The Didascalia apostolorum: An English version with introduction and annotation (Studia Traditionis Theologiae: Explorations in Early and Medieval Theology) [Annotated] 9782503529936, 2503529933

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THE DIDASCALIA APOSTOLORUM An English Version

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STUDIA TRADITIONIS THEOLOGIAE Explorations in Early and Medieval Theology 1

Series Editor: Thomas O’Loughlin, Professor of Historical Theology in the University of Nottingham

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THE DIDASCALIA APOSTOLORUM An English Version edited, introduced and annotated by Alistair Stewart-Sykes

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© 2009, Brepols Publishers n.v., Turnhout, Belgium All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. D/2009/0095/80 ISBN 978-2-503-52993-6

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For Jeff and Asha Golliher dhy-Mg Myx) tb# My(n-hmw bwt-hm hnh

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CONTENTS

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INTRODUCTION 1. the didascalia apostolorum

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2. da as living literature 2a. Interpretative assumptions

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2a.1. The validity of the source critical method, p.7 - 2a.2. The conservative use of sources in antiquity, p.9 - 2a.3. A summary of the interpretative assumptions, p.11

2b. The search for sources 2c. The search for redactors

11 22

2d.Conclusions

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3. the date and provenance of da

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4. the significance of observing redactional layers in da 4a. Bishops, presbyters, deacons and widows in the community of DA

55 56

4b. The opponents of DA 4c. DA as a liturgical source

69 73

5. conclusions

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2c.1. The apostolic redactor, p.22 - 2c.2. The deuterotic redactor, p.25 - 2c.3. The uniting of the sources, p.29 - 2c.4. The twenty-first chapter, p.33

4a.1. A conclusion on ministries within DA, p.69

4c.1. Baptism and anointing, p.73 - 4c.2. The Eucharist, p.77 4c.3. The penitential process, p.81

6. postscript on the translation ANNOTATED TRANSLATION APPENDIX: Material secondary to DA found in one family of manuscripts BIBLIOGRAPHY INDICES

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89 93 261 277 283

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PREFACE

The specialist in Syriac literature is well-served through the edition of Didascalia apostolorum produced by Vööbus. His edition far surpassed any previous available. However for a historian or a liturgiologist the work is less accessible and many still make use of the English version produced by Connolly nearly eighty years ago. This work does not intend to replace that of Vööbus, it is not even in the same league of scholarship, but rather intends to replace Connolly’s work, having taken Vööbus’ work on the text into account, by providing a readable English version of the text. Connolly also provided an extensive introduction to his version and some very useful annotation. No such introduction has been provided since. Thus my aim has again been the same as that of Connolly, namely to give the reader of the text some guide to interpretation, although my view of the document is radically different from his. Nonetheless my debt to Connolly, as well as to other great scholars of the past, such as Achelis and Flemming, is manifest. Many other more immediate debts of honour were accrued in the production of the work. Firstly I am deeply indebted to Iain Torrance (Princeton, formerly Birmingham) by whom I was privileged to be taught and guided. He oversaw my first studies in Syriac and New Testament studies, and guided me in the patristic path on which I had already set out. When I was first approached to translate the Didascalia for St Vladimir’s Seminary Press I at first declined and he took the commission in my stead. After several years, as my interest in the church orders and my acquaintance with the Didascalia grew, I expressed to him my regret in

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not having taken the commission. He instantly and gracefully allowed me to take the commission back from him. I hope that he considers that his pupil has done a reasonable job. In the process a debt has also accrued to St Vladimir’s Seminary Press and to John Behr. The work was translated under commission from that press; when it grew beyond the confines of the series for which it was intended I was released from my contract and allowed to seek publication elsewhere. I must also thank two esteemed colleagues for their encouragement over a number of years, encouragement which has seen this work to publication. Paul Bradshaw (Notre Dame and London) heard me read a paper on the redactional history of this document at a conference in Edinburgh and persisted in encouraging me for several years since that event suggesting that my hypothesis had significance and should be made available to the scholarly community for testing. Our many disagreements are well-documented, and so I would like to document my regard and respect for him. Subsequently Juliette Day (Lampeter) found me working on this text in the Bodleian Library, since when she has taken a constant interest and sought out the work for STT. I am glad to be publishing in this series, even while saddened that no British publisher is interested. A number of scholars have freely lent their assistance on various points; in particular Yaakov Elman (New York), David Freidenreich (also New York), Rémi Gounelle (Strasbourg), Olivia Robinson (Glasgow) and Holger Zellentin (Berkeley) all generously lent their assistance to me in understanding Roman, Jewish and Persian law and custom. Their particular contributions are not acknowledged directly in the text but at any point where these subjects are touched the positive contributions are theirs. As the work moved into the final stages before publication Shawn Keough (Leuven) worked through the MS and saved me from committing a number of blunders. Finally, the work is dedicated to two friends, Jewish and Christian. Further comment on that score would be superfluous. Sturminster Marshall Vicarage: On the Commemoration of George Herbert, 2008

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ADDITIONAL ABBREVIATIONS

AKathKR Apol. AUSS

Bibl. D DA

Dem. ECR

Ep. Haer. HE

Hom. JAC K

Mand. OCP

Or. P.Oxy Pan. Ref. SecCent Sim. St Li Strom. SVTQ TA TB TWT

Vis. WUNT

Archiv für katholisches Kirchenrecht Apologia Andrews University Seminary Studies Bibliotheca historica Didache Didascalia apostolorum Demonstratio Eastern Churches Review Epistula Adversus haereses Historia ecclesiastica Homilia(e) Jahrbuch für die Antike und Christentum Apostolic Church Order (apostolische Kirchenordnung) Mandates (Hermas) Orientalia Christiana Periodica Oratio Papyrus Oxyrhynchus Panarion Refutatio omnium haeresium Second Century Similitudes (Hermas) Studia liturgica Stromata St Vladimir’s Theological Quarterly Traditio apostolica Babylonian Talmud Two ways tradition Visions (Hermas) Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament

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INTRODUCTION

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1. the didascalia apostolorum The Didascalia apostolorum (henceforth abbreviated as DA) is an example of the literature known as the church order literature. The term is used to define documents contained in various versions in different collections across the Christian east which regulate various aspects of church life and of the life of a Christian and which are attributed either explicitly to the apostles or claim apostolic sanction. However, the term ‘church order literature’ is vague; it is to be noted that the church orders rarely deal with the same material, and so, by contrast to Traditio apostolica (henceforth TA) and its derivatives, DA has no detailed treatment of the eucharist or of catechumenate and baptism. Passing comments refer to the liturgy, but are tangential to the fundamental concerns of the redactor. Schöllgen notes that DA has a fundamental pastoral interest in dealing with the real challenges of Christian life in the period in which it was written,1 but we suggest below that this is largely because of the material which is used in its construction, and that the fundamental aim of the redactor is to deal with the challenges posed by Jewish Christians. This propagandist aim does not set it apart from other church orders, however, as a propagandist aim may also be discerned behind Apostolic Church order (henceforth K), TA, and Constitutiones apostolorum (CA).2 We suggest below that the document has

1 2

Schöllgen, (1987), 149-157. See Stewart-Sykes (2006) on K and (2001b) on TA and, on CA, Mueller, (2004).

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been built up largely from other sources which themselves have relatives elsewhere in the church-order literature. For instance, one of the sources employed by DA was the same source which lies behind much of the second part of K, and it is quite possible that another is related to the Didache (henceforth D). This in turn means that DA may properly be grouped with other members of the collections of church orders and may be so termed, but in using this classification we should be aware that the term is loose and that because of the range of literature which DA includes it is really sui generis.3 DA is one of the longest of these church orders, and in turn became the source for the first six books of the collection known as CA, produced in the latter part of the fourth century, as well as a major element in the collection which was translated into Latin, also in the fourth century, and is now known as the Verona palimpsest.4 DA gives directions to Christians on the conduct of their daily life, gives instruction to bishops in their duties, particularly their economic and their judicial duties, discusses the proper keeping of the Pascha, and in particular warns against the dangers of Christians, particularly Christians who have converted from Judaism, keeping the Jewish law. The elements which relate to church order are the passages regarding the appointment of bishops, deacons and widows but far more emphasis is 3 Mueller (2007), 340-343, notes that the term is derived from the German reformation, and is only secondarily applied to early Christian documents. He notes distinct differences, moreover, between these ancient documents and the reformation Kirchenordungen. One is led to wonder whether the term should not be abandoned altogether; however these documents were, even in antiquity, brought together into collections, and it is also to be noted that there is indeed a literary relationship between a number of the foundational documents. We continue to use the term as a convenient shorthand only. Mueller suggests that the tradition of the church orders was an exegetical tradition, in which the Scripture of the Old Covenant is brought to bear upon the realia of church life, but although this is quite possibly the manner in which CA proceeds, we cannot be sure whether the sources of DA (on which see below) were as exegetical as the finished product (it is possible that the long citations which are included are the work of the redactor identified below as the ‘uniting redactor’) and we may likewise note that such an insight does not readily lend itself to K, which Mueller considers simply a version of D ‘along with other material’ (340). There is certainly a case for the existence of what he calls ‘ecclesiological exegesis’ (which is particularly prominent in 2.26-2.30 where the provisions of Numbers regarding the Levites, the priests and the sanctuary are brought to bear upon the bishop) (see ad loc. with the accompanying notes), but this does not of itself assist us in defining the ‘church orders’ as a group. 4 A palimpsest is a manuscript which has been re-used. The MS itself was copied late in the fifth century, but the translation it contains is generally agreed to predate the MS by around 100 years. See for discussion Vööbus (1979b), 28*-30*.

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laid on their conduct once in office than on their actual appointment and nothing is said of the mode of ordination.5 Whereas it would be conventional to begin a discussion of a document by considering its date and the place of its production, on this occasion there are issues which must precede such a discussion. In particular many of the church orders are ‘living literature’, the result of redaction by a number of hands in different periods; this has been shown of TA and K,6 whereas CA is clearly a collection updating and incorporating other earlier church orders (including, as has been noted, DA) and the Canones Hippolyti and the Testamentum Domini are derivatives from TA. We must ask whether the same is true of DA. A major part of this introduction will argue that this is indeed the case, and that there are three identifiable editions contained in the extant document, the earliest of which incorporated earlier sources. This in turn predisposes our answer to the conventional questions of authorship, date and provenance as well as causing us to read the information contained within the text about life, belief and liturgy in new ways.

2. da as living literature The first modern publication of DA came in 1856, edited from a single Syriac manuscript.7 In the flurry of discovery and research into the church orders of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, DA was translated into French, English and German,8 and the Latin version of the Verona palimpsest was published.9 In this period tensions within the text were observed. Harnack and Schwartz both suggested that the chapters regarding penitential discipline had undergone a second redaction,10 Holzhey suggested that DA was a reworked version

5 There is an implication that the bishop is seated, as is observed ad loc., but this is implied and not described. 6 By myself in (Stewart-Sykes) (2001b and 2006) and, independently, by Bradshaw, Johnson and Phillips (2002). 7 By Lagarde (1856). 8 Nau, (1902); Gibson (1903); Achelis and Flemming (1904). 9 Hauler (1900); this work is now superseded by that of Tidner (1963). 10 Harnack (1895), 71, though he suggests nonetheless that redaction of DA consists solely of ‘small omissions and additions’; Schwartz (1911), 16-24, considers that DA has undergone secondary redaction to remove it from Novatianist tendencies. This is discussed in detail below.

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of D11 and Nau likewise suggested that the work was built of redacted sources, suspecting that the final chapter might be a secondary addition.12 However Connolly’s statement in 1929 represents what came to be the consensus: The internal indications of unity are . . . strong: the same language and ideas are constantly re-appearing in different parts of the book, as also certain quotations. It would be difficult to find an ancient document in which the marks of a single authorship are more pronounced.13

It is this conclusion which must be questioned. For although the work does seem for the greater part to flow we shall observe that sources have indeed been employed and that although the redactor’s use of the sources is relatively conservative a further hand occasionally appears. If these different hands may be identified then some greater clarity about the overall purpose and function of the production of DA might emerge. Thus we may seek to discover the sources behind DA to determine in turn its redactional purpose. In doing so we will find the consensus overturned. This is not simply a return to the early twentieth century for, as has been noted already, recent studies have once again questioned the unity of the church orders. Thus in discussing the status quaestionis of these orders Bradshaw observes the manner in which TA is made up of various layers and suggests that we should think of the other church orders ‘not as works of a single author at all, but rather as having a succession of editors . . .’14 Bradshaw and I differ regarding the date and redactional history of TA but are agreed nonetheless in seeing the work as 11

Holzhey (1898). Nau, (1902), 2, states: ‘on peut se demander si ce texte grec n’était pas lui-même un remaniement d’un ou de plusieurs ouvrages préexistants dont il resterait à determiner la forme et le contenu.’ He voices his suspicions regarding the final chapter at 164. We will note below that the final chapter is certainly the work of a later redactor, but that this redactor has interpolated the text elsewhere. Hence we may explain a tension within the text noted recently by Faivre and Faivre (2007), 63, who find it surprising that the distinction between the laity and the bishop elaborated in 2.26-2.30 is undertaken solely on the basis of the ritual law of Numbers (and without reference to New Testament Scripture) which in the final chapter is held not to be binding on Christians. 13 Connolly (1929), xxxvi. Note also the opinion of Achelis in Achelis and Flemming (1904), 257-266, who likewise believes DA to be the work of a single hand, with only minor interpolations. 14 Bradshaw (2002), 93. 12

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‘living literature.’15 Nobody can now discuss any subject in TA without considering whether items of evidence are derived from different levels of redaction, even less may anyone naively accept the evidence of TA as representing normal practice in third-century Rome. Similarly I have argued that K is the result of the fusion of two, distinct, sources.16 However, scholarly studies continue to treat DA as a unity, and to see it as evidence for actual practices within its supposed period of composition. The purpose of this introduction is thus to extend Bradshaw’s suggestion to DA by exploring the possibility that it too is the work of a series of editors. Only when, firstly, some sources and, secondly, the editorial hands which worked over these sources have been identified may the questions of dating and provenance, the usual starting point of an introduction, be addressed, questions which, inevitably, prove much more complex than would be the case were DA simply the work of a single author. Finally I intend briefly to discuss various significant aspects of DA, showing the significance of the redactional study for the study, in turn, of church order and liturgy. All of this allows the reader to approach the text with eyes open to the variety of evidence for the history of the church which the document contains. In view, however, of the unusual nature of this enquiry I begin by briefly setting out and justifying certain presuppositions which are germane to this enquiry.

2.a Interpretative assumptions 2.a.1 The validity of the source critical method The first assumption is that the principles of source criticism as applied to scriptural material may reasonably be applied to the church orders. This method of criticism was refined in the nineteenth century and brought to bear firstly on the Hebrew Bible and subsequently on books of the New Testament, in particular the Gospels. Students of the Hebrew Scriptures hypothesize the combination of sources on the grounds of inconsistencies, whether in narrative or content, repetitions 15 Stewart-Sykes (2001b); Bradshaw et al. (2002); Bradshaw (2004) and StewartSykes (2004). 16 Stewart-Sykes (2006), following, in part, Harnack (1895).

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of material, doublets, or marked stylistic differences. In New Testament studies this approach is largely applied to the synoptic Gospels, where there are clear examples of close borrowing between different documents, which indicate that there has been literary borrowing between the three. We need not be detained by the various solutions offered to what is known as ‘the synoptic problem’ but note that many students postulate a lost source for Matthew and Luke. If a lost source is to be posited then the possibility of oral influence has to be discounted on the grounds that the missing text is too long to be remembered and on the grounds that the reconstructed text might make feasible sense as a text. The criteria employed in the source criticism of the Hebrew Bible are employed to a lesser extent in New Testament studies as there are not the same obvious seams, and as these writings were formed during a much shorter period. However students of the New Testament are able to note on occasion editorial interventions, which may indicate that a source has been redacted into pre-existent material. Inevitably all of these criteria are debated, some fiercely;17 nonetheless we may reasonably employ the same methods, in particular those employed in study of the Hebrew Bible. We shall not employ stylistic criteria here, as the sole complete version is itself a translation and, since Syriac is not widely known, the texts are represented in translation in any event, but even in a translation we may note inconsistencies and interruptions in the flow of the text, such as internal tensions and, most particularly, changes in speaker or addressee. We may also note significant parallels to material within DA, which might indicate some common ground. In hypothesizing sources we will see that the hypothesized sources are of a reasonable extent and themselves have a coherent logic as units. Achelis nonetheless suggested that when Holzhey applied the source critical methods employed in the study of the Hebrew Bible to early Christian literature he had committed a fundamental error.18 One has to ask on what basis this is erroneous. If the church orders are indeed ‘living literature’ then, like the Hebrew Bible, they are the product of a series of hands over an appreciable period. The same methods of criticism may therefore be employed in their exploration. We may indeed suggest that it is the neglect of the methods of biblical criticism by students of the church orders which has led to the present impasse and that the failure to observe these methods, rather than their use by Holzhey, is the fundamental error. To an extent the success 17 18

Note as summaries of the method Barton and Koch (1992). Achelis and Flemming (1904), 261.

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of the method must be judged by the results it yields, but there is no a priori reason why the method may not be employed. 2.a.2 The conservative use of sources in antiquity The second assumption is that when a redactor followed a source in the construction and reconstruction of the church orders, that source is followed closely, exclusively and seriatim. Thus there is no complex combination of sources and no re-ordering of the material from within a single source, but rather the redactor may add material, or abbreviate, but not introduce snippets of material from another written source except from memory, nor material from more than one source at once. Longer sections within a source may result from free composition or from a second source being picked up, but when a second source is picked up the first is put aside. Although this may seem at first an arbitrary assumption, it is the method of ancient historians. Thus Pelling, with regard to Plutarch, and Luce, with regard to Livy, each deduce that a single chief source was employed during each phase of composition by these respective authors, and that that single source in turn was followed closely and in order.19 The procedure of employing a source exclusively and seriatim may, moreover, be observed in the work of a Greek historian by comparing the historical fragments of Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 1610 to sections of Diodorus Siculus Bibliotheca historica 11. Regardless of the question of the authorship of this fragmentary history it is clearly a source which underlies the work of Diodorus Siculus at this point, and has been followed closely. Thus in Diodorus Siculus we read: po/lewn sofwta/thn kai\ e)pieikesta/thn xalepwta/thn pro\j e)kei~non eu(ri/skomen gegenhme/nhn. (Bibl. 11.59.3) To which we may compare: sofwtathn kai dikaiwtathn . . .tathn kai xalepwtathn genomenhn proj ekeinon oi d upolambanousin . . .(P Oxy. 1610 fr. 4 and 5)20 Soon after we read in Diodorus Siculus: e)pi\ de\ tou/twn )Aqhnai~oi strathgo\n e(lo/menoi Ki/mwna to\n Miltia/dou kai\ du/namin a)cio/logon parado/ntej, e)ce/pemyan Pelling (1979) and Luce (1977), 185-229. The presentation of the fragments is simplified through the removal of papyrological marks indicating the degree of certainty in reading letters and the extent of reconstruction. 19 20

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e)pi\ th\n para/lion th=j )Asi/aj bohqh/sonta me\n tai~j summaxou/saij po/lesin, e)leuqerw/sonta de\ ta\j Persikai~j e)/ti frourai~j katexome/naj. [2] ou~toj de\ paralabw\n to\n sto/lon e)n Buzanti/w|, kai\ katapleu/saj e)pi\ po/lin th\n o)nomazome/nhn ) Hio/na, tau/thn me\n Persw~n katexo/ntwn e)xeirw/sato, Sku=ron de\ Pelasgw~n e)noikou/ntwn (Bibl. 11.60.1-2) to which the following fragment readily compares: Aqhnaioi de Kimwnoj tou Miltiadou strathgountoj ekpleusantej ek Buzantiou meta twn summaxwn Hiona thn epi Strumoni Perswn exontwn eion kai Skuron . . . (P.Oxy. 1610 fr. 6) Soon after we read: tw~n paraqalatti/wn po/lewn o(/sai me\n h~san e)k th~j( Ella/doj a)pw|kisme/nai, tau/taj paraxrh~ma sune/peisen (Bibl. 11.60.4) The parallel is almost verbatim: paraqalattiwn kaloumenwn polewn osai men ek thj Elladoj hsan apwkismenai paraxrhma sunepeise (P.Oxy. 1610 fr. 8) Diodorus continues: Ki/mwn de\ punqano/menoj to\n sto/lon tw~n Persw~n diatri/bein peri\ th\n Ku/pron, kai\ pleu/saj e)pi\ tou\j barba/rouj, e)nauma/xhse diakosi/aij kai\ penth/konta nausi\ pro\j triakosi/aj kai\ tettara/konta. genome/nou d,a)gw~noj i)sxurou~ kai\ tw~n sto/lwn a)mfote/rwn lamprw~j a)gwnizome/nwn, to\ teleutai~on e)ni/kwn oi( )Aqhnai~oi, kai\ polla\j me\n tw~n e)nanti/wn nau~j die/fqeiran, plei/ouj de\ tw~n e(kato\n su\n au)toi~j toi~j a)ndra/sin ei~lon. (Bibl 11.60.6) To which the following fragments compare: Kimwn punqanomenoj ton twn Perswn stolon peri thn Kupron suntetaxqai diakosiaij penthkonta proj triakosiaj kai tettarakonta parataxqeisaj de polun xronon pollaj men twn kinduneuouswn barbarikwn newn diefqeiren. ekaton d autoij andrasin eile zwgrhsaj ton . . . (P.Oxy. 1610 fr. 9, 10 and 53) Finally, in the next chapter we read: . . . kai\ to\n me\n strathgo\n tw~n barba/rwn to\n e(/teron Ferenda/thn, a)delfidou~n tou~ basile/wj, e)n th~| skhnh~| . . . ( Bibl. 11.61.3)

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To which a ready point of comparison is available: ton men strathgon autwn Ferendathn adelfidoun onta ton basilewj en thi skhnhi . . . (P.Oxy. 1610 fr. 11) There are further parallels with further fragments corresponding to material later in the book, but the point has already been sufficiently illustrated. This demonstration has been undertaken in detail because the proof of such a procedure justifies what might otherwise seem an arbitrary assumption. If a procedure of close adherence to a single source is followed by historians, whose aim is to create something original and distinct, one might expect that an author concerned primarily with the preservation of tradition would be even more conservative. Moreover, although this method of writing might have come about due to the restrictions imposed by the physical conditions under which composition took place, namely on rolls, the consultation and marking of which was difficult in the extreme, and thus limited the number of sources which might be consulted simultaneously to one, once the method is established it might well be continued even when there is a use of codices. Indeed, a greater ease of consultation of an original as it is being redacted might lead to even closer reliance upon the source, as the role of memory is reduced. On this basis, therefore, we will assume that if DA is redacting sources then the order and content of the source will lie intact, and that later redactions of DA will leave the substance of earlier editions intact. 2.a.3 A summary of the interpretative assumptions We may see that the interpretative assumptions which are made in the exercise of constructing a compositional history for DA are, whilst assumptions with regard to DA, entirely reasonable in themselves. If parallels to other documents are present we may assume that there is a relationship, and may assume moreover that redactors use their sources with a degree of conservatism, as this was the method employed in the ancient world. Likewise when inconsistencies or interruptions present themselves in the text we may reasonably suggest that this is the result of the employment of a source and may be justified in seeking out the nature of the source employed.

2.b The search for sources As has already been noted, earlier students of DA suspected the existence of sources lying behind DA. However, what they did not do was to suggest a rationale for the use of these sources. In this they represented the state of

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biblical criticism at the turn of the twentieth century which had come to recognize sources behind the books of the Hebrew Bible and behind the Gospels but had yet to develop the science known as redaction criticism by which the use of the sources was understood. Although this study is also an exercise in redaction criticism it is still necessary to establish as far as possible what the actual sources were on which the redactors worked. We have seen that it is reasonable to undertake such a search. In seeking sources we shall not begin with the work of Holzhey, the scholar who did most in the early days to seek the sources of DA, but with a passage concerning the appointment of bishops: If, however, the congregation in which the bishop is to be ordained is small, and nobody of age is found of whom testimony to his wisdom and suitability to stand in the episcopate might be given but, nonetheless, there is a youth, of whom those with him bear witness that he is worthy of the episcopate and who, in spite of his youth, shows evidence of maturity in his meekness and good conduct, he should be tested and if he receives such testimony from all he should be made bishop in peace. For Solomon likewise was king over Israel at the age of twelve years, and Josiah reigned in righteousness at the age of eight years, and Joash likewise reigned when he was seven years old. Therefore, even if he is young, yet he should be meek, fearful and peaceable, since the Lord God says through Isaiah: ‘On whom shall I look, except upon one who is meek, peaceable, and always trembling at my words.’ Likewise, in the Gospel, he speaks thus: ‘Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.’ (DA 2.1.3-5)

What is particularly interesting about this passage is the evident relationship with K. The corresponding passage reads: If there should occur a shortage of men, and there are insufficient competent to elect to the episcopate from among twelve, they should write to the neighbouring churches, where one is established, so that three selected men might come from there carefully to determine which is worthy, whether any has a good reputation among the heathen, being without fault, whether a friend of the poor, whether temperate, not a drunkard, not a fornicator, not grasping or abusive, or a respecter of persons or anything of that nature. It is good should he be unmarried, otherwise he should be of one wife, having some education, and able to interpret the Scriptures. Even if he is unlettered he should be meek,21 and 21

There is a textual problem here in K, and the translation given is not necessarily of the original text.

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overflowing with love for all, so that a bishop should not come under accusation on any account by the many. (K 16)

On this Connolly writes: ‘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.’22 Bartlet similarly advances the opinion that K had employed DA, though is inclined to think that the influence was at an early redactional stage.23 Connolly reached this conclusion on the grounds that K prefers a celibate bishop and on the basis of an expression concerning the offering of the Body and Blood within K, both of which seemed to him to point to a fourth-century date for K. DA had already been determined to belong to the third century, and so Connolly concluded that, since DA preceded K, it must be the source for the passages the two documents hold in common. However, neither a preference for a celibate bishop nor the use of the term ‘offering of the body and blood’ in K necessitates a date in the fourth century.24 Moreover, quite apart from the fact that Connolly’s arguments do not necessitate the conclusion that DA preceded the completed K, and thus do not necessitate the conclusion that K must have borrowed from DA, it is also conceivable that the passage indicates that the redactor was acquainted not with K but with one of K’s sources, which pushes back the date of influence yet further, and making it all the more likely that the redactional relationship is not that suggested by Connolly. Obviously the source has been thoroughly rewritten here, but we have to ask whether it is more likely that K (or rather the source for K, which I have termed elsewhere as kk)25 should take something akin to DA and produce what is presently extant, or whether the influence is more probably the other way around. DA is concerned with the election of a youthful bishop, and the scriptural exempla are therefore directed at that problem, whereas K is concerned with the election of any bishop, being concerned that the election should be properly carried out when there is not a quorum. In a discussion of manner in which a bishop should be elected the general issue of a quorum is surely more likely to be Connolly (1929), 31 n. Bartlet (1943), 102. 24 See my discussion in (2006), 48-49. 25 In (2006). The existence of this document was first suggested by Harnack (1897). 22 23

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discussed than the issue of a young bishop. Moreover, a close reading of K reveals the assumption that the presbyters provide the candidates and the electoral college; it therefore less likely that a young bishop would be elected, whereas the situation envisaged by DA is that in which all participate in the election. Neither system can be said to be earlier than the other, but they are different, and whichever, therefore, used the other as a source would have to make the necessary alterations. If an electoral college system were being written into a source instead of a system of popular election then one would expect that it would be more explicit than it is in K, whereas a popular election need not be described, and thus the version of the material preserved in K is probably the closer to the original. Finally, when the passage turns to the qualifications of a bishop, the statement in the source for K simply states that the bishop should be generous (or meek). DA, however, expands the statement with further material but does this again pursuing the question of the bishop’s youth, rather than moving the subject on to the qualities expected of a bishop. Again, it seems less likely that the discussion extant in K would emerge from that of DA, with no sign of the question of a youthful bishop, than that the redactor of DA, or its Vorlage, in pursuit of a particular issue in that community, should recast directions for the election and particular qualities of the bishop. We may thus conclude that DA employed, as a source, one of the sources which was also employed by K. Apart from the echoes of K there are echoes of D, or the didachistic tradition, in DA. These are particularly prominent at the beginning of the work, with the citation of the golden rule, and a treatment of the commandments, which the hearers are encouraged to keep, ‘that we may be sons of the light.’ For those, however, who are obedient to God there is one law, simple and true and pleasant, indisputably binding upon Christians, that is: ‘What you would not done to you by another, do not do to another.’ You do not want anyone to turn his attention to your wife with evil intent, to lead her astray; so do not yourself turn your attention to your neighbour’s wife with evil intent. You do not want anybody to take away your cloak; so do not take that belonging to another. You do not want to be hurt, or to suffer injury, or to be insulted; do not deal thus with any other. But, if anyone curses you, bless him, as it is written in the book of Numbers: ‘Whoever gives blessings is blessed, and whoever curses will be cursed.’ Moreover, it is likewise written in the Gospel: ‘Bless those who curse you.’ Do not seek to harm in return those who seek your harm, but be

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patient, as the Scripture says: ‘Do not say: “I shall harm my enemy, as he harmed me”. But be patient, as the Lord will assist you, and make you triumphant over anyone who harms you.’ For again, it says in the Gospel: ‘Love those who hate you, and pray for those who curse you, and you shall have no enemy.’ Let us pay attention to these commands, beloved, so that, when we perform them, we may be found to be sons of light. (DA 1.1.7-1.2.4)

These echoes of D led Holzhey to suggest that DA was actually a reworking of D.26 To prove this he set out to demonstrate a series of parallels for each part of D within DA. Some are convincing, in particular those already noted, some, however are absolutely unconvincing. For instance, whereas both deal with baptism the two passages have absolutely nothing in common except that both mention water, which is hardly surprising. To find parallels, moreover, Holzhey has to jump all around DA, as the order in which the parallels are found at no point corresponds to the order in which they appear in DA. We would have to ask, were the redactor of DA employing D as a source, why he chose to jump around the source document while creating something utterly distinct, in direct contrast to the usual ancient method of using sources noted above. Nonetheless when there are significant parallels in close proximity to one another, such as at the opening of the work with the citation of the golden rule, and when, as at the beginning of DA 2, there is a wealth of parallels with D 2.3-7 and D 3.7-8, the possibility remains open that there is some literary relationship. However, it is to be noted that these parallels are all found in the section of D incorporating material derived from what is known as the Two Ways Tradition (TWT), which is widely believed to have had circulation independent of D. Thus it is more likely that the redactor of DA employed either the same source as D or, more probably given the distance in time between the works, a document which had, like D, incorporated TWT. There are two particular clues to this. Firstly we may observe that the parallels do not conform to the order of D, which is an implication that they were found in a document which had employed TWT independently of D (or rather, of D’s source) and thus did not list the commands and prohibitions in the same order. 26 Holzhey (1898). Interestingly Bradshaw (2002), 78, states that DA is ‘obviously modelled on the Didache.’ This, however, is to disregard material from the sixth to the fourteenth chapter of D inclusive, in other words most of the document, as DA jumps from ethical direction to the appointment of officers in the congregation. As suggested here, there is a relationship, but it is not as direct as Holzhey or Bradshaw suggest.

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Secondly we may note the statement that those who follow the commandments will be ‘children of light.’ This term does not appear in D, but does appear in an Israelite version of TWT, which may well stand close to the root of the tradition.27 We may, however, note the peculiar form of the citation of command to love one’s enemies: ‘Love those who hate you, and pray for those who curse you, and you shall have no enemy.’ This diverges from the canonical form in adding ‘and you shall have no enemy’, just as does D 1.3. However it differs from D in adding ‘pray for those who curse you.’ Thus the parallel is more probably the result of an oral tradition.28 The very fact that there are several reminiscences of the sectio evangelica of D, an addition to TWT occurring solely in D, might indicate a direct debt to D itself, but the distinctions, such as the term ‘children of light’ make it equally probable that the parallels are independent. This accords with the hypothesis of Garrow that the sayings within the sectio evangelica of D had existence independent of D or of any written Gospel.29 As such they might find themselves in DA. This does not exclude the possibility that at a later stage the redactor of DA, or of one of the sources, also employed D, which may account for some of the parallels. One particular example lies in the citation of Isaiah in the direction regarding bishops which appears above. This reads ‘always fearing the words’; the term ‘always’ (dia\ panto/j) appears in D as well as here, but does not appear in other citations of the text within TWT apart from two late manifestations from (probably) Egypt, which may themselves have been influenced by D.30 Length precludes a longer engagement with Holzhey’s hypothesis. There are parallels, and the thematic congruence is at times notable. However, although there is a degree of thematic congruence, we should note the different order in which these themes occur and the different weight which is put upon them. Thus DA has no detailed 27 Namely the Community rule from Qumran. The term appears at 1QS 3.13, which begins the setting forth of the two ways. The connection between this and Christian forms of this material was first made by Audet (1952). 28 Niederwimmer (1998), 15, who suspects the direct influence of D upon DA at this point, nonetheless accepts that this might be a possibility. 29 Garrow (2004), 77-83. 30 So Connolly (1923), 150. The term is present in the Latin text of DA and in the parallel section of CA though omitted from the Syriac version. The two late versions are the (themselves closely related to each other) Syntagma doctrinae and Fides patrum. I argue (Stewart-Sykes, forthcoming) that the Fides patrum is a product of the late fourth century. I am far from convinced, however, that there is a direct debt to D.

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description of the eucharist; the fact that it is mentioned in passing shows no relationship with D 9-10. The differences are much greater than those which would be necessitated by the centuries which separate the documents, and so Holzhey accepts that there might be several reworkings of D before that which was recognized as DA.31 As such we have to ask whether the hypothesis tendered here, that there is a common origin to some of the sources of the two works, is not preferable. Holzhey certainly overstates his case wildly when he suggests that DA is ‘eine erweiterte, vermehrte und verbesserte Ausgabe der Didache.’32 A more cautious hypothesis along similar lines was suggested by Bartlet; he suggested that the redactor of DA had employed D but consciously rewrote it in order to supply a more positive view of the Christian life.33 This has much to commend it, as these early chapters employ D 1.3-4, which was not part of the original TWT adopted by D. He goes on to suggest that the opening chapters of DA, before the election of a bishop, were originally an independent document to which the rest of DA was conjoined.34 We shall find evidence below to support such a hypothesis, though the document consisted of more than the present first three chapters. We may thus conclude that DA employs some document of a TWT type, possibly D, or perhaps an independent and now lost recension of D. We may go on to enquire into the nature of that document. The statement of the golden rule and the other TWT material is followed by directions addressed to men, with regard to dress, and to women, on dress and on the matter of bathing. These very subjects are also discussed by Clement in the Paedagogus, namely dress and luxury (Paed. 2.8, 2.10) behaviour in the bath (3.5, 3.9), and male grooming (3.3) (both are particularly opposed to depilation!), together with other issues relating to the application of Christian principles to daily life in the Empire. This is not to suggest a literary relationship, but rather to 31

In a subsequent publication (1901), which I have not been able to locate, Holzhey suggested three recensions, the second of which was undertaken by Dionysius of Alexandria. This work was available neither to Connolly nor Achelis, and the situation has not improved in the intervening years. Nau (1902), 165, gives this short shrift, but does not disregard the possibility that the work went through a number of editions and, as noted below, himself suspects the hand of the redactor whom we shall term the ‘deuterotic’ redactor. 32 Holzhey (1898), 29. 33 Bartlet (1943), 77. 34 Bartlet, (1943), 77.

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suggest that both Clement and DA are employing an established tradition of instruction, whether aimed at catechumens or at the baptized, which Clement had incorporated into his paedogogical corpus. In DA we find it close to other catechetical material, which indicates that the juncture may already have been made when it came to the hands of the redactor. In other words it seems that the redactor has incorporated another version of instructional material, found as a source, in the collection of material which he is constructing. The source first contained initial catechetical instruction on the commandments, and then more detailed directions for the instruction of the faithful. This proximity to the early purpose of the TWT section of D, namely the preparation and instruction of catechumens, is further indication that the tradition, rather than D itself, is the source of the DA material. We may, moreover, note some contradictions in these chapters, which indicate that a source is being worked. Thus at first it is said that women should simply not enter mixed baths,35 and then states that they may but should do so discreetly,36 and finally that they should do so at a time set apart for women, a time when men would have completed their bath.37 Similarly, in the discussion of what a Christian should read, the reader is first recommended to read the books of the Kingdoms if historical narrative is desired, alongside the psalms for poetry, and the prophets for philosophy.38 Some time later, after a warning about an over-literal reading of the books of the law, Kingdoms is mentioned again, this time to be used as a moral fable, the prophets also receiving mention here.39 In other words the Scriptures of the old covenant are recommended twice, once as reading in preference to the books of the heathen, and subsequently as a supplement to the reading of the Gospel. The significance of this point will emerge below. Nonetheless we may see at this point that two sources have been discerned, with some indication that a third hand has worked over both of them, whether as a result of their juncture or prior to this. It is after this catechetical section that DA turns to the appointment of bishops, and here that the parallels with K are found. Hereafter there follows the largest part of the work concerned with the duties DA 1.9.1. DA 1.9.2. 37 DA 1.9.4. 38 DA 1.4.4.-1.4.5. 39 DA 1.4.11. 35 36

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and responsibilities principally of bishops. These responsibilities are fundamentally economic and disciplinary; whereas this whole could be the work of the redactor of DA, it is also possible that this too is derived from a source. In either event, there are interruptions in the flow of the argument. One such is the sudden direction concerning deaconesses and their role in baptismal ceremonies. This comes about from a direction that bishops should appoint assistants in their work of economic distribution, which rapidly turns to the baptismal liturgy, before discussing deaconesses more generally, and then returning to the original point, namely the qualifications of deacons. So, bishop, appoint for yourself fellow-workers in almsgiving, assistants who may co-operate with you towards life. You are to choose and appoint deacons from all the people who are pleasing to you, a man for the administration of the many things which are necessary, a woman however for the ministry of women, since there are houses where you can not send a deacon to the women because of the pagans but you can send a deaconess, and in many other matters there is need for an office of deaconess. In the first instance it is required that when women go down into the waters that they should be anointed with the oil of anointing by deaconesses as they enter the waters . . . The deacons should be like the bishops in their actions, (DA 3.12.1-2; 3.13.1)

Another is in the directions concerning the appointment of widows. Here in particular there is an indication of a source where, at the beginning of the chapter, there is a sudden shift from singular to plural, from the statement that a widow should be appointed to more general directions concerning widows. Widows who are to be appointed: should be less than fifty years of age, who by reason of her age is far from the consideration of taking to herself a second husband, lest, having been appointed whilst young to the office of widow she does not remain a widow because of her youth and is married. Then she shall bring shame on the glory of widowhood, and give an account to God. First for having two husbands and secondly because, promising to God to remain a widow, and receiving as a widow, she did not continue in widowhood. (DA 3.1.1-2)

This indicates that a chapter heading from a source has been redacted into the document directly. In view of the fact that this section begins with the appointment of bishops, in a section directly comparable to K and, like K, goes on

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to discuss the appointment of widows (albeit after a very long discussion of the responsibilities and duties of bishops) and deacons, we may suggest that this, like K, is a derivative of kk. It is so expanded that it is now less a manual for churches than a manual for bishops, but shows traces nonetheless of its origin. Nonetheless it also shows signs of editorial activity beyond expansion; Schwartz points out that there are some awkward shifts in the discussion of penitence between the sixth and seventh chapters and between the tenth and eleventh40 and although Galtier shows that the statements are reconcilable,41 there is some indication nonetheless that the existing chapters were built of layers. The fact that in spite of the tensions the text may be read in a coherent manner bears witness to the success of the redactor in imposing some unity on his material. Similarly we may note that although there are directions for the appointment of bishops, deacons and widows, there is none concerning the appointment of presbyters. Although presbyters appear in this section, their appearance is occasional and they are marginal to the concerns being discussed.42 We may therefore suspect that they have been imported in the process of redaction, perhaps even in the course of including this source in DA. At the end of the section directing the work of bishops the catechetical manual is again picked up. There is perhaps some remnant here of the doxology with which the directions to bishops concluded. And we should have no doubt, for so he has counselled us, even should we be burned in coals of fire, whilst yet we believe in our Lord Jesus Christ, and in God, his Father, the Lord Almighty God, and in his Holy Spirit, to whom be glory and honour for ever and ever. Amen. God the Father Almighty raises us by means of God our Saviour, as he promised . . . (DA 5.6.10-5.7.1)

The catechetical manual was last employed at the end of the third chapter of the Syriac version (1.10.4). There women were addressed, and the address to women concluded with mention of the refrigerium. A following reference to the resurrection would not, therefore, be out of place, though the vast amount of intervening material means that such a logical link is completely obscured and the doxology in turn, Schwartz, (1911), 16-24. Galtier (1947), 319-336. 42 This matter is discussed further at 4a below. 40 41

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due to the apparent connection between the discussion of the resurrection and the immediately preceding material (on persecution), looks like an interpolation.43 The catechetical manual is, however, extensively interpolated hereafter. The twenty-first chapter is on the keeping of the Pascha, but the transition to the subject is forced and sudden, deriving from a discussion of swearing and behaviour. Thus it is not lawful for any believer to swear by the sun, or by the other signs of the heavens, nor by the elements, not to utter the name of idols with his mouth, nor to issue a curse from his mouth, but rather blessings and psalms and the dominical and divine Scriptures, which are the certain foundation of our faith. And especially in the days of the Pascha, when all the faithful are fasting, throughout the whole world, as our Lord and teacher said when they asked him . . . (DA 5.12.5-6)

Thus a passing mention of the Pascha leads the redactor to an extensive digression discussing the chronology of the paschal fast.44 The following chapter, on the upbringing of children, thus seems to be out of place, but if the detail concerning the Pascha is put aside it may be seen as following naturally as part of a catechetical manual, that is to say, the discussion of children follows on from a brief discussion of oaths. After this the manual turns to a general discussion of heresies and schisms, which may be seen as an appropriate conclusion to a pastoral manual for the direction of catechumens and the newly baptized; the change of address in these chapters, moreover, away from bishops and back to people in general is observable. This source, however, as will be noted below, has been heavily redacted here; we may nonetheless suggest that, with extensive interpolations, it extends to the end of the extant DA. Whereas we may suspect further sources, without any extant documents for comparison we can for the moment go no further. However we have shown that a redactor joined a catechetical manual to a derivative of kk to produce the greater part of DA. It is interesting to note that, just as kk was a fundamental source for K, as was a form of TWT, so DA shares two common ancestors with K, and a common ancestor with D as well, thus enabling us to see something of the complex of interrelationships within the church order literature. 43 44

As Connolly (1929), 167, suggests. See further the note ad loc. The oddness of this is observed likewise by Rouwhorst (1989a), 165.

