<P> The first undisputed reference to Lord's Day is in the apocryphal Gospel of Peter (verse 34, 35 and 50), probably written about the middle of the 2nd century or perhaps the first half of that century . The Gospel of Peter 35 and 50 use kyriake as the name for the first day of the week, the day of Jesus' resurrection . That the author referred to Lord's Day in an apocryphal gospel purportedly written by St. Peter indicates that the term kyriake was very widespread and had been in use for some time . </P> <P> Around 170 AD, Dionysius, Bishop of Corinth, wrote to the Roman Church, "Today we have kept the Lord's holy day (kyriake hagia hemera), on which we have read your letter ." In the latter half of the 2nd century, the apocryphal Acts of Peter identify Dies Domini (Latin for "Lord's Day") as "the next day after the Sabbath," i.e., Sunday . From the same period of time, the Acts of Paul present St. Paul praying "on the Sabbath as the Lord's Day (kyriake) drew near ." However, the Lord's day is identified with the Sabbath in the Acts of John as "on the seventh day, it being the Lord's day, he said to them: now it is time for me also to partake of food ." </P> <P> In the first centuries, Sunday, being made a festival in honor of Christ's resurrection, received attention as a day of religious services and recreation, but seventh - day Sabbath rest (based on the Jewish Shabbat, because the earliest Christians were all Jews) was still observed by "almost all churches". Often first - day worship (Sunday morning or Saturday night) was practiced alongside observance of seventh - day Sabbath rest and was a widespread Christian tradition by the 2nd century, attested in patristic writings of the 2nd century; over time, Sunday thus came to be known as Lord's Day . These early Christians believed that the resurrection and ascension of Christ signals the renewal of creation, making the day on which God accomplished it a day analogous to the first day of creation when God made the light . Some of these writers referred to Sunday as the "eighth day". </P> <P> The 1st - century or 2nd - century Epistle of Barnabas or Pseudo-Barnabas on Is . 1: 13 stated "Sabbaths of the present age" were abolished in favor of one millennial seventh - day Sabbath that ushers in the "eighth day" and commencement of a new world . Accordingly, the eighth - day assembly (Saturday night or Sunday morning) marks both the resurrection and the new creation . Thus first - day observance was a common regional practice at that time . </P>

When did the early church celebrate the lord's day