The Didache And Its Impact On Christian Liturgy And Discipline

The text of the Didache was a manuscript discovered by Metropolitan Bryennios in a library in Constantinople in 1873, and was later published in 1883. The work consists of two parts, the first section, known as “Two Ways,” offering teachings on the way of life versus the way of death, and the second section dealing with issues of liturgy and different understandings of church discipline (The Study of Liturgy, page 85). The Didache is the Greek word for “teach” and this text is also called the “The Teaching of the Apostles.”

The date of the Didache remains unclear, but there are different proposed time lines. They are as follows: 1. The Didache is an actual document of Church Order dating back to a very early period around 80-100 or earlier 2. It is a combination of sources dating from the second century based on an older period so that the reader could gain a sense of earliest Christian life 3. The Didache is a document that consists of varied stages of development, but originated from the first century possibly as early as the year 60 (The Study of Liturgy, page 86.) The editor, Andrew Louth, of Early Christian Writings (page 189) argues that the work

The first section of the Didache known as “Two Ways” that is teaching about the way to life in contrast to the way to death. The section opens with the command to love God and love your neighbor as yourself as the way to life (1:3-4). The text goes on to give images from the Sermon on the Mount, and ends the section on the way of life with a modified version of the Ten Commandments. This section closely parallels Matthew 5-7 and Romans 12-21. The piece known as the way to death is full of examples of wicked moral vices. These values had to be recited before baptism, and were considered essential learning for the catechumen. “Two Ways” is considered to have Jewish roots of discipline. “… Enough features appear in the document known as the rule (or the manual of discipline to show that the “Two Ways” derives from Jewish proselyte-instruction. This document comes from the Jewish baptizing sect which had a monastery at Qumran, whose library partly survives in the Dead Sea Scrolls (Doctrine and Practice in the Early Church, page16).”

The Didache is a critical source for our understanding of some the first Christian communities and how they were structured. It is believed that this text contained actual teachings of the twelve apostles. With many parallels to scripture and other ancient sources, the Didache fills in important holes that other sources do not address making this work pivotal to the development of liturgy and polity in the later church. While there are many debates about the Didache, few would argue the insights that it has offered many scholars trying to understand the birth of a new religion.

In chapters nine and ten, there appears to be a layered understanding of the common meal tradition known as the Eucharista.

In chapter ten the emphasis is on a meal known as agape that offers prayers and thanksgiving, but is considered a full meal, not just a ritual celebrati

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