The Didache - History's First Christian Handbook

A first century text that many Christians don't even know exists! It predates some of the books in the Bible, and gives some practical guidance for being a Christian. We're taking a quick look
LINKS:
Download the e-book (it's 10 pages, you'll get through it fast): www.thebrothersrobinson.com/p...
A sermon from fellow Aussie Fr Andrew about the Didache, how to use the Didache in our lives: • The Didache as a bluep...
Another Didache intro but with cool animations (from an all round good channel to follow): • How Christian Were Tau...
If you'd like to give us some support to continue and grow this channel, this is the place: ko-fi.com/patristix

[@dj393]

Finding that the Didache existed and reading it was the beginning of my questioning Protestantism and looking into the Eastern Orthodox church. My adult son converted first and I followed a year later.

[@msgjr]

"To be deep in history is to cease to be Protestant." John Henry Newman

[@seanchaney3086]

The Didache and Nicene Creed should be in every intro or appendix of the NT. The Church has always been ecclesiastical.

[@NavelOrangeGazer]

Shephard of Hermas as well!

[@seanchaney3086]

@NavelOrangeGazer I think it should be better known Church literature, but not canon

[@Out-to-Pastor]

People need to read about the Church Fathers more. Their writings should all be part of the New Testament to show current Christians and non how the original Church was meant to be and believed to be.

[@MrAdamsanto87]

That's how you spread Orthodoxy 😂​@@Out-to-Pastor

[@terrycarriepiker3383]

As a protestant that is diligently studying Orthodoxy for my own sake, this is a great channel. This is about 4 videos in for me and I really like the content.

[@glennd81]

Same happened for me. I was finally baptized last year. Make the plunge brother. God bless you. ☦️

[@mando9362]

I pray you've made it home.

[@Peabody388]

Heaven? ​@@mando9362

[@ianmiller4195]

I was literally just looking for a version of the Didache to read, and then opened KZbin and saw your video today is about it.

[@Patristix]

I love those moments! Enjoy the read

[@essboarder23]

I was reading the Didache with my mother just 2 hours ago. Perfect timing :)

[@j.athanasius9832]

Just found your channel from Jonathan Pageau's endorsement! Incredibly polished content; shocking to find on a sub-1000 channel! I will have to share your content with my Protestant family (my mother thus far has been especially intrigued by Orthodoxy).

[@Patristix]

Thanks for the kind words and for coming along! Hope you and your mother enjoy the content!

[@elijahthomas1951]

Great video! I come from an evangelical background and have been looking in to Orthodoxy for a little over a year now. This writing is big blow to the last remnants of what I was taught about Christianity growing up. Every Christian should read this.

[@orthocrofty]

Another interesting thing is that the commonly known ending of the Lord’s Prayer, “for Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever,” is not in the earliest manuscripts from the Gospels, but it does appear as an addendum in the Didache. Scholars have generally concluded that its presence in later manuscripts of Matthew (and hence the KJV) is by the influence of the Didache. I like to think that the Didache continues to show its influence on us.

[@cinnamondan4984]

Facinating

[@gagejaeger7072]

We were just talking about the Didache with the priest in our parish. Very timely video!

[@jakejusten9065]

I read the Didache at adoration a few months ago; after watching this I'll have to reread it.

[@HomoEucharistica]

Honestly, the Didache is my favourite writing of the apostolic fathers, with the letters of Ignatius of Antioch, and the letter of Polycarp. After that video, I love that book even more.

[@benjivilla970]

“Anyway, the die-dak” got me

[@777Justin]

I have a book of the apostolic fathers, and the die-dack is included at the very back. It’s not very long.

[@chadm9188]

We were reading the Didache together with a group of young believers almost 35 years ago. I just did a search and found your video. Well done!

[@protestanttoorthodox3625]

Brilliant work brother! Thank you ☦️

[@bernardwilliamson2257]

Also has many of the prayers prayed in mass to this very day!

