Lord's Day" at the end of time.

"This is the Day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it."

marie_duquette

[Kosmas Damianides]

EASTERN ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN TERMINOLOGY & CUSTOMS VS CONFUSIONS WITH WESTERN TERMS ETC (http://orlapubs.com/AR/R297.html)

Offers an interesting read on how western terminology has perverted our understanding of Christianity.

[Fabio Lins]

Curiously, Portuguese is the one of the few European languages that 'depaganized' the name of the days due to a missionary from Constantinople.
St. Martin of Dume was born in Panonia and was educated in Constantinople. He became missionary in Lusitania and Archbishop of the See of Braga, the oldest of Portugal. In true Orthodox Tradition, he was the first to translate to Latin the Sayings of the Desert Fathers. He presided over two local councils and fought the heresy of priscilianism ( http://mb-soft.com/believe/txc/priscill.htm ).

In his mission to convert the Suevs and other local pagans, he changed the name of the days. Thus:

Sunday - Domingo (from Latin "Domine")
Monday - Segunda-Feira (Second Fair)
Tuesday - Terça-Feira (Third Fair)
Wednesday - Quarta-Feira (Fourth Fair)
Thursday - Quinta-Feira (Fifth Fair)
Friday - Sexta-Feira (Sixth Fair)
Saturday - Sábado (from Sabbath)

Also Christmas is Natal, from Nativity and Easter is Páscoa.

He also intended to change the names of the planets but unfortunately either he did not come up with names or it did not stick. :P

[Vasiliki D.]

I just wanted to point out to non-Greek people that in Greek, "Kuriaki" is not just a reference to the "Lord's Day" but broken down is "Kuria" which also translates to the "main day" of the week.

We then follow up with "Deftera", the second day, followed by "Triti" and then "Tetarti", third and fourth respectively and then we say "Pempti" for fifth day from the main day .. and we conclude with "paraskevi" and "savvato" ... Paraskevo is to "make preparation for" and "savvato" - u all have enough translations of that by now ;)

[Vasiliki D.]

“And there was evening, and there was morning— the first day” (Genesis 1:5)
“And there was evening, and there was morning— the second day” (Genesis 1:8)
“And there was evening, and there was morning— the third day” (Genesis 1:13)
“And there was evening, and there was morning— the fourth day” (Genesis 1:19)
“And there was evening, and there was morning— the fifth day” (Genesis 1:23)
“And there was evening, and there was morning— the sixth day” (Genesis 1:31)


Those wrotten Greek Orthodox ... how could they possibly be the only people to use the following naming structure (not paganistic) for the days of the week:
Sunday = Κυριακή (Kyriakh)

Monday = Δευτέρα (Deutera)
Tuesday = Τρίτη (Trith)
Wednesday = Τετάρτη (Tetarth)
Thursday = Πέμπτη (Pempth)
Friday = Παρασκευή (Paraskeuh)
Saturday = Σάββατο (Savvato)

[Olga]

To add to Vasiliki's post:

Kyriaki (Sunday) indeed refers to the Lord's day, but it also means "the principal day". The root word in Greek for Lord (Kyrios), Lady (Kyria), and foremost (kyrion) are the same. This cannot be a coincidence. :) It is even reflected in the hymnody for Easter (Paskha). Greeks are renowned for their love of wordplay, and liturgical texts are no exception.

[Theophrastus]

Also, in Hebrew "Sabbath" means both "the seventh day" and "the day of rest", it has little to do with Saturday exept the fact that the Judaist's Sabbath falls on Saturday.

There is another connection between Saturday and Sabbath.

In Hebrew, Saturn is named "Shabbatai (http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/361901/jewish/Angels-and-Mazalot.htm)", from "Shabbat". Shabbat is the seventh day of the week, and Saturn is the seventh planet.

[Anthony]

Those wrotten Greek Orthodox ... how could they possibly be the only people to use the following naming structure (not paganistic) for the days of the week:
Sunday = Κυριακή (Kyriakh)

Monday = Δευτέρα (Deutera)
Tuesday = Τρίτη (Trith)
Wednesday = Τετάρτη (Tetarth)
Thursday = Πέμπτη (Pempth)
Friday = Παρασκευή (Paraskeuh)
Saturday = Σάββατο (Savvato)


They aren't; the Georgian Orthodox do too. ;)

Interesting information about St Martin of Dume - thank you, Fabio.

[Vasiliki D.]

Ok, I know that there is an explanation for "Sunday" by Saint Nikodemus the Aghiorite from a book titled "Confessions of Faith" (? I think?). I have the explanation in Greek but I think most people wont understand :)

I dont have time to translate and it wouldnt do it justice anyway. If someone had a copy of this book, they could look up what he has to say about Sunday and type it here for us perhaps?