Acts 2:42 says that the early believers “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer” (NIV). Although the New Testament gives little instruction or description of the early church’s weekly worship services, several early Christian writers documented how their meetings were conducted.

When they met

The early Christians worshipped on Sunday:

• “Sunday is the day on which we all hold our common assembly, because it is the first day on which God, having wrought a change in the darkness and matter, made the world; and Jesus Christ our Savior on the same day rose from the dead.” – Justin Martyr (c. 160)
• “On the day of the resurrection of the Lord, that is, the Lord’s Day, assemble yourselves together without fail, giving thanks to God and praising Him.” – Apostolic Constitutions (c. 390)

Every Sunday, the early believers met twice – once in the morning before sunrise, and once in the evening after dark. Because Sunday was not observed as a day of rest until the fourth century during the reign of Constantine, everyone – including Christians – worked on Sundays. Believers rose before dawn and stayed up after dark to meet and worship.

Where they met

Acts 2:46 says that the early believers were accustomed to “attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes.” Paul’s epistles also refer to churches meeting in the homes of Aquila and Priscilla (Romans 16:3; 1 Corinthians 16:19), Nympha (Colossians 4:15), and Philemon (Philemon 1:2).

The early Christians followed the same pattern of worshipping in houses and other small meeting places. Justin Martyr, when asked by the Roman prefect where the believers assembled, responded, “[We meet] where each one chooses and is able. Do you imagine that we all meet in the very same place?”

By the early 200s, the Christians in North Africa were evidently gathering in larger meeting areas. Tertullian wrote the following to believers who were afraid that their assemblies would attract persecution:

• “You say that the pagans are led to inquire about us – seeing that we assemble ‘without order,’ and assemble at the same time, and flock in large numbers to the church. You are alarmed that we may awaken their anxieties. . . . But you say, ‘How will we assemble together [if we do not pay tribute to avoid persecution]?’ To be sure, just as the apostles also did – who were protected by faith, not by money. . . . If you cannot assemble by day, you have the night – the light of Christ luminous against its darkness. . . . Be content with a church of threes. It is better that you sometimes should not see the crowds [of other Christians], than to subject yourselves [to paying tribute].”

Sunday morning worship

Around AD 160, Justin Martyr penned his First Apology to the Roman emperor to show that Christians were being persecuted for no legitimate reason. In this apology, he described the believers’ Sunday morning worship service:

• “On the day called Sunday, all who live in cities or in the country gather together to one place. And the memoirs of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read, as long as time permits. Then, when the reader has ceased, the president verbally instructs us and exhorts us to imitate these good things. Then we all rise together and pray. And, as we said before, when our prayer is ended, bread and wine and water are brought. Then, the president in like manner offers prayers and thanksgivings, according to his ability. And the people assent, saying ‘Amen.’ Then [the Eucharist] is distributed to everyone, and everyone participates in that over which thanks has been given. And a portion of it is sent by the deacons to those who are absent. [Then] those who are prosperous and willing give what each thinks fit. And what is collected is deposited with the president [of the church], who gives aid to the orphans, and widows, and those who are in need because of sickness or any other cause, and those who are in prison, and the strangers sojourning among us. In a word, he takes care of all who are in need.”

In many ways, the early Christian worship service was similar to that of the Jewish synagogues: it included Scripture reading, instruction from the president of the assembly, and prayer. The Lord’s Supper (also called the Eucharist or communion) was instituted by Jesus at the Last Supper and practiced weekly by the early believers. Earlier in the First Apology, Justin gives a more complete description of how communion was received at the end of the service:

• “After we have baptized the one who has been convinced and who has agreed to our teaching, we bring him to the place where those who are called brothers are assembled. There, we offer heartfelt prayers in common both for ourselves and for the baptized person – and for all others in every place – so that we may be counted worthy, now that we have learned the truth, by our works also to be found good citizens and keepers of the commandments, so that we may be saved with an everlasting salvation.
• “Having ended the prayers, we greet one another with a kiss. Then there is brought to the president of the brethren bread and a cup of wine mixed with water. He takes them and gives praise and glory to the Father of the universe, through the name of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and offers thanks at considerable length for our being counted worthy to receive these things at His hands. And when he has concluded the prayers and thanksgivings, all the people present express their assent by saying, ‘Amen.’ . . . And when the president has given thanks, and all the people have expressed their assent, those whom we call deacons give to each of those present the bread and wine mixed with water over which the thanksgiving was pronounced, to partake of. And they carry away a portion to those who are absent. And this food is called among us the Eucharist [Thanksgiving]. And no one is allowed to partake of it but the one who believes that the things which we teach are true, and who has been washed with the washing that is for the remission of sins and unto regeneration, and who is living as Christ commanded. . . .
• “Afterwards we continually remind each other of these things. And the wealthy among us help the needy. . . . And for all things that we are given, we bless the Maker of all through His Son Jesus Christ, and through the Holy Spirit.”

