Epistle to the Citizens of Rome, in which he prohibits keeping the Sabbath, according to the custom of the Jews

In this message of St. Gregory the Great (Dvoeslov) to the Roman citizens raises the question of the observance of the Sabbath and its meaning in Christianity. The saint condemns those who, following Jewish traditions, call for strict observance of the Sabbath, claiming that this is the preaching of the Antichrist. He explains that the commandments of the Old Testament, including keeping the Sabbath, were given before the coming of Christ and now have only spiritual meaning. St. Gregory emphasizes that true peace is given by Christ, and that Christians should avoid the errors associated with the literal fulfillment of the law. The saint responds to rumors about the prohibition of bodily cleanliness on Sunday: the necessary ablution does not contradict Christian values, and caring for the body should be reasonable, and not turn into excess. A rumor has reached me that some people, led by a spirit of rebellion, are sowing seeds of error among you, forbidding you to correct your affairs and everyday duties on the Sabbath day. Can these people be called anything other than preachers of the Antichrist? - for he will appear and begin to honor and keep the Sabbath day in the same way, but only according to Jewish custom, and not Christian. He will force people to become Judaizers, restore the ritual law and begin to honor the Sabbath in order to more conveniently take advantage of the unbelief of the Jews and draw them along with him. True, the prophet Jeremiah once said in the name of the Lord: save your souls, and do not carry burdens from your houses on the Sabbath day, and do not go out from the gates of Jerusalem (Jer. 17:21): but this command of the Lord was valid until then, as long as it could be carried out literally. Now that the grace of Almighty God and our Lord Jesus Christ has appeared, the commandments of the law, which served only as a prototype of the truth, can no longer be carried out literally, and therefore have no force binding on us. So, if anyone says that now, on the basis of the indicated command of the Lord, we must keep the Sabbath in the same way as the Jews once kept it, then he must also say that now we must also accept and fulfill the law of sacrifices, circumcision, etc. But in this case, let him listen to the Apostle Paul, who says: if you are circumcised, Christ will profit you for nothing (Gal. 5:2). Therefore, we accept and keep spiritually everything that is written in the Old Testament about the Sabbath, and since the Sabbath is a day of rest, then our true Sabbath is our Redeemer himself, the Lord Jesus Christ, who granted temporary and eternal rest to the souls of the righteous; - in the same way, we should now understand in a spiritual sense the words of the Lord about those who on the Sabbath day carried burdens into the gates of Jerusalem: by their name we should understand those Christians who, like gates, open the entrances of their hearts to the world, i.e. external feelings, and in this way bring into their hearts the burdens of passions and lusts; on the contrary, under the name of the Israelites, who were careful not to bring burdens on the Sabbath day into the gates of Jerusalem, we should understand those Christians who sacredly observe the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and do not allow the world through the senses to bring into their hearts the burdens of passions and vices. The Savior of the world performed deeds of mercy on the Sabbath day and very often denounced the Jews for their superstitious worship of the Sabbath: every one of you on the Sabbath does not remove his ox or donkey from the manger and give you something to drink (Luke 13:15). If the Truth itself frees us from the literal, ritual keeping of the Sabbath, then who, if not the Truth itself, contradicts the one who keeps the Sabbath literally, as prescribed by the law? Besides this, another message has reached me that some wicked people instill in you contempt for bodily cleanliness, forbidding you to wash your body on Sunday. It goes without saying that not only on Sunday, but even on ordinary days one cannot approve of ablution, which is invented for luxury and pleasure; but we should not at all condemn the washing that bodily needs and decency require, and we do not forbid satisfying this need even on Sunday; for it is written: no one would hate his own flesh, but nourishes and warms it (Eph. 5:29); on the contrary, in another place it is said: neither do you please the flesh through lust (Rom. 13:14). So, whoever forbids the gratification of the flesh to extend to lusts, he obviously does not condemn the necessary care for it; for if it is not permissible to wash the body on Sunday, then this means that one should not wash the face on this day; but if this last need is permitted, then why, one might ask, does this permission extend to only one part of the body, and not to the whole body? No, my beloved children, our respect for the day of the resurrection of our Lord and concern for its holiness requires us to dedicate this day, appointed for peace from labor, to the Lord, to offer up prayers before Him for the forgiveness of the sins we have committed during the six days that we usually spend in the cares and worries of everyday life; and therefore try, my children, to testify to your respect for Sunday and your concern for its holiness with pure faith and unceasing prayers to God; do not trust the words of evil people; on the contrary, present everything that you hear and learn from them to the court of reason, and do not lose firmness and courage in the fight against errors, so that through victory over them you gain eternal joy and participation in the triumph of faith in heaven, with the saints.