Didascalia Apostolorum
Encyclopedia
Didascalia Apostolorum is a Christian
treatise which belongs to genre
of the Church Orders
. It presents itself as being written by the Twelve Apostles at the time of the Council of Jerusalem
, however, scholars agree that it was actually a composition of the 3rd century CE, perhaps around 230 CE.
The Didascalia was clearly modeled on the earlier Didache
. The author is unknown, but he was probably a bishop. The provenience is usually regarded as Northern Syria
, possibly near Antioch
.
The earliest mention of the work is by Epiphanius of Salamis
, who believed it to be truly Apostolic. He found it in use among the Audiani, Syrian heretics. The few extracts Epiphanius gives do not quite tally with our present text, but he is notoriously inexact in his quotations. At the end of the fourth century the Didascalia was used as the basis of the first six books of the Apostolic Constitutions
. At the end of the 4th century it is quoted in the Pseudo-Chrysostom
's Opus Imperfectum in Matthaeum
. But the Didascalia never had a great vogue, and it was superseded by the Apostolic Constitutions.
The Didascalia Apostolorum, whose lost original was in Greek
, was first published in 1854 in Syriac by Paul de Lagarde
. In 1900 Edmund Hauler
published the Verona Palimpsest
which includes a Latin
translation of the Didascalia, perhaps of the fourth century, more than half of which has perished. In 1906 Franz Xaver von Funk
published the texts, printed side by side, of both the Didascalia and the Apostolic Constitutions, in order to show the similarities. A short fragment of chapter 15 has been found in Greek, and in 1996 an other probable fragment in Coptic
.
, is badly put together, without logic, but not without some good sense. It never touches upon dogma
but concerns itself entirely with practice
. In comparison with the Didache, the Didascalia moved the main focus from the moral issues to liturgical practice and church organization.
The content can be so summarized:
The church officials are bishops, deacon
s, priest
s, widows (and orphans); deaconess
es are also added, in one place rector
s, and once subdeacon
s (these last may have been interpolated). Especially noticeable is the treatment which bishop
s are ordered to give to penitents. Even great sinners, on repentance, are to be received with kindness, no sins are excepted. The canonical penance
is to be of two to seven weeks.
The heresies mentioned are those of Simon Magus
and Cleobius (this name is given also by Hegesippus
), with Gnostics and Ebionites
. Against these, Christians must believe in the Trinity
, the Scripture
s and the Resurrection
. The original Law of Moses
(specifically the Ten Commandments) is to be observed, but not the Talmud
ic Second Law, Mishnah
, which was given to the Jews on account of the hardness of their hearts. In addition, the Sabbath rest is given a symbolic content, and the Christians are admonished to instead treat every day as belonging to the Lord
, but not to keep the rest literally.
The Old Testament
is frequently quoted, and often at great length. The Gospel
is cited by name, usually that of Matthew
, the other evangelists
less often, and that of John
least of all. The Acts of the Apostles
and nearly all the Epistles are freely employed, including the Epistle to the Hebrews
, but the Apocalypse
is not cited. None of these could be named. Besides the Didache, the Didascalia utilizes also other ancient Christian documents as the Acts of Paul
and the Gospel of Peter
.
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
treatise which belongs to genre
Genre
Genre , Greek: genos, γένος) is the term for any category of literature or other forms of art or culture, e.g. music, and in general, any type of discourse, whether written or spoken, audial or visual, based on some set of stylistic criteria. Genres are formed by conventions that change over time...
of the Church Orders
Ancient Church Orders
Ancient Church Orders is a genre of early Christian literature, ranging from 1st to 5th century, which has the aim to offer authoritative "apostolic" prescriptions on matters of moral conduct, liturgy and Church organization....
. It presents itself as being written by the Twelve Apostles at the time of the Council of Jerusalem
Council of Jerusalem
The Council of Jerusalem is a name applied by historians and theologians to an Early Christian council that was held in Jerusalem and dated to around the year 50. It is considered by Catholics and Orthodox to be a prototype and forerunner of the later Ecumenical Councils...
, however, scholars agree that it was actually a composition of the 3rd century CE, perhaps around 230 CE.
The Didascalia was clearly modeled on the earlier Didache
Didache
The Didache or The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles is a brief early Christian treatise, dated by most scholars to the late first or early 2nd century...
. The author is unknown, but he was probably a bishop. The provenience is usually regarded as Northern Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
, possibly near Antioch
Antioch
Antioch on the Orontes was an ancient city on the eastern side of the Orontes River. It is near the modern city of Antakya, Turkey.Founded near the end of the 4th century BC by Seleucus I Nicator, one of Alexander the Great's generals, Antioch eventually rivaled Alexandria as the chief city of the...
.
Manuscript Tradition
Epiphanius of Salamis
Epiphanius of Salamis was bishop of Salamis at the end of the 4th century. He is considered a saint and a Church Father by both the Eastern Orthodox and Catholic Churches. He gained a reputation as a strong defender of orthodoxy...
