Apostolic Fathers

Background

The term "church father" refers to the leaders and writers who shaped the doctrine and life of the church during its first several centuries. Among them, the Apostolic Fathers are those believed either to have known the apostles personally or to have belonged to the generation immediately following them. The name is not ancient. It is generally thought to have become established through a collection of texts published in 1672 by the seventeenth-century French scholar Jean-Baptiste Cotelier. As a result, scholars differ somewhat over which writings should be included.

Development

The writings commonly grouped under the Apostolic Fathers include the following. Most dates are estimates.

• First Epistle of Clement: A letter from the church in Rome to the church in Corinth, which was then divided by conflict. It is usually dated to the late first century, commonly around AD 96, and is traditionally attributed to Clement of Rome.
• Letters of Ignatius: Letters written to several churches by Ignatius, bishop of Antioch, in the early second century while he was being taken to Rome to be martyred. Seven letters are accepted as authentic.
• Letter and Martyrdom of Polycarp: A letter from Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna, to the church at Philippi, and an account of his martyrdom in the mid-second century. Irenaeus reports that Polycarp was a disciple of the apostle John.
• Didache: A church manual known as "The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles." A manuscript was discovered in Constantinople in 1873 and published in 1883.
• Other writings include the Epistle of Barnabas, the Shepherd of Hermas, the fragments of Papias, the Epistle to Diognetus, and the Second Epistle of Clement (a sermon).

Results and Influence

These writings are rare sources for the life of the church in the period between the New Testament and the second-century apologists.

The Didache prescribes baptism by immersion in running water as the norm, but where water is scarce it permits pouring water on the head three times. It also mentions gathering on the Lord's Day, the Eucharist, praying the Lord's Prayer three times a day, and fasting on Wednesdays and Fridays. Both sides cite this passage in present-day debates over the mode of baptism.

Ignatius emphasized the threefold ministry of bishop, presbyter, and deacon, as well as unity centered on the bishop. He refuted Docetism, the view that Jesus only appeared to have a human body, and he is known as the first person to use the expression "catholic church."

Some of these writings, such as the Epistle of Barnabas and the Shepherd of Hermas, were read in the worship of the early church. Ultimately, however, they were not included in the canon, and the fourth-century church historian Eusebius also classified them as books outside the canon.

Assessment

The Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church honor these writings as witnesses to the Holy Tradition that carries on apostolic teaching. They place particular weight on Clement's letter because it speaks of a succession passing from the apostles to the bishops. Churches with an episcopal polity, such as the Anglican Church of Korea, regard the letters of Ignatius as early evidence of the episcopate.

Within Presbyterianism, many interpreters read these texts differently. They note that in Titus 1:5–9 and in Clement's letter, "bishop" and "elder" appear to designate the same office, and they hold that the threefold structure of ministry developed gradually over time.

Some Protestant scholars judge that the writings of the Apostolic Fathers tend to give priority to moral effort and rules over Paul's emphasis on grace and justification.

In Korean Protestantism, these writings are studied mainly in seminary church history courses and, regardless of denomination, are read as basic sources for the study of the early church.