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However, whereas these two sources account for the greater part of DA, small interpolations aside, much of the material in the final three

chapters, and much in the twenty-first chapter, does not, as we shall note below, come from either source. Greater clarity with regard to these chapters may emerge once the hands of the editors have been discerned. However, we have identified two sources and may suggest that, although minor irruptions and deviations such as apostolic interventions (which will be discussed shortly) enable us to see that the unification of sources was not the end of the process by which DA came to us, nonetheless the discussion of bishops, which forms a substantial part of the whole, is, apart from occasional interventions, the work of a single hand, and that this dominant hand gives DA a misleading impression of unity.

2.c The search for redactors 2.c.1 The apostolic redactor Before turning our attention to the final chapters, in which extensive interpolation has been suggested already within this introduction, and which were considered suspect, as we have seen, by Nau, we may note the following intrusion in a passage concerning the treatment of sinners within the church: But if he pays no attention he should be rebuked before the entire church, and if, moreover, he pays no attention to the entire church he should be accounted by you as a pagan or as a tax-collector.’ Because the Lord has said to you, bishops, that henceforth you should not receive anyone such into the church as a Christian, nor have any commerce with him, since you do not receive the pagan or the wicked tax collector into the church, nor have anything to do with them, unless first they repent, and promise that they believe, and that thenceforth they shall do no evil deed. On this account did our Lord and Saviour grant room for repentance to those who sin. Indeed I, Matthew, one of the twelve apostles who are speaking to you through these Didascalia, was previously a tax collector. But since I believed I have received kindness, I have repented of what I did before, and also have been deemed worthy of being an apostle and of proclaiming the word. And also, in the Gospel, John the prophet proclaimed to tax-collectors; he did not cut off their hope but taught

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them how they should act. And when they asked him for a statement he said to them: ‘Take no more than what is commanded of you and what is set out for you.’ And again, when Zacchaeus required it of him, the Lord received him in repentance. And we do not even withhold life from the pagans when they repent, put away and reject their error. Anyone who has been convicted of wicked deeds or of falsehood should be accounted by you as a pagan or as a tax-collector. (DA 2.38. 3-2.39.5)

The interruption of the central paragraph seems to be the result of a device of pseudonymity, triggered by the mention of tax-collectors. A similar phenomenon may be observed when the discussion of the role of widows is taken in the direction of whether women may teach, a prohibition which is then enforced by mention of the fact that the Lord sent ‘us’, namely the male apostles, out to preach and to save the world, and not the women who were with them. One of the peculiarities about the apostolic attribution of DA is the relative absence of the apostles from the greater part of the work; with the exception of brief interruptions like those noted above they are absent for much of the work and yet suddenly come to the fore, revealing their authorship, towards the conclusion of the work. It is on the basis of the brief interruptions that we may identify a redactor who is responsible for these sections. This redactor may be termed the apostolic redactor; this redactor has worked through the text to create an illusion of apostolic authorship, and, most significantly, has included an account of the council of Jerusalem towards the end of the document. It is not, moreover, difficult to identify the interests of this apostolic redactor. As has been noted, after the (apparently misplaced) chapter concerning the upbringing of children, (actually not misplaced but divorced from its context due to the discussion of paschal chronology) the catechetical discourse turns to heresies and schisms. However, it is after this discussion of heresies and schisms that the apostles come to prominence, and where the account, supposedly coming from the apostles, of the council of Jerusalem, at which the release of the gentiles from the law is restated, is found. The apostles then state that they had written DA in Jerusalem before returning to the mission field. The concluding chapter then deals with the particular issue of the observance of the Jewish law by Christians. This redactor thus intrudes into a general statement of the need to avoid heresy in order to describe the beginnings of heresy, apostolic opposition to heresy, and the apostolic council. It is clear that the fundamental aim

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of this story is to dissuade Christians from keeping the Jewish law, since this was precisely the issue behind the discussion at Jerusalem; beyond this, however, it is here that the apostles emerge not simply the authority by which the instructions are given, as elsewhere in the church order literature, but specifically as those who had been Jewish before coming to Christ. . . .we may recognize that our Saviour is speaking not to the gentiles but to us, who became his disciples from among the Jews . . .45

The provenance of these apostles thus relates directly to the redactional intent of the apostolic redactor since it is being suggested that there is apostolic precedent for Jews who come to faith in Christ to abandon the observance of the law. The apostolic redactor is thus principally concerned with law-observant Jewish Christians who are to be dissuaded from their law-obedience in order properly to be recognized as members of the catholic church. As Fonrobert puts it DA ‘re-inscribes that earlier conflict into its own contemporary conflict and employs it as a lens through which to read the current conflict in its audience.’46 As emerges in the next chapter, albeit from the hand, we suggest, of a different redactor, the issue of law-observance is acute for the community of DA. It is an issue addressed, however, as we may deduce from this characterization of the implied authors, to Jewish Christians and not to gentile Judaizers. It is for this reason that the issue of circumcision, the fundamental issue behind the account in Acts, does not receive attention here. Being Jewish converts these lawobservant Christians are in any event already circumcised. The interventions of this redactor, once his existence is recognized, are easy to spot. We note below that there is extensive interpolation by this redactor in the chapter on the Pascha, but otherwise the interventions are relatively minor and unimportant, though clearly this redactor continues to be exercised by the role of women within the church. The sole aim of the redactor was to strengthen the prohibition on the observance of Jewish ritual law which was, we suggest in a moment, already present in the work, and to do so by lending (Jewish) apostolic 45 DA 6.17.6. Fonrobert (2001), 499, takes this as the voice of the actual, rather than the implied, author. In the earlier redaction this was the case, but with the apostolic redaction these disciples from among the Jews are identifiable as the apostles themselves and tell us nothing of the apostolic redactor himself, who is hidden behind the apostolic mask. 46 Fonrobert (2001), 490.

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authority and example to encourage Christians of Jewish heritage to abandon the law of their ancestors. 2.c.2 The deuterotic redactor We may thus discern at least one redactor, whom we have termed the apostolic redactor, whose principal interest was the dissuasion of Christians from keeping the Jewish law. The material of the apostolic redactor is not, however, the only material relating to this subject. After the description of the apostolic council there follows a chapter further discussing the law and its application to Christians. The argument is put forward that the law, beyond the Decalogue, was imposed on the Jewish people as a punishment for idolatry, and thus that it is now lifted under the new dispensation inaugurated by Jesus. This law is called the deutero¯sis, a term which may be translated as ‘secondary legislation’. Nau suspected that this final chapter was secondary, as it follows on from what would seem to be a natural conclusion to the document, as the apostles state that they had written DA.47 There are other references to the secondary legislation within DA, but these are occasional and may be seen as interpolations. Thus, for instance, we have already noted that in the section dictating what a Christian ought to read there is a certain tension, as some books are mentioned twice, with different rationales for reading them. This comes about because of a caveat which is lodged and which interrupts the flow of the argument: If you wish for songs you have the Psalms, if the origin of the world’s creation you have Genesis, and if laws and instructions you have the glorious Law of the Lord. Therefore keep away completely from all such foreign and devilish writings. However, when you read the law be wary that you read it only, and simply read it. Keep away from all its instructions and commands so that you do not lead yourself astray and bind yourself and weigh yourself down with ancient bonds which cannot be undone. (DA 1.6.5-7)

This interpolation is clearly the work of the hand which produced the final chapter. It goes on, in brief, to set out the theology of the secondary legislation which the final chapter sets out at length. That there is a separate redactor, therefore, from the redactor of the major

47

Nau (1902), 164.

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part of DA, and distinct from the apostolic redactor, would seem probable. The question is whether Nau’s instinct is correct, and that this redactor, whom we may term the deuterotic redactor, came after the apostolic redactor, and has appended the chapter on the deutero¯sis to a completed work, or whether the apostolic redactor was the latter of the two and that he deliberately prefaced the chapter discussing the theology of the secondary legislation with his account of the apostolic council in order to give more force to the chapter which follows with its warnings of the dangers of Judaizing. It is not easy to answer this on such purely literary grounds, but I suggest that the apostolic redactor was the final redactor for two reasons. Firstly I would argue inductively that the very appearance of material concerning the avoidance of Jewish practice in an already existing conclusion is what led to the idea of lending additional apostolic force to this argument, casting the apostles as the authors of this theology through preceding the main discussion of the deutero¯sis with a scene implying apostolic authorship of what followed. In other words the final chapter is not a postscript but the preceding chapters are prefaces to the final chapter. Secondly, and deductively, we may observe that although the end of the twenty-fifth chapter looks like a conclusion, as Nau believed, the material which follows is not entirely the work of the deuterotic redactor. Much of it is, but it is to be noted that just as the catechetical manual is interrupted with the sudden introduction of an account of the beginning of heresy with Simon Magus, so its actual conclusion cannot be found at this point. After the account of the council of Jerusalem, as will be noted below, there is a brief re-appearance of material from this level, but then the apostolic redactor intervenes again, before we hear the dominant voice of the deuterotic redactor in the final chapter. Still the conclusion of the catechetical manual has not been incorporated. However in the final chapter a long discussion of ritual purity ends with the assurance that marital intercourse does not defile and does not prevent a Christian from worship. The mention of this leads to the renewed warning that one should remain with one wife and with general warnings concerning conduct, as then the author goes on to justify the severity of the writing. We may suggest that here is the original conclusion of the catechetical manual. At the conclusion of the twenty-fifth chapter it is stated that those who are evil should be driven out of the church so that they may not spread, like an infection, to the rest of

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the body of Christ. This then dovetails with the material, again employing medical imagery, with which DA ends. Thus we have healed those who have repented of their erroneous godlessness through much admonition, with the word of doctrine, and with intercession, and have allowed them to take their places in the church. But we have driven out those who are mortally wounded by the word of error, and all the more those who have erred without reason, as their wound is incurable, and so that they can do no harm to the chosen holy catholic church of God, and so that the evil cannot spread like leprosy and extend itself like an infection to all parts, but that the church should remain pure and unspotted and unscarred for the Lord God. This we have undertaken in every province throughout the entire earth, leaving this catholic didascalia justly and rightly to the catholic church as a commemoration to bear witness for the strengthening of the faithful. We could explain the didascalia to you more clearly with many proofs like these, and so extend the writing, yet here we complete the discourse so that the severity of the truth should not over-fill you with the teaching with which we speak. And so do not be wearied of what has been said; for our Lord and Saviour himself responded with harshness to those who deserved condemnation when he said: ‘Take them away and throw them into outer darkness And there shall be weeping there, and the gnashing of teeth’ and ‘Get away from me, you accursed, into the everlasting fire which my father has prepared for the devil and his angels.’ And he has also compared the word to fire and the sword as he said by Jeremiah: ‘The word of the Lord is like an axe cutting stone, and a fire going around and burning up.’ It is a sword and a fire and an axe not to those who hear the truth, but the saying (refers) to the people who did not desire to hear when reproved by our Lord and master, for they did not believe because they thought it like iron and fire, and did not obey when they heard what was said to them by him, for his words appeared to be harsh and severe to them. And so he said to them: ‘Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and do not do what I say?’ Likewise our writing may appear to some to be severe and harsh because of its truth. But had we written gently, to please people, then many might have fallen away from the faith and we would be responsible for them. For just as a sensible physician, unable to contain an ulcer through drugs and poultices, turns to a more severe form of remedy, that is to the knife and to cauterization, by which alone he can overcome the disease and heal the sick, so the word of the Lord is like a poultice and a salve and a plaster to those who hear it and keep it,

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but to those who hear and do not act it seems to be iron and fire. (DA 6.14.10-11; 6.23.1-7)

Because remains of an earlier source, namely the catechetical manual (albeit, we shall note below, thoroughly reworked by the same redactor who reworked the manual for bishops) may be found after the conclusion of the work of the apostolic redactor we may conclude that although the end of the twenty-fifth chapter looks like a conclusion it is not, but rather is intended to lead on to the final warnings about the deutero¯sis. Therefore the argument that anything after that must have been added on disappears; rather we may identify the author of this chapter as a redactor prior to the apostolic redactor, to whose work the apostolic redactor, as the last redactor in the chain, has provided the appearance of apostolic authorship. It has already been noted that this redactor had occasionally interpolated the catechetical source. The same redactor has done the same in the discussion of the duties of bishops. Thus we may note: He should be very assiduous in his teaching, and should be most assiduous in reading the divine Scriptures, so that he may interpret and expound the Scriptures fittingly. He should make comparison of the law and the prophets with the Gospel so that the statements of the law and the prophets are brought into accordance with the Gospel. But chiefly he should be skilful at distinguishing between the law and the secondary legislation, so that he may determine and demonstrate what is the law of the faithful and what the bonds of those who do not believe, lest anyone under your authority should consider that the bonds are the law, lay heavy burdens upon himself, and so become a son of perdition. (DA 2.5.3-4) And: Be thus constant in working, with continuous labour and with offering, since the Lord has lightened your load and has taken away the chains from around your neck and has removed from you the heavy yoke, by removing from you the secondary legislation . . . (DA 2.34.7)

Thus the deuterotic redactor has not only supplied the final chapter but has both extended the catechetical source and worked over the manual for bishops. In doing so his sole interest is to point the entire extant document in the direction of denying that Christians should keep the Jewish law, and he has done so most particularly by extending an existing discussion of heresy and schism. The manner in which

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this has been done is obscured by the subsequent intervention of the apostolic redactor, whose fundamental aim was the same, but we may go on to suggest that the work of the deuterotic redactor was a development of a tendency already present in DA even before it came into his hands. 2.c.3 The uniting of the sources We have thus isolated certain sources and two redactors, one of whom was the final redactor. A further question is whether either of the two identified redactors had joined the sources, or whether they had inherited the sources already joined. Certainly the sources were not joined by the apostolic redactor, as this is the final redactor, whereas both major source-blocks have been interpolated, as noted above by the deuterotic redactor. Thus either the sources were already joined when the deuterotic redactor began his work or the deuterotic redactor himself joined them. Whereas the latter option seems improbable, there are two positive indications that the two were joined before the work of the deuterotic redactor. It has already been noted that the apostolic redactor has intervened in a general warning, derived from a catechetical manual, about heresy and schism, by giving particular direction to this warning, pointing to the problems of the keeping of the Jewish law by Christians and that the same is the interest of the deuterotic redactor, as the final chapter concentrates particularly on issues of ritual purity. But, as already noted, as this subject is left behind and the document closes with a general defence of what has been written, employing the same medical imagery of the hortatory function of the writing as is employed of disciplinary function of the bishop in the tenth chapter, which implies that the same hand is now at work, and that at the conclusion of the document we therefore have the conclusion of the catechetical manual. The point here to be noted is that the same hand, a hand distinct from either redactor identified thus far, had worked over both main sources. A second indication that the same hand worked over both documents in uniting them may be found in a strange citation in a discussion of forgiveness by bishops: ‘Brothers, they do not know what they are doing or what they are saying. But if it is possible, forgive them.’ Whereas this might appear to be a very loose citation of Luke 23:34, the same citation appears towards the end of the document in the context of a discussion about heresy. This second appearance, moreover, is set in

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the middle of material from the apostolic redactor, though at this point the first person is lacking. As regards the people, which does not believe in Christ and laid hands on him, him whom they blaspheme is the Son of Man. The Lord said: ‘It will be forgiven them.’ And likewise the Lord said of them: ‘Father, they know not what they have done or what they are saying. If it is possible, forgive them.’ Likewise the gentiles also deny the Son of Man, yet forgiveness has come forth for them. To those who have believed, whether of the people or of the gentiles, is forgiveness given . . .(DA 6.14.4-6)

We may therefore suggest that this is part of the version of the catechetical manual over which the apostolic redactor has worked. But although it follows on from the general warning about heresies in the original work the appearance of the same citation in the material ultimately derived from kk would suggest that the same hand has worked over them both, and that this hand is neither of the redactors identified thus far. We term this author the uniting redactor. In addition to the deuterotic and the apostolic redactors, therefore, we may suggest that the work was brought together from its sources at an earlier stage, and at this stage, moreover, the sources were thoroughly edited; it is the hand of this redactor which may be found throughout the work, and to which the impression of unity is due. It is also possible to provide a rationale for the work of this redactor. At 6.13 we have provisions for the retention or expulsion of those continuing in heresy, at the very point at which we have identified the hand of the uniting and the apostolic redactors. The passage reads as follows, with the work of the apostolic redactor italicized: Thus we affirmed and established the decision which we had reached after consultation and consideration with regard to those who had gone astray. And we will return again to the churches where first we had preached in order to exhort the faithful to avoid the offences discussed above and not to receive them who come falsely under the name of apostles, and to recognize them because of the changeability of the words and through the way in which they act.48 It is of these whom the Lord spoke when he said: ‘Some will come to you wearing sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves; you shall know them by their fruits. Be aware, for false Christs will arise, and false prophets, to lead many astray. And the 48 Although the passage may seem to follow on here, this sentence actually connects to a mention of false apostles which is found at 6.6, immediately before the intervention of the apostolic redactor with the tale of Simon Magus.

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love of many shall grow cold because of the abundant wickedness. But whoever shall endure to the end shall be saved.’ We decree and command that those who have remained and have not erred, and those who repent their error, are to remain in the church, whereas those who continue in error and are not penitent are to be put apart from the faithful as they are become heretics. The faithful are to be instructed to avoid them utterly and to have no converse with them in speech or in prayer. For they are hostile and opposed to the church. The Lord instructed us who are faithful about these when he said: ‘Beware the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees’ and ‘Do not go into the cities of the Samaritans.’ These ‘cities of the Samaritans’ are those of the heresies who wander in a crooked way, of whom the Lord spoke in Proverbs: ‘There is a way which people think is right, but which comes in the end to the depths of hell.’ They are those of whom the Lord laid down a stern and bitter sentence: ‘They shall have no release, either in this world or in that to come.’ As regards the people, which does not believe in Christ and laid hands on him, him whom they blaspheme is the Son of Man. The Lord said: ‘It will be forgiven them.’ And likewise the Lord said of them: ‘Father, they know not what they have done or what they are saying. If it is possible, forgive them.’ Likewise the gentiles also deny the Son of Man, yet forgiveness has come forth for them. To those who have believed, whether of the people or of the gentiles, is forgiveness given for their evil deeds, as the Lord Jesus Christ said: ‘For this reason I say to you: every human sin and blasphemy is forgiven, but blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this world or in the world to come. And anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven; however there will be no forgiveness for anyone who has said a word against the Holy Spirit, either in this world or in the world to come.’ Those who blaspheme the Holy Spirit, those who readily and hypocritically blaspheme Almighty God, that is to say the heretics who do not receive his holy Scriptures, or who receive them in a perverted, hypocritical or blasphemous sense, who blaspheme the catholic church, which is the receptacle of the Holy Spirit, with wicked words, are condemned of Christ even before the judgement which is to come, without prospect of defence. For that which he said, ‘They shall have no release’ is the sentence of condemnation which issues against them. And when, with one accord, we had established and agreed and set down all of this we each went out to the provinces formerly allotted to us . . . (DA 6.13.1-6.14.8)

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These provisions may be read in the light of the earlier disciplinary and pastoral material. The provisions under which sinners are to remain or not to remain part of the church is the fundamental aim of a number of these chapters, alongside discussion of the proper conduct of Christians. In this latter section it is belief, rather than conduct, which is discussed, and the identity of the church over and against Jews, pagans, but more particularly Christian heresies, is being established, but the same provisions and approach regarding the treatment of sinners are being proposed for the treatment of heretics. Thus the two documents are united in order to give a law for Christians and a basis by which that law is to be enforced by bishops. This runs in part counter to the suggestion of Fonrobert that DA is fundamentally a counter-Mishnah, intended to counter the codification of law by the rabbinic schools.49 Nonetheless the intervention of the deuterotic redactor is what makes it such. Prior to that, however, it perhaps exhibits the same move towards codification that the Mishnah and Tosefta represent. In particular we may suggest that, just as the very prohibition on, for instance, keeping the Sabbath and using mikwaoth indicates a degree of proximity between Jews and Christians, since it is clear that Christians were doing precisely what was forbidden, much of the material in DA before the intervention of the deuterotic redactor indicates the same, as much can be paralleled from Jewish sources. Marmorstein, who indeed suggested that the redactor of what he considered a single DA had learned in a rabbinic school, points out Jewish parallels both to particular ideas, for instance that Korah had coveted the highpriesthood or that Manasseh was forgiven, and to practices, such as an insistence that men should cut their hair whereas women should cover it, and the refusal to go to pagan law-courts.50 The two argue over common ground to the extent that DA denies the name of ‘Jew’ to Jews,51 since the extent of common ground is what gives DA an urge to define itself as distinct. We may also note, with Fonrobert, the extent to which both DA and Tannaitic documents employ similar exegetical methods, since both are seeking to prove their practice from the same Scriptures, as well as noting that much of this did not go without Jewish response.52 What is most notable is that this common ground and method is to be found both in the work of the uniting redactor (and probably in the 49

Fonrobert (2001). Marmorstein (1935), 232-233, with many refs. 51 DA 2.60.3. 52 So note Visotzky (1990) and the notes on 6.15.4 and 6.16.1. 50

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sources) and in the work of the later redactors. The contest with Judaism is a thread which runs through the work, from the common ground of the first chapter with ps-Clement Hom. 7.4, to the use of the idea of deutero¯sis as a punishment for the idolatry of the golden calf at the last, through the observation that the Jews are brothers ‘even though they hate you.’53 It is a struggle which seems to point to a continuing struggle on the part of catholic Christianity, many of whose adherents were also Jewish, to establish itself over and against Judaism. These Jewish parallels derive from the work of different redactors; whatever their differences of emphasis they are each interacting with Jews. We cannot, however, have any confidence about the extent to which the uniting redactor worked over the sources. It is possible that the extended scriptural citations are his, as extended citations from Ezekiel occur in different parts of the work, and we have observed this redactor’s use of medical imagery, a point to which we will return. Nonetheless we may suggest that this is the overarching genius which gave DA much of its shape and to whom the impression of unity which it conveys may be attributed. 2.c.4 The twenty-first chapter A further indication that the work was brought together by a redactor working before the apostolic redactor lies in the twenty-first chapter. The tendency with regard to this chapter in the history of scholarship, by contrast to the unitative approach to DA generally, has been to observe its complexity, and to attribute this to various levels of redaction. This said, although there are repetitions and although the paschal chronology proposed in the chapter is strange in the extreme, the finished product has its own internal logic. Thus although Schmidt does not prove his case that the whole is the work of a single hand,54 albeit employing traditional material, his view is not altogether ridiculous, as he is right in seeing the internal logic and in suggesting that there is more here than a random collocation of material but that a single hand is responsible for the final product. Insofar as we have recognized the apostolic redactor as the final redactor with particular agenda, we may agree with Schmidt; the prominence of the apostles in this chapter is to 53 DA 5.14.23. This is probably from a separate source, as discussed in 2.c.4 below. However although Hayman (1985) does not recognize redactional layers his point is nonetheless good that DA’s reaction to Judaism is marked by tension and ambiguity. 54 Schmidt (1919), 649-677.

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be particularly noted, and therefore we may deduce that the apostolic redactor was especially active in the redaction of the chapter. More significantly, if it is the case that the fundamental agendum of the apostolic redactor was to dissuade Christians from the keeping of the law we must see this chapter contributing to this agendum. But we may also observe that the apostolic redactor is the last in a series of redactors and so, in seeking the redactional levels within the chapter, we are at least equipped now to recognize the latest levels, which may in turn assist in identifying lower strata in the construction of the chapter.55 The first to observe the possibility of levels of redaction was Schwartz, who divided the material into seven sections;56 though he stopped short of assigning redactional levels throughout he suggested that there were distinct levels. Our discussion may, however, begin with the most recent attempt to discern levels of redaction within the chapter, which is that of Rouwhorst, who likewise sees seven sections within the chapter, though his division points are not the same as those of Schwartz.57 His first, the ethical section, which is the beginning of the chapter concerning the swearing of oaths, we may attribute to the catechetical source; it is into this source that the section regarding the Pascha suddenly irrupts. . . . it is not lawful for any believer to swear by the sun, or by the other signs of the heavens, nor by the elements, not to utter the name of idols with his mouth, nor to issue a curses from his mouth, but rather blessings and psalms and the dominical and divine Scriptures, which are the certain foundation of our faith. And especially in the days of the Pascha, when all the faithful are fasting, throughout the whole world . . . (DA 5.12.5-6) Almost immediately we are in the presence of the apostles. On this account you are to pray and intercede for them that are lost when you are fasting, as we also did . . .(DA 5.13.1) 55 It is because of the identification of the apostolic redactor as the final redactor that we do not discuss the treatment of Gerlach (1998), 203-230, here. Gerlach’s treatment is rhetorical rather than historical, but he does suggest that the earlier parts of the chapter, including the work of the apostolic redactor, are earlier than the later parts of the chapter, which are preserved by the E redaction (a later version of the text; see 2.d below.) He attempts to justify this view at 209 but the recognition of the apostolic redactor outweighs his considerations. Nonetheless he is right in his perception that the E recension, with its reductions, makes the chapter far more readily comprehensible! 56 Schwartz (1905), 105-121. 57 Rouwhorst (1989a), 164-183.

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The statement that prayer is to be made for those who are lost during the fast may derive from a source, but from ‘as we also did’ it is all the work of the apostolic redactor as, even if the beginning of the discussion on the Pascha is derived from a source, the main discussion of fasting within Pascha on behalf of the Jews, which follows on, must derive from the apostolic redactor since it is in the mouth of the apostles; either the apostles are speaking or Jesus is being quoted in his statement to the apostles, and the speech is in the first person. Rouwhorst recognizes this apostolic section as an interpolation, and, moreover, recognizes that this is from the hand of the final redactor on the same grounds as those proposed above for the activity of the apostolic redactor, namely that this is the hand which strengthens the commandments and instructions of DA through reference to apostolic command and example.58 He believes that this apostolic section has been placed within a direction of much greater antiquity, however, likewise directing that fasting be undertaken on behalf of the Jewish people, and that this is Quartodeciman in origin.59 This is entirely feasible; the introduction to the subject, dealing with Jesus’ injunction to fast in the absence of the bridegroom would thus derive from this Quartodeciman source, into which the apostolic redactor has intervened, and the conclusion of the section, addressed to gentiles, would also be from the original Quartodeciman source. We may, however, compare this to Schwartz’s suggestion that the whole section is primitive on the grounds that it contains the ancient Quartodeciman rationale for fasting, namely that it is a vicarious fast for the Jews.60 Although this rationale does appear in Quartodeciman literature it is not the sole rationale; the probability is that Quartodeciman fasting before Pascha originated from the Jewish custom of observing a short fast before the paschal meal and, once its original rationale was forgotten, found a number of alternative justifications.61 Evangelium Petri 5 implies that this is a fast in memory of the sufferings of the Saviour, and it would seem that one of the purposes of the apostolic redactor is to alter that understanding. Rouwhorst’s third section, which he believes to the later than the source of the second part, (that is, the second part before the Rouwhorst (1989a), 169. Rouwhorst, (1989a), 169-170. 60 Schwartz (1905), 115-118. 61 See also my discussion in (1998), 160-164. 58 59

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intervention of the apostolic redactor), but still ancient, begins with the description of the gathering of the priests and elders at the court of Caiaphas. The priests and the elders of the people assembled and went to the court of Caiaphas the high priest . . . (DA 5.17.2)

However, once again we are rapidly put into the presence of the apostles, with a description of Jesus at the house of Simon the leper. They plotted to seize Jesus and kill him, but took fright and were saying: ‘Not during the festival, lest the people be disturbed’, since everybody was adhering to him, and considered him a prophet, because of his healing miracles which he was performing among them. Now that day Jesus was in the house of Simon the leper and we were together with him, and he told us what would happen to him. But Judas went out from among us in secret, hoping to escape our Lord’s notice, and he went to the house of Caiaphas, where the chief priests and the elders were assembled, and said to them . . . (DA 5.17.2-4)

It is possible, however, that the paragraph concerning Jesus at Simon’s house has been interpolated into a source by the apostolic redactor, because the scene at the leper’s house is left behind quite rapidly, and the narrative returns to the priests and elders, with their conspiracy to alter the date of the Pascha. The question of whether there is a transition is not entirely clear as the narrative is continuous, as Judas goes out from among the disciples to the priests and elders with Caiaphas. Nonetheless, if the material which is evidently from the apostolic redactor is excluded the narrative flows: The priests and the elders of the people assembled and went to the court of Caiaphas the high priest on the tenth of the month, on the second day of the week, reckoning by the moon, as we reckon in accordance with the reckoning of the believing Hebrews. They plotted to seize Jesus and kill him, but took fright and were saying: ‘Not during the festival, lest the people be disturbed’, since everybody was adhering to him, and considered him a prophet, because of his healing miracles which he was performing among them. However, on account of the crowds of the people who were coming to the temple from every town and every village to keep the Pascha in Jerusalem, the priests and the elders determined and

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ordered and established that they should keep the festival without delay. (DA 5.17.2, 6)

The point of this strange chronology, and the tale of the priests and elders conspiring to anticipate the Pascha in order to trap Jesus, is to justify a keeping of a six-day fast prior to a Sunday Easter and in turn to conform this to the statement of Exodus 12:3 that the Pascha is to begin on the tenth of the month. This is hardly Quartodeciman, but is not the work of the apostolic redactor either. Thus there are good grounds for agreeing with Rouwhorst that a hand has intervened before that of the apostolic redactor. We may reasonably suggest that this hand is that of the uniting redactor who, in the process of expanding the source, incorporated it into DA. Noteworthy, moreover, is the fact that the disciples are now fasting out of mourning for Jesus, an entirely separate motivation from that already provided, and distinct from that of the apostolic redactor. There are good grounds, therefore, for attributing the greater part of this section to a level prior to the apostolic redactor but posterior to the original Quartodeciman Grundschrift. What then follows appears at first sight to be entirely rational and to follow on neatly as, after the first three days of the paschal fast are justified, the text goes on to describe the fast of the last three days of the Paschal week. Therefore, from the tenth, which is the second day of the week, you shall fast in the days of Pascha. You shall sustain yourselves with bread and salt and water only, at the ninth hour, until the fifth day of the week. However on the Friday and the Saturday you shall fast entirely, tasting nothing. (DA 5.18)

Rouwhorst, however, divides this, assigning the statement about Friday and Saturday to a fourth section, suggesting that this is even later than the third, and is intended to lead away from a Quartodeciman understanding of the Pascha.62 Rouwhorst then sees a further, fifth, section, beginning at the renewed statement that the fast of the Friday and the Saturday is to be kept carefully, until the third hour of the night: Thus fast on the Friday, because it was then that the people killed Rouwhorst (1989a), 173-175; cf. Schwartz (1905), 115, who sees the whole as the work of a single hand. 62

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themselves in crucifying our Saviour, and again on the Sabbath since it is the Lord’s sleep. (DA 5.19.9)

He suggests that this belongs to the same source as the third section, which ended with the statement that one should be nourished solely by salt, bread and water until the Thursday. It is true that what is said here is largely repetitive of what had previously been said, in Rouwhorst’s fourth section, but we may note that the greater part of this fourth section is made up of a further apostolic intervention, obvious in 5.19.2-3 but probably extending to 5.19.8. If this material is assigned to the apostolic redactor, and discounted, much of the repetition disappears. Thus Rouwhorst is correct in suspecting some interference, but has failed correctly to identify the redactional levels; there is no distinct source here, but rather the hand of the apostolic redactor, intervening between the statement that the fast of the Friday and Saturday should be absolute and the justification that Christians should fast on Friday, ‘because it was then that the people killed themselves in crucifying our Saviour, and again on the Sabbath since it is the Lord’s sleep’. Net of the interference of the (readily identifiable) apostolic redactor the passage reads: You shall sustain yourselves with bread and salt and water only, at the ninth hour, until the fifth day of the week. However on the Friday and the Saturday you shall fast entirely, tasting nothing. You shall come together and watch and keep vigil for the entire night, reading the prophets and with the Gospel and with psalms, with fear and trembling and constant supplication until the third hour of the night after the Sabbath, and then break your fasts. Thus fast on the Friday, because it was then that the people killed themselves in crucifying our Saviour, and again on the Sabbath since it is the Lord’s sleep. (DA 5.185.19.1; 5.19.9)

The purpose of the intervention is, once again, to use the example of the apostles’ fasting to justify the Christians’ fast and, once again, to shift the blame for the crucifixion firmly onto the Jews and away from Pilate, in order to clarify that the fast is vicarious. From then on the section goes to discuss the Sabbath generally as a fasting day (5.20.1-5). There are good grounds for seeing this as deriving from a source. The deuterotic redactor several times polemicizes against Christian observation of rest on Sabbath, referring to it as ‘idling.’ As such this reflects one manner in which the Sabbath might

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be kept, namely as a day of holiday, a manner of Sabbath observance represented in the Jewish tradition by TB Pesahim 68B and TB Shabbath 118A-B. However, older Jewish tradition set the day aside for study with such seriousness that Suetonius believed, as does the source here, that the sabbath was a day of fasting.63 This is the sabbath recognized here, which is distinct from that known to the later redactors. As such we must conclude that the discussion of the sabbath is not that of the apostolic redactor but derives from an earlier level. For Rouwhorst, however, this is all part of the fifth section. Rouwhorst’s last two sections are very brief; first there is the statement that the fourteenth should be observed. He thinks this Quartodeciman and links it to the beginning of the second section, before the intervention of the apostles. Rouwhorst’s seventh is that prohibiting fasting on Sunday. If the sixth section is Quartodeciman then this is certainly anti-Quartodeciman, as one of the great objections to the Quartodeciman method of keeping the Pascha was that the fast might co-incide with a Sunday. Rouwhorst’s reconstruction of the sources is thus: a: A short direction concerning fasting which is ancient, and which consists of the first, small part of the second section. (DA 5.12.6) The section may be ancient and Quartodeciman, and has been extensively interpolated by the apostolic redactor. This section, as interpolated, extends to DA 5.17.1. b: A different hand, proposing a chronology of Holy Week. (5.17.25.18a) c: A treatment of the fasting practice for the earlier part of Holy Week. (5.18b-5.19.5) Rouwhorst suggests that this is the work of the apostolic redactor. However, whereas this material is extensively interpolated by this redactor much, we suggested above, is from the same source which proposed the paschal chronology, namely the uniting redactor. d: A treatment of the latter part of Holy Week, deriving from the hand which created the chronology. (5.18.6- 5.20.9) Again, once the work of the apostolic redactor is removed it can be seen that this is all part of the same discussion, supplied in order to turn the original away from Quartodeciman practice and to justify a six-day Holy Week with Easter on the Sunday.

63

Suetonius, Diuus Augustus 76.4.

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e: The statement of the fourteenth, deriving from the original, ancient, document. (5.20.10) f: A statement on Sunday. (5.20.11-12) Thus Rouwhorst is broadly correct in seeing three levels in the main part of the chapter, an ancient Quartodeciman source, a later, anti-Quartodeciman, hand, and a third hand, supplying apostolic example (the same as that already identified in this introduction.) However he has failed consistently to observe the work of the apostolic redactor which has, in turn, meant that he has failed to see that there is a single chronological discussion set in the middle of the originally Quartodeciman document. Entirely plausible is Rouwhorst’s suggestion that at the bottom of this chapter there lies a Quartodeciman source. As evidence for this we may note not only the emphasis on fixing the Pascha according to a Jewish reckoning but the emphasis on fasting when the Jews are feasting and the use of Evangelium Petri. The chapter, net of the ethical introduction taken from the catechetical source, and net of the interventions of the apostolic redactor identified here, may be seen to flow entirely rationally. Apart from the fact that the removal of this material leaves a coherent text behind, the test of whether this division is correct must be that of whether we can ascertain a purpose behind the additions attributed to the apostolic redactor consistent with his agenda. It is not sufficient simply to say that the provisions are reinforced, as elsewhere when material is being recycled the additions are slight, whereas here the involvement of the redactor is extensive. One possibility might be to suggest that Quartodecimans are being seen as Jewish Christians, and that therefore their practice is being undermined by the same apostolic authority to which Quartodecimans themselves traditionally appeal. This is Rouwhorst’s own explanation; as evidence he points to the preservation of a primitive version of this chapter in the work of Epiphanius, said to have been derived from the diataxis of the apostles.64 This is found in the chapter of the Panarion dealing with a group called the Audians who did not accept the Nicene fixing of the paschal date as after the equinox. However, it is not the case that the source preserved by Epiphanius is a source for DA, rather it is DA itself, for Epiphanius describes this diataxis as of apostolic authorship, and defends this authorship, moreover, by stating that ‘every canonical rule is contained in it, and nothing 64

Rouwhorst (1989a), 181-182 with reference to Epiphanius Panarion 70.

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concerning the faith is counterfeit, nor anything concerning our confession or church administration, the clergy and faith.’ As such he describes DA, in apostolic dress, and thus DA as edited and after it has left the hand of the apostolic redactor.65 We cannot on this basis reject an involvement with Quartodecimans out of hand, but may suggest that whereas a response to Quartodeciman practice lies somewhere behind the redaction of this chapter it does not do so at the level of the apostolic redactor, but before the chapter came into his hands. This explains the contradictions observed by Holl between Rouwhorst’s second section (which we have assigned to the apostolic redactor) and what follows. In particular Holl notes that at first the chapter is principally concerned with the latter part of the week, and begins with an account of the Tuesday night, thus concentrating on the Wednesday and the Friday (here we are dealing with the work of the apostolic redactor), whereas subsequently the chapter is concerned to stretch out the fast to the entire week and brings in new material regarding the effective betrayal by Judas on the Monday, which is not what would have been expected in the light of earlier material.66 Secondly he notes that from the point at which we come to the court of Caiaphas, and the concentration on the entire week beginning with the Monday there is reference to the days of the month, which had previously not been found.67 Holl’s first objection is more apparent than real, for although there is a certain tension, which might indicate a different hand, it is not an absolute contradiction. Indeed a six-day fast is mentioned early in the chapter and to take this as an interpolation without other evidence, is to follow an assumption rather than the evidence. However, the concentration on the days of the month, rather than those of the week, ensuring that the Monday of Holy Week corresponds to the tenth of the month, is distinct. This concentration on days looks as though the concern is the contradiction of Quartodeciman claims. This in turn lends support to Rouwhorst’s assignment of this section to a source other than the original Quartodeciman source and distinct from the apostolic redactor. Further support in turn is gained from Schwartz’s observation that the

65 Cf. also Schwartz, (1905), 110, who suspects that the Audians had a distinct edition of DA. This would be a good hypothesis were it not for our identification of the apostolic redactor as the last in the chain. 66 Holl (1927), 210. 67 Holl (1927), 211.

