The Didache, The Epistle of Barnabas, The Epistles and the Martyrdom of St. Polycarp, The Fragments of Papias, The Epistle to Diognetus by Rev. James A. Kleist (review)

BOOK REVIEWS323 account of the particular situation in Brazil and the repercussions the "false prophets" may have caused there. It may be that Mr. Pimentel views his problems too much from the angle of local events. RUDOLF ALLERS Georgetown University, Washington, D.C. The Didache, The Epistle of Barnabas, The Epistles and the Martyrdom of St. Polycarp, The Fragments of Papias, The Epistle to Diognetus. Translated and Annotated by Rev. James A. Kleist, S.J. No. 6 of Ancient Christian Writers. Westminister, Md.: Newman Bookshop, 1948. Pp. 235. $2.75. Father James Kleist makes another valuable contribution to the study of the Ancient Christian Writers in this the sixth number of the series. This volume should prove as popular as his first (The Epistles of St. Clement of Rome and St. Ignatius of Antioch). Here we have some of the most ancient Christian documents bearing witness to the life and discipline of the Church in the first and second centuries. The first work,. TAe Didache or The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles, according to its longer title, is usually considered as the oldest Christian non-canonical piece of literature. The original author is unknown. The date of its composition is placed towards the end of the first century. This work is valued so highly because it gives us a glimpse of the primitive Christian community. It sketches the primitive instruction for converts, offers a brief description of the liturgy of the time, outlines the early Church organization together with some disciplinary regulations, and concludes with a final instruction on the Parousia. The Didache has been described by various authors as the oldest ritual-ordo of Christianity . Perhaps it would be more exact to describe it as a summary of moral, individual and social obligations of the early Christians. It could have served as a "Vade Mecum" for the faithful and as an ordo for the Church officials. The Epistle of Barnabas is a letter of instructions intended for recent converts from paganism. The purpose of the instructions was to shield the neo-converts from the Judaizers and to strengthen them in their faith. 324BOOK REVIEWS To achieve his end the author uses every means at his disposal to show that the New Law established by Christ has supplanted the Old Law. The second part of the letter is an exhortation to Christian life, parallel to the section in The Didache which deals with the "Two Ways: The Way of Life and the Way of Death." In early Christianity the companion of Paul was regarded as the author of this letter. Now it is shown from the context that the author was not the companion of Paul. Polycarp's Epistle to the Philippians, written during the first half of the second century is an answer to a letter that had been addressed to him by the Philippians. Polycarp utilized the occasion by giving a moral exhortation. He urged the Philippians to keep their faith pure, and especially to steer clear of avarice "which is the root of all evils." Polycarp uses scriptural quotations freely, particularly from the Epistles of Paul, the venerable Apostle of Philippi. Polycarp, who was martyred about the middle of the second century, was held in high esteem by the early Christians. One of the main reasons was that he had been a disciple "of those who had known the Lord." Tertullian confirms that statement when he says that Polycarp was made a bishop of the Apostle John. Because of this distinction "numerous disciples gathered around him to hear from his lips the last living echo of Apostolic teaching." When this venerable Bishop of Smyrna was put to death for his faith during the Roman persecutions, the faithful of Philomelium (expressing the feeling of all the faithful) requested an account of his martyrdom. Marcion, an eye-witness, answered the request. He presented not only to the particular community at Philomelium but to the world at large a vivid description of how this "most wonderful man" won the martyr's crown. This account by Marcion is a gem of Christian Martyrology, and bears testimony to the glory of other early martyrs. Papias, Bishop of Hierapolis in Phrygia at the...