APOSTOLIC
639
APOSTOLIC
Corinth during the second century and later (Eusc-
bius, Hist. Ecd., Ill, xvi; IV, xxiii); the letter of Hiir-
nabas was simihirly honoured at Alexandria; Ilornias
was popular throughout Christendom, but particu-
larly in tlie West. Clement of Alexandria (jvioted
the Didache as "Scripture". Some of the Apos-
tolic Fathers are found in the oldest manuscri|its of
the New Testament at the end of the canonical
writings: Clement was first made known thro\igh
the "Codex Alexandrinus"; similarly, Hennas and
Pseudo-Barnabas are appended to the canonical
books in the "Codex Sinaiticus ". Standing between
the New Testament era and the literary efilorescence
of the late second century, these writers represent
the original elements of Christian tradition. They
make no pretension to treat of Christian doctrine
and practice in a complete and scholarly manner
and cannot, therefore, be expected to answer all the
problems concerning Christian origins. Their si-
lence on any point does not imply their ignorance
of it, much less its denial; nor do their assertions
tell all that might be known. The dogmatic value
of their teaching is, however, of the highest order,
considering the high antiiiuity of the documents
and the competence of the authors to transmit the
purest Apostolic doctrine. This fact did not receive
its due appreciation even during the period of medi-
eval theological activity. The increa.sed enthusiasm
for positive theology which marked the .seventeenth
century centred attention on the Apostolic Fathers;
since then they have been the eagerly-(|uestioned
witnesses to the beliefs and practice of the Church
during the first half of the second centurj'. Their
teaching is based on the Scriptures, i. e. the Old
Testament, and on the words of Jesus Christ and
His .\postles. The authority of the latter was de-
cisive. Though the New Testament canon was not
yet, to judge from these writings, definitively fixed,
it is significant that with the exception of the Third
Epistle of St. John and possibly tliat of St. Paul to
Philemon, every book of the New Testament is quoted
or alluded to more or lass clearly by one or another
of the Apostolic Fathers, while the citations from
the "apocrypha" are extremely rare. Of equal
authority with the written word is that of oral tra-
dition (Eusebius, Hist. EccL, III, xxxix; I Clem., vii),
to which must be traced certain citations of the
"Sayings" of Our Lord and the Apostles not found
in the Scriptures.
Meagre as they necessarily are in their testimony, the .■Vpostolic Fathers bear witness to the faith of Christians in the chief mysteries of the Divine I'nity and Trinity. The Trinitarian formula occurs fre- quently, if the Divinity of the Holy Ghost is but once obscurely alluded to in Hermas. it must be remembered that the Church was as yet undisturbed by anti-Trinitarian heresies. The dominant error of the period was Docetism, and its refutation furnislies these writers with an occasion to deal at greater length with the Person of Jesus Christ. He is the Redeemer of whom men stood in need. Igna- tius unhesitatingly calls Him God (Trail., vii; Eph., i, and passim). The soteriology of the lOoislIc to the Hebrews forms the basis of their teaching. Jesus Christ is our high-priest (I Clem., xxxvi-lxiv) in whose suffering and death is our redemption (Ignat., Eph., i, Magnes., ix; Barnab., v; Diog., ix); whose blood is our ransom (I Clem., xii-xxi). The fruits of Redemption, while not scientifically treated, are in a general way the destruction of death or of .sin, the gift to man of immortal life, and the knowledge of God (Barnab., iv-v, vii.xiv; Did., xvi; I Clem., xxiv- xxv; Hernias, Simil., y, 6). Justification is received by faith and by works as well; and so clearly is tlie efficacy of good works insisted upon that it is. futile to represent the .\postolic Fathers as failing to com- prehend the pertinent teaching of St. Paul. The
