''Didascalia Apostolorum'', or just ''Didascalia'', is a
Christian legal treatise which belongs to the
genre
Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...
of the
Church Orders. It presents itself as being written by the
Twelve Apostles
In Christian theology and ecclesiology, the apostles, particularly the Twelve Apostles (also known as the Twelve Disciples or simply the Twelve), were the primary disciples of Jesus according to the New Testament. During the life and minist ...
at the time of the
Council of Jerusalem; however, scholars agree that it was actually a composition of the
3rd century
The 3rd century was the period from 201 ( CCI) to 300 ( CCC) Anno Domini (AD) or Common Era (CE) in the Julian calendar..
In this century, the Roman Empire saw a crisis, starting with the assassination of the Roman Emperor Severus Alexande ...
, perhaps around 230 AD.
The ''Didascalia'' was clearly modeled on the earlier ''
Didache''.
The author is unknown, but he was probably a bishop. The provenance is usually regarded as Northern
Syria, possibly near
Antioch
Antioch on the Orontes (; grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου, ''Antiókheia hē epì Oróntou'', Learned ; also Syrian Antioch) grc-koi, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου; or Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπ ...
.
History
![Paul Anton de Lagarde](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ca/Paul_Anton_de_Lagarde.png)
The Didascalia was probably composed in the 3rd century in
Syria. The earliest mention of the work is by
Epiphanius of Salamis
Epiphanius of Salamis ( grc-gre, Ἐπιφάνιος; c. 310–320 – 403) was the bishop of Salamis, Cyprus, 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 g ...
, who believed it to be truly Apostolic. He found it in use among the
Audiani
The Audians or Anthropomorphites were a sect of Christians in the fourth century in Syria and Scythia, named after their founder Audius (or Audaeus), who took literally the text of Genesis, i, 27 — that God created mankind in his own image.
Bel ...
, 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''.
The Didascalia underwent a number of translations, including into Latin and Syriac. The date of the Syriac translation is usually placed between the fourth and sixth centuries and played some role in forming a legal culture which influenced various other texts from the third through seventh centuries and thereafter, including the
Quran
The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , s ...
.
Manuscript Tradition
The ''Didascalia Apostolorum'', whose lost original was in
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
, was first published in 1854 in
Syriac Syriac may refer to:
*Syriac language, an ancient dialect of Middle Aramaic
*Sureth, one of the modern dialects of Syriac spoken in the Nineveh Plains region
* Syriac alphabet
** Syriac (Unicode block)
** Syriac Supplement
* Neo-Aramaic languages a ...
by
Paul de Lagarde
Paul Anton de Lagarde (2 November 1827 – 22 December 1891) was a German biblical scholar and orientalist, sometimes regarded as one of the greatest orientalists of the 19th century. Lagarde's strong support of anti-Semitism, vocal opposition ...
. In 1900
Edmund Hauler Edmund Hauler (17 November 1859, in Buda – 1 April 1941, in Vienna) was an Austrian classical philology, classical philologist born in Ofen to a Danube Swabian Germans, German family. His father, Johann Hauler (1829–1888) was also a classical ph ...
published the
Verona Palimpsest
The Verona Palimpsest (or ''Fragmentum Veronese'') is a manuscript, dated about the 494 AD, which contains a Christian collection of Church Orders in Latin. The manuscript, which contains many lacunae, is the only source of the Latin version of t ...
which includes a
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
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 another probable fragment in
Coptic
Coptic may refer to:
Afro-Asia
* Copts, an ethnoreligious group mainly in the area of modern Egypt but also in Sudan and Libya
* Coptic language, a Northern Afro-Asiatic language spoken in Egypt until at least the 17th century
* Coptic alphabet ...
.
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 never touches upon
dogma
Dogma is a belief or set of beliefs that is accepted by the members of a group without being questioned or doubted. It may be in the form of an official system of principles or doctrines of a religion, such as Roman Catholicism, Judaism, Isla ...
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:
* Admonitions about Christian life, prayer, orphans,
martyrdom
A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...