[@JoshieboyStudios]

Holy cow, you definitely need more views. I’ve been looking into the Didache for the last few months now and your video is just what I needed. Thanks for the great content!

[@EBlmnop69865]

Praying for growth for your channel. You have certainly blessed me by helping me to grow in my faith.

[@FatherAndTeacherTV]

You all are good at these presentations. Thank you for the e-book.

[@paulr5246]

great subject, great video. Very on point for the present pivotal point in our history.

[@goblinondrums]

Awesome explanation. I’m surprised how we quickly ran away from this.

[@Patristix]

Thank you! It wasn't too quickly, and only in the west did people run from it, all the practices recorded were near universal for Christians for a thousand years. When a full Didache was rediscovered in the 19th century, we saw that the Eastern Orthodox Church hadn't run away at all and the Didache was still relevant. In any case, it's a fascinating document to read

[@sleepyhead758]

Thanks for the PDF it's an amazing book.

[@tubejim101]

Thank you for making this video.

[@user-ie6xh1ue8d]

I love the Didache and wish more Christians knew about this helpful book. Thank you for your video.

[@DerekJFiedler]

Neil Degraide of Dirt Poor Robins sent me. Loving your channel already. I wrote a research paper on the Didache (back in the day...). I argued for an early extant version of the text based on it's linguistic construction being closely rooted in oral tradition. Plus, I found a great paper basically making the case that the writers of the Gospels had a copy of the Didache on their desk when they compiled their texts. Some make great arguments for the Didache as being the mysterious 'Q' source that Matthew and Luke used. Fascinating text. Solid video essay you produced here. Cheers.

[@Patristix]

Woah that sounds amazing actually. It's a very interesting little text indeed, and what you're saying just adds more to it. Thanks for your comment

[@mjs397]

Thank you for this, found your channel from 'O K' a channel mod on the crucible he posted your video about the Christmas tree

[@lesgohbrandon]

Thank you for this information. I didn't even know about this book.

[@Super64heavy]

As a Catholic oh, I thank you for doing the series. Pax Christi

[@joebombero1]

Don't forget the Christian graffiti and the two "Sator" squares (Pater Noster prayer anagram) were found in Pompeii. The Didache was known there, almost certainly.

[@ConradThePalamite]

Just bought it, thanks for sharing about it, I cam’t beleive i had never heard if it

[@DamnItCarl-]

Came here from someone else ripping off your content. Extremely useful for me recently converting to Christianity. Thank you.

[@Patristix]

Thanks for coming to the channel! Hope you like the videos. We have a lot of links in the descriptions to help on the topics, and recommend visiting an Orthodox Church with questions. God bless!

[@DamnItCarl-]

@@Patristix I’ve emailed my local church who were extremely hospitable inviting me into his home for a cup of tea and a chat. He shown me around his church describing what was what and what for, very kindly gifted me a bible which I am reading every day. It is a Catholic Church and I’m finding with my learning that I am more in line with the Orthodox Church. I have googled my local Orthodox Church but I cannot find the address for it anywhere. Google brings up a different church as well but I will email them and ask if I can come by. I am currently waiting on some study material while reading the ESV bible. I don’t even know if there is a “correct” bible to read as it were. I have also ordered a King James study bible as well so plenty of reading to be done and some brilliant content for me to learn from in between like yours. I am very early on in this path so going into it totally blind and uneducated on the subject at 40 years of age. Thank you for taking the time to reply.

[@OverOnTheWildSide]

Great video, thank you

[@WilliamDusing]

Wonderful explanation!

[@steadfastgodcast]

Another brilliant video

[@nuggetoftruth-ericking7489]

I enjoyed this information.

[@daniell.5483]

I encourage all Christians to read the Didache. I am a protestant by the way.

