Transcription
One of the earliest Christian texts from the era immediately following the apostles is the Didache. A Greek term which means "teaching." The translation of its longer and earlier title is "The Teaching of the Lord through the Apostles to the Nations."
The work never claims to be the product of one author or even directly of 12 apostolic authors. Rather, the long version of the title indicates that it was considered to be a faithful conveying of the teaching of Jesus through his Apostles to the church throughout the world. There is no narrower audience specified.
However, there are two theories as to the first generation of recipients. The first theory is that it was initially received by an Egyptian audience because Clement of Alexandria and Athanasius later referred to it favorably in that region. However, its Jewish style and instructions for baptisms in desert communities has led scholars to prefer a Syrian destination.
There's no way to determine a precise date for the original document, but AD 100 is reasonable. It appears after the Epistles of Barnabas and Clement and before Ignatius's Epistles. In its most famous codex, Hierosol. Matanus, a full Greek text discovered by the 1873 Metropolitan of Nicomedia named Philotheos Bryennios. When he published the Didache in 1883, patristic scholars around the world were excited. The Didache had been known about, but the discovery of a full Greek text renewed interest in early church history. Fragments of the Didache, which were translated into Latin, Syriac, Coptic, Ethiopian, and Georgian, indicate the Didache enjoyed widespread distribution throughout the Christian world.
The Didache is essentially an early church manual which addressed practical morality, the way church services and Christian life should be conducted, and a reminder of the imminent return of Jesus Christ to the world. It begins with the "Document of the Two Ways," which also, in a slightly different form, appears in the Epistle of Barnabas. This led historical theologian Justo Gonzalez to suggest that the Didache and the Epistle of Barnabas were using the same earlier document and modifying it for their own usages.
The "Way to Life" contains positive instructions to love, bless, fast, give, remember, and honor God, hold on to good teaching, and to be meek, long-suffering, blameless, gentle, and good. The "Way to Death," on the other hand, is filled with all kinds of sins and character flaws that Christians should avoid. The Didache lists 40 specific sins as examples. The Two Ways makes much use of Jesus's Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7 and The Ten Commandments in Exodus 20.
The Didache next addresses a series of regular practices in the churches. For example, Christians ought to be careful not to eat food sacrificed to idols, which was a controversy first raised in the Gentile churches in Acts 15 and 1st Corinthians 10. Regarding baptism, the Didache instructs baptismal candidates, their families, and anyone else who was able to, to fast for one or two days ahead of time. Baptisms were to be done in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and in running water. However, if running water was not available, then it would be acceptable to baptize in other water or even to pour water over the candidate's head. Cold water was to be preferred in baptisms instead of warm water.
Regarding fasting, the Didache instructs Christians to fast on Wednesdays and Fridays every week, instead of on Mondays and Thursdays as the Jews did. This would help to distinguish the Christians from the Jews. Regarding prayer, the Didache instructs Christians to pray the Lord's Prayer three times each day.
Regarding the Eucharist, the Didache gives specific prayers which should be offered when sharing the cup and when sharing the broken bread. The cup and bread should only be shared with people who have been baptized. A third specific prayer is to be recited after the people are filled with the cup and bread. As for how often the Eucharist should be offered, it was entirely up to each of the local prophets who were leading each congregation.
Regarding specific titles of local church positions and who should hold them legitimately, the Didache identifies teachers, apostles, prophets, bishops, and deacons. Teachers were to be listened to carefully. If they taught false or new doctrines, the teachers were to be ignored. Apostles, not referring to the original Twelve but to traveling representatives of the church, were to be taken care of for a day or two at most, but then the apostles were to be sent on their way to continue the Lord's work, lest they grow dependent on free food, lodging, or money. Prophets likewise were to be examined on the basis of their actions. If their teaching matched their actions, they were to be accepted. However, if they asked for money for themselves, they were merely false prophets and should be rejected. Genuine prophets who are willing to live in one place should be treated like the priests of the Old Testament era by being offered a tenth of whatever food, objects, or money people have to share with them. A bishop is an overseer of a local church, and a deacon is a servant of the Christians in a local church. Bishops and deacons were to be chosen because of their integrity, meekness, and honesty. All people occupying these positions who are people of good character should be honored by the church. Notice that the word "presbyter" or "elder" is not used in the Didache, even though the word "presbyter" was used in the other extant Christian writings of that era.
