1

Spring 2007 LITST 730 May 16, 2007

Early Christian Liturgies
Instructor: Jill Burnett Comings
Student Name: Nam Joong Kim

A STUDY OF THE DIDACHE

THE DIDACHE AND THE ROLE OF THE EUCHARIST1

The aim of this final paper is to examine the Didache (i.e. the Teaching), an early

Christian manual on morals and Church practice and its features.2 Especially, through my

individual standpoint, I will deal with the role and peculiarity of the Eucharist (Did. 9-10; 14)

in the Didache. By so doing, I will ascertain that although the Didache was a non-canonical

book, it has been a reliable guide to help understand the conduct code of the early Christian

community.

There are many reports that the Didache was found or translated in various

regions and languages.3 But, in this final paper, I will focus on the only complete manuscript

found in 1873. I will do my best to express and understand its contents with my own

language while reading the Didache.

1
This research is the starting point of my liturgical study because through the Early Christian
Liturgies class (Prof. Comings, Jill), I heard and read information on the Didache for the first time.
2
“The Didache had a great influence on early Church and is still highly regarded due to its
information concerning the Liturgy of the early Church. It gives rules for the celebration of the Eucharist and
Baptism, presents two Eucharistic Prayers, and depicts the organization of the Church.” Jovian P. Lang,
Dictionary of the Liturgy (New York: Catholic Book Pub, 1989), 162.
3
Kurt. Niederwimmer, The Didache: A Commentary, trans. Linda M. Maloney; ed., Harold W.
Attridge (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1998), 19-53.
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1. Who Found The Didache and When Was It Found?

In 1873, Philotheos Bryennios,4who later became Patriarch of Nicomedia (1877),

found a small 11th century Greek manuscript of 120 leaves of vellum dated 1056 in

Metropolitan of Serrae in Macedonia (1875, now Serres).5

It contained copies of the Epistle of Barnabas (39a-51b), the First and Second

Epistles of Clement of Rome (51b-76a), twelve letters of Ignatius (82a-120a), and a

document purporting to set out the Teaching of The Twelve Apostles (76a-80b), which has

become generally known as the Didache, from the first word of its Greek title.6 The subtitle

of the Didache begins with “the Teaching of the Lord, through the Twelve Apostles, to the

Nations/Gentiles.”7

2. Where Did He Find The Manuscript? How Did He Deal With It?

Philotheos Bryennios found the manuscript in the library of the Patriarch of

Jerusalem in the Constantinople monastery. He was working there when he found it. In 1883,

ten years after the discovery of the only complete manuscript, he published it with the

Prolegomena, namely an introduction, and notes written in modern Greek.8

4
He was born in Constantinople in 1883, studied theology in East and West, and became a teacher
in the theological schools of the Byzantine Church. see. Kurt. Niederwimmer, 19.
5
Concerning the real value of the text of the codex in comparison with other versions, see
Boudewijn Dehandschutter, The Text of the Didache: Some Comments of the Edition of Klaus Wengst
(Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, 1984) and Clayton N. Jefford, The Didache in Context:
Essays on Its Text, History, and Transmission (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1995), 37-46.
6
Henry Bettenson, The early Christian fathers: A Selection from the Writings of the Fathers from
St. Clement of Rome to St. Athanasius (London: Oxford University Press, 1963), 7. Roswell D. Hitchcock and
Francis Brown, Teaching of the Twelve Apostles Recently Discovered and Published by Philotheos Bryennios,
Metropolitan of Nicomedia (New York: Scribner, 1884), 3-6. Paul Bradshaw, The Search for the Origins of
Christian Worship (New York: Oxford University Press, 1992), 75. Wayne A. Meeks, The Moral World of the
First Christians (Philadelphia: The Westminster, 1986), 148.
7
In my viewpoint, as the subtitle of the Didache indicates, the instruction/object of the Didache
seems to aim at the Gentiles: ‘the Gentiles’ are (1) generally the people to whom the Gospel is to be preached,
and (2) particularly the heathen in preparation for baptism or catechumens of Gentile descent.
8
Kurt. Niederwimmer, 19.
 3

3. The Importance of the Didache: Its Significance in Church History

First, The Didache fills a gap between the Apostolic age and the Christian

Church of the second century (the post Apostolic age), and sheds new light upon the question

of doctrine, worship, and discipline in the mysterious transition period between AD 70 and

150 of which we have been almost ignorant for centuries.9

Second, the Didache antedates many of the New Testament writings. It presents

the first early church manual of the moral instruction for baptismal catechesis and foreign

converters, a liturgical directive on baptism and the Eucharist, and a local church

organization/order, written before the period of the Christian canon.

