The video below Carlos about why these books were written, what’s good about them, and why they are not in the Bible. Explanation: <https://youtu.be/GzUc4kxiGD0> Didache <https://youtu.be/qxG2QEAnaA0> 1 Clement- <https://youtu.be/MVAp8NU6DAk> Shepherd of Hermas <https://youtu.be/7_XmEECr3fs> --- # The Didache, 1 Clement, and the Shepherd of Hermas > [!summary] The short answer > These three books are among the earliest Christian writings outside the New Testament. Some early Christians read them in church and valued them highly, and a few even treated them as Scripture for a time. The church ultimately did not include them in the Bible, but they give us a priceless window into how the first generations of Christians believed, worshiped, and lived. --- ## First, a Word About Labels These books are sometimes grouped with the **New Testament Apocrypha**, but that label can be misleading. | Group | What it includes | How the church viewed them | | --- | --- | --- | | **The Apostolic Fathers** | Early, orthodox writings from leaders who lived shortly after the apostles: the *Didache*, *1 Clement*, the *Shepherd of Hermas*, the letters of Ignatius and Polycarp, and others | Respected and widely read, but not Scripture | | **New Testament Apocrypha** | Later writings claiming apostolic authority: the *Gospel of Thomas*, *Gospel of Peter*, *Acts of Paul*, and others | Generally rejected, often for false teaching or false claims of authorship | The *Didache*, *1 Clement*, and the *Shepherd of Hermas* belong to the first group. They are best described as writings of the **Apostolic Fathers**: orthodox, early, and helpful, but not inspired. --- ## At a Glance | | Didache | 1 Clement | Shepherd of Hermas | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | **What it is** | A church manual | A letter | A collection of visions and teachings | | **Written** | Late 1st century (about AD 70-110) | About AD 95-96 | Early to mid-2nd century (about AD 100-150) | | **From** | Unknown, likely Syria | The church in Rome, traditionally by Clement | Hermas, a Christian in Rome | | **Main theme** | How to live and worship as a Christian | Humility, unity, and respect for church leaders | Repentance and holiness | | **Found in early Bibles?** | No | Yes, Codex Alexandrinus (5th century) | Yes, Codex Sinaiticus (4th century) | --- ## The Didache ### What it is *Didache* (*did-ah-KAY*) is Greek for "teaching." Its full title is *The Teaching of the Lord to the Gentiles Through the Twelve Apostles*. It's a short church manual, only 16 chapters, that explains how to live as a Christian and how to conduct church life. The apostles didn't write it. The title reflects the conviction that its teaching passes on what they taught. ### Rediscovery The *Didache* was mentioned by early church writers, but the text was lost for centuries. In 1873, a Greek Orthodox archbishop named Philotheos Bryennios found a copy in a library in Constantinople, in a manuscript dated 1056. He published it in 1883, and it caused a sensation among scholars. ### What's inside | Chapters | Content | | --- | --- | | **1-6** | **The Two Ways:** the way of life and the way of death. Echoes the Sermon on the Mount, including loving enemies and turning the other cheek. | | **7** | **Baptism:** in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, preferably in running water. Pouring water three times on the head is allowed when there isn't enough water. | | **8** | **Fasting and prayer:** fast on Wednesdays and Fridays, and pray the Lord's Prayer three times a day. | | **9-10** | **The Lord's Supper:** some of the earliest Christian Communion prayers outside the New Testament. Only the baptized should take part. | | **11-13** | **Traveling apostles and prophets:** how to tell true teachers from false ones. A traveler who stays more than two days, or asks for money, is a false prophet. | | **14** | **Sunday worship:** gather on the Lord's Day, confess your sins, and be reconciled before sharing the meal. | | **15** | **Leaders:** appoint bishops (overseers) and deacons who are humble, honest, and proven. | | **16** | **The end times:** stay watchful, because the Lord is coming. | ### Why it matters - **It shows how early Christians baptized,** with immersion as the norm and pouring as an exception. - **It shows Christians gathering on Sunday** within a few decades of the resurrection. - **It's one of the earliest Christian texts to explicitly condemn abortion and infanticide** (chapter 2), showing the early church's commitment to human life. - **It shows that the Sermon on the Mount** shaped Christian ethics from the beginning. --- ## 1 Clement ### What it is *1 Clement* is a letter from the church in Rome to the church in Corinth. The letter itself doesn't name its author, but early tradition credits **Clement**, a leader in the Roman church whom later lists remember as an early bishop of Rome. It's usually dated to about AD 95-96, making it possibly older than some New Testament books. ### The occasion Forty years after Paul wrote 1 and 2 Corinthians, the Corinthian church was divided again. A group of younger members had removed the church's elders from leadership. The Roman