Didache and Early Church Teaching
The Didache is an early Christian teaching guide built around the way of life, love of neighbor, and obedience to God. Early writers like Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Tertullian, Clement of Alexandria, Origen, and Cyprian treat apostolic teaching as the rule for Christian living and church order. The book was valued as a teaching text, but most early witnesses speak more broadly about the apostles’ doctrine than about the Didache by name. The clearest theme is that true Christian teaching leads to holiness, unity, and faithful practice.
149 early-church witnesses · 253 source quotations · compared with Scripture
What did early Christians believe about the Didache and Early Church Teaching?
The earliest Christian writing here, the Didache, presents the faith as a practical way of life: love God, love neighbor, reject harm, and live by the way of life instead of the way of death. Later writers like Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Tertullian, Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Cyprian, and the Apostolic Constitutions regularly treat apostolic teaching as the rule for Christian life and church order.
The strongest pattern is broad agreement that Christians must hold to the apostles’ teaching, avoid strange doctrine, and train believers in holiness and obedience. Evidence is also strong that the Didache was valued as an early church teaching text, but direct statements about the book itself are fewer than the wider evidence about apostolic doctrine and discipline.
Some related passages are only background or loose matches, so the page should focus on direct early Christian teaching rather than later title-only or word-only references. Many more early Christian quotations, Bible passages, and source links are gathered below so you can study the evidence for yourself.
Key Takeaways
- The Didache teaches a simple contrast: the way of life and the way of death.
- Early Christian writers treated apostolic teaching as binding for faith and daily conduct.
- The Didache itself is directly named in a few places, while many other passages support its teaching style and themes.
Questions Answered by the Sources
What does the Didache teach about the two ways?
The Didache opens by teaching that there are two ways, one of life and one of death, and it lays out the way of life in practical moral terms. Its emphasis is on loving God and neighbor, refusing retaliation, and blessing enemies.
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Didache, Connection to Jeremiah 21:8 Supporting witness
There are two ways, one of life and one of death; but a great difference between the two ways. The way of life, then, is this: First, thou shalt love God who made thee; second, thy neighbour as thyself; and all things whatsoever thou wouldst should not occur to thee, thou also to another do not do.
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Didache, The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles Supporting witness
There are two ways, one of life and one of death;
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Didache, The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles Supporting witness
Do not also the Gentiles do the same?
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Didache, The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles Supporting witness
but a great difference between the two ways.
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Didache, Connection to Acts 15:1 Background
For certain men likewise went down from Judea to Antioch, and taught the brethren who were there, saying: "Unless ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, and walk according to the other customs which he ordained, ye cannot be saved."
Did early Christians treat the Didache as apostolic teaching?
The supplied sources show early Christian writers stressing that apostolic teaching should be received, preserved, and not replaced by new doctrine. The Didache itself claims to teach apart from God, while other writers insist on holding to what was delivered by the apostles.
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Origen, Against Celsus Direct teaching
At all events, while the apostles were still preaching, and while eye-witnesses of (the works of) Jesus were still teaching His doctrine, there was no small discussion among the converts from Judaism regarding Gentile believers, on the point whether they ought to observe Jewish customs, or should reject the burden of clean and unclean meats, as not being obligatory on those who had abandoned their ancestral Gentile customs, and had become believers in Jesus.
