Didascalia Apostolorum

tr. Connolly, 1929

Teaching what manner of man he is that is chosen for the Bishopric, and of what sort his…

But concerning the bishopric, hear ye.¹ The pastor who is appointed bishop and head among the presbytery in the Church in every congregation,² it is required of him that he be blameless, in nothing reproachable,³ one remote from all evil, a man not less than fifty years of age, who is now⁴ removed from the manners of youth⁵ and from the lusts of the Enemy, and from the slander and blasphemy of false brethren, which they bring against many because they understand not that word which is said in the Gospel: Every one that shall say an idle word, shall give an answer concerning it to the Lord in the day of judgement: for from thy words thou shalt be justified, and from thy words thou shalt be condemned.⁶ But if it be possible, let him be instructed and apt to teach;⁷ but if he know not letters, let him be versed and skilled in the word,⁸ and let him be advanced in years.

But if the congregation be a small one, and there be not found a man advanced in years of whom they give testimony that he is wise and suitable to stand in the bishopric: but there be found there one who is young, of whom they that are with him give testimony that he is worthy to stand in the bishopric, and who, though he is young, yet by meekness and quietness of conduct shows maturity: let him be proved whether all give testimony concerning him, and so let him sit in peace. For Solomon also at the age of twelve years reigned over Israel; and Josiah at the age of eight years reigned with righteousness; and Joash likewise reigned when seven years old. Wherefore, even though he be young, yet⁹ let him be meek and fearful and quiet; for the Lord God said in Isaiah: On whom shall I look and take pleasure (in him), but on the quiet and meek, that trembleth at my words?¹⁰ And in the Gospel also He spoke thus: Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.¹¹ And let him be merciful; for He said again in the Gospel thus: Blessed are the merciful, for upon them there shall be mercy.¹² And again let him be a peacemaker; for He saith: Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God.¹³ And let him be clear of all evil and wrong and iniquity; for He saith again: Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.¹⁴ And let him be watchful and chaste and staid¹⁵ and orderly; and let him not be turbulent, and let him not be one that exceeds in wine; and let him not be a backbiter¹⁶; but let him be quiet, and not be quarrelsome; and let him not¹⁷ be money-loving. And let him not be youthful in mind,¹⁸ lest he be lifted up and fall into the judgement of Satan: for every one that exalteth himself shall be humbled.¹⁹ But it is required that the bishop be thus: a man that hath taken one wife, that hath governed his house well.²⁰ And thus let him be proved when he receives the imposition of hands to sit in the office of the bishopric: whether he be chaste, and whether his wife also be a believer and chaste; and whether he has brought up his children in the²¹ fear of God, and admonished and taught them; and whether his household fear and reverence him, and all of them obey him. For if his household in the flesh withstand him and obey him not, how shall they that are without his house become his, and be subject to him?

And let him be proved whether he be without blemish in the things of the world, and likewise in his body; for it is written: See that there be no blemish in him that standeth up to be priest.²² But let him be also without anger; for the Lord saith²³: Anger destroyeth even the wise.²⁴²⁵ And let him be merciful and gracious and full of love; for the Lord saith: Love covereth a multitude of sins.²⁶ And let his hand be open to give; and let him love the orphans with the widows, and be a lover of the poor and of strangers. And let him be alert in his ministry, and constant in ministration; and let him be afflicting his soul, and not be one that is put to confusion.²⁷ And let him know who is the more worthy to receive; for if there be a widow who has (somewhat), or is able to nourish herself with that which she needs for her bodily sustenance; and there be another who, though she is not a widow, is in want, whether by reason of sickness, or of the rearing of children, or of bodily infirmity: to this (latter) rather let him stretch out his hand. But if there be any man who is dissolute, or drunken, or idle, and he be in straits for bodily nourishment, the same is not worthy of an alms, neither of the Church.

