What Is The Didache?

Several existing and upcoming documents on this site are or will be referencing the Didache (pronounced DID-uh-kay), but many Christians don't know what the Didache is. This document was created to hopefully change that.

The Didache, also known as "The Teachings (or Doctrine) of the Twelve Apostles", is a document written between 90 and 110 AD, which makes it one of the earliest written documents of the Church. This makes it a valuable witness to the teachings and practices of the early Christians. Some Church Fathers accounted it as second only to the Holy Scriptures. Many scholars believe the Didache was written by several people and most likely compiled as an early Catechism. The full text of the Didache can be found here. While not included in the Canon of the Bible the Didache is still a very important document in that it shows what the early Christians believed and taught, and it shows that many current teachings of the Church thought by many to be "new inventions" actually go back to the beginning of Christianity.

SOURCES

A Catholic Dictionary by Donald Attwater
The Catholic Encyclopedia on New Advent
This article by Msgr. Charles Pope
Text of the Didache