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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
For readers who love early Christian history, church life and leadership, and anyone curious about how ancient communities handled money, discipline and charity.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- The bishop is father, judge and shepherd
- Mercy for the sinner who repents
- Deacons, deaconesses and the order of worship
- Widows and orphans in the community's care
- Care of the poor and honest giving
- Living faithfully, the Law, and a lasting influence
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- Large print hardcover
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The Didascalia Apostolorum
by Attributed to the Twelve Apostles · 230
A church order speaks in the apostles' voice on how to lead, welcome repentant sinners and care for the poor.
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From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
The bishop is father, judge and shepherd
The Didascalia gives a long and careful portrait of the bishop. He is the head of the local church, and the writer gives him many images. He is a shepherd who knows his flock, a father who corrects his children, and a judge who must weigh cases fairly. The author asks the congregation to honour him in turn, almost as a representative of God among them.
But the text asks as much of the bishop as it asks of the people. He should be of good character, married no more than once, sober, patient and able to teach. An older man is preferred, because age brings steadiness. He must not be greedy, must not favour the rich, and must not be harsh to the weak. The writer warns him that he will answer for every soul placed in his care.
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What is the Didascalia Apostolorum about?
It is a third-century guide to running a Christian church. It covers the duties of bishops and deacons, how to treat repentant sinners, the care of widows, orphans and the poor, and how believers should live.
Who wrote the Didascalia Apostolorum and when?
The author is unknown, probably a bishop in northern Syria. Scholars date the work to the first half of the third century, though they differ on the exact decade. It speaks in the voice of the apostles.
Is the Didascalia Apostolorum in the Bible?
No. It is a church order, not a book of Scripture, and scholars see it as written long after the apostles. It was valued in some regions, especially Syria, but was never part of the biblical canon.
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