Researched by the Ignaria Editorial Team · Published 2026-03-12
The Didache (Teaching of the Twelve Apostles, c. 50-120 AD) is one of the most important documents for understanding early Christian practice, covering ethical instruction, baptism, fasting, prayer (including an early version of the Lord's Prayer), and the Eucharist. Its ethical section presents the "Two Ways" as the moral framework for Christian living; its liturgical sections provide the oldest surviving Eucharistic prayers and instructions for how the ritual was to be conducted. Its brevity makes it accessible; its breadth makes it indispensable for debates about early worship, church order, and the transition from Jewish to Christian practice.
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What the primary sources show
"My child, flee from every evil thing, and from every likeness of it. Be not prone to anger, for anger leadeth the way to murder; neither jealous, nor quarrelsome, nor of hot temper; for out of all these murders are engendered. My child, be not a lustful one; for lust leadeth the way to fornication... for out of all these adulteries are engendered." — the Didache's "Two Ways" ethical instruction, linking everyday vices to their grave outcomes as preventive formation for new converts, likely the earliest surviving catechetical manual of the church.