, who believed it to be truly Apostolic. He found it in use among the Audiani, Syrian heretics. The few extracts Epiphanius gives do not quite tally with our present text, but he is notoriously inexact in his quotations. At the end of the fourth century the Didascalia was used as the basis of the first six books of the Apostolic Constitutions
Apostolic Constitutions
The Apostolic Constitutions is a Christian collection of eight treatises which belongs to genre of the Church Orders. The work can be dated from 375 to 380 AD. The provenience is usually regarded as Syria, probably Antioch...
. At the end of the 4th century it is quoted in the Pseudo-Chrysostom
John Chrysostom
John Chrysostom , Archbishop of Constantinople, was an important Early Church Father. He is known for his eloquence in preaching and public speaking, his denunciation of abuse of authority by both ecclesiastical and political leaders, the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, and his ascetic...
's Opus Imperfectum in Matthaeum
Opus Imperfectum
Opus Imperfectum in Matthaeum is an early Christian commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, written sometime in the 5th century. Its name is derived from the fact that it is incomplete, omitting a number of passages from Matthew....
. But the Didascalia never had a great vogue, and it was superseded by the Apostolic Constitutions.
The Didascalia Apostolorum, whose lost original was in Greek
Koine Greek
Koine Greek is the universal dialect of the Greek language spoken throughout post-Classical antiquity , developing from the Attic dialect, with admixture of elements especially from Ionic....
, was first published in 1854 in Syriac by Paul de Lagarde
Paul de Lagarde
Paul Anton de Lagarde was a polymath German biblical scholar and orientalist. He also took some part in politics. He belonged to the Prussian Conservative party, and was a violent antisemite. The bitterness which he felt appeared in his writings...
. In 1900 Edmund Hauler
Edmund Hauler
Edmund Hauler was an Austrian classical philologist born in Ofen. His father, Johann Hauler was also a classical philologist.-Life and works:...
published the Verona Palimpsest
Verona Palimpsest
The Verona Palimpsest is manuscript, dated about the 494 CE, which contains a Christian collection of Church Orders in Latin...
which includes a Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
translation of the Didascalia, perhaps of the fourth century, more than half of which has perished. In 1906 Franz Xaver von Funk
Franz Xaver von Funk
Franz Xaver von Funk was a German Catholic theologian, born at Abts-Gmund, Württemberg, and educated at Tübingen, at the seminary of Rottenburg am Neckar, and in Paris, where he studied economics. In 1870 he was appointed professor of theology at Tübingen and in 1876 became an editor of the...
published the texts, printed side by side, of both the Didascalia and the Apostolic Constitutions, in order to show the similarities. A short fragment of chapter 15 has been found in Greek, and in 1996 an other probable fragment in Coptic
Coptic language
Coptic or Coptic Egyptian is the current stage of the Egyptian language, a northern Afro-Asiatic language spoken in Egypt until at least the 17th century. Egyptian began to be written using the Greek alphabet in the 1st century...
.
Contents
The Latin title Didascalia Apostolorum means "Teaching of the Apostles" and the full title given in Syriac is: "Didascalia, that is, the teaching of the twelve Apostles and the holy disciples of our Lord". The text, as typical of Ancient Church OrdersAncient Church Orders
Ancient Church Orders is a genre of early Christian literature, ranging from 1st to 5th century, which has the aim to offer authoritative "apostolic" prescriptions on matters of moral conduct, liturgy and Church organization....
, is badly put together, without logic, but not without some good sense. It never touches upon dogma
Dogma
Dogma is the established belief or doctrine held by a religion, or a particular group or organization. It is authoritative and not to be disputed, doubted, or diverged from, by the practitioners or believers...
but concerns itself entirely with practice
Praxis (Eastern Orthodoxy)
Praxis, a transliteration of the Greek word πρᾶξις, which is derived from the stem of the verb πράσσειν "to do, to act.", means "practice, action, doing"...
. In comparison with the Didache, the Didascalia moved the main focus from the moral issues to liturgical practice and church organization.
The content can be so summarized:
- Admonitions about Christian life, prayer, orphans, martyrdom (chapters 1-3, 13, 17, 19-20)
- Rules about bishops' qualifications, conduct, duties, alms (chapters 4-11, 18)
- Rules about male and female deacons and widows (chapters 14-16)
- Liturgical rules about the proper place in the church-building and about fastingFastingFasting is primarily the act of willingly abstaining from some or all food, drink, or both, for a period of time. An absolute fast is normally defined as abstinence from all food and liquid for a defined period, usually a single day , or several days. Other fasts may be only partially restrictive,...
(chapters 12, 21) - The education of children and the denouncement of heresy (chapters 22-23)
- The claim of the composition of the treatise by the Twelve Apostles and the refuse of the Jewish ritual practices (chapter 24-26)
The church officials are bishops, deacon
Deacon
Deacon is a ministry in the Christian Church that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions...
s, priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
s, widows (and orphans); deaconess
Deaconess
Deaconess is a non-clerical order in some Christian denominations which sees to the care of women in the community. That word comes from a Greek word diakonos as well as deacon, which means a servant or helper and occurs frequently in the Christian New Testament of the Bible. Deaconesses trace...
es are also added, in one place rector
Rector
The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...
s, and once subdeacon
Subdeacon
-Subdeacons in the Orthodox Church:A subdeacon or hypodeacon is the highest of the minor orders of clergy in the Orthodox Church. This order is higher than the reader and lower than the deacon.-Canonical Discipline:...
s (these last may have been interpolated). Especially noticeable is the treatment which bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
s are ordered to give to penitents. Even great sinners, on repentance, are to be received with kindness, no sins are excepted. The canonical penance
Penance
Penance is repentance of sins as well as the proper name of the Roman Catholic, Orthodox Christian, and Anglican Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation/Confession. It also plays a part in non-sacramental confession among Lutherans and other Protestants...
is to be of two to seven weeks.