Regarding meeting on every Sunday, also known as the Lord's Day, the Didache instructs Christians to confess their sins and address personal problems with other Christians prior to breaking bread and giving thanks together every Sunday, else their Eucharistic sacrifice would be profaned. The Didache's instructions were similar to Paul's teaching in First Corinthians 10.
The Didache concludes by warning Christians to be prepared for the Lord's return to the Earth because no one knows exactly when that will be. Warnings are also given to be on the lookout for false prophets and corrupters. The readers are told to watch out for the deceiver of the world, who will pretend to be the Son of God but will do terrible things to the Earth. However, as Paul mentioned in first Thessalonians 4:13-18, the dead in Christ will be resurrected, and the Lord will descend from heaven with the sound of a trumpet. At that time, as Jesus told the Jewish Sanhedrin when he was on trial, the world one day would see the Lord coming in the clouds of heaven.
The Didache was an early church manual which addressed practical morality, the way church services and Christian life should be conducted, and a reminder of the imminent return of Jesus Christ to the world. The Didache was circulated broadly as a general guide for local churches in about AD 100, but it also gives readers today a clear look at the way churches were to conduct their business in the years immediately following the era of the Apostles.
The Apostolic Fathers is a term assigned to leaders and writers in the early church era who had been in contact with or were taught by one or more of Jesus's Apostles. The era from the death of John, the last Apostle, to the death of Polycarp, John's longest-living Apostle, is also called the sub-apostolic era and lasted from about AD 98 to 155. This first generation of early church fathers is held in high esteem because their writings reflect the teaching of the Apostles before councils, creeds, and extensive hierarchy developed in the church. The two main pastoral concerns reflected in the writing of the Apostolic Fathers were unity among Christians in the churches and establishing a good moral reputation in the world.
Though a formal church hierarchy was something to be developed later, a leader in the Roman Church named Clement is credited with writing a letter on behalf of the Roman Church to their fellow Christians in the Corinthian Church. Little is known of Clement of Rome other than what appears in the letter itself. Although the letter does not explicitly bear his own name, he does mention that he was a disciple of Peter and Paul but does not consider himself on the level of the Apostles. Church historians recognize Clement as the fourth overseer of the Roman Church, following the Apostle Peter and two other overseers. Much later traditions suggest that Clement traveled to Palestine, wrote many books, and became a martyr by drowning while attached to an anchor in the Black Sea. According to this narrative, angels built Clement a tomb underwater, and once a year, the people of that area were able to see it by the ebbing of the tide.
The letter, or Epistle to the Corinthians, was probably written in about AD 96. According to the first paragraph, it is the Roman church's response to the Corinthian Church's inquiry about what to do following an incident in which some younger people caused an uproar and had some of their church presbyters, or elders, removed from their positions. Now, to be clear, there was no single building that housed all the Christian congregations either in Rome or in Corinth. The first dedicated church building was not founded until the middle of the 3rd Century. Up until this time, all churches met in houses or other places that had many other uses besides as a religious meeting place for Christians. Therefore, this may have been limited to leaders of certain house churches in Corinth or for any local council the leaders may have held.
At the outset of the letter, Clement assumes the guilt of the few rash and self-confident persons he identifies. The underlying sin is envy, and he proceeds to give a list of scriptural examples of envy, including Cain, Esau, Joseph's brothers, and several others. He also blamed envy for the deaths of Christian martyrs, including Peter, Paul, and a great multitude of the elect. He urged the rash youth to humble themselves and repent, which would imitate the humility, faithfulness, and hospitality of a host of biblical characters. His emphasis was on the equality of all members of the Corinthian Church, regardless of age or gender. Added to the reasons for loving one another was the expectation that Jesus would return soon, and those who had died would be resurrected by the Almighty God. Clement identifies arrogance as a trait of those cursed by God, but moderation and humility as being traits of those blessed by God.
As for leaders in the Corinthian Church, the Roman Church, through Clement, suggested that everyone in the Corinthian Church should be content with whatever roles they have, since leaders need followers and followers need leaders. He described this as a mutual advantage, reminiscent of Paul's teaching on the body of Christ in Paul's first letter to the Corinthians. Clement further encouraged the Corinthian Christians to do everything in an orderly fashion, as God himself created and regulated the universe and his people to perform tasks at proper times and in proper ways. Clement had in mind the proper replacement of elders in the church, which, as set in motion by the Apostles, included elders serving terms of leadership for life and new leaders being appointed only by the consent of the whole church. Clement reminded the Corinthian Christians that their tendency toward divisiveness was something Paul had already addressed by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit in Paul's first epistle to them. In closing, Clement enjoined the Corinthian Christians to prioritize love and to repent as the occasions might warrant, for in the end, "it is better for you that you should occupy a humble but honorable place in the flock of Christ than that, being highly exalted, you should be cast out from the hope of his people." The best transitions of leadership in the church or elsewhere are those that happen peaceably, with love and humility.