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justification of the fast as undertaken on behalf of the Jews is absent from this section.68 Holl, however, sees this section as the interpolation, rather than the earlier section. Again it is the recognition of the work of the apostolic redactor which enables us to see that it is not this section which is interpolated, but that the prior section, concerning the fast of the Wednesday and the Friday, which is the later material in this chapter, even if is based on tradition. We may therefore see that a document of possible Quartodeciman origin has been extensively interpolated to provide a chronology of Holy Week which provides for a six-day fast concluding with Easter on Sunday. It is this which was taken by the apostolic redactor and further expanded. If we turn to the passages which may be assigned to the apostolic redactor we may note the following: The first section demonstrating the involvement of the apostolic redactor is principally concerned to define the fast as a vicarious fast for the Jews. It is in this section that the six-day fast seems almost an afterthought, as the scriptural citation indicates that it is principally concerned with the fast of Wednesday and Friday, which are in any event weekly fasts. Weekly fast-days originate, as Holl points out, in a Jewish context,69 and we may note that D’s selection of Wednesday and Friday as weekly fast-days is given an anti-Jewish twist.70 Thus we may suggest that the anti-Jewish tradition which lay behind the twiceweekly fast is being extended to apply to the whole of the fast before Easter. This is entirely in keeping with the agenda of the apostolic redactor of putting distance between Christians and Jews. If the redactional division above is correct this is already present in the tradition, but is here given greater force and direction. The next point of this redactor’s involvement is in the chronological section, in which the beginning of the fast is set at the tenth of Nisan on the basis that this was the day on which the Jewish leaders determined to crucify Jesus. This practice is then strengthened by the apostles’ description of their own example of fasting and grieving; this is not altogether successful, however, as in the chronology thus presented they do not actually begin to fast until Jesus is arrested, on the eleventh, that is to say the Tuesday of Holy Week! However, this very inconsistency assists us in attributing this section to a distinct redactional level. Schwartz (1905), 115. Holl (1927), 214. 70 D 8.1. These fasting days are contrasted to those of the ‘hypocrites.’ 68 69

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Finally the apostolic redactor returns to the issue of the fast, re-iterating that it is undertaken on behalf of the Jews, and making it clear that the death of Jesus was an entirely Jewish responsibility. We may at the last, then, agree with Schmidt that the fundamental object of the redaction of this chapter is to bring out the potentially anti-Jewish nature of the paschal fast,71 rather than simply to confute Quartodecimans. Thus the redactional history proposed for this passage is: A short document of Quartodeciman origin, from which we may recognize perhaps 5.12.6-5.13, 5.15.1-5.17.1a and 5.20.10, is edited to take it away from a Quartodeciman basis, and a distinct chronology of Holy Week is provided. The work of this redactor, supplementary to the base document, may be identified as 5.17.2, 5.17.6-5.19.1, and 5.19.9-5.20.9, as well as the transition from the material deriving from the catechetical document. As such this level of redaction may be seen as similar to the construction of the fiction of Paul’s preaching at the beginning of Vita Polycarpi, namely that it anchors an Easter kept on Sunday within a Quartodeciman milieu.72 It is then edited again by the apostolic redactor to slant the fast in an anti-Jewish direction with the provision of 5.14.1-24, 5.17.1b, 5.17.3-5, and 5.19.2-5.19.8. What makes the identification of strata in this chapter particularly difficult is the fact that the apostolic redactor, in employing a tradition clearly derived from Evangelium Petri, and in insisting on the anti-Jewish nature of the fast, is the product of a tradition which, at root, is Quartodeciman. This is not to suggest that the redactor is reacting directly to Quartodeciman practice but that, as Schmidt suggested,73 Quartodeciman practice has left its mark on the redactor. It is this which led, we suggest, to Schwartz’s conviction that any discussion of fasting as vicarious had to derive from the original Quartodeciman document, a conviction which, in turn, vitiates much of his discussion. Schmidt (1919), 671. When he arrived [in Smyrna] Paul gathered those who were faithful and spoke to them about the Pascha and the Pentecost, reminding them about the new covenant of the offering of the bread and the cup, how they should be sure always to celebrate it in the days of unleavened bread, holding fast to the new mystery of the passion and the resurrection. Here the apostle is clearly teaching us that we should not do this outside of the period of the unleavened bread, as do the heretics, and especially the Phrygians, but that we should not be obliged to keep the fourteenth day; for nowhere is the fourteenth mentioned, but he mentions the day of unleavened bread, the Pascha and the Pentecost, in keeping with the Gospel. (Vita Polycarpi 2). On this passage see my discussion in (2002), 13-18. 73 Schmidt (1919), 674. 71 72

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The significance for this discussion with regard to the redactional history of DA overall is simply this: that an original Quartodeciman source has been redacted before it reached the hands of the apostolic redactor. Although it is possible that the redacted source came to the apostolic redactor and was at that point inserted into DA, it is far more probable that, as already suggested, this was the work of the uniting redactor, who has slotted this into a general discussion of the swearing of oaths. The uniting redactor’s interest in conforming a Quartodeciman source to a six-day Holy Week with Easter on Sunday may be read as an attempt to include Quartodecimans in his general assault on the heresies, whereas the apostolic redactor is concerned particularly to promote the anti-Jewish character of the fast.

2.d Conclusions We have determined with some degree of assurance that that DA is fundamentally created from two sources. We have with a degree of assurance identified two redactors whom we have termed the deuterotic redactor and the apostolic redactor and have suggested that they each worked in turn on a document which had already been constructed by an earlier hand through the uniting and extension of the main sources. The united work was intended as a disciplinary and pastoral manual but had particular regard to the discipline and treatment of those whose beliefs and praxis put them beyond the catholic church. The later redactors are concerned specifically with the issue of continuing law observance on the part of Jewish Christians, and have slanted the work in that direction. The sources employed by the uniting redactor had themselves in all probability been subjected to extensive redaction. Beyond the major sources identified, moreover, there are smaller sources, such as the Quartodeciman Grundschrift of the chapter on the Pascha. These cannot all be identified readily, nor can the many editorial levels which probably already existed within the material which came into the hands uniting redactor be recovered. There are four examples, however, which may be studied and serve to illustrate the point that, although it is impossible generally to get behind the uniting redactor, this redactor’s work was not the first in a line of editors. The demonstration of the independent circulation of this material, moreover, advances the study of the other documents in which this material is found.

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Our first example of a source which seems to have undergone some redaction quite apart from its inclusion in DA is that regarding seating at the beginning of the twelfth chapter. Now, in your congregations in the holy churches your gatherings should be conducted with good order. Appoint places for the brothers with care and gravity; the place of the presbyters should be separate, at the east end of the house, and the bishop’s seat should be set among them, and the presbyters should sit with him. It is in another eastern part of the house that the laymen are to sit, for so it is required. The presbyters are to be seated in the eastern part of the house with the bishops, and then the laymen, and then the women, so that when you stand up to pray the leaders should stand first, and then the laymen and subsequently the women. For it is required that your prayers should be directed towards the east, as you know what is written: ‘Give glory to God who rides upon the heavens of heaven, towards the east.’ One of the deacons should continue to stand by the offerings of the eucharist; another should stand outside the door observing those who come in. And afterwards, when you are offering, they should minister together in the church. And if anyone is found sitting in a place which is not his the deacon within should warn him and make him stand up and seat him in the place which is his own, as is right. (DA 2.57.2-7)

Gamber points out that the direction about prayer is apparently secondary, since it interrupts the flow of the discussion of seating.74 Beyond this, however, we will note below that in this passage the deacons are performing duties assigned to presbyters in K. Again we may suggest that the attribution to deacons is part of the editorial process. A further example of a piece of tradition which seems distinct from any identifiable source within DA is the direction to those who wish to invite widows to an agape¯.75 Some direction for suppers for widows is in to be found at TA 30 and I have suggested already that the redactor of TA was at this point employing a source.76 The directions here and in TA are sufficiently distinct to suggest that, although a source may underlie them both, DA is not here directly dependent upon TA, as the word ‘agape¯’ is preserved in DA, assuming that the Latin version is an accurate rendition of the underlying Greek, whereas it has disappeared from TA. It may simply be that this is an issue which was significant in Gamber (1970), 340. DA 2.28.1-5. 76 In (2001), 148. 74 75

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both communities, but the existence of a common source remains more than possible. The Syriac text of DA speaks of widows whereas the Latin, supported by CA, speaks of ‘older women.’ Both might have derived from a direction like that of TA which speaks of ‘widows, who should have attained old age.’ Thirdly we may note the thirteenth chapter. This is certainly part of the uniting redactor’s work, as the whole is an instruction which the bishop is to pass on to the people. However, it does not directly concern the bishop, who is rapidly forgotten as the chapter proceeds, but is rather a more general exhortation to the people, to which, at the conclusion, a note is appended concerning the behaviour of the young in the church. Whereas no particular parallel is striking, as much of the material is common, we may suspect nonetheless that the whole is taken from a distinct source and included entire by the redactor. Finally we may note a significant parallel between much of what is now the eighteenth chapter, regulating fit and proper persons from whom the bishop might receive offerings and a section in the psAthanasian Syntagma doctrinae dealing which precisely the same issue. DA reads: But if there should be bishops who are uncaring, and inattentive to these matters, through respect of persons, or through impure profit, or through failure to make enquiry, the account that they shall give shall be no ordinary one. For what they are receiving for ministry to orphans and widows is from the rich, who have men locked in prison, from the wicked who make poor provision for their slaves, or act with cruelty in their cities, or oppress the poor, or from the impure, who abuse their bodies with wickedness, or from evildoers, or from those who take interest in lending money, or from lawless advocates, or from those who accuse falsely, or from hypocritical lawyers, or from painters of pictures or from makers of idols, or from workers of gold or silver or bronze who steal, or from corrupt tax-gatherers, or from those who watch the shows, or from those who alter weights, or from those who measure deceitfully, or from innkeepers who water (drinks), or from soldiers who act lawlessly, from spies who obtain convictions, or from Roman authorities, who are defiled by wars and who have shed innocent blood without trial, and from pervertors of judgement who deal corruptly and deceitfully with the peasantry and all the poor in order to rob them, or from idolaters, or from the unclean or from usurers and extortionists. Those who nourish widows from these will be found guilty when judged on the day of the Lord, since Scripture says: ‘Better a meal of herbs with love and compassion than the slaughter of fattened oxen with hatred.’ (DA 4.5.4-6.6)

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Compare to this Syntagma doctrinae: The priest should be vigilant concerning the sacrifices; for if he receives from a soldier who sheds blood, or a businessman, or one who swears oaths, or one who is wealthy through fraud, or one who exacts additional taxes, or a usurer, or one who raises prices on grain, or from any sinner, such a priest, if he receives from such, offers the blind and the lame to God from them.

A yet more extensive version is found in the Coptic version of a document clearly related to Syntagma, the Fides patrum, (the Greek being lacking for this section): Regarding those who touch the offerings, it is proper for the priest of God to be prudent and moderate, not to show contempt for his rights to the firstfruits of foodstuffs. For if he receives from a soldier who sheds blood, from one who causes loss to another, or from a prefect, or from a businessman who swears oaths for shameful gain, or from a general, accursed by those he has violated, or from a violent rich person who is violent to his servants and does not feed them, or clothe them, or from a murderer of from a thief, especially if they are unrepentant, or from somebody who practises usury with regard to his debtors, or idolaters, or magicians, or incanters, or those who go to pagan gatherings, or are effeminate, or artists who sculpt or paint the images of idols, or tricksters and forgers who use fake weights, or money changers, or drunkards or tavern keepers, or from false priests. If the priest of God receives offerings from any of them, or allows any group of sinners into the temple, he is not in conformity with those things which we have said, and if he is not avoid those things which we have proscribed, anything he offers at the altar of the Lord is lame and blind. He is taking the fault upon himself, and he is polluting the house of the Lord, because he has not preferred the Lord and his temple to his own wellbeing.77

The fundamental issue is the same, and both are concerned that the bishop should not receive from usurers, innkeepers, soldiers, idolaters, the sexually impure, those who prepare medications or those who conduct business dishonestly. Both the Syntagma and the Fides 77

The Syntagma doctrinae is edited by Battifol (1890), the Fides patrum also by Battifol (1887). The Coptic version is edited by Revillout (1881), 25-57. The translations here are from Stewart-Sykes (forthcoming), which also has a brief discussion, (the only discussion apart from that of Battifol), of the interrelationship of these documents.

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patrum are clearly constructed out of diverse sources, and within DA these proscriptions may be seen to interrupt the flow of the text, although they are part of the wider treatment of the bishop’s economic activity. We may suggest that a source has been both incorporated and, particularly through the addition of a citation from Proverbs, edited, by the uniting redactor.78 Before leaving the question of redactional levels within the final document we should note that as DA was formed as living literature, it continued to be so. One family of Syriac manuscripts here termed the E recension contains a very different version of DA. In this family there is an introduction setting out the apostolic authorship of the work, a collection of other, independently produced, church-order material added after the third chapter (which may be found in the appendix to this version) and, towards the end in particular, there is extensive abbreviation; in particular the twenty-first chapter is abbreviated to such an extent that it may be described as a reworking. This is clearly a ‘second edition’ of DA, of uncertain date.79 Beyond this it would seem that chapter divisions were added at a later stage: as they stand they are certainly secondary. Not only is there variety between the manuscripts regarding their exact form but in two cases they are to be found in the middle of a sentence of the Latin version, and in one case in the middle of a sentence of CA. Beyond this there are traces of titles within some of the existing chapters. Nonetheless it is possible that the divisions in the Syriac version are based on an earlier, original, chapter division. Each of the first six books of CA begins at the same point as a chapter in the Syriac version. Moreover, at each of these points there is a gap in the Latin version which indicates that a chapter division might have stood there and at the thirteenth and sixteenth chapters of the Syriac there is a title in the Latin version as 78 Connolly (1929), 158, in a note, also observes the parallel with Syntagma. However, he asserts that the author of Syntagma knew either DA or the content of DA through CA. I fail to see why Connolly assumes this; he also asserts that the author of Syntagma was acquainted with D, which is certainly not the case. It seems that Connolly is working on the assumption that the earlier documents are always the sources for later documents containing parallel material. 79 For a general discussion of this family see Connolly (1929), xiii-xv, to whom a single exemplar of the family was available, and Vööbus (1979a), 33*-67*, who discusses its character at length. Gerlach (1998), 205-206, suggests that the radical abbreviations towards the end of DA are such that the eyes of the redactors were ‘on a diminishing supply of parchment.’ Nonetheless he suggests that much of the twenty-first chapter was in any event redundant as an adequate paschal chronology had been provided by the additional material inserted after the third chapter.

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well. All this indicates that, although the existing divisions in the Syriac are secondary, they are based on an earlier division of chapters, indicating in turn that the tendency in the Syriac manuscript tradition has been to simplify the division of the work.80

3. the date and provenance of DA The recognition that DA went through a series of redactions and that sources were employed, which themselves had undergone expansion and alteration before they came into the hands of the uniting redactor, means that the question of the date of DA has to be opened afresh.81 To date the sources is insufficient; thus, for instance, on the basis of the direction at 2.58.3 that a visiting bishop should be invited to offer the blessing over the cup, a rite probably incomprehensible at any period later than the mid-second century, Gamber suggests that DA is earlier than generally reckoned.82 All this means, however, is that a very early source has been preserved at this point. More generally an ante-Nicene date is upheld on the basis that the twentieth chapter assumes that Christians are persecuted, but this simply dates the source and not the date of its inclusion in the final document. In noting previous discussions we may begin with the contribution of Galtier. He picked up on the discussion regarding the penitential discipline of DA; it had already been suggested that the relatively lax position of the penitential system described was a reaction to Novatian, and thus that the system derived from the latter part of the third century.83 To this Galtier responded with a series of impressive arguments, pointing out that those who demanded strictness were, in the purview of DA, within, rather than without, the church, and that strictness was not, moreover, restricted to the Novatianists; he suggests that the Montanists in Asia at the end of the second century were equally rigorist. He also suggests that the use of the image of the ark, 80

For discussion of this point and full details of the divisions in the different versions see Hauler (1908) and Schöllgen (1991). 81 Catalogues of conventional opinions on the introductory issues such as date, text, provenance and the relationship of the Syriac and Latin texts to that of CA may be found in Cox (1975b) and Mühlsteiger (2006), 95-107. 82 Gamber, (1970), 344. See the discussion of this passage below. 83 In particular the suggestion of Schwartz (1911), 16-24. Note also the discussion below.

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in which both clean and unclean animals are found, to represent the church84 is similar to the usage of Callistus early in the third century,85 and that the methods urged upon the bishop were those proposed and employed by Polycarp, by distinction to the later codification of periods of penance which took the initiative away from individual bishops.86 In agreeing with Galtier at all these points, however, we may note that this simply enables us to date the source of the section dealing with penitence, rather than the finished product. Galtier goes on to point out that DA anticipates the possibility that Christians will be persecuted for their faith but that no widespread persecution is presupposed, rather persecution is sporadic and local. This fits the situation obtaining between the time of Trajan, the first emperor to declare Christianity illicit but who suggested that Christians should not be sought out for persecution, and Decius, the first emperor to initiate widespread and systematic persecution.87 Again, while we may agree, this simply dates the source, which in this instance is from the catechetical manual. Both these sources had their origin, we may suggest, late in the first century, but both had been extensively edited and expanded before they reached the hands of the uniting redactor. However, in agreement with Galtier’s arguments, we may agree that they had reached their present state by around the first quarter of the third century. Further support for this dating may be found in the provisions of the eighth and ninth chapters for the support of the bishop and deacons from the goods of the congregation. Whereas in earliest Christianity the officers of the congregation were financial supporters, patrons, of the congregations, by this stage they have become financially dependent upon the congregation. We cannot trace this whole movement here, but it may be noted that this is a situation which became regular and normal in the earlier part of the third century.88 This, however, does not date the finished product, as at least two layers of redaction were to follow.

84

DA 2.14.9.

On Callistus’ usage see Hippolytus Ref. 9.7. Galtier (1947), 341-348. 87 Galtier (1947), 348-350. Cf. Funk (1907), 281-282, who suggest that this may equally fit a period at the close of the Decian persecution. We may, however, suggest that this persecution brought about a fundamental change in the attitude of Christians towards persecution. Whereas this does not absolutely invalidate Funk’s suggestion, further argument is needed. 88 See the discussion in Schöllgen (1998), 50-100. 85 86

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Similar considerations apply to other arguments adduced for a date early in the third century by Connolly,89 such as the description of the book of Proverbs as ‘Wisdom’, reckoned by Eusebius to be an ancient use,90 but which is not consistent (‘Proverbs’ is used by the deuterotic redactor) and the use of Evangelium Petri (which is found in one of the sources of the discussion of Pascha in chapter 21.) With regard to the final level of redaction, that of the apostolic redactor, a third century date is possible on the basis that this is the period at which there is a harking back to the apostolic age.91 Significant also in this regard is the conflict with gnosticism, particularly the gnostic claim of particular disciples such as Bartholomew and Philip as sources of authority.92 Which is not to say that DA is any sort of direct response to gnosticism, but rather that the anchorage of orthodoxy in apostolic witness is engendered largely by the debate with gnostics, and is the context for the increasingly biographical nature of pseudonymity in the third century. However, apostolic pseudonymity is not confined to the third century and we may note that the pseudonymity of DA is somewhat more sophisticated than that of, say, K in that, as already suggested, the apostles do not simply stand as ciphers for authority but specifically as Jewish voices of authority which accept Christ and therefore no longer observe the secondary legislation. This would imply that the idea of apostolic authority had reached the apostolic redactor from other literature and is secondarily applied to the traditional material which was in his hands. Since we must assume that some time had passed for such reflection to take place, we may perhaps give a date to the final edition of DA rather later than that usually assigned, in the latter part of the third century, or even in the fourth. A date after Nicaea is generally rejected because of the references to persecution and the negative estimation of the apparatus of the Roman state and secular justice, but these may result simply from the unedited retention of material from an earlier source. We may also note, with Funk, that the work is unknown to Eusebius.93 A date beyond the middle of the fourth century cannot be sustained as the completed DA was in the hands of the editor of CA by that date, and not long after in the hands of Epiphanius, but the point is made that although earlier sources are included, and that these sources 89

Connolly (1929), xc-xci. Eusebius HE 4.22. 91 So note the essays in Hilhorst (2004). 92 On which see especially Parrott (1986). 93 Funk (1907), 280. 90

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themselves are developments of earlier sources, the final product is not as early as generally assumed on the basis of these sources. A similarly relatively late date may also be suggested by the apostolic redactor’s involvement in the twenty-first chapter. Although one thinks of the Quartodeciman controversy as fundamentally an issue of the late second century, the fall-out from the Nicene council’s decision to fix the date of Easter on the Roman basis indicates that this continued to be an issue. The twenty-first chapter presents a paschal chronology intended to justify not only keeping Easter on a Sunday, calculated in accordance with the usual Antiochene calculation presented at Nicaea, but also for the keeping of an entire week of fasting beforehand. The first evidence of the keeping of an entire Holy Week is not Syrian but Alexandrian, and comes from the third century;94 we have suggested that this justification for an entire week’s fasting is the work of the uniting redactor, who had interpolated a Quartodeciman document. However, the further appearance of the apostolic redactor is indication that for all that some Syrian churches had moved to keeping Easter on a Sunday Quartodeciman observance is not altogether forgotten. Such is still in the memory of Aphraahat in the fourth century;95 like Aphraahat, the apostolic redactor is not a Quartodeciman but is formed in a tradition on which the Quartodeciman heritage has left a mark. This does not give an absolute dating but does nothing to make a dating in the fourth century unlikely or impossible. We may further seek a later dating on the basis of the fundamental issue which lies behind the work of the deuterotic redactor, namely the issue over Jewish converts continuing to keep the law. In the second century law obedient Jewish Christians were known to Justin; he is unconvinced that their law obedience is necessary for salvation but is unconcerned as long as they do not induce gentile Christians to keep the law likewise,96 and whereas law-observant Jewish Christians and gentile Christians co-existed in Jerusalem through the third century, Eutychius reports that an attempt was made to detect Jewish Christians in 94 This is the letter of Dionysius of Alexandria to Basileides which, in discussing the question of the exact hour at which the paschal fast is to be broken, makes reference to the manner in which the prior six days have been spent. Possibly of a similar date and locale are Canones Hippolyti which likewise, in canon 22, prescribe a week of fasting and, like DA, suggest that the fast be fixed with reference to the Pascha of the Jews. Likewise bread and salt and water are prescribed as the food for the fast. Funk (1907), 278-279, also notes that this fast is extended well beyond any period of prepaschal fasting known to Irenaeus, cited by Eusebius at HE 5.24, and thus deduces that the whole is to be dated relatively late in the third century. 95 See the discussion of Rouwhorst (1982). 96 Justin Dialogus 47.

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Jerusalem during the reign of Constantine by making people eat pork.97 It seems unlikely that the state would prevent Judaizing so early, but even if this account is taken at face value it indicates that law-observance is particularly an issue in the fourth century. It is in the fourth century, moreover that we find the Council of Laodicea legislating against Judaizing by observing the Sabbath,98 characterizing the Sabbath in a similar way to the deuterotic redactor, and the polemic of John Chrysostom against Jews and Judaizers.99 It would thus seem that whereas Jews in the area addressed by DA might formerly have become Christians without altering their mode of life or conduct the conditions of the fourth century did not allow this so readily. As Stark suggests, it is in the fourth century that the making of a Christian world becomes a possibility, for which reason clear and final distinctions need to be made between Jews and Christians.100 It is thus to the fourth century that the work of the later redactors of DA may reasonably be attributed. So Connolly is exercised by the mention of gathering in cemeteries, which was expressly forbidden under Valerian in 257 but soon after lifted, and enquires whether DA precedes or follows this edict.101 We may be fairly sure, in contrast to Connolly, that, whereas much of the content of DA preceded this edict, the deuterotic redactor, in whose material gathering in cemeteries finds mention, followed it, perhaps at some distance. This raises the interesting question of how contemporary Jews might understand the Jewish Christians addressed by DA, since if these Jews continued in Jewish practice then, whereas they might be deemed heretical through their acceptance of Jesus, they are nonetheless part of the Jewish community through practice.102 The whole question of the date and nature of the ‘parting of the ways’ is thus raised since if the keeping of the law is a fundamental point of division it has to be made PG111, 1016. So Canon 29, in particular censuring idleness on the sabbath, and enjoining work on that day. 99 In his homilies against the Judaizers. See, for some discussion, Wilken (1983). 100 Stark (1996), 66-67, concluding a chapter arguing for the persistence of law-observant Christianity and the prominence of ethnically Jewish Christians in the eastern Empire. 101 Connolly (1929), xc-xci. 102 Schiffmann (1981), 115-156, suggests that the two systems become separate religions only because of the gentilization of Christianity, with the resultant abandonment of the keeping of the law. If, however, these Christians are keeping the law there is no reason to treat them as without Israel. Setzer (1994), 177-178, notes the puzzlement caused by Christians who whilst accepting Jewish Scripture do not keep the law. One may surmise that Christians who kept the law found their own attitudes entirely consistent. 97 98

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such by the redactors of DA. Is it possible that the struggle on the part of catholic Christianity to establish itself over and against Judaism is in part motivated by the fact that, as far as the synagogue was concerned, Jews who continued to observe the law had never actually left the Jewish community, even though they believed in Jesus? As far as the Christian redactors of DA are concerned, however, Jews who have not confessed Christ are not part of the catholic church. Their failure is to confess their guilt for the death of Christ. Quite apart from any social factors which might lead to the attitude of DA’s redactors, this is a genuinely felt theological attitude from which the belief that the Jews hate the Christians may come about as a projection. The situation lends support to Lieu’s characterization of the Jewish-Christian divide as less a parting of the ways than a series of criss-crossing muddy tracks, not navigable except to the expert (and, we may suggest, native) guide.103 A conclusion as to the date of DA may therefore only be hazarded with a degree of circumspection. We may perhaps suggest the first quarter of the fourth century for the work of the apostolic redactor and place the work of the uniting redactor, who is fundamentally responsible for DA in its present shape, somewhere after the first quarter of the third century on the basis of the terminus ad quem provided for the catechetical manual by Galtier’s arguments. Such vagueness is difficult, but the nature of the document leaves little room for a more positive conclusion. Since the question of date is raised we should make mention of the issue of provenance, even though this may be discussed relatively briefly. Connolly may be allowed to speak for the consensus in placing the work in Syria on the basis principally of the early circulation of the work in Syria. He points out that the Syriac translation was made relatively early, that the work was employed by the Audians, who originated in Mesopotamia, that Evangelium Petri is employed in the twenty-first chapter, and that the baptismal rituals which are described, as well as the role of women within them, accord well with those found in Acta Thomae.104 He also points out the close relationship which obtains between DA and Jewish custom and the evidence that the author is acquainted with a Semitic language, and thus concludes that the work originated ‘between Antioch and Edessa: yet without excluding the possibility of lower Syria, or even Palestine.’105 Not all of these arguments are 103

Lieu (2002) in conclusion. Acta Thomae 17, 121, 132-3, 157. 105 Connolly, (1929), lxxxix, in summary of several pages discussion. Achelis in Achelis and Flemming (1904), 354-366, reaches similar conclusions on similar grounds. 104

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equally convincing, but the widespread and early circulation of the document within the region of Syria, and the Syrian baptismal rite presupposed, in material which seems to derive from the deuterotic redactor, would indicate that Connolly is correct and that this true at least of the later levels of redaction. The sources may derive from elsewhere, but it is noteworthy that K, which employs material of common ancestry, is likewise Syrian, and so it is likely that, even they did not originate in this area, their widest circulation was in Syria, and so this again points to the Syrian origin of the whole. We may have absolute certainty, however, only with regard to the final levels of redaction. The parallels noted with Clement in the catechetical material, the observance of a six-day Holy Week in keeping with the statements of Dionysius of Alexandria, and the reference to episcopal handlaying as the means of reconciliation (whereas more common eastern practice, at least in a later period, is to anoint returning penitents whereas handlaying is, again, the usage known to Dionysius106) all raise the suspicion of an Alexandrian recension of DA. In this light my failure to trace the word of Holzhey is all the more frustrating. However the description of a criminal trial at DA 2.52, describing a procedure which is probably not Roman and the statement that ‘Jew’ interpreted means ‘confess’ at DA 2.59.3, which only makes sense in Syriac, indicate that the uniting redactor is also Syrian. We may note that Alexandrians travelled; quite apart from Origen’s removal to Caesarea, Eusebius records two successive Alexandrian bishops of Laodicea, Eusebius and Anatolius.107 Thus it is easiest to account for these ‘Alexandrian’ elements by suggesting that they are traditions which travelled, and so to continue to hold Syria as the place not only of the final redaction of DA but also of its first construction from the two fundamental sources. Thus an observation of the redactional levels within DA means that the question of dating needs seriously to be re-examined; however the consensus regarding its provenance is probably as secure as ever it was.

4. the significance of observing redactional layers in da If DA is the result of a series of overlaid editions, the contours of which at least can be mapped, then any information deriving from this source needs to be attributed to one of these layers. It is not possible 106 107

As recorded at Eusebius HE 7.8. HE 7.32.5-6

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simply to treat DA as a unity and to draw conclusions on that basis on any subject. In the final part of this introduction, therefore, I discuss various topics raised by DA with a view to seeing how a reading of DA as living literature may transform previous discussions

4.a Bishops, presbyters, deacons and widows in the community of DA As DA lays out the qualifications for a bishop the duties expected emerge. Having laid out basic qualifications with echoes of previous lists such as those of the Pastoral Epistles, firstly generosity is emphasized and secondly that the bishop should be no respecter of persons.108 These indicate that the functions of the episcopate are principally economic and disciplinary as emerges yet more clearly when the interpolation of the deuterotic redactor at 2.5.4, stating that the bishop should be careful in distinguishing the law and the deutero¯sis, is discounted. And as soon as the duties of a bishop are described disciplinary functions come to the fore. Little is said of liturgical duties, except insofar that the liturgy is a locus for disciplinary and economic activity such as the admonishment of sinners and the collection of alms. As Flemming notes, the bishop stands at the centre of the congregation.109 We should clarify here that the bishop here is the head of a single congregation rather than of a group of congregations, as he is assumed to be the normal minister of baptism and has personal responsibility for the exercise of discipline within the congregation. He it is who ministers the word to you and is your mediator, your teacher, and, after God, is your father who has regenerated you through the water. He is your chief, he is your master, he your powerful king. He is to be honoured by you in the place of God, since the bishop sits among you as a type of God. (DA 2.26.4)

However the very point that this is emphasized should give us cause to suspect that the authority of the bishop was not unquestioned. The point of this issue was not, however, an alternative system of governance; there is no trace of charismatic opposition to the bishop, even if such a thing ever existed, nor is there a conflict between 108 109

DA 2.4.-2.5.

In Achelis and Flemming (1904), 269.

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female and male leadership, but the issue may be seen, quite simply, as social division. This may be deduced from a number of the directions which are given to the bishops. In particular these chapters frequently exhort the bishop not to show deference or respect to persons, nor to accept bribes and gifts. The bishop should not be a respecter of persons, not one who stands in deference to the rich or who pleases them beyond what is right. And he should not despise nor neglect the poor, nor be lifted up against them. (DA 2.5.1) Should, however, the person of the bishop be a stumbling-block, how can he rise to search out anyone’s offences, how rebuke and how enforce his directions? Whether through respect of persons or through having received gifts he cannot. (DA 2.17.1-2) But if you discover that the accusation of wrongdoing is false and you, the shepherds, together with the deacons, have accepted the falsehood as true out of respect for persons or on account of the offerings you receive, if you desire to do the will of the evil one in giving false judgement . . . (DA 2.42.1) If your own mind is not pure, whether on account of respect of persons or on account of the gifts of impure profit which you are receiving . . . (DA 2.43.5)

The ancient world was a world which functioned largely on the basis of what today would be recognized as bribery and corruption, and through a network of relationships which worked to the mutual advantage of those in positions of power. It is in the context of such a world that these directions must be understood. In a fictional dialogue between Epictetus and the diorthe¯te¯s, a high official of the Empire, the diorthe¯te¯s reminds Epictetus that he is a judge. When Epictetus asks him how he is qualified for such a position the diorthe¯te¯s states that Caesar had written his recommendation. What good, asks Epictetus, does that do? Moreover, he goes on, how did he obtain such a recommendation? Through flattery, through sleeping in front of doors so that he might salute powerful persons in the morning, or through sending gifts?110 For such is the way in which such an appointment might be obtained. At a lower level ‘presents’ to officials were commonplace. P.Fayyum 117 is a letter to a son instructing him what to pay to various officials for their favours. Such venality 110

Epictetus Dissertationes. 3.7.29-33.

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was so systematic that Ulpian advises that such gifts received should not be too great but that provincial officials should not desist altogether from the receipt of gifts.111 As such it is far from unreasonable to expect the church to be affected by such a culture. That so much energy is spent in dissuading bishops from respect for the rich and being influenced by bribes and presents that we may suspect that some bishops indeed conducted themselves thus but that the church nonetheless sought to mirror an alternative society, in which justice was true and unaffected by class or privilege. Justice extended to economic justice and the bishop thus had a central role in the distribution of wealth, redistributed from those same well-off Christians whose undue influence he has to avoid to the poorer in the congregation, in particular to the widows and the orphans. This role must be remembered in understanding what DA has to say about the extent to which the bishop must be free of respect for persons and of the undue influence of the wealthy. The eucharist, insofar as one can tell from the short and sidelong references within DA is not an occasion on which real food is eaten and distributed, as once it had been, but remains an occasion on which collections for the poor may be received. They are distributed, however, separately. This, once again, means that the bishop might be prone to the possibility of showing favouritism, or of fraudulently applying the gifts meant for the poor to himself. Mention is made of this last possibility, but it is not emphasized to the same extent that the danger of respect of persons is emphasized, which indicates that in reality it happened less frequently. However, there is another angle to this discussion of gifts and the distribution of goods to the poor as in the ancient world the wealthy might use their wealth charitably but not necessarily entirely disinterestedly. Gifts might be used to not only to gain support and respect from persons of equal status but also, through the possession of a conspicuous clientela, to be a means of gaining social status and advantage known as philotimia. It is for this reason DA is most insistent that the bishop should be the agency by which charity is given, for otherwise there would be a ready centre of opposition to the bishop which the wealthy might orchestrate. Although we might suggest that the bishop is not himself numbered among the well-off on the grounds that he is professionalized and as such requires support from the congregation in order to carry out his duties (for this would indicate that he is not a person of means who does not need to work 111

Digesta 1.16.6.3.

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at a trade in order to support himself and his family), it is also possible that this professionalization of the bishop’s role came about in order to prevent the bishop cultivating a personal network. Any network brought about by the bishop’s charity is thus a network of the church, rather than of the person. The terms used of the bishop, ‘father’, ‘chief ’ and ‘master’ are terms used by a clientela of their patron, and it is no co-incidence that the subject under discussion is the distribution of goods in the community and the insistence that this be undertaken not privately but through the office of the bishop. Finally, having observed the extent to which the bishop had a judicial role, we may note that this is engendered by very same culture of corruption mentioned above. In particular the workings of justice would tend to deny justice to the weak, whereas influence might readily be bought or applied to one who is a client Although it may seem odd that the bishop should be engaged in functioning judicially we must note that the workings of official justice were so patchy that Roman law makes provision for arbiters to be appointed and agreed in civil disputes.112 We may see Christians accepting the bishop as an arbiter in such disputes, in which case it is the more vital that the bishop be free of undue influence. Such economic and dicastic activity on the part of the bishop is not an innovation; it is precisely the role of the proesto¯s, assisted by deacons, described by Justin113 and, insofar as the duties of the bishop and presbyters in K are likewise economic and disciplinary we may suggest that in kk likewise these were the bishop’s duties. However, the frequent insistence within DA that alms be given through the agency of the bishop implies that, however ancient this practice, it remained controversial as it effectively consolidated the influence of the bishop over and against private patrons. That the original duties of bishops and deacons were not liturgical in the narrow sense but were fundamentally related to the sharing of goods within the community was suggested by a number of studies in the nineteenth century. Another point argued in these same studies is that that gentile Christian communities knew only bishops (episkopoi) and deacons (diakonoi), officers who held titles derived from officers in secular society whose function in secular society was likewise economic, and that this episcopal-diaconal system was combined with the (Jewish) system of governance by presbyters to create the threefold 112 113

Digesta 4.1; Codex 2.55.1. Justin 1 Apol. 1.55,57.

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order.114 This is little heard today, and were this theory to be re-presented it would need a great deal of refinement; nonetheless I believe that it comes close to representing the reality. Certainly it would seem that the community in which the manual on the duties of bishops was produced simply did not know the institution of presbyters. We may observe in this respect that there are directions for the appointment of bishops, deacons and widows but none concerning the appointment of presbyters, and that when presbyters appear in this section they are marginal to the concerns being discussed. Might we suggest in this light that they are a redactional importation? One particularly clear example of this possibility occurs in the eleventh chapter. The chapter is addressed to bishops and deacons, and discusses their respective pastoral duties. In particular it states that the deacons are to be the bishop’s eyes and ears. It goes on to discuss the resolution of lawsuits and disputes: But if they do not know the saying which was spoken by our Lord in the Gospels, when he said: ‘How many times should I forgive my brother when he offends me?’, and grow angry with one another and become enemies, you are to teach them and you are to reprove and make peace between them, since the Lord has said: ‘Blessed are the peacemakers.’ And be aware that it is required of the bishop and presbyters to judge with caution; as our Saviour said when we asked him ‘How many times should I forgive a brother when he wrongs me? As many as seven times?’ Our Lord, however, taught us and said to us: ‘I say to you, not seven times only, but seventy times seven.’ (DA 2.46.5-6)

There has already been an allusion to this same logion concerning forgiveness and so the citation is repetitive and otiose here. More to the point the entire chapter so far has discussed the respective disciplinary functions of bishop and deacons. Suddenly presbyters intrude and deacons disappear. This is a clear example of redactional intrusion, bringing with it presbyters who do not belong in the source. Thus at the very beginning of this section it is said that the bishop is head of the presbytery,115 but from then on there is no mention of a presbyter until the ninth chapter, in a list of types, in 114 Fundamentally Hatch (1881); note also Lietzmann (1958), an article first published early in the twentieth century, and Harnack (1910). 115 DA 2.1.1.

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which the presbyters appear after the deaconess!116 The community which produced the church-order on which this section of DA is based seems indeed to have known no presbyters originally but to have been managed by episkopoi and diakonoi. If, as suggested above, the section on the episcopate is derived from the source of the comparable section of K, then we may note that significant alterations have had to be made because, by contrast to DA, the system of governance in this community was fundamentally presbyteral. It is for this reason that the source continues to state that the bishop is the head of the presbytery at its beginning, whereas the presbyters subsequently disappear. There is a single point at which a reader appears and a single point at which a subdeacon appears,117 and in each instance these ministries appear in the company of presbyters. The passage concerning the subdeacon has long been suspected as an interpolation;118 in agreeing with this assessment we may suggest that the interpolation is more extensive than previously thought. The context in which the reader appears is a free-floating and independent piece of tradition which has been inserted into the text, possibly by the uniting redactor, in support of the argument that officers of the congregation had a right to support. Presbyters may have stood originally in this text, but it is not from the main source of DA. In other words, presbyters were not known in the church which produced the version of kk which was incorporated into DA as this continued operating the ancient episcopal-diaconal system. They appear largely in material which is extraneous to the main source and occasionally in redactional interventions, but never with any particular centrality, nor to any great extent in DA overall. Before leaving this point we may note that in the following passage two deacons are doing duties comparable to those of the two presbyters in K, indicating that the redactor has shifted responsibilities from presbyters to deacons: One of the deacons should continue to stand by the offerings of the eucharist; another should stand outside the door observing those who come in. And afterwards, when you are offering, they should minister together in the church. And if anyone is found sitting in a

116 117 118

DA 2.26.7.

2.28.5 (reader); 2.34.3 (subdeacon) So Achelis in Achelis and Flemming (1904), 265.

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place which is not his the deacon within should warn him and make him stand up and seat him in the place which is his own, as is right. (DA 2.57.6)119

In view of this it seems that the suggestions of these earlier studies that bishops and deacons, whose duties were economic, might have existed in the absence of presbyters should be revisited and some of their conclusions re-presented. The virtual absence of presbyters from the text, and the corresponding prominence of bishops and deacons, observed first by Nau,120 has caused great puzzlement and some suggestions which imply a degree of desperation in the attempt to explain the phenomenon, for instance that of Connolly, who explains DA’s virtual silence concerning presbyters by suggesting that they existed but simply had nothing to do!121 In this light the suggestion of Schöllgen that some of the problems of interpretation in DA may be explained by reviving the hypothesis of the unification of two forms of governance is noteworthy,122 although I believe that in placing the unification of these two forms early in the second century (on the grounds that such a unification is known from the letters of Ignatius) he fails to see that an ununified form, namely continuing episcopal-diaconal governance, without presbyters, lies behind a large part of DA, and may have continued after the time of Ignatius.123 The recognition of redactional levels within DA thus enables DA to take its proper place in the discussion and makes it yet more likely that the instincts of these nineteenth-century scholars were correct. The function and ministries of women may also be discussed in the light both of the revelation of the role of patronage in the community and in the light of the redactional levels which have been 119 Cf. K 17-18: The bishop who has been installed, knowing the care and the love of God of those who are with him, should install two presbyters of whom he approves . . . The presbyters on the right are to assist those who oversee the altar, so that they may distribute the gifts of honour and receive them as necessary. The presbyters on the left are to assist the congregation, so that it may be peaceful and without disturbance, once it has been instructed in all submission. 120 Nau (1902), 27. 121 Connolly (1929), xxxix-xl; Achelis in Achelis and Flemming (1904), 272-273 argues along similar lines. For further literature and some discussion see Schöllgen (1998), 92-93. 122 Schöllgen, (1998), 124. 123 This presupposes that the community of Ignatius is exceptional in that the unification of forms has taken place very early, but there is no reason why that might not be the case. Polycarp, at the same period, has no knowledge of episkope¯. Note the brief discussion of Brent (2006), 24, with reference to the prescript of Polycarp Phil.

