Ancient Church Writing, Didache, Teachings of the Twelve Apostles

Today we will learn and reflect on the Didache.
Although it was not formally discovered until the late nineteenth
century, the Didache was one of the earliest church writings after the
works in the New Testament.
You may ask, how can we benefit when we ponder the history of the
Didache?
We can learn more about how Christian communities lived and
worshipped in the decades following the New Testament period, when
itinerant evangelists like St Paul were visiting the early Christian
communities, and the two-fold Love that is the core teaching of
Christianity.

At the end of our talk, we will discuss the sources
used for this video, and the history behind this
ancient work, like how many manuscripts have
survived.
Please, we welcome interesting questions in the
comments, sometimes these will generate short
videos of their own. Let us learn and reflect
together!

YouTube Video:
Ancient Church Writing: The Didache, Teaching
of Twelve Apostles
https://youtu.be/vcNK5_xpEh4
NOTE: YouTube video corrections may not be
reflected on the slides, and the blog may differ
somewhat in content.
© Copyright 2021
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www.christianbook.com
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The Didache is in Volume 1
of the Ante-Nicene Fathers.
https://amzn.to/3eRbZgK
Early Christian Writings, Maxwell Staniforth,
(Andrew Louth has a similar compilation)
The Apostolic Fathers, Greek and English, Michael Holmes,
translator, Bruce Metzger’s Doctoral Student
Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 7
(1870’s translation), Excellent Introductions
Eusebius, Ancient Church Historian
History of Early Christian Literature, Edgar Goodspeed
https://amzn.to/2V84r1S

YouTube Video:
Ancient Church Writing: The Didache, Teaching
of Twelve Apostles
https://youtu.be/vcNK5_xpEh4
NOTE: YouTube video corrections may not be
reflected on the slides, and the blog may differ
somewhat in content.
© Copyright 2021
Become a patron:
https://www.patreon.com/seekingvirtueandwisdom
YouTube Channel (please subscribe):
Reflections on Morality, Philosophy, and History:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLqDkfFbWhXOnzdjp__YZtg
The Path of Christianity: The First Thousand Years, by John Anthony McGuckin
The Christian Tradition: A History of the Development of Doctrine, Vol. 1: The
Emergence of the Catholic Tradition (100-600), Volume 1, Jaroslav Pelikan
Faith of the Early Fathers
The Early Church, Henry Chadwick
https://amzn.to/36W9OUB
https://amzn.to/2UB183E
https://amzn.to/2UHXMeW
https://amzn.to/36TQsj9

The first part of the Didache begins with the explicit teaching that is also
in nearly all of St Augustine’s works, the two-fold Love of God and love for
our neighbor, which is why St Augustine is my favorite Catholic saint. The
Didache draws heavily from the Gospel of Matthew.
Since the Didache is also known as the Teachings of the Twelve Apostles,
we will illustrate our video with paintings of the Last Supper of Jesus
breaking bread with his Twelve Apostles before his crucifixion. In these
paintings, look for artist’s depictions of the imperfections of the Twelve
Apostles.

St. Maria Church in Flensborg
The Didache begins with the Two Ways:
“There are two ways, one of life and one of
death, and there is a great difference between
these two ways.
Now, this is the way of life: First, you should
Love God, who made you. Second, you shall
love your neighbor as yourself; but whatever
you do not wish to happen to you, do not do to
another. The teaching of these words is this:
Bless those who curse you, and fast for those
who persecute you. For what credit is it if you
love those who love you? Do not even the
Gentiles do the same? But you must love those
who hate you, and you will not have an enemy.”

Like Jesus exhorts us, this two-fold Love of God and love of neighbor sums
up both the Law and the Gospel, this is the core of Christian teaching, all
other Scripture and teachings should be interpreted through the lens of
this two-fold love.
We might only want to add the teaching of St Maximus the Confessor,
that when we truly love our neighbor, we will be eager to forgive our
neighbor, just as Christ is eager to forgive us our sins.

Last Supper by Theophanes the Cretan, mid 16th century
What is the Second Commandment?
“Commit no murder, adultery, sodomy,
fornication, or theft. Do not covet anything
your neighbor possesses, and never be guilty
of perjury, false witness, slander, or malice.
Do not equivocate in thought or speech, for
a double tongue is a deadly snare; the
words you speak should not be false or
empty phrases, but express purposeful
action. You are not to be avaricious or
extortionate, and you must resist and
temptation to hypocrisy, spitefulness, or
superiority. You are to have no malicious
designs on a neighbor. You are to cherish no
feelings of hatred for anybody; some you are
to reprove, some to pray for, and some again
to love more than your own life.”

