Title of Essay
Write a document analysis of approximately 1500 words on The Didache
Commentary:
The Didache is a fascinating early text that I really enjoyed studying and writing an analysis on. Christianity in History is the subject and a really interesting area of study. I got 90% for this essay and I am very pleased with this highest result so far in my Master’s journy. Part of this, I think is because I have started to find my rhythm in my new role (I work as Head of Risk and Compliance in the medical field and have just taken on the role of Company Secretary as well). I have always been interested in History and so, I think a happy confluence of influences to get this good result.
Abstract
The Didache is a late first or early second century catechetical document, probably originating in the Syrian Jewish Christian community, designed to socialise new converts into the life of the early church. This analysis argues that Didache 7, centred on the baptismal rite, functions as the structural and theological pivot of the entire document. The Two Ways discourse of the opening chapters prepares the catechumen for the weight of the baptismal decision, while the communal practices of the latter section, encompassing prayer, fasting, eucharist, prophet discernment and eschatological warning, form the newly baptised into the rhythms of community life. Persisting as a catechetical resource until at least 367AD, the Didache represents a formative response to the pressures facing a community navigating displacement from both synagogue and their Hellenist Christian fellows, whose liturgical legacy continues to shape Christian practice.
Introduction
The Didache[1] is a late first century or early second century[2] catechising[3] document compiled by a Jewish Christian community[4] probably in the Syrian churches[5] in baptismal instruction[6]. The full name of the document is “Teachings of the [Twelve] Apostles” (τῶν ἀποστόλων Διδαχαί)[7] and it was designed to socialise catechumens into the life of the church.[8] The document is an oral tradition[9] that nearly made it into the Canon of scripture.[10] It appears to have been an informal part of the readings of the church until the period around 367AD.[11] It pivots in Did. 7 around baptism which gives sense to the Two Ways choice at the beginning of the document. Baptism illuminates the purpose of the Two Ways motif: the first part of the document sets out the choice of the catechumen between the way of life and the way of death, while the latter part establishes the conduct expected of the newly baptised, including prayer habits, engagement with itinerant prophets, eucharistic patterns and admonishment around the eschaton.[12]
Didache 7 as the pivot point
Aaron Milavec asserts, “the Didache unfolds the training program calculated to irreversibly alter the habits of perception and standards of judgement of novices coming out of a pagan lifestyle.”[13] The key to this alteration is baptism. Baptism was still relatively simple, preceded by instruction (Did. 7.1 “…having first recited all these things…”) and fasting of all involved for “a day or two before” (Did. 7.4).[14] Warren Campbell discusses the induction dynamic of the first 7 chapters of the Didache between the concepts of ecclesia (ἐχχλησία) and “scriptural” Israel.[15] He highlights a need for the Jewish Christ-followers to utilise their existing and traditional rituals in a new way in the “nascent Jesus movement.”[16] Perhaps then, the significance of the baptismal rite in Did. 7 is imbued with similar weight to Torah obedience. Contrariwise, in Apostolic times, baptism following declaration of faith was expeditiously carried out (eg Acts 8:36[17]). It should be noted that in the late first through to the mid-second century, persecution and infiltration by hostile actors meant that the Christians were wary of too easy admission.[18] Therefore, it was not unreasonable that a book of this nature, would emphasise participation in The Way as being consequent on careful thought and practice. “Accepting baptism is connected with the acceptance of a certain way of life, at the end of which is eschatological life.”[19]
Two Ways
As preparation for the catechumen, the text starts with a well-known device, the choice between two ways, Life and Death. The device was part of popular Greek moral philosophy (cf. Hesiod and Prodicus of Cheos retold by Xenophon), part of the Old Testament (Ps 1:1-6; Psa 139:24; Prov 2:13; 4:18-19; 11:20; 12:28 and behind Deut 11:26-28; 30:15-20; Jer 21:8; Ps 119:29-30), extra biblical texts (1 Enoch 94:1-5; 2 Enoch 30:15 “I showed him two ways, light and darkness”; 42:10 and 1QS 3:18-4:26; 3:20-21. Note the two spirits teaching 3:18-19) and in Matthew (7:13-14) and Peter (2 Pet 2:15).[20] It echoes Deuteronomy 30:19, “I have set before you life and death”, unmistakably even to the admonishment “loving the LORD your God” (v20 cf Did 1.2) and again in similar language in Matthew 22:37-39.[21] Before the catechumen is set a moral code encompassed in three simple commands: Love the God that made you, your neighbour as yourself and an inversion of the “golden rule” (Matt 7:12) don’t do to others what you wouldn’t like done to you.[22][23] These three moral principles were designed to socialise the catechumen into the values on which the community was founded.