Third, when the Didache was found, it caused no small stir; for it seemed likely

to turn upside-down the received ideas of the early history of ministry. Seemingly, the book

was of a very early date, before itinerant prophets had been displaced by a settled permanent

ministry; when episcopacy was not yet the universal form of church government; when the

bishop was synonymous with presbyter; when the agape was still conjoined with the

Eucharist; and when liturgy and theology were still in an early stage.10

Finally, although the Didache was a non-canonical book, it turned out to be a

document reckoned as that of Scriptural authority and equal to the New Testament canon by

many early Fathers. Athanasius also calls it ‘Didache’. Eusebius uses the plural, ‘Didachai’.

And Clement of Alexandria cites it as ‘Graphe’, that is, writing.11 The analysis of the

Didache has also shown that it used earlier sources, some of which are shared in one form or

9
Charles Bigg and Arthur John Maclean, The doctrine of the twelve apostles (London : Society for
Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1922), 7-38. This book was translated into English by Charles Bigg with a
new introd. and rev. notes by Arthur John Maclean. “The Didache is the only piece of direct contemporary
evidence that one has for the conditions of Church life during the obscure period which lies between the New
Testament and the more fully developed organization of the second century.”
10
Henry Bettenson, 7-8.
11
Roswell D. Hitchcock and Francis Brown, 31.
 4

another with Barnabas, with a third-century Latin document called Apostolic Constitutions 7,

and perhaps with some other early writings.12

4. When/Where Was It Written?

As can be seen above, Paul F. Bradshaw states that “a family tree can be

established for the whole collection of church orders with an apparent high degree of

certitude.”13 However, it is impossible to know concretely the names of their true authors,

place, and their real origin because they do not inform us. As Bradshaw notes, “we can just

infer this information from the internal evidence of the documents themselves.”14 In this

respect, the chronology of the Didache is also obscure. But, it is generally attributed by many

12
Wayne A. Meeks, 149.
13
Paul Bradshaw, The Search for the origins of Christian Worship, 77.
14
Ibid., 77.
 5

scholars to the end of the first or beginning of the second centuries. And, the Didache reflects

on the conditions of the early church in western Syria, one of the great centers of Christianity.

The Didascalia Apostolorum and the Apostolic Constitutions are in part derived

from and influenced by the Didache. Internal evidence favors Syria rather than Egypt as the

land of origin.15

The Didache is a manuscript collection dated by the scribe, who calls himself

“Leon the notary and sinner”. The name “Leon,”16 however, is uncertain. According to the

report, “the anonymous scribe completed the manuscript on Tuesday, 11 June 1056.”17 But,

one knows nothing about the original author, namely the Didachist.

5. Structure and the Object of Christian Education in the Didache

Bryennios has divided the Didache judiciously into 16 chapters, which has no

chapter/verse divisions. Therefore, the chapters and verses are divided differently according

to scholarly perspectives.

Broadly speaking, it is composed of four sections such as: catechistic-ethic

(chapters 1-6), liturgical (7-10), discipline in congregation (11-15) and eschatological (16).18

Concretely speaking, as Bradshaw classifies, “the first part (chapters 1-6) is usually known as

15
Henry Bettenson, 9. Cf. the corn sown on the mountains; the availability of baths for baptism;
the implied abundance of rivers; the apparent absence of slavery and capitalism. Cf. John Lawson, A
Theological and Historical Introduction to the Apostolic Fathers (New York: Macmillan, 1961), 70-71. “The
phrase about the grain from which the sacramental bread was produced being “scattered upon the mountains”
(Chap. 9) would be a more natural usage in a hilly country such as Syria or Palestine, rather than in the flat
valley of the Nile.”
16
The origin of the name Leon is rooted in Jewish tradition. In Greek, it means ‘lion’. In German,
it means ‘thunder’.
17
Kurt. Niederwimmer, 19.
18
According to Maxwell Stantforth, “the contents of the Didache fall into two separate and distinct
divisions; the first, known as The Two Ways, consists of an exposition of Christian morality, setting forth the
various virtues and vices which respectively compose the Way of Life and the Way of Death, while the
second is compendium of rules dealing with such aspects of Church life as baptism, fasting, the Eucharist,
itinerant missionaries, local ministers, and so forth.” Cf. Maxwell Staniforth, Early Christian Writings: the
Apostolic Fathers, trans. Maxwell Staniforth (Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1968), 225.
 6

