The reputed epistle of Ignatius to the Trallians in its shorter form does not allude to this subject. In its longer form, which is admitted to be the work of a later age than that of Ignatius, these expressions are found:--
"During the Sabbath, he continued under the earth;" "at the dawning of the Lord's day he arose from the dead;" "the Sabbath embraces the burial; the Lord's day contains the resurrection." Chap. ix.
In the epistle to the Philippians, which is universally acknowledged to be the work of a later person than Ignatius, it is said:--
"If any one fasts on the Lord's day or on the Sabbath, except on the paschal Sabbath only, he is a murderer of Christ." Chap. xiii.
We have now given every allusion to the Sabbath and first-day that can be found in any writing attributed to Ignatius. We have seen that the term "Lord's day" is not found in any sentence written by him. The first day is never called the Christian Sabbath, not even in the writings falsely attributed to him; nor is there in any of them a hint of the modern doctrine of the change of the Sabbath. Though falsely ascribed to Ignatius, and actually written in a later age, they are valuable in that they mark the progress of apostasy in the establishment of the Sunday festival. Moreover, they furnish conclusive evidence that the ancient Sabbath was retained for centuries in the so-called Catholic church, and that the Sunday festival was an institution entirely distinct from the Sabbath of the fourth commandment.
The epistle of Polycarp makes no reference to the Sabbath nor to the first day of the week. But "the encyclical epistle of the church at Smyrna concerning the martyrdom of the holy Polycarp," informs us that "the blessed Polycarp suffered martyrdom" "on the great Sabbath at the eighth hour." Chapter xxi. The margin says: "The great Sabbath is that before the passover." This day, thus mentioned, is not Sunday, but is the ancient Sabbath of the Lord.
This was written by an unknown author, and Diognetus himself is known only by name, no facts concerning him having come down to us. It dates from the first part of the second century. The writer speaks of "the superstition as respects the Sabbaths" which the Jews manifested, and he adds these words: "To speak falsely of God, as if he forbade us to do what is good on the Sabbath days--how is not this impious?" But there is nothing in this to which a commandment-keeper would object, or which he might not freely utter.