At the northeast corner of the Mediterranean Sea, one will find the city of Antioch, a few miles inland on the Orontes River. It is in a very important location because it links the eastern and western worlds. There was no important city located there until the Greeks conquered the area in the 4th Century AD. When the Greeks conquered a new area, they brought their culture, art, architecture, philosophy, and religion to the region. The process of making a new area Greek is called Hellenization. The Greeks Hellenized the new cities in their empire. The Greeks built buildings in classical Greek style in Antioch, and it soon became an important city for trade, politics, and religion that connected the eastern and western worlds.
In 64 BC, General Pompey of the Roman army captured the city of Antioch from the Greeks, and it remained an important city in the Roman Empire for many centuries. One can imagine the variety of religious conversations overheard in the city streets from the Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, and Phoenicians who established their places of worship throughout the city. Add to the mix a few Eastern cults and no small number of Hellenistic Jews who were brought to the city or migrated there when it was still controlled by the Greeks. It was a truly cosmopolitan city which reflected the cultural and religious diversity of its population, but all under Roman rule.
Following the martyrdom of Stephen in Jerusalem in the mid-30s AD, many followers of Jesus migrated northward to Antioch to take refuge there (Acts 8:1 and 11:19). This is where followers of Jesus were first called Christians (Acts 11:26). The earliest and most well-known Christian missionary work of the first century had its genesis in Antioch. Paul and Barnabas were sent out by the church of Antioch to the northern Mediterranean world. Paul's three missionary journeys and his trip to Rome were responsible for the spread of Christianity to the Jews and Gentiles around the Roman Empire. By the end of the first century, Antioch had a population of three hundred thousand, making it the third largest city in the Roman Empire, many of whom were Christians. It was not only an important city to the Empire but to Christianity in its earliest and most vulnerable stage. Christians in Antioch were among the most persecuted Christians in the Roman Empire. Some well-known monastic communities also spread east from Antioch. Before and after Christianity became the legal and eventually official religion of the Roman Empire in the 4th Century, Antioch was recognized as one of the major centers of Christianity. It boasted a robust theological school to train people for ministry that rivaled the theological schools in Alexandria and Carthage. Since the city's population was so big, its location so crucial to the exchange of ideas, and its school so influential, the Bishops of Antioch would wield significant influence over matters of church doctrine for centuries to come. In the early church era, along with Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, and Jerusalem, the city of Antioch was crucial to the growth and direction of Christian life and thought.
Toward the end of the First Century AD, Ignatius became the third overseer, or Bishop, of the churches in Antioch at the northeast corner of the Mediterranean Sea. His bishopric also included the churches in the region of Syria. There was no central church building in Antioch or Syria; the church was made up of a series of house churches around town and throughout the countryside. While the exact date of Ignatius's birth is uncertain, historians believe it was either in AD 30 or 35. He had such a close relationship with God that he was given the nickname "Theophorus," which means "one who bears God." A much later tradition changed the Greek slightly to "Theophoros," which means "one whom God bears." The claim was thus made that Ignatius was the little child whom Jesus placed on his lap in the 18th chapter of Matthew. Thus, it was later held that God in the flesh bore Ignatius on his knee. It is a sweet story, but it is not found in the earliest literature by or about Ignatius. By describing Ignatius's birth during Jesus's ministry, the story does demonstrate that Ignatius was likely in his 70s when he was arrested and put on trial in Antioch before Emperor Trajan himself or before one of his emissaries. Though nothing is known about the trial itself, Christians in that era were often brought before a magistrate or governor, questioned along with witnesses as to if they really were Christians, and then punished accordingly. The result of the trial is that Ignatius was found guilty of being a Christian and therefore sentenced to death.