the ‘Two Ways’ because it presents moral teaching in the form of the way of life (1-4) and

the way of death (5).19 Then, follows brief instructions about baptism (7), the practice of

twice-weekly fasting (on Wednesdays and Fridays) and thrice-daily prayer (8), forms of

prayer for use at either an agape (a common meal with a liturgical setting) or the Eucharist

(9-10), the treatment of ‘apostles and prophets’ (11-13), the celebration of the Eucharist ‘on

the Day of the Lord’ (14), and the appointment of bishops and deacons (15). It concludes

with an admonition to eschatological vigilance (16, the Last Day).”20

Perfection (four times) Flexibility (six times)

If someone strikes your right cheek, turn but if you are not able to do this, do what you are able
to him the other also, and you shall be perfect (1.4) (6.2b)

For if you are able to bear the entire yoke of the But if you have no living water, baptize into other
Lord, you will be perfect (6.2a) water; and if you cannot do so in cold water, do so in
warm (7.2)
Remember, Lord, Thy Church, to deliver it
from all evil and to make it perfect in Thy love But before the baptism let the baptizer fast, and the
(10.5) baptized, and whoever else can; but you shall order the
baptized to fast one or two days before (7.4)
if you are not made perfect in the last time (16.2)
But permit the prophets to make Thanksgiving as much
as they desire (10.7)

But if he has no trade, according to your

understanding, see to it that, as a Christian, he shall
not live with you idle (12.4)

and of money (silver) and clothing and every

possession, take the first-fruit, as it may seem good to
you, and give according to the commandment (13.7)

As can be seen above, there are two different types/paradigms in the Didache. As

Wayne A. Meeks claims, “all of this may seem a little bewildering, as a guide to be set before

new Christians.”21 He notes about this phenomenon in the Didache as follows:

We must remember that these are not guidelines for an individual’s meditation, but an ethic
to be taught and administered within a community.22

19
Some scholars insists that this part of the Didache was drawn by the Christian teachers from
Jewish materal used in the instruction of converters to Judaism. Lewis J. Sherrill, The Rise of Christian
Education (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1944), 149.
20
Paul Bradshaw, The Search for the origins of Christian Worship, 77.
21
Wayne A. Meeks, 153.
 7

In this sense, it is possible to guess that there were two general patterns of

instruction for catechumens within communities of the Didachist’s day. One general pattern

of catechumenal instruction in early Christian communities was for Jewish persons. It

consisted chiefly of (1) study of the Hebrew Scripture for its Messianic element; (2) the

Christian Gospel, namely the Passion and the resurrection; and perhaps (3) the sayings of

Jesus. There is reason to believe that moral instruction such as that of the Two Ways was not

given to converts from Judaism because they had already received far more thorough

teaching in the synagogue than the Christians undertook to give catechumens, at least in this

period.23

A second pattern was for Gentiles, and consisted of (1) moral instruction such as

The Ways; to judge by the Didache, this kind of instruction came first for Gentiles; (2) the

Christian Gospel of the Passion and resurrection; (3) the sayings of Jesus, which may have

been replaced by one of the three Synoptic Gospels when these became available; and (4)

perhaps some instruction in the Hebrew Scriptures translated into Greek. It is possible that

when such a manual as the Didache came to hand, it replaced the last three; and they in turn

would tend to be taken over into the Christian meeting for the Word, and eventually into the

first part of one general meeting for both teaching and the Eucharist.24 However, I do not

think that these were uniform at one time throughout the early Christian church, or in any one

place throughout the period.

