The Didache is a document that was discovered in 1873 in the library of Constantinople belonging to the Patriarch of Jerusalem. This manuscript also contained the epistles of Clement and Barnabas. The document was mentioned by Eusebius and by Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria. The name of the document is The Didache which is short for the Greek title (Διδαχὴ Κυρίου διὰ τῶν δώδεκα ἀποστόλων τοῖς ἔθνεσιν), which means the Teachings of the Lord Through the Twelve Apostles to the Nations. But the short name is The Didache which simply means the Teaching.
It is composed of 2 parts or sections. The first is called the Two Ways and is drawn upon the teachings of Christ. The second section is composed of the worship and discipline of this early Christian community. It contains sections on how to baptize, fasting, daily prayer, and the practice of the Eucharist. Also in the second part there is a section on how to deal with bishops and deacons as well as Sunday worship service.
Scholars believe that the primitive practice of these rites indicates a very early date of authorship. Some assign it to the latter half of the first century. This is a very early date considering that Galatians was written around 48 A.D. and Revelation sometime in the 90s. Some scholars believe that the primitiveness of the document is contrived and would place it in the second century or even later.
It may have been written in either Egypt or Syria, and the authorship is unknown.
Why should we even study this manuscript since it isn’t even in the Bible? Well, it gives us insight into what was going on in the very early church and how they practiced the faith without complete copies of the New Testament.
Since I spent a lot of time studying cults and heresies throughout the history of the church, it helps me to see how easy it was for communities to drift away from good teaching and fall into practices that might lead them into some of the early heresies.
So, let’s begin with a look at the “The Two Ways.”
The Two Ways
- A Way of Life
- A Way of Death
The Didache says that the first way leads to life. It contains some of the teachings of Christ that are written in the Gospel of Matthew. I’m sure that you will recognize many of them as we proceed.
One of the first commandments given is Thou shalt love first the Lord thy Creator, and secondly they neighbour as thyself; and thou shalt do nothing to any man that thou wouldst not wish to be done to thyself.
The Teaching continues by telling them to bless those who curse them, and pray for their enemies and what merit is there if you love only those who love you? It also contains the instruction given by Jesus to turn the other cheek, go the extra mile, and give your shirt to the one who takes your coat.
Here’s a list of other commandments that were given in this teaching:
- Do not murder, commit adultery, sodomy, fornication, or theft.
- Do not practice magic, sorcery, abortion, or infanticide.
- Do not bear false witness, slander, or malice. And resist hypocrisy, spitefulness, or superiority.
- Stay away from bad people and never give way to anger, for anger leads to homicide.
- Do not be fanatics, quarrel, or have a hot temper.
- Do not look for omens because that leads to idolatry. (Omens are signs concerning future events).
- Do not lie or be overanxious to become rich or admired. That’s good advice even for today.
- Don’t complain, be opinionated, or harbor thoughts of wickedness because these things can lead to blasphemy.
- Be meek because the meek will inherit the earth.
- But do not associate with famous people, but with honest and humble folk.
- Honor those who speak the word of God to you.
- Don’t turn away the needy and share everything you have with your brother.
- It gives advice that might be hard to take today on how to raise children. It says do not hold back your hand from your son or daughter but bring them up in the fear of God.
- Hate everything that doesn’t please the Lord.
- And keep the commandments of the Lord without adding or subtracting from them.
What can we learn from these sayings?
Many of these sayings are found in Matthew and in some cases found word for word. There are also similarities to some of Paul’s lists of moral behavior as found in Romans and Galatians.
Were these sayings then taken from an earlier copy of Matthew called proto-Matthew (a theoretical document that preceded his final gospel) or were these simply oral sayings that were passed down to believers by Christian evangelists and teachers? Unfortunately, there is no way to tell for sure.