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observed within DA. Although this has received some attention in the literature,124 having established that DA is made up of layers we may examine the relevant passages in an attempt to determine the level of redaction to which they belong which may in turn give a greater clarity to the purpose behind these discussions. Before DA turns to the to the appointment of widows, a relic we may suggest of the original source since the same subject is discussed in K, widows appear several times as the objects of charity.125 The receipt of charity by widows thus seems to be the principal concern of the redactor. Having briefly discussed the appointment of widows, following the contours of kk, the redactor, in the fourteenth chapter goes on to state bluntly that they may be recipients of charity only through the agency of the bishop (3.4), thus returning to his principal interest. Beyond this, moreover, widows are forbidden to teach (3.5), and subsequently to baptize (3.9), a prohibition which appears to be from the hand of the apostolic redactor since it is expressed in the first person plural. We may suggest, especially in of the teaching and baptizing activity of women in the Acta Pauli,126 as well as the prominent seats for widows in the assembly of some Syrian churches,127 that the reason that these activities are being forbidden to widows is that they had previously acted thus.128 The greater part of the discussion, however, concerns the manner in which widows should receive the goods of the church and the manner in which they should behave. As the subject then turns to deacons there is, as has already been noted, the sudden irruption of material regarding the appointment of a deaconess, to which once again the apostolic redactor lends support. It is possible that the creation of deaconesses is brought about as a substitute for the ministry previously performed by widows;129 in particular we may note that the ministry of anointing at baptism entrusted to the deaconess at 3.12.2 is, in Testamentum Domini 2.8, performed by widows, in particular those widows who have prominent seats. There is support, moreover, for seeing the deaconess as supplanting the widow as a means of bringing women’s ministry under episcopal control in K, which similarly pursues a strategy of 124

Note in particular Methuen (1995), Penn (2001). E.g. at 2.4.1, 2.25.2, 8; 2.49.2. 126 Reported by Tertullian at Bapt. 17. 127 Testamentum Domini 1.19; 1.23. 128 So also Methuen (1995), 200, Bartlet, (1943), 121-2, Gryson (1976), 38. 129 So also Methuen, (1995), 202. 125

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narrowly defining the functions of a widow. Therein a ministry beyond pastoral care is effectively denied to women, and the pastoral office of a widow is described which is directly comparable to that proposed for deaconesses in DA. In K, however, there is no deaconess. Since the appearance of the deaconess in DA is the result of redacting an earlier source130 we may suggest that this redactional level has introduced a new and subtle means of control of women’s ministry. Already in the redacted kk the widows are effectively brought under episcopal control through restricting the means by which they may be offered support to the agency of the bishop. We shall examine the reasons for this in a moment. Then, at the next level, the deaconess, who actively ministers in lieu of the widow, is subject, like the deacon, to the bishop through being counted a member of the clergy.131 Finally these provisions are strengthened by the apostolic redactor. The whole exercise of authority is thus brought under the bishop. We may thus conclude that at later levels of redaction DA is concerned to regulate the authority of women, but this does not explain the earlier material restricting the receipt of charity by widows, which forms the greater part of DA’s polemic. To explain this we must re-examine the relevant chapters. We have already noted that the section on the appointment of widows is derived from a source, that the section on deaconesses is a sudden intrusion and that the greater part of the discussion of widows is concerned to prevent them from receiving except through the bishop. We may suggest that a redactor took a source on appointment and expanded it to clarify the means by which these appointed widows should receive their charity, an expansion visible from the sudden changes of address from general instructions, to specific directions to the bishop. Widows, moreover, this same redactor suggests, should not teach and should remain at home; this section receives some attention 130 As may be deduced from the sudden irruption of the discussion of deaconesses, noted above. Cf. Achelis in Achelis and Flemming (1904), 265-266, 282, who, whilst recognizing the later nature of the office of deaconess over against that of the widow, not only denies extensive redactional development of DA but specifically denies that the institution of the deaconess is from any redactional level in DA beyond the first. It may well be that this is the work of the uniting redactor, but it is nonetheless an interpolation into an original source. 131 So Achelis in Achelis and Flemming (1904), 281-282, Methuen (1995), 201-202; cf. Penn (2001), [50], for whom the danger of the widow is symbolic, and for whom the introduction of the deaconess into the ranks of the clergy is to consolidate clerical power over the laity by bringing women’s ministry into the clerical frame.

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from the apostolic redactor, but the main part may be attributed to the expanded source. Given that the main point of the chapter is episcopal control of charity we may suggest that this very episcopal control is the reason why widows are enjoined to remain at home, namely so that the bishop may control what they receive.132 If, as suggested above, the principal concern of the bishop is the economic administration of the goods of the Christian community, then it is for the bishop to control what is given to widows. Earlier we find a brief direction concerning the giving of suppers to widows,133 implying that private patronage might take place, and so we may suggest that the directions to widows to remain stationary is less a control of widows than the control of donors, of potential patrons who might usurp the role of the bishop, since mobile widows are more likely to attract attention, in particular as the source indicates that the reason they leave their homes is to seek patronage. For this reason, moreover, the widow is forbidden to reveal the name of the donor, as this again would threaten the bishop’s position as agent by giving public recognition to a donor. It is in this context that the prohibition on women teaching is found; again we may suggest that this is bound up to the control of patronage, as a teacher might in turn attract a patron. The prohibition on women baptizing then intervenes suddenly in this discourse: It is right and proper that anyone who prays or communicates with anyone who has been expelled from the church should be reckoned together with him, for this leads to the undoing and destruction of souls. For anyone who is disobedient to the bishop is disobeying God in communicating with or praying with anyone expelled from the church, and is defiled along with him. And, moreover, he is not allowing that person to repent. For if nobody communicate with him he will repent and will weep, he will ask and pray to be received, repenting of what he has done, and will be saved. As to whether a woman may baptize, or whether one should be baptized by a woman. We do not counsel this, since it is a transgression of the commandment and a great danger to her who baptizes as to the one baptized. For were it lawful for a woman to be baptized our Lord and teacher would himself have been baptized by Mary his mother; he was, however, baptized by John just as others

132 The significance of the alms system for the consolidation of episcopal power is observed by Penn (2001), [21]. 133 DA 2.28.1.

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of the people. Brothers and sisters, do not endanger yourselves by acting outside of the law of the Gospel. However, as regards jealousy, or spite, or as to accusations and grumbling, or as regards disputes . . . (DA 3.8.5-3.10.1)

It is to be noted that the subject is left behind almost as soon as it has been taken up. It is, moreover, at least in part, the work of the apostolic redactor. At this stage the baptizing activity of women had been forgotten, and yet we may surmise it continued in some communities, and so the apostolic redactor takes the opportunity to correct this. As such, this accords with the suggestion of Methuen, but the subject of women baptizing is not germane to the discussion. It is thus erroneous to connect this prohibition to the earlier prohibition on women teaching catechumens, as does Schöllgen,134 as the discussions derive from distinct redactional levels. The issue in the original layer is that of control not of people per se but of funds through the control of people, both donors and recipients. The control of women’s ministry is an issue solely for the later redactors as the teaching and baptizing activity of women in the Großkirche is forgotten, and is the preserve of Christian communities outside the catholic church. The main point, however, for the original level, is to control patrons through controlling the means by which they give. Methuen suggests that the control of widows is a reaction to the charismatic authority which might be exercised by the widows, an alternative to the bureaucratic authority of the bishops.135 She points to the position of women in Montanist communities as evidence for the possibility that women’s authority might be construed as opposition to episcopal control.136 Penn similarly suggests that the appointment of the deaconess demonstrates a concern for ecclesial order. However, the evidence for conflict between bureaucratic and charismatic forms of authority is non-existent.137 Although women in Montanist communities held office, the point is that offices; which women might hold, Schöllgen (1998), 165. Methuen (1995), 203 in support of Achelis in Achelis and Flemming (1904), 275, 279-280 and Osiek (1983), 168-169, who, however, mentions this as a possibility only and who also suggests that the position of women in other local Christian congregations might have influenced the attitude of DA. 136 Methuen (1995), 212-213. Achelis’ suggestion that the widows exercised charismatic authority similarly derives from his hypothesis, based on the prophetic activity of widows at K 21.1 cited at Achelis and Flemming (1904), 275-276, that the widows in DA are the remnant of a prophetic order. 137 As I suggest in Stewart-Sykes (2005). There it is argued that the whole idea of charismatic authority is a scholarly fiction based on a misunderstanding of Weber. 134 135

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existed. Thus a charismatic means of communicating the word of God did not prevent a bureaucratic community organization.138 We may so conclude that although DA may be attempting to establish the authority of the bishop we may make no ready assumptions about what the alternative source of authority might have been. We may provisionally agree with Methuen’s statement that there may have been groups in Syria which recognized the authority of women, and agree moreover that DA opposes such groups, as K seems exercised by the same concerns, but this takes place at the level of the deuterotic redactor at the earliest, and is not part of the core source, even though the core source indeed suggests the exercise of control over widows. More convincing than the suggestion of charismatic authority is Methuen’s suggestion that, as women might have positions of authority in the synagogue, so the opposition to the power of widows in DA is connected to the polemic against Jewish Christianity,139 as this locates the opposition at the level of the deuterotic redaction, though we may note here that this Jewish evidence does not concern the ministerial activity of women but their exercise of patronage.140 Thus even if the deuterotic and apostolic redactors, who are most prominent in their specific denial of ministerial functions to women, are motivated by opposition to the role played by women within Judaism this motivation does not apply to the greater part of the material. The principal reason for the control of widows, a controlling tendency most prominent in the material of the uniting redactor, is the control of widows’ patrons, and the concentration of patronage in the hands of the bishop. This implies that, as in the Rome of Hippolytus, the fundamental conflict was not between charismatically and bureaucratically oriented forms of governance, but between professional episkopoi and powerful and wealthy patrons.141 Schöllgen is thus correct in seeing this as the fundamental issue. It is, moreover, an issue with a long history. At the beginning of the second century Ignatius instructs that no baptism or agape¯ take place without the consent of the bishop,142 thus describing two rituals which construct patronage and suggesting that no act of patronage 138 As I also argue, with further examples, in (2001a), 272-274. There simply is no fundamental conflict between prophet and episkopos in the early centuries. 139 Methuen (1995), 210. 140 So Rajak (1992), 22-24. 141 As I argue in (2001b). 142 Ad Smrynaeos 8.2.

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take place without episcopal control. The redactor of DA is therefore not having the bishop do anything new, as the evidence which sees the function of the bishop as fundamentally economic derives from the earliest sources,143 but opposition to this programme in the interests of private patronage is likewise nothing new. It is, however, fair to say that as a newly professionalized class, the episkopoi find the problem of the rich undermining their control of the finances of the community even greater.144 We may conclude this discussion by returning to the statement with which we began: ‘He is your chief, he is your master, he your powerful king.’ (DA 2.26.4) Here the monarchical image is prominent, but alongside this, throughout the eighth and ninth chapters, we find the image of the episkopos as High Priest. So, bishops are told, ‘you are now priests and prophets and leaders and nobles and kings to your people’ (DA 2.24.7)145 Both images are closely related, as Schöllgen suggests, to the professionalization of the clergy as both provide a model by which the bishop might receive support from the congregation.146 However, one may also note that a bishop who requires economic support in order to function would not be from the highest strata of society, for those with private income need no economic support from the church. The exalted imagery also therefore serves as a means by which a person of relatively low social status might exercise power over persons of higher status. We may agree, moreover, with Schöllgen as with Torjeson that a degree of opposition is being encountered but suggest, in contrast to them, that this does not mean that DA (here, probably, the underlying episcopal source) is seeking a radically new intensification of episcopal authority,147 as the argument is as old as Ignatius, even less that there is opposition from a source of 143

Cf. Schöllgen (1998), passim, who seems to imply that this is a new departure relating to the new professionalization of the episcopate. 144 So note Schöllgen’s discussion of the problem of proswpolhyi/a (respect of persons) in (1998), 173-194. 145 The evidence thus does not support the assertion of Torjeson (2001) that the monarchical image is the more prominent of the two, as the two stand together throughout the eighth and ninth chapters. Schöllgen (1998) likewise tends to emphasize the monarchical imagery, reckoning the extent of the bishop’s authority as a new departure. 146 So, again, Schöllgen (1998). 147 As Schöllgen (1998) and Torjeson (2001) suggest, as indeed does Schlarb (1995), 39. See, however, 4.c.3 below where some extension (as opposed to intensification) is suggested.

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charismatic authority (for there is no such thing) to be found among the widows,148 but that the tension is economic and social. 4.a.1 A conclusion on ministries within DA As has already been argued at length, a fundamental source of DA dealt with the appointment of episkopoi and other ministers, among whom, perhaps, widows are to be numbered. Although this source probably originated in a presbyteral system, the source had been edited to reflect an episcopal-diaconal system. Such a system continues to be fundamental to the community of DA, at least at the time of the uniting redactor, even if presbyters have begun to appear. A fundamental concern of the redactor is to bolster the power of the episkopos, having in view the conflicting interest of private patrons, who may even have formed a presbyterate. At the same time the ministry of widows is downgraded and a ministry of deaconess introduced in order that women’s ministries might come within episcopal control. The particular reason for the restrictions placed on the activity of widows, however, is, once again, the conflict with private patrons who might use influence with the widows to undermine the position of the episkopos as source both of worldly goods and, by extension, of spiritual graces.

4.b The opponents of DA Not only does a recognition of redactional levels within DA re-open the question of date and provenance in a new way, it also poses the question of the opponents described in the chapters concerning heresy. The deuterotic redactor self-evidently opposes law-observant Christians, and is joined in this by the apostolic redactor, who also has Quartodeciman groups within his purview, perhaps seeing them as exemplifying Jewish Christianity. We may ask, however, whether this is true of the heresies described at earlier redactional levels. The critical passage is as follows: And they had alike one single law, that they should not employ the law and the prophets, and that they should blaspheme God the Almighty and that they would not believe in the resurrection. And 148

So Methuen (1995) and Torjeson (2001), who ranks the widows alongside powerful laity as centres of opposition.

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they disturbed others with their various opinions. For some taught that one should not marry, saying that those who did not marry had a higher chastity, so defending their heretical beliefs by means of chastity. Yet others taught that one should not eat meat, saying that one should not eat anything which had a soul, whereas others said that one should abstain solely from pork, but should eat whatever the law declares to be clean, and that, in accordance with the law, one should be circumcised. Thus all manner of teachings were found, causing divisions and enfeebling the churches. (DA 6.10.1-5)

In commenting on this passage, Methuen suggests that there are two groups, for since those who practised abstinence in marriage after childbirth or during menstruation presumably did not practise abstinence the rest of the time, whereas DA holds forth against those who state that people should not marry. Thus she suggests that there are two groups, ‘a group of Jewish Christians who observe the Second Legislation . . . and a group which rejects marriage, prohibits meat-eating and has a theology “blaspheming God Almighty.”‘149 Fonrobert, however, takes issue with this categorization. Whilst observing that it might be possible to identify these ascetics as actually Jewish, she suggests that there is no serious attempt to come to grips with the vegetarians and the celibates, but rather the true anxiety of DA regards those who keep the secondary legislation. DA is describing a confusion of Christianities, but is most acutely troubled by those who are observing the law. Fonrobert is right, as far as she goes. However, although these practices are simply mentioned in brief catalogues of heresies, we may identify these catalogues as belonging to the original level of redaction, distinct from the deuterotic redactor whose presence imposes itself so firmly on the final chapters. As such it is reasonable to attempt an identification of these groups quite apart from the Jewish Christian converts addressed by the apostolic and deuterotic redactors, without falling into the trap of which Fonrobert accuses Methuen of dividing the groups too neatly. Nonetheless there is a degree of common ground in the catalogue with Jewish catalogues of heretics, such as the statement of Tosefta Sanhedrin 13.5 that ‘heretics, apostates, traitors, Epicureans, those who deny the Torah, those who separate from the ways of the community, those who deny the resurrection of the dead, and whoever both sinned and caused the public to sin’ should go to 149

Methuen (1995), 204.

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Gehenna for eternity,150 and, as noted in the notes to the translation, the beliefs ascribed to Simon and Cleobius in the letter to the Corinthians (3 Cor.) included in Acta Pauli. The common ground with the catalogue of DA is clear. However, the common ground is in the first part of the statement, namely a condemnation of those who deny particular tenets of belief, whereas the second list, which focuses on practice, would seem to have more point, and is a development from a more generalized and possibly traditional catalogue.151 Thus we may note the emphasis on celibacy which marks many of the Syrian apocryphal acts of the period as providing a context for the statement about those who taught that one should not marry. Whereas abstention from meat is a mark of some Jewish Christian communities,152 it is equally possible that Marcionite communities are intended here153 whereas eating by the provision of the law would indicate that groups of Christians continued to keep the Mosaic law. Thus there is some point behind the heresy catalogue; the catechetical discourse warns against other versions of Syrian Christianity, though they are external to the church which is characterized as catholic. And so we must differ from Fonrobert,154 for whom the ascetic practices described are Jewish practices, on the grounds that these ascetic practices, whilst known within Judaism, are not exclusive to Judaism,155 on the grounds that the catalogue is fundamentally concerned with other Christian groups rather than other religious groups (though the distinction between Judaism and Christianity may here admittedly be somewhat hard to make, and although it is also possible that these Jewish ascetics are the point of origin for 150 Cf. also Mishnah Sanhedrin 10.1. The Tosefta passage would appear to be another version of this traditional list. In the Mishnah R Akiba and Abba Saul add to the categories of those excluded. 151 Similarly Strecker (1971), 252-253, observes the manner in which a general catalogue is given point. 152 So note ps-Clement Hom. 8.15.4 and 12.6.4 and Hegesippus’ report of James of Jerusalem, recorded by Eusebius HE 2.23, in which it is stated that he would eat nothing which had a soul, words directly reminiscent of those at DA 6.10.3 (though see below.) 153 So Harnack (1924), 341. Cf. Strecker (1971), 253 n. 35, for whom a general characterization as ‘Gnostic’ is sufficient. However, it is true that vegetarianism is recorded of the encratites by Epiphanius Pan. 47.1 and of the followers of Saturninus of Antioch by Irenaeus Haer. 1.18. 154 Fonrobert (2001), 493-494. 155 Thus although, as already noted, it is said of James that he would eat nothing with a soul the same is said of Apollonius of Tyana (by Philostratus at Vita Apollonii. 1.8, 10-11). It is thus possible that the Nazirite status of James, which is what Hegesippus is describing here, is being fused with a more widespread Graeco-Roman ascetic lifestyle.

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Christian asceticism in Syria) and on the grounds that the catechetical source is not primarily concerned with Judaism in the way that the later redactors are.156 It is this warning which is taken up by the subsequent redactors to whom, however, the most dangerous threat was posed by Christians close to Judaism. In its complete state it is this warning which has the greatest prominence within DA. This should not, however, be confused with the earlier discussion of external opponents. For when the subject turns to law-observant Christians we are not dealing with any external group but rather these persons are within the community of DA; they are addressed as brothers, to whom a direct appeal is made: For this reason be silent, dear brothers who have come to faith from among the people and who wish still to be bound with the bonds, and who insist that the sabbath is prior to the first day of the week . . . (DA 6.18.11) And so, dear brothers, avoid and shun all such pointless observances . . .(DA 6.22.10)

The proximity and mutual influence of Judaism and Christianity within Syria has often been noted, but this address, like others, to converts from Judaism, makes it clear that we are dealing here not with Judaizing gentile Christians, as Connolly asserts,157 but with Jewish converts who, whilst in some sense accepting the claims of Christ and being baptized nonetheless continue to keep the law.158 This, we have already seen, is the point of the adoption of the apostolic persona by the apostolic redactor and the same is made clear in the above appeal to those who have come from ‘among the people’ on the part of the deuterotic redactor. These redactors are concerned to buttress the church against external opponents, among whom 156

See also the notes to the translation on the critical passages. Connolly, (1929), xxxiv. 158 So Strecker (1971), 254-355. However Strecker is misled in thinking that these Jewish Christians are external to the community of DA. This misapprehension may come about if DA is read without reference to redactional levels and statements elsewhere about heretics misapplied to these Jewish Christians. In the same way Achelis in Achelis and Flemming (1904), 267-268, asserts that the congregation was gentile, on the basis of statements in 5.5.3, 5.15.2, and 5.16.5-7. However, the first statement is from the underlying catechetical manual and the others from the Quartodeciman stratum of the 21st chapter. The absence of any mention of circumcision is noted but, as already argued, any such discussion would be redundant as the adult converts would be circumcised already. 157

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Jews must be counted, defining moreover the boundaries of Christians over and against their pagan neighbours through the adoption of the catechetical manual, with its preference for bearded men and unbathed women and defining both internal and external boundaries through adopting the penitential system of the uniting redactor. But the existence of Christians whose practice is Jewish threatens the security of this border far more seriously than any external threat.

4.c DA as a liturgical source Although DA does not contain the detailed liturgical provisions of, say, TA, passing reference is made to liturgical events in the life of the church of which note may be taken. However, as a result of our redactional study we may not naively take these as deriving from the early part of the third century but should be aware of the redactional level from which they derive. This is therefore significant for our assessment of the information which is given. Negatively, however, it precludes the construction of an overall picture of worship in this community such as that drawn by Achelis from various points in DA.159 4.c.1 Baptism and anointing Although there is no systematic treatment of baptismal rituals within DA, there are a number of passing references which may prove inform-

ative. First we may note: Thus if anyone who says such things as these to a layman should be found to fall into so much condemnation, how much the more should anyone dare say something against the deacon, or against the bishop through whom the Lord gave you the Holy Spirit, through whom you have learned the word and come to know God, and through whom you have been made known to God, through whom you were sealed, and through whom you have become sons of light, through whom in baptism, through the imposition of the bishop’s hand, the Lord bore witness of each of you, as his holy voice was heard saying, ‘You are my son, this day I have begotten you.’ (DA 2.33.3) 159 Achelis in Achelis and Flemming (1904), 286-288. For a partial critique of Achelis note Salzmann (1994), 352-366. However, whereas Salzmann rightly criticizes Achelis for importing evidence from without DA to supplement the picture provided by DA, he nonetheless gathers evidence from the different levels within DA to forge a potentially misleading overall picture of his own.

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First the candidate is said to have been sealed. Although the root of the word used here is mtX, this does not exclude the possibility that this is a reference to the rusˇm’a, the signing, which is the more usual term for pre-baptismal anointing, for the translator is working from a Greek document and is thus rendering sfragi/zein. What follows is the imposition of the bishop’s hand. The reference to the imposition of the bishop’s hand is a reference to baptismal dipping, as may be illustrated from the same use in the Historia Johannis, and not to an anointing.160 Most noteworthy, however, is the direct reference to the baptism of Jesus, indeed Winkler, indeed, suggests that the words ‘you are my son’ are said during the baptismal rite.161 Later we read, in a passage dealing with the reconciliation of penitents: And just as you baptize a pagan and at that time receive him, so lay the hand on this man while everyone is praying for him, and then bring him in and allow him to communicate with the church, for the imposition of the hand shall take the place of baptism for him, as whether by the imposition of a hand or by baptism they receive participation in the Holy Spirit. (DA 2.41.2)

Once again we note the use of the term ‘imposition of the hand’ to refer to the action within the font. Although there is that there is no mention of any pre or post baptismal anointing this does not mean that they did not take place but nonetheless the conveyance of the Holy Spirit is seen as being through the baptism itself rather than through any anointing. Thus for this community at any rate we can discount the suggestion of Myers that in some Syrian communities the anointing was primary and the baptism in water secondary.162 The most extensive account of baptism is to be found in an intrusion into a discussion of deacons. This immediately leads to the introduction of the deaconess, and in turn to a discussion of the deaconess’ role in baptism. The order of events is clear: first the mark (rusˇm’a) is made upon the head by the celebrant and subsequently the whole 160 Winkler (1978), 36, assumes that the anointing must have accompanied the imposition of a hand, in view of another passage in DA, namely 3.12.2-3, but our identification of distinct redactional levels means that this assumption must at the very least be carefully scrutinized. This latter passage is from the hand of the uniting redactor, and is really concerned to distinguish between the different roles of bishops and deacons (male or female) at baptism. 161 Winkler (1978), 35-36. 162 Myers (2001).

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body is anointed; in the case of women this is usually performed by another woman, preferably a deaconess. Finally the text refers to the invocation of the divine names which takes place in the water. The interest of this passage is, like that cited earlier, chiefly confirmatory of the process of baptism known to us elsewhere in the early Syriac tradition, and in particular the descriptions of baptism in Acta Thomae in which, likewise, there is a double pre-baptismal anointing, the second of which, to the entire body, performed, in the case of female candidates, by a woman.163 Brock and Winkler each suggest that this second anointing is a development from a single anointing on the head;164 no light is cast by DA on the reason why such a development might have taken place. The passage regarding baptism disrupts the flow of the discussion, which is really about the ministry of deacons, but we may reasonably ascribe the interruption to the uniting redactor. The work of this redactor has been assigned to a period before the middle of the third century and so, if the secondary anointing is a development, then we may state that it is a development which had taken place by that time. However, this simply serves to confirm what might otherwise have been suspected on the basis of a reading of Acta Thomae. If the earlier passage, regarding respect due to the bishop as the baptizer, is part of the substrate over which this redactor worked, which is possible, then we may see that the development from a single pre-baptismal anointing to a double anointing has occurred in the period since the substrate source reached its final form around the turn of the third century. Various significances have been lent to this pre-baptismal anointing. For DA it is linked to regal and priestly anointing: As in ancient times the priests and kings of Israel were anointed so you should do the same, anointing the head, with a laying on of a hand, of those who come to baptism, both men and women . . . (DA 3.12.2-3)

As such this serves as yet further evidence that, as Winkler suggested, the Syrian rites of baptism are modelled on the baptism of Jesus, as the candidate becomes one of the messianic people.165 It is Acta Thomae 27, 121, 132-3, 157. Brock, (1977), 181; Winkler (1978), 31. 165 Winkler (1978), 29-39. One should note that there is a particular agendum here of pointing to the significance of anointing the head, over and against the subsequent anointing of the entire body. The bishop is himself to anoint the head at all times, whereas anointing the body may be delegated to a deaconess in the case of women. As such the anointing of the body is of secondary importance. See also the notes regarding interpretation ad loc. 163 164

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perhaps through the model of the baptism of Jesus that baptism comes to be understood as the means by which the Holy Spirit is conveyed to the believer, a belief which is very much present in the discussion of baptism found in the work of the deuterotic redactor in the last chapter, where it is argued that the belief that a person might be devoid of the spirit during menstruation evacuates baptism of significance. The same conviction, however, is conveyed in a passage which may cautiously be attributed to the uniting redactor regarding insulting the bishop. The point is made that if somebody calls even a layman a fool, raqa, one is denying the presence of the Holy Spirit, given in baptism, within that person; for the root meaning of raqa is empty, and so to call somebody this is effectively denying the presence of the Spirit.166 The baptized person as vessel of the Spirit is clearly central to the baptismal theology of the community of DA. However, in the same section of the work of the deuterotic redactor we may also pick up a different understanding of the nature of prebaptismal anointing in the statement ‘for there is no other way in which an unclean spirit may be got to depart except by sacred purification and holy baptism.’ (DA 6.21.5) Here we may pick up a hint that the anointing before baptism is coming to be understood as exorcistic and purificatory. Thus far what DA tells us of baptism is confirmatory of information available elsewhere, though equipped with an understanding of the redactional levels within the document we are enabled to trace the developments of the ritual. There is, however, an aspect to DA which is unique. After the passage cited above regarding the respect due to the bishop as the baptizer the text continues: You then should honour the bishops, those who have set you free from sin, who have begotten you anew through the water, who filled you with the Holy Spirit, who nourished you with the word as with milk, who raised you with teaching, who confirmed you with admonition, who made you participants in the holy eucharist of God, who made you share as joint heirs in the promises of God. (DA 2.34.2)

Again we see baptism as the means of conveying the Holy Spirit to the believer, but it is noteworthy that there is mention of teaching and admonition after baptism. This might be thought to be simply a product of the manner in which the list is constructed but we like166

DA 2.32.3.

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wise read, in the passage regarding the role of deaconesses in baptismal anointing: ‘When she who has been baptized comes out of the waters a deaconess should receive her and instruct her and educate her so that the mark of baptism may be kept intact in chastity and holiness.’ (DA 3.12.3) It therefore seems that, in the rite known to the uniting redactor, instruction and direction was given after baptism. This does not appear to have been mystagogical, although of course it might be the basis from which mystagogy grew, but ethical exhortation. Nonetheless this is an element in the rite which is not known elsewhere. 4.c.2 The Eucharist There are a few passing references throughout DA to the eucharist. They are not especially informative, but once again we should make the point that we should not gather them together in an attempt to form a coherent picture as they may well come from different redactional levels. Possibly from the earliest level of the episcopal source is the following statement: Whenever you receive the oblation of the eucharist lay down whatever happens to be in your hands, so that you may share it with strangers, for it is collected by the bishop for the support of all strangers. (DA 2.36.4)

As in K, the eucharistic offering is not restricted to sacred elements, though here it would seem that the offering is no longer divided at the meal itself, for which reason the economic agency of the bishop has become all the more important since the work of distribution happens, effectively, in private. We have already observed the statement regarding the ministry of deacons and suggested that these were functions performed by presbyters in the underlying source, and that a redactor from a community with an episcopal-diaconal system has been obliged to make the alteration. We may further note that the responsibility of keeping order has been moved away from issues regarding the distribution of gifts to the arrangement of people, as the gifts are no longer distributed within an eucharistic context. Nonetheless, the proximity of these directions to those of K indicates that they stood in the source of the uniting redactor and are thus relatively early directions. It is in the course of this same discussion that we meet the provision noted above for a visiting bishop to offer the prayer over the cup:

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And should a bishop come he should sit with the bishop, and receive the same honour which is due to him. And, bishop, you should invite him to address your people since, the exhortation and admonition of strangers is very profitable, especially since it is written: ‘A prophet is not received in his own country.’ And he should offer the oblation. But if he is sensible, and is unwilling, reserving that honour for you, he should speak over the cup. (DA 2.58.2-3)

On this Connolly writes: ‘I take it that the visiting bishop is offered the honour of celebrating the Eucharist; but this he declines. It would appear therefore that the cup mentioned as an alternative was not the eucharistic cup: more probably it was that offered later at the Agape¯ . . . A partition of the eucharistic prayer is hardly to be thought of.’167 As evidence for the offering of a cup at the end of an agape¯ he offers TA 25 and Cyprian Ep. 63.16. However I have suggested, with some independent support from Bradshaw et al., that the meal described in TA is actually eucharistic,168 and whereas the meal described by Cyprian may be, as Clarke suggests,169 a survivor of the domestic agape¯, not only is Cyprian referring to a private, family supper, as Clarke points out, but more fatally, as evidence for an agape¯ joined to the eucharist, it takes place on an entirely separate occasion and at a different time. Thus although we cannot absolutely exclude the possibility that there is reference to some other rite than the eucharist, which is celebrated at the same time, it is more probable, as Metzger suggests,170 that the eucharistic prayer known in this community is a series of distinct berakoth said over different items. It is even possible that the source employed here is very early and that the berakoth are not yet separated from an accompanying meal, as is the case in TA 25 and in D 9-10. However, by the time of the uniting redactor this direction is already somewhat archaeological.171 And yet, although the goods are no longer shared at the eucharist, the eucharistic gathering is still the locus at which the goods are collected, a reality of which the redactor has not lost sight. As such, although the eucharist is no longer an actual meal, there is still some trace from this earlier practice in the liturgical life of the uniting redactor. Also in this purview is the need Connolly, (1929), 122-123. Stewart-Sykes (2001b), 140-142; Bradshaw, Johnson and Phillips (2002), 160. 169 Clarke (1986), 299. 170 Metzger (1978), 202. 171 We may note that CA transforms this blessing over the cup to a blessing over the people (CA 2.58.3.) 167 168

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for the congregation to be in a spiritual condition according to which goods may reasonably be shared: The offering to God which is ours is prayer and eucharist, but if you continue in anger with your brother, or he with you, your prayer shall not be heard, nor shall your eucharist be accepted, and you shall be found wanting in prayer and in eucharist on account of the anger which you are maintaining. (DA 2.53.4) Bishops, it is so that your prayers and oblations may be acceptable that, when you are standing at prayer in the church, a deacon calls out in a loud voice: ‘Is there anyone who maintains anger with his neighbour?’ And if persons who have a lawsuit or a quarrel between themselves are found you may persuade them, and make peace between them. (DA 2.54.1)

It is perhaps due to the separation of the eucharist from any Sättigungsmahl (or rather the reduction of the eucharistic repast from such a meal) that the proclamation of the word is separate from the eucharistic offering itself, rather than taking place at table.172 However this phenomenon is interpreted by DA as the construction of a community of purity which might make the offering. Thus we can be assured that, within the community of the uniting redactor, catechumens and penitents had been dismissed, since it is said several times that penitents might hear the word, and that penitents are to be treated in the same way as catechumens, and may reasonably deduce that the deacon’s proclamation that the people should be reconciled173 was found at the beginning of the anaphora since this is the position in which a similar proclamation is found in Testamentum Domini,174 thus serving, once again, to construct a community purified by mutual forgiveness which might make a pure and acceptable offering of prayer and eucharist.175 Towards the conclusion of the work there are some passing mentions of the eucharist which are clearly the work of the deuterotic 172

Regarding the liturgy of the word itself there is little that can be said. There was reading and preaching certainly (thus note 2.24.7, and 2.58.4) but little may be known of the pattern of the readings or of the content of the preaching. There are small hints such as 2.59.1, which charges that the bishop should exhort the congregation not to absent themselves. Salzmann (1994), 359-361, suggests that the content of the preaching might be ascertained from the subjects which widows are charged not to discuss, but this is not altogether a secure proceeding. 173 At 2.54.1. 174 Testamentum Domini 1.23. 175 So note 2.52.4.

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redactor. Both indicate a high value attached to the epiklesis to the Holy Spirit as the means by which the gifts are transformed, and one speaks of a particular species of eucharistic ritual, namely that offered in the cemeteries on behalf of the departed.176 . . .but you, in accordance with the Gospel and in accordance with the power of the Holy Spirit gather in the cemeteries to read the Holy Scriptures and to offer your prayers to God without hesitation and offer an acceptable eucharist, the likeness of the royal body of Christ, both in your congregations and in your cemeteries and on the departure of those who sleep. You set pure bread before him, which is formed by fire and sanctified by the invocation, offering without demur and praying for those who sleep. For according to the Gospel those who sleep are not dead . . .(DA 6.22.2-3) Yet if the Holy Spirit is with you constantly there is no reason to stay away from prayer and from eucharist and from the Scriptures. Consider that prayer is taken up by the Holy Spirit, that the eucharist is sanctified by the Holy Spirit, and that the Scriptures are holy because they are the words of the Holy Spirit. (DA 6.21.2)

The meal is explicitly described as an ‘acceptable eucharist’; there is thus no question of this meal being of an agapic genus. Moreover, although it may be a particular species of the eucharist, being particular to the cemeteries, it is treated by the redactor as having the same marks as any other eucharistic event. The eucharist is the work of the Holy Spirit, as the possession of the church, now removed from the people of old. This insight, however, is an insight which is to be traced to one of the later redactional levels. We may see that here we are living in a world apart from the gritty realism of the uniting redactor; here the eucharist is the means of entry into the Kingdom, ushered in by the coming of the Holy Spirit rather than a manifestation of the caritative activity of the church and the offerings are offerings of prayer rather than offerings of material goods. This view of the work of the Holy Spirit in the eucharist may represent ancient Syrian 176

I have discussed the offering of the eucharist at martyria and in cemeteries in Stewart-Sykes (2002), 64-84, suggesting that bread is baked on site and that this was a species of eucharistic meal intended to enforce bonds of communion with the departed. Whereas some revision of this discussion might be desirable in the light of the work of Volp (2002), which was not available to me, I would stand by the particular conclusions reached there. Among significant references to the practice of the Eucharist at graves and in cemeteries note Canones Hippolyti 33,which likewise speaks of prayers and offerings and Acta Johannis 72, 85-6.

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tradition, but it is nonetheless a distinct strand of tradition within those which make up DA. 4.c.3 The penitential process As has been noted already, the duties of the bishop, to which much of DA is devoted, are fundamentally disciplinary and economic. The description of the disciplinary functions leads us to a picture of penance within the Syrian church.177 The early church is much beset by debate about the possibility of the forgiveness of sin committed after baptism. Immediately we may observe a tension within DA, for whereas there are a great many admonitions to the bishop to forgive sinners and to seek their restitution into the church, there is also the statement that: But not even those who thought that they had heard did hear, for they cast themselves swiftly into the cruel destruction of heresy, on which we shall soon speak. For we do not believe, brothers, that anyone who has been baptized will again perform the disgusting wickedness of the gentiles, since it is known to all that anyone who should commit any grievous sin after baptism is condemned in a fiery Gehenna. (DA 2.6.16-2.7.1)

This stands out amidst chapters largely concerned to counter such a rigorist view, with the pastoral aim of re-integrating sinners into the community.178 This passage, and others which seem to breathe a rigorist spirit, led Schwartz to suggest that an originally rigorist document had been revised in order to take DA in a less determinedly rigorist direction.179 Galtier disputed this, pointing out that the whole direction of the chapters is to lead the sinner to repentance and re-incorporation into the church. At a broad level he is correct, but he does not deal in detail with this short passage. However we may observe that this statement precedes the actual discussion of penance altogether, and may well have 177

On this subject see in particular Bernhard (1967) with bibliography. Cf. the suggestion of Bartlet (1943), 83-85, that DA is indeed a thoroughly rigorist document, a conclusion reached on the basis of such statements. 179 Schwartz (1911), 18-25. Harnack (1895), 71, likewise suggested that some antiNovatianist elements were introduced into the text; Achelis in Achelis and Flemming (1904), 259, responded that the opponents of the redactor of DA were apparently within rather than without the congregation, and so he is right to deny any actual connection with Novatian at 303; a rather less reflective form of rigorism is reflected here. The debate is, moreover, within the redactional history of DA itself, and the congregations which it represents. See also the discussion of Funk (1907), 276-277. 178

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stood in the version of kk over which the uniting redactor, to whom the discussion of penance is largely to be attributed, subsequently worked. It would therefore be the uniting redactor who, a few lines later, urges that the bishop should have no truck with those who wish to keep the church pure even of repentant sinners.180 Similar considerations apply to another passage, which seems to indicate that there are sins which, committed after baptism, lead to permanent alienation from the church: The former sins of any who believes and is baptized are forgiven, as they are after baptism, provided that he has committed no deadly sin, or been party thereto . . . (DA 5.9.4)

These considerations apply because this is derived from the catechetical manual and is not derived from the main discussion of penance. Nonetheless, quite apart from the occasional apparent contradictions, due I suggest to the redaction of the original, Connolly raises a valid question when he questions whether the relatively mild punishments prescribed as part of the period of penance, seven weeks fasting being the maximum punishment mentioned,181 would cover sins such as murder or apostasy, contrasting this to the long period of penance prescribed by the eleventh canon of Nicaea.182 He is led to wonder whether such sins are implicitly excepted. There is a hint, nonetheless, that some grave charges might lead to absolute excommunication: Thus you are to give judgement in accordance with the gravity of the charge. (DA 2.48.1)

Here the text goes on to suggest that mercy be primary, but the possibility is raised nonetheless that a grave offence might lead to grave punishment. The primary note, however, is sounded by passages such as 2.14.10-11, concerned to counter judgemental attitudes.183 180 181

DA 2.14.3. DA 2.16.2.

182 Connolly, (1929), lvi. Funk (1905), 60, also observes the extreme brevity of the periods of penance prescribed by contrast to those prescribed at various councils, not only Nicaea but those of other local councils, whose penalties are measured in years rather than days. 183 It is on such grounds that Beaucamp (1949), 41, denies that there is any unforgivable sin. He asserts this ‘in spite of the difficulties of interpreting certain passages’ (at 43, here mentioning 2.7.1) claiming that length precludes offering any interpretation (having already rejected any redactional hypothesis at 40-41.)

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You should not, therefore, pay attention to those who are willing to put others to death, who hate their brothers yet love accusations, who are ready to slay on any excuse. Rather you should assist those who are weak, who are endangered, who are wandering, and set them free from death, acting not in accordance with the hardness of human hearts, or with human will and word, but in accordance with the will and command of our Lord God.