22
Ibid., 153.
23
Marcello Del Verme, Didache and Judaism: Jewish Roots of an Ancient Christian-Jewish Work
(New York: T & T Clark International, 2004), 189-190.
24
Lewis J. Sherrill, 152.
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6. Purpose of Writing

Both Bryennios and Adolf von Harnack represent the initial consensus that the

nature of the Didache is a catachesis of the Jewish Christian Church, addressed to pagans

newly converted to Christianity.25 This short, but practical, manual was requested by a

gentile Christian rural community which was to direct their lifestyle. Therefore, it lacks a

dogmatic faith and any trace of extensive schisms (particularly Marcion and Montanism).

That is to say, it is silent as to the doctrinal terms which were prevalent from the second

century due to the theological conflicts with heresies.26

7. Context of Writing

Considering that it describes a local church organization which deals with the

itinerant apostles and prophets and with resident prophets and teachers, the initial author, the

Didachist seems to be an editor in the period of transition; from an earlier structure of the

churches to the later one.27

The church for which the text was edited was a rural Christian community,

probably in some Greek-speaking part of western Syria. As Christianity expanded, this early

community was on the initial stage of institutionalization. This transitional context in which

the text was compiled required a proper modification of the ethical doctrine and reassurance

of the Apostolic tradition. One must remember the fact that the period, when the Didache was

used, was before the formation/determination of the New Testament canon (approximately 4th

century). Particularly, the practical admonition on how to discern the true (itinerant) apostles

25
Jonathan A. Draper, The Didache in Modern Research: an Overview, The Didache in Modern
Research (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1996), 6.
26
Ibid., 7.
27
Charles Bigg and Arthur John Maclean, 36-37.
 9

and prophets from false ones, a practical problem necessarily raised by the dispersed local

churches, is directly related to the question of church authority.28

8. The Role of the Eucharist in the Didache

Catechesis, liturgy and church offices are the main subjects of the Didache as a

church manual or brief directory of Apostolic teaching, worship and discipline. However, in

my perspective, as can be seen above, I think that the realistic instruction of the liturgical

section (chapters 7-10, 14) was at the center of the Didache. There are three reasons. First, as

noted, the Didache begins with an image of virtue and vice lists. The reader, in the text of

Didache 2-5, is warned not to murder, commit adultery, steal, and so forth. Associated with

these evils, however, is practical advice designed to protect the reader from being led to these

sins: do not be angry, for anger leads to murder; do not be lustful, for lust leads to fornication;

28
Ibid., 36-37.
 10

and so on (Did. 3.1-6). Instead, the watchful Christian should be humble, patient, merciful,

innocent, quiet, and good, since these are the correct moral choices of ethical Christians (Did.

3.7-10). The structure for such instructions is the “Two Ways” image 29 that appears

throughout late Jewish and early Christian Literature. As Clayton N. Jefford articulates,

The Didachist, on the one hand, seems to provide a most intriguing combination of Torah
language, oriented around the ancient Deuteronomistic principle of life’s two ways including
the Decalogue, and wisdom idiom, associated with traditional Jewish wisdom, to produce a text
that is unique in early Christian literature, a writing that clearly was designed to instill
an ethical consciousness in the lives of new Christian believers.30

On the other hand, the Didachist seems to regard this moral instruction’s ultimate

concern and purpose as Christian education for baptismal catechesis. The manual of chapters

1-6 also may seem an indispensable education leading to participate in the Eucharist in the

end because the people who did not receive baptism could not participate in the Eucharist

(Did. 9.5). In fact, in chapter 7 (Did. 7.1), the Didachist indicates what the true purpose of the

moral instruction concerning the ‘Two Ways’ is as follows:

Concerning Baptism. And concerning baptism, baptize this way:

Having first said all these things, baptize into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of
the Holy Spirit, in living water.

Here, the phrase “Having first said all these things” is the total content of chapters 1-6.