The Didache teaches us if we Love God and love our neighbor, our reward
is the most precious reward of all, we will have only love in our hearts, and
we will have no enemies. Love is its own reward.

Francisco Henriques, Last Supper, 1508
Jesus exhorts us to turn the other cheek,
to go two miles when compelled to go
one mile, to offer our shirt also when
someone demands our coat.
The Didache connects this to living a
simple life, “beware of the carnal
appetites of the body,” fasting for our
persecutors. “Give to everyone who asks,
without looking for repayment, for it is the
Father’s pleasure that we should share His
gracious bounty with all men. A giver
who gives freely, as the commandment
directs, is blessed; no fault can be found
with him. But woe to the taker.”

Stained glass, St Mary
and St Lambert, Suffolk
In contrast, the Way of Death includes “murders, adulteries, sorceries,
robberies, perjuries, hypocrisies, duplicities, deceit, pride, malice, self-
will, avarice, foul language, jealousy, insolence, arrogance, and
boastfulness. Here are those who persecute good men, hold truth in
abhorrence, and love falsehood; who do not know of the rewards of
righteousness, nor adhere to what is good, nor to just judgement; who
lie awake planning wickedness rather than goodness. Gentleness and
patience are beyond their conception; they care for nothing good or
useful, and are bent only on their own advantage, without pity for the
poor or feeling for the distressed. Knowledge of their Creator is not in
them; they make away with their infants and deface God’s image; they
turn away the needy and oppress the afflicted; they aid and abet the
rich but arbitrarily condemn the poor, they are utterly and altogether
sunk in iniquity.”

We will quote a few teachings in the Didache that we in our modern world
have forgotten:

Dark Side of the Eucharist, Benjamen West, late 1700’s
Teachings from the Didache:
“Tell no lies, my son, for
lying leads to theft.
Likewise, do not be over-
anxious to be rich or to be
admired, for these too can
breed thievishness.”
Covetousness often leads to
thievery.
“Do not be a grumbler, my
son, for this leads to
blasphemy.” The Church
Fathers often teach that it is
unwise to complain, as
complaining shifts blame
away from ourselves. If
nothing is our fault, how can
we repent?

Pieter Pourbus - Last Supper, 1548
Teachings from the Didache:
“Do not parade your own
merits, or allow yourself to
behave presumptuously, and do
not make a habit of associating
with persons of eminence but
choose the companionship of
honest and humble folk.”
“Never encourage dissensions
but try to make peace.”
“Never turn away the needy.”
“Never speak sharply when
giving orders to domestic
servants whose trust is in the
same God as yours; otherwise,
they may cease to fear Him who
is over you both.” As St. Paul
exhorts, both slave and master
are brothers before the Lord.

The second part of the Didache is an early brief church manual, with
teachings on Baptism and the Eucharist, fasting and prayer, proper
treatment of missionaries and electing local church leaders, and a
paragraph on Sunday worship.
We can only speculate: How would medieval church history had played out if the
Didache had been discovered before the Protestant Reformation? Perhaps the
differences

Last Supper, Pieter Coecke van Aelst, 1527, Metropolitan Museum of Art

Baptism of Converts, Klavdy Lebedev, 1852-1916
Didache on Baptism:
“Immerse in running
water ‘In the name of
the Father, and of the
Son, and of the Holy
Ghost.’ If no running
water is available,
immerse in ordinary
water. If neither is
practical, then sprinkle
water three times on the
head, ‘In the Name of
the Father, and of the
Son, and of the Holy
Ghost.’ Both baptizer
and baptize ought to fast
before the baptism.”

Like the New Testament, the Didache assumes that all faithful fast. Fasting
is misunderstood by many people. The Church Fathers do not teach that
fasting means abstaining from food completely, and they do not
recommend fasting from all food except bread and water. Fasting means
eating moderately and simply. Dieting responsibly is fasting, but fasting is
not dieting, because diets usually are temporary, while fasting is a way of
life.

In the early days of the Church there were many itinerant
apostles and itinerant prophets who preached from city to
city. They had problems that we have today with television
evangelists, but the Didache teaches we should have respect for
these apostles and prophets.

Carl Bloch, Last Supper, late 1800’s The Didache advises that if a
prophet “speaking in a trance says,
‘Give me money,’ do not listen to
him, but if he bids you give to
someone else who is in need,
nobody should criticize him.”
Also, “you must choose for
yourself overseers and assistants
who are worthy of the Lord: men
who are humble and not eager for
money, but sincere and approved.”
Reprove one another, but
peaceably and not in hot blood, as
you are told in the Gospel.”

