5 h 19 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 5 h 19 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · 156 pagesHardcover · 6 × 9 in · 156 pagesAbout this book
How does a church care for the poor, confront wrongdoing, and welcome back those who fail?
The Didascalia Apostolorum, or Teaching of the Apostles, is a third-century handbook for Christian community life. Its unknown author speaks in the voice of the twelve apostles, offering instructions on leadership, worship, and daily conduct. Here, church life has a budget, a seating plan, quarrels, and fasts. Practical needs sit beside questions of faith and duty.
At its centre stands the bishop, whom the text presents as father, judge, and shepherd. Around him are deacons, deaconesses, widows, orphans, and believers who need guidance or support. The book asks how leaders should exercise authority, how a community should handle money, and how repentance can lead to restoration rather than lasting exclusion.
What you’ll discover
- Leadership shaped by mercy Explore the bishop’s responsibilities as the text brings authority, judgment, and care together.
- A way back Read instructions that make room for repentance and the restoration of those who sin.
- Order in shared worship Meet deacons and deaconesses through practical directions for service and the community’s worship.
- Care for vulnerable neighbours Discover how the handbook addresses support for widows, protection for orphans, and honest giving.
- Faith in daily life Consider the author’s guidance on moral conduct and the church’s relationship with Jewish tradition.
Who will love it
You will enjoy this book if you love early church history, the daily life of ancient Christian communities, questions of leadership and forgiveness, or primary sources.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A pastor speaks through the apostles
- Leadership means answering for others
- Strict judgment must leave room for mercy
- Church gifts must serve the vulnerable
- Justice should work toward reconciliation
- Care gives each person a calling
- Resurrection gives courage under persecution
- Defending unity exposes bitter divisions
- Mercy holds the community together
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The Didascalia Apostolorum
by Attributed to the Twelve Apostles · 230
A bishop in third-century Syria must judge, forgive and feed the poor, and his manual speaks for the twelve apostles.
Challenging2–5 hours to readEnglish
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“what you would hate to have done to you by another, do not do to another.”
In short
Picture a bishop in a Syrian city in the third century. A rich man accuses a poor one.
The Didascalia Apostolorum at a glance
- Reading time
- About 3 h 45 min2 h 55 min fast, 4 h 25 min slow
- Length
- 53,200 words26 chapters
- Pages
- 156 pages252 in large print
- Library level
- Challenging long sentences, a rich vocabulary
- First published
- about AD 230by Attributed to the Twelve Apostles
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
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Listen freeOr hold it in print: paperback, hardcover or large print, at costFrom the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A pastor speaks in the apostles' voice
The book presents itself as a letter from the twelve apostles to the whole Church. Scholars generally agree that a bishop or senior pastor wrote it in the third century, most likely in Syria. The author never gives his name, and he hides behind the apostles on purpose.
Writing in the name of revered figures was a familiar habit in the ancient world. The author wants his rules to carry the weight of the whole tradition, not only his own opinion. So Matthew speaks of his past as a tax collector, and Peter tells of his clash with the magician Simon in Rome. The voice shifts, but the aim stays steady.
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A bishop in third-century Syria must judge, forgive and feed the poor, and his manual speaks for the twelve apostles.
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Details
- First published
- 230
- Language
- English
- Listening time
- 5 h 19 min
- Level
- Challenging
- Paperback
- 156 pages · 6 × 9 in
- Hardcover
- 156 pages · 6 × 9 in
- Large print paperback
- 252 pages · 6 × 9 in
- Large print hardcover
- 252 pages · 6 × 9 in
- Delivery and returns
- Printed when you order. Usually here in 12 to 14 days.Arrives Sat 14 Nov to Fri 20 Novto United States, printed for you at cost
For Christmas, order by Thu 12 Nov
Cite this edition
Twelve Apostles. The Didascalia Apostolorum. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/loa-didascalia-apostolorum.
Twelve Apostles. (2026). The Didascalia Apostolorum. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/loa-didascalia-apostolorum (Original work published ca. 230)
Twelve Apostles. The Didascalia Apostolorum. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/loa-didascalia-apostolorum.
@book{twelveapostles2026didascalia,
author = {Twelve Apostles},
title = {The Didascalia Apostolorum},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/loa-didascalia-apostolorum},
note = {First published ca. 230}
}
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What is the Didascalia Apostolorum about?
It is a third-century church order, written in the voice of the twelve apostles. It guides bishops, deacons, widows, orphans and laypeople on leadership, forgiveness of sinners, care for the poor, settling disputes, fasting and facing persecution.
Who wrote the Didascalia Apostolorum and when?
The author is unknown. Scholars think a bishop or senior church leader wrote it in Syria, probably between 200 and 250, though some propose a slightly later date. He wrote in the apostles' name, as was common for such works.
What does the Second Legislation mean in the Didascalia?
It is the author's term for the ritual laws he says God added after the golden calf, such as sacrifices, food rules and purifications. He says Christ lifted them, while the Ten Words and the Judgements stay binding.
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