However, our difficulty in answering this question, as with the other questions posed by what DA says about penance, indicates, quite apart from the confusions brought about by the different redactional levels in the document, that these disciplinary questions are foreign to the interests of the uniting redactor, who is responsible for much of the discussion of penance and that the questions we are asking are not those which the text is seeking to answer. We may recall that the primary interest of this redactor is opposition to heresy, and it is in this light that we must read his work. He is setting up a basis on which those coming to the catholic church having been part of schismatic or heretical congregations, or returning to the catholic church having been part of a schismatic or heretical congregation, might be received. In doing so he is using a document which had concerned the duties of bishops. That in turn, we may suggest, had been subjected already to extensive editing, as is clear if we compare its contents to those which survive in K from kk. However, one of the marks of the uniting redactor is the consistent use of medical imagery, found at several points in the work applied to the function of bishops184 and, at 6.23.7, the conclusion, when the word of correction, referring to DA as it had left the hands of this redactor, is compared to a salve, or alternatively to cauterization and amputation, a context which enables us to see that this conclusion dovetailed with 6.14.10, and that everything between is the work of later redactors. The original document was concerned with discipline but the uniting redactor is concerned with psychagogy, with the welfare of individuals and the welfare of the church as a whole. Whereas this has led to the suggestion that the author was medically competent,185 the imagery is in widespread use among philosophers

DA 2.20.10-11; 2.40-2.41. Originally by Achelis in Achelis and Flemming (1904), 381, followed by Bartlet (1943), 89-90, Vööbus (1979b), 115, n. 32. 184 185

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within the period186and so this, rather than any medical competence on the part of the redactor, may reasonably be considered as its source. The point to note is that philosophers use these extended metaphors to discuss the training of a soul as well as actual discipline. So, for instance, the attitude required of the bishop of DA may be compared to that of Lucian’s Demonax, who ‘confronted sins yet forgave sinners, taking doctors as his example, as they heal sickness yet are not angry with those who are ill.’187 And yet even this Demonax, who was friend to all, avoided ‘those whose sinfulness put them beyond any hope of a cure.’188 The function of the constant warnings and rebukes which the bishop is to deliver is to turn the sinner to repentance. In the same way Philodemus speaks of constant parrhsi/a to those who need it, comparing it to the medical use of a purge.189 The most pertinent material for comparison, however, is to be found in Dio Chrysostom. In his 32nd Discourse he states that there are two cures for wickedness, . . . as there are for other diseases. One of them is like dieting and drugs, the other like cautery and the knife, which is better suited to rulers, to laws and to juries, who are to remove whatever is abnormal and incurable. Better are those who do not do this readily. The other treatment, I suggest, is for those who are able to soften and calm souls through persuasion and reason. These are saviours and guards for those capable of salvation, who confine and control wickedness before it attains its final stage. (Or. 32.17-18)

To this we may readily compare: For this reason you are, like a compassionate physician, to heal all who sin, employing wisdom and skill, offering a remedy which heals lives. Do not be impatient to amputate the members of the church, but use the word as bandages, and warning as a poultice, and intercession as a compress. And if the sore is depressed, is diminishing the patient’s flesh, feed it and fill up the gap with healing remedies. Should there be 186 Beyond the examples given here note the many further examples, describing parrhsi/a (harsh criticism) as medicine and punishment as cauterization or amputation in dealing with the moral ills of an individual or of an individual within a community cited by Malherbe (1989), 127-132. 187 Demonax 7. 188 Demonax. 10. 189 Philodemus De libertate dicendi fragments 63, 64, 65.

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dirt in it, cleanse it with a caustic remedy, that is with a word of warning and reproof. If the flesh is swollen, reduce it and bring it down with a strong remedy, that is the warning of judgement. But if gangrene is present, cauterize it with branding irons, that is with the imposition of severe fasting, cutting away and clearing out the seepage in the sore. And yet, should the gangrene increase and prevail even over the cauterization, then cut; after taking advice and extensively consulting with other physicians amputate the putrefying limb so that the whole body is not infected. Yet do not be anxious to amputate speedily, or run hastily to a saw with many teeth, but first use a scalpel to cut into the sore, so that it may be closely examined and the cause of internal pain be known, so avoiding harm to the entire body. Yet if you see a man who will not repent, but has cut off his life from all hope, then with grief and with sadness cut him off and expel him from the church. (DA 2.41.3-8)

Dio goes on to remark that a good ruler is characterized by mercy, whereas a poor philosopher is marked by gentleness. The bishop of DA is both philosopher and ruler, harshness of speech being tempered by merciful judgement. The point is that every effort is to be made to keep the sinner within the fold of the church, whilst there is a recognition that some are beyond any therapy. Thus whereas excommunication followed by the possibility of reentry to the church is known in earlier documents, DA would have the bishop oversee a complex process. On being excommunicated the sinner is set outside the church, but is always to be admitted to the church to hear the word, even if not admitted to the sacraments. The excommunicate is, moreover, cut off from social congress with the members of the church. The whole point of the exercise is to seek the restitution of the sinner and is meant to be reformative, rather than simply punitive. On repentance, the bishop may appoint a period of penance, such as fasting,190 before formal reconciliation takes place within the assembly. The point which is also to be emphasized is that excommunication is undertaken only as a last resort. In other words, these chapters are strongly opposed to a rigorist view, and are full of exhortations to the bishop not to be hasty in discipline or harsh in judgement. And yet, after repeated segregations, the excommunication may become absolute: 190 Termed by Favazza (1988), 125, a ‘penance of segregation’, rather than a penance of isolation. Rahner (1950) uses the terms ‘real excommunication’ and ‘liturgical excommunication’ to describe the same phenomena, though Favazza criticizes this terminology.

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Thus we have healed those who have repented of their erroneous godlessness through much admonition, with the word of doctrine, and with correction, and have allowed them to take their places in the church. But we have driven out those who are mortally wounded by the word of error, and all the more those who have erred without reason, as their wound is incurable, and so that they can do no harm to the chosen holy catholic church of God, and so that the evil cannot spread like leprosy and extend itself like an infection to all parts, but that the church should remain pure and unspotted and unscarred for the Lord God. (DA 6.14.10)

Thus, although reconciliation of those who stray is preferred, the need to keep the church pure of infection means that final excommunication is not impossible. The very fact that these processes are described, rather than that knowledge of them is taken for granted, is indication that the redactor is undertaking a new exercise in regulating the penitential processes of his community. It is possible, indeed, that the process as described, with the twofold form of penitential isolation or excommunication, is the result of redactional tensions and was never actually practised in the manner described. The fact that a new enterprise is being described, and may never even have been practised, should give us cause to hesitate in drawing broad conclusions from the rites and view of penance that DA describes.191 We may even suggest that the rite of handlaying, with which the penitent is re-admitted, is the creation of this document, and is modelled on the baptismal rite, as being the means by which the penitent, having lost the rights of the baptized, is restored to the baptismal covenant. The primary referent of this gesture is baptismal, the laying bestows the Holy Spirit in the same manner as baptism,192 and so provides a means by which those coming to the catholic church from schismatic Christian groups might be admitted, which is the real interest of this redactor. Although the propriety of this practice is denied by Firmilian,193 it is known at Rome, is proposed as the means of reconciling clergy coming from heretical congregations by the canons of Nicaea,194 and, as the means of reconciling a penitent 191 Cf. Bernhard (1967) who, whilst recognizing that DA is something less than a third-century Codex iuris canonici, sees its provisions as applying throughout Syria. Mosiek (1965), 183, suggests that its provisions apply to a single community. 192 Cf. Bernhard (1967), 259-260, who seeks to deny ‘sacramental’ content to this action. 193 (Cyprian) Ep. 74. 194 Nicaea canon 8.

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through the return of the Holy Spirit which had been lost through sin, at Alexandria.195 This discussion of penitence is derived from the same redactional level as the discussion of the receipt of the Holy Spirit through the laying on of a hand at baptism noted above, and the same significance is lent to the act. The absence of anointing is thus to be observed here also, as later eastern practice was to reconcile, returning the Holy Spirit, through anointing.196 It is at this point, moreover, that we may return to the topic of opposition to the bishop. We argued above that DA, by which was meant the underlying source, did not, by contrast to the assertions of others, radically intensify episcopal authority and that the economic functions of the bishop were those of the bishop from earliest times.197 In the work of the uniting redactor, however, we find the penitential process entirely in the hands of the bishop, as well as finding the bishop as sole instructor, teacher and leader at the liturgy of the word. It is indeed possible that here the duty of every Christian to teach and to rebuke has been concentrated in the bishop’s hands. D 2.7, suggesting that some should be rebuked, is addressed to every Christian and at 2.37.6-2.38.4 the instructions for dealing with disputes at Mt 18:15-17 addressed to every Christian are applied solely to the bishop and deacons. We may also note, once again, that widows and laymen alike are specifically prevented from giving any advanced instruction in material which may well be attributed to the uniting redactor.198 If, indeed, there is some expansion in the monarchical images applied to the bishop,199 which is hard to say with certainty, we may relate that to the concentration of the penitential process in episcopal hands and see the monarchy related to the teaching function of the bishop, the monarchy envisaged being that of the philosopher ruler of Dio. Certainly, however, we may suggest that the processes are new and, more particularly, are concentrated in episcopal hands in a way which was not the case before, and that this explains the detailed description given. In sum we may support Schwartz’s view that an originally rigorist document has been edited. The point of the editorial process was not, So Dionysius of Alexandria in Eusebius HE 7.8. So the Council of Laodicea canon 7, and other instances cited by Galtier (1914), 507-509. 197 In 4.a above. 198 DA 3.5.4. 199 As Schöllgen (1998) and Torjeson (2001) suggest. 195 196

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however, to establish a penitential system in response to widespread rigorism, as the rigorist passages are simply leftovers from earlier documents in which rigorism is the agreed and assumed position both of the author and his audience, though nonetheless the uniting redactor, through seeing the bishop as philosopher as well as jurist, has, through editing the material, effectively muted a rigorist view within the community. Although a muting of a rigorist view has resulted from the editing of the material, this was not the point of the editing, rather the aim of the uniting redactor was to bring about a process for the reconciliation not of sinners alone, but of heretics, and to ensure that this was controlled by the bishop.

5. conclusions The major part of this introduction has been devoted to demonstrating that DA is living literature, the result of a series of redactions, each intended to make the material current and applicable to the changing situation of the church. Two main sources lie at the origin of the document, namely a catechetical instruction and an extended instruction for bishops on their duties. This second source was itself a derivation of one of the sources of K, though probably much altered and expanded, quite possibly to bolster the position of the bishop within the economic life of the community over and against private patrons. The catechetical source was derived, moreover, from a branch of TWT akin to D. These are united, and probably substantially edited, and added to them is a Quartodeciman source on the Pascha, which is edited in an anti-Quartodeciman direction. Other sources may, moreover, be discerned, although it is not always clear whether they had already been brought into the main sources or whether their inclusion came about through the construction of DA. The point of this redaction was principally to define the catholic church over and against competing versions of Christianity and to determine the basis on which persons might be received into the catholic church from other Christian groups. There is also some extension of episcopal authority, in particular regarding the administration of penance, but this closely relates to the primary issue since the model of the returning penitent is employed as the basis for admission of Christians from non-catholic congregations.

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The resulting production was then further edited in order particularly to point the anti-heretical section against the keeping of Jewish law. Finally, and intended towards the same purpose, a further redaction lightly clothed the construction in apostolic dress, constructing a fiction by which the whole is the teaching of the apostles. It is the recognition of the apostolic redaction as the final redaction which clarifies many of the mysteries of DA, in particular in the twenty-first chapter. As a result of these findings we may conclude that it is impossible to speak blithely of any practice described by DA. Rather the document speaks with a variety of voices from a span of history. Treatments of historical developments in church and liturgy which use DA as evidence must suggest the level of DA from which the evidence is drawn. Nonetheless, when these levels are recognized, the historical developments taking place within the period of redaction emerge with much greater clarity and DA becomes all the more precious as a source by which we may understand the life and liturgy of this early Christian community.

6. A postscript on the translation Arthur Vööbus, to whose work every student of DA is profoundly indebted, comments that there are two approaches to translation. Like him ‘I do not want to argue here but say only what I wanted to do.’200 Vööbus offers a version which is very close to the Syriac. By contrast I seek to present a text which, whilst conveying the meaning of the original, reads as though it had been written in English, rather than a translation which hugs the coastline of the original in its clausal order and accidence. In the case of DA, however, this is more complicated than it otherwise might be. For although written in Greek, only a fragment of DA is extant in this original language.201 Whereas some reference may be had to CA, which was written in Greek and may contain some relic of the original, the whole is extant solely in a Syriac version,202 which Connolly

Vööbus (1979b), 67*. Ed. Bartlet (1917). 202 Ed. Vööbus (1979a). 200 201

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and Vööbus agree was made as early as the fourth century,203 together with substantial fragments in Latin preserved in the Verona palimpsest.204 A few words may be determined from a tiny fragment in Coptic.205 All this material is employed in the English version presented here, though for a large part we are dependent on the Syriac version alone. When Latin is extant it is used as the base (except in extended scriptural citations, on which see below), but always compared with Syriac and when they diverge the text of CA is allowed to act as arbiter to the correct text where it appears to be close. When there is no independent arbiter the translator has sought to determine the original on the basis of sense and instinct. Divergences which affect the sense are noted in the footnotes enabling the reader to be the arbiter of the text which is read but variations like indicative verbs used instead of participles are not noted, and may indeed be themselves blurred over in the process of translation. In general it is to be noted that the Syriac version, like this English version, is a thorough reworking of Greek into a Syriac idiom, whereas the Latin is reads like a painstakingly literal rendition of a text in another language. Thus a literal rendition of the Syriac would not be a rendition of the original in the first instance. The Greek text is ultimately irrecoverable, but the aim is to give an English reader the tools by which to determine which text to read and so the contours of the Syriac version are not followed closely in part due to recognizing that this is not the only version of the text. Such an eclectic edition is of limited value to the scholar, but is intended to make the text readable for those whose primary interest is not in philology but in ecclesiastical history, liturgy, and/or early Judaism. An alternative would be Connolly’s approach of translating the Syriac text as it stands and printing the Latin text, where it is

203 Connolly (1929), xxxvi-xviii, reaches this conclusion on the bases of the apparent use of the Old Syriac version of the Gospels, of the archaic vocabulary employed, and on the use by Aphraahat of DA. Vööbus (1979b), 26*-28*, reviews his arguments. Dissenting from the position that the Old Syriac text was employed, on the grounds that this is speculative, and unsure whether there is sufficient evidence to determine Aphraahat’s dependence upon DA (although there is much in common between Aphraahat’s work and DA the common ground may result from the use of a common tradition and through the fact that similar issues, in particular issues caused by Christians of Jewish heritage, are faced), Vööbus nonetheless agrees that the translation is old and predates the fifth century. 204 Ed. Tidner (1963). 205 Ed. Camplani (1996).

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extant, on parallel pages.206 The approach here is reasonable given that the original versions are available in excellent critical editions to which the scholar interested in the text may have ready recourse, whereas my aim is to give English readers, particularly those with a limited knowledge of Syriac, an accessible version of what, insofar as it can be recovered, issued from the pen of the final redactor of DA together with sufficient information to enable these readers to form their own opinions. Such an approach is not without its problems. A particular problem is posed by the scriptural citations, for those in Syriac are often unique readings, whereas the Latin translator frequently seems to be using an independent Latin version, the Itala,207 though is also often close to LXX, in disagreement with Syr. Whereas it is possible that the original employed the LXX it is also likely that there were exceptions. In the light of these conflicting phenomena it would be irresponsible to do anything other than to translate the Syriac directly and to note major divergences between the versions and in addition to note where the influence of a particular version is obvious.208 A further issue for the translator is posed by the existence, noted in 2.5 above, of two recensions of the Syriac version. Although not every variation between the two recensions is noted, on the basis that the family named here as the A recension is certainly the original, major variations, including a substantial omission in the twenty-first chapter, are noted, though not the minor omissions which occur with increasing frequency from the eleventh chapter on. The substantial amount of additional material included in the second recension, named here the E family, is included in an appendix, namely an introduction setting out the apostolic authorship of the work and a collection of other, independently produced, church-order material added after the third chapter.209 Finally the reader may note the divisions of the work into books, chapters and paragraphs. This is the system designed by Funk on the basis of CA. Although it is not without fault it provides a convenient method for reference to the text and is used throughout the book. 206

We may also note that of Funk (1905), who gives the Latin version, translating the Syriac into Latin where Lat. is wanting. This may seem a strange approach but his work was intended as an aid to the study of CA and not as a study of DA in its own right. 207 See Tidner (1938), 8, 9, 14, 170 etc. 208 Only the most major diversions are noted. Vööbus (1979b) has detailed notes on the scriptural texts in the Syriac version. 209 For further discussion of the character of this MS family see 2.d above and the accompanying annotation.

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the first chapter Teaching everyone in general the straightforward and natural law not to do to your neighbour what is intolerable to yourself. the second chapter Teaches every man that he should be pleasing solely to his wife, and should not adorn himself and be a stumbling-block to women, should be no lover of idleness, should occupy himself with the Scriptures of life and shun the scriptures of idolatry and the shackles of the secondary legislation, and that he shall not bathe in the bath with women, and should not give his life to the wickedness of prostitutes. the third chapter The teaching for women, that they should be pleasing and respectful to their husbands alone; they should care assiduously and sensibly for their housework with diligence; and that they should not wash together with the men, and that they should not adorn themselves so that they become a stumbling-block to men, nor ensnare them. They should be modest and gentle, and not quarrelsome with their husbands.

1 Although this contents page is not part of the original DA it is extant in both manuscript families and is, according to Vööbus (1979a), 35*-36*, ancient. Strobel (1977), 325-326, suggests that the reference to the triduum in the contents for the twenty-first chapter indicates a late fourth-century or a fifth-century date. It has the peculiarity, moreover, that it presents headings for twenty-seven chapters, whereas the text has twenty-six, as the twenty-fourth chapter is divided into two. This, however, is the chapter division found in MSS of the E family.

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the fourth chapter Teaches what sort of man he should be who is worthy of election to the episcopate, and of what sort his conduct should be. the fifth chapter Teaching and admonition for the bishop; that he should preach on judgement and admonish the people; and shun the disobedient; and like God should judge those who go astray, and shall not spare any who commit evil and who corrupt the people. the sixth chapter Again teaches the bishop that, like God, he should judge those who go astray and not spare them; but he shall receive with mercy anyone who repents and forgive him; and that he shall have no truck with the insinuations of the worldly nor shut the door in the face of the repentant, but, in accordance with the greatness of his honour, he shall bear the burden and the sin of everyone. Together with proofs and threats from Ezekiel concerning bishops who disregard their flocks, or about the worldly who show contempt for the bishop. the seventh chapter Again a general instruction aimed at the bishop himself; that he should be exceedingly diligent in caring for his flock, admonishing and encouraging them, teaching them that they should not abandon hope for themselves when they lapse; a great consolation to those who are disturbed, and who return and repent; and a great condemnation on a bishop who does not receive those who repent; and again a command to him that he should be merciful and gentle towards those who are of his people; and that he should not be harsh and angry. the eighth chapter Teaches the same bishop that he should not live luxuriously or gluttonously on anything that comes into the church for the relief of the poor, but administer it justly to those who are in need, as a righteous steward of God; and also may fulfill his own wants from it without blame; and that he should also exhort the people that everyone should participate in accordance with their ability, and supply the wants of the church for the relief of the poor, and orphans and widows.

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the ninth chapter An exhortation to the people that they should bring offerings to God of prayer and thanksgiving, and that they should honour the bishop as God and fear him; and that they should do nothing without his consent; that they should not even give alms to the needy without him but that they should make everything known to him through the deacon; and that he administer whatever has been given, so that every member of the orders of the church should exercise his office and be honoured as is right; and condemnation and verdict on those who speak wickedly to the priests or despise them. They should consider them their kings, they should give them gifts from their labour as though for the supply of the needs of the poor and the widows and the orphans, yet not keeping account with them whether they give or do not give. the tenth chapter Warning against false brothers and inquiry into those who are complainants or witnesses against anyone; the sentence of judgement decreed on those who are convicted of sin, and the consolation, and reception into the church, of any who manifest repentance; and direction to the bishop that he shall give the hand and bind up those who repent if they have sinned. And that they should not give judgement in respect of persons if they stand condemned before God; and that they should condemn any who makes false accusation, punishing them in the manner fitting the one who was accused. the eleventh chapter Again an exhortation to the bishops and deacons that they should give guidance in justice, and be one with each other in harmony and love. And that they should not accept the testimony of the heathen against anyone who believes; and that a Christian should not become vexed with and come to despise his neighbour, and if they chance to have a lawsuit they should not lay the matter before the heathens, but before the church, and they should be reconciled, even if one of them should make a loss in some corporeal matter. And if one of them is intractable and refuses to accept reconciliation he should be banished from the church until he repent. When the two persons approach, those who are in judgement should judge without respect of persons, with careful enquiry, on the second day of the week. They should enquire into the conduct of the accuser, his conscience, and the reason for the lawsuit and the matter of dispute; and also the one who is accused, in the same way.

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And they should impose a just punishment on the one determined to be guilty. And again with regard to those who are angry, that it is right that they should forgive each other’s offences, as we in turn seek forgiveness from God. the twelfth chapter Commanding bishops to be peaceful and humble, set apart from harshness and anger. And it instructs them concerning the order of the household of God, how a distinct place for sitting or standing should be set aside for every rank as befits it; and if anyone comes from another church he should have the honour which befits him; he should have a suitable place. And let not Christ, who is compassionate to strangers, be detested in him. the thirteenth chapter That no Christian should depart from the gathering of the church on the occasion of prayer or eucharist for the sake of the labour of his hands or for any worldly work. And that he should not go for any spectacle of the theatre, hearing the words of the pagans and denying his soul the hearing of the Scriptures of life, nor to any alien assembly of heretics. And that the children of the church should hear and serve within it without idleness. And that no Christian man should prefer to desist from working at a craft, which is absolutely foreign to the church. the fourteenth chapter Concerning widows and concerning the time of their institution in the church. Praise of her who keeps her station of widowhood before God, and condemnation of her who abandons her position. And exhortation to the bishops concerning the widows and the poor and the needy. the fifteenth chapter That it is proper for widows to conduct themselves quietly and modestly, and that women should not teach, even be they widows of the church, and likewise not laymen. And about the deceit of false widows, and about the conduct of chaste widows. That is right that widows be obedient to the bishops and deacons and that they should not do anything without permission, and that they are to be condemned if they do anything of this nature, or pray with those who are separated.

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That it is not permitted for a woman to baptize. And regarding the envy of false widows, once again, among themselves, and a rebuke on those who curse on account of their envy. the sixteenth chapter Concerning the installation of deacons and deaconesses, and concerning the right manner in which they should conduct themselves in their ministry, without idleness or negligence. the seventeenth chapter It is right that the bishops should take care of orphans, and that those left whilst young should be given out to be raised; and that sentence has been passed upon you, upon those who have and are not in need, who are greedy, who take the gifts which are given to the church for the orphans and the poor. the eighteenth chapter An exhortation to the bishops that they should be careful and circumspect in not receiving gifts for the support of orphans, widows and the poor from those who are blameworthy, even if they are compelled to destruction, and that they are guilty should they accept them. And that the prayers of the poor who have been supplied by these people are not heard when they pray for such as these. It is right that they should receive from those who are faithful and righteous to meet the needs of the poor, as for redemption of prisoners and the downtrodden. the nineteenth chapter Exhortation to bishops that they should be solicitous for those who are being persecuted or imprisoned on account of the name of Christ. Them they should visit, but they should avoid any who has been tried by judges on account of some crime and is being punished. And again an exhortation to all Christians that they should suffer with those who suffer on account of Christ, and that they should not deny nor abandon them out of fear; anyone who denies them denies his own Christianity, and Christ himself; and he should pray that he enter not into testing. the twentieth chapter We are taught concerning the resurrection of the dead not only from the holy Scriptures but also from arguments from pagan books, and also by means of arguments from nature. So let us be steadfast, as men

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who believe and hold to the truth of the resurrection, not refusing martyrdom on behalf of Christ, should we be so called. the twenty-first chapter Exhorting every Christian to keep himself away from any conversation which is wicked or flippant, and from practices which are wicked or pagan. Concerning the holy fast; and concerning the passion of the Lord, and his crucifixion, and concerning the fourteenth of the Pascha of the Jews, and concerning the Friday of the passion and the sabbath of the Gospel and the first day in the week of the resurrection of our Saviour. Concerning the sorrow of the sabbath day of the people of the Jews, and concerning the rejoicing of the people of the Christians. the twenty-second chapter A commandment concerning children that they should be set to learning a trade, and should not learn the evil habits of idleness. And that wives should be found for them when they are of age so that they do not fall into sin, and their parents be held at fault for their sins. the twenty-third chapter Concerning heresies and schisms, and that those who divide the churches are sentenced to the Gehenna of fire like Korah, Dathan and Abiram, those who sought to divide Israel. Furthermore, teaching that the church of God is one, and that those of the heresies are not churches of God. the twenty-fourth chapter A declaration that God has departed from the synagogues of the people and has come to the church of the peoples. And that Satan has removed himself from the people of the Jews and does not continue to test them, yet he has come to the church that he might bring about schism and division within her. Firstly he raised up Simon the sorcerer against her, and then false apostles from among the Jews who pressured the Christians to conduct themselves as Jews. the twenty-fifth chapter Teaching that the apostles assembled themselves and put in good order the troubles and contentions which were in the church, removing the stumbling-blocks which false apostles had brought about, and setting the people free from observing the law of Moses, and writing books to

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all the churches of the peoples about what they should of necessity observe; and they wrote this Didascalia. the twenty-sixth chapter It shows that the apostles turned themselves afresh to the churches of the gentiles as they did when the proclamation began, and going among them they put them in good order and established them firmly, and set canons for them. the twenty-seventh chapter It teaches what the law is and what is the secondary legislation, warning all Christians to shun the shackles of the secondary legislation and should not seek to bear them. And that any who desires to bear them is subjected to that curse which the law lays down for him. And he confirms the curse which is on our Saviour. And so ends the Didascalia, and the preface which concerns them. Thus concludes the presentation of the contents of the Didascalia, that is to say the teaching of the holy apostles.

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THE CATHOLIC DIDASCALIA, THAT IS TO SAY THE TEACHING OF THE TWELVE APOSTLES AND THE HOLY DISCIPLES OF THE SAVIOUR1

the first chapter: On the simple and natural law [1] God’s planting of the vineyard, his catholic church and those who are chosen, who have believed in that which is a true religion without error,2 who bring forth the fruit of his eternal Kingdom, and through faith in his Kingdom receive strength, and a share in his Holy Spirit, who are armed by him and are equipped by fear of him, who share in the sprinkling of the glorious and innocent blood of Christ,3 who have received confidence to address the all-powerful God as Father, who are co-heirs and co-participants with his chosen child,4 hear the sacred teaching,5 looking forward to his promise, which is6 from the command of the Saviour and is in keeping with his glorious pronouncements. [1.1] Be careful, sons of God, to do everything in submission to God, and be well-pleasing in everything to the Lord our God. If anyone follows after wickedness, and does what is contrary to the will7 of our 1

On the translation of this title see Cox (1975a). Cf. Connolly (1929), xxvii-xxviii. ‘Without error’: so Lat. and CA. Syr. reads ‘simplicity’, misreading the Greek a)planh~ (without error) as a(plh~n (simple). 3 ‘Christ’: so Lat. and CA; Syr. reads ‘the great God Jesus Christ.’ 4 Lat. puer and CA pai~j; this usage is a mark of antiquity, which indicates the age of the source, here the catechetical manual. 5 So Lat. and CA. Syr.: ‘Hear the didascalia (transliterated) of God.’ 6 So Lat. and CA. Syr: ‘Which is written.’ 7 So Syr., supported by CA qelh/mati. Lat. has ‘name’ (nomine). Hauler (1900) emends nomine to numine, in an attempt to explain the error. 2

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Lord God, he should be considered ungodly, a heathen far from God. 2. Keep yourself therefore from all avarice, and malice, and covet nothing.8 For it is written in the law: ‘You shall not covet anything that is your neighbour’s: neither his field, nor his wife, nor his servant, nor his maid, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything of his property’9 for anything such is from the evil one. 3. For whoever desires the wife of his neighbour, or his servant or his maid is even now an adulterer and a thief and is considered a wrongdoer10 by our Lord and teacher Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory for ever. Amen. 4. For it says in the Gospel, repeating and confirming and fulfilling the decalogue of the law, ‘whereas it is written in the law: “You shall not commit adultery”, I however say to you . . .’,11 that is, I who spoke in the law through Moses now however myself speak to you: ‘Anyone who looks upon the wife of his neighbour with lust has even now committed adultery with her in his heart.’ Thus anyone who desires12 is condemned as an adulterer.13 5. Moreover is anyone who covets his neighbour’s ox or ass not intending to steal or abduct it? Or again, is anyone who covets a field not giving consideration to overrunning his boundaries so that he may sell him his own property for nothing? 6. For this reason there come about murders, deaths,14 and the condemnation of God upon such persons.15 7. For those, however, who are obedient to God there is one law, simple and true and pleasant,16 indisputably binding upon Christians, that is: ‘What you would not done to you by another, do not do to another.’17 8. You do not want anyone to turn his attention to your Cf. D 1.3. So Syr. with support from CA. Lat. follows Ex 20:17; Dt 5:21: ‘You shall not covet your neighbour’s wife, nor his servant, nor his maid.’ 10 Syr. adds ‘Like those who lie with males’. Connolly (1929), 4, suggests that the addition has come about through a paraphrase of the phrase, found at D 5.2 and reflected in Lat., kai\ w(j fqoreu\j ke/kritai. 11 Mt 5:27. 12 So the Syr. MSS, and CA. Editors of the Syriac have read ‘desired’ as Lat. desiderauit. However Lat. desiderauit may reasonably be emended to desidauerit, a form which appears earlier in the chapter in the same context. 13 There is an obvious lacuna in Lat. here, which may be confidently restored from Syr. and CA. 14 Cf. D 3.2. 15 Lat. has a small lacuna here; Syr. and CA supply the content satisfactorily. 16 Lat. omits ‘pleasant’. Connolly (1929), 4-5, suggests that the word renders xrhsto/j, which would result in a play with ‘Christians’ in the line below. CA has simply zw~n. 17 Cf. Tob 4:15; D 1.2. 8 9

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wife with evil intent, to lead her astray; so do not yourself turn your attention to your neighbour’s wife with evil intent. 9. You do not want anybody to take away your cloak; so do not take that belonging to another.18 10. You do not want to be hurt, or to suffer injury, or to be insulted; do not deal thus with any other. [1.2] But, if anyone curses you, bless him, as it is written in the book of Numbers: ‘Whoever gives blessings is blessed, and whoever curses will be cursed.’19 Moreover, it is likewise written in the Gospel: ‘Bless those who curse you.’20 2. Do not seek to harm in return those who seek your harm, but be patient, as the Scripture says: ‘Do not say: “I shall harm my enemy, as he harmed me”. But be patient, as the Lord will assist you, and make you triumphant over anyone who harms you.’21 3. For again, it says in the Gospel: ‘Love those who hate you, and pray for those who curse you, and you shall have no enemy.’22 4. Let us pay attention to these commands, beloved, so that, when we perform them, we may be found to be sons of light.

the second chapter On husbands Teaching every man that he should be pleasing solely to his wife, and should not adorn himself and be a stumbling-block to women, should be no lover of idleness, should occupy himself with the Scriptures of life and shun the scriptures of idolatry and the shackles of the secondary legislation, and that he shall not bathe in the bath with women, and should not give his life to the wickedness of prostitutes. [1.3] Bear with one another, you1 servants and sons of God; 2. thus a man should not be haughty or arrogant towards his wife,2 but should be generous, and his hand should be open in giving. To his wife alone he should be captivating, and pay court to her alone, and should seek to be loved by her alone, and by none other. Cf. ps-Clement Hom. 7.4. Num 24:9. 20 Lk 6:27-28 and par. Cf. D 1.3. 21 Prov 20:22. 22 Mt 5:44 and par. Cf. D 1.3. 1 Following Syr. Lat. has sicuti; possibly the vocative w) has been read as w(j. 2 Lat. breaks off here. 18 19

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3. Do not adorn yourself so that a strange woman may see you and desire you; if you are forced by her and sin with her, a fiery death, everlasting in unremitting and bitter fire, will come upon you as condemnation from God. You shall know and understand this when you are undergoing grievous torture. 4. If you do not do such a corrupt thing, but keep yourself away from her and avoid her, you have sinned in one respect only, that through your adornment you have caused the woman to be taken with desire for you. For you brought it about, it happened on your account, that she committed adultery in her lusting. 5. But you are not held accountable for sin, in that you did not desire her. There will be compassion for you from the Lord, for the reason that you did not give yourself up to her, that you did not consent when she sent for you, and did not turn in thought to that woman who was taken with lust for you, 6. but she encountered you by chance, and was taken in her thought and sent for you. You, however, as a man who fears God, denied her, and kept far from her, and did not sin with her, whereas she was agitated in her heart because you are young and fair and handsome and made yourself attractive and on this account caused her to desire you. And so you find yourself guilty of her sin, since this came about because of your adornment. 7. Beseech, then, the Lord God that this is not written to your account. 8. And if you wish to please God and not people, if you are looking for and hoping for life and everlasting repose, do not adorn the beauty of your nature which is given you from God, but in humility and neglect make yourself poor in human sight. Again, you should not grow your hair, but cut it;3 nor should you comb it and dress it or perfume it, so that you do not attract those women to yourself who are intent on capturing, or who have been captured by lust. 9. Also you should not dress in fine clothes, nor put shoes on your feet which are worked with the lust of foolishness.4 Nor should you put 3 So also Philo, De Specialibus legibus 3.37, and ps-Phocylides Sententiae 210-212, indicating the possibility of a Jewish origin to some of this material. 4 The prohibition on the wearing of fine clothes is not simply a prohibition of conspicuous consumption but may be seen as the avoidance of being drawn into networks of influence, as Epictetus Dissertatio 4.6.4 suggests that the wearing of fine and decorated clothes is a manner of gaining attention so that one is perceived as being wealthy, and therefore able to offer amicitia. Advice on clothing is not lacking in ancient literature; thus Quintilian Institutio oratoria 11.3.137-144 advises the orator on the correct manner of dress, which should be uirilis and Valerius Maximus Facta et dicta memorabilia 3.6 discusses the occasional liberty in dress taken by great men.

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golden rings upon your fingers,5 for all these things are the crafts of whoremongering, and everything that you do is contrary to nature. 10. For you, a faithful man of God, it is not lawful to grow the hair of your head and to comb it and to dress it, for this is a delicacy of lust. You shall not arrange it or adorn it or style it to make it beautiful. 11. You shall not destroy the hairs of your beard,6 nor alter the form of your face to make it unnatural and different from the manner in which God created it in order to please people;7 if you do such things your soul will be lacking in life and you will become hateful in the sight of the Lord God. 12. Therefore, if you are a man whose desire is to please God, be careful to do no such thing as these. And shrink from everything which the Lord despises. [1.4] And you should not wander around and hang about the market places, watching the idle spectacle of those who behave badly, but persevere in your craft and in your trade, and be willing and ready to do what is pleasing to God. Moreover you should be constantly meditating on the sayings of the Lord. [1.5] If, however, you are rich, and have no need to make a living by working at a trade, do not wander around and hang about aimlessly, but at all times go among the faithful and those who are of one mind with you, meditating and learning together with them through the living words.8 2. Otherwise stay at home and read from the law, and the book of Kings and the prophets9 and the Gospel which fulfils them.10 [1.6] The books of the pagans, however, avoid! 2. What do you have to do with strange sayings, or laws and false prophets, which readily present errors to simple-minded people?11 3. For what is lacking in the word of God that you should throw yourself onto these pagan tales? 4. If you desire stories, you have the book of Kings.12 If, however, Epictetus Dissertatio 1.22.18-20 introduces a figure of a white-haired old man with fingers encrusted with rings, who is gross and ignorant. Cf., moreover, again, Quintilian Institutio oratoria 11.3.142, who states that the orator’s hand should not be over-encumbered with rings. 6 Depilation for men is mentioned at Rome by numerous authors, e.g. Seneca Ep. 56, Martial Epigrammata 3.74, Suetonius Diuus Julius 45. Nonetheless the men depicted at Dura Europos are all clean shaven. 7 Such was the use of cosmetics by men in the Empire that Juvenal charges that the emperor Otho carried his cosmetics and mirror to war (Satura 2). 8 Cf. D 4.2. 9 Lat. resumes here. 10 So Syr. Lat. reads ‘the fulfillment of all of these’, CA ‘which is their fulfillment.’ 11 So Lat., supported by CA. Cf. Syr.: ‘which turn away the young, those who are young, from the faith.’ 12 Lat. here is corrupted by the addition of the word legere, which Connolly (1929), 13, suggests was a gloss. 5

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rhetoric and poetry,13 you have the prophets, in which you shall find wisdom and understanding14 greater than that of all poetry and rhetoric, for they are the words of the one God, only wise.15 5. If you wish for songs you have the Psalms, if the origin of the world’s creation you have Genesis,16 and if laws and instructions you have the glorious Law17 of the Lord. 6. Therefore keep away completely from all such foreign and devilish writings.18 7. However, when you read the law be wary that you read it only, and simply read it.19 Keep away from all its instructions and commands20 so that you do not lead yourself astray and21 bind yourself and weigh yourself down with ancient22 bonds which cannot be undone. For this reason, if you should read the secondary legislation, read it with this mind, that you know and glorify God who sets us free from such great bonds as these.23 8. Let this be before your eyes, that you know what in the law24 is the law and what the bonds of the secondary legislation which, subsequent to the law, was imposed bringing 13 Translating sofistica et poetica, (so also CA: cf. Syr. ‘wise men and philosophers’, probably deriving from a misunderstanding of sofistika/.) 14 So Syr. Lat. reads narrationem. CA (a)gxi/noian) is closer to Syr. Connolly (1929), 13, suggests a copying error for gnarationem, which seems a little strained but is not impossible. 15 So Syr. and CA. Cf. Lat., ‘ . . . for they are the wisdom and the words of the one and only Lord.’ 16 So Lat. and CA. Cf. Syr., ‘Genesis of the great Moses.’ 17 Cf. Syr: ‘The law, the book of Exodus.’ e1ndocon has been misread as e1codon. 18 ‘Writings’ is absent in Syr. and CA, but its inclusion seems to be necessitated by the context. That the original audience for this material was of a relatively high social status should already be abundantly clear; the implication that the audience was literate thus fits in with this. Given the use of a source we should be wary, however, of assuming that the congregation addressed (at any point in its redactional development) by DA (which may be taken as coming into existence with the work of the uniting redactor) necessarily exhibited a large number of such socially superior persons. 19 There is a phrase missing in Lat., and this has been rendered from Syr. Many Syriac MSS (and one marginal note) read: ‘When you read the law be wary of the secondary legislation that you read it only . . .’ 20 Lat. reads creaturis; this is clearly corrupt and so the word is supplied from Syr. Again Connolly (1929), 13, suggests an unfamiliar usage has been miscopied, though is unable to suggest one. 21 ‘Lead yourself astray and’ om. Syr. 22 ‘Ancient’ (ueteribus) appears in Lat. only. 23 So Lat. Syr. reads: ‘From all these bonds.’ CA gives no guidance. 24 ‘In the law’ om. CA and Lat. However, the phrase seems necessary, as the point is that the reader should be able to discern, within the books of the law, what is law binding on Christians and what is secondary; the omission of the phrase is, moreover, readily comprehensible.

