The Complete Testimony of the Fathers of the First Three Centuries Concerning the Sabbath and First Day - J. N. Andrews

Preface
The testimony for first-day sacredness is very
meager in the Scriptures, as even its own advocates
must admit. But they have been wont to supply the
deficiency by a plentiful array of testimonies from
the early fathers of the church. Here, in time past,
they have had the field all to themselves, and they
have allowed their zeal for the change of the
Sabbath to get the better of their honesty and their
truthfulness. The first-day Sabbath was absolutely
unknown before the time of Constantine. Nearly
one hundred years elapsed after John was in vision
on Patmos, before the term “Lord’s day” was
applied to the first day. During this time, it was
called “the day of the sun,” “the first day of the
week,” and “the eighth day.” The first writers who
give it the name of “Lord’s day,” state the
remarkable fact that in their judgment the true
Lord’s day consists of every day of a Christian’s
life, a very convincing proof that they did not give
this title to Sunday because John had so named it
on Patmos. In fact, no one of those who give this
title to Sunday ever assign as a reason for so doing
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