Training Program for the Catechumen (Sectio Evangelica)
Milavec notes the “training program” of the first part of the book starts with a topic sentence (Did 1:3a “Now of these words, the doctrine [διδαχή] is this…”) and closes with a summary (Did 4:14b “This is the way of life”).[24] This is where the book gets its title of “the Didache” (διδαχή) or Teaching or body of doctrine (cf. Matt 7:28 “[they] were astonished at his doctrine [διδαχή]”).[25] Niederwimmer asserts that Did. 1.3 through 2.1 is a later Christian interpolation (sectio evangelica) to the original, Jewish “Two Ways Tractate”.[26] In support of this, he argues that “according to the commandment” (κατὰ τὴν ἐντολήν) is a typical expression used by the Didachist.[27] Williams argues that this is an integration of the “sayings of Jesus” into the already existing “two ways discourse”.[28]
As a training program, there must be a trainer, perhaps in the form that Philip applied with the Ethiopian in Acts 8. In the context of this community, the Didache appears to suggest that the tutelage was performed by a “master” and so, this Two Ways discourse may well have been a guide to in-depth instruction.[29] It contains instruction in moral matters such as relationships, abstinence from lust and violence, giving both in generosity and with care, abstinence from everything from pederasty to abortion and exposure as well as porneia (illicit sex) and potentially including the use of drugs (potions).[30] The program also includes proscription of five speech infractions (Did 2.3-4) and five prohibited dispositions (Did. 2.6-7).[31] Did. 3 introduces the concept of spiritual parenting with the use of the term “my child” (teknon mou) and discusses five progressive infractions, eg: anger which leads to murder or lust leading to fornication.[32] Milavec notes that the opening chapters are “devoted to a training program calculated to pass on and preserve a way of life.”[33]
Niedewimmer suggests that the entire point of the sectio is conveyed in Did 6.2 “For if thou art able to bear the whole yoke of the Lord, thou shalt be perfect; but if thou art not able, do that which thou art able.”[34] There has been substantial scholarly debate over the use of yoke (ζυγός) of the Law, a standard Jewish metaphor for keeping the Torah in Did. 6.2.[35] In light of the additions of Did. 2, it seems difficult to align the teaching specifically with Torah. This is the very term that Peter uses contrarily in Acts 15:10. Niedewimmer asserts that yoke is not a specific reference to the keeping of Torah arguing that “it is clear in this passage it is a question of whether the individual Christian is in a position to bear the divine ordinances in their entirety.”[36] In the context of Did. 1.3-6.1 with such additional admonishments that are not in Torah, this appears the more accurate reading.
Post baptism (Did. 7) the text moves to communal activity such as prayer, eucharist and prophet discernment.
Community Formation after Baptism
The first major point after baptism is a stark separation from the “hypocrites” (a pejorative for the Judaizers) and their fast days (ref Matt 6:16; Did. 8.1).[37] This practice of Wednesday and Friday fasting appears to have become widely observed.[38] This is a new use of traditional ritual to differentiate themselves.[39] Prayer is incorporated into the daily practice of the newly baptised (Did. 8.3) but becomes expanded by the time of Tertullian.[40] Recitation of the Lord’s Prayer is prescribed in Did. 8.2 in an expanded form (including the Doxology) and by Tertullian’s time this prayer is given first importance.[41] Did. 9 gives one of only two detailed descriptions of early eucharistic practice with the other being by Justin Martyr.[42] Williams notes that this it is not really a celebration of Christ’s death so much as a celebration of God’s actions made known through the revelatory work of Jesus.[43] This needs to be balanced with the imperative of MaranAtha in Did. 10.6 which is a call for the God of David to come as well as a call to repentance within its context.[44]
The text then introduces the leadership structure of the church starting with the status of the prophets. Did. 10.7 is possibly an editorial remark from the Didachist responsive to a problem he was observing.[45] Milavec notes this practice as aligning with Polycarp’s two-hour prayer in Martyrium Polycarpi.[46] Did. 11-15 references a community learning to regulate and govern itself. The document closes in Did. 16 with an eschatological warning that functions not as an appendix but as a final formation device, reminding the newly incorporated community that the stakes of the way of life they have chosen are ultimate and eternal.