[@annanovaofficial]

Thank you

[@curlyhead94]

Everything mentioned is also preserved in the Oriental Orthodox Church too

[@jacquiej5330]

I remember going to mass in Wednesdays in catholic school, but I was never taught anything about fasting twice a week or praying the Lord’s Prayer 3 times a day! 😮

[@richunixunix3313]

Glad this work is mention and discussed. Just a quick historical fact, it is still held by most scholar that this works was written during the 2nd second century and It is what I teach.

[@JoshieboyStudios]

Pretty sure the current consensus is late 1st century to early 2nd. Between 70-120 AD

[@richunixunix3313]

@@JoshieboyStudios good point.

[@buttonscottons3127]

The Dedache correctly pronounced “Didahi, with a bit harder “h” and not Didaki. in Greek is Διδαχή meaning the teachings.

[@hesedagape6122]

It was a monastic rule since Nazarenes or Early Christians were consecrated religious like Essenes just that they were permitted marriage. The rule of Benedict, etc are descended from it

[@anathamon]

You forgot the exaggerated italian accent pronounciation! Di-Da-CHE 👌

[@ArchangelsBookClub]

I always pronounced it Did-ah-Ch-ee. With the ch pronounce like the ch in Church. That’s how I pronounced it when I first read it when I was 19. Thank God for hearing, because there’s a great many words that I would mispronounce if I hadn’t heard them.

[@Cahrub]

"It's not die-dak, do not call it that, it's did-ah-kay. So anyways, the die-dak.." Lol, alright that made me chuckle a bit XD

[@feeble_stirrings]

A great work, well worth reading! Also, fruit flavored tea is anathema! :)

[@Patristix]

I think you're right on both counts there

[@glencecil293]

Amen

[@smariscal24]

A great way to know if a book is ancient or later, is if it shows christian or jewish, the closer to jewish tora Law is closer to the original apostles.

[@joebombero1]

The Jesuit priest I had for Freshman Theology called it "Did-a-key" but he had a pretty heavy Boston accent.

[@Muself2]

Wow.

[@Ricoliets]

Question, out of curiosity! About something said at 4:40 The 2nd and 5th days are said to be tuesdays and thursdays, and the 3rd and 6th days are wednesdays and fridays. But, historically speaking, sunday was the first day of the week, right? Not monday? So wouldn't it be the 2nd and 5th days are mondays and thursdays, while the 3rd and 6th days are tuesdays and fridays? (Edit: changed the last word from saturdays to fridays)

[@Patristix]

This was an error on our part that I'm only just now seeing... not sure how we made it. The text itself is '4th day' (Wednesday) and 'preparation day' (Friday). Our bad. Sorry!

[@anathamon]

yeah i immediately counted the days on the screen and was like… that does not add up

[@anathamon]

if wednesday is the third day, then the sixth day would be saturday not friday 😂

[@anathamon]

and if tuesday’s the second day, then the fifth day is friday not thursday !?!?!

[@selemonkahasu1189]

I try to but this book on amazing and there are many and i don’t witch one is good one please help me thanks God bless u

[@Patristix]

It is a very short book, and can be found for free online :) There's a link in the description to a free download

[@leoandolino4668]

Well done. I had read that the Didache was written by Jewish Believers for gentiles who were coming into the Church.

[@Richie_roo]

I've never heard of this channel

[@Patristix]

Welcome aboard! We've only been going a few months so we're still pretty young. Hope you enjoy it!

[@aster3907]

Wonderful video! btw I think the link stopped working :(

[@Patristix]

Thank you! Which link? I've checked the Didache download and it seems fine to me?

[@aster3907]

@@Patristix It was the link to the book, seems to be working now, thanks🙏

[@Sunfried1]

The Didache was lost for centuries and was not rediscovered until 1873, long after the various liturgies and canons had been established. Most historians date it to c. 110.