points of view of both St. Paul and St. James are
cited and considered complementary (I Clem., xxxi,
xxxiii,xx.xv; Ignat. to Polyc, vi). Good works are
insisted on by Hermas (Vi.s., iii, 1 Simil., v, 3), and
Barnabas proclaims (c. xi.x) their nece.ssity for salva-
tion. The Church, the "Catholic" Church, as
Ignatius for the first time calls it (Smyrn., viii), takes
the place of the chosen people; is the mysti<-al body
of Christ, the faithful Ijeing the members thereof,
united by onene.ss of faith and hope, and by a charity
which prompts to mutual assistance. This unity
is secured by the hierarchical organization of the
ministry and the due submission of inferiors to au-
thority. On this point the teaching of the .Apos-
tolic Fathers seems to stand for a marked develop-
ment in advance of the practice of the .Apostolic
period. But it is to be noted that the familiar tone
in which episcopal authority is treated prechules
the possibility of its being a novelty. The Didache
may yd deal with "prophets". .Apostles", and
itinerant missionaries (x-xi, xiii-xiv), but this is
not a stage in development. It is anomalous, out-
side the current of development. Clement and Igna-
tius present the hierarchy, organized and complete,
with its orders of bisho[xs, priests, and deacons,
ministers of the Eucharistic liturgy and administra-
tors of temporalities. Clement's Epistle is the
philosophy of "Apostolicity" and its corollary,
episcopal succession. Ignatius gives in abundance
practical illustrations of what Clement sets forth in
principle. For Ignatius the bishop is the centre of
unity (Eph., iv), the authority whom all must obey
as they would God, in whose place the bishop rules
(Ignat. to Polyc, vi; Magnes., yi, xiii; Smyrn., viii, xi;
Trail., xii); for unity with and submi.ssion to the
bishop is the only security of fuith. Supreme in
the Cliurch is he who holds the scat of St. Peter at
Rome. The intervention of Clement in the alTairs
of Corinth and the language of Ignatius in speaking
of the Church of Rome in the exordium of his ICpistle
to the Romans mu.st be understood in the light of
Christ's charge to St. Peter. One rounds out the
other. The deepest reverence for the memory of
St. Peter is visible in the writings of Clement and
Ignatius. They couple his name with that of St.
Paul, and this effectually disproves the antagonism
between these two Apostles which the Tubingen
theory postulated in tracing the pretended dc\(lop-
nient of a united church from the discordant I'ctrine
and Pauline factions. .Among the sacraments alluded
to is Baptism, to which Ignatius refers (Polyc. ii;
Smyrn., viii), and of which Hennas speaks as the
necessary way of entrance to the Church and to
salvation (Vis., iii, 3, 5; Simil., ix, Iti), the way
from death to life (Simil., viii, 6), while the Didache
deals with it liturgically (vii). The Eucharist is men-
tioned in the Didache (xiv) and by Ignatius, who
uses the term to signify the "flesh of Our Saviour
Jesus Christ" (Smyrn., vii; Eph., xx; Philad., iv).
Penance is the theme of Hermas, and is urged as a
necessarj' and a possible recourse for him who sins
once after baptism (\'is., iii, 7; Simil., viii, 6, 8, 9, 11).
The Didache refers to a confession of sins (iv, xiv)
as does Barnabas (xixV .An exposition of the dog-
matic teaching of individual Fathers will be found
under their respective names. The Apostolic
Fathers, as a group, are found in no one manuscript.
The literary history of each will be found in con-
nexion with the individual studies. The first edition
was that of Cotelerius, above referred to (Paris,
1672). It contained Barnabas. Clement, Hennas,
Ignatius, and Polycarp. .A reprint (.Antwerp, U>9S-
17(X); Amsterdam, 1721), by Jean Leclerc (Clericus),
contained much additional matter. The latest
editions are those of the .Anglican Bishop, J. B.
I.ightfoot. "The .Aix)stolic Fathers" (,") vols.. Lon-
don, 1889-1890); abbreviated edition, Lightfoot-