The heresies mentioned are those of Simon Magus
Simon Magus
Simon the Sorcerer or Simon the Magician, in Latin Simon Magus, was a Samaritan magus or religious figure and a convert to Christianity, baptised by Philip the Apostle, whose later confrontation with Peter is recorded in . The sin of simony, or paying for position and influence in the church, is...
and Cleobius (this name is given also by Hegesippus
Hegesippus (chronicler)
Saint Hegesippus , was a Christian chronicler of the early Church who may have been a Jewish convert and certainly wrote against heresies of the Gnostics and of Marcion...
), with Gnostics and Ebionites
Ebionites
Ebionites, or Ebionaioi, , is a patristic term referring to a Jewish Christian sect or sects that existed during the first centuries of the Christian Era. They regarded Jesus as the Messiah and insisted on the necessity of following Jewish religious law and rites...
. Against these, Christians must believe in the Trinity
Trinity
The Christian doctrine of the Trinity defines God as three divine persons : the Father, the Son , and the Holy Spirit. The three persons are distinct yet coexist in unity, and are co-equal, co-eternal and consubstantial . Put another way, the three persons of the Trinity are of one being...
, the Scripture
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
s and the Resurrection
Resurrection of Jesus
The Christian belief in the resurrection of Jesus states that Jesus returned to bodily life on the third day following his death by crucifixion. It is a key element of Christian faith and theology and part of the Nicene Creed: "On the third day he rose again in fulfillment of the Scriptures"...
. The original Law of Moses
Ten Commandments
The Ten Commandments, also known as the Decalogue , are a set of biblical principles relating to ethics and worship, which play a fundamental role in Judaism and most forms of Christianity. They include instructions to worship only God and to keep the Sabbath, and prohibitions against idolatry,...
(specifically the Ten Commandments) is to be observed, but not the Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
ic Second Law, Mishnah
Mishnah
The Mishnah or Mishna is the first major written redaction of the Jewish oral traditions called the "Oral Torah". It is also the first major work of Rabbinic Judaism. It was redacted c...
, which was given to the Jews on account of the hardness of their hearts. In addition, the Sabbath rest is given a symbolic content, and the Christians are admonished to instead treat every day as belonging to the Lord
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
, but not to keep the rest literally.
The Old Testament
Old Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
is frequently quoted, and often at great length. The Gospel
Gospel
A gospel is an account, often written, that describes the life of Jesus of Nazareth. In a more general sense the term "gospel" may refer to the good news message of the New Testament. It is primarily used in reference to the four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John...
is cited by name, usually that of Matthew
Matthew the Evangelist
Matthew the Evangelist was, according to the Bible, one of the twelve Apostles of Jesus and one of the four Evangelists.-Identity:...
, the other evangelists
Four Evangelists
In Christian tradition the Four Evangelists are Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, the authors attributed with the creation of the four Gospel accounts in the New Testament that bear the following titles:*Gospel according to Matthew*Gospel according to Mark...
less often, and that of John
John the Evangelist
Saint John the Evangelist is the conventional name for the author of the Gospel of John...
least of all. The Acts of the Apostles
Acts of the Apostles
The Acts of the Apostles , usually referred to simply as Acts, is the fifth book of the New Testament; Acts outlines the history of the Apostolic Age...
and nearly all the Epistles are freely employed, including the Epistle to the Hebrews
Epistle to the Hebrews
The Epistle to the Hebrews is one of the books in the New Testament. Its author is not known.The primary purpose of the Letter to the Hebrews is to exhort Christians to persevere in the face of persecution. The central thought of the entire Epistle is the doctrine of the Person of Christ and his...
, but the Apocalypse
Book of Revelation
The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament. The title came into usage from the first word of the book in Koine Greek: apokalupsis, meaning "unveiling" or "revelation"...
is not cited. None of these could be named. Besides the Didache, the Didascalia utilizes also other ancient Christian documents as the Acts of Paul
Acts of Paul
The Acts of Paul is one of the major works and earliest pseudepigraphal series from the New Testament also known as Apocryphal Acts, an approximate date given to the Acts of Paul is 160 CE. The Acts were first mentioned by Tertullian. Tertullian found it heretical because it encouraged women to...
and the Gospel of Peter
Gospel of Peter
The Gospel According to Peter , commonly called the Gospel of Peter, is one of the non-Canonical gospels which were rejected by the Church Fathers and the Catholic Church's synods of Carthage and Rome, which established the New Testament canon, as apocryphal...
.