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Origen, Commentary on Matthew Supporting witness
and the teaching which is thought to be the teaching of the Church, if it becomes servile through the word of flattery, either when it is made the excuse for covetousness, or when any one seeks glory from men because of his teaching, is not reckoned to be the teaching of those who have been set by God in the Church: first, apostles;
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Cyprian, Seventh Council of Carthage Supporting witness
Euchratius of Thenae said: God and our Lord Jesus Christ, teaching the apostles with His own mouth, has entirely completed our faith, and the grace of baptism, and the rule of the ecclesiastical law, saying: Go and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
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Cyprian, Epistles Supporting witness
John 6:67-69 Peter speaks there, on whom the Church was to be built, teaching and showing in the name of the Church, that although a rebellious and arrogant multitude of those who will not hear and obey may depart, yet the Church does not depart from Christ;
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Archelaus, Disputation with Manes Direct teaching
...at you have received, let him be accursed." Therefore, besides what was once delivered to us by the apostles, a disciple of Christ ought to receive nothing new as doctrine. But so that what I have to say does not become too long, I return directly to the matter before us. This man taught that the law of Moses, to speak briefly, does not come from the good God, but from the prince of evil. He said that it has no kinship with the new law of Christ, but is opposite and hostile to it, the one being the direct enemy of the other. When I heard such an opinion being taught, I repeated to the people that saying from the Gospel in which our Lord Jesus Christ said about Himself, "I have not come to destroy the law, but to fulfill it." But the man insisted that He did not say this at all. He argued that when we see that Christ actually set aside that same law, we must pay attention above all else to what He actually did. Then he began to quote many passages from the law, and also many from the Gospel and from the Apostle Paul, which seem to contradict one another. He said all this with complete confidence, and without any hesitation or fear. So I truly believe that he has that serpent as h
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Tertullian, On Prescription Against Heretics Supporting witness
...hemselves in the middle of the apostolic age, so that they may seem to have been handed down by the apostles because they existed in the time of the apostles, we can say this: Let them bring out the original records of their churches. Let them unfold the list of their bishops, coming down in proper succession from the beginning, in such a way that their first bishop can show that his ordainer and 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 a
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Tertullian, On Prescription Against Heretics Supporting witness
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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Tertullian, On Prescription Against Heretics Supporting witness
Marcion, indeed, [went] with the two hundred sesterces which he had brought into the church, and, when banished at last to a permanent excommunication, they scattered abroad the poisons of their doctrines.
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Origen, De Principiis (On First Principles) Background
4. The particular points clearly delivered in the teaching of the apostles are as follow:—
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Cyprian, Epistles Supporting witness
Now the apostles taught us those things which they themselves also learnt from the Lord's precepts and the heavenly commands, the Lord Himself thus strengthening us, and saying, There is no man that has left house, or land, or parents, or brethren, or sisters, or wife, or children, for the kingdom of God's sake, who shall not receive sevenfold more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting.
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2 John 1:9 Supporting witness
Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.
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1 Timothy 6:3 Supporting witness
If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness,
More related quotations from this section 5 shown
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2 Thessalonians 2:15 Supporting witness
Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle.
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2 Thessalonians 3:6 Supporting witness
Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us.
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Hebrews 13:9 Supporting witness
Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines. For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace; not with meats, which have not profited them that have been occupied therein.
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Titus 2:1 Supporting witness
But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine.
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1 Timothy 1:3 Supporting witness
As I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus, when I went into Macedonia, that thou mightest charge some that they teach no other doctrine,
What kind of Christian life does the Didache point to?
The supplied sources connect the Didache's teaching with sober, obedient Christian living: resisting worldly desires, living righteously, and following the teaching of Christ. Bible passages and early Christian witnesses both support the emphasis on a lived, disciplined way of life.
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Didache, The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles Direct teaching
There are two ways: one of life and one of death. There is a great difference between these two ways. The way of life is this. First, you shall love God who made you. Second, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. And whatever you would not want to happen to you, do not do to another. And the teaching of these words is this: Bless those who curse you, and pray for your enemies, and fast for those who persecute you. For what reward is there if you love those who love you? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? But love those who hate you, and you will not have an enemy. Keep away from fleshly and worldly desires. If someone strikes your right cheek, turn the other cheek to him also, and you will be perfect. If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two. If someone takes away your cloak, give him your coat also. If someone takes what is yours, do not ask for it back, for you are not able to do so. Give to everyone who asks you, and do not ask for it back. For the Father wills that everyone should be given something from our own free gifts. Happy is the one who gives according to the commandment, for he is guiltless. Woe to the one who receives. If a person receives because
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Didache, The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles Direct teaching
See that no one cause you to err from this way of the Teaching, since apart from God it teaches you.
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Didache, The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles Supporting witness
The Lord's Teaching Through the Twelve Apostles to the Nations.
