Early Christian Beliefs About the Apostolic Faith
The early Christian faith was understood as one apostolic teaching handed down from the apostles and kept by the churches. Writers like Irenaeus, Tertullian, Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Cyprian, and Ignatius tied true faith to apostolic tradition and sound doctrine. Bible passages like Jude 1:3, Ephesians 4:5, and Acts 2:42 fit this same pattern. The main evidence is broad and strong, though some cards are only supporting or indirect.
137 early-church witnesses · 226 source quotations · compared with Scripture
What did early Christians believe about the Apostolic Faith?
Early Christian writings teach that the apostolic faith was one public teaching passed down from the apostles, guarded in the churches, and kept by the rule of faith. Irenaeus, Tertullian, Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Cyprian, and Ignatius all link true faith to apostolic tradition, sound doctrine, and churches that stay faithful to what was first handed down.
The evidence is broad across the 2nd and 3rd centuries, and it also agrees with Bible passages like Jude 1:3, Ephesians 4:5, and Acts 2:42. Some cards are only indirect, but the main witness is strong: the apostolic faith was not treated as a private idea, but as one shared teaching the churches received and held fast. Many more early Christian quotations, Bible passages, and source links are gathered below so you can study the evidence for yourself.
Key Takeaways
- Early Christians saw the apostolic faith as one shared teaching handed down from the apostles.
- Irenaeus and Tertullian tied true faith to the apostolic churches and their rule of faith.
- Ignatius, Clement, Origen, and Cyprian all urge believers to hold fast to apostolic doctrine.
- Jude 1:3 and Ephesians 4:5 match the early church’s view of one faith once delivered.
Questions Answered by the Sources
Did early Christians say the apostolic faith was handed down from the apostles?
These sources describe the faith as received from the apostles and preserved in the churches. The emphasis is on continuity: what the churches taught was what the apostles had delivered.
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Irenaeus, Against Heresies: Book III Direct teaching
...s necessary for every Church to agree with this Church because of its pre-eminent authority, as the apostolical tradition has been consistently preserved by faithful men everywhere.
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Tertullian, On Prescription Against Heretics Direct teaching
If, then, these things are so, it is in the same degree manifest that all doctrine which agrees with the apostolic churches— those moulds and original sources of the faith must be reckoned for truth, as undoubtedly containing that which the (said) churches received from the apostles, the apostles from Christ, Christ from God.
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Origen, De Principiis (On First Principles) Direct teaching
so, seeing there are many who think they hold the opinions of Christ, and yet some of these think differently from their predecessors, yet as the teaching of the Church, transmitted in orderly succession from the apostles, and remaining in the Churches to the present day, is still preserved, that alone is to be accepted as truth which differs in no respect from ecclesiastical and apostolic tradition.
More related quotations from this section 12 shown
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Origen, De Principiis (On First Principles) Direct teaching
3. Now it ought to be known that the holy apostles, in preaching the faith of Christ, delivered themselves with the utmost clearness on certain points which they believed to be necessary to every one, even to those who seemed somewhat dull in the investigation of divine knowledge;
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Tertullian, On Prescription Against Heretics Direct teaching
...d predecessor was one of the apostles or one of the apostolic men, and moreover, a man who remained faithful with the apostles. For this is how the apostolic churches pass down their records. The church of Smyrna records that Polycarp was placed there by John. In the same way, the church of Rome says that Clement was ordained by Peter. In exactly the same way, the other churches also present their own notable men. Since these men were appointed to their places as bishops by apostles, the churches regard them as those who pass on the apostolic seed. Let the heretics invent something similar. After their blasphemy, what is unlawful for them to attempt? But even if they manage to invent such a thing, they will gain nothing by it. For when their doctrine is compared with the doctrine of the apostles, its very difference and opposition will show by itself that its author was neither an apostle nor an apostolic man. As the apostles would never have taught things that contradicted each other, so apostolic men would not have taught something different from the apostles, unless those who received instruction from the apostles went out and preached the opposite. Therefore, they will be te
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Irenaeus, Against Heresies: Book I Supporting witness
1. The Church, though dispersed through our the whole world, even to the ends of the earth, has received from the apostles and their disciples this faith: [She believes] in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are in them;
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Irenaeus, Against Heresies: Book III Supporting witness
For it is a matter of necessity that every Church should agree with this Church, on account of its pre-eminent authority, that is, the faithful everywhere, inasmuch as the apostolical tradition has been preserved continuously by those [faithful men] who exist everywhere.