According to Justin Martyr, a typical Sunday morning service included Scripture reading, an instructional message, prayer, the Lord’s Supper, and giving to help the needy. Other writers also mention singing as part of the worship service.

Sunday evening love feast

On Sunday evenings, believers gathered again for the agape meal, or love feast. This love feast is mentioned in 2 Peter 2:13 and Jude 12, as well as in 1 Corinthians 11:20-21. (Because Jesus instituted communion “after supper” [1 Corinthians 11:25], the early believers initially followed His example by taking the Lord’s Supper after the evening love feast. However, by the late second and early third centuries, many churches – including Justin Martyr’s church – began taking communion in the morning. The love feast eventually disappeared in the fourth century around the time of Constantine.)

Second-century writer Tertullian described the evening love feast or agape meal:

• “Our feast explains itself by its name. The Greeks call it agape, i.e. love. Whatever the meal costs, our outlay in the name of piety is gain. For we aid the needy with the good things of the feast. . . . Before reclining, the participants first taste of prayer to God. Only as much is eaten as satisfies the cravings of hunger. Only as much is drunk as befits the chaste. . . . The participants talk as those who know that the Lord is one of their hearers. After washing the hands and the bringing in of lights, each is asked to stand forth and sing, as he can, a hymn to God – either one from the Holy Scriptures or one of his own composing. This is proof of the [temperate] measure of our drinking. Just as the feast began with prayer, so it is closed with prayers. We depart from the feast . . . as ones who have as much care for our modesty and chastity as though we had been at a school of virtue, rather than a banquet.” – Tertullian (c. 197)

In contrast to pagan banquets, the Christian love feast was characterized by prayer, godliness, and self-control. Mark Felix added:

• “We practice sharing in our banquets, which are not only modest, but also sober. For we do not indulge in entertainments, nor do we prolong our feasts with wine. Rather, we temper our joyousness with seriousness.” – Mark Minucius Felix (c. 200)

Customs

The early Christians practiced two unique customs in their worship. First, they did not kneel on Sundays:

• “This custom of not bending the knee on Sunday is a symbol of the resurrection, through which we have been set free by the grace of Christ. . . . Now this custom took its rise from apostolic times, as the blessed Irenaeus, the martyr and bishop of Lyons, declares in his treatise.” – Eusebius, citing Irenaeus (c. 180)
• “We consider fasting or kneeling in worship on the Lord’s Day to be unlawful.” – Tertullian (c. 211)

Secondly, believers prayed towards the east:

• “It is a well-known fact that we pray towards the east.” – Tertullian (c. 197)
• “Corresponding to the manner of the sun’s rising, prayers are made looking towards the sunrise in the east.” – Clement of Alexandria (c. 195)
• “The Scripture says, ‘His name shall rise up above the sun.’ And again, Zechariah says, ‘His name is the East [or Rising]’ [Zech. 6:12].” – Justin Martyr (c. 160)
• “He also established two parts of the earth that are opposite to one another, and of a different character. I speak of the east and the west. Of these, the east is assigned to God, for He Himself is the Fountain of light and the Enlightener of all things. Furthermore, He makes us rise to eternal life. However, the west is ascribed to that disturbed and depraved mind, for it conceals the light. It always brings on darkness, and it makes men die and perish in their sins.” – Lactantius (c. 304-313)

Christians in all geographical locations followed this custom of praying towards the east. Interestingly, Matthew 24:27 indicates that Jesus will return from the east: “For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.”

