How did the change come about from Saturday to Sunday in early Christianity? To find an answer to this question Dr. Samuele Bacchiocchi spent five years at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, examining the most ancient documents available.

The results of this investigation are presented in From Sabbath to Sunday, which is a translation and an adaptation of his Italian doctoral dissertation, presented at and published by the Pontifical Gregorian University Press.

The investigation establishes that the change from Saturday to Sunday began approximately one century after the death of Christ, as a result of an interplay of political, social, pagan and Christian factors. The change in the day of rest and worship was not merely a change of names or of numbers, but rather a change of meaning, authority and experience. Essentially it was a change from a Holy Day into a holiday.

From Sabbath to Sunday has the distinction of being the first book written by a non-Catholic ever to be published by a Pontifical press with the Catholic imprimatur (approval). The book has already been reprinted fourteen times in English and has been translated in several languages. Hundreds of scholars of different persuasions have praised this book as a definitive treatment of the early history of the Lord’s Day.

Four of the eleven chapters can be accessed by clicking their titles below

The Resurrection- Appearances and the Origin of Sunday Observance

Rome and the Origin of Sunday

Anti-Judaism and the Origin of Sunday

Sun-Worship and the Origin of Sunday

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