Likewise, one can guess that the true purpose of moral instruction (chapters 1 to 6) was

closely related to participation in the sacraments (baptism and the Eucharist). As a result, in

29
“The Didache deals with the roads to life and death. According to the Didache, the path of life
teaches to love only one God, love your neighbor as yourself and a form of what we now know as the
Golden Rule. The teachings continue to follow the Ten Commandments. Continuing chapters deal with God
being all powerful and we should seek Him day and night and shall not doubt whether His Word is true.
Keep the Commandments of God, confess your sins and come into prayer with a clear conscience. This is
the path of Life. According to the Didache, the road to death is evil and those who persecute the good, not
knowing the reward of righteousness. What is found on the path to death in the Didache is listed in
Revelation 22:15.” Cf. http://www.gotquestions.org/didache.html
30
Clayton N. Jefford, The Apostolic Fathers and the New Testament (Peabody: Hendrickson
Publishers, 2006), 83.
 11

my perspective, the liturgical sections (Did. 7-10, 14) seem to absorb the moral instruction

(Did. 1-6).

Second, the text of Didache 10 represents that prophets, regarded as high priests
31
(ch.13.3), held the Eucharist; “But permit the prophets to make Thanksgiving as much as

they desire. (10.7)” Briefly speaking, the prophets in the Didache were those who have

supernatural power and functioned as the teachers and managers of the worship.32

The text of Didache 15 also indicates that bishops and deacons were to be

appointed who will preside over divine service in the place of the apostles and prophets; “for

they (bishops and deacons) also render to you the service of prophets and teachers. (15.1b)”

In this sense, divine service or service of bishops and deacons especially means the

administration of the Eucharist. For instance, the text (a liturgical prayer) of Didache 10

imply that the major functions of the bishop and deacons (local leaders) were the teaching

(may be about the Two Ways, Did. 1-6) and liturgical functions (baptism and the Eucharist,

Did. 7, 9-10). Therefore, I guess the portion (Did. 11-13, 15) of church offices is also closely

co-related to the sacraments of the early Christian community in western Syria with the moral

teaching for catechesis (Did. 1-6). That is to say, the texts of Didache 7-10, 14 seem to pull

the section of church orders (Did. 11-13, 15) towards the liturgical section. In my opinion, I

think that there is no room for doubt that the Sacrament was at the center of the life of early

Christian communities and for this reason, the Didachist placed the Sacrament at the center of

the Didache.

31
13.3 Every first-fruit, therefore, of the products of wine-press and threshing-floor, of oxen and of
sheep, you shall take and give to the prophets, for they are your high priests.
32
Prophets: 1. They speak in a spirit (11:7-8; 13) 2. They order a meal in a spirit (11:9) and can
hold the Eucharist as they will (10:7) 3. They teaches the truth (11:10) 4. They enact a worldly mystery of the
church (11:11) 5. They should be tried by the community and after that can settle if they want (13:1) 6. In
case of settlement they are regarded as ‘worthy of food’ and receive the firstlings. In other words, they may
not work. And they are regarded as high priests (13.3)
 12

Third, the content of Didache 16 is a teaching about eschatological faith. It is

generally reported that eschatology was the centered faith/dogma of early Christian

communities. Therefore, this eschatological faith in the text of Didache 16 is naturally

connected with the content of a liturgical prayer conducted in the midst of the Eucharist or

agape as follows:

Even as this broken bread was scattered over the hills, and was gathered together
and became one, so let your Church be gathered together from the ends of
the earth into your kingdom; for yours is glory and power through Jesus Christ for all ages! (9.4)

May grace come, and this world pass away! Hosanna to the God (Son) of David!
If anyone is holy, let him come; if anyone is not, let him repent. Maranatha. Amen (10.6).

As can be seen above, the prayer’s content of Didache 9 reflects on eschatological

expectation/hope. In addition, the eucharistic/liturgical prayer33 of Didache 10 ends with

‘Maranatha,’ namely ‘Come, Lord Jesus.’ In other words, one can observe that eschatology

and its faith of the Didache (Did. 16) are continually repeated by the Eucharist/agape and its

prayer in early Syrian Christian communities.

