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Sunday
The Lord's Day, the first day of the biblical week. The NT specifies that on this day Jesus rose from the dead and appeared to his disciples. At an early date Sunday-rather than the Sabbath (Saturday)-became the occasion for Christians to meet together and celebrate the eucharist. Its meaning was enriched by reference to the creation of light and the work of the Holy Spirit (Gn 1:1-5). Pentecost has generally been considered to have fallen on the "First Day." Under Christian emperors, Sunday became a public holiday. Attendance at the eucharist and at vespers on Saturday and/or Sunday evening became normative for many centuries. After the Reformation, Puritans sought to impose austere regulations reflecting the biblical Sabbath, whereas Anglicans have regarded social gatherings, sports, and other entertainments appropriate after church. The Holy Eucharist is "the principal act of Christian worship on the Lord's Day and other major feasts" (BCP, p. 13). Collects for Saturday evening and Sunday, and Sunday eucharistic prefaces, articulate the themes of creation, the Resurrection, and new life in the Spirit appropriate for Sunday as the day of the eucharist. In The Hymnal 1982, Hymns 47-52 express these classic Sunday themes, including "O day of radiant gladness" (Hymn 48).
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Glossary definitions provided courtesy of Church Publishing Incorporated, New York, NY,(All Rights reserved) from "An Episcopal Dictionary of the Church, A User Friendly Reference for Episcopalians," Don S. Armentrout and Robert Boak Slocum, editors. |
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