Most of what is known to us about the life and beliefs of Ignatius comes from his seven letters, or Epistles, written to six churches and to Polycarp, the Bishop of Smyrna. The seven letters were written in about AD 107 when Ignatius was escorted by Roman soldiers from Antioch to Rome. While he was on his way to Rome, he was visited by many Christians who were guilty of the same crime of which Ignatius had been convicted: simply being a Christian. His first major stop along the way was in the town of Smyrna, where Polycarp was the bishop. From that location, Ignatius wrote letters to the churches in Ephesus, Magnesia, and Tralles, which lay to the south of Smyrna. He also sent another letter ahead to Rome. When he arrived at Troas, he wrote letters to the churches in Philadelphia and Smyrna, as well as to their Bishop Polycarp.
How did Ignatius die? His Epistle to the Romans indicates that he anticipated being attacked by wild beasts in the Roman Coliseum for the entertainment of the crowds. Ignatius heard that some Christians in Rome were planning to rescue him in some way so he would not have to endure a martyr's death. However, he pleaded with them: "Do not show an untimely kindness to me. Allow me to become food for the wild beasts, through whom I will be allowed to make it to God. I am the wheat of God; let me be ground by the teeth of the wild beasts so that I may be found to be the pure bread of Christ." Ignatius believed that if he died in Christ, so also Ignatius would be raised in Christ in his own resurrection into heaven. While it may sound strange today to hear of a Christian wishing to die for his faith, Ignatius set an example for the early church by going so far as to say, "May I enjoy the wild beasts that are prepared for me! I want them to rush upon me, and I will urge them to devour me quickly." Ignatius was not suicidal; he was wanting the Roman Christians to not interfere with his martyrdom so as he had lived for Christ faithfully, Ignatius might also die for Christ faithfully.
Polycarp received word of Ignatius's successful martyrdom. Ignatius would be revered in all corners of the Christian Church throughout her history as a holy example of one who bore God faithfully in his life, death, and writings. Following his martyrdom, Ignatius's bones were brought back to Antioch and eventually returned to Rome. His faithfulness is celebrated in the West on October 17th and in the East on both December 17th and 20th.
When Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch, was sentenced to death in AD 107, he was escorted from Antioch to Rome to be martyred. Along the way, he was visited by Christians who encouraged him and brought reports of how their churches were doing. Ignatius wrote six letters, or Epistles, to some of these churches and a letter to Polycarp, the Bishop of Smyrna. The letters had several themes in common, but the most important theme was church unity. According to Ignatius, the most important thing for the church to do to maintain unity was to treat their own leaders with honor. The bishop of each city's churches should be honored and obeyed like God himself. The presbyters, or elders, should be honored and obeyed like the Apostles, and the deacons should be treated with honor too. Although it was important for every Christian to honor one another, honoring and obeying church leaders was important to the unity of the church.
Ignatius recognized two hindrances to this unity among the churches. One was heresy, or incorrect doctrinal teaching, especially about the person of Jesus Christ. During Ignatius's day, a heretical group called the Docetists infiltrated the church. The Docetists believed Jesus was fully God, but they could not imagine his being fully human. They taught that Jesus only seemed to be human, but like a ghost, he was too spiritual to be a fully physical being. Ignatius warned his Christian friends to beware of false teaching and instead embrace the full humanity and divinity of Jesus. The other hindrance to unity among a city's churches was separatism, or believing that there could be factions within each city's churches who operate separately from the bishop. Ignatius advised Christians not to do anything apart from their bishops because they were all a part of the same body of believers.
While unity within each city's churches was the most important theme in Ignatius's letters, he also emphasized the importance of good behavior. He taught that people with bad doctrine behave badly, and people with good doctrine should behave well and be worthy of the name of Christ. In other words, the fruit people bear is indicative of what kind of doctrine they hold, and God will judge all people, both good and bad, in the end. This good behavior would not only promote unity within the church but also would pave the way for the world's hearing and seeing the gospel lived out in the lives of the church.
One letter Ignatius wrote is different from the other six because it is written to Polycarp, the Bishop of Smyrna. It was like a letter from an older bishop to a younger one. As a fellow bishop, Ignatius encouraged Polycarp to press on and keep doing his ministry carefully. In Polycarp's efforts to bear the struggles of all, Ignatius urged Polycarp not only to pay attention to the needs of the good disciples but also of those who are more troublesome too. When heretics might try to persuade Polycarp of their views, he should stand firm, "as does an anvil that is hammered." Ignatius encouraged Polycarp to care for the widows and slaves in his congregation and encouraged slaves, wives, husbands, and single people to be content in their relationship with God. While the letter was written to Polycarp, Ignatius knew Polycarp's congregation would be listening in on the details, so he reminded them to do all things, including marriage, with the approval of their bishop, paying attention to him in all things and not deserting him or the church. Rather, they should be patient with one another in humility, as God is patient with them.