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severe burdens for those who under the law, and under the repeated legislation, sinned so severely in the wilderness. 9. For the law is that which the Lord God spoke before the people made the calf and turned to idolatry, that is the decalogue and the judgements.25 However, after their idolatry he commanded, and justly laid bonds26 upon them, but do not therefore lay such chains upon yourself,27 10. for our Saviour came for no other reason than to fulfill the law and weaken the chains28 of the secondary legislation. Therefore he calls out to those from the people29 who believed in him, releasing them from these very chains as he says: ‘Come to me, all who labour and are heavily burdened.’30 11. You, therefore, who are unburdened, read the simple law, that which is in accordance with the Gospel, and the Gospel itself, and the prophets, and the Kings, so that you may know from them that the kings who were just were prospered by the Lord in this age, and continued in the promise of eternal life,31 and that those kings who were idolaters and turned away from God perished miserably and quickly through the just judgement of God,32 and were excluded from the Kingdom of God, and received punishment instead of rest. 12. Therefore, when you read these things you will be able to grow the better in the faith and be built up. 13. And again,33 when you walk in the marketplace, use the male baths,34 so that you do not fall into a snare, or cause a woman35 to be 25

A point elaborated at greater length in the twenty-fourth chapter below (6.15 ff.) Lat. reads ‘legislation’. Ligationes has been miscopied as legationes. 27 So Lat., with some support from CA. Syr. reads simply ‘but do not lay them on yourself.’ 28 ‘Weaken the chains’, Lat. and CA. Syr. reads ‘loosen the bonds.’ 29 ‘From the people’ om. Syr. CA gives no guidance as the whole phrase is simply rendered as ‘us.’ However the fact that this is an issue relating directly to those who had come into the church from Judaism is made clear below. Thus see 6.18.11 and the introduction 4.b. 30 Syr. adds: ‘And I will give you rest.’ 31 So Syr., CA. Lat. reads ‘eternal life in the Kingdom of God.’ 32 Lat. reads ‘perished miserably and quickly’ Syr. reads ‘Perished miserably through a summary judgement.’ However the middle term would seem to be CA, which is rendered here. 33 Syr. reads: ‘Afterwards, when you arise . . .’; the phrase is absent in Lat. and CA. 34 Syr. adds ‘and not in the women’s (bath).’ The absence of this phrase in CA and Lat. indicates that this is an interpolation of the translator. Schöllgen (1995), 183, suggests that the interpolation means that the issue is of particular importance to the translator. On mixed baths generally see 1.9 below with the accompanying notes. 35 Lat inserts ‘readily’ here. Connolly (1929), 17, suggests that facile is actually the beginning of the following word, facias. 26

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ensnared on your account, when you show your body unclad in an unseemly manner. 14. Be careful not to do these things, and you shall live36 to God. [1.7] We learn, then, what the holy word says in Wisdom:37 2. ‘Son, keep my words, and hide my commandments within yourself. Son, honour God, and you shall be strengthened, and beside him fear no other.38 3. Keep my commandments, and you will be able to live well, and my words like the apple of an eye. Put them on your fingers, and write them on the table of your heart. 4. Say that wisdom is your sister, and make acquaintance with understanding, that you may keep yourself from any foreign and wicked woman, if she begins to flatter you with precious words. 5. She looks forth into the street from the window of her house, to see if any foolish young man is going around the corner to her house, and speaks to him in the shades of evening when it is dark and quiet, 6. and the woman goes out to him with the appearance of a prostitute, so that the youthful heart flutters. She is wanton and bold, and her feet are not quiet in her house, for she goes out into the public places, and spends her time on the streets, at the corners. 7. And after this she grabs him and kisses him, and says to him, with a brazen face, 8. “I have a peace-offering with me, and today I pay my vows. Because of this I have gone forth into your path, desiring your face, I have found you. I have spread my bed with a coverlet, and I have laid out rugs from Egypt. I have sprinkled saffron on my bed, and my house with cinnamon. 9. Come, and let us enjoy intimacy until the dawn, come and let us embrace in desire. For my husband is not at home, he has gone on a long journey, with a money-bag in his hand. He will come to his home after many days.” 10. And so she seduced him with many words, and she drew him into the snare with her lips. 11. Whoever follows her is struck down, just as an ox is led to slaughter, and a dog to the leash, and just as a stag is struck in the 36 Syr. Lat. reads ‘you live’, probably an error (uiuis being written for uiues.) CA paraphrases. 37 The citation is from Proverbs 7:1-27; 5:1-14; however ‘Wisdom’ is used of Proverbs frequently in the second century. Eusebius states at HE 4.22 that the term was used by Hegesippus, Irenaeus, ‘and a crowd of elder writers’; we also find the term at Justin Dial. 129 and 1 Clem. 57.3. It is used throughout DA; thus note 1.8.2, 1.8.19, 1.8.20, 1.10.2, 2.5.5, 2.14.7, 2.34.6, 2.43.3 and 4.11.2. 38 ‘Beside him fear no other’ is present in both Syr. and Lat., but is a reading unique to the LXX, an indication, as Nau, (1902), 13, points out, that the Greek version employed LXX.

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liver with an arrow. He hurried like a bird into a snare, not knowing that his soul is at risk. 12. Now, children, hear me and listen to the words of my mouth. Do not let your heart wander; for she harms and murders many, and those she has killed are without number. And the ways of her house lead down to hell, to the depths of death. 13. Children, listen to my wisdom and lend your ear to my understanding, so that you may keep hold of good thoughts. I announce to you the meaning of my lips. 14. Do not listen to a false woman,39 for honey drips down from the lips of a prostitute, which at the time is pleasant in your throat, but which you will afterwards find more bitter than wormwood, and sharper than a double-edged sword. 15. For the feet of folly lead those who use her into hell with death, and her footsteps are not seen. Her path does not lead to life, her ways are falsehood and they are not well-known. 16. Therefore, children, listen to me, and do not make light of what I say. Keep yourself far from her, and do not approach the gates of her house, so that you do not betray your life to others, and your habitation to those who are without mercy, so that strangers are not satisfied with your strength and your labours do not contribute to the houses of foreigners, and you are sorry at the last, when the flesh of your body is consumed, and you say: “Why did I hate discipline, and my heart disregard correction, and why did I not listen to the voice of the one who sought to guide me and not incline my ear? I am set about by every evil.”’ 17. And so that we should not overextend this instruction with many words, if we have omitted anything choose, as wise people,40 what is good from the holy Scriptures and from the Gospel of God so that you may be strengthened, and drive away and cast from yourselves all that is evil, and be found faultless in life everlasting with God.41

the third chapter The teaching for women, that they should be pleasing and respectful to their husbands alone; they should care assiduously and sensibly for the works of 39 ‘Do not listen to a false woman’, a reading from LXX, is found in Lat. and CA but not in Syr. 40 Lat. fails here. 41 Cf. this conclusion to K 15, concluding the two ways section of K. Although the catechetical manual continues for some time this interim conclusion is an indication that the catechesis was given in parts and possibly separately to distinct groups, as Grapte teaches the women (Hermas Vis. 1.4).

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their houses with diligence; and that they should not wash together with the men, and that they should not adorn themselves so that they become a stumbling-block to men, nor ensnare them. They should be modest and gentle, and not quarrelsome with their husbands. [1.8] Again, a woman should be subjected to her husband, since the head of a woman is a man,1 and the head of a man who walks in the way of righteousness is Christ, 2. after the Lord who is over all, our God and Father of worlds, of that which is and that which is to be, and the Lord of every breath and of all powers, and his living and Holy Spirit, to whom be glory and honour for ever and ever, amen.2 O woman, fear your husband and revere him, and to him alone be pleasing, and be ready to serve him, and let your hands be ready for the wool and your mind on the spindle,3 just as it says in Wisdom: 3. ’A valiant woman, who can find her? For she is worth more than precious stones of great price. Her husband’s heart relies on her, and he is wanting4 in nothing. In everything she is a helpmeet to her husband, and ensures that his household is lacking in nothing, 4. making wool and linen with her accomplished hands. She is a good provider, like a merchant ship, and has gathered her wealth from distant lands. 5. Rising in the night she has given covering5 to her household and work to her servants. She looked upon a cultivated field and bought it, and has planted a possession from the fruits of her hands. 6. She has girded her Eph 5:22; 1 Cor 11:3. Although Syr. is translated here as extant, we may note the suggestion of Vööbus (1979b), 20, that the original text has undergone some expansion as the doxology seems out of place at this point. However, if we overlook the (later) chapter division it may be observed that there is a change of address at this point as women are then addressed directly. It may be that the statement that a wife should be subject is the conclusion of the earlier address (to husbands) and that the doxology therefore concluded that section of the source. 3 Cf. Mishnah Ketuboth 5.5: ‘These are the tasks that the wife must carry out for her husband: she must grind corn and bake and do washing, cooking, and suckle her child, make his bed for him, and work in wool. If she brought him one bondswoman, she need not grind or bake or wash. If two she does not have to cook or give suck to her child; if three, she is not required to make his bed or work in wool; if four, she may sit on a raised seat. R Eliezer says, “Even if she brought him a hundred bondswomen, he can compel her to work in wool, since idleness leads to lewdness.”’ 4 Some MSS follow the Peshitta, and have ‘she is wanting’. 5 Cf. ‘food’ in Peshitta, LXX and CA. 1 2

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loins with strength, and made her arms firm, and tasted that labour is good, and her lamp is not extinguished throughout the night. She has put forth her arms in diligence and her hands to the spindle. 7. She stretched forth her hands to the poor, and has given of her fruits to the needy, 8. and her husband has no anxiety regarding the house, since all in his household have been clothed with a double garment. She has made garments of fine white linen and purple for her husband. 9. Her husband is notable when he sits at the gates in the council of the elders. 10. She has made linen in her house, and girdles which she sold to the Canaanites. She has strength and honour for clothing, and she shall rejoice at the last day. 11. She has opened her mouth with wisdom and understanding, and her tongue speaks good order. The ways of her house are strict, and she has not eaten bread in idleness. She has opened her mouth, rightly, in wisdom, and the law of mercy is on her tongue. 12. Her sons arose and grew rich and praised her, and she shall rejoice in them in her last days. Her husband also gave her praise, and her many daughters have become rich. She did many deeds of greatness, and she is exalted above all women. 13. For a woman who fears God shall be blessed, and the fear of the Lord shall glorify her. 14. Give her the fruits that are worthy of her lips, and let her husband be praised in every place.’6 15. And again: ‘A valiant woman is her husband’s crown.’7 16. Thus you have learnt that a woman who is chaste and loving towards her husband receives great praise from the Lord God. She is found faithful, and desirous of pleasing God. 17. You, therefore, woman, shall not adorn yourself in order to please other men; do not dress your hair with the hairstyle of a harlot, nor dress yourself in the clothing of a harlot, nor shod yourself with shoes so that you resemble those of this kind, so that you do not bring upon yourself those who are attracted by such things. 18. Even if you do not yourself sin and actually defile yourself, nonetheless you have sinned in that you have forced and caused someone to desire you.8 Yet if you have sinned, you have also lost your life,9 and are held guilty, moreover, for

Prov 31:10-31. Prov 12:4. 8 Lat. resumes here. 9 Cf. Syr.: ‘Have destroyed your life from God.’ 6 7

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his soul as well. 19. And after this, when you have sinned with one, you will grow reckless and go on to another, as he says in Wisdom,10 ‘When the wicked has come to the depth of evils, he has no heed of them, and dishonour and reproach will come upon him.’11 For such is one who, stricken in her soul and taken with desire, entraps the souls of the foolish.12 20. Therefore let us learn the manner in which the holy word exposes13 such through the same Wisdom, for it says: ‘Beauty, to a woman who does evil, is like a golden ring in a pig’s nose.’14 21. And again: ‘A wicked woman destroys a man like a worm in wood.’15 22. And again: ‘A stupid and vexatious woman, who knows no shame, comes to lack bread. She sits on a stool in the gates of her house, and steps into the streets and calls out to those who pass by, to them who are passing this route, and says: 23. “Whoever of you is foolish, make your way to me.” And to those without understanding to govern them, saying: “Touch the bread which is hidden with love, and stolen waters which are sweet.”16 24. And being unaware that giants perish through her, he falls onto a springboard into the depths.17 But flee from her speedily, and do not recollect her place.’18 And again: ‘It is better to live in a dark corner than with a garrulous and nagging woman.’19

10

‘As he says in Wisdom’ is missing in Lat. Prov 18:3. 12 So Syr. Lat. is possibly corrupt, reading ‘Such is one who wounds and entraps the souls of the foolish’, whereas CA indicates that the verb ‘wound’ is a passive participle, hence leading editors to emend uulnerat to uulnerata. On the other hand, whereas Syr. conveys the meaning of CA, it is possible that there is some expansion in the material, for CA simply reads ‘such is one who, so grievously stricken, entraps the souls of the foolish.’ 13 The translation of this word is borrowed from Connolly (1929). The Greek, represented by CA, has qriambeu/ei, which has the rare meaning of ‘noise abroad.’ Lat. translates directly as ‘triumphat’, though the Latin word simply means ‘enjoy triumph over.’ 14 Prov 11:22. 15 Prov 12:4. 16 Cf. Lat.: ‘You shall eat loaves hidden in snow (pruina being read for pruna) with delectation, and you shall drink secret water which is sweet’ 17 As Vööbus (1979b), 26, points out, Syr. here is influenced by Peshitta. Lat. transliterates Greek pe/tauron, so indicating that this passage has been translated accurately. Hence at this point Lat. is followed. 18 Prov 9:13-18. 19 Prov 21:9, 19. 11

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26. Therefore, you Christians should not imitate those women who are like this. If you wish to be a believer,20 look after your husband so that you are pleasing21 to him alone. And when you walk in the street cover your head with your robe so that your great beauty is concealed by your veiling.22 27. And do not paint the natural face which God has made for you,23 but complete your journey looking downwards so that your robe can fall over you. [1.9] And refuse to bathe where men wash, because this is unnecessary for a woman.24 For if there is a women’s bath in your town or area a believing woman is not to bathe in the bath in which men bathe.25 If you conceal your face so that you may not be seen by other men, how can you go naked in a bath with other men? 2. However, if there is no women’s bath which you may use, and you wish to bathe with men, in opposition to nature, bathe in moderation, and with awareness and with care. 3. And do not bathe in such baths with frequency, nor for an extended period, not at noon, but not, if at all possible, daily.26

20 In this statement we may perhaps note some indication of the catechetical origin of this section. 21 Lat. is corrupt here but Syr. is clear. 22 Plutarch Quaestiones Romanae. 267 A-B indicates that the covering of the head was usual for women in the eastern Empire. The women depicted in the Dura Europos mural of the finding of Moses all wear veils over their heads. 23 For other early Christian condemnation of cosmetics for women, apart from the material in Clement of Alexandria Paedagogus noted in the introduction, see Tertullian De cultu feminarum 2.5. 24 ‘Because this is unnecessary for a woman’ is absent in Syr. Possibly the word ‘unnecessary’ reflects the word a1takton, which means ‘disorderly’, applied to the bath in CA. Similarly, when, in 9.2 below, it is said that women should bathe in moderation, and with awareness and with care, this may reflect eu)ta/ktwj meta\ ai)dou~j memetrhme/noij found at the corresponding point in CA. Although Schöllgen (1995), 184-186, suggests that the term quod superfluum est mulieri here is a deliberate alteration by the translator and likewise that CA has added both a1takton and eu)ta/ktwj, the Coptic fragment published by Camplani (1996), reading here 6nou`wke7nataktos, strongly supports the retention of these terms. This witness, we should note, was unavailable to Schöllgen. 25 Lat. reads ‘even if there is not a women’s bath . . . a believing woman is not to bathe in the bath in which men bathe . . .’ Tidner (1963) and Connolly (1929) bracket non for, as Connolly suggests, two instances are being considered, namely the situation where there is a women’s bath and the situation where there is not, but Schöllgen (1995), 184-185, suggests again that this a deliberate alteration by the translator. This is possible, in view of the emphasis put on the fact that the bath is unnecessary. The passage is also discussed by Corssen (1900) and Nestle (1901). 26 This sentence is rendered from Lat. with strong support from CA. Syr. reads ‘And not at all times, nor every day, and not at noon . . .’

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4. The tenth hour should be set for you for that unnecessary27 bath. It is fitting that, as one who is considered to be among the faithful, you should altogether avoid the gaze of eyes and the looks which are to be met in such a bath.28 [1.10] Nor should you be at strife with anyone, and especially not with your husband. Since you are of the faithful, exclude this evil from yourself. If your husband, whether he is of the faithful or a heathen, is offended on your account and blasphemes against God you too will receive woe from God. ‘Woe betide’, he says, ‘any through whom my name is blasphemed amongst the gentiles.’29 2. If, however, your husband is of the faithful, he may be obliged to say what is written in Wisdom: ‘It is better to live in a dark corner than with a garrulous and nagging woman.’30 3. Women should demonstrate religion through modesty and gentleness,31 so that those who are of the heathen may be turned and grow into faith, whether they be men or women. 4. And if we have admonished and corrected you sisters and daughters and members of ourselves, in brief, you should seek out, as those

27 So Syr. and CA. Lat. reads ‘unnecessary bath’, repeating the word used in the phrase above ‘unnecessary for a woman.’ 28 Mixed bathing had a chequered history throughout the Empire; in general it was considered scandalous, and women who bathed in mixed baths were considered indecent. Mixed bathing was banned by Hadrian, the ban being lifted by Marcus Aurelius, and then re-imposed by Elagabalus. Whereas even villages might have a public bath in the east of the Empire, only larger towns would have a women’s bath, such as those known in the Imperial Palace and in Antioch. Smaller mixed baths might attempt to enforce separation, through having separate entrances and changing rooms, or, as appears to be suggested here, through separate hours for women and for men. Thus noon is specifically disallowed as a time when women should bathe, and the tenth hour (4pm) suggested, this being a time at which men would probably have finished bathing, and the bath be set aside for women. Christian men are specifically instructed not to bathe with women, on the grounds that this is pagan practice, by the thirtieth canon of the Council of Laodicea. For other early Christian condemnations of mixed bathing note Clement of Alexandria Paed. 3.5 (indebted, as is suggested in the introduction, to the same catechetical tradition as this part of DA) and Cyprian De habitu virginum 19. On the whole subject see Yegül (1992) and, on the moral climate in particular, Schöllgen (1995) with the literature cited. 29 Cf. Is 52:5 to this agraphon, and also 2 Clement 13.2: ‘For the Lord says: “My name is blasphemed among all the gentiles” and again: “Woe to those through whom my name is blasphemed.”’ 30 Prov 21:9, 19. 31 So Lat. and CA; Syr. reads ‘through a veil of modesty and humility.’

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who are wise, those writings which are good and without the fault of this present age, so that you may know the means by which you will be able to approach the Kingdom of our God, and find rest through pleasing him well.

the fourth chapter 1 Teaches the kind of man who should be elected to the episcopate, and what his conduct should be like. [2] Hear this concerning the bishop.2 [2.1] The shepherd who is appointed as overseer3 of the presbytery in the church4 in every congregation should be without blame, irreproachable,5 set apart from any evil, a man not less than fifty years old, for so it will be evident that he has put aside youthful manners6 and devilish vices, and is free from the slanders which false brothers cast at many because of their ignorance of the word of God7 which is in the Gospel: ‘Whoever says an idle word shall answer for it at the day of judgement. By your own words’ it says, ‘shall you be justified, and by your own words shall you be condemned.’8 2. If possible, he should be learned,9 but if he

1 It is immediately before this chapter that MSS of the E family incorporate the large block of extraneous material found in the appendix. 2 There is a blank space in Lat. in lieu of the first clause, which indicates that this might have been read as a title. Certainly the phrase is to be included as a version of it is rendered in CA. 3 Overseer: Syr. reads ‘bishop and head’ )$Yrw )PwQSYP), whereas Lat. has constituitor in uisitatione (representing ei)j e)piskoph/n) and CA kaqista/menon e)pi/skopon. ‘Bishop and head’ would thus appear to be an overtranslation on the part of Syr. Although, as argued in the introduction, the churches known to DA had not originally had presbyters, the source is fundamentally presbyteral and, as I argue at greater length in (2006), the episcopate within the community of kk had developed from the presbytery. The expression here makes this brutally clear. 4 Lat. reads ‘churches.’ Although this plural is supported by CA, I suspect that both versions understood the bishop to be set over a number of congregations rather than a single congregation, which is the assumption behind the original. 5 Cf. 1 Tim 3:2. 6 Cf. 2 Tim 2:22. 7 ‘Word of God’ is translated in accordance with Lat. and CA. Syr. has ‘that word.’ 8 Mt 12:36. 9 So Lat., ‘eruditus’ and CA pepaideume/noj. Syr. adds ‘and able to teach.’ ‘Capable of teaching’ appears in 1 Tim 3:2, which may be the source here.

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is unlettered10 he should be persuasive and skilful with words,11 and of advanced years.12 3. If, however, the congregation in which the bishop is to be ordained is small, and nobody of age is found of whom testimony to his wisdom and suitability to stand in the episcopate13 might be given but, nonetheless, there is a youth,14 of whom those with him bear witness that he is worthy of the episcopate and who, in spite of his youth, shows evidence of maturity in his meekness and good conduct, he should be tested and if he receives such testimony from all he should be seated15 in peace. 4. For Solomon likewise was king over Israel at the age of twelve years,16 and Josiah reigned in righteousness at the age of eight years,17 and Joash likewise reigned when he was seven years old.18 10 The possibility that the bishop might be illiterate is countenanced in kk. An illiterate bishop would not be all that unusual, since, as has been noted in the introduction, the fundamental duties of the bishop are economic and disciplinary. Thus, in discussing K, Harnack (1895), 10, cites several examples of illiterate bishops from the third century, and Funk (1887), 61, two examples from the fifth. Only with Justinian (Novella 6.4) do we find a prohibition on illiterate bishops. In part this is because written liturgies had now developed whereas, of course, no such thing existed in the third century. 11 Cf. Lat. notitiam habens uerbi diuini and CA e1mpeiroj tou~ logou~. It is thus possible that Syr. has translated a single term with two words. The situation is complicated as the MSS read, for the first word sPM (expert) whereas here, with Flemming in Achelis and Flemming (1904), 13, I have read sYPM. Connolly (1929), reading sPM with the MSS, translates as ‘versed and skilled in the word.’ 12 Cf. Lat. stabilis aetate and CA, possibly connecting the phrase to the former statement about the bishop’s skill in words, kaqh/kwn th|~ h(liki/a|. 13 The words ‘suitability to stand in the episcopate’ are absent in Lat. but present in CA. 14 Some Syriac MSS have ‘a brother who is young’; others read as here, which is also the reading of Lat. 15 Thus CA, which reads kaqisqa/sqw, with support from Syr. which reads ‘let him sit.’ Lat. paraphrases and reads ‘he should be made bishop.’ On the significance of this see below. 16 Whatever the source for this information, it is not Scripture. Nonetheless the age of entering offices was flexible in reality, as this passage shows. Thus Gregory Thaumaturge is appointed bishop, according to Eusebius HE 6.30, whilst young. The need for a minimum age for one to act in the priesthood is debated at TB Hullin 24B, and we may note that when the (young) Eleazer b. Azariah is appointed leader of the academy at Yabneh white hairs appear in his beard as a sign of the confirmation of the appointment (TB Berakoth 27B). See for some discussion Blokscha (1931) and, with greater concentration on a later period, Eyben (1995). The point of the discussion here, as elsewhere, is probably to prevent the appointment of children as ‘honorary’ bishops, in the manner that child archisu᎑nagogoi appear to have been appointed (such as the three-year old archisu᎑nagogos recorded at CII 587.) 17 2 Kg 21:1. 18 2 Kg 11:21.

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5. Therefore, even if he is young, yet, he should be meek, fearful and peaceable, since the Lord God says through Isaiah: ‘On whom shall I look, except upon one who is meek, peaceable, and always trembling at my words.’19 Likewise, in the Gospel, he speaks thus: ‘Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.’20 6. He also should be merciful, since he says: ‘Blessed are the merciful, for God shall show mercy towards them.’21 7. Likewise he should be a peacemaker, since again he says: Blessed are the peacemakers, since they shall be called sons of God.’22 8. He should also be without malice, or wickedness or ill-will, since he says, again: ‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.’23 [2.2] ‘He should be sober, chaste, stable and orderly,24 not violent, not given overmuch to wine, not a backbiter, but innocent, not contentious, not greedy, not a new convert so that he should puffed up and so come under the judgement of Satan,25 since ‘anyone who lifts himself up shall be humbled.’26 2. Thus a bishop should be ‘the husband of one wife, who conducts the affairs of his household well.’27 3. So he should be tested when he is accepted with the imposition of hands to sit in the place of the episcopate;28 if he is chaste, if he has, 19 Is 66:2. The term ‘always’ is included following CA and Lat. though NB Syr. om. This is of greater significance than might appear at first sight, for the term is present in the citation in D but not otherwise within TWT. Thus the matter of whether D was a direct source is raised. Thus note the brief discussion of this point in the introduction, 2.b. In particular, given the omission in Syr., we may wonder whether Lat. and CA are independently influenced by D. 20 Mt 5:5. 21 Mt 5:7. 22 Mt 5:9. 23 Mt 5:8. 24 ‘And orderly’ is missing in Lat. but present in CA. 25 1 Tim 3:2-3, 6. So Syr. Lat. reads ‘come under judgement.’ Decisive is CA which reads kri/ma ...tou~ diabolou~. 26 Lk 14:11. 27 1 Tim 3:4. 28 Cf. Lat.: ‘with the imposition of hands and so ordained to the episcopate’. Some Syriac MSS have ‘with the imposition of hands of bishops.’ As above, the Lat. translator does not understand references to a rite of seating. This rite, however, is found elsewhere in early Christianity, alongside the imposition of hands, as a significant part of ordination rituals for bishops. This rite reflects a scholastic pre-occupation, since the chair is the place of a teacher, and is arguably a rite which has been inherited from rabbinic practice. For further references to the rite and some discussion see Stewart-Sykes (2001c). There is reference (possibly from an independent source) to the bishop’s seat (qro/noj in CA) at 2.57.4 below.

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or had, a wife who is chaste and faithful,29 if he has raised his children in the fear of God and has admonished and taught them,30 if those who are within his household treat him with reverence and honour, and are all subject to him. 4. For if those who are his family according to the flesh make trouble for him and do not obey him, how then are whose who are outside his household31 to become his and be subject to him. [2.3] And he should be examined to determine whether he is without blemish in the affairs of the world, and also in his body,32 for it is written: ‘Observe that there be no blemish in him who stands up to be priest.’33 2. He should also not be prone to anger, for the Lord says: ‘anger even destroys the wise.’34 3. And he should be merciful, compassionate and full of love, for the Lord says: ‘love covers a multitude of sins.’35 [2.4] And his hand should be stretched out to give, and he should be compassionate to the orphans together with the widows, and compassionate to the poor and to the stranger. He should be illustrious in his ministry and faithful in the ministry. He should have contrition in his soul, and not shame.36 And he should know who deserves to receive, 2. for if there is a widow who has possessions, or has the means by which she might provide for the nourishment37 of her body, and another who, though not a widow, is in need, whether through sickness, or through raising children, or through bodily infirmity, it is to her that he should stretch forth his hand. 3. But if there should be someone who is dissolute, or drunken, or idle, and is in need of bodily nourishment, he is not worthy of charity, and not from the church. [2.5] The bishop should not be a respecter of persons, not one who stands in deference to the rich or who pleases them beyond what is 29

So Lat. and CA: cf. Syr.: ‘ . . . if his wife likewise is a believer, and chaste.’ Cf. Lat.: ‘raised his children purely and educated them thoroughly.’ CA is here closer to Syr. 31 Lat. breaks off here. 32 ‘And also in his body’ is not found in CA, and Schöllgen, (1998), 104-105 (and refs) notes the possibility that this clause is an interpolation, though determines that it is not. 33 Lev 21:17. 34 Prov 15:1. 35 Cf. to this agraphon 1 Pet 4:8. 36 Flemming in Achelis and Flemming (1904), 15, takes this to mean that he should have genuine repentance and not false modesty. 37 Reading here )trBYS. Some MSS read )twBYS (old age). 30

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right. And he should not despise nor neglect the poor, nor be overbearing upon them. 2. He should be moderate and sparing in his food and drink so that he can be vigilant in admonishing and correcting the undisciplined. He should not be cunning or calculating.38 He should not be fond of luxury. He should not be pleasure-seeking. He should not be fond of delicacies to eat. 3. He should not be impatient, but forbearing in his admonition. He should be very assiduous in his teaching, and should be most assiduous in reading the divine Scriptures, so that he may interpret and expound the Scriptures fittingly. He should make comparison of the law and the prophets with the Gospel so that the statements of the law and the prophets are brought into accordance with the Gospel. 4. But chiefly he should be skilful at distinguishing between the law and the secondary legislation, so that he may determine and demonstrate what is the law of the faithful and what the bonds of those who do not believe, lest anyone under your authority should consider that the bonds are the law, lay heavy burdens upon himself, and so become a son of perdition. 5. Therefore, bishop, be assiduous and attentive to the word, so that you can, in accordance with your ability, expound every word, so that with much instruction you can give ample food and drink to your people. Thus is it written in Wisdom: ‘Take care of the green of the field so that you may shear your flock; and gather the grass of summer so that you may have sheep for your clothing, give care and attention to your pasture so that you may have lambs.’39 [2.6] Thus the bishop should not be fond of impure profit, especially not from the heathen; let him be deceived rather than be a deceiver. And he should not be fond of wealth. He should not bear ill-will to anyone, nor bear false witness. He should not be irascible. He should not be quarrelsome. He should not love pre-eminence. He should not be double-tongued or double-minded,40 and he

38 The meaning of the Syriac word rendered here, qYPN is unclear and a variety of renderings have been offered as CA offers no guidance. Thus Flemming in Achelis and Flemming (1904) opts for weltgewandt, on the basis that the peal root means to ‘go out’, but Vööbus (1979b), 47, points out that expertise is within the range of meanings of the pael. Connolly (1929), 34, translates as ‘extravagant’, though this is a stretch for the meaning of the root. He was influenced by da/panoj, which appears in CA, however CA is abbreviating and paraphrastic at this point, so gives little guidance. 39 Prov 27:25-26. 40 Cf. D 2.4 and elsewhere in TWT.

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should not be somebody who turns his ear to slander or disparagement. He should not be a respecter of persons. And he should not be fond of the festivals of the pagans, nor concern himself with vain error. He should not be lustful or money-loving, since all these things derive from the work of demons.41 2. The bishop should command and direct the people in all these things. 3. He should be wise and lowly, and should admonish and teach in the doctrine and discipline of God. He should have clarity of vision42 and shun all the evil artifice of this world, and all the wicked longings of the heathen. 4. He should have keen discernment so that he may know in advance those who are evil, and preserve you from them. But he should be a true friend to all, as an upright judge. Whatever of good is to be found among people is to be found in the bishop. 5. For since the shepherd is remote from any evil, so he will be able to compel his disciples and persuade them by his worthy behaviour to be imitators of his good works. As the Lord has said through his twelve prophets: ‘The people are to be as the priest.’43 6. Thus it is required that you should be an example to the people. Since you have Christ as an example to yourselves, so you likewise should be a worthy example to your people, for the Lord said in Ezekiel: 7. ‘The speech of the Lord was upon me, saying: “Mortal man, speak to the sons of your people and say to them: 8. ‘When I bring a sword upon a land, the people of the land should take one from among themselves and make him their watchman. He shall see the sword coming upon the land and shall blow the horn and warn the people. Everyone who hears the sound of the horn shall obey. If he pays no notice and the sword comes and removes him, his blood is on his own head. Because he heard the sound of the horn and took no notice his blood shall be on his own head. But the one who takes notice shall save his life. 10. However, if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not sound the horn, and the people is not warned, should the sword come and take a life from among them he has been taken in his sins and I shall demand his blood at the hands of the watchman.’”’44 11. Now the sword is judgement, and the horn is the Gospel, and the watchman is the bishop who is set over the church. Cf. 1 Tim 3:3; D 15.1. Some MSS have ‘beauty of vision.’ 43 Hos 4:9. 44 Ez 33:1-6. 41 42

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the fifth chapter:1 An instruction concerning judgement 2 12. Bishop, it is required of you that you bear witness in confirmation of judgement as of the Gospel when you preach, since the Lord has said to you: 13. ’Son of man, I have given you as a watchman to the house of Israel so that you may confirm and proclaim the saying you have heard from my mouth. 14. And when I say to the wicked that the wicked shall surely die, but you do not state in your preaching that the wicked man should withdraw from his wickedness, then in his wickedness shall the wicked man die, and I will demand his blood at your hands. 15. But if you warn the wicked with regard to his way, and he pays no heed, then in wickedness shall the wicked one die, but yourself you shall save.’3 16. And since the blame of those who sin through ignorance likewise falls upon you, so you should bear witness and proclaim, and openly admonish and rebuke those who conduct themselves without discipline. Even if we frequently repeat what we say we are not to be held blameworthy, for through frequent teaching and frequent hearing a man may be shamed into doing good and abstention from evil. 17. For the Lord said in the law: ‘Hear O Israel’,4 and to this day they have not heard. Likewise in the Gospel he reminds us saying: ‘Let everyone hear, who has ears to hear.’5 But not even those who thought that they had heard did hear, for they cast themselves swiftly into the cruel destruction of heresy,6 on which we shall soon speak.7 [2.7] For we do not believe, brothers, that anyone who has been baptized will again perform the disgusting wickedness of the gentiles, since it is known to 1 The first sentence of this chapter is part of the previous sentence in CA, an indication that the chapter divisions are somewhat later. 2 Some MSS of the E family have a more extended title here. 3 Ez 33:7-9. 4 Dt 6:4. 5 Mt 11:15. 6 Lat. resumes here. There are numerous minor divergences from Syr. here. Syr. is followed unless there are pressing reasons to prefer Lat., such as an obvious error in Syr. 7 Translated following Lat., supported by CA. Syr. has a copying error which makes the clause read: ‘on which the word of condemnation is swift.’ Flemming in Achelis and Flemming (1904) suggests that tY)rYNG (quickly) has been miscopied as )NYdrzG (condemnation).

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all that anyone who should commit any grievous sin after baptism is condemned in a fiery Gehenna.8 [2.8] Indeed we feel that the heathen will blaspheme us on account that we neither mix nor have communication with them, and that our brothers have attained the truth through the falsehood of the heathen. In the Gospel it is said, concerning them: ‘Blessed are you when they revile you and speak all kind of evil against you. Rejoice, be happy, for great is your reward in heaven. For so they persecuted the prophets.’9 2. If anyone is falsely blasphemed, then he is blessed even as he is put to the test. So says Scripture: ‘Somebody who is not tested is not proved by God.’10 3. But anyone convicted of any evil deed is no Christian but a liar, whose fear of the Lord is hypocrisy. 4. The bishop who is without offence should scrupulously avoid him and not recognize anyone of this nature who has been properly convicted. [2.9] But if the bishop is himself not of a clean conscience, and accepts persons on the basis of defiled gains, or on the basis of offerings received,11 and spares any who sin wickedly, allowing them to remain in the church, [2.10] he has defiled his congregation before God and before people, and alongside himself he loses many who are newly baptized,12 catechumens, and young men and women, through his greed. 2. Since they are impressionable, when they see somebody like this among them they will be confused in themselves and imitate him, and shall themselves cause scandal, and through sharing in the effects of his weakness they will perish with him. 3. However, if anyone who sins sees that the bishops and the deacons are innocent, and free from blame, and maintain the purity of the flock, he will not 8 This rigorist statement should be compared to the rather more reconciliatory tone below. We suggest in the introduction that such tensions derive from the fact that the Vorlage, from which this statement may be presumed to have derived, was in tension with the view of the uniting redactor. 9 Mt 5:11. 10 No text comes to mind as fitting this citation. NB Tertullian Bapt. 20: ‘The saying that nobody would attain to heavenly kingdoms except through testing had already proceeded’ and Cyril of Jerusalem Catecheses mystagogicae 5.17: a)nh\r a)pei/rastoj a)do/kimoj, for which no citation is given beyond ‘it says elsewhere . . .’ The thought is similar to, e.g., Jas 1:12 and Sir 2:1, but not the expression. The saying is also cited by the Opus imperfectum in Matthaeum, an anonymous collection of homilies probably of the fifth century, which elsewhere appears to have had knowledge of DA. 11 The mention of the receipt of offerings is found in Syr. and CA but om. Lat. 12 Following Lat. and CA; Syr. does not understand the term ‘neophytes’, employed here, and translates ‘those admitted to share who are young in their minds.’ The construction of the sentence also follows Lat., though not as punctuated.

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dare in the first instance to enter the congregation as he is reproved by his own conscience. 4. And if he should be impertinent and unashamed, and should enter the church, and is rebuked and reprimanded by the bishop, 5. and looking around should find nobody who gives cause for offence, either in the bishop or in those who are with him, he shall be put to confusion, and shall go out remorsefully, shamed and weeping. And the flock will remain pure. He, however, when he has departed shall weep and groan before God, and be sorry for what he has done, and there is then some hope for him. And the entire flock, when it sees his tears, will be fearful, understanding that whoever sins will perish. [2.11] Therefore, bishop, strive to be pure in what you do, and to know that your place is that of God the Almighty, and make yourself like Almighty God. 2. And so sit in the church and teach, as one who has authority to judge on behalf of God, them who sin. The Gospel addresses you bishops when it says: ‘Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven also.’13

the sixth chapter Concerning offenders, and concerning those who repent. Again instructing the bishop to judge any who offend, as does God, and not to spare any, but to receive any who repent in love and to pardon. And that he should not be subject to worldly passions, and shut the door in the face of those who repent, but that he should carry the burden and sins of everyone in accordance with the greatness of his honour. Together with a proof and a threat from Ezekiel regarding bishops who despise their flocks or about the worldly who disrespect the bishop. [2.12] Therefore, bishop, judge strictly as does God Almighty,1 and receive in love those who repent as does God Almighty. So you should rebuke, and win over and instruct, since the Lord God promises forgiveness with an oath to those who sin, as he says in Ezekiel: 2. ‘Mortal man, speak to those of the house of Israel: “Thus you have said: ‘Our wickednesses and our sins are upon us, and we are rotting in them; how then can we live?’ Say to them: ‘As I live,’ says the Lord Adonai, ‘I have no desire for the death of a sinner but that he should turn himself from his way, and live. Turn yourself, therefore, and repent your evil ways, Mt 18:18. Lat. breaks off here.

