Essay --

The Apostolic Fathers are a group of Early Christian Authors who wrote between the end of the New Testament times and c. 150. J.B. Cotelier created the term â€Å"Apostolic Fathers† in 1672 as he designated five writers as ‘Patres aevi apostolici’, which translates to ‘Fathers of the apostolic age’. These authors didn’t come together on their own to create a group themselves, but were put together because of their writings by scholars. As a group, their writings teach us about early Christian struggles in the early second century when Christianity was still growing. These writings include The Didache, 1 Clement & 2 Clement, The Apology of Quadratus and The Epistle to Diognetus, The Shephard of Hermas, The Epistle of Barnabas, The Epistles of Ignatius of Antioch, the Epistle to the Philippians, and The Martyrdom of Polycarp. The Didache’s date and place of origin are uncertain. Researchers have narrowed it down to areas in western Syria, especially Antioch. They estimated the date to be around the first to second century. The Didache can be divided into four different parts. The first part is the Two Ways: The Way of Life and The Way of Death. The second part is describing rituals of baptisms, Christian prayers, and the Eucharist. The third part is rules on receiving wandering apostles and prophets. The fourth and final part is about electing officials such as bishops and deacons. The next is the 1 Clement and 2 Clement. 1 Clement was a letter from the Church of Rome to the Church of Corinth. Iranaeus dates 1 Clement to have been written around 95-97 AD. Although he doesn’t claim that Clement is the author, some historians name him as the author. 1 Clement was sent because the Church of Corinth had replaced its elders in office with... ... the story of his death in twenty-two chapters as a letter from the church in Smyrna to the congregation of Philomelium. â€Å"The execution of Polycarp is particularly significant in early Christian literature because of the framework that it provided for later depictions of the deaths of faithful followers of Christ† (Jefford 2005, 19). The person who witnessed Polycarp’s martyrdom was Everestus. This letter suggests that Polycarp and Jesus lead similar lives. They both prayed for the safety of their followers, hosted a final meal, and betrayed by someone close to them. The Apostolic Fathers were a group of authors that wrote about what was happening with Christianity at the time of their lives. Some authors are known, and some are still unknown to this day. All of these texts help us to learn about what early Christians went through in different parts of the world.