The World Mission Society Church of God (WMSCOG) asserts that the Passover, kept on the 14th of Nisan, was the central practice of the early Church and must still be observed for salvation. They claim that Constantine "abolished" the Passover during the Council of Nicaea (325 AD) and that the early Church fell into apostasy by abandoning it. However, historical and biblical evidence, along with the writings of the early Church Fathers, reveals that the early Christians celebrated the Eucharist—not the Jewish Passover—as the fulfillment of Christ’s command. Furthermore, the Council of Nicaea did not abolish the Passover but unified the practice of celebrating the resurrection of Christ, which the majority of the Church already observed on Pascha (Yearly Sunday Observance) and later anytime on the Lord’s Day.

This article examines the historical and theological evidence for the Eucharist as the true practice of the early Church and addresses the WMSCOG’s misuse of history and Scripture.

1. The Festival of the New Covenant

The WMSCOG frequently cites 1 Corinthians 5:7-8 to argue that the early Church kept the Jewish Passover:

"For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old bread leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth."

What Does "Festival" Mean?

• The Greek word used here for "festival" is ἑορτή (heortē), which means a celebration or feast. However, Paul’s use of the term is metaphorical, not literal.
• Paul contrasts the "old bread" (symbolizing the old covenant rituals) with the "unleavened bread of sincerity and truth" (symbolizing the new life in Christ). He is not commanding the observance of the Jewish Passover but urging believers to live in the spiritual reality of Christ’s sacrifice.

This passage emphasizes the transformation from the old covenant’s shadows (e.g., the Passover) to the new covenant’s spiritual fulfillment in Christ. The "festival" is a continual celebration of Christ’s victory over sin and death, realized in the Eucharist.

2. Christ Institutes the Eucharist

On the night of His betrayal, Jesus redefined the Passover meal into the Eucharist:

• Luke 22:19-20:

  "And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, 'This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.' In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.'"

Jesus fulfilled the Passover by becoming the ultimate sacrificial lamb. He instituted the Eucharist as a perpetual act of remembrance and thanksgiving (Greek: εὐχαριστία, eucharistia).

3. Early Church Practice: The Eucharist

From the earliest days, Christians centered their worship on the Eucharist, not the Jewish Passover. The historical record is clear:

A. The Didache (c. 50–100 AD)

"On the Lord's Day, gather together, break bread, and give thanks, after confessing your sins, so that your sacrifice may be pure." (Didache 14)