13 1

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and you shall not die, house of Israel.’”‘2 3. Here, then, he gives hope to those who sin, that when they repent they may have salvation through their repentance, and not cut off their hope, and continue in their sins, or add to them, but should repent and sigh and weep over their sins and be converted with all their heart. [2.13] However, let those without sin continue without sin, lest they find themselves obliged to weep and groan and grieve and find forgiveness. 2. For from whence, sinner man, do you come to know the days that are left you to live in this world, in which you may repent? For since you have no knowledge of your departure from the world, perhaps you may die in your sins, and have no opportunity for repentance. As it says in David: ‘In Sheol who is there who confesses you?’3 3. For this reason, whoever preserves his life and remains sinless is kept from all danger, so that likewise the righteousness he had previously done is kept to his account. 4. You, therefore, bishop, give your judgement at first with strictness, and subsequently receive (the sinner) with kindness and compassion on making a promise of repentance.4 Rebuke him, and chasten him, and then let yourself be moved by him [2.14] because of the word which is thus spoken in David: ‘Do not betray the soul which is entrusted to you’,5 2. and, again, in Jeremiah he speaks thus concerning the repentance of those who sin: ‘Shall the fallen not rise up? And any who have turned away not return? For what reason have my people turned away with shameless perversity, and hold to their own opinions, and have not desired to repent and to return?’6 3. For this reason you should receive anyone who repents without the slightest uncertainty, and do not be put off by those who have no compassion and who say: ‘We should not be defiled with such as these.’ 4. For the Lord God has said: ‘The fathers shall not die in the stead of the sons, nor the sons in the stead of the fathers.’7 5. Again, in Ezekiel, Ez 33:10-11. Ps 6:5. 4 Flemming in Achelis and Flemming, 159-160, and Vööbus (1979b), 54, are in agreement with Lagarde that there is something wanting in this text, as a mere promise of repentance seems inadequate. CA reads: ‘promising salvation if he should somehow repent and move to conversion’, and so the suggestion, originating with Lagarde, that the text read: ‘receive with kindness and compassion, promising salvation if he should repent’ may be given serious consideration. 5 Ps 73:19. 6 Jer 8:4-5. 7 Dt 24:16. 2 3

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he speaks thus: ‘The word of the Lord was upon me, saying: “Mortal man, if a land should sin against me and do wickedness before me, I shall lift up my hand against her and shall destroy the staff of bread within her and I shall send famine upon her and destroy men and beasts within her. But if these three men should be within her, Noah and Daniel and Job, they shall deliver their souls through their righteousness, says the Lord Adonai.”’8 6. The Scripture thus clearly demonstrates that if a righteous man should be found alongside a wicked man he shall not perish alongside him, but each shall live by his righteousness. And if he is hindered it is through his own sins that he is hindered. 7. Again he says in Wisdom: ‘Everyone is tied by the cord of his own sins.’9 8. Thus everyone who is in the world is to render an account of his own sins, and nobody is harmed through the10 sins of others. 9. For Judas caused us no harm when he was praying together with us, but he alone perished. For in the ark likewise Noah and two of his sons were saved and blessed, but Ham his son was not, rather his seed was cursed.11 Those that went in as animals came out so.12 10. You should not, therefore, pay attention to those who are willing to put others to death, who hate their brothers yet love accusations, who are ready to slay on any excuse, for one should not die on another’s account.13 11. Rather you should assist those who are weak, who are endangered, who are wandering, and set them free from death, acting not in accordance with the hardness of human hearts, or with human will and word, but in accordance with the will and command of our Lord God.14 12. Bishop, as the head you should not pay attention to the tail, that is to any layperson or contentious person who would

Ez 14:12-14. Prov 5:22. 10 Lat. resumes here. 11 Gen 9:20-27. MSS of the E family add ‘because he mocked his father.’ 12 The various Syriac versions confuse this sentence in different ways but Lat. clarifies the matter. The ark as an image of the church containing both pure and impure is found elsewhere. Thus, according to Hippolytus Ref. 9.7, Callistus justified his position of allowing digamist clergy using this image, whereas Tertullian De idolatria 24 suggests that in spite of the presence of unclean animals none represents idolatry, and thus that no idolater has a place in the church. 13 ‘For one should not die on another’s account’ is found in Lat. but om. Syr. CA contains the phrase and goes on: ‘but “everybody is tied in the cord of his own sins” (Prov 5:22) and “Look, a person and his work is before his face.” (Is 62:11)’ 14 ‘ . . . but in accordance with the will and command of our Lord God.’ So Lat. and CA; om. Syr. 8 9

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readily lead another to destruction, but solely be led by the word of the Lord God. 13. He forbids and excludes the idea and intention of wicked people that anyone could perish on account of another’s sins, or be held guilty alongside another, through Ezekiel, as our Lord God says this: 14. ‘And the word of the Lord came to me saying: “Mortal man, why in the land of Israel do you use this proverb, saying ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the teeth of the children are put on edge’? As I live, says the Lord God, this proverb shall be nor more used in Israel. For all souls are mine; just as is the soul of the father, so the soul of the son is mine. And whichever soul should sin, that same shall die. 15. If a person is righteous, and gives just judgement, and does not eat upon the mountains, and does not lift up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, and does not pollute his neighbour’s wife, and does not approach a woman who is menstruating, and does not oppress the poor man, and returns pledges to those who owe, and does not seize booty, and gives his bread to the hungry, and clothes the naked with a garment, and does not lend his money on usury, and does not take it back with interest, and turns his hand away from wickedness, and gives just judgement between a fellow and his neighbours, and walks in my directions, and keeps my laws and fulfills them, then such is righteous and shall live says the Lord God. 16. Yet if he begets a wicked son, who sheds blood and who acts wickedly, not walking in the way of his righteous father but eating on the mountains, polluting his neighbour’s wife, oppressing the beggar and the pauper, seizing booty, not returning his pledge, turning his eyes towards idols, doing evil, lending on interest and accepting overpayment, then such will not live, but shall die on account of the evils which he has committed, and his own blood will be on his hands. 17. If he, however, should beget a son who sees all the evils which his father does, and is fearful and does not act in this manner, not eating on the mountains, and not looking upon the idols of the house of Israel, and not polluting his neighbour’s wife, and not oppressing the poor man, and taking no pledge, and seizing no booty, and giving bread to the hungry and clothing the naked with a garment, and turning his hand away from evil and accepting neither interest or overpayment, doing justly and walking in my ways, then he shall live, and shall not perish on account of his father’s wickedness. 18. However his father, who oppressed and who robbed and who sinned in the midst of my people shall perish in his iniquity. 19. And you say: ‘Why is the son not made to pay for his father’s wickedness?’ Because the son was just and showed mercy, he kept all my laws and performed them, and he

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shall indeed live. Should a soul sin, that same shall die; but the son will not suffer on account of the father’s unrighteousness, nor shall a father suffer on account of his son’s unrighteousness. The righteousness of the righteous shall be his own, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be his. 20. And the wicked, should he turn away from all his unrighteousness, and do justly and mercifully, shall live indeed and not die. Whatever sin he committed shall not be remembered, in the righteousness which he himself performed shall be live indeed. I never desire the death of the unrighteous, says the Lord God, rather that he should turn from his evil way and live. 21. If a righteous person should turn away from righteousness and should act wickedly following all the evils which the wicked do, none of the righteous acts which he performed shall be remembered, but in the evil which he performed, and in the sins in which he sinned of himself, in these shall he die. 22. And you have said: ‘The way of the Lord is not straight.’ Hear now, all the house of Israel: my way is straight, but yours is not straight. And if the righteous should turn from doing justice and should commit sin, he likewise shall die. He shall die in the very sin which he committed. And if the wicked turns from the wickedness which he performs and acts with judgement and justice, then his life shall be preserved. And in despising and turning himself way from all the wickedness which he had done he shall live indeed and shall not die. 23. And the House of Israel says: ‘The Lord’s way is unfair.’ Is my way not fair, house of Israel? Is it not your way which is unfair? Therefore, house of Israel, I shall judge each in accordance with his own way, says the Lord God. Be converted, and turn yourself from all your transgression, and you shall not be subject to punishment on account of your wickedness. Put far from yourselves all your transgressions which you have thoughtlessly committed against me and make for yourselves a new heart and a new spirit, and you shall not perish, O house of Israel. For I desire not the death of a sinner, says the Lord God, but that you be converted and live.”‘15 [2.15] You see, beloved and dear children, the extent of the mercy of the Lord our God, and his goodness and love towards us,16 as he encourages those who have sinned to repent. He speaks frequently of such matters, and gives no place to those who are hard of heart and lacking in Ez 13:1-32. There are numerous divergences between Syr. and Lat. in this citation of Ezekiel, demonstrating the influence of different versions of Scripture on the scribal tradition. 16 Cf. Hermas Sim. 8.6.1,5. 15

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mercy, and who desire to judge and utterly17 to expel those who have sinned, as though there were no repentance. 2. But God is not so, but he calls those who have sinned to repentance and gives them cause for hope. And he teaches those who have not sinned that they have no part in bearing the sins of others, 3. but that they should receive those who repent with rejoicing. Similarly, he speaks through the same prophet concerning repentance:18 4. ’And you, mortal man, say to the sons of your people: “On the day that the righteous man does evil, his righteous deeds shall not save him, and on the day that the wicked man repents of his wickedness, his wickedness shall do him no harm, and on the day that he sins the righteous man shall not live. 5. And when I say to the righteous that he shall live indeed, and so, in reliance on his righteousness, he does a wicked deed, then all his righteousness shall not be remembered, but the wickedness which he did, and in it he shall die. 6. And when I say to the wicked that he shall surely die, and he turns from his sin and acts with judgement and righteousness, and repays the pledge which he has taken and the spoil which he has seized, and walk in the judgements and commandments of life, and sin not, he shall live indeed, and not die, and all the sins which he committed shall not be remembered; as he has performed judgement, so he shall live indeed. 7. And when the sons of your people say: ‘The way of the Lord God is not fair’, say to them: ‘It is your ways which are not fair.’ If a righteous man turns away from his righteousness to wicked deeds, in his wickedness shall he surely die. And if the wicked turn away from wickedness to perform judgement and righteousness, in these shall he live.”‘19 8. Thus, bishops, it is required of you to judge those who sin in accordance with the Scripture, with compassion and mercy. If you abandon somebody who is walking on the brink of a river and is slipping you have pushed him, you have thrown him into the river,20 you have committed murder. But if somebody is slipping on a riverbank and is close to perishing you would stretch a hand out to him quickly so that he would not altogether perish. Act in this way so that your 17 Lat. reads aperte (‘openly’). Flemming in Achelis and Flemming (1904), 162, prefers this reading, noting that only an initial letter needs to be altered in Syr. to make the emendation, tY)YLM being misread as tY)YLG. However CA, te/leion, tends to support Syr. 18 Lat. breaks off here. 19 Ez 33:12-19. 20 It is hard to see precisely how this clause works, and all translators have had some degree of difficulty with it. CA appears confused, which does not help. Nonetheless the overall sense is clear enough.

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people may learn to act wisely, so that anyone who sins should not perish utterly. [2.16] When you see somebody sinning be angry at him, and demand that they cast him out. And when he is cast out they should be angry at him, and argue with him, and keep him outside the church. And then they may come in and plead for him. For our Saviour likewise pleaded with his father for those who sinned. Thus is it written in the Gospel: ‘My father, they do not know what they are doing or what they are saying. But if it is possible, forgive them.’21 2. And then, bishop, demand that he come in, and enquire of him whether he repents. And if he is worthy of return to the church appoint a period of fasting for him in accordance with his transgression, two weeks or three or five or seven, and speaking all that is righteous in admonition and instruction so send him away and let him go. Rebuke him, and say to him that he should be by himself in his humiliation, and that in the period of his fasting he should pray and beseech that he be found worthy of the forgiveness of sins, as it written in Genesis: ‘Have you sinned? Be silent and your repentance will be with you and you shall have power over it.’22 3. To Miriam, the sister of Moses, also it was said by the Lord, when she had spoken against Moses and afterwards repented and had been found worthy of forgiveness: ‘If her father had spat in her face she should have been ashamed and to be separated from the camp for seven days before coming in.’23 4. It is required that you too should act thus, that you put out of the church those who promise to repent of their sins, as is right on account of their transgressions, and then receive them again as merciful fathers. [2.17] Should, however, the person of the bishop be a stumblingblock, how can he rise to search out anyone’s offences, how rebuke and how enforce his directions? 2. Whether through respect of persons or through having received gifts he cannot. Nor are deacons who have an unclean conscience able to raise themselves to assist the bishop. For they are afraid lest they hear from an insolent man the saying written in the Gospel: ‘Why do you see the speck in your brother’s eye and see not the beam in your own eye? You fraud! First take out the beam from your eye and then you will be able to see to remove the speck from 21 Whereas this might appear to be a very loose citation of Luke 23:34, the same appears at 6.14.4 below, which leads me to agree with Connolly (1929), 52, that it may derive from an apocryphal source. MSS of the A family read ‘Brothers’ (yX) ). The E family correct to yB) (my father), and this reading is adopted in conformity to the reading below, which is extant in both versions, both of which read ‘my father’. 22 Gen 4:7. 23 Num 12:14.

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your brother’s eye.’24 3. The bishop, together with his deacons, should be careful25 not to hear that saying of the Lord from a sinner, as from an insolent man, who does not know how dangerous it is that a man should speak against the bishop, and that he should become a scandal through the entire district. For anyone who sins lacks understanding, and his soul is no more spared. Hence, for whatever reason the bishop is afraid, he makes himself ignorant of whomever it is who sins, passing over him, neither rebuking nor correcting him. When Satan gains an opportunity in this way and by means of somebody like this he begins to rule over others also, which God forbid, 4. and when this happens the flock becomes such that it cannot again be set right. And evil grows strong when many are to be found who sin, as those who sin are not corrected or reproved so that they might repent, and so everybody is stirred up to sin, and the saying is fulfilled: ‘My house is to be called a house of prayer, but you have made it a robbers’ den.’26 5. If, however, the bishop is not silent concerning those who sin but rebukes and reprimands and corrects and admonishes and chastens any who sins he causes others likewise to fear and to tremble. 6. For it is required that the bishop should, by his instruction, prevent sinning, and exemplify and instigate righteousness; by the exhortation in his instruction giving guidance to good works, glorifying and exalting those good things which are to come, and which are promised by God in the place of everlasting life, proclaiming the wrath that is to come in the judgement of God through threatening the grievous fire which cannot be quenched and cannot be borne. And he should know the meaning of the will of God that he is to despise nobody, since our Saviour said: ‘See you do not despise any of these little ones who believe in me.’27 [2.18] The bishop therefore should have concern for everyone; for those who have not sinned, so that they may remain as they are, without sin, and for those who have sinned that they may repent, and that he may grant them forgiveness for their sins. Thus is it written in Isaiah, when the Lord says: ‘Loosen every knot of iniquity, and cut all bands of violence and oppression.’28 Mt 7:3, 5 and par. The reading of the Syr. MSS lXdd lYKh )LwtM is here emended in accordance with CA, eu)labei/sqw, as suggested by Flemming in Achelis and Flemming (1904), 163, to lXdd lYKh LtM ; otherwise it would read: ‘The reason that the bishop should take care . . .’ though Connolly (1929), 53, defends the text on the basis that ‘it is the author’s complaint that the bishops and deacons are afraid.’ 26 Mt 21:13. 27 Mt 18:10. 28 Is 18:6. 24 25

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the seventh chapter Addressed to bishops1 2. Thus, bishop, you are to teach and to rebuke and to loose by means of forgiveness. And know that your place is that of Almighty God, and that you have received the power to remit sins. For it was to bishops that it was said: ‘All that you bind on earth shall be bound in Heaven, and all that you loose shall be loosed.’2 3. Since you have thus received the power of loosing, be mindful of your life, of your conduct and your words in this existence, that they should be fitting to your place. 4. However, there is nobody alive who does not sin; as it is written: ‘There is no-one clean of impurity, even should he live but one day in the world.’3 5. It was on this account that the life, and the manner of life, of the just and of the earliest patriarchs was written, namely that we might know that a small sin was to be found in each of them, and that the Lord God alone is without sin. Just as it is said in David: ‘That you may be justified in your words and prevail in your judgements.’4 The slight pollution of the just is some relief and consolation to us and a hope that, should we sin but a little, we may also have hope of forgiveness. 6. Nobody is free of sin, but you should be careful, insofar as you are able, to be in nothing reproachable.5 And you are to be concerned for everyone, that nobody should be made to stumble, and perish on your account. For the layman6 has to care for himself alone, whereas you bear the burden of everybody, and very great is the burden that you are given to bear. ‘From those to whom the Lord has given much is much required by him.’7 Thus, as you are carrying the burden of everybody, you must be watchful. For it is written: ‘The Lord said to Moses: “You and Aaron are to take the sins of the priesthood.”‘8 7. For just as you are to give an account for many, so you should care for all, preserving those who are healthy, admonishing

1

One MS of the E family has an extended title. Mt 18:18. 3 Job 14:4-5 4 Ps 50:6. 5 Here following CA rather than Syr., which is unclear. 6 Reading )ML) rB (literally ‘son of the world’, the usual rendition in Syr.) The main MSS of the A family read )M) rB (‘son of the people’), corrected by the E family, and denoted by a marginal note in one MS of the A family. The emendation is suggested by Auon (2007), 72. 7 Lk 12:48. 8 Num 18:1. 2

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and rebuking and chastening those who sin, then relieving them by means of forgiveness, receiving any who has sinned, but repented and wept. Lay (your) hand upon him while the whole church is praying,9 permitting him henceforth to be in the church. Bring back, and stir up and make firm and seek out and make sound those who are drowsy and slack. For you know what your reward will be should you do so. 8. But should you be neglectful, then shall danger come upon you, for the Lord has spoken in Ezekiel concerning bishops who despise their people in this manner: 9. ’The word of the Lord was upon me saying: “Mortal man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel saying: ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Woe to the shepherds of Israel who tend themselves whereas the shepherds do not tend my sheep. 10. You consume the milk, you clothe yourselves in the wool and you slaughter the fat one; and you do not tend the sheep. You have not healed the sick; you have not strengthened the weak; and you have not bound up the broken; you have not brought back the stray; you have not sought out the lost; but have enslaved them with violence. The sheep were scattered because there was no shepherd, and they became as food for all the beasts of the field. My sheep were scattered over every high mountain and on every high hill, and over all the face of the earth were my sheep scattered, and there was none to seek them out or find them.”10 11. Therefore, shepherds, hear the word of the Lord God: “Inasmuch as my sheep have become prey and food for every beast of the field because there was no shepherd, and the shepherds have not sought my sheep, but the shepherds have tended themselves and the shepherds have not tended my sheep, therefore, shepherds, hear the word of the Lord.” Thus says the Lord God: “Look, I am against the shepherds, and I will seek out the sheep which they are holding, and I will stop them tending 9 Note also 2.41.2 for the use of the gesture in reconciliation, as well as the comments in the introduction at 4.c.3. Funk (1905), 66-67, notes that the participation of the people in re-admission of penitents was regular, citing Cyprian Ep. 64.1, complaining that a bishop Therapius had reconciled a penitent former presbyter Victor without consulting the laity, and the report preserved by Eusebius at HE 5.28.12 of Natalius’ return to the church, in which he clothes himself in sackcloth and ashes and abased himself in supplication both to the clergy and the laity. Funk also notes that according to Cyprian Ep. 17.2.1 the clerus participated in the handlaying. Although there is a less developed corpus of clergy in the community of DA one can see the praying participation of the whole church in the same light. On the gesture of handlaying at baptism see the note at 2.33.3 and (possibly) in healing see 3.8.1 with the accompanying annotation. 10 MSS of the E family go from here to 2.20.8b, ‘Leave the ninety-nine on the mountain.’ This part of the chapter is then supplied as a separate chapter seven.

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my sheep thenceforth; the shepherds shall no longer tend themselves, but I shall save my sheep from their hands, and they shall no longer have them as food.” 12. Therefore the Lord God says this: “Therefore I will seek out my sheep and look out for them, as a shepherd looks out for his sheep on a stormy day, as he is in the midst of them. So will I look out for my sheep11 and gather them in from every place to which they were scattered on the day of cloud and darkness. And I shall lead them forth from the nations, and I shall gather them from all the countries and bring them into their own land, and I shall graze them on the mountains and in the valleys of Israel, and in every part of the land. 13. I shall graze them in good pasture, on the high mountain of Israel. And their sheepfolds shall be there, and there shall they sleep and there shall they rest; in the best pasture, in fat meadows, shall they graze, in the mountains of Israel. I shall feed my sheep and I shall tend them, and they shall know that I am the Lord.” 14. The Lord says this: “I shall seek out whatever is lost, and I shall bring back whatever has gone astray, and I shall bind up whatever is wounded and I shall strengthen whatever is weak and whatever is strong I shall keep so. And I shall feed them with justice.” 15. And you, sheep, this is what the Lord God says: “I shall distinguish between ewe and ewe, and between ram and ram. Yet is it a small thing to you that you should graze in good and fat pasture, and that you tread down the rest of the pasture with your feet, and my sheep drink the water you have churned up with your feet?”12 16. Therefore the Lord God says this: “Look, I will judge between ewe and ewe, and between them that are sick, because you shoved them with your sides and your shoulders, and butted the sick ones with your horns until you scattered them abroad.13 And I shall set my sheep 11 Lat. resumes here. However Syr. has an entirely different version of the Scripture from Lat. As indicated in the introduction translation of scriptural citations follows Syr. However one can never be sure which translator has made a substitution. Lat. has a tendency to be close to LXX (as here) and there are grounds to suspect that this was the usual version employed in the Gk original, but this does not mean that there would be no exceptions. 12 Cf. Lat.: ‘Yet is it not enough for you that you should graze in good pasture, and that you tread down the rest of the pasture with your feet, and that you should drink fresh water and that the rest you churn up with your feet? And my sheep graze on the pasture you have trodden with your feet, and drink the water you have churned up with your feet.’ CA follows Syr. closely here, indicating that on this occasion Syr. represents the more original reading. 13 So Syr. Cf. Lat.: ‘Look, I shall judge between the sheep that is healthy and the sheep that is sick. You have shoved them with your sides and your shoulders, and have made worse whatever was wrong.’

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free, and no longer shall they be a prey, and I shall judge between ewe and ewe. 17. And I shall raise up a single shepherd for them, and my servant David14 shall reign over them, and shall be their shepherd, and I, the Lord, shall be their God,15 and David shall be ruler in the midst of them. I, the Lord, have spoken. And I shall make a covenant of peace16 and exclude wicked beasts from the land, and they shall dwell securely17 in the desert, and shall sleep in the woods. 18. I shall give them a blessing round about my mountain, and I shall send rain in season, a blessing of rain.18 And the trees in the field shall give forth fruit, and the land shall yield her increase. They shall dwell securely in their land, and they shall know that I am the Lord when I cut the bands of their yoke. And I shall deliver them from the hand which led them into slavery; no longer shall they be a prey for the nations, no longer shall the beasts of the field eat them up. They shall dwell in safety, and none shall terrify them. 19. I shall raise up for them a plantation for fame.19 No more shall they be few and forsaken in the land,20 no longer shall they be put to shame by the nations. 20. And they shall know that I the Lord am theirs, and they are the people of Israel, my house,” says the Lord. “And you, the sheep of my flock, are men, and I am the Lord your God,” says the Lord God.’”’21 [2.19] Hear then, bishops, and hear, laity, what the Lord is saying: ‘And I shall judge between ram and ram and between ewe and ewe’, that is between bishop and bishop and between layperson and layperson, and between layperson and bishop. [2.20] Therefore be sure to honour the bishop and to fear him like a father and master and as you love God.22 For it was said through the apostles to the bishop: ‘Whoever hears you, hears me; and whoever rejects you rejects me, and

14

Mention of David is lacking in Syr., though this could be by omission. ‘I the Lord shall be their God’ is absent in Syr. 16 Lat. follows LXX and adds ‘with David’. 17 Om. Lat. with LXX. 18 Cf. Lat.: ‘Around my mountain shall I give, and I shall give to you rain as a blessing.’ 19 So Syr. Lat. follows LXX: ‘for peace.’ 20 Cf. Lat. and LXX: ‘no longer shall there be hunger among them’ 21 Ez 34:1-31. Cf. Lat.: ‘And you are the sheep of my flock, and I am the Lord your God, says the Lord God.’ 22 Cf. Syr.: ‘Whether layperson loves layperson, and whether again the layperson loves the bishop and honours and fears him.’ Lat. is followed with support from CA. 15

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the one who sent me.’23 2. In the same way the bishop24 is to love the laypeople as children, cherishing them and brooding over them with loving care like eggs from which fledglings will hatch, or brooding over them and training them like fledglings so that they may become winged birds. Therefore teach everyone, and rebuke those who deserve it. Chide and afflict them, but in order to bring about conversion, and not perdition. Admonish in order to bring about repentance and correction, make their ways straight and fair, so that they may properly conduct their lives in the world. 3. ’Keep safe whatever is strong.’ That is, keep safe any who is firm in the faith, while shepherding the entire people in peace. And ‘strengthen whatever is weak.’ That is, strengthen by means of admonition any who is tempted. ‘And heal whatever is sick.’ That is, heal through instruction any who are sick through doubt about their faith. 4. ’And bind up whatever is wounded.’ That is, bind up, healing through the intercession of admonition, any who is injured or stricken or wounded by sin and is limping away from the way of righteousness, lightening the burden of his offences, comforting him and showing that there is indeed hope, binding and healing and bringing him to the church. And entreat25 whatever has gone astray. That is, do not leave outside anyone who has been put out as a rebuke for continuing sin, but instruct and admonish and restore him, receiving him into your flock, that is, to the people of the church. 5. And ‘seek out whatever is lost’, that is do not let anyone perish altogether who has lost hope and abandoned himself to destruction due to the frequency of his lapses. Otherwise he may lie down to sleep through neglect and utter carelessness, being forgetful of his life through the weight of his sleep, being far removed from his flock, that is to say from the church, ending in destruction. For while he is outside the fold and far away from the flock wolves will eat him while he is wandering and he will perish utterly. But you are to seek him out, to instruct him and bring him back, to visit him and encourage him to awake and to let him know that there is hope indeed for him. You are to cut off from their consideration that they should say or think what they said of old, ‘Our wickedness and sins Lk 10:16. Lat. breaks off here. 25 Syr. reads sYP), rendered here. Connolly (1929) 62, suggests, in accordance with CA, e)pi/strefe, emending to yhYNP). 23 24

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are upon us and we are rotten with them; how then are we able to live?’26 6. It is not right that they should say or should think that they are cut off from hope on account of the greatness of their sins, but that they should know the greatness of the mercy of God who has sworn in the kindness of his intent, promising forgiveness for those who sin. 7. However, if anyone who does not know the Scriptures should sin, and has not been made aware of the longsuffering and the charity of God, and does not know the extent of forgiveness and repentance, he will perish on account of what he does not know. 8. Therefore, as a compassionate shepherd, loving, forgiving and attentive to your flock, you are to visit and to count your flock, to seek whatever has gone astray, as the Lord God, Jesus Christ, our good teacher and Saviour said: ‘Leave the ninety-nine upon the mountains and go seek the one who has gone astray. And when you have found it, bear it upon your shoulders, while you rejoice since you have found the one which went astray, and return it and mingle it with the flock.’27 9. Take heed, then, bishop, and visit the one which is lost, and go after the one which has gone astray, and restore the one which is far off, for you have the authority to forgive the sins28 of any who offend, since you have donned the person of Christ. The Saviour says through you29 to those who sin: ‘Your sins are forgiven you. Your faith has made you whole. Go in peace.’30 10. Now peace is the church of tranquillity and rest, into which those who are released from sins are restored as healthy and unspotted, having a good hope and active in good works, and in privations. For as a wise and compassionate physician he was healing all who were afflicted31 by sins. For those who are healthy have no need of a physician, but only those who are ill.32 11. You, bishop, are set over the church as a physician; do not therefore cease to offer medicine to those who are sick in their sins, Ez 33:10. Cf. Mt 18:12-13. Note the extent of the liberty with the text that a narrative has become a command. 28 Lat. resumes here. 29 ‘Through you’ is absent in Syr., but present in Lat., supported by CA. 30 Mt 9:2. There is the possibility that this is become a liturgical formula. 31 So Lat. and CA. Syr. has misread peplhgme/nouj as peplanhme/nouj, ‘gone astray.’ At 2.20 4 above where Syr. rightly reads ‘stricken’, reflecting to\ peplhgme/non, CA reads to\ peplanhme/non, the same error in reverse. 32 Mt 9:12. 26 27

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but cure them in every way, and heal them, that they may return, healthy, to the church, and so that you are not reproached by that statement made by the Lord: ‘You were subduing them both by force and derision.’33 [2.21] Do not then be forceful nor unforgiving nor hard nor judgemental nor merciless. Do not mock the people which is in your charge, nor keep from them the opportunity of repentance. For it says this: ‘You were subduing them both by force and derision.’ 2. If you act harshly with the laypeople34 and correct them through force, if you expel them and thrust them out and do not receive back those who have sinned, but mercilessly keep from them the possibility of repentance and conversion, you will assist in the perversion of evil35 and scatter the flock ‘as food for the beasts of the field’,36 that is for the wicked men of this world (not men at all, but beasts, namely the heathen and the heretics.) 3. For they rapidly attach themselves to anyone who is expelled from the church, and reckon him as meat,37 as a wild beast looks upon a lamb. Because of your judgemental nature anyone expelled from the church shall revert to the heathen or be sunk among the heresies,38 and be altogether alienated from the church and from any hope in God. And you will be guilty of their loss, 4. because you were only too ready to expel those who sin, and not to receive back any who repents. You will fall under the sentence of the word of the Lord, which says: ‘Their feet run to wickedness, they are keen to shed blood. Affliction and misery are in their ways, and they know not the way of peace.’39 5. Now the way of peace is our Saviour, who also says to us: ‘Forgive the sins of those who sin so that you may be forgiven; give and it will

33 Ez 34:4. Interestingly, as Nestle (1900) points out, cited according to the translation of Theodotion. 34 So Lat., laicis. Syr. kM) yNB should perhaps be emended to kML) yNB as at 2.18.6 above. 35 The phrase is translated following the suggestion of Vööbus (1979b), 79. Connolly (1929), 65, had difficulty understanding the word translated ‘perversion’ ()tNKPhtM), and proposed the omission of the word ‘evil’, thus rendering the phrase ‘and become a helper for the overthrow [of evil] and scattering of the flock’ though Vööbus (1979b), 79, considers that this meaning is entirely possible. Lat. has ‘since you were not assisting them you scatter the flock . . .’ It is hard to account for the divergence and although Vööbus’ rendering is coherent I suspect that Connolly may be right. 36 Ez 34:5. 37 So Lat. and CA; cf. Syr. ‘consume him as meat.’ 38 ‘Sunk among the heresies’: CA and Syr, om. Lat. 39 Is 59:7-8.

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be given you.’40 That is, grant forgiveness of sins, and you shall receive it. For he taught us constantly to pray: ‘Remit us our debts, just as we remit the debts owed to us.’41 6. So, if you have not remitted the debts of those who sin, how shall you receive remission? Do you not confound yourself, is not your own mouth against you, when you say that you have forgiven, but have not forgiven, but murdered?42 7. For anyone who mercilessly43 drives a person from the church is wickedly killing him and mercilessly shedding his blood. If a just man is unjustly killed by a sword he is received by God into peace and rest. 8. Anyone, however, who expels anyone from the church and does not take him back is killing him eternally, painfully and bitterly, as well as giving him who is expelled as food to an endless and terrible fire, for he has no regard to the mercy of the Lord and does not recall his goodness to those who are penitent,44 nor takes note of those many who, in repentance of their many transgressions, received forgiveness of God. [2.22] Therefore it behoves you, bishop, to have that which happened of old before your eyes, so that you make comparison from them, learning the cure of souls and the admonition, rebuke and intercession of those who repent and are needful of intercession,45 and that when you judge you may compare cases, and seek out the will of God with great investigation. In your judgements you must be as he was. 2. Therefore, bishops, hear a helpful example in regard to this. 3. It is written in the fourth book of Kings, and in the second of Chronicles,46 that is the remainders, thus:47 40 Cf. Lk 6:37-38. Lat. omits the second half of this citation, included here following CA and Syr. The first part of the citation is closer to the Gospel text in Lat. and CA alike, but is cited here following Syr., given that it is likely that a scribe would make a citation conform to the original text. 41 Mt 6:12. Some MSS of the E family read ‘forgive us our debts and our sins’; that this is indicative of liturgical use is implied by the appearance of the same form in Acta Thomae 144. 42 There are minor differences in this clause between Syr. and Lat., whereas CA seems to conflate the readings through repeating the relevant parts. The translation above is fundamentally based on Syr. 43 So Syr.; Lat. has ‘qui convertitur.’ 44 Syr. adds here’ does not bear the example of Christ’. The phrase appears neither in Lat. nor CA and, more to the point, seems redundant in that an extended exemplum, that of Manasses, is about to follow. 45 The first part of this sentence rendered solely from Syr.; Lat. is obscure and probably corrupt. 46 Syr. uses the Hebrew title: ‘Of the works of those days.’ The following, ‘in those days’ is perhaps a confusion caused by the repetition of the title, here made part of the citation. 47 Lat. has a title: ‘Concerning Manasses’.

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4. In those days48 Manasses was twelve years old when he was reigning, and he reigned fifty years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hepzibah. 5. And he did evil before the Lord, like the uncleanness of those nations which the Lord destroyed from before the children of Israel. He turned again to rebuild the high places49 which his father, Hezekiah, destroyed, and set up pillars to Baal, and erected an altar to Baal,50 and made abominations, as Ahab the King of Israel had done, and made altars for all the service of heaven, and worshipped all the host of heaven. And he built an altar51 in the house of The Lord, of which the Lord had said: ‘I will set my name in the house of the Lord in Jerusalem.’ 6. And Manasses served the shrines and said: ‘My name will endure for ever.’52 And he built altars for the service of all the host of heaven in the two courts of the House of the Lord. And he himself made his sons pass through the fire in the valley of Bar Hinnom. He practised augury, and cast spells, he appointed soothsayers and enchanters and diviners, and increased his wickedness in the eyes of the Lord so as to provoke him to anger. 7. And he set up the molten and graven image of abomination which he had made in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord had spoken to David, and to Solomon his son: ‘In this house in Jerusalem, which I have chosen from all the tribes of Israel, shall I set my name into eternity, and I will no longer move my feet from the land of Israel, which I gave to their fathers, yet only if they keep all that I have commanded them, keeping to all the precepts which my servant Moses commanded them.’ And they heeded him not, and Manasses seduced them into doing what is evil in the sight of the Lord, in accordance with the deeds of the nations which the Lord had removed from before the children of Israel. 8. And the Lord spoke against Manasses and against his people by the hands of his servants the prophets and said: ‘Because of the wicked abominations which Manasses the King of Judah has done, 48 Actually part of the Hebrew title of Chronicles, which has confused the translators. In what follows there is extensive departure from the canonical version. Insofar as the versions are largely agreed on these departures, only the most significant are noted. 49 MSS of the E family read ‘high places for sacrifice.’ 50 The second part of this clause is not found in Syr., but both are in CA. Only the second is found in canonical versions. Possibly Syr. is correct, and the conflated versions of CA and Lat. are the result of comparing the reading of DA with that of the canonical version. 51 So Lat. and CA. Syr. has ‘altars’ to demons. Although Lat. and CA are closer to LXX, the Syriac reading is not universal in the MSS, and has some proximity to Peshitta, which may be evidence of the influence of a canonical version on the Syriac translator. 52 Although this passage is not found in canonical versions it is in all versions of DA.

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like the Amorites before him, causing Judah to sin with his idols, the Lord God of Israel says this: “Look, I shall bring evils upon Jerusalem and upon Judah53 so that the ears of all who hear them shall tingle. And I shall stretch out the measuring line of Samaria against Jerusalem and the plumb-line of the house of Ahab. I shall wipe out Jerusalem as a pot of water54 is wiped out when it is turned upside down and falls on its face. The residue of my inheritance55 shall I deliver up to the sword, and I shall deliver them into the hands of their enemies, and that shall be a victim and prey for all who hate them, because they have done evil in my eyes. Since the day I brought their fathers out of Egypt until this day they have angered me.”’ 9. Manasses, moreover, shed much innocent blood, filling Jerusalem from one side to another with those whom he had slain through the sins which he sinned. And he caused Judah to sin, doing what is evil before the Lord. 10. And the Lord brought down upon them the nobles of Assyria; and they seized Manasses, and tied him up, and put ropes around him, and led him away to Babylon,56 and shut him in a prison, bound and tied down with iron. Bread of bran was weighed out for him, and water mixed with a little gall was given him, so that he might survive yet be afflicted and severely battered. 11. And when he was very greatly afflicted he besought the face of the Lord his God. And he humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers, and prayed before the Lord God, saying: The Prayer of Manasses: 12. ’O Lord God of my fathers, God of Abraham, and of Isaac and of Jacob and of their righteous offspring: who made the heaven and the earth together with all their adornment, who bound the sea and set it in place through the commandment of your word, who bound the chaos and sealed it with your fearful and glorious name. Everything fears and trembles before your power, the greatness of the beauty of your glory is unbearable. Nobody is able to stand before your wrath and anger against sinners. Without limit and without measure are the mercies of your promises, for you are a Lord who is long-suffering, merci-

53

Lat.: ‘Upon that place’, unsupported by any other version. Lat. reads ‘jar of ointment’. Perhaps influenced by Mt 24:7 and parallels. 55 Lat. breaks off here. 56 MSS of the E family add ‘in a brass statue.’ This tradition is also found in the targums, as Vööbus (1979b), 51*, notes. 54

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ful, of great compassion, who may have a change of heart regarding the evil that people perform, and, Lord, in the gentleness of your goodness you have promised forgiveness to those who turn from their sins, and in the multitude of your mercies have established repentance for the salvation of sinners. 13. If, indeed, Lord God of the righteous, you did not establish repentance for the righteous, for Abraham, and for Isaac and for Jacob, for those who sinned not against you, yet you have established repentance for me, a sinner, since my sins have become more numerous than the sands of the sea, and I have not enough breath to raise my head due to the extent of my wickedness. See, Lord, I am justly afflicted, and my vexation is as I deserve. Look, I am bound and bent under many bands of iron, so that I cannot lift up my head. Because of the greatness of the malice of my wickedness I am unworthy to lift up my eyes, or to look up and behold the height of heaven, since I have done evil deeds before you and provoked your wrath and set up idols and multiplied abominations. 14. Look I am bending the knees of my heart before you, and I beseech your kindness. I have sinned, Lord, I have sinned, and since I know that I have sinned I am begging before you. Forgive me, Lord, and do not destroy me together with my offences. Do not be angry with me for ever, or hold evils against me, nor condemn me, and cast me off to the lower parts of the earth. You are the God of those who repent; so show your goodness, Lord, even in me, and deliver me57 in accordance with your great mercy, although I am unworthy. And I shall glorify you for ever throughout my life. All the hosts of heaven praise you, and praise you into eternity.’ 15. And the Lord listened to the voice of Manasses, and had mercy on him. A flame of fire was formed around him, and all the iron around him was melted. And he delivered58 Manasses59 from his affliction, and restored him to his Kingdom in Jerusalem. 16. And Manasses acknowledged the Lord saying: ‘He alone is the Lord.’ And he served the Lord God alone with all his heart and with all his soul all the days of his life, and was accounted just. And he slept in peace with his fathers. And Amon, his son, reigned in his place.60

57

Lat. resumes here. So Syr. CA and Lat. read ‘healed.’ 59 So Syr., CA. Lat. reads ‘him.’ 60 2 Kg 21:1-17; 2 Chr 33:1-13. 58

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[2.23] Dearest children, you have heard how the Lord forgave Manasses, who was an idolater and slew the innocent, yet repented. Surely there is no sin worse than idolatry, but there is room for repentance. 2. But anyone who sins deliberately shall find no forgiveness;61 as it is written: ‘If you should say in your heart “I shall have success because I shall walk according to the will of my own heart” so I shall stretch out my hand and shall make him into a byword and an example’ says the Lord.62 3. For Amon, the son of Manasses,63 conceived the idea of doing evil64 and said: ‘My father did much evil in his youth, and repented in his old age. So I now shall walk as my heart desires, and in the end I shall return to the Lord.’ 4. And he did evil before the Lord, and reigned two65 years only, and the Lord God speedily destroyed him from the good land.66 [2.24] Take heed then, laypeople,67 lest any of you should find in your heart the same thought as Amon, and speedily perish. 2. In the same way, bishop, keep safe as far as you are able those who have not sinned, that they may remain without sin, and receive and heal those who have turned away from their sins. 3. If, however, you do not receive a penitent back, being without mercy, you have sinned against the Lord God, since you would not have obeyed nor trusted in God our Saviour, nor acted as did he on account of the woman who had sinned, when the elders set her before him and departed, leaving judgement in his hands. He looked into her heart and asked whether the elders had condemned her.68 When she said not, he said to her: ‘Go, nor do I condemn you.’69 4. You should have him, our Saviour, our King and our Lord, before your eyes, bishops, imitating him, being quiet, meek, compassionate, merciful, peacemakers, without anger, teachers, encouragers, receivers, exhorters, not prone to anger, nor overbearing, nor insolent, haughty or proud. 61

Clause absent in Syr., supplied from Lat. with support from CA. The apparent citation is a combination of Dt 29:18 and Ez 14:9. 63 ‘The son of Manasses’ absent in Lat. but present in Syr. and CA. 64 ‘Doing evil’. so CA and Lat. Syr. reads ‘transgress the law.’ 65 So Syr. and CA. Lat. has ‘twelve’. 66 Cf. 2 Kg 21:19. 67 So Lat. and CA. Syr. has ‘you without faith.’ 68 So Lat. and CA. Syr. is completely recast in order to employ direct speech. 69 Cf. Jn 8:3-11. 62

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the eighth chapter Warnings to bishops how they should conduct themselves1 You shall not be lovers of wine,2 not drunkards, not extravagant,3 not spendthrift,4 employing the gifts of God as your own, and not as the funds of another.5 You have been appointed good stewards of God, who shall demand an account of the management of the stewardship entrusted to you.6 [2.25] Food and clothing, and whatever else is necessary, is enough for you. You shall not make use of revenue beyond what is right, as though from alien funds, but moderately, 2. not procuring pleasure and luxury from the revenues of the church, for ‘clothing and food is sufficient for a labourer.’7 Like good stewards of God, do well in distributing the church’s income and gifts, in accordance with the commandment,8 to orphans and to widows, to those who are troubled and to strangers. You should be like those who know that God, who committed his stewardship to you, shall require an account from you; 3. and thus give, sharing with all who are in want. However, you too are to be supported and live from the revenues of the church. Do not consume them simply by yourselves, but share with those who are in want, and you shall have no cause for blame before God.9 God charges those bishops who greedily make use of the revenues of the church for themselves, but do not allow the poor to share in them when he says: ‘You consume the milk and clothe yourselves with the wool.’10 4. You bishops may be supported from the revenues of the church but you are not to devour them, for it is written:

1

Two MSS of the E family have a more extended title. Tim 3:2. In Lat. this follows as part of the sentence of the last chapter, implying once again that the chapter divisions are secondary. 3 Syr. has ‘Much puffed up’. Lat. is followed with support from CA; the Syriac rendering can be explained as a corruption of nYQYPN into nYXYPN. 4 So Syr. and CA. Om. Lat. 5 There is some confusion in Syr., which states that the bishop should use the funds as though they were not his own, whereas CA and Lat. read as given here, which is in conformity, moreover, with what is said below. Some later Syr. MSS attempt a correction. 6 Lat. breaks off here. 7 Cf. Mt 10:10. A version of the saying closer to the canonical version is found at Epiphanius Pan. 80.5. 8 CA clarifies the commandment as that regarding tithing. 9 Cf. Hermas Vis. 3.9.2. 10 Ez 34:3. 2

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‘You shall not muzzle a threshing ox.’11 5. Thus, just as the ox which labours without a muzzle on the threshing floor eats, but does not consume it all, so you likewise, labouring on the threshing floor which is the church of God, may be supported by the church, in the same manner as the Levites who served in the tent of witness, which was entirely a type of the church. Even its name indicates this, for it is the tent ‘of witness’, foreshadowing the church in advance.12 6. Now the Levites who served therein were unrestrainedly supported by those things which were given as offerings to God by all the people, by the gifts and separated offerings, and firstfruits and tithes and sacrifices and offerings and holocausts, they and their wives and their sons and their daughters, since their task was the service of the tabernacle alone. And on this account they received no inheritance of land among the children of Israel, since the inheritance of Levi and his tribe was the produce of the people.13 7. In this way you bishops are today are priests to your people, and Levites who serve the tent of God, the holy catholic church, who stand continually before the Lord God. So you are now priests and prophets and leaders and nobles and kings to your people, mediating between God and his faithful ones, receiving his word and proclaiming and declaring it, knowledgeable of the Scriptures and the sayings of God, bearing witness to his will, bearing the sins of all as you are to give answer on behalf of all. You are they who have heard how the word sternly threatens you who neglect and fail to preach the will of God, who are in grave danger of destruction should you neglect your people. Again, it is to you that the great promise of ineffable grace and great glory, that does not deceive and is not withheld, is made by God, should you minister well in the tent of God, which is his catholic church. 8. Just as you have taken on the burden of all, thus you should receive the ministration of food and of clothing and of whatever else is needful from all your people. It is necessary that you should receive Dt 25:4; 1 Cor 9:9; 1 Tim 5:18. Nestle (1900) suggests that a connection is being made between the Hebrew word for witness, twd(, and the Syriac word for church, )td). That the redactor was trilingual (in Greek, Syriac and Hebrew) is not impossible, (though Schöllgen (1998), 88, doubts this), but nonetheless the suggestion can remain only that. It is more likely that, as Connolly (1929), 80, states, ‘our author may only be playing on the Gk. word martu/rion/ 13 Cf. Num 18:8-31, which is cited in extenso below. Since Paul cites the same texts to the same effect in 1 Cor 9 Faivre and Faivre (2007), 65, suggest that this Pauline passage is in the redactor’s mind. Whereas this is possible it is also possible that the two are drawing on a common tradition. 11 12

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from all of your people set under your charge. And in the same way you should support the deacons, the widows and the orphans, those in need and strangers, from the gifts which are given you by the people under your charge. As a faithful steward, bishop, you are to care for all; for just as you bear the sins of all who are set under your charge, so beyond any should you receive the abundant glory of God. 9. For you are an imitator of Christ, and just as he has taken on himself the sins of us all, so you are to bear the sins of those in your charge. 10. For thus is it written in Isaiah concerning our Saviour: ‘We have seen him without brightness or beauty. His appearance was marred and humiliated beyond that of humans, as one who suffers and who knows what it is to endure sickness. For his face was transformed, he was despised, and accounted nothing in our eyes. But he endured our sins, he groaned for our sake, yet we accounted him as one stricken and afflicted and humiliated. But he was struck for our sins, and afflicted for our iniquities, and all of us are healed through the blows he bore.’14 11. And again it says: ‘He bore the sins of many and was betrayed on account of their iniquity.’15 And in David and in all the prophets and also in the Gospel our Saviour entreats on account of our sins, although he was without sin. 12. Thus, having Christ as an example you are likewise to be an example to the people in your charge. Just as he has taken on our sins, so you likewise are to take on the sins of the people. For you are not to think that the burden of the episcopate is easy or light. 13. Since, therefore, you have taken on the burden of everybody so the fruits which you receive from the entire people should be yours with regard to anything that is necessary. And, like people who are to render an account for a creditor who makes no mistake and cannot be avoided, give good nourishment to those who are in need. 14. For if you are serving in the office of the episcopate you should be supported from that very office of the episcopate as are the priests and Levites and deacons who minister before God, just as it is written in the book of Numbers: 15. ’The Lord spoke with Aaron and said: “You and your sons and your father’s house shall take upon themselves the sins of the sanctuary and you and your sons shall take upon yourselves the sins of your priests. 16. And the sons of your father, your brothers, the tribe of Levi, should be close to you, should be counted an addition to you and 14 15

Is 53:2-5. Is 53:12.