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Irenaeus, Against Heresies: Book III Supporting witness
...n Rome sent a powerful letter to the Corinthians. This letter exhorted them to peace, renewed their faith, and declared the tradition recently received from the apostles, proclaiming the one omnipotent God, the Maker of heaven and earth, the Creator of man, who caused the deluge, called Abraham, led the people out of Egypt, spoke to Moses, established the law, sent the prophets, and prepared fire for the devil and his angels. From this document, anyone who wishes may learn that He, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, was preached by the Churches and may also understand the apostolic tradition of the Church. This Epistle predates those who now spread falsehoods and invent another god beyond the Creator and Maker of all things. Clement was succeeded by Evaristus, followed by Alexander; then, sixth from the apostles, Sixtus was appointed; after him, Telesphorus, who was gloriously martyred; followed by Hyginus, then Pius, and then Anicetus. Soter succeeded Anicetus, and now, in the twelfth place from the apostles, Eleutherius holds the office of the episcopate. Through this order and succession, the ecclesiastical tradition from the apostles and the preaching of the truth have com
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Irenaeus, Fragments from the Lost Writings of Irenæus Supporting witness
...wship of His sufferings." This reflects the connection of the apostolic teaching and the most holy "faith delivered unto us," which the unlearned accept, and those with little knowledge have taught, not "paying attention to endless genealogies," but striving to live a straightforward life; lest, having been deprived of the Divine Spirit, they fail to reach the kingdom of heaven. For truly the first thing is to deny oneself and follow Christ; and those who do this are led to perfection, having fulfilled all their Teacher’s will, becoming children of God through spiritual rebirth, and heirs of the kingdom of heaven; those who seek this first will not be abandoned.
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Cyprian, Epistles Supporting witness
but this is read of among us as the ancient severity, the ancient faith, the ancient discipline, since the apostle would not have published such praise concerning us, when he said that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world Romans 1:8 unless already from thence that vigour had borrowed the roots of faith from those times;
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Irenaeus, Against Heresies: Book III Supporting witness
[we do this, I say,] by indicating that tradition derived from the apostles, of the very great, the very ancient, and universally known Church founded and organized at Rome by the two most glorious apostles, Peter and Paul;
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Jude 1:3 Supporting witness
Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.
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Colossians 1:23 Supporting witness
if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.
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Acts 14:27 Supporting witness
Now when they had come and gathered the church together, they reported all that God had done with them, and that He had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.
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Romans 1:5 Supporting witness
Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name,
Did early Christians have a rule of faith or fixed standard of doctrine?
Several writers say the faith was not a private invention but a stable rule, form, or deposit to be held fast. These sources use language of rule, sound words, and steadfastness to describe apostolic Christianity.
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Ignatius of Antioch, Connection to Ephesians 4:5 Direct teaching
and one Comforter, the Spirit of truth; and also one preaching, and one faith, and one baptism; and one Church which the holy apostles established from one end of the earth to the other by the blood of Christ, and by their own sweat and toil;
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Tertullian, On the Veiling of Virgins Direct teaching
The rule of faith, indeed, is altogether one, alone immoveable and irreformable;
More related quotations from this section 7 shown
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Novatian, Treatise Concerning the Trinity Supporting witness
For if of two principles one gives way in the faith, and the other, and that indeed which is of least importance, be taken up for belief, the rule of truth is thrown into confusion;
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Novatian, Treatise Concerning the Trinity Supporting witness
Novatian, with the View of Treating of the Trinity, Sets Forth from the Rule of Faith that We Should First of All Believe in God the Father and Lord Omnipotent, the Absolute Founder of All Things.
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Gregory Thaumaturgus, On the Trinity Supporting witness
This is the perfect, holy, Apostolic faith of the holy God.
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Gregory Thaumaturgus, A Sectional Confession of Faith Supporting witness
and it is right that our conceptions should follow the inspired and apostolic doctrines, and not that our impotent fancies should coerce the articles of our divine faith.
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Gregory Thaumaturgus, A Sectional Confession of Faith Supporting witness
albeit all through the inspired Scriptures numberless announcements are supplied us, all confirmatory of the apostolic and ecclesiastical faith.
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Alexander of Alexandria, Epistles on the Arian Heresy Supporting witness
12. We believe these things concerning Him, just as the Apostolic Church believes. We believe in one unbegotten Father, who has from no one the cause of His being. He is unchangeable and immutable. He is always the same and admits no increase or decrease. He gave to us the Law, the prophets, and the Gospels. He is Lord of the patriarchs and apostles, and of all the saints. And we believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God. He was not begotten from things that are not, but from Him who is the Father. He was not begotten in a bodily manner, by excision or division, as Sabellius and Valentinus thought, but in a certain inexplicable and unspeakable manner, according to the words of the prophet quoted above: "Who shall declare His generation?" Isaiah 53:8. Since no nature that is begotten can investigate His subsistence, just as no one can investigate the Father, because the nature of rational beings cannot receive the knowledge of His divine generation by the Father. But men who are moved by the Spirit of truth have no need to learn these things from me. For the words spoken before by Christ on this very matter are sounding in our ears: "No man knows the Father, sav
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Alexander of Alexandria, Epistles on the Arian Heresy Supporting witness
12. Concerning whom we thus believe, even as the Apostolic Church believes.
How did early Christians connect the apostolic faith to Scripture?