church wrote to urge them to repent, restore their leaders, and pursue peace. ### What's inside - **A call to humility and unity,** with many examples from the Old Testament - **Order in the church,** comparing it to the ordered harmony of creation and the Old Testament priesthood - **The examples of Peter and Paul,** including one of the earliest references to their martyrdom (chapter 5) - **The resurrection,** illustrated by the legend of the phoenix rising from its ashes (chapter 25) - **Church leadership,** explaining that the apostles appointed leaders and arranged for others to succeed them (chapters 42-44) ### Why it matters - **It quotes or echoes New Testament books,** especially Hebrews and 1 Corinthians, showing that they were already circulating and respected by the end of the first century. - **It confirms early traditions** about the deaths of Peter and Paul in Rome. - **It was read in churches.** Around AD 170, the bishop of Corinth wrote that his church still read it aloud in worship. It was later included in **Codex Alexandrinus**, a fifth-century Bible manuscript. --- ## The Shepherd of Hermas ### What it is The *Shepherd of Hermas* is the longest of the Apostolic Fathers' writings. It records visions given to **Hermas**, a former slave and Christian in Rome. It takes its name from an angel who appears to Hermas dressed as a shepherd and gives him teaching. ### What's inside | Section | Content | | --- | --- | | **5 Visions** | The church appears to Hermas as an elderly woman who grows younger as the visions continue. He also sees the church pictured as a tower under construction. | | **12 Mandates** (Commandments) | Moral instruction on faith, simplicity, truthfulness, purity, patience, and more | | **10 Similitudes** (Parables) | Symbolic stories about the Christian life and the church, including a longer vision of the tower | ### Its big theme: repentance Hermas's main message is a call to repentance. He teaches that Christians who fall into serious sin after baptism have **one more opportunity** to repent before the end. That idea shaped later debates about church discipline, but it goes beyond what the New Testament teaches (1 John 1:9). ### Why it matters - **It was enormously popular.** Some early Christians treated it as Scripture. Irenaeus, writing around AD 180, quoted it as Scripture, and it appears in **Codex Sinaiticus**, one of our oldest complete New Testaments, right after Revelation. - **It shows the early church's concern** for holiness and repentance. - **It also shows why discernment mattered.** Its teaching about Christ is unclear in places, sometimes appearing to blur the Son with the Holy Spirit. ### Why it was set aside The **Muratorian Fragment**, one of the earliest lists of New Testament books (probably late 2nd century), says Hermas wrote it recently, in the time of his brother Pius, bishop of Rome. Because it was too recent to come from the apostles, the fragment says it may be read privately but should not be read publicly in church as Scripture. --- ## Why None of Them Are in the Bible The early church recognized New Testament books using several tests: | Test | Question | How these books fared | | --- | --- | --- | | **Apostolic** | Was it written by an apostle or a close associate? | None were. All were written after the apostles. | | **Orthodox** | Does it agree with apostolic teaching? | Mostly yes, though Hermas raises concerns. | | **Catholic** (universal) | Was it accepted by churches everywhere? | Used in some regions, but never universally accepted as Scripture. | | **Ancient** | Does it come from the apostolic era? | Close, but not from the apostles' generation, especially Hermas. | In AD 367, **Athanasius**, bishop of Alexandria, published a letter listing the 27 books of our New Testament. He mentioned the *Didache* and the *Shepherd* as helpful reading for new believers, but not part of the canon. The church came to the same conclusion about all three. --- ## How to Read Them Today Read these writings the way you'd read a trusted pastor from long ago: - **As history:** They show what the earliest Christians believed and practiced. - **As confirmation:** They show that the New Testament was already circulating, quoted, and trusted very early. - **As encouragement:** They call us to humility, holiness, unity, and faithfulness. - **With discernment:** Like all writings outside Scripture, they must be tested by the Bible (Acts 17:11; 1 Thessalonians 5:21). ## Other Views - **Some early Christians** treated one or more of these books as Scripture before the canon was settled. - **Some modern scholars** date the *Didache* earlier than AD 70 or *1 Clement* earlier than AD 95. - **Roman Catholic and Orthodox traditions** often point to *1 Clement* as early evidence for apostolic succession and the leadership of the Roman church. Protestants generally read it as evidence for orderly local church leadership rather than for later structures of church authority. ## Where to Read Them - Michael W. Holmes, ed., *The Apostolic Fathers: Greek Texts and English Translations* - J. B. Lightfoot's 19th-century translations, now in the public domain and freely available online