When did the church stop keeping Saturday?

The transition was gradual and contested. Emperor Constantine decreed Sunday rest in 321 AD. The Council of Laodicea banned Saturday rest in 364 AD, proving it was still practiced. The Eastern churches never fully abandoned Saturday. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church restored formal Saturday observance at the Council of Mitmaq in 1450 AD.

What did the Church Fathers say about Saturday worship?

Socrates Scholasticus (c. 440 AD): 'Almost all churches throughout the world celebrate the sacred mysteries on the sabbath.' Sozomen (c. 450 AD) independently confirmed this. The Apostolic Constitutions (c. 380 AD) commanded keeping both Saturday and Sunday. John Chrysostom (c. 400 AD) complained that Christians in Constantinople still kept the Sabbath.

What is the Council of Laodicea Canon 29?

Canon 29 of the Council of Laodicea (364 AD) ordered Christians not to 'Judaize by resting on the Sabbath, but must work on that day, rather honouring the Lord's Day.' The ban itself proves that Saturday worship was still widespread over 300 years after Christ. If it had ended naturally, no council would have needed to prohibit it.

Do Orthodox Christians Keep the Sabbath?

Q: Do Orthodox Christians keep the Sabbath?

The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (36+ million members) has observed Saturday as a sacred day alongside Sunday for over 1,600 years. Greek and Russian Orthodox churches maintain Saturday Vespers and prohibit fasting on Saturdays. The fifth-century historian Socrates Scholasticus recorded that 'almost all churches throughout the world celebrate the sacred mysteries on the sabbath of every week' except Rome and Alexandria.

The short answer is yes, in varying degrees. The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, with over 36 million members, has observed Saturday as a sacred day alongside Sunday for more than 1,600 years. The Greek and Russian Orthodox churches maintain Saturday Vespers and prohibit fasting on Saturdays (Canon 66 of the Apostolic Canons). No ecumenical council has ever commanded the abandonment of the seventh-day Sabbath.

The Ethiopian Witness

The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church is the largest body of Saturday-keeping Christians in the world. Their Saturday observance traces to the earliest days of Ethiopian Christianity and was formally defended by the monk Ewostatewos (c. 1273–1352), who was flogged and exiled for his position. His followers prevailed at the Council of Mitmaq in 1450, which restored Saturday worship as official church practice.

The Ethiopian canon includes the Book of Jubilees, which contains the oldest explicit statement that the Sabbath was observed in heaven before creation: “And the Creator of all things blessed this day which He had created for blessing and holiness and glory above all days” (Jubilees 2:24).

The Historical Record

Two fifth-century church historians independently recorded that Saturday worship was the global norm, not the exception:

“For although almost all churches throughout the world celebrate the sacred mysteries on the sabbath of every week, yet the Christians of Alexandria and at Rome, on account of some ancient tradition, have ceased to do this.”
Socrates Scholasticus, Ecclesiastical History V.22 (c. 440 AD)

“The people of Constantinople, and almost everywhere, assemble together on the Sabbath, as well as on the first day of the week, which custom is never observed at Rome or at Alexandria.”
Sozomen, Ecclesiastical History VII.19 (c. 450 AD)

The exception was Rome, not the global church.

The Council of Laodicea (364 AD)

Canon 29 of the Council of Laodicea ordered Christians to work on Saturday and rest on Sunday. The ban proves what it tried to prevent: over three hundred years after Christ, enough Christians still kept the Sabbath to require an official prohibition. If Saturday worship had ended naturally with the apostles, no council would have needed to ban it.

Learn More

This page is a brief overview. For detailed evidence, primary sources, and interactive timelines:

Interactive Study: Orthodox Sabbath Tradition (timeline, tradition cards, century filter)
Church Fathers on the Sabbath (ten patristic witnesses with sources)
The Filioque Explained (Rome’s twin innovations: the Creed change and the day change)
Chapter 7: The Thread Never Broke (Ewostatewos, Waldenses, and historical witnesses)