In a certain sense, the theological background of the Didache is eschatology. If

one regards the text of Didache 16 as a faith and theory of eschatology (the former), one may

say that the eucharistic/liturgical prayer is its sustained performance (as an eschatological act),

and the instruction about the Two Ways is eschatological ethic (the latter). In this regard, I

think that the former and latter are both sides of a coin. Especially, for these three reasons, I

think that the portion of the Eucharist was located at the most important core of moral

instruction, church organization, and eschatological faith. Likewise, the Eucharist placed the

core liturgical accomplishment in the primitive Christian gathering including worship and its

general meetings.
33
Paul F. Bradshaw used the term ‘an eucharistic prayer,’ but Louis Bouyer used the term ‘a
liturgical prayer.’ Compare. Paul F. Bradshaw, Eucharistic Origins, 32. Louis Bouyer, Eucharist: Theology
and Spirituality of the Eucharistic Prayer, trans. Charles Underhill Quinn (Notre Dame: University of Notre
Dame Press, 1968), 115.
 13

9.1 Differences between the Eucharist of the Synoptic Gospels, First Corinthians
and the Didache

As can be seen above, one cannot speak concretely whether the communities

of the Didache were acquainted with other ritual actions or not. Strictly speaking, the

Eucharist order of the Didache is dissimilar to those of the Synoptic Gospels and First

Corinthians. 34 Another difference is the point that the Didache characterizes the

Eucharist as ‘thanksgiving,’ but other traditions in the New Testament regard it as ‘the

Lord’s Supper.’ That is to say, there is no feature of the Lord’s Supper in the Eucharist of

the Didache. According to Joachim Jeremias, an analysis of variations shows the

influence of the liturgical usage at work.35 In this regard, one can understand a unique

34
Cf. Paul F. Bradshaw, Eucharistic Origins (London: SPCK, 2004), 24-42.
35
Joachim Jeremias, The Eucharistic Words of Jesus, trans. Arnold Ehrhardt (Oxford: Basil
Blackwell, 1955), 112.
 14

liturgical manual widely used in western Syrian local/rural churches between the late 1st

and early 2nd century through the Didache. Especially, the verses below support the

suggestion that the background of the Didache was rural areas that depended mostly on

itinerant ministers.

9.4 Even as this broken bread was scattered over the hills
13.5 If you make a batch of dough, take the first-fruit and give according to the commandment.
13.6 So also when you open a jar of wine or of oil, take the first-fruit and give it to the prophets;36

9.2 The Feature of the Eucharist (Did. 9-10, 14) in the Didache and Conclusion

Chapter 9.

[1] The Eucharist. Now concerning the Eucharist, give thanks this way.
[2] First, concerning the cup: We thank you, our Father, for the holy vine of David your servant,
which you have revealed to us through Jesus your servant; Glory be yours through all ages!
[3] And concerning the broken bread: We thank you, our Father, for the life and knowledge
which you have revealed to us through Jesus your servant; Glory be yours through all ages!
[4] Even as this broken bread was scattered over the hills, and was gathered together and
became one, so let your Church be gathered together from the ends of the earth into your
kingdom; for yours is glory and power through Jesus Christ for all ages!
[5] But let no one eat or drink of your Eucharist, unless they have been baptized into the
name of the Lord; for concerning this also the Lord has said, "Give not that which is holy
to the dogs"(Matthew 7:6).

Chapter10.

[1] Prayer after Communion. But after you are filled, give thanks this way:
[2] We thank you, holy Father, for your holy name which You have made to dwell in our hearts,
and for the knowledge and faith and immortality, which you have revealed to us through
Jesus your servant; Glory be yours through all ages!
[3] All-powerful Master, you created all things for your name's sake; You have given food
and drink to the children of men for their enjoyment, so that they may thank you; but to us
You have bestowed a spiritual food and drink that lead to eternal life, through Jesus your servant.
[4] Before all things we thank you because you are almighty. Glory be yours through all ages!
[5] Remember, Lord, your Church, to deliver it from all evil and to make it perfect in
your love, and gather it from the four winds, this sanctified Church, into your kingdom

36
Henry Bettenson, 9.
 15

which you have prepared for it, for power and glory are yours through all ages!
[6] May grace come, and this world pass away! Hosanna to the God (Son) of David! If anyone
is holy, let him come; if anyone is not, let him repent. Maranatha. Amen.
[7] But permit the prophets to make Thanksgiving as much as they desire.

Chapter14.