THE WAY OF DEATH
The Didache says that The Way of Death is evil and contains murders, adulteries, lusts, fornications, thefts, idolatries, witchcraft, sorceries (drugs), robberies, perjuries, hypocrisies, duplicities, deceit, pride, malice, self-will, avarice, foul language, jealousy, insolence, arrogance, and boastfulness. They are bent on their own advantage.
In its final words of wisdom and advice in this section it says that if you can do all these things, you will be perfect. And if you can’t, then just do the best that you can. It then adds that you should stay away from food offered to idols.
It might seem like The Didache is more demanding than what we are accustomed to in our local churches, but I don’t think that one actually had to memorize all these commandments in order to be a good Christian. At the basis of all these commandments is the first one mentioned which was to love God and love your neighbor and also love yourself in the sense that we must do no harm to ourselves. In this way we can love our neighbor as ourselves.
However, with all that said, I do see a problem with the theology behind this advice. This is a version of Jesus being the author of a great and wonderful code of ethics that we all ought to live by. And if we can’t live by them, at least we should try our best. Its basic premise is the motto, “We do our best and God does the rest.” This can easily be transformed into Pelagianism, which is a form of work’s righteousness. There is very little, if anything, about the atonement of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross or how to achieve this perfect obedience other than through human will-power.
This is a good example of what the church would have been like if Paul had never been able to clarify the teachings and the very purpose of Jesus’ life and death. This is what can also happen to the church today that does not truly understand Paul’s Christology about the purpose of Christ’s death on the cross and how it relates to baptism and communion and our holy behavior.
We will see more of this in the next section when we discuss the meaning of the Eucharist and Baptism.
CHURCH MANUAL
BAPTISM
The Didache recommends using running water for baptism, but if running water is not available, use ordinary water. It should be cold, if possible, but otherwise warm. If that is still not available, pour water three times on the head. In all cases the Baptismal Formula is to baptize “In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” More on This Baptismal Formula.
Both the baptizer and the baptized should fast before the baptism. The baptized ought to fast for one or two days prior to their baptism.
Note that the baptismal formula used here differs from the formula used elsewhere in the New Testament by the apostles.
In Acts 19:4-6, Luke says that when Paul told believers to be baptized, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
In Acts 8:14-17, Peter and John were sent to Samaria where Luke said that these believers had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus and did not yet have the Holy Spirit.
In Acts 2:38 (KJV), Peter told the Judeans to “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.”
In Acts 10:48 (NKJV), Peter commanded Cornelius and those around him “to be baptized in the name of the Lord.”
And in I Corinthians 1:10-17 Paul implies that the only true baptism is to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.
In neither case was anyone ever baptized in the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, literally. I think that the formula that was used in the Didache was taken from Matthew 28:19 where Jesus tells his disciples to baptize in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. For further information click here: What The Bible Really Says About the Trinity
I think that this is interesting because it may be showing that the only scroll that they had access to was Matthew or proto-Matthew. This statement by Jesus does not appear anywhere else in the New Testament. A conclusion could be that Matthew was written earlier than the date thought by many (85 A.D).[1]
I think that we can at least conclude that they did not have a copy of Acts which was written by Luke around 60 or 62 AD.
FASTING
The community was encouraged to fast on Wednesdays and Fridays because the hypocrites fasted on Mondays and Thursdays.[2]
They are then told to pray the Lord’s Prayer three times a day. A copy of the Lord’s Prayer is included in the Didache to recite. It is the same version taken from Matthew 6:9—almost word for word.
THE EUCHARIST
Eucharist means Thanksgiving. It was the term that they used for the Thanksgiving meal eaten together by the community.
It is significant to mention the prayer that was spoken when drinking the wine:
“We give thanks to thee, our father, for the Holy Vine of the thy servant David, which thou hast made known to us through thy servant Jesus.”
Note that there is no mention of this being the blood of Christ, either actual or symbolic. The same is also true of the prayer recited over the bread. The meal is only a thanksgiving meal and does not appear to be linked to the body and blood of Christ offered in sacrifice for us.
There are other prayers of thanksgiving offered after the meal and only those who were baptized were permitted to partake in this event.
