What is a good starting point for a study of the early Church?
score:2
Epistle of Polycarp to the Philippians.
This and others may be found here.
Upvote:1
Please allow me to recommend Didache (Estimated Range of Dating: 50-120 A.D.).
Information on Didache:
Since it was discovered in a monastery in Constantinople and published by P. Bryennios in 1883, the Didache or Teaching of the Twelve Apostles has continued to be one of the most disputed of early Christian texts. It has been depicted by scholars as anything between the original of the Apostolic Decree (c. 50 AD) and a late archaising fiction of the early third century. It bears no date itself, nor does it make reference to any datable external event, yet the picture of the Church which it presents could only be described as primitive, reaching back to the very earliest stages of the Church's order and practice in a way which largely agrees with the picture presented by the NT, while at the same time posing questions for many traditional interpretations of this first period of the Church's life. Fragments of the Didache were found at Oxyrhyncus (P. Oxy 1782) from the fourth century and in coptic translation (P. Lond. Or. 9271) from 3/4th century. Traces of the use of this text, and the high regard it enjoyed, are widespread in the literature of the second and third centuries especially in Syria and Egypt. It was used by the compilator of the Didascalia (C 2/3rd) and the Liber Graduun (C 3/4th), as well as being absorbed in toto by the Apostolic Constitutions (C c. 3/4th, abbreviated as Ca) and partially by various Egyptian and Ethiopian Church Orders, after which it ceased to circulate independently. Athanasius describes it as 'appointed by the Fathers to be read by those who newly join us, and who wish for instruction in the word of goodness' [Festal Letter 39:7]. Hence a date for the Didache in its present form later than the second century must be considered unlikely, and a date before the end of the first century probable. - Jonathan Draper (Gospel Perspectives, v. 5, p. 269)
More post
- 📝 Bland white rice and tea in Chinese-American Christian Churches
- 📝 How does reformed theology view hypnosis?
- 📝 What is the theological justification for the British monarch worshipping in the Church of Scotland, rather than the Scottish Episcopal Church?
- 📝 According to the Eastern Orthodox, in what sense did the Theotokos (Virgin Mary) give birth to Christ's divinity?
- 📝 What's the reason behind St. Thomas Aquinas word choice "angelicus" in the hymn "Panis angelicus"?
- 📝 Is there an Arabic translation of the Book of Mormon?
- 📝 Do Christian proponents of Intelligent Design hold it to be a scientific position, and if not, do they see this lack of scientific rigor as an issue?
- 📝 How was the Catholic Easter calendar established, despite this passage?
- 📝 What happens to a diocese when a bishop dies unexpectedly?
- 📝 Does the Orthodox Church accept the Athanasian Creed?
- 📝 What does 1 Corinthian 2:15 mean?
- 📝 According to trinitarians, especially Protestants, who is Wisdom in Proverbs?
- 📝 What denominations don't believe in fasting? And Why?
- 📝 Does God hate Sinners like he hates Sin?
- 📝 Is there a Christian sect that believes only The New Testament and only Christ is God and The Whole Trinity exists in Him?
- 📝 Into how many languages has the Book of Mormon been translated?
- 📝 How is the textual discrepancy between Exodus 20:8 and Romans 14:5 explained?
- 📝 How does the Catholic Church interpret "you are gods" in John 10:34?
- 📝 Where does the Bible talk about marriage to non-Christians?
- 📝 Were the Waldensians like a Protestant Church in the Middle Ages?
- 📝 Why was the Bible not available to common people in the Medieval period?
- 📝 When and why did the modern literal 6-Day creation theory become popular?
- 📝 Why do some Christians interpret Daniel's 1260 day prophecy as days and not years?
- 📝 Was St. John Vianney the first parish priest to become canonized?
- 📝 Do Unitarian Universalist churches acknowledge the possibility that the Quran may be the inspired Word of God?
- 📝 Did God die for our sins?
- 📝 Does the Roman Catholic church recognize marriages outside of the church?
- 📝 Was the division of the Holy Bible into the Old and New Testaments divinely inspired?
- 📝 What's "reciprocal subsidiarity"?
- 📝 "God desires all men to be saved" from a Calvinist perspective?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 What is a good starting point for a study of the early Church?
- 📝 What did the early church fathers (pre-5th c.) teach with regards to the doctrine of baptism as a necessity for salvation?
- 📝 What rules does the Catholic Church have for venerating crosses/crucifixes on Good Friday?
- 📝 What is the Biblical Basis for a Good person going to hell simply for not believing?
- 📝 What does being lukewarm mean in contrast with being hot or cold for the church of Laodicea?
- 📝 What are the requirements for joining the Catholic church as an adult?
- 📝 What is the basis for saying that the Gospel of Thomas was accepted as scripture by early Christians?
- 📝 What is the doctrinal or Scriptural basis for a central Church authority?
- 📝 What did the Early Church Fathers think about pets (animals) going to Heaven upon death?
- 📝 What did the fathers of the early church think of Tertullian?
- 📝 Since when did the Catholic church accept Protestant baptism, and what was the original rationale for accepting?
- 📝 What is the biblical basis for the idea that the church is a hospital for sinners?
- 📝 What view of eschatology did the early church believe?
- 📝 What is the theological justification for the British monarch worshipping in the Church of Scotland, rather than the Scottish Episcopal Church?
- 📝 What did the early church fathers have to say about “eternal security” or “assurance of salvation”
- 📝 What process will be followed for the Anglican Covenant after its rejection by the Church of England?
- 📝 In Eastern Orthodoxy, what is most important for the efficacy of the sacraments: the right Church or the right God?
- 📝 What evidence does the LDS church forward for the claim that the Garden of Eden was in Missouri?
- 📝 What is the basis for the position that only Paul's writings are applicable to the church today?
- 📝 What did the early church believe about the "rapture"?
- 📝 What arguments do the Church Fathers make for nocturnal emissions not being a sin?
- 📝 What is the biblical basis for the belief that good works are the fruits of faith?
- 📝 What paths exist in the Catholic Church for a certain theological position to become recognized as dogma?
- 📝 What made Jesus question at Mt 21:25 a good example for Christians or was it a bad question because the Jews could not answer?
- 📝 Death of animals before the fall - what did the early church fathers believe?
- 📝 What are the requirements for establishing an Eastern Orthodox church or mission?
- 📝 Do any Early Church Fathers ever argue that the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil (Gen. 2:9) is the Law or Torah?
- 📝 What major views are there on the question of whether God shares moral responsibility for our deeds, good and bad?
- 📝 When the early church was formalising the canon, what did they understand by the word 'Inspired'?
- 📝 What did the early Church Fathers (pre-Nicea A.D. 325) have to say about faith, baptism and if it is the act of baptism that saves?