[@jamessheffield4173]

All the Books of the New Testament, as they are commonly received, we do receive, and account them Canonical. 39 Articles of Religion

[@BrianWright-mi3lc]

GREAT video! I struggle with the Didache. I love it and think it's great in many ways but fully agree it doesn't belong in the NT. "The Judaizers" also predate many books of the NT and they obviously had false teaching. I'm not saying the Didache is false teaching but it is a bit hollow and leans a little on the legalistic side. Romans is, in my opinion one of the best guides for the Church and it opens with an incredible pronouncement of the Gospel which is conspicuously lacking in the Didache. If the Didache was indeed simply meant as a "how to order your life and conduct yourself in the Church" then, great. Again it doesn't say anything that can't be found in the NT (for the most part). But is it really focused on what the 12 were teaching? I'm not so sure.

[@juandavidguarnizogutierrez4566]

Well, i see it more like an kind of leviticus for the Christians, it clarifies a lot about how to do certain things, i think that it would reduce the amount of Protestant branches if it were in the Protestant Canon

[@juandavidguarnizogutierrez4566]

Well, i see it more like an kind of leviticus for the Christians, it clarifies a lot about how to do certain things, i think that it would reduce the amount of Protestant branches if it were in the Protestant Canon

[@juandavidguarnizogutierrez4566]

Well, i see it more like an kind of leviticus for the Christians, it clarifies a lot about how to do certain things, i think that it would reduce the amount of Protestant branches if it were in the Protestant Canon

[@juandavidguarnizogutierrez4566]

Well, i see it more like an kind of leviticus for the Christians, it clarifies a lot about how to do certain things, i think that it would reduce the amount of Protestant branches if it were in the Protestant Canon

[@juandavidguarnizogutierrez4566]

Well, i see it more like an kind of leviticus for the Christians, it clarifies a lot about how to do certain things, i think that it would reduce the amount of Protestant branches if it were in the Protestant Canon

[@michaelturnage3395]

The Didache is literally like Torah teaching, but for Gentile converts to Christianity. It's surprisingly Mosaic in it's structure and content.

[@motivationking9536]

Can some drop the link to it.

[@BigMamaMyers]

It's in the "...more" by the title above. The link is there for the .pdf download

[@joachimjustinmorgan4851]

When I first heard of the Didache about 6ish years ago I read it and remember thinking that I didn’t even know people were capable of having an abortion in the ancient world. Shows how ignorant I was.

[@moses4208]

I pronounce it di-da-ché (like che guevara) how much steam would come out of a Greek Theologians head?

[@Patristix]

The pair of us having a conversation about it would cause damage for sure

[@ikonographics]

Actually it's pronounced Dhi-dha-KHI

[@alan7761]

I pronounce it the same way 😂

[@Seektheday]

Wasn’t abortion at that time mostly about leaving infants to die of exposure? If there is evidence of abortifacients used and the root translation of abortion in that time I’d like to know more

[@Patristix]

There were some violent tools for this and Tertullian (2nd century) describes a few of them in 'A Treatise on the Soul'. Also the Didache makes a distinction between killing the unborn and infants as two seperate things. More resources are available online

[@annemariekoutsky5054]

The Hippocratic Oath also includes the refusal to do abortions from the 5th Ce BC. GBY

[@jeangove01]

A lot of old-school Catholics in Europe, like my mother, still fast on Wednesdays and Fridays. By fasting they mainly mean they don't eat meat or sweets, but usually eat fish.

[@Patristix]

No school like the old school!

[@laurendamasoruiz]

It’s not pronounced di-dah-chay?! 😂Great video thank you!

[@SuperSaiyanScandinavian]

Wait, Orthodox actually go vegan twice a week? Wednesday and Friday fasting isn't considered mandatory except during Lent for Catholics, although encouraged; however, for Catholics we only need to give up meat, with the exception of fish. Do you actually give up all animal products? or just meat?

[@Patristix]

All animal products. Wednesdays, Fridays, Great Lent and other fasting seasons. While as you say it has changed, it used to be the norm for all Catholics too, and in some traditional Catholic areas (some parts of Poland I believe) the old fasting traditions are still followed. Some Byzantine Catholics also follow these traditions.