And let the bishop be also without respect of persons, and let him not defer to the rich nor favour them unduly; and let him not disregard or neglect the poor, nor be lifted up against them. And let him be scant and poor in his food and drink, that he may be able to be watchful in admonishing and correcting those who are undisciplined. And let him not be crafty and extravagant, nor luxurious, nor pleasure-loving, nor fond of dainty meats.²⁸ And let him not be resentful, but let him be patient in his admonition; and let him be assiduous in his teaching, and constant in reading the divine Scriptures with diligence, that he may interpret and expound the Scriptures fittingly. And let him compare the Law and the Prophets with the Gospel, so that the sayings of the Law and the Prophets may be in accord with the Gospel. But before all let him be a good discriminator between the Law and the Second Legislation, that he may distinguish and show what is the Law of the faithful, and what are the bonds of them that believe not; lest any one of those under thy authority take the bonds for the Law, and lay upon himself heavy burdens, and become a son of perdition. Be diligent therefore and attentive to the word, O bishop, so that, if thou canst, thou explain every saying: that with much doctrine thou mayest abundantly nourish and give drink to thy people; for it is written in Wisdom: Be careful of the herb of the field, that thou mayest shear thy flock: and gather the grass of summer, that thou mayest have sheep for thy clothing: give attention and care to thy pasture, that thou mayest have lambs.²⁹

Let not the bishop therefore be a lover of filthy lucre,³⁰ and especially from the heathen. Let him be suffering a wrong, and not doing a wrong; and let him not love riches. And let him not think ill of any man, nor bear false witness; and let him not be wrathful, nor quarrelsome; and let him not love the presidency; and let him not be double-minded³¹ nor double-tongued,³² nor given to incline his ear to words of slander and murmuring; and let him be no respecter of persons. And let him not love the festivals of the heathen, nor occupy himself with vain error. And let him not be lustful, nor money-loving: for all these things are of the agency of demons.

Now all these things let the bishop command and enjoin upon all the people. And let him be wise and lowly; and let him be admonishing and teaching with the doctrine and discipline of God. And let him be of a noble mind,³³ and aloof from all the evil artifices of this world, and from all the evil lust of the heathen. And let his mind be keen to discern,³⁴ that he may know beforehand them that are evil: and do you keep yourselves from them. But let him be the friend of all, being a righteous judge. And whatever of good there be that is found in men, let the same be in the bishop. For when the pastor shall be remote from all evil, he will be able to constrain his disciples also and encourage them by his good manners to be imitators of his good works; as the Lord has said in the Twelve Prophets³⁵: The people shall be even as the priest.³⁶ For it behoves you to be an example to the people, for you also have Christ for an example. Be you therefore also a good example to your people, for the Lord said in Ezekiel: ¹ And the word of the Lord³⁷ came unto me, saying:³⁸ ² Son of man, speak to the sons of thy people, and say unto them: When I bring the sword upon a land, let the people of that land take one man from among them and make him their watchman: ³ and he shall see the sword coming upon the land, and shall blow the trumpet and warn the people; ⁴ and every one that heareth the sound of the trumpet shall give ear. And if he take not warning, and the sword come and take him away, his blood shall be upon his head. ⁵ Because he heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning, his blood shall be upon his head. But he that took warning hath delivered his soul. ⁶ But if the watchman see the sword coming, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned, and the sword come and take away a soul from them: he hath been taken away in his sins, and his blood will I require at the hands of the watchman. Now the sword is the judgement, and the trumpet is the Gospel, but the watchman is the bishop who is set over the Church.