Didache as the Basis of Liturgy
Post Exile, Israel struggled to come to terms with uncertainty on the edge of a massive empire. The Chronicler compiled a book in formation of this distressed nation with God in his holy temple as the anchor point. Potentially the Pharisees grew out of this reformation of the nation. A similar pattern appears in the Didache as a Christian forming work, persisting into the fourth century. For this Jewish Christian community adrift from the synagogue and from their Hellenist fellow Christians, this book suggests a people striving to establish an anchor in counter ritual. That this book among other writings formed later liturgy is uncontroversial. Much of the practice, diluted and evolved, has made its way into current practice. For the church today, it is important to see this practice as having its foundation not necessarily in the freedom of the apostolic church, but potentially something other. The church needs to ensure that ritual, developed in times of extraordinary stress does not become defining practice. It is worth noting the gravity with which baptism was approached with both instruction and fasting by the whole community. The church could perhaps take something from this approach.
Conclusion
The Didache is a unified catechetical document whose purpose is the socialisation of new converts into the life of the early church. Didache 7 functions as the structural and theological pivot of the entire work: the Two Ways discourse preceding it prepares the catechumen for the weight of the baptismal decision, while the communal practices following it form the newly baptised into the rhythms of a community navigating a precarious existence between synagogue and empire. That this document persisted as a catechetical resource until at least 367AD, noted by Athanasius in his festal letter, is testimony to its formative power. The Didache is not merely a historical curiosity but a window into the anxious, creative energy of a community reaching for anchors in uncertain times, an energy whose liturgical residue the church continues to inhabit.
[1] All quotations from the Didache are from Joseph Barber Lightfoot, The Apostolic Fathers: A Revised Text with Introductions, Notes, Dissertations, and Translations, 2nd ed., 5 vols. (Macmillan, 1890).
[2] F L Cross and E A Livingstone, eds., Dictionary of the Christian Church, Third Edition. (Hendrickson Publishers Inc, 1997), 479; Ivor J. Davidson, The Birth of The Church, ed. John D Woodbridge and David F Wright, vol. One of The Monarch History of the Church, ed. Dr Tim Dowley (Monarch Books, 2005), 180; J. D. Douglas, Earle E. Cairns, and James E. Ruark, eds., The New International Dictionary of the Christian Church (Zondervan Corporation; The Paternoster Press, 1974), 297.
[3] Kurt Niederwimmer, The Didache: A Commentary, ed. Harold W. Attridge, trans. Linda M Maloney (Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1989; repr., Augsburg Fortress, 1998), 1.
[4] Davidson, Birth, 180.
[5] or possibly in Egypt John H Y Briggs, Dr Robert D Linder, and David F Wright, eds., A Lion Handbook: The History of Christianity, ed. Dr Tim Dowley (Albatross Books Pty Ltd, 1977), 125.
[6] Niederwimmer, Commmentary, 1.
[7] Niederwimmer, Commmentary, 4; Davidson, Birth, 180; some mss. “The Teaching of the Lord to the Gentiles through the Twelve Apostles” Douglas, Cairns, and Ruark, Dictionary, 297.
[8] Ritva H Williams, “Social Memory and the Didache,” Biblical Theology Bulletin 36.1 (2006): 38, https://research.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=3c45e8fa-7dcb-3956-ad52-4d303796d4da.
[9] Aaron Milavec, The Didache: Text, Translation, Analysis and Commentary (Liturgical Press, 2003), ix; Williams, “Social,” 37.
[10] Kenneth Scott Latourette, A History of Christianity (Eyre and Spottiswoode Limited, 1955), 134; Douglas, Cairns, and Ruark, Dictionary, 297.
[11] Briggs, Linder, and Wright, Lion, 106.
[12] Niederwimmer, Commmentary, 1.
