Didache Essay

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According to the Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church , the Didache is a collection of short teachings on morality and on the practises of the Church. The word itself, which is Greek, means “teaching”, for the Didache teaches us about ideas of the Twelve Apostles, and its full title is thought to be ‘The Lord’s Instruction to the Gentiles through the Twelve Apostles’ . It is one of the oldest patriarchal writings in the Christian Church. It consists of sixteen chapters, and the date, the author, and the place of origin are not fully known, although many scholars believe it was written in the first century. It is thought that it may have been written by a group of Jewish Christians, similar to Jesus, who were interested in building a network of Christian communities. It was written in Roman times, before there was a complete New Testament. The book is divided up into main sections, including the Two Ways document (Chapters 1-6, which concerns the topical issue of life and death), liturgical treatise, (Chapters 7-10, which deal with issues such as baptism and Eucharist), teachings on the organisation of the Church in Chapters 11-15, and finally, Chapter 16 deals with eschatological issues. The Didache is important to us, as Christians today, because it shows a way of life that all Jesus-followers should pursue. It is a handbook of worship and Church practise, from which we learn of the views of the early Christian church, and how they interpreted Scripture. It shows us how our primitive Church was structured, and what the ancestors of our Church deemed to be of importance. From reading the Didache, one may get the impression that it could perhaps be directed at a non-Christian, that is intending to join Christianity, for it seems to be laid out almost like a set of guidelines, or a handbook of instructions. St. Athanasius the Apostilic, a Church father, and
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