[@SuperSaiyanScandinavian]

@@Patristix Awesome, thanks for the response. I think I'm going to make this change in my life. It saddens me when traditions like this are lost over time. Sometimes I feel like we're not even being taught the bare minimum of true worship of our Lord this day and age. If I can't offer up animal products every Wednesday and Friday, why should Jesus show me any mercy?

[@Patristix]

Thankfully, Jesus is merciful beyond our comprehension! I would also say that before you make life changes regarding fasting, that you seek out spiritual counsel from your priest. Maybe also visit an Orthodox Church to talk to a priest there about fasting.

[@BookofAkathists]

...anyway the Die-dak... hahaha

[@Patristix]

😬

[@GizmoFromPizmo]

Where was the Didche found and who found it, when?

[@Patristix]

The Didache is referenced by Eusebius and Athanasius in the 4th century. It is quoted by Irenaeus, Clement, and Origen, possibly by Justin Martyr, Cyprian, and Theophilus of Antioch. It formed a basis for the 3rd century Didascalia Apostolorum. A full didache from the 11th century was found in Constantinople in the mid-19th century by Metroplitan Philotheos (it was found alonside the Clementine epistles to the Corinthians, and the Ignatian epistles).

[@GizmoFromPizmo]

@@Patristix - That would have been good information for someone (ANYONE) to have cited in the myriad KZbin videos on this subject but no one cites those statistics. They all start out with, "The Didache is a first century document and here's what it says." Furthermore, there were false doctrines floating around in the first century too. The fact that the Didache completely obliterates the doctrine of baptism shows that it's not a Christian document. Catholic, maybe, but certainly not Christian. Christian baptism takes a certain form for theological reasons. It's not merely a token initiation ritual. If you're not baptized into Christ then you are not in Christ. The church is made up of those who are "in Christ". The Didache doesn't seem to abide by that principle.

[@Clementkouroukis]

Great intro to the Didache, but you forgot to mention the very important fact about it being lost for almost 2000 years and that it was only rediscovered in 1873!

[@Patristix]

Yep. Couldn't really fit that in! But interesting as it is, when it was rediscovered it held no surprises. We already knew most of the contents from substantial quotes and references in other texts! We just discovered a whole document and felt rather good about that

[@girumsenay7422]

their was an ethiopic version called didiscilia in Ethiopian orthodox tewahdo church with manuscripts dating even in the middle ages and was constantly in use till today

[@Allothersweretakenn]

“Early Christianity was organized “ * PAUL entered the chat* 👀

[@TheRoark]

I am pretty sure it is the Deedash

[@albabialdayaqi5885]

Im a recent comvert to Orthodox, I love reading through these old Church documents and seeing that we still have it in Orthodoxy.

[@StRaphael-we9qn]

Hi there, what's a comvert?

[@albabialdayaqi5885]

@StRaphael-we9qn It's a typo 😅, meant to say convert. M and N is next to each other on my small phone keyboard and I have thick fingers.

[@StRaphael-we9qn]

Hi there, what orthodox do you belong to?

[@albabialdayaqi5885]

@@StRaphael-we9qn Eastern

[@StRaphael-we9qn]

@albabialdayaqi5885 Hi there, spell check is next to the send button.😖

[@loverlei79]

Me: de datch ee? Did Ache? Everyone: 😱🔥💀

[@ambergonzalez3158]

I was saying something like Die-dash😂

[@athanasiosvrakas3896]

Διδαχή means to teach or teaching . In Greek ..

[@shawnperry5991]

Seems more useful and enlightening than A begat B begat C begat D begat ad nauseam.

[@Patristix]

😆 Speaking from experience, Matthew Chapter 1 is a very stressful chapter to read in Church. So many names... BUT while it seems overkill today, it was VERY useful to the Early Church. Establishing identity was vital to knowing who somebody was, and establishing Jesus' connection to the Line of David showed the Jewish people that He was king. And there have been stories of people choosing to join the Christian faith thanks to this one chapter of begats.