Although Ignatius was facing the end of his life, his emphasis was on the unity of the church, which should be centered on the leadership of local churches and an accurate understanding of Jesus Christ. Ignatius's pleas for Christians to live in unity, truth, and good behavior continue to be emphases of the church throughout the centuries.
Polycarp was the Bishop of Smyrna from the early to middle second Century AD. He himself was discipled by the Apostle John and heard the testimony of others who had seen Jesus Christ personally during their youth. Polycarp provided a wealth of information from those who had seen Jesus to future generations of Christians. In the second century, the Church of Smyrna had a biblical history, as she was directly addressed by John with six other churches in the second and third chapters of the Book of Revelation. In AD 95, Revelation 2:8-11 indicates that Christians in Smyrna had already undergone some tribulation because of their faith and were about to face a more intense persecution soon.
In AD 107, Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch, visited Polycarp in Smyrna as Ignatius was on his way to Rome to be martyred. Ignatius soon after wrote a letter to Polycarp encouraging him in his pastoral duties to call all people to be saved, praying for all, bearing with all, and preserving unity in the church, even among those who are more difficult. The letter also encouraged Polycarp to stand firm against those who spread heresy and to give proper attention to specific groups in the church like widows, slaves, men, women, single people, and married people. Ignatius wrote as an older bishop to Polycarp, a younger bishop, to encourage him in his ministry in Smyrna. At the same time, Ignatius wrote a letter to the Smyrnians to promote unity among Christians in Polycarp's church and warned them against the evils of Docetism and related heresy. Docetists claimed that Jesus was fully God but only seemed to be physical, thus denying his full humanity. Exercising good behavior, remaining unified with each other through the bishop, and repelling heresy were three of the most common themes of the writings of the Apostolic Fathers, or those who personally had been taught by the Apostles. If Polycarp was like a father to the Christians in Smyrna, then Ignatius's letter to the Smyrnians must have sounded like grandfatherly advice to them.
One known event in Polycarp's life was his visit to Rome with their Archbishop Anicetus to discuss exactly when Easter should be celebrated in the churches. The Eastern churches were celebrating Easter on the 14th of Nisan, or the same day that the Jews celebrated the Passover, no matter what day of the week it was. The Western churches were celebrating Easter on the first Sunday following the Passover because it was the day of the week on which Jesus rose from the dead. When the two bishops could not agree, they agreed to disagree and allow each region of the church to celebrate Easter when each saw fit. While Polycarp was in Rome, he also was approached by the Gnostic heretic Marcion, who asked if Polycarp recognized him. Polycarp answered, "I recognize the son of Satan." While Polycarp spoke kindly to Western Christians who disagreed with the traditions of Eastern Christians, he had no patience with recognized heretics.
During an athletic festival at Smyrna in AD 155, Polycarp was arrested, tried, and martyred for his faith. The church in Smyrna wrote an account of the proceedings to the church in Philomelium in Phrygia. This was the first detailed account of a martyrdom in the early church since Luke's account of Stephen's martyrdom 120 years earlier in Acts 6-8. Christians in Smyrna were being threatened with execution if they did not worship the emperor. Following the martyrdom of Germanicus, an elderly Smyrnian Christian, the mob cried out for Polycarp to be tried. Two members of the church convinced Polycarp to hide at first. However, after a week of hiding in a few different places, a young boy under torture reported Polycarp's location, who then simply awaited to be arrested by a local official named Herod. Polycarp was tried before the pro-consul Statius Quadratus in the city stadium before a mob of Jews and heathen hecklers. When the pro-consul asked Polycarp to swear by the fortune of Caesar and revile Christ, Polycarp answered, "86 years I have served him, and he never did me wrong. How then can I blaspheme my King and my Savior?" When the pro-consul threatened Polycarp with a martyr's fire, Polycarp answered, "You threaten me with a fire that burns for an hour and after a little while is extinguished. But you do not know about the fire of the coming judgment of eternal punishment reserved for the ungodly. But why do you wait? Bring on what you will." A herald announced to the mob that Polycarp admitted to being a Christian, and the mob cried out for Polycarp to be burned at the stake. The mob gathered wood to be used in Polycarp's execution by burning, but as they approached him with nails to nail him to the wood, as was their custom, he said, "Leave me as I am, for he who gives me strength to endure the fire will also enable me, without your fastening me by nails, to remain without moving in the pile." The mob did not nail him but merely tied his hands like a sheep to be sacrificed. He then prayed a beautiful prayer and said, "Amen," and the fire was lit. However, the fire, though blazing around him fully, miraculously could not seem to burn his body. This so frustrated the mob that the executioner stabbed Polycarp's body with a dagger to kill him. Witnesses claimed a dove flew out from his body, and the amount of blood that poured out was so great that it put out the fire. This left the mob wondering how significant the difference was between the bodies of those who were Christians and those who were not. As Christian friends of Polycarp sought to remove his body for a proper burial, the Jews among the mob believed the friends intended to worship Polycarp's corpse. The executioner then burned the body, leaving only the bones behind to be put in a fitting place.
