Early church history Jesus observed the Jewish
Sukkot (the Feast of Tabernacles or Festival of Booths) during his ministry (see ). Referring to
Paul the Apostle, states: "When they desired him to tarry longer time with them, he consented not; but bade them farewell, saying, I must keep this feast that cometh in Jerusalem: but I will return again to you, if God will. And he sailed from Ephesus." Scholars debate which feast this refers to, but Protestant scholar Thomas Lewin concluded that Paul was referring to the Feast of Tabernacles. In the 2nd century, Jewish Christians certainly kept the Feast of Tabernacles, according to 20th century Catholic scholar Cardinal
Jean Danielou, where its celebration was tied to
millenarianism as it is with many Christians who observe it today. Its observance was centered in the Asiatic environment to which both
Papias and
Cerinthus belonged. Cardinal Danielou also saw references to the Feast of Tabernacles in the
Shepherd of Hermas, which would indicate that around that time some in Rome also observed it, though he believes that later on they transferred it to become something else. According to
Jerome of Stridon,
Polycarp also kept the Feast of Tabernacles in the 2nd century in Asia Minor.
Methodius of Olympus (died c. 311) taught that Christians should observe the Feast of Tabernacles, and he also tied it to the teaching of the millennial reign of Christ: "For since in six days God made the heaven and earth, and finished the whole world, and rested on the seventh day from all His works which He had made, and blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, so by a figure in the seventh month, when the fruits of the earth have been gathered in, we are commanded to keep the feast to the Lord, which signified that, when this world shall be terminated at the seventh thousand years, when God shall have completed the world, He shall rejoice in us."
Didymus the Blind (c. 313-398) also enjoined the observance of the Feast of Tabernacles, and cited 2 Peter 1:14 and 2 Cor. 5:4, where he identified the temporary dwelling with the human body, saying that only those who preserve the purity of their bodies and spirits will celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles, and that Sukkot will be celebrated in the next world at the resurrection, when the saved will rise into an incorruptible body, rising up in power and glory to become a sacred dwelling. After the rise of
Emperor Constantine, Christian observance of the Feast of Tabernacles became increasingly viewed as heretical by the developing Catholic church. In the 4th century,
Epiphanius discusses
Nazarene Christians who kept the Jewish Holy Days in various locations in his time, a practice which he considered heretical.
John Chrysostom (of
Constantinople) commented that people who professed Christ in his area were also observing the Feast of Tabernacles, which he also considered heretical, as did Jerome of Stridon in the 4th and 5th centuries, who notes that these Christians also gave the feast a millenarian significance.
Post-reformation Nevertheless, a small number of Christian groups continued to observe the Feast of Tabernacles outside of the sphere of the Catholic Church. In 1588, the
Szekler Sabbatarians of
Transylvania united under the unitarian nobleman
András Eőssi, observed Christian versions of all of the biblical Jewish Holy Days including the Feast of Tabernacles. They also rejected the observance of Christmas, Easter, and New Year's Day. Within a decade, they grew to be represented in many towns and villages, mainly centered in the towns of Szekely-Keresztur (today the Romanian town of
Cristuru-Secuiesc) and Koropatak (today
Bodoc), and a number of Hungarian villages. They developed a hymn book with songs specifically for Christian observance of the Jewish Holy Days They considered themselves as converted gentiles who had inherited from the Jews the eternally binding law, which God had given. By 1637, there were believed to number between 15,000 and 20,000, until they attracted the attention of the Hungarian parliament. In 1600 a decree was passed which allowed their estates and properties to be confiscated, and in 1618, a decree was passed in
Cluj with the approval of Prince Bethlen to solve the "Jewish Christian Problem" by giving them one year to rejoin one of the reorganized churches. Soon afterward, their books were confiscated and burnt. By the end of the mid 17th century, they still were represented in at least eleven towns and villages in Transylvania, but by 1865 only about 170-180 members remained in the town of
Bozod-Ujfalu (near
Gyula Feheruar). The group was later absorbed into Judaism during the 1930s. In 1900, the Feast of Tabernacles was formally celebrated by the
Southern Baptists at Falls Creek Encampment. There are pictures of the original Falls Creek Tabernacle with the blowing of the
shofar to call to service. It was also celebrated heavily among those in the south, known as Bush Arbors, as late as the 1960s. From this movement came the history of tent revivals, which birthed the world-wide evangelist
Billy Graham. Today, the Feast of Booths, or Tabernacles or Sukkot, is celebrated by a growing number of groups, including Messianic Jews, Church of God groups, and
Apollo Quiboloy's Kingdom of Jesus Christ church in the Philippines, as well as the
International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (ICEJ). They cite
God's and the
prophets' injunctions in the
Old Testament that the Israelites observe the holiday, and accounts in the
New Testament of how
Jesus and his
apostles kept this commandment.
Modern practice Today, actual observance practice varies. Churches may construct a communal
sukkah, on church property or elsewhere, in which services are held and meals eaten, and in some congregations, dancing. In some congregations, individuals may construct their own booths which may be slept in, or where only meals may be eaten. Some members may send or exchange greeting cards prior to the event, participate in special meals, music, and worship services, and give alms. Among congregations of the Church of God tradition, church leadership selects a Feast site designed to serve a large geographic area which includes a rented hall for congregational meetings and various amenities. Members travel and stay in tents at local campgrounds or (more commonly) stay in a hotel where they may attend daily worship services and participate in recreation, fellowship, sight-seeing, and church activities for eight days. As with many Christians who have observed it in the past, it is tied to Christ's millennial reign on earth, believed to be a time of great spiritual and physical blessing for all mankind. Members are instructed to save a tenth of their income as part of a
second tithe to spend on themselves and their families in order to have the means to observe all the holidays, but particularly the Feast of Tabernacles. ==Criticism==