[1] Christian Assembly on the Lord's Day. But every Lord's day (Sunday) gather
yourselves together, and break bread, and give thanksgiving after having
confessed your transgressions, that your sacrifice may be pure.
[2] But let no one who is at odds with his fellow come together with you, until they
are reconciled, that your sacrifice may not be profaned.
[3] For this is that which was spoken by the Lord: "In every place and time offer to me
a pure sacrifice; for I am a great King, says the Lord, and my name is wonderful
among the nations" (Malachi 1:11-14).37

There have been many controversies among scholars about the portion of the

Eucharist (Did. 9-10, 14) in the Didache.38 However, it is generally reported that there are

differences between chapters 9-10 and chapter 14. As Bradshaw articulates, many scholars

have agreed with that the origin of chapters 9-10 is rooted in “the forms of Jewish table

prayers in the first century.”39 For instance, Louis Bouyer notes that “the fact that liturgical

prayers (Did. 9-10) are of Jewish origin is obvious once we connect them with the traditional

Jewish meal prayers, berakoth.”40 Likewise, most scholars regard chapters 9-10 as agape or

the Eucharist related to it—that is, mingling agape with the Eucharist, and chapter 14 as the

Eucharist, separated entirely from agape. Representatively, according to Ronald C.D. Jasper

and Geoffrey J. Cuming, “chapter 9 may be an agape and chapter 10 is a eucharist. Chapter

14 is clearly the Eucharist.”

37
Cf. Willy Dordorf and Others, 2-3. Paul F. Bradshaw, Eucharistic Origins, 24-25.
http://www.arroyofamily.net/downloads/DIDACHE.PDF
38
Cf. Paul F. Bradshaw, Eucharistic Origins, 24-42.
39
Ibid., 32.
40
Louis Bouyer, 116-117.
 16

“In the respect of an agape (chs. 9-10):

1. The cup is blessed before the bread.
2. Ch. 10 begins “After you are filled,” which suggests that the meal is eaten between
the two chapters. There is an emphasis on food and drink in ch. 10 which suggests
a meal rather than a service.
3. There is no reference to the Last Supper, or the redemptive power of the Passion,
or the Resurrection.”

“In the respect of a eucharist (chs. 9-10):

1. The first words of ch.9 mean thanksgiving in general sense, but the liturgical sense
is possible.
2. The rubric at the end of ch.9 seems more appropriate to a eucharist.
3. The words translated “after you are filled” recur in the Liturgy of St. Mark
after the communion.
4. The compiler of the Apostolic Constitutions clearly thought that they were Eucharistic
prayers.”41

Interestingly, both P. Drews and M. Goguel insist on a difference between chapters 9 and 10,

and chapter 14, as referring to different subjects. First, chapters 9-10 deal with communal

meals for which a small group of the faithful gathered in a private home, perhaps during the

week. Second, chapter 14 describes the Eucharistic liturgy which was celebrated on Sunday

by the bishop and deacons in the presence of the entire community.42

However, as Professor Jill Burnett Comings points out, two scholars’ assertion

that chapters 9-10 represent a common meal for a small group gathered in a private home

during the week seem to have no persuasiveness due to the last sentence of Chapter 9.5; “But

let no one eat or drink of your Eucharist, unless they have been baptized into the name of the

Lord; for concerning this also the Lord has said, ‘Give not that which is holy to the dogs’

(Matthew 7:6).” If their insistence acquires reasoning power, they must make clear a

relationship between a common meal and forbidden clause, co-existing in chapters 9-10.
41
R. C. D. Jasper and G. J. Cuming, The Prayer of the Eucharist: Early and Reformed
(Collegeville: The Liturgical Press, 1987), 20-21.
42
Willy Dordorf and Others, The Eucharist of the Early Christians, trans. Matthew J. C Connell
(New York: Pueblo Publishing Company, 1978), 4-10.
 17

Likewise, even though there have been various opinions on chapters 9-10 and

chapter 14 among scholars, through this research, I have had a chance to enhance my

comprehension about the Didache, one of the early Christian liturgies. Here, I would like to

refer to five aspects.

First, I realized that early Christian communities pursued holistic worship,

integrating Christian education with the sacraments. Second, while studying chapters 9-10 of

the Didache, I learned the significance of the Eucharist as ‘thanksgiving.’ In the book Do

This, as Kenneth Stevenson notes, the Didache shows “a kinship with Jewish meal-prayers in

the way that they first give thanks for food and drink and move on to supplication, asking for

the blessing of God on the meal.”43 Why is this early root so important for me?

