Sabbath Observed in the British Isles

tim April 28, 2021

Early Christians in the British Isles observed the seventh-day Sabbath, at least until the eleventh century when Roman influence led to a marginalization of Sabbath observance in favor of Sunday observance. Historian William Skene noted that in the early centuries, the Church of Ireland “held that Saturday was properly the Sabbath on which they abstained from work” (William F. Skene, Celtic Scotland [Edinburgh: David Douglas, 1877], vol. 2, pp. 348-350). Another historian wrote, “In this matter the Scots had perhaps kept up the traditional usage of the ancient Irish Church which observed Saturday instead of Sunday as the Day of Rest” (T. Ratcliffe Barnett, Margaret of Scotland, Queen and Saint [London: Oliver and Boyd, 1926], pp. 89, 97, 98).

Categories: Sabbath Timeline

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