Early Christian Writings, The Apostolic Fathers

The texts in this book shed light on the fledgling church's growing customs and organization at an otherwise unknown time of its growth. They are a collection of letters and small-scale theological treatises from a group known as the Apostolic Fathers, several of whom were most likely disciples of the Apostles. They provide a first-hand account of the early Church and outline a form of early Christianity that still draws on the theology and traditions of its parent religion, Judaism. Included here are the first Epistle of Bishop Clement of Rome, an impassioned plea for harmony; The Epistle of Polycarp; The Epistle of Barnabas; The Didache; and the Seven Epistles written by Ignatius of Antioch—among them his moving appeal to the Romans that they grant him a martyr's death.