[@shawnperry5991]

@@Patristix Thank you for kind and informative response!

[@sophietyrrell3131]

I was sent this Didache by my spiritual mentor but did not understand what she was trying to say, thought it was a fake one and deleted it. Glad I felt the need to give it a go but first I found u explaining what it was. Now I believe it is legitimate and want to read it again. Particularly about it mentioning abortion.

[@cw4091]

"Did Atch EE" from the American South. LOL

[@randomperson-gy5ee]

That’s how I pronounced it too due to playing Halo 4. 😂

[@Patristix]

By the time a friend showed us Halo we were already mispronouncing Didache and thought it was so cool hearing it in a game 😆

[@FeWolf]

You shall not murder. not kill

[@rbaffi]

I thought the cannon bible teaches that there will be no more prophets after Jesus. But the didache talks about discerning a good prophet from a bad prophet. Can you explain this please? I made sure that I was not confusing an apostle for the word prophet

[@thomasbryant964]

A lot of postOT writings use the word prophet in a more universal sense which could imply any of the faithful unlike the OT where a prophet is explicitly chosen by God. So for example if I were to start preaching and asking people to repent I could be considered a prophet even though I may not be called by God in the sense that Moses was.

[@jimtom7313]

Noice

[@MicahMarshall4Truth]

Dang. I’ve been calling it “Did-ah-schay”…

[@juliorivera870]

DID-O-KAY

[@patricksaucier1203]

A book can't be written before Mark and after Matthew.

[@DohMkay]

Thank you! This little book gave me several answers to questions I had. I wondered what is the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, this book has the answer. Also it said an interesting thing about the AntiChrist, who will appear to us as the Son of God and do many miracles and deceive many.

[@MrPisster]

Don't call it the DyeDak anyway, the DyeDak...😂

[@prayunceasingly2029]

The "Did ache" is another possible wrong pronunciation.

[@CPATuttle]

Catholics too fast on Ash Wednesday and every Friday up to Good Friday.

[@Patristix]

This is true, it has changed a lot. The Orthodox, and actually still some Catholics in certain areas, continue to hold the fast EVERY SINGLE Wednesday and Friday through the year, not just in Lent, as the Didache says.

[@flyingtacogaming427]

Very informative video but you seem to have a fundamental misunderstanding of Protestantism

[@antsandroidappsantsandroid9379]

It's proNUNciation not proNOUNciation

[@robertweidner2480]

It was written to the Gentiles, the non-Jewish Christians, not the Jewish Christians. Its full title is, "The Teaching of the Lord from the Twelve Apostles to the Gentiles."

[@GizmoFromPizmo]

The Didache is a second or third century work. It's from the Coptic region (Egypt) and it has a few Gnostic references in it. It doesn't have to mention the destruction of the temple in order to be a later work. It departs from established apostolic teaching in a number of ways and should not be used as support for false teaching. In other words, it tries to but does not trump the apostle's teaching.

[@sMiLeR_thewatcher]

Did ah chee is what i call it lol

[@Patristix]

Sounds fair enough really

[@GizmoFromPizmo]

That's bogus. The Gospel of Luke wasn't written by someone who witnessed the resurrection. The criteria that this video says they used to admit a book into the New Testament aren't, in fact, used.

[@Patristix]

The Orthodox understanding is that Luke is the friend of Cleopas walking to Emmaus in Luke 24. The tradition was not to name yourself in the text. In any case, these are general criteria applied over several centuries. The main thing was that the books had a consistent liturgical use in the Church. Thanks for your comment, but please keep it polite. "I disagree" is a bit better than "that's bogus".

[@GizmoFromPizmo]

@@Patristix - The fact that Luke doesn't start using the first person in his writing until Acts 16 testifies to a later arrival. Therefore, I disagree.

[@mrsnkg7904]

Great work guys! So glad Andrew & Matrona put me onto it. Will promote @ my parish. Kyrie Iesu Christe Eleison Me👍💖➕

[@jimtom7313]

Noice