Notes

But . . . hear ye] περὶ δὲ τῶν ἐπισκόπων οὕτως ἠκούσαμεν παρὰ τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν AC. In Lat. there is a blank space which once contained a rubricated heading.
congregation] The word is the usual equivalent of συναγωγή, but is also employed in this version for παροικία.
1 Tim. iii 2, Tit. i 7.
2 Tim. ii 22.
who is now . . . youth] ὅτι τρόπῳ τινὶ τὰς νεωτερικὰς ἀταξίας . . . ἐκπεφευγὼς ὑπάρχει AC, which shows that 2 Tim. ii 22 is in mind (τὰς δὲ νεωτερικὰς ἐπιθυμίας φεῦγε).
Mt. xii 36 f.
instructed and apt to teach] Apparently a double rendering of πεπαιδευμένος (AC).
but if . . . the word] See the note to l. 18.
Wherefore, even though . . . yet, etc.] AC has the same unexpected sequence, ὥστε εἰ καὶ νέος, ἀλλὰ πρᾶος ὑπαρχέτω. Comp. with this passage Apost. Ch. Order xvii 2 δυνάμενος τὰς γραφὰς ἑρμηνεύειν, εἰ δὲ ἀγράμματος, πραὺς ὑπαρχων. With this again cf. l. 4 above, where AC reads ἔστω οὖν, εἰ δυνατόν, πεπαιδευμένος· εἰ δὲ καὶ ἀγράμματος, ἀλλ᾽ οὖν ἔμπειρος τοῦ λόγου. It is to be observed further that Apost. Ch. O., in discussing the election of the bishop, considers the case of a diocese in which there is ὀλιγανδρία (xvi 1): cf. l. 7 above. This and other passages leave little doubt in my mind that there has been contact between the Apost. Ch. O. and the Didascalia, and I have as little doubt that the borrowing was on the part of the first-mentioned.
Isa. lxvi 2 (cf. Didache iii 8).
Mt. v 5 (cf. Didache iii 7).
Mt. v 7.
Mt. v 9.
Mt. v 8.
1 Tim. iii 2 f.
a backbiter] BCHS: πλήκτης AC (= 1 Tim. iii 3). This word has given trouble to the translator, or else his rendering has troubled the scribes. Here all the MSS. have ܢܟܪܛ; but at p. 76, l. 27 CH have ܕܛܢܘܢܝܢ, ‘tyrannical’, while BS have (with transposition of the first two letters) ܪ̈ܛܘܿܢܝܢ, ‘murmurers’: ‘tyrannical’ is read again at p. 119 l. 9 by BHS (C is wanting).
1 Tim. iii 6.
youthful in mind] A paraphrase of νεόφυτος (AC).
Lk. xiv 11, xviii 14.
1 Tim. iii 2, 4.
Cf. 1 Tim. iii 4 f.
cf. Lev. xxi 17.
for the Lord saith, etc.] ὅτι λέγει κύριος AC, then substituting Joh. xiii 35. Comp. 1 Clem. xlix 5, 2 Clem. xvi 4, Clem. Alex. Paed. iii 12. 91, etc. (see Resch p.311). It is certain that our author knew 1 Pet., but here the saying is ascribed to ‘the Lord’ with the same formula just used (in Syr.) to introduce a quotation from Prov.
Prov. xv 1.
But let . . . the wise] ὑπαρχέτω οὖν καὶ ἀόργητος, ὅτι λέγει ἡ Σοφία· ὀργὴ καὶ φρονίμους ἀπόλλυσιν AC. Cf. Apost. Ch. Order xx (as to deacons) μὴ ὀργίλοι, ὀργὴ γὰρ ἀπόλλυσι ἄνδρα φρόνιμον.
Cf. 1 Pet. iv 8 (comp. Prov. x 12).
and let him . . . confusion] A paraphrase of εὔσκυλτος, ἀνεπαίσχυντος (AC).
crafty . . . meats] ἔστω μὴ δάπανος, μὴ τρυφητής, μὴ ἡδύβιος, μὴ χρηστοφάγος AC. The combination ‘crafty and extravagant’ in Syr. is odd, unless the former word should mean recherché, as Nau translates it (it is not represented in AC). The second word (nappīk) is rendered ‘worldly-wise’, weltgewandt, by Flemming, since the root means primarily ‘go out’; but other formations have the meanings ‘spend’, ‘expenses’, and here the word appears to translate δάπανος (see also p. 78, l. 2).
Prov. xxvii 25 f.
1 Tim. iii 8.
Cf. Didache ii 4.
not be double-minded nor double-tongued] μὴ δίγνωμος, μὴ δίγλωσσος AC (and in lib. vii c. 4 οὐκ ἔσῃ δίγνωμος οὐδὲ δίγλωσσος). Cf. Didache ii 4 οὐκ ἔσῃ διγνώμων οὐδὲ δίγλωσσος (= Ep. Barnab. xix 7). The preceding words in Didache (not in Barnab.) are οὐ ψευδομαρτυρήσεις, οὐ κακολογήσεις, οὐ μνησικακήσεις, and in Didasc. also we have just before μὴ κατάλαλος, μὴ ψευδομάρτυς, according to AC; hence Didache and not Barnab. appears to be the source here.
of a noble mind] lit. ‘well-minded’, rendering καλογνώμων (AC).
discern] lit. ‘compare’, i.e. infer from observation.
the Twelve Prophets] So again at pp. 170, 254. This collective form of reference is found in Irenaeus Apost. Preaching c. 77 (cf. c. 93), Haer. IV xxix 5, and several times in Justin.
Hos. iv 9.
And the word of the Lord, etc.] AC has shortened and adapted this quotation;: for ‘sword’ and ‘trumpet’ it reads μάχαιρα and κερατίνη, while LXX have ῥομφαία and σάλπιγξ.
Ez. xxxiii 1-6.