The sources do not separate apostolic faith from Scripture; they repeatedly present Scripture as confirming or harmonizing with apostolic teaching. Some texts say the apostles preached the gospel plainly, while others say the Scriptures testify to Christ and to the truth already delivered.
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Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor (Paedagogus) Direct teaching
...esult. But both have reference to the same thing, and one and the same person is concerned in both. Faith, so to speak, is the attempt produced in time. The final result is the attainment of the promise, secured for eternity. Now the Lord Himself has most clearly revealed the equality of salvation when He said, "For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son, and believes in Him, should have everlasting life; and I will raise him up in the last day." John 6:40 As far as possible in this world, which is what he means by the last day, and which is preserved until the time when it will end, we believe that we are made perfect. Therefore He says, "He that believes in the Son has everlasting life." John 3:36 If, then, those who have believed have life, what remains beyond the possession of eternal life? Nothing is lacking in faith, since it is perfect and complete in itself. If anything is lacking in it, it is not wholly perfect. But faith is not lame in any respect. Nor after our departure from this world does it make us who have believed, and who have received without distinction the earnest of future good, wait. But having in anticipation grasped by faith what i
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Origen, Commentary on Matthew Direct teaching
...whether between the Old Scriptures and the New, or the Law and the Prophets, or the Gospels and the Apostolic Scriptures, or the Apostolic Scriptures with each other. For also, according to the Preacher, all the Scriptures are words of the wise, like goads and like nails firmly fixed, which were given by agreement from one shepherd, Ecclesiastes 12:11, and there is nothing unnecessary in them. But the Word is the one Shepherd of rational beings. To those who do not have ears to hear, these things may seem to disagree, but they are really in perfect harmony. For just as the different strings of the psalter or the lyre each give its own sound, and one sound seems different from another, a man who is not musical and does not understand the principle of harmony thinks they are out of harmony because the sounds are different. In the same way, those who are not trained to hear the harmony of God in the sacred Scriptures think that the Old is not in harmony with the New, or the Prophets with the Law, or the Gospels with one another, or the Apostle with the Gospel, or with himself, or with the other Apostles. But the man who comes instructed in the music of God, being wise in word and d
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Justin Martyr, Connection to Acts 17:11 Supporting witness
nor would we have tolerated your conversation, had you not referred everything to the Scriptures: for you are very zealous in adducing proofs from them;
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Acts 17:11 Direct teaching
These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.
More related quotations from this section 1 shown
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Origen, Commentary on John Supporting witness
...of the Preacher. The proof of this must be drawn from Holy Scripture. It will be established most clearly if I can show that it is not only one book, taking the word in its more common meaning, that we find written about Christ. Christ is written about even in the Pentateuch. He is spoken of in each of the Prophets, and in the Psalms, and, in a word, as the Savior Himself says, in all the Scriptures. He refers us to them all when He says in John 5:39, “Search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life, and these are they which testify of Me.” And if He refers us to the Scriptures as testifying of Him, He does not send us to one and exclude another, but to all that speak of Him, those which in the Psalms He calls the chapter of the book, saying, “In the chapter of the book it is written of Me.” If anyone proposes to take these words, “In the chapter of the book it is written of Me,” literally, and to apply them to this or that special passage where Christ is spoken of, let him tell us on what principle he prefers one book over another. If anyone thinks that we ourselves are doing this, and applying those words to the book of Psalms, we deny that we are doing so.
Common Questions
What did early Christians mean by the apostolic faith?
They meant the teaching received from the apostles and kept in the churches as the rule of faith.
Did early Christians think the faith could change?
No. They treated the apostolic faith as something handed down and guarded, not remade.
Which Bible passages fit this topic best?
Jude 1:3, Ephesians 4:5, Acts 2:42, and 2 Timothy 1:13 fit it well.
Source Index for the Apostolic Faith
The guided sections above show the strongest quotations. This compact index highlights 160 ranked source links from 226 compiled sources for deeper study.
Source index 160 ranked links shown
Early Christian Writings 80 shown of 137
Primary-source quotations from early Christian writers and church documents.
Bible Passages 80 shown of 89
Related Bible passages saved for comparison with the early Christian quotations.