Principles of worship

The early Christians believed that meeting together weekly was important:

• “If the prayer of one or two has such great strength, how much more the prayer of the bishop within the whole church? Therefore, he who does not come to the assembly is already puffed up and has passed judgment on himself. Give diligence therefore to come together more frequently for thanksgiving and glory to God, for when you are frequently together in one place, the powers of Satan are destroyed and his destructiveness is nullified by the concord of your faith.” – Ignatius (c. 105)
• “And let every faithful man and woman, when they arise from sleep at dawn, before they undertake any work, wash their hands and pray to God, and so let them go to their work. But if there should be an instruction in the Word, let each one prefer to go there, considering that it is God whom he hears speaking by the mouth of him who instructs. For having prayed with the Church, he will be able to avoid all the evils of that day. The God-fearing man should consider it a great loss if he does not go to the place in which they give instruction, and especially if he knows how to read. If there is a teacher there, let none of you be late in arriving at the assembly at the place where they give instruction. Then indeed it shall be given to the speaker to utter things which are profitable to all, and you will be profited by the things the Holy Spirit will give to you by him who instructs, and so your faith will be established by what you hear. And further, he will tell you there what you ought to do in your own house. And therefore, let each one be careful to go to the assembly to the place where the Holy Spirit abounds. And if there is a day on which there is no instruction, let each one at home take a holy book and read sufficiently what seems profitable.” – Hippolytus (c. 200)

Although the early Christians came together for corporate worship every week, they realized that true worship is found not in meetings and rituals but in hearts that love and follow the Lord:

• “We are commanded to reverence and to honor the same One, being persuaded that He is Word. . . . We do not do this just on special days, as some other persons do. Rather, we do this continually in our whole life, and in every way. . . . For that reason, not in a specified place, or selected temple, or at certain festivals and on appointed days, but during his whole life, the spiritual man honors God. He does this in every place – even if he is alone by himself. He does this wherever he has with him any of those brethren who have exercised the same faith.” – Clement of Alexandria (c. 195)
• “The honor that we pay to the Son of God, as well as that which we render to God the Father, consists of an upright course of life. This is plainly taught us by the passage, ‘You that boast of the Law, through breaking the Law dishonor God’ [Rom. 2:23]. . . . For if he who transgresses the law dishonors God by his transgression, . . . it is evident that he who keeps the law honors God. So the worshipper of God is he whose life is regulated by the principles and teachings of the Divine Word.” – Origen (c. 248)
• “Let us not seem to believe and give heed only when we are admonished by the elders, but also when we take our departure home. Let us remember the commandments of the Lord and not be drawn away by worldly desires. Rather let us come together frequently and try to make progress in the Lord’s commands, in order that we all may be of the same mind and be gathered together unto life.” – Second Clement (c. 150)

This heart of worship in each individual believer undergirded every aspect of their corporate worship, as Tertullian expressed:

• “We are a body knit together as such by a common religious profession, by unity of discipline, and by the bond of a common hope. We meet together as an assembly and congregation so that, offering up prayer to God with united force, we may wrestle with Him in our supplications. God delights in this ‘violence.’ We pray, too, for the emperors, for their ministers and for all in authority, for the welfare of the world, for the prevalence of peace, and for the delay of the final consummation.
• “We assemble to read our sacred writings, if the nature of the times compels us to warn about or recognize anything present. In any case, with the holy words we feed our faith, we arouse our hope, we confirm our confidence. We strengthen the instruction of the precepts no less by inculcations; in the same place there are also exhortations, rebukes, and divine censures. For judgment is administered with great authority, as among those in the presence of God, and it is the supreme anticipation of the judgment to come if any has so sinned that he is banished from participation in our prayer, our gatherings, and all holy fellowship. Elders who are proved men preside over us, having attained that honor not by purchase but by established character.
• “There is no buying or selling of any sort in the things of God. Though we have our treasure chest, it is not made up of purchase money, as of a religion that has its price. Rather, on the monthly day, if he likes, each puts in a small donation – but only if it is his pleasure and only if he is able. For there is no compulsion; all is voluntary. These gifts are . . . to support and bury poor people, to supply the needs of boys and girls destitute of means and parents, and of old persons now confined to the house. These gifts also help those who have suffered shipwreck . . . or are shut up in the prisons for no reason other than their faithfulness to the cause of God’s church.” – Tertullian (c. 197)

Conclusion

Mark Felix wrote, “We assemble together with the same quietness with which we live as individuals.” According to the written accounts, early Christian worship services were unremarkable from the viewpoint of others. Rather, they were simply the extension of a lifestyle of worship, love, and obedience to Jesus Christ.