Polycarp was at the epicenter of the early Church in that he had heard the testimony of those who saw Jesus Christ personally, including the Apostles, and especially the Apostle John. Polycarp was the faithful Bishop of Smyrna from Ignatius's visit in AD 107 until Polycarp's martyrdom in 155. He left a clear testimony of an Apostolic Father who taught and lived out proper behavior and theology. The most noteworthy of Polycarp's disciples was Irenaeus, who became one of the church's leading defenders of the faith in Lyons.
Polycarp was the Bishop of Smyrna from the early to middle second Century AD. He had a good relationship with leaders and members of other churches in the region. This was common among the Apostolic Fathers, that is, those who personally had been taught by the Apostles. In about AD 98, Clement of Rome wrote an epistle to the church in Corinth on behalf of his church, and Ignatius of Antioch wrote Epistles to six other churches in 107, in addition to his epistle addressed to Polycarp. These eight Epistles are still extant, that is, still in existence, but there are many Epistles referred to by ancient writers that have been lost. Writing Epistles to other churches was a common practice among the Apostolic Fathers, and they normally emphasized good behavior, church unity, and correct doctrine, especially about who Jesus Christ is.
We do have copies of an epistle that Polycarp wrote to the Church of Philippi in Macedonia. The date of its writing is difficult to discern, but scholars believe it may have been written shortly after the death of Ignatius, which was in AD 107, and circulated among the churches with Ignatius's Epistles. Polycarp's epistle was first mentioned by Irenaeus and was still in use among the Eastern churches in Jerome's day. It contains many allusions to scripture, especially from the Gospel of Matthew, Acts, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, first and second Thessalonians, first and second Timothy, Hebrews, first Peter, and first John.
The most remarkable feature of Polycarp's epistle is not what it contains, but what it does not contain. There is no mention in the Epistle of a single bishop or overseer of the church in Philippi, nor does Polycarp refer to himself as one. Polycarp explicitly addresses the presbyters, or elders, deacons, husbands, wives, widows, young men, young women, a few specific people who are not leaders in the church, and the members of the church in general. However, there is no mention of a specific bishop of the church at the time of the Epistle's writing.
As was the case with other Epistles written by the Apostolic Fathers, Polycarp's letter to the Philippians contains exhortations for Christians to behave well. Polycarp encouraged all the Philippian churches to exercise faith, hope, and especially love toward God and their neighbors. He exhorted them to be good, truthful, knowledgeable of God, pure and blameless, compassionate, patient, sober, and to fear God. He emphasized the traits of faith, love, truth, and purity to the women, deacons, young men, and young women in the church. Widows were to be people of noble character, avoiding slander, lying, and greed. He also publicly rebuked a former elder named Valens by name. Apparently, Valens and his wife became greedy and turned their backs on purity and the truth for their own selfish ends. Even then, Polycarp called on the members of the church to appeal to Valens and his wife back to repent and return to the church, so at worst, they would be considered church members who suffered and strayed, but hopefully, in the end, would reconcile with the church. Good behavior was not only good for relationships within the church but also for the church's reputation with outsiders.
A second emphasis in the epistle was church unity. Polycarp encouraged the elders, for example, to attempt to bring back those who strayed from the church and not to neglect the widows, orphans, or poor within the church. He also enjoined the Christians in general to love the family of God, joined together in pursuit of the truth, to be gentle in their conversations toward one another, to be subject to one another, and to despise no one. These practices again are profitable not only for relationships within the church but also for the church's reputation with outsiders.