[13] Milavec, Commentary, 39.
[14] Latourette, History, 194.
[15] Warren C Campbell, “Consonance and Communal Membership in the Didache: Examining the Structure of Did. 1-7 in Light of Qumran Induction and Rabbinic Proselytism,” Vigiliae Christianae 71.5 (2017): 471, https://doi.org/10.1163/15700720-12341316, https://research.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=1b4789e9-034a-3c13-a733-ba2618476e20.
[16] Campbell, “Consonance,” 471.
[17] All bible quotations from the English Standard Version
[18] Davidson, Birth, 272.
[19] Niederwimmer, Commmentary, 63.
[20] Niederwimmer, Commmentary, 60–62.
[21] Milavec, Commentary, 46.
[22] Latourette, History, 121; Niederwimmer, Commmentary, 66 argues sourced from the second temple era.
[23] Widespread in Second Temple Judaism (Tobit 4:15; Philo and Hillel)
[24] Milavec, Commentary, 44.
[25] Jay P Green Sr and George V. Wigram, The New Englishman’s Greek Concordance and Lexicon (Hendrickson, 1982), 171.
[26] Niederwimmer, Commmentary, 68.
[27] Niederwimmer, Commmentary, 68.
[28] Williams, “Social,” 38.
[29] Milavec, Commentary, 47–48.
[30] Milavec, Commentary, 54–55.
[31] Milavec, Commentary, 56.
[32] Milavec, Commentary, 56–59.
[33] Milavec, Commentary, 61.
[34] Niederwimmer, Commmentary, 68.
[35] Campbell, “Consonance,” 473.
[36] Niederwimmer, Commmentary, 121.
[37] Davidson, Birth, 180.
[38] Davidson, Birth, 284.
[39] Campbell, “Consonance,” 471.
[40] Briggs, Linder, and Wright, Lion, 216; Latourette, History, 203.
[41] Latourette, History, 203.
[42] Latourette, History, 199.
[43] Williams, “Social,” 38.
[44] Niederwimmer, Commmentary, 164.
[45] Niederwimmer, Commmentary, 165.
[46] Milavec, Commentary, 70.
Bibliography
Briggs, John H Y, Dr Robert D Linder, and David F Wright, eds. A Lion Handbook: The History of Christianity. Edited by Dr Tim Dowley. Albatross Books Pty Ltd, 1977.
Campbell, Warren C. “Consonance and Communal Membership in the Didache: Examining the Structure of Did. 1-7 in Light of Qumran Induction and Rabbinic Proselytism.” Vigiliae Christianae 71.5 (2017): 469–94. https://doi.org/10.1163/15700720-12341316, https://research.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=1b4789e9-034a-3c13-a733-ba2618476e20.
Cross, F L, and E A Livingstone, eds. Dictionary of the Christian Church. Third Edition. Hendrickson Publishers Inc, 1997.
Davidson, Ivor J. The Birth of The Church. Edited by John D Woodbridge and David F Wright. Vol. One of The Monarch History of the Church. Edited by Dr Tim Dowley. Monarch Books, 2005.
Douglas, J. D., Earle E. Cairns, and James E. Ruark, eds. The New International Dictionary of the Christian Church. Zondervan Corporation. The Paternoster Press, 1974.
Green Sr, Jay P, and George V. Wigram. The New Englishman’s Greek Concordance and Lexicon. Hendrickson, 1982.
Latourette, Kenneth Scott. A History of Christianity. Eyre and Spottiswoode Limited, 1955.
Lightfoot, Joseph Barber. The Apostolic Fathers: A Revised Text with Introductions, Notes, Dissertations, and Translations. 2nd ed. 5 vols. Macmillan, 1890.
Milavec, Aaron. The Didache: Text, Translation, Analysis and Commentary. Liturgical Press, 2003.
Niederwimmer, Kurt. The Didache: A Commentary. Edited by Harold W. Attridge. Translated by Linda M Maloney. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1989. Repr., Augsburg Fortress, 1998.
Williams, Ritva H. “Social Memory and the Didache.” Biblical Theology Bulletin 36.1 (2006): 35–39. https://research.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=3c45e8fa-7dcb-3956-ad52-4d303796d4da.