OF APOSTLES AND PROPHETS
The community should welcome teachers who teach them righteousness and knowledge of the Lord, but not listen to those who bring a different teaching.
Apostles are only permitted to stay one day or two days if necessary. If he stays for three days, he is a false prophet. He is to accept nothing except enough to last him one night’s lodging. If he asks for money, he is a false prophet.
A prophet must be judged not by what he says alone, but by his conduct and behavior. There are also some other strange ideas about judging prophets. If they ask for something to eat while in the spirit, he should not eat it. If he does, he is a false prophet.
If he should ask for money while in the spirit, do not give it to him.
They were not to allow visitors to come into the group for more than a day or two and if they wanted to become a member, they must have a skill and be willing to work.
A teacher is to be treated as though he were like a High Priest. They are entitled to receive the tithes of the community.
OF SUNDAY WORSHIP
The correct interpretation from the Greek is not Sunday, but The Lord’s Day. It was on this day that they were told to assemble and dine as well as offer the Eucharist, but only after making a confession of sins or faults.
They were also told that they must settle any differences that they have with their brother or sister.
OF LOCAL OFFICIALS
They were told to choose bishops and deacons who are humble and not eager for money, but sincere and approved.
There is also an instruction to shun or not converse with anyone who has injured his neighbor.
In the last verse in this section, they are told to be guided by what they read in the Gospel of our Lord. This could be a clue that they did have some written form of Matthew or a gospel like it. There may have been copies of a gospel that we just don’t know about today.
ESCHATOLOGY (FUTURE EVENTS)
They do mention that the Lord is going to return at any time, so they ought to be ready. There is also a warning that false prophets and deceivers will abound, and sheep will become wolves. Lawlessness will grow and there will be persecution and betrayal.
In the end the Deceiver of the World will show himself, pretending to be a Son of God. He will deceive the earth. And then the trial will take place.
Then the signs of the truth will appear and the trumpet’s voice and the rising of the dead. And finally, the Lord himself will descend riding on the clouds of heaven.
At this point the book abruptly breaks off. Much of this sounds very familiar. Parts of this may be echoes of I and 2Thessolonians or even Revelation. Could this simply be echoes of the teachings of Paul or another evangelist who visited the region?
We do know from Acts that Apollos was a native from Alexandria which is a main city in Egypt and when he came to the church in Ephesus, Aquilla and Priscilla corrected his theology or as Luke put it:
Acts 18:26 (KJV)
26 And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue: whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly.
So, this might support the idea that it was written in Alexandria.
From all that we read from The Didache, it appears that they had limited knowledge of the Gospel of Jesus and did not fully understand exactly what the Gospel was about, but instead limited it to an ethical system taught by Jesus. Whether they even believed that he was the Son of God in a divine sense is missing from the work as well as many other teachings found in the completed New Testament. It even referred to Jesus as a servant rather than the Son of God.
So, there is much mystery surrounding the Didache as far as the author and source of information. Perhaps someday there will be more discoveries made that might bring more light to this very interesting manuscript of the early church.
I hope that you found this both informative and interesting. I have always found the history of the church to be a very interesting subject and very eye-opening to say the least.
Here is a link to an online copy: The Didache
[1] Matthew – Earliest date is 40s or 50s according to N.T. Wright and John Wenham, but others date it much later around 85 A.D. This presents a problem if the Didache is dated as early as some say since it contains what appears to be quotations from Matthew. Of course. we don’t know exactly what form the Gospel of Matthew took originally as it may have been compiled later from smaller pieces such as the Sermon on the Mount, the Miracles of Jesus, and the Resurrection of Jesus. I have even heard that it was first published much earlier in Aramaic rather than Greek. So, there is a wide area of variation when it comes to dating.
[2] According to the notes in the Cambridge Bible on Luke 8:12, it was the Pharisees who fasted on Mondays and Thursdays.
PHILOSOPHY & CHRISTIANITY 