(chapters 1–3, 13, 17, 19–20)
* Rules about bishops' qualifications, conduct, duties, alms (chapters 4–11, 18)
* Rules about deacons and deaconesses and widows (chapters 14–16)
* Liturgical rules about the proper place in the church-building and about
fasting
Fasting is the abstention from eating and sometimes drinking. From a purely physiological context, "fasting" may refer to the metabolic status of a person who has not eaten overnight (see " Breakfast"), or to the metabolic state achieved after ...
(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 a condemnation of the
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
ritual practices directed toward Jewish Christians (chapter 24–26)
The church officials are bishops,
deacon
A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...
s,
priest
A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...
s,
widows
A widow (female) or widower (male) is a person whose spouse has died.
Terminology
The state of having lost one's spouse to death is termed ''widowhood''. An archaic term for a widow is "relict," literally "someone left over". This word can so ...
(and orphans);
deaconess
The ministry of a deaconess is, in modern times, a usually non-ordained ministry for women in some Protestant, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Orthodox churches to provide pastoral care, especially for other women, and which may carry a limited l ...
es are also added, in one place
rector
Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to:
Style or title
*Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations
*Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...
s, and once
subdeacons (these last may have been interpolated). The preface to the English translation states, "The most salient feature of the Didascalia is its exaltation of the authority of the Bishops ; yet there is no mention of the Bishops of Rome as superior over other Bishops." Celibacy is preferred for bishops but not required for that office, while even the combing of hair (as well as long hair) is forbidden for men in general, lest they attract women.
Especially noticeable is the treatment which
bishop
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...
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. However, if a converted man "of the Jews or of the heathen" returned again to the sect in which he came from, then he was not to be received a second time into the church, but were to be regarded as unconverted. (Didascalia 20:16)
The
heresies
Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, in particular the accepted beliefs of a church or religious organization. The term is usually used in reference to violations of important religi ...
mentioned are those of
Simon Magus
Simon Magus (Greek Σίμων ὁ μάγος, Latin: Simon Magus), also known as Simon the Sorcerer or Simon the Magician, was a religious figure whose confrontation with Peter is recorded in Acts . The act of simony, or paying for position, is ...
and Cleobius (this name is given also by
Hegesippus), with
Gnostics and
Ebionites
Ebionites ( grc-gre, Ἐβιωναῖοι, ''Ebionaioi'', derived from Hebrew (or ) ''ebyonim'', ''ebionim'', meaning 'the poor' or 'poor ones') as a term refers to a Jewish Christian sect, which viewed poverty as a blessing, that existed during ...
. Against these, Christians must believe in the
Trinity
The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God th ...
, the
Scripture
Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They differ from literature by being a compilation or discussion of beliefs, mythologies, ritual pra ...
s and the
Resurrection
Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. In a number of religions, a dying-and-rising god is a deity which dies and is resurrected. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions, whic ...
. The original
Law of Moses (specifically the Ten Commandments) is to be observed, along with all the regulations given prior to the incident of the
golden calf (Exo. 32). But the "Second Law," the regulations given after the incident of the Golden Calf, were given to the Jews on account of the hardness of their hearts (Did. 26). In addition, the
Sabbath rest
The Sabbath is a weekly day of rest or time of worship given in the Bible as the seventh day. It is observed differently in Judaism and Christianity and informs a similar occasion in several other faiths. Observation and remembrance of Sabbath ...
is given a symbolic content, and the Christians are admonished to instead treat every day as belonging to the
Lord
Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...
, but not to keep the rest literally.
The
Old Testament is frequently quoted, and often at great length. The
Gospel
Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...
is cited by name, usually that of
Matthew
Matthew may refer to:
* Matthew (given name)
* Matthew (surname)
* ''Matthew'' (ship), the replica of the ship sailed by John Cabot in 1497
* ''Matthew'' (album), a 2000 album by rapper Kool Keith
* Matthew (elm cultivar), a cultivar of the Ch ...
, the other
evangelists
Evangelists may refer to:
* Evangelists (Christianity), Christians who specialize in evangelism
* Four Evangelists, the authors of the four Gospel accounts in the New Testament
* ''The Evangelists
''The Evangelists'' (''Evangheliştii'' in Roma ...
less often, and that of
John
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Secon ...
least of all. The
Acts of the Apostles and nearly all the
Epistles are freely employed, including the
Epistle to the Hebrews
The Epistle to the Hebrews ( grc, Πρὸς Ἑβραίους, Pros Hebraious, to the Hebrews) is one of the books of the New Testament.