A third emphasis in the epistle is a proper understanding of who Jesus Christ is. Polycarp reserved his sternest speech for heretics who claimed Jesus Christ has not come in the flesh. Polycarp is likely referring to a group of Gnostics who denied the full humanity of Jesus. Polycarp warned, "Whoever does not confess that Jesus Christ came in the flesh is an antichrist; whoever does not confess the testimony of the Cross is of the devil; and whoever perverts the words of the Lord for their own desires and says that there is neither a resurrection nor a final judgment is the firstborn child of Satan." Proper behavior and proper doctrine should lead to church unity and an effective Christian testimony. This is a good reminder even for Christians today.
The anonymous Epistle of Barnabas is one of the earliest Christian writings of the sub-apostolic era. It has the tone of both a letter and a sermon. The author, recipients, location, and date of the epistle are a mystery. The name of the author is not explicitly mentioned in the epistle. The author claims not to be a teacher, but certainly writes like one. Clement of Alexandria supposed the author was the Apostle Barnabas, Paul's missionary companion, which may account for the title of the epistle, but the general consensus today is that the author wrote later than Barnabas's lifetime. The identity of the recipients also remains a mystery, but they were praised for their Christian goodness and love in the introductory section. There is no mention of the location of the epistle's author or recipients, however, most scholars suggest Alexandria because of the epistle's strong use of an allegorical interpretation of scripture, which was common in Alexandrian literary and religious education at the time. Guesses as to the date of the epistle range from AD 70 to 200, but the epistle was most likely written sometime in the early 130s.
The author mentioned that the epistle was written "in order that the readers might have, along with their faith, a perfect knowledge of the doctrines of the Lord." The epistle consists of two clear sections. Chapters 1-17 are doctrinal in nature and serve to form an explanation of the superiority of Christianity over Judaism. Chapters 18-21 are subtitled "The Two Ways" and are practical in nature. A variation of the Two Ways was also found in the Didache, an earlier Christian instruction manual. This has led some scholars to suppose that the Two Ways might have been a separate Hebrew document that predated both the Epistle of Barnabas and the Didache. Overall, the allegorical or symbolic approach of the epistle has the feel of an apology against the Jewish interpretation of scriptures and Jewish law practiced as it was in that day. The matter was urgent because "the days are evil, and Satan possesses the power of the world."
The main section of the epistle notes that God did not need sacrifices like the pagans offered their gods and the Jews offered theirs. As David said in Psalm 51, God desires a broken spirit rather than animal sacrifices. God's people were told in the Old Testament to avoid eating certain foods because of the sin each unclean animal represented in their own natural habitats, especially pigs. However, God desired humility rather than legalistic fasting and hearts that welcomed his spiritual presence rather than a temple to welcome his physical presence. While God intended to give the covenant to Israel through Moses, the people chose to make a golden calf. Their sin of idolatry resulted in God's choice to give Christians the covenant later through Jesus Christ. Even Jacob's blessing of his younger grandson Ephraim instead of the older Manasseh was a symbol of God's blessing the younger Christians over the older Jews in the giving and living of the covenant. Though there may have been ignorance in the ancient Hebrew world about God, the prophets prophesied about Jesus Christ, and eventually, he revealed himself to be the Son of God. Sheep, calves, circumcision, wood, water, and other items mentioned in the Old Testament all pointed to Jesus Christ. He was both the Giver of the sacrifice and the sacrifice itself. The Jews misunderstood their Christ because of their wickedness, but now Christians know better because God forgave their sins on the cross of Jesus Christ.
As was the case in Paul's Epistles, the Epistle of Barnabas established a doctrinal basis for faith and life and then provided practical advice for living out this doctrine. The practical advice took the form of the Two Ways. The Way of Light includes the better behaviors to imitate, and the Way of Darkness includes the worst behaviors to avoid. Essentially, the Two Ways teaches: live according to the light by having good thoughts and actions, and avoid a life of darkness that includes bad thoughts and actions. The epistle concludes with a reminder that the second coming of Jesus is near, so the readers ought to live in wisdom, intelligence, understanding, and knowledge of God's judgments. This way, they will be ready for the final Judgment Day. That day will be coming soon, according to the epistle, because the six days of creation correspond to 6,000 years, the Sabbath day to the current millennium, and the Eighth Day, a symbol of the day on which Jesus Christ resurrected, will be the beginning of the future life and heaven.