Carl Bloch, Last Supper, late 1800’s The Didache advises us on proper
Sunday worship:
“Assemble on the Lord’s Day, and
break bread and offer the
Eucharist; but first make
confession of your faults, so that
your sacrifice may be pure.
Anyone who has a difference with
his fellow is not to take part with
you until they have been
reconciled, so you can avoid
profaning your sacrifice.”

SOURCES: The Didache and all of the writings of the Apostolic Fathers are in this
Dorset collection, all but the Shepherd of Hermas, the translation is excellent, but I
also found on Amazon an affordable Greek and English translation of all the Church
Fathers. The Didache was known to the early Church Fathers, Eusebius mentions it
only to say this it is not part of the New Testament canon.

Arabic manuscript of the Gospels, 1684, copied by
Ilyas Basim Khuri Bazzi Rahib (Coptic monk?). Scholars thought the Didache was lost until it was
discovered in 1873 in this remarkable set of
manuscripts in a library in Constantinople that
were collected in 1056:
• Synopsis of Old and New Testament by John
Chrysostom
• Epistle of Barnabas
• Two Epistles of Clement to the Corinthians
• The Didache: Teaching of Twelve Apostles
• Epistle of Mary of Cassoboli to Ignatius
• Twelve Epistles of Ignatius
Scholars date the Didache from 70 AD to 180 AD,
most leaning to the earlier date.
Source of this info: Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 7.

Based on both the internal evidence of the work and the numerous mentions of the
work by early Church Fathers, scholars date it from AD 70 to 180, with most
preferring an earlier date, especially since it provides advice on how to treated
travelling apostles like St Paul and documents early liturgical prayers. Scholars have
found only one other complete copy of the manuscript in the Georgian Slavic
language, but fragments in several other languages have been found.
After the Didache was discovered, scholars realized we had the first half of the work
all along, Chapter 7 of the Apostolic Constitutions, which was a primer of the early
church, used the first half of the Didache as a starting point, with minor editing and
adding many additional Scriptural references to the work. Both of these are
included in Volume 7 of the Anti-Nicene Fathers, the Didache is included with its
longer title, Teachings of the Twelve Apostles, which also has a good summary of its
history. This means that we are fairly certain that our lone Greek manuscript is
relatively complete and that any copying errors are minimal.

Frontispiece of a Missale Romanum edited by
Friedrich Pustet, work by Max Schmalzl, 1910
McGuckin says this about the Didache, “it was
like discovering a magical photograph of the
early second-century church.” McGuckin says
the Didache reflects a mainly Gentile Church
with less emphasis on observances of the
Jewish law, where baptism by immersion is
preferred, but where Baptist by infusion is
tolerated.
The Didache shows a developing liturgy, it gives
“instructions on baptism, prayer, and fasting,
and the agape, or common meal. The church’s
fast days are set as Wednesday and Friday. The
Lord Prayers should be offered three times a
day.” The liturgy described in the Didache is “a
very simple, childlike form of thanksgiving, or
eucharistic prayers. Before taking communion,
the church is admonished always to confess
their sins.

Scholars agree that the Didache was a composite work from multiple sources,
particularly the last half of the work on the proper practices of ancient church
liturgy and worship.
Bart Ehrman has an excellent series of lectures on the Apostolic Fathers in the
Great Courses, although not in the Great Courses Plus. We want to caution our
listeners that he seems to have lost his faith, but he is treats the works with
intellectual honesty.

NOTE: This is probably the only course of Bart
Ehrman’s that I will reference in my videos. Bart
Ehrman is one of the foremost textual critics of
the New Testament, which means his academic
specialty is analyzing the original Greek
manuscripts to determine as accurately as
possible what the original text said.
Unfortunately, he has lost his faith. He is also
the leading Historical Jesus scholar, which is
why I also include a link to a book that is an
apology defending traditional Christianity
against the Historical Jesus movement. He has
also published a fresh translation of the
Apostolic Fathers.

PLEASE click on the link for our blog on the Didache in the description
below.
And please click on the links for interesting videos that will broaden
your knowledge and improve your soul.

To find the source of any direct
quotes in this blog, please type in
the phrase to the search box in
my blog to see the referenced
footnote.
YouTube Description has links for:
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• Blog
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Ancient Church Writing, Didache, Teachings of the Twelve Apostles

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