The Didache Paperback – July 11, 2014

This is a writing of the early church that every Christian should read. It is such an important part of the early church that it was actually considered to be a part of the sacred Canon which we call the Bible. In a nutshell, The Didache was a guide for Christian living in the first century of the church. Remember, there was no catalog of the writings of Matthew, Mark, Luke or John. Or for that matter, of Paul, Peter or James either. That wasn't done for centuries. You want to know the requirements for living in the early church?.......Read this book. Simple to read and understand. Highly recommended.

Perhaps I can add a few points that will help to complement what the other reviewers have said.As Fr. Erlandsen points out, the Didache is presently considered to be a document emanating from the end of the first century. This would make it one of the earliest examples of Christian thinking. Literary analyses have also suggested a similarity in wording and style to the Gospel of St. Matthew. This might imply that the same person authored both documents although it presently seems most likely that the same small community of Judeo-Christians were responsible for both.The Didache was not considered by early Church fathers to be sufficiently canonical to be included in the New Testament. Rather, it falls into a second tier of documents that are considered significant even if not completely canonical. In style, the Didache would not have fit well into the New Testament, which tends to be gospels, histories (e.g., Acts), and epistles (except, of course, for The Book of Revelation). In contrast, the Didache is a bit more like an early catechism in its content.This particular edition by the Charles Rivers Editors reproduces the Charles Hoole translation from 1894. The style of English used by Hoole is reminiscent of the King James Bible. It includes a preface from Charles River and introductory material from Hoole. The editors have taken care to format the document properly and to correct any typos that might have resulted from scanning. As a result, this edition is much more attractive than the usual public domain document.The editors have further enhanced the book's attractiveness by adding in a number of full-color illustrations. These are present-day illustrations rather than anything original to the text. Nevertheless, these give this edition a much more satisfying feel than one is likely to get from the usual slam-bam public domain rendering. All in all, this is a very nice early Church document for only 99 cents.I hope this helps.

I wish more Christians would read and follow this as much as we can follow.This is one of my favorites. Very short but powerful.The translation is done well although where it says not to be a corrupter of children it is implied in a sexual nature originally. Something that is very very wrong in our society today.May God bless all who read this.

It emphasizes the gospel with refreshing words and provides insight to biblically sound traditions that makes a healthy church and a healthy individual in ones spiritual walk.It shows the understanding of the apostles in the interpretation of scripture and is very helpful. One can use this as a yardstick to evaluate the church today which seems to be driven far into sensationalism and temporarities

Reading the Didache takes you back to the time just after the apostolic times. This works gives a glimpse into the aspiration to holiness and also the practices of the early church - not in detail of course since this is a short document. While the Didache is not canonical it is quite interesting to travel back to the early church.There is an introduction which enabled me to put this work in context with some other documents of that era.

This is one of the basic early Christian texts. The English translation is old and traditional but quite readable. I would have liked to see the original (Latin I believe) alongside. But in any case it boils down the Gospels and gives us a glimpse into the life of the early Christian community.

How can you give the Apostles fewer than as many stars as possible. They are the spokesmen for the Living God.

I am a seminary student and knew exactly what I wanted to buy. This was a well formatted edition of the Didache. If you are looking for a simple version of the text without all the cumbersome notes than this is the edition for you.

This is a cheap paperback edition designed to appeal to cheapskates like me. It is a reproduction of an edition from nearly 100 years ago. However, it is not a facsimile but a retyped copy, in English and Greek. There are copying errors, with words omitted and wrongly spelt in the English, and the occasional error in the Greek, with upsilon and nu confused in at least one place. The texts are not parallel on opposing pages, as I hoped, but separate. Typeface is large and line spacing is high, so as to pad it out and give it enough pages to look worthwhile. I would not bother with this. Get a proper critical edition, in a second-hand bookshop if need be.

There is an active table of contents here, but for some unknown reason the publisher has gone for grey text in the main body of this, rather than black type. There is a foreword here as well as an introduction before the main text. I should point out that to those unaware of this work, it is very short. Like  The Shepherd of Hermas  it is unclear when this was originally written, and as it says in the introduction this could be one person taking pieces from other works to create what are Church Orders. This could be indeed one of the earliest known catechisms. Coming under the writings of the Apostolic Fathers this is non-Canonical and thus not an accepted piece for the Bible, but for those interested in the Early Christian Church this is an interesting and quick read.It is always interesting to see how perceptions and teachings alter over the years, so if you are into the history of the Church, then this is probably something of a must have. The Shepherd of Hermas

This is an amazing text, a guide to your Christian life straight from the Apostles themselves. Obviously heavily scripturally based this is well worth a read as it will challenge you in places and no doubt engage your curiosity in others.

Wondering how the faith developed from the time of the Apostles? This is your answer. This is a small, easy read, and will answer a lot of your questions concerning how and when certain Christian practices came about, such as fasting and the Eucharist. Highly recommend reading this little jewel.

I read this book twice and the second time I was transported back in time to the early days of the 12 apostles and their successors. It was the 10 Commandments in great detail. .I recommend this book for all as it lets us know the beginning of an early Catechism. Denis Ireland.

Wowee! I'd heard of this but actually reading it is a true eye-opener into 1st Century Christianity. Its not the bible, but it comes jolly close.

A reasonably useful book but of lot of the pages are taken up with things not actually to do with Didache. {Peter Baden

After reading this short and sweet book,I finally realised why it, although sound teaching, was not chosen to be in the Canon on the New Testament.

Studying theology this book was recommended. This window into our early Christian past which was left out of our canon (bible) is a fascinating read and to think, it was left out only just as much as revelation was included!

A really interesting take on common teachings in the early church. It is basically a summary of key teachings.

Love it!

Love this.

Never delivered

As an historical text, this book is unvaliable and it show that Christian spirit have been the same across the centuries. Very good.

Good to know what the early church Fathers taught