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    The Feriae of Pope Sylvester I

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    Stephen Korsman
    Pope Sylvester I first ordered that the names of the days of the week, previously named after Roman gods, be called "feriae" instead, referring to the events in Genesis on each day. However, this source was written 400 years later and its accuracy is uncertain. Assuming it's true, Sylvester likely wanted to replace pagan names with religious meanings. He called Sunday "Dominica" and Saturday "Sabbatum" but the new system did not catch on. Adventists wrongly claim this shows Sylvester established Sunday as the sabbath, but it merely discusses renaming the days.

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    The Feriae of Pope Sylvester I

    Uploaded by

    Stephen Korsman
    144 views3 pages
    Pope Sylvester I first ordered that the names of the days of the week, previously named after Roman gods, be called "feriae" instead, referring to the events in Genesis on each day. However, this source was written 400 years later and its accuracy is uncertain. Assuming it's true, Sylvester likely wanted to replace pagan names with religious meanings. He called Sunday "Dominica" and Saturday "Sabbatum" but the new system did not catch on. Adventists wrongly claim this shows Sylvester established Sunday as the sabbath, but it merely discusses renaming the days.

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    The Feriae of Pope Sylvester I

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    Pope Sylvester I first ordered that the names of the days of the week, previously named after Roman gods, be called "feriae" instead, referring to the events in Genesis on each day. However, this source was written 400 years later and its accuracy is uncertain. Assuming it's true, Sylvester likely wanted to replace pagan names with religious meanings. He called Sunday "Dominica" and Saturday "Sabbatum" but the new system did not catch on. Adventists wrongly claim this shows Sylvester established Sunday as the sabbath, but it merely discusses renaming the days.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    144 views3 pages

    The Feriae of Pope Sylvester I

    Uploaded by

    Stephen Korsman
    Pope Sylvester I first ordered that the names of the days of the week, previously named after Roman gods, be called "feriae" instead, referring to the events in Genesis on each day. However, this source was written 400 years later and its accuracy is uncertain. Assuming it's true, Sylvester likely wanted to replace pagan names with religious meanings. He called Sunday "Dominica" and Saturday "Sabbatum" but the new system did not catch on. Adventists wrongly claim this shows Sylvester established Sunday as the sabbath, but it merely discusses renaming the days.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
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    You are on page 1of 3

    The Feriae of Pope Sylvester I

    blog.theotokos.co.za

    Stephen Korsman September 16, 2018

    Pope St Sylvester I

    Pope Sylvester and his “feriae”


    Adventists quote a dubious medieval source that describes something Pope Sylvester may
    or may not have done centuries earlier. They usually don’t understand what it says. The
    source says this:

    Pope Sylvester first among the Romans ordered that the names of the days [of the week],
    which they previously called after the name of their gods, that is, [the day] of the Sun, [the
    day] of the Moon, [the day] of Mars, [the day] of Mercury, [the day] of Jupiter, [the day] of
    Venus, [the day] of Saturn, they should call feriae thereafter, that is the first feria, the
    second feria, the third feria, the fourth feria, the fifth feria, the sixth feria, because that in
    the beginning of Genesis it is written that God said concerning each day: on the first, “Let
    there be light:; on the second, “Let there be a firmament”; on the third, “Let the earth bring
    forth verdure”; etc. But he [Sylvester] ordered [them] to call the Sabbath by the ancient term
    of the law, [to call] the first feria the “Lord’s day,” because on it the Lord rose [from the
    dead], Moreover, the same pope decreed that the rest of the Sabbath should be transferred
    rather to the Lord’s day [Sunday], in order that on that day we should rest from worldly
    works for the praise of God.
    — Rabanus Maurus, De Clericorum Institutione, book 2, chapter 46 [via “Exactly Which Pope
    Changed The Sabbath To Sunday?” by Michael Scheifler, with his modifications; see Pope
    Sylvester I – who changed the Sabbath?]
    1/3
    Note that this was written a good 400 years after the time of Pope Sylvester I, and it’s
    historical accuracy is questioned by some. Nonetheless, that makes no difference to the
    dishonest Adventist claim being refuted.

    Often you’ll then hear (or see) the dishonest Adventists harp on about this amazing word –
    “feriae” – as if it proves something. It’s actually hilarious to see this sometimes. The more
    sober Adventists will simply show that the pope used the name “Lord’s Day” for the first day
    of the week, supposedly proving that THIS is the pope who changed the sabbath to Sunday.

    What really happened? Well, it’s uncertain whether or not this actually did happen. But let’s
    assume it did happen. What Pope Sylvester saw around him was a 7-day week with days
    named after pagan gods or planets. Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday,
    Friday, Saturday in modern English. In Latin: Dies Solis, dies Lunae, dies Martis, dies
    Mercurii, dies Iovis, dies Veneris, dies Saturni.

    He supposedly decided that this was unsuitable for Christian usage, and proposed that
    they be named according to their religious significance for the two weekend days
    (Dominica and Sabbatum), and simply “weekday 2” to “weekday 6” for the weekdays, or
    “feria secunda” to “feria sexta” in Latin.

    Common Roman name Pope Sylvester’s English


    Day usage (pagan) name translation

    1 Sunday Dies Solis Dominica Lord’s (Day)

    2 Monday Dies Lunae Feria secunda Day two

    3 Tuesday Dies Martis Feria tertia Day three

    4 Wednesday Dies Mercurii Feria quarta Day four

    5 Thursday Dies Iovis Feria quinta Day five

    6 Friday Dies Veneris Feria sexta Day six

    7 Saturday Dies Saturni Sabbatum Sabbath

    By this time, the term “ Lord’s Day” was


    well established in Latin and Greek as
    the name for Sunday in Christian
    circles. In Greek, but not Latin, the day
    before the sabbath retained the
    biblical term “Παρασκευη“, or
    “Preparation day” in preparation for the
    sabbath (see John 19:42).

    But you’ll still find the Adventist who


    doesn’t comprehend what is being
    described, and blabs on about how the
    pope “established the feriae” as if it
    means anything intelligent.
    2/3
    Before we move on, it’s worth noting
    that, for the most part, this system of
    naming days never really took hold. A
    few Romance languages today use it.
    Also worth noting is that in most
    Romance languages not using pagan
    names for days, the name of the 7th
    day of the week is a derived term from
    the Latin “Sabbatum” – and speakers
    of these languages aren’t fooled by the
    Adventist claim that the sabbath was
    changed to Sunday – their own
    language calls the 7th day of the week
    “sabbath“.
    Who plagiarised from whom?

    See the series on the pope who never


    changed the sabbath to Sunday:

    Constantine, the Papacy, and the real origins of Sunday


    Pope Sylvester I – who changed the Sabbath?
    More on Sunday and Pope Sylvester I

    This post comes from a larger post on Adventist dishonesty – Dishonesty in Seventh-day
    Adventism, Part 2 – Catholicism – and deserves its own page in the series on the Pope
    who didn’t change the sabbath.

    3/3

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