The text does not mention the name of its author, but was traditionally attributed to Paul the Apostle. Most ...
. None of these could be named. Besides the ''Didache'', the ''Didascalia'' utilizes other ancient Christian documents as the
Acts of Paul
The Acts of Paul is one of the major works and earliest pseudepigraphal series from the New Testament apocrypha also known as Apocryphal Acts. This work is part of a body of literature either about or purporting to be written by Paul the Apost ...
and the
Gospel of Peter
The Gospel of Peter ( grc, κατά Πέτρον ευαγγέλιον, kata Petron euangelion), or the Gospel according to Peter, is an ancient text concerning Jesus Christ, only partially known today. It is considered a non-canonical gospel and ...
.
Concerning baptism, particular emphasis is placed on the pre-baptismal anointing of a catechumen. Chapters 9 and 16 give detailed instructions for anointing, including the laying on of hands by a bishop and the recitation of Psalm 2:7. After being baptized with the proper invocation, the convert is permitted to partake of the eucharist.
Situation of the 3rd century Church
One of the main unknown aspects of the ''Didascalia'' is the degree to which it is descriptive and simply writing down what was already standard practice in Christian groups of Asia Minor at the time, and the degree to which it is prescriptive and advocating changes or new doctrines. Its use as a source on the early Church varies based on which is believed to be true - if a passage is prescriptive, then that implies the opposite of the teaching was practiced, and the author was invoking the authority of the apostles to advocate against that existing practice.
A notable example of this tension is the ''Didascalia''s depiction of the status of women in the early Church, especially widows. The ''Didascalia'' takes a dim view of the status of Christian women: widows should not remarry more than once, should not be talkative or loud, should not instruct in doctrine, should stay at home and not wander, are not allowed to baptize, and should not engage in ministry unless ordered to by a bishop or deacon. Scholars who endorse the view that the ''Didascalia'' is largely prescriptive believe these specific prohibitions suggest that at least some Christian communities of the era did allow women such freedoms to evangelize, engage in ministry and baptisms of others, and so on, and the author found such practices sufficiently distasteful to write that the apostles forbade such acts.
Tensions with Jewish Christianity
A major theme of the ''Didascalia'' is third century tensions with
Jewish Christian
Jewish Christians ( he, יהודים נוצרים, yehudim notzrim) were the followers of a Jewish religious sect that emerged in Judea during the late Second Temple period (first century AD). The Nazarene Jews integrated the belief of Jesus ...
s - that is, Christians who kept
Jewish Law, such as abstaining from pork, resting on the Sabbath, circumcising their children, and so on. A large amount of the text is devoted to teachings for how continuing to keep the Jewish Law was not merely unproductive, but actively immoral. As noted above, any laws given after the golden calf incident are to be understood as punishment for the Jewish people; continuing to keep them makes a Christian "guilty of the worship of the calf" and "asserting the curse against Our Savior. You are ensnared in the bonds and so are guilty of the woe as an enemy of the Lord God." (Didascalia 26) Resting on the Sabbath is merely proof that Jews are "idle". For the author of the ''Didascalia'', Jesus's death abolished and abrogated the "secondary legislation", and thus attempting to keep such Jewish Law was denying the power of Jesus's sacrifice.
[.]
Published editions
English
*
* Reprinted as
* G. Homer also did a translation in Oxford in 1929.
*
German
*
*
*
*
*
Other languages
*
** https://archive.org/details/didascaliaaposto00lagauoft
*
*
*
*
Alternate scan*
* note Voobus and Connelly is dubious
*
*
See also
*
Early Christianity
Early Christianity (up to the First Council of Nicaea in 325) spread from the Levant, across the Roman Empire, and beyond. Originally, this progression was closely connected to already established Jewish centers in the Holy Land and the Jewis ...
References
*
External links
English translationThe ''Didascalia apostolorum'' in EnglishGoogle Books
{{Authority control
Ancient church orders
Texts in Syriac
Christian anti-Gnosticism
New Testament apocrypha
3rd-century Christian texts
Works of unknown authorship
Christian law