Worship in the Early Church

What was Christian worship like in the first hundred years, up to about the year 150? How similar was it to our modern worship at Calvin Presbyterian today? Several written sources from that time describe worship in the early church, including the New Testament, the “Didache” (a first-century worship manual for gentile converts), and the “First Apology of Justin Martyr.” This two-part article will explore what they have to tell us. In part one, we’ll learn about the when, where, who, and what of early worship. Next time, in part two, we’ll take a closer look at baptism and communion in the early church.

The earliest followers of Christ were Jews. After Jesus’ resurrection, they continued to worship in the synagogues on the Sabbath day (Friday night and Saturday), and at the Jerusalem Temple. But their experience of Christ had transformed and given new meaning to their regular Jewish religious practices. For example, Jewish baptism meant the forgiveness of sin, but for the new followers of Jesus, baptism now meant incorporation into the body of Christ. Jews used bread and wine for Sabbath and Passover rituals, but for Jesus’ followers, bread and wine now meant the gift of Jesus’ sacrifice. These new meanings were unwelcome ideas in the synagogues. Mainstream Jews began to consider Jesus’ followers a heretical sect. Christians were forced to hold a second worship service, where they could do what they wanted, on the “Lord’s Day,” which pagans called Sunday. It was the first day of creation and the day Jesus was resurrected. Because a Jewish day goes from sundown to sundown, the Lord’s Day started Saturday night, and this was when Christians gathered. The Lord’s Day wasn’t another rest day – people worked Sunday during the day. When Christians were finally excluded from synagogues altogether, the Lord’s Day became their only worship day. Today we carry on that tradition by meeting for worship on Sundays.

Where did early Christians worship? At first, they met in private homes. A middle class house was arranged around a central courtyard, which was converted into a common area for Christian worship and shared meals. Such a room might hold twenty to fifty people, and it was set up much like a synagogue of the time. The walls were painted with religious scenes, and in the middle of the room was a raised platform (a Bema) with a place to put the scriptures (an Ark) and one chair for the leader (the Bishop). Worshippers stood near this platform – there were no pews. On the east side of the room was an altar where the Eucharist was shared. In times and places where worship had to be secret, Christians met in less appealing places like catacombs, but these private homes were the ancestors of our modern churches.

Who were the leaders of the early church? In each city, the small Christian communities were led by a Bishop. The first Bishops were appointed by the Apostles. Bishops were teachers who used scripture and the oral tradition to settle religious questions and disputes (of which there were many). Under the Bishops were the Elders who were also called Presbyters (from which we get Presbyterian) and later called Priests. This council of Elders helped the Bishop and spread the gospel message. Deacons were male and female church workers who served by assisting with the sacraments, and distributing charity money to the community. This leadership structure is recognizable to us; a Bishop is similar to our modern Pastor, Calvin Church has Elders, and those who help with communion and the offertory are similar to first century Deacons.

What was a Lord’s Day worship service like? Christians gathered on Saturday night as the Lord’s Day began. They started by sharing a fellowship meal, a kind of pot-luck “love feast.” Then the service began with prayers and a confession of sins. The confession purified the people for the Eucharist to follow. The Bishop then read from the prophetic books of the Hebrew Bible, or from the gospels and other writings that would someday form the New Testament. The Bishop explained the reading, and instructed the people to live according to what they had just heard. After a prayer, the people made a procession to the east side of the room, to the altar. The east symbolized the rising sun and the second coming of Jesus. At the altar, the Bishop offered thanksgiving prayers. Bread and watered wine were distributed, and the Eucharist was shared. The Eucharist was the main focus of the whole service. After that, there was a collection of money for the poor, the sick, the imprisoned, widows, orphans, and visitors from other Christian communities. There was some chanting of psalms and singing of hymns. A blessing ended the service.

Even after almost two thousand years, Christian worship has not fundamentally changed. A Sunday service at Calvin has much in common with a Lord’s Day gathering of the brethren in a private home in the ancient middle-east. It is comforting to know that. For if the early Christians worshipped the Lord in a holy manner, then so do we today.