6. Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage (200-258): "The day of the Lord is both the first and the eighth day."

7. Eusebius (circa 315): "The Churches of the rest of the world consider the practice, which has prevailed from the time of the apostolic tradition to our own time, that it would be wrong to leave the vanity of our lives on any other day than the day of the resurrection of our Saviour. As a consequence, the decrees of all the synods of our bishops on this subject, which have been sent to churches throughout the world, declare that the mystery of the Lord's Sunday is to be celebrated on any day other than Sunday, the Lord's Day."

8. Peter, Bishop of Alexandria (circa 300) "We honor Sunday as a day of joy, because He rose on that day."

9. Didache of the Apostles (circa 70-75): "On Sunday, the Day of the Lord Himself, let us gather together to break bread and give thanks."

10. The Epistle of Pliny (circa 112, addressed to the Emperor Trajan): "They (the Christians) confirm... that all their crimes or mistakes can be expressed only by the fact that they were in the habit of gathering together on a certain day before sunrise, and repeating among themselves a hymn to Christ as to God, binding themselves by a sacred oath (sacramentum)...; This was duly carried out, and their habit began to disperse and gather again for meals, which was not something unusual and socially dangerous. Even in this way they ceased to follow my decree, by which, by your orders, I forbade the further existence of the community."

Thus, since the time of the Apostles and the times of the Holy Fathers, the Christian Church regards Sunday, the first day of the week, as the Day of the Lord, and in the words of St. Clement of Alexandria (c. 194 A.D.), "The Jewish Sabbath is no more than an ordinary working day."

In their quest to establish the Sabbath, Adventists dismiss opposing views as unreliable (thereby conflicting with mainstream theological views) or ignore the beliefs of early Christianity. Although these arguments against the Adventist position have little impact on Adventists and their views, the fact remains that the Christian Church (both according to the teaching of the Apostles and according to the traditions of the Holy Fathers) recognizes the observance of Sunday instead of Saturday.

B. Authoritative statements

Recently, the Adventist radio program "Voice of Prophecy" released a 31-page printed work, "Official Statements on the Old Testament Sabbath and Sunday Problem." In this edition, they quote from "mainstream" Protestant sources that "prove" that Sunday instead of Saturday is a pagan tradition introduced in 321 by Constantine the Great.

However, many of these sources actually state what Adventists flatly deny, namely that the Sabbath is not the Lord's Day or the first day of the week, but remains only the seventh day.

Since Adventists have mastered the practice of quoting official sources of information in order to find support for their position on this issue, we will offer for their consideration the sayings of the same sources, but expressing the opposite views of the Adventists:

1. "Sunday is not the successor of the Sabbath... Sunday is just a priestly institution... On Sunday, ordinary Christians did all kinds of work" (Bishop Jeremy Taylor, Ductor Dubitantium, Part 1, Book 2, Chapter 2, Canon 6, Sections 51, 59)