In summary, the Christian doctrines and way of life are superior to the Jewish doctrines and way of life because Christians are forgiven of their sins through the blood of Jesus Christ on the cross, which comes with the benefit of understanding spiritual matters in a deeper, allegorical, or spiritual sense. Though the author, recipients, location, and date of this epistle remain a mystery, it clearly serves an important purpose to our understanding today of how Christians attempted to distinguish themselves from their Jewish counterparts in the early 2nd Century.
The anonymous Epistle to Diognetus is one of the most beautiful and noble defenses of the Christian faith in the early 2nd Century AD. It is by nature an early apologetic work. It's early because it refers to Christianity as still being a new thing in the world, and it's an apologetic because of its use of classical rhetoric to argue for specific points, to explain and defend the Christian faith, distinguishing it from paganism and Judaism.
The exact author, recipient, and location of the letter are unknown. The author of the work did not identify himself by name, but he did refer to himself as "a disciple of the Apostles and teacher of the Gentiles." The recipient was referred to as Diognetus, which some scholars have identified with a Stoic philosopher by the same name who tutored the young Emperor Marcus Aurelius. However, Diognetus was a fairly common name in that era, so it could have been addressed to anyone who would receive a well-polished apologetic work from a master rhetorician. While there are no extant manuscripts of the document today, the only Greek manuscript was destroyed in a fire in the 19th century. Fortunately, printers had made multiple transcriptions of this manuscript in the 16th century that serve as the source for current translations.
From the introduction of the epistle, it appears that Diognetus had previously asked the author to answer five main questions: one, how do Christians worship God? Two, who is this God in whom they trust? Three, why do they not fear death? Four, what is this brotherly love they show toward each other? Five, why is Christianity a new religion and not much older?
On his way to answering these five questions, the author argued for the superiority of Christianity to paganism and Judaism. The folly of paganism was its worshiping idols made by humans from physical materials. Idols made from precious metals had to be guarded by their faithful worshipers to keep them from being stolen. It is no sign of a strong deity who cannot protect themselves from thieves. The Jews were offering sacrifices to God with the mindset that God needed those sacrifices, but Christians understood that God needed nothing. He created the heavens and the Earth himself and freely gave people the same things they offered to him as sacrifices on their altars. The author referred to Jewish practices related to Sabbaths, fasting, new moons, and physical circumcision as superstitions. Christians, on the other hand, are international yet familial. They are not limited to a single country, language, or style of dress; rather, they live in various countries, speak various languages, and wear what was fitting in their own social context, yet they prioritize their faith and thus know what it feels like to be foreigners in their own countries. Christians are to the world what the soul is to the body.
The author also described God as a singular deity, not a human system or a set of man-made mysteries. Rather, God sent the Word, who himself is the creator of all things, as a messenger to people. The Word came into the world neither to compel submission through violence nor to judge them, but instead to persuade people by calling them to God. The fruit of this approach can be seen in Christians not fearing death but rather willingly submitting themselves to persecution because God gave them the power to do so. God sent his Son, the Word of God, at just the right time. God gave people time to explain their own theories of who he is and then proved them wrong by sending his own beloved Son. Though he appeared to neglect people, in his Son, he gave all the blessings he had previously withheld. Finally, after people had been convinced that they could not earn their salvation by their own works, God sent his Son to be the savior of those who trust in him. People who trust in God gain a true knowledge of who he is, become citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven, increase their capacity to love and be kind, are able to begin speaking of the mysteries of God, love and admire those who suffer persecution because they will not deny God, condemn the lies and errors of the world, and will know what it is like to live in heaven. Through these ideas, the author answered the main questions of Diognetus.
The last two chapters of the epistle formed its epilogue. Some believe the epilogue was written by a later author or commentator to continue the ideas of the original author. The last two chapters do have a different style and structure from the previous 10 chapters. The epilogue reaffirmed the importance of learning and believing the truth about God and his Son. Even though the Son appeared as a new revelation to people, he existed from the beginning and gives all things to the church. The church is animated in its life by the will of God. The epilogue concluded by encouraging the reader to love God in order to enjoy the knowledge, life, and love God bestows on those who love and trust him.
The Epistle to Diognetus is an early Christian apologetic work that explains and defends the exclusive truth claims of Christianity as a new religious group among pagans, Jews, and others in the early 2nd Century AD. Though its author, recipient, and location remain hidden to us today, its claims inspire confidence in God and in the Christian faith.