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Didache, The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles Supporting witness
The Didache
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Clement of Rome, Second Epistle (attributed) Supporting witness
So then, brothers, if we do the will of God our Father, we will be members of the first church, the spiritual church, the one that was created before the sun and moon. But if we do not do the will of the Lord, we will fall under the Scripture that says, "My house became a den of robbers," Jeremiah 7:11. So then, let us choose to belong to the church of life, so that we may be saved. I do not think you are unaware that the living church is the body of Christ. For the Scripture says, "God created man male and female," Genesis 1:27; compare Ephesians 5:22-23. The male is Christ, and the female is the church. And the Books and the Apostles teach that the church is not from the present time, but from the beginning. For it was spiritual, just as our Jesus also was, and it was made manifest at the end of the days in order to save you, 1 Peter 1:20. Since the church was spiritual, it was made manifest in the flesh of Christ. This shows us that if any one of us keeps it in the flesh and does not corrupt it, he will receive it in the Holy Spirit. For this flesh is the pattern of the spirit. Therefore, no one who has corrupted the pattern will afterward receive the reality. Therefore, this is
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Asterius Urbanus, The Extant Writings of Asterius Urbanus Supporting witness
... strange things, and to prophesy in a way contrary to the custom of the Church, as handed down from early times and preserved from there forward in continuous succession. Among those who were present at that time and heard those false utterances, some were indignant and rebuked him as one in a frenzy, under the power of demons, possessed by a spirit of delusion, stirring up the multitude, and they kept him from speaking any more. For they were mindful of the Lord's distinction and warning, by which He warned them to be watchful and on guard against the coming of false prophets. But there were others who, as if lifted up by the Holy Spirit and the prophetic gift, and being not a little puffed up, completely forgot the Lord's distinction. They encouraged that maddening, deceitful, and seductive spirit, while they themselves were tricked and led astray by him, so that no one could silence him any longer. And so, by a kind of device, or rather by such a process of craft, the devil devised destruction against those who disobeyed the Lord's warning. Being unworthily honored by them, he secretly stirred up and inflamed the minds of those who had already departed from the faith accordin
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Archelaus, Disputation with Manes Supporting witness
...ful and satisfying demonstration he gave. He showed that there is a mutual relationship between the two Testaments, and also between the two laws. Discovering more arguments for himself, he was able to bring forward many points of great pertinency and power against the man, and in defense of the truth. He also argued in a conclusive way against his opponent on verbal grounds. For example, he argued with him in this way: “Did you say that the Testaments are two? Then say either that there are two old Testaments, or that there are two new Testaments. For you assert that there are two unbegottens belonging to the same time, or rather to eternity. And if there are two in this way, there should be either two old Testaments or two new Testaments. If, however, you do not allow this, but instead affirm that there is one Old Testament and also another New Testament, that will only prove again that there is one author of both. And the very sequence will show that the Old Testament belongs to Him to whom the New Testament also belongs. “We may show this by the case of a man who says to another person, ‘Lease me your old house.’ By speaking this way, does he not also say that the man is the
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Cyprian, Treatises Supporting witness
12. And let no one deceive himself by a useless interpretation because the Lord said, "Wherever two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in the midst of them" (Matthew 18:20). Those who corrupt the Gospel and falsely interpret it quote the last words and leave out the first. They remember one part and cleverly hide the other part. Just as they themselves are separated from the Church, so they cut off the substance of one section. For when the Lord wanted to urge unity and peace on His disciples, He said, "I say to you, that if two of you shall agree on earth concerning anything that you ask, it shall be given to you by my Father who is in heaven. For wherever two or three are gathered together in my name, I am with them." By this He showed that the greater thing is given, not to a crowd, but to the unity of those who pray. When He says, "If two of you shall agree on earth," He put agreement first. He made the harmony of peace a requirement beforehand. He taught that we should agree firmly and faithfully. But how can a man agree with anyone if he does not agree with the body of the Church itself and with the whole brotherhood? How can two or three be gathered togeth
More related quotations from this section 3 shown
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Acts 2:46 Background
And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,
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Acts 5:42 Background
And daily in the temple, and in every house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.
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1 Timothy 4:13 Background
Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching.
Common Questions
What did the early church teach in the Didache?
The Didache teaches the way of life: love God, love your neighbor, do not harm others, and live in a holy way.
Did early Christians treat apostolic teaching as important?
Yes. Writers like Irenaeus, Origen, and Cyprian say Christians should hold to the apostles’ teaching and avoid strange doctrine.
Is the Didache named in early Christian writings?
Yes, but only a few supplied cards directly name it. Most of the support comes from early writers on apostolic doctrine and church practice.
Source Index for the Didache and Early Church Teaching
The guided sections above show the strongest quotations. This compact index highlights 160 ranked source links from 253 compiled sources for deeper study.
Source index 160 ranked links shown
Early Christian Writings 80 shown of 149
Primary-source quotations from early Christian writers and church documents.
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Didache, Connection to Jeremiah 21:8
Bible Passages 80 shown of 104
Related Bible passages saved for comparison with the early Christian quotations.
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Book 79 1:3