As a Korean pastor, I think the Korean church tends to focus the Eucharist on

merely the dimension of repentance. Therefore, the congregations must put on a grave face

for every sacrament and the Eucharist must be performed solemnly. If they don’t meditate on

the Eucharist as Jesus’ suffering, being crucified when they take a piece of bread and drink a

glass of wine or grape juice, it means that they don’t take part in the Eucharist in the strict

sense of the word. However, does the meaning of the Eucharist imply or emphasize only a

penitential approach? James F. White states in connection with that: “Even thanksgiving has

too often been clouded over by a penitential approach, so that for many Protestant the

Eucharist is a funeral meal.”44 I am convinced that if the Eucharist is applied to the meaning

of ‘thanksgiving’ in Korean worship, the congregation will worship with heartfelt

thanks/rejoicing and the worship will be recovered with the original form of early Christian

worship which the Didache represented.

43
Kenneth Stevenson, Do This: the Shape, Style and Meaning of the Eucharist (Norwich:
Canterbury Press, 2002), 131.
44
James F. White, Sacrament as God’s Self Giving (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1993), 61.
 18

Third, through the agape tradition, I learned that the modern Christian faith

community also can experience the Eucharist during a common meal. I have never

experienced this. Given an opportunity, I would like to share the Eucharist with my

congregation in the midst of agape. Fourth, especially, through the material of chapter 14, I

understood that there were four regulations in the Eucharist of early Christian communities:

(1) gathering on every Lord’s Day, Sunday being the new day for specifically Christian

worship (2) a confession of sins (3) the breaking of bread (4) thanksgiving.

This original form (four orders) of worship and the Eucharist of early Christian

community led me to realize the unchanged elements of worship. Especially, when taking

part in the Eucharist, the fact that there was a time for a public and communal confession of

sins reminded me of another significance of the Eucharist. That is to say, the strong ethic that

the people, whom quarreled for various reasons before worship, could not participate in the

Eucharist until they reconciled with one another allowed me to meditate more deeply on the

true meaning of the Eucharist—that is, reconciliation and forgiveness. Fifth, I understood that

after this process of confession, the early Christian community had the assurance of

forgiveness, and then commemorated the Lord while breaking bread together through the

sharing of thanksgiving and experience of God’s grace. Truly, the Eucharist was the core of

early Christian communities’ life and worship, and the Didache, as I have already mentioned

above.

In my viewpoint, it seems that the preaching-oriented worship in Korean

Protestants remains unchanged. To illustrate, I, myself, did not know the importance of the

Eucharist. I am also accustomed to receiving the Eucharist only two times in a year, that is,

on Christmas and Easter Sunday. It is because Korean church ministers and leaders have a

poor historical insight on the Eucharist tradition. Through this research, I realize how

important it is that I keep the balance between preaching God’s works and the Eucharist in
 19

worship. Keeping the balance between liturgy of the Word and liturgy of the Eucharist is still

pending in my ministry.

In conclusion, even though the Didache presents a very short manual about the

Eucharist, this source assumes great sacramental significance in that it is the first document

reported about the liturgical section, except for the New Testament writings. In this sense,

researching the first source about baptism, the Eucharist, and church office of the early

Christian communities was for me very exciting and dramatic work. In finishing my final

paper, I would like to thank Prof. Jill Comings and my peers for helping me to realize

inclusively about early Christian liturgies.

 20

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______________. Eucharistic Origins. London: SPCK, 2004.

Draper, Jonathan A. The Didache in Modern Research: An Overview, The Didache in

Modern Research. Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1996.

Hitchcock, Roswell D. and Francis Brown. Teaching of the Twelve Apostles Recently
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Jasper, R. C. D. and G. J. Cuming. The Prayer of the Eucharist: Early and Reformed.
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 21

Bouyer, Louis. Eucharist: Theology and Spirituality of the Eucharistic Prayer. Translated by
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_______________. The Apostolic Fathers and the New Testament. Peabody: Hendrickson
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 22

White, James F. Sacrament as God’s Self Giving. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1993.

Electronic Resource: http://www.arroyofamily.net/downloads/DIDACHE.PDF