Meaning for Today
Meaning for Today
The collection of ancient works known under the collective rubric of the Apostolic Fathers represents some of the earliest Christian writings apart from the New Testament. A 17th century French scholar, Jean Cotelier, inaugurated the collection when in 1672 he published two volumes of the documents known to him. This collection included the Epistle of Barnabas, the Shepherd of Hermas, two letters of Clement, seven of Ignatius, and one of Polycarp, and an account of Polycarp’s martyrdom. In 1765, several more documents were included in a collection published by Andreas Gallandi: an anonymous document addressed to Diognetus and fragments of Papias and Quadratus. Ultimately, the Didache also came to be included in the collection.
What can such long-lost documents say to readers today?
The Didache belongs to a time when the youthful Church was trying to find its way. It was a transitional time when the original apostles were gone, but the exact channels of successor authority were still being established. Ecstatic prophets were still cautiously acknowledged. Local leaders—bishops and deacons—were available, but their exact hierarchy may not yet have been established.
For guidance, the compiler of the Didache relied principally upon foundational, scriptural teachings. This is a useful reminder of the ongoing value and direction to be found in scripture, even in confusing times.
The Didachist tried to be a faithful purveyor of tradition. This, too, is a model for our own behavior in an era when so much is subject to rapid change and disjunction.
The Didache’s guarded but judicious approach to itinerant figures may be a reminder for us to be tolerant of outsiders who seek Jesus in truth, even if their ways are different from ours—as long as they do not teach us to alter our own practices.
Finally, and very importantly, the Didache is a weighty reminder of the indebtedness of the Church to Judaism. Over time, the Church would become increasingly hostile and polemical towards its parent religion. There are clear historical reasons for this: Christianity needed to establish its own identity distinct from Judaism, and it needed to keep curious Christians away from the ongoing attractions of Judaism as a religion.
The Didache belongs to a time when the links between the two religions were clearer, even though still in the process of being severed. Perhaps by reminding us of those connections, the Didache can help to heal the breach of centuries.