What Did Rome Change?

The Filioque and the Sabbath

The Roman Catholic Church made two changes to the faith received from the apostles. Neither change was authorized by an ecumenical council. Both were rejected by the Eastern churches. Together they reveal a pattern of unilateral authority that defines the divide between Rome and the rest of Christendom.

The First Change: The Creed

The Nicene Creed, formulated at the First and Second Ecumenical Councils (325 and 381 AD), states that the Holy Spirit “proceedeth from the Father.” This quotes Christ directly (John 15:26). In the sixth century, churches in Spain began adding the Latin word filioque (“and the Son”). In 1014 AD, Pope Benedict VIII inserted the addition into the Roman liturgy. The Eastern churches never accepted it, and the filioque was the primary theological cause of the Great Schism in 1054 AD.

The Second Change: The Day

The Fourth Commandment declares the seventh day (Saturday) as the Sabbath (Exodus 20:8–11). No New Testament verse transfers this sanctity to Sunday. Emperor Constantine decreed Sunday rest in 321 AD. The Council of Laodicea banned Saturday rest in 364 AD. The Roman Catholic Church claims this change as proof of its authority over Scripture. The Convert’s Catechism of Catholic Doctrine (1930) states: “We observe Sunday instead of Saturday because the Catholic Church transferred the solemnity from Saturday to Sunday.”

The Pattern

Both changes share the same structure: each alters something the apostles received, each lacks ecumenical authorization, and each rests on the claim that Rome possesses authority no council conferred. The Orthodox Church preserved the original Creed, and the Ethiopian Orthodox Church preserved the original day. Together, the Eastern churches stand as witnesses that the apostolic faith was never universally abandoned but was suppressed in some places and preserved in others.

Learn More