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should serve you. And you and your sons together with you should minister before this tent of witness, and yet the sons of Levi should not approach the vessels of the sanctuary not the altar, or else they shall die, they and you also. But they shall be added to you, and they shall observe the observance of the tent of witness, in accordance with all the service of the tent. And a stranger shall not come near you. 17. You shall observe the observances of the sanctuary and the observances of the altar, and no anger shall be directed against the children of Israel. Look, I have taken the sons of Levi, your brothers, from among the children of Israel, and they are given as a gift to the Lord so that they may serve in the service of the tent of witness. 18. And you, and your sons together with you, observe the priesthood which is yours, in accordance with all that pertains to the service of the altar and of that which is within the veil. Serve in your service, as that is your priesthood which is given to you, but the stranger who approaches shall die the death.” 19. And the Lord spoke with Aaron and said: “Look, to you have I given the observance of the firstfruits of everything that is consecrated to me from the children of Israel, I have given them to you as a ministry, as to your sons after you, as an eternal law, as yours from every holy thing which is consecrated from their fruit and from their offerings and from all their sacrifices and from all their trespass offerings and from all their sin offerings. All the consecrated things which they offer shall be for you and for your sons. You shall eat it in the sanctuary; every one of your males should eat it, you and your sons, and it shall be a holy thing for you. 20. These shall be the firstfruits for you of what is given, from all the oblations of the children of Israel. I have given them to you, and to your sons and your daughters together with you as an everlasting law, and all within the house who are clean shall eat them. All the firstfruits of oil, and all the first fruits of wine and the firstfruits of wheat; all that they give to the Lord shall be yours. All who are clean within your house shall eat from them, and all that is consecrated by the children of Israel shall be yours, 21. and anything which opens the womb of all flesh, all which is offered to the Lord, shall be yours whether human or animal. Nonetheless human firstborn shall be redeemed, and the firstborn of animals which are not clean which are offered.16 Their redemption shall be: From one month and onward you shall redeem with the price of five shekels in the shekels of the sanctuary, which is twenty shekels of money. But you shall not redeem the firstborn of oxen and the firstborn of sheep or of 16

‘Which are offered’ is not found in Hebrew, Peshitta on LXX.

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goats: they are holy. You shall pour out their blood in front of the altar and you shall send up their fat as an offering of sweet savour to the Lord. And their flesh shall be clean for you. And the top of the breast of the sacrifice and the right shoulder shall be yours. 22. To you, and to your sons and your daughters together with you, have I given all the sacrifices of the sanctuary which the children of Israel set apart for the Lord. This is a law for ever and a covenant for ever before the Lord for you and for your seed after you.” 23. And the Lord spoke with Aaron and said: “You shall not inherit in their land, and among them you shall have no portion. For I am your portion and your inheritance among the children of Israel. Look, I have given all the tithes of the children of Israel to the sons of Levi as an inheritance due to the ministry which they serve in the tent of witness. And the children of Israel are not again to approach the tent of witness so that they may not receive the sin of death, but the Levites are to serve the ministry of the tent of witness, and take their sins, as a law lasting for ever to their generations. And they shall inherit no inheritance among the children of Israel because I have given to the Levites all the tithes of the children of Israel as their inheritance, whatever they have set apart as offerings for the Lord, because I said to them that they should not inherit any inheritance among the children of Israel.” 24. And the Lord spoke with Moses and said: “Speak with the Levites and say to them: ‘When you receive the tithes from the children of Israel, which I have given to you as an inheritance from them, you also should set apart an oblation to the Lord from them, a tithe of the tithes. Your oblation shall be accounted to you as the crop of the threshing floor and the oblation of the winepress. So you also shall set apart an oblation to the Lord from all the tithes which you receive from all the children of Israel, and from them you shall make an oblation for the Lord to Aaron the priest. From all your gifts you shall set apart an oblation to the Lord, from the firstfruits which are consecrated to him.’ 25. And say to them: ‘When you set apart the firstfruits from them, they shall be counted as the produce of the threshing floor and the produce of the wine-press. You and the people of your households may eat it anywhere, since it is the award counted to you for your service in the tabernacle of witness. And you shall contract no sin on this account when you set aside the firstfruits from it, and you shall not defile the holy things of the children of Israel, and you shall not so die.’”’’17 17

Num 18:1-32.

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the ninth chapter An exhortation to the people that they should honour the bishop1 [2.26] Now hear this also, you who are laymen, who are the elect assembly of God, since the people of old also were called a church,2 but you are the3 catholic church, holy and perfected, a royal priesthood, a sanctified multitude, a people who has been adopted, a great church, a bride adorned for the Lord God. So you now should hear what was said of old: Put aside portions and tithes and firstfruits for Christ, the high priest, and for his servants, tithes of salvation, for him whose name begins the decade.4 2. Listen then, sacred and catholic church, who escaped the ten plagues, and received the ten words, and learnt the law and held to the faith, who know the decade5 and have believed in the iota at the beginning of the name,6 and are established at the last in his glory. There are prayers and petitions and thanksgivings where there were sacrifices, and now are there offerings which are offered through the bishops to the Lord God7 where there were firstfruits and tithes and portions and gifts. 3. For they are your high priests,8 and there are deacons and presbyters and widows and orphans where there were Levites, 4. but the bishop is high-priest and Levite.9 He it is who ministers the word to you and is your mediator, your 1

Three MSS of the E family have an extended title. The Greek word for church, e)kklhsi/a, meaning an assembly, is used of Israel in the Old Testament. 3 Lat. resumes here. 4 The Greek letter iota, which is the first letter of the name of Jesus in Greek, stands for ten. The decade, commenced according to this argumentation by the name of Jesus, is the ten commandments. A later Midrash, Midrash Tehilim 5.1, attributes to R Yehoshua ben Levi (of the early third century in Palestine) the same gematric reading of the (Hebrew) letter yud. See Fonrobert (2001), 503. 5 ‘Know the decade’ is absent in Syr. but is supplied from CA and Lat. 6 That is to say the first letter of the name of Jesus. 7 Lat. adds ‘for the remission of sins,’ CA adds ‘through Jesus Christ who died for us.’ It is possible that Syr. does not represent the whole of the original but no certainty is to be had. 8 Cf. D 13.3. 9 Faivre and Faivre (2007), 61-62, detect here a reference to Num 3:32: ‘The chief of the chiefs of the Levites was Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest. He was appointed to guard those who guarded the sacred things.’ We may thus see a connection with what follows regarding those who might not approach the sanctuary. Subsequently Eleazar is described as e)pi/skopoj (Num 5:16, LXX.) Faivre and Faivre suggest that the text is in the author’s mind as this is the sole occasion in Scripture on which a religious official is described using this term. 2

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teacher, and, after God, is your father who has regenerated you through the water. He is your chief, he is your master, he your powerful king.10 He is to be honoured by you in the place of God, since the bishop sits among you as a type of God.11 5. The deacon, however, is present as a type of Christ, and is therefore to be loved by you. 6. And the deaconess is to be honoured by you as a type of the Holy Spirit. 7. The presbyters are also to be reckoned by you as a type of the apostles, 8. and the widows and orphans are to be considered among you as a type of the altar.12 [2.27] Therefore just as it was not allowed to a stranger, that is to anyone who was not a Levite,13 to go up to the altar, or to make any offering without the high priest, so you likewise should do nothing without the bishop.14 2. If anyone does anything without the bishop he does it in vain, and his good work will not be put to his account, because it is improper that anything should be done without the high priest. 3. Therefore you should make your offerings to the high priest, doing so yourself or through the deacons. He will share what he has received with each as each deserves, 4. for the bishop knows best who is in trouble, and gives to each as is most fitting, and so one will not be receiving with frequency, on the same day or in the same week, while another is receiving nothing at all. The high priest, acting as God’s steward, knows who is in the most need and gives comfort as it is needed. 10 There is some difference in the arrangement of these clauses between Lat. and Syr.; Syr., rendered here, is supported by CA. Cf., to much of this, K 12. 11 ‘As a type of God’: so Lat. Cf. Syr. ‘ . . .in the place of God.’ (Cf. above.) The confusion has come about through a misreading of tu/poj (type) in the Greek original as to/poj (place). For some discussion on this point see Schöllgen (1998), 117-121. 12 The language and typology here is Ignatian in origin (see, e.g., Magn. 6), but DA has put a new twist on it by linking it less to the worship of heaven as to the offering of sacrifice. On the somewhat ‘un-Ignatian’ use of the typology note Brent (1991). The deaconess is a new addition since Ignatius, as are the widows and orphans; we may deduce that the redactor is extending a traditional list. Widows are compared to the altar by Polycarp at Phil. 4 in that the widows are to be pure as the altar. The basis for the typology, however, regardless of any other use to which it is put (so see 3.6.3 below on the immobility of the altar) is the intercessory function of widows so that the gifts which they receive are so sanctified through their prayers (this ministry of prayer being noted by Schlarb (1995), 71, as central to the widow’s role), just as gifts placed on the altar are sanctified (as Thurston (1985) explains.) On the use of the symbol generally see also Osiek (1983). 13 ‘ . . .not allowed to a stranger, that is to anyone who was not a Levite’: so Syr. and CA. Lat. simply reads ‘ . . .not allowed to anyone who was not a Levite.’ 14 To do nothing without the bishop is, once again, a constant Ignatian refrain. See, e.g., Ad Magnesios 7, Ad Trallianos. 2. Here it is clear that the reason for the prohibition relates to the proper distribution of goods which are offered, which may well, likewise, be the reason for Ignatius’ insistence.

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[2.28] Those who wish to give an agape¯,15 and to invite the widows,16 should send more frequently for her whom he knows to be in distress. And if anyone gives gifts to widows he should especially send to her whom he knows to be in need.17 2. And the portion which is to be set apart for the pastor18 should be set aside in accordance with the rule, even though he be not present at the agape¯ or the supper, in honour of Almighty God. 3. And in the same way should anything be given to one of the widows,19 a double portion is to be given to each of the deacons in honour of Christ, and a quadruple portion to the one who is pre-eminent, to the glory of the Almighty. 4. And anyone who wishes to honour the presbyters should give a double portion as to the deacons, for these are to be honoured as the apostles, as the counsellors of the bishop, and as the crown of the church. For they are the supports 15 A history of agapic meals is beyond this work and there is no recent overall treatment of the phenomenon. Nonetheless early Christianity knew a variety of ritual meals the purpose of which was to re-inforce bonds of fellowship between the participants. The term employed in Syr., )tXYN, is that employed for funeral suppers, which may well have originally been eucharistic in intent. Lat. preserves the Greek word agape (transliterated), and thus the translator employs what seems to be an equivalent term. 16 Cf. Lat. aniculas and CA presbu/teraj (‘old women’). The same divergence of readings appears below in the paragraph. The whole paragraph raises questions regarding the transmission of church-order material. Some direction for suppers for widows is in TA 30; I have suggested, however, in commenting on that section in (2001b), 148, that the redactor was employing a source. The directions here and in TA are sufficiently distinct to suggest that, although a source may underlie them both, DA is not here directly dependent upon TA, as the word agape is preserved in Lat. whereas it has disappeared from TA. DA probably, therefore, represents the more original reading. The absence of the second part of the clause in some versions is, however, puzzling. TA likewise speaks of sending food, but the reference here is to a sportula which is to be collected, rather than to the sending of food parcels. We may therefore suggest that, although a similar phenomenon is envisaged by both, the second clause in each is redactional. It is interesting that this piece of tradition should be detached. If there is a connection with TA 30 then this may explain the divergence in readings, as TA speaks of ‘aged widows.’ It is possible that both stood in the Gk and that CA and Lat. on the one hand, and Syr. on the other, have each taken part of the clause. Note also the discussion by Schöllgen, (1998), 150-151. 17 This sentence is not present in Lat. or CA, and Connolly (1929), 89, suggests that it is a gloss representing later practice, but Schöllgen (1998), 92, n. 378, presents strong arguments for its retention. There is certainly nothing inconsistent here with the practice of DA. 18 Pastor: so Syr. and CA. Lat. has sacerdoti. Given the sacerdotalization of the episcopate within DA Lat. may reflect the original reading. 19 Lat. has praesbyterorum (sic), whereas CA has ‘older women’ (presbuti/dwn), which is perhaps the original, though note the footnote above. It is easy to account for the corruption in Lat.

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and council of the church.20 5. If 21 there is a reader he should receive in conjunction with the presbyters.22 Every layperson, therefore, should pay the honour which is due to every office, with gifts, with honours, and with earthly reverence.23 6. They may show great boldness24 towards the deacons, not troubling the chief at all hours, but making known their needs through the servants,25 that is through the deacons. For one cannot approach the Lord God Almighty except by means of Christ. Thus they should make known anything that they desire to do to the bishop through the deacons, and do it only then. 7. For previously, in the Temple of the sanctuary, nothing was done or offered without the priest. 8. And likewise the idol-temples of the filthy, abominable and detestable heathens are to this day imitators of the sanctuary. Although any likeness between the house of impurity and the sanctuary is to be utterly rejected, nonetheless they neither make any offering nor do anything else in their ridiculous rites without their unclean priest, considering that the unclean priest is the mouthpiece of the stones. And they await his commandment before doing anything. And they consult their unclean priest in everything that they intend to do, and do nothing without him. Because they consider that what they do is acceptable they honour him and venerate him as though for the honour of the dumb stones which are fixed in the walls and as for the honour of the filthy, evil and cruel demons. 9. If, in their vanity, those whose conduct is false and who are without hope, being led astray by an empty hope, look upon the sanctuary 20 Thus reflecting the view of the presbyterate expressed by Ignatius Ad Magnesios 6 and TA 7.2. This is not the view of DA more generally. 21 Lat. breaks off here. 22 CA adds: ‘As the reward of the prophets’, which, as Harnack (1895), 71, suggests, is unlikely to have been an editorial addition. The point is that the reader now performs part of the function formerly performed by prophets. This is the sole mention, however, of this ministry in DA, which leads once again to the suggestion that this section is derived from an independent source. At 2.30, immediately below, it is the deacon who receives the reward (honour) of the prophets. 23 Schöllgen (1998), 92, suggests, not without reason, that this solely relates to the portions served at the agape¯, and has nothing to do with the right to support enjoyed by the clergy. Certainly this was the case in the original setting of this piece of tradition, as indeed may be the case at the direction found at 1 Tim 5:17, but set in its current context we may wonder whether this is intended as guidance towards the proper compensation of ecclesial officials. Certainly in its context it serves as part of an argument that it is proper that officials of the congregation should be supported by their gifts. 24 The Syriac translator transliterates parrhsi/a. 25 The Syriac translator transliterates u(phre/thj.

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with the desire to imitate it, bestowing all kinds of honour on those who stand before their ridiculous idols, why then should you, whose faith is in a truth which is known and manifest, whose adherence is to a hope which is trustworthy, who are waiting for the glorious promise26 which passes not away and is not destroyed, not honour the Lord God through those who stand at your head? Thus you should look upon the bishop as the mouth of God. [2.29] For if Aaron was called a prophet because he interpreted for Pharaoh the sayings which were given through Moses (as the Lord said to Moses: ‘Look, I have given you to Pharaoh as a God, and Aaron your brother as your prophet’),27 then why should you not regard those who are mediators of the word to you as prophets in this way, worshipping them as God? [2.30] But now, for us, Aaron is the deacon and Moses is the bishop. If, indeed, Moses was called a god by the Lord, so the bishop should be honoured by you as God, and the deacon as a prophet.28 [2.31] For this reason, namely the honour of the bishop, you are to make him aware of everything that you do that it may be completed through him. 2. And if you know of anyone who is grievously oppressed, of whom the bishop does not yet know, then let him know. Apart from him you are to do nothing; he is not to be dishonoured and shamed as one who despises the poor. 3. Anyone who spreads a malicious rumour against the bishop, either by word or by deed, is offending against Almighty God and if anyone should speak malice against a deacon, either by word or by deed, he is stumbling against Christ, since it is written in the law: ‘You shall not despise your gods and you shall not speak evil of the leaders of your people.’29 Nobody should think that the Lord is speaking of idols of stone, but he refers to those who stand at your head as ‘gods’. [2.32] Moses also says, in the book of Numbers, when the people were grumbling against him and against Aaron, ‘You are not grumbling against us alone but against the Lord God.’30 2. And Our Saviour also said: ‘Anyone who does wrong to you does wrong to me, and to the one who sent me.’31 26 Syr. actually reads ‘king’ due to a vocalization error, as both words unpointed read )KLM. CA’s e)paggeli/an assures us that the word is ‘promise’. 27 Ex 7:1. 28 This sentence is omitted in MSS of the E family, and the previous sentence adjusted to take account of the alteration, with the omission of the words ‘as prophets.’ 29 Ex 22:28. 30 Ex 16:8; cf. Num 14:2. 31 Lk 10:16.

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Thus there is but little hope for anyone who speaks malice against a bishop or against a deacon. 3. For even anyone who calls a layman a fool, or raqa, ‘is liable to the assembly’32 as one who has risen up against Christ, because he has called his brother ‘empty’, someone in whom Christ dwells, who is not empty but filled.33 Or has called somebody a fool in whom dwells the Holy Spirit of God, filling him with all wisdom, as if he had become foolish from the Spirit dwelling within him. Thus if anyone who says such things as these to a layman should be found to fall into so much condemnation, how much the more should anyone dare say something against the deacon, or against the bishop through whom the Lord gave you the Holy Spirit, through whom you have learned the word and come to know God, and through whom you have been made known to God, through whom you were sealed,34 and through whom you have become sons of light, through whom in baptism, through the imposition of the bishop’s hand,35 the Lord bore witness of each of you, as his holy voice was heard saying, ‘You are my son, this day I have begotten you.’36 [2.33] Therefore, man, know your bishops, those through whom you are become a son of God, and the right hand, your mother.37 And love him who, after God, is become your father and your mother, for whoever despises his father and mother shall die with the death. 2. You then should honour the bishops, those who have set you free from sin, who have begotten you anew through the water, who filled you with the Holy Spirit, who nourished you with the word as with milk, who raised you with teaching, who confirmed you with admonition, who made you participants in the holy eucharist of God, who made you share as joint Mt 5:22. Some indication that DA originated in a Syriac speaking area may be gained from the author’s recognition of the derivation of )Qr from qr, ‘to be empty.’ 34 As noted in the introduction, although the word here is nwtMtXt) this does not exclude the possibility that the action is that more generally called the rusˇm’a as may be clear from CA e)sfragi/sqhte, which is certainly a representation of the Greek original here. 35 The hand was placed on the head of the candidate in order to dip the candidate. Thus observe the same usage in the Historia Johannis 40 (English) dM, (Syr.): ‘The holy man drew near and placed his hand on the head of the procurator and dipped him . . .’ 36 Ps 2:7; Lk 3:22. Cf. to this K 12.3: ‘You shall honour him [a teacher] as much as you are able from your sweat and from the labour of your hands. If the Lord through him has made you worthy to be given spiritual food and drink and eternal life, much the more should you bring him corruptible and temporary food.’ 37 Funk (1905), 114-115, explains this image as a reference to the imposition of the bishop’s right hand at baptism as noted above. 32 33

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heirs in the promises of God. 3. These you should revere, and honour with all honour, for they have received authority from God over life and death; not to judge those who sin and to condemn them to death in everlasting fire through expelling and excommunicating those who are judged (God forbid that this should ever happen!) but by receiving and reviving those who return and repent. [2.34] Thus they should be your leaders, regarded by you as kings. Offer them tribute in service as though to kings, for they, and those who are with them, should be sustained by you. 2. For thus is it written in the first book of Kingdoms: ‘Samuel spoke all the sayings of the Lord to the people who had asked of him a king, and he said to them: “This is the law of the king who shall be reigning over you. He will take you sons and set them upon his chariots, and cause them to run before them. And he will make for himself captains of thousands and captains of hundreds. They shall reap his harvest, and gather his vintage and make weapons for his chariots.38 Your daughters will he take for weavers39 and as servants for his house.40 He will take the best of your fields and your vineyards and your olive groves and give them to his servants. He will tithe your seed stock and your vinestock and will give them to his servants and his eunuchs. And he will take your servants and your maids and the best of your cattle and your donkeys and tithe them for the service of his work. He will tithe your flocks, and you shall yourselves be his servants.”’41 3. The same rationale applies to the bishop. For if the king who reigned over such a numerous people (as it is written in Hosea ‘The people of the children of Israel was as numerous as the sand beside the sea, which can neither be counted nor measured’42) took the services he needed in accordance with the number of the people, likewise the bishop takes from the people those whom he considers worthy of office,43 appointing presbyters as counsellors and assessors for 38 Lat. resumes here. Once again there are differences between its scriptural citation and that of Syr. 39 So Syr. Cf. Lat. (and LXX), unguentarias. 40 So Syr. Lat. follows LXX (which coheres with Hebrew and Peshitta) ‘millers and bakers’. 41 1 Sam 8:10-17. 42 Hos 1:10. 43 ‘Worthy of office’: so Lat. Syr. reads ‘worthy of himself and of his office.’ CA gives no guidance.

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himself, and deacons and subdeacons44 who may serve within his house. 4. What more is there to say? For the king who wears a diadem only reigns over the body, binding and loosing only on earth. But the bishop reigns over body and soul, binding and loosing on earth with heavenly effect, for the authority given to him is heavenly and divine. 5. Therefore love the bishop as a father, fear him as a king, honour him as God. Offer him the fruits and the work of your hands so as to receive a blessing, giving him your tithes and your firstfruits and your vows and your part-offerings, so that he may be supported by them, and may give them to all who are in need, to each as he deserves. 6. And your offering shall be received by the Lord your God as a smell of sweetness in the heights45 of heaven and in the sight of the Lord your God. And he shall bless you, and increase the good things he has promised you, as it is written in Wisdom: ‘Every simple soul shall be blessed; and a blessing shall be upon the head of anyone that gives.’46 7. Be thus constant in working, with continuous labour and with offering, since the Lord has lightened your load and has taken away the chains from around your neck and has removed from you the heavy yoke, by removing from you the secondary legislation, in the abundance of his mercy. As it is written in Isaiah: ‘Say to those who are in chains: “Go forth.”’47 And again, ‘Let loose the chains that bind.’48 And in David he says: ‘He has not despised the imprisoned.’49 Likewise he also says in the Gospel: ‘Come to me all who labour and are laden heavily with burdens,50 and I shall give you rest. Take my yoke upon yourselves and learn from me, for I am gentle and of humble heart, and you shall find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.’51 44 Given that this is the only appearance of subdeacons within this text we may well suspect an interpolation of the word (so Achelis in Achelis and Flemming (1904), 265). The fact that it appears in all versions does not militate against this (cf. Schöllgen (1998), 93) but simply means that it is a relatively early interpolation. 45 Lat. has ‘breadth’, which interestingly is close to the appeal for the acceptance of the offering in Syriac Liturgy of St James. We may well suspect that this is a citation of a prayer which in time would find itself in fixed liturgical forms. 46 Prov 11:25-26. 47 Is 49:9. 48 Is 42:7. 49 Ps 68:34. 50 Lat. omits ‘heavily’ from the citation, in greater accordance with the received text, though that of Syr. is attested in Syrian sources. 51 Mt 11:28-30.

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[2.35] If, through the abundance of his grace, the Lord has set you free and given you rest and led you into refreshment, no longer are you bound to sacrifices and offerings for sins and for purification, and gifts and offerings and holocausts and burnt-offerings52 and idling53 and shewbread and by the observation of ablutions; nor indeed to tithes, firstfruits, part-offerings, gifts or oblations. All of these were imposed upon them as a matter of obligation in giving, but you, however, are not bound by them. Of you it is required that you know the saying of the Lord, who said: ‘Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and the pharisees you shall not enter the Kingdom of heaven.’54 2. When you do what is written, ‘Sell all you have and give to the poor’,55 then shall your righteousness exceed their tithes and first-fruits and part-offerings. 3. On this account, therefore, do this, and do it through the bishop and priest and mediator with the Lord God. It is demanded of you that you give, and of him that he dispense. 4. You are not to demand an account of the bishop, nor are you to observe the manner of his dispensation and the performance of his stewardship, when he gives, or to whom, or where or whether he does it ill or well. For the Lord God will make enquiry of him, for he delivered his stewardship into his hands and held him worthy of the priesthood of this whole office. Since you are not to observe the bishop, nor demand an account of him, nor speak evil against him, so opposing God and offending the Lord, [2.36] have before your eyes what is said to you in Jeremiah: ‘Does the clay say to the potter “You do no work and have no hands”? As if anyone might say to his father or his mother: “Why did you beget me?”‘56 2. But simply labour, working in the house of God, and at all times let the saving voice of the renewal of the law be written and established in your heart, recalling what the Lord says: ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your soul and with all your strength.’57 3. Now your strength is your worldly property. You shall not love the Lord with your lips alone, like that people whom he upbraids when he says: ‘This people honours me with their lips, but their heart is very far from me.’58 4. You are to honour the 52

Lat. breaks off here. Specifically intended is idling on the sabbath. 54 Mt 5:20. 55 Mt 19:21. 56 Is 45:9-10. 57 Mk 12:30. 58 Is 29:13. 53

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Lord your God with all your strength, and to bring your offering at all times, always. And do not distance yourself from the church. Whenever you receive the oblation of the eucharist lay down whatever happens to be in your hands, so that you may share it with strangers, for it is collected by the bishop for the support of all strangers. 5. On this account you should save and keep by as much as you can, for the Lord has said in the law: ‘You shall not appear before me empty.’59 6. Therefore do good works, and put by for yourself everlasting treasure in heaven ‘where the moth does not corrupt nor thieves steal.’60 7. But when you do this do not be judgmental towards the bishop, nor towards those who are your companions, since it said to the laymen: Do not judge lest you be judged.’61 8. For if you judge your brother, and condemn him, you have reckoned your brother as guilty, that is you have brought your own life to condemnation; you shall be judged among the guilty. 9. For it is to the bishops to be judges, it is to them that it is said: ‘Be approved money-changers.’62 [2.37] The bishop, like somebody who examines coins, is obliged to separate the wicked from the good, to reject and cast aside those which are altogether bad, and to leave in the melting pot those which are ill-made or for any reason lacking, like underweight (coins).63 2. But a layman is not to judge his neighbour, nor to take upon himself a burden that is not his own, for the weight of this burden is not for laypeople but for bishops. 3. As a layperson, therefore, you shall not lay snares for yourself but leave judgement in the hands of those who will have to give an account of it. You are to strive to make peace with all, to love those who are members together with you, since the Lord said: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’64 Ex 23:15. Mt 6:20. 61 Mt 7:1. 62 This agraphon also appears in Clement of Alexandria Strom. 1.28. 63 The term translated ‘lacking’ and ‘underweight’ is the same, and the word ‘coins’ is supplied to make sense. Coins in the Roman world were valued on the basis of their metal content; thus it was possible to trim off metal and for a coin to be worth less than its face value on the basis of being underweight. Likewise wear and tear might reduce the metal content of a coin. Money-changers and assayers, who were generally small independent traders, would therefore test and weigh currency presented for exchange. Exchange was necessary within the eastern Empire because some cities continued to mint their own coinage, and also because large denomination coins might be exchanged for smaller denominations. For some discussion see Andreau (1999), 36-38. 64 Mt 19:19. 59 60

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the tenth chapter A warning with regard to brothers who are false; and an enquiry into those who are accusers, or who are witnesses against anyone; and a verdict giving judgement against those convicted of sin; and the consolation and reception into the church of those who show repentance; and the commandment to the bishop that they should impose a hand and bind up those who have sinned if they repent; and that they should not judge with respect for persons and so be convicted in the sight of God; and that they should convict anyone who makes a false accusation, punishing in the same measure as is just for the one who was accused. 4. If there should be false brothers who, out of the jealousy or spite of Satan and the enemy acting within them, bring false accusations against anyone of the brotherhood, or even one which is true, it should be made known to them that anyone who goes into such matters for the purpose of making accusations against somebody or of blaspheming somebody is a son of wrath, 5. and where there is wrath then God is not there. Wrath is from Satan, and it is by means of these false brothers that he does not permit there to be peace in the church. 6. Thus when you become acquainted with those who are thus wanting in understanding you should give no credence to them. And you, the bishops and the deacons, should take care to avoid them. And when you hear them speaking anything against one of the brothers, [2.38] be aware of the one against whom they are bringing accusation, investigate cautiously and weigh his conduct. And if he be found guilty then act in accordance with the teaching of our Lord as it is written in the Gospel: ‘Rebuke him between yourself and him, and if he repents and is converted, then save him. And if he be not persuaded then rebuke him before two or three,’1 so that the saying should be fulfilled that everything should be proved by the mouth of two or three witnesses.2 2. But for what reason, brothers, is it required that testimony be proved by the mouth of two or three witnesses? Because the Father and the Son together with the Holy Spirit bear witness to human deeds. Indeed, wherever there is the admonition of teaching, there also is discipline and there restitution of those who wander. On this account, then, is everything proved by the mouth of two or three witnesses. 3. But if he pays no attention he should be rebuked before the entire 1 2

Mt 18:15-16. Cf. Dt 19:15 and, indeed, 1 Jn 5:7.

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church, and if, moreover, he pays no attention to the entire church he should be accounted by you as a pagan or as a tax-collector.’3 4. Because the Lord has said to you, bishops, that henceforth you should not receive anyone such into the church as a Christian, nor have any commerce with him, since you do not receive the pagan or the wicked tax collector into the church, nor have anything to do with them, unless first they repent, and promise that they believe, and that thenceforth they shall do no evil deed. On this account did our Lord and Saviour grant room for repentance to those who sin. [2.39] Indeed I, Matthew, one of the twelve apostles who are speaking to you through these Didascalia, was previously a tax collector. But since I believed I have received kindness, I have repented of what I did before, and also have been deemed worthy of being an apostle and of proclaiming the word. 2. And also, in the Gospel, John the prophet4 proclaimed to tax-collectors; he did not cut off their hope but taught them how they should act. And when they asked him for a statement he said to them: ‘Take no more than what is commanded of you and what is set out for you.’5 3. And again, when Zacchaeus required it of him, the Lord received him in repentance.6 4. And we do not even withhold life from the pagans when they repent, put away and reject their error. 5. Anyone who has been convicted of wicked deeds or of falsehood should be accounted by you as a pagan or as a tax-collector. 6. Subsequently, should he promise to repent, like the pagans who promise and desire to repent, and who say ‘I believe’, and who are received into the assembly so that they may hear the word,7 but with whom we do not communicate until they have received the seal and become perfected, so we do not communicate with these until they show forth the fruits of repentance. Should they wish to hear the word they should certainly come in so that they do not perish utterly, but they Mt 18:16-17. MSS of the E family read ‘John the baptist.’ 5 Lk 3:13. 6 Lk 19:2-10. 7 Bradshaw (1999), 143, notes that some form of repentance and expression of faith is required even before the catechumen may enter the assembly. His point is that entry to the assembly to hear the word is not automatic in this community but is dependent upon some progress in the catechumenate. Not this passage alone, but 2.38.4 above, suggest that he is correct. I suspect he is mistaken, however, in linking this to the formal rite of renunciation before baptism, though this question cannot be pursued further here. 3 4

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are not to communicate in prayer but depart. These, when they see that they do not communicate with the church, will submit themselves and repent of their former deeds and seek reception into the church for prayer. Similarly, those who see them depart like heathens and tax collectors shall be afraid and take heed for themselves that they do not sin lest so it should happen to them too, that they should be put out of the church having been convicted of sin or of falsehood. [2.40] By no means, however, are you, bishop, to prevent them from entering the church to hear the word. For not even Our Lord and Saviour shunned or cast out tax-collectors and sinners, he even ate with them. On this account the pharisees murmured against him and said: ‘He eats with tax-collectors and sinners.’ Our Saviour then answered, speaking against their thinking and murmuring, saying: ‘Those who are whole have no need of a physician, but they who are sick.’8 2. Therefore have involvement with those who are convicted of sins and who are in sickness; associate with them, and take care of them, and speak to them and comfort them and keep hold of them and enable them to return. [2.41] And then, as each repents and shows forth the fruit of repentance, accept him into the prayer as you would a pagan. 2. And just as you baptize a pagan and at that time receive him, so lay the hand on this man while everyone is praying for him,9 and then bring him in and allow him to communicate with the church, for the imposition of the hand shall take the place of baptism for him, as whether by the imposition of a hand or by baptism they receive participation in the Holy Spirit. 3. For this reason you are, like a compassionate physician, to heal all who sin, employing wisdom and skill, offering a remedy which heals lives. Do not be impatient to amputate the members of the church, but use the word as bandages, and warning as a poultice, and intercession as a compress. 4. And if the sore is depressed, is diminishing the patient’s flesh, feed it and fill up the gap with healing remedies. Should there be dirt in it, cleanse it with a caustic remedy, that is with a word of warning and reproof. 5. If the flesh is swollen, reduce it and bring it down with a strong remedy, that is the warning of judgement. 6. But if gangrene is present, cauterize it with branding irons, that is with the imposition of severe fasting, cutting away and clearing out the seepage in the sore. 7. And yet, should the gangrene increase and prevail even Mk 2:17. See 2.18.7 and the note ad loc. on this gesture and on the participation of the people. 8 9

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over the cauterization, then cut; after taking advice and extensively consulting with other physicians amputate the putrefying limb so that the whole body is not infected. 8. Yet do not be anxious to amputate speedily, or run hastily to a saw with many teeth, but first use a scalpel to cut into the sore, so that it may be closely examined and the cause of internal pain be known, so avoiding harm to the entire body. 9. Yet if you see a man who will not repent, but has cut off his life from all hope, then with grief and with sadness cut him off and expel him from the church.10 [2.42] But if you discover that the accusation of wrongdoing is false and you, the shepherds, together with the deacons, have accepted the falsehood as true out of respect for persons or on account of the offerings you receive, if you desire to do the will of the evil one in giving false judgement, expelling and removing from the church somebody accused who is innocent of the charge, you shall render an account on the day of judgement. For it is written: ‘You shall not be a respecter of persons in giving judgement.’11 Again, the Scripture says: ‘A bribe blinds the eyes of seers, and perverts straight words.’12 Again it says: ‘Save the downtrodden, do justice for orphans and righteousness for widows’13 and ‘Judge with right judgement in the gates.’14 2. Be careful, then, not to be respecters of persons and so to stand under judgement of the word of the Lord which he spoke: 3.’Woe to those who make the bitter sweet and the sweet bitter, and to those who call the light darkness and the darkness light, and who declare the evil righteous for a bribe and ignore the righteousness of the righteous man.’15 4. But be careful that you do not wrongly condemn a man and give aid to the wicked. For when you judge others you are bringing judgement upon yourselves, as the Lord said: ‘With the judgement with which you judge you are bringing judgement upon yourselves and just as you condemn, so shall you be condemned.’16 On this account you should remember and have in mind this saying: ‘Forgive, and you shall be forgiven; and do not condemn, and you On this medical imagery see the introduction, 4.c.3. Dt 1:17. 12 Ex 23:8. 13 Is 1:17. 14 Zech 8:16. 15 Is 50:20, 23. 16 Mt 7:2. 10 11

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shall not be condemned.’17 5. Bishops, if you give judgement without respect to persons, then be watchful of the one who accuses his brother lest he be a false brother who has brought his accusation out of envy or jealousy in order to destroy the church of God and kill whomever is accused by him through his expulsion from the church and his delivery to the raging fire. Thus judge him severely because he has brought evil upon his brother. 6. His own particular intent, had he caught the judges’ ear beforehand, was to kill his brother in fire. It is written: ‘The blood of anyone who sheds a man’s blood will be shed, because of the blood which he shed.’18 [2.43] Expel from the church with stern rebuke as a murderer anyone who is found to be such. After a period, if he promises to repent, then warn him and put him under discipline, then lay a hand upon him and receive him into the church.19 Yet be watchful, observing anyone like this who may once again cause disturbance to others. 2. And if, after he has come in, you observe that he is once again contentious, accusing others, plotting and scheming, making false complaints against many, expel him, so that no longer he may cause disturbance and difficulty to the church. Somebody like this, even though within the church, is not fitting, is superfluous to her, and there is no good in him. 3. Indeed, it may be observed that some people are born with superfluous members on their bodies, such as fingers or other surplus flesh. But although they are on the body they are a shame and a disgrace to the body and to the man alike because they are superfluous to him. However when they are removed by the surgeon the form and the beauty of his body are restored to the person. Nothing is lacking to him, as what was removed was superfluous to him; rather he is perceived in his proper form. You pastors should conduct yourselves in this way for the church is a body, and its members are those who believe in God, who exist in love in the fear of the Lord in accordance with the commandment of perfection20 which we have received. On this account, anyone who devises evil plans against the church, who troubles her members, who loves the fault-finding and grievances of the enemy, namely disturbances, quarrels, backbiting, grumbling, strife, disputes, accusations, Lk 6:37. Gen 9:6. 19 See, on this gesture, 2.18.7 above with the annotation and further references ad loc. 20 Or ‘tradition’, depending on the vocalization of the Syriac word )twNML$M. If the word is vocalized to mean ‘tradition’ this would mean ‘the command handed down.’ The phrase ‘perfect torah’ is employed by R Yohanan b Zakkai at TB Menahoth 65B. 17 18

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charges, vexations, who loves these things, and does them, or rather the enemy working in him, and remains within the church, is foreign to the church, and native to the enemy. It is him, indeed, whom he serves, that he might work through him in scattering and breaking up the church. Should anyone of this nature remain within he is a cause of disgrace to the church because of his blasphemies and the extent of his disturbance. The church of God is in danger of being scattered by means of him. Therefore deal with him as it written in Wisdom: ‘Drive out an evil person from the congregation and his strife will leave with him. Put an end to contention and disgrace, lest he bring disgrace on you all by sitting in the congregation.’21 4. When he has left the church on two occasions he is rightly cut off. And the church is beautiful, in her proper form, since she is at peace, which previously she lacked, and blasphemy and disorder is gone from the church from that hour. 5. If your own mind is not pure, whether on account of respect of persons or on account of the gifts of impure profit which you are receiving, and you tolerate the presence of one who is evil among yourselves, or put forth and expel those of good conduct from the church, fostering many who are evil, those who are contentious and divisive and ill-behaved, you will bring blasphemy upon the assembly of the church, you will be in danger of scattering her through these people, and will bring the mortal danger on yourselves of losing eternal life through pleasing people, turning away from pleasing God because of your respect of persons and the extent to which you have accepted pointless gifts. And you shall have scattered the catholic church, the beloved daughter of the Lord God.

the eleventh chapter A further exhortation to the bishops and deacons that their leadership is to be just, and that they are to dwell together in love and concord; and that they should not accept the testimony of pagans against anyone who believes; and that a Christian should not be molested, and have a lawsuit against his companions, and if it should so happen that they have a lawsuit they should not tell it before the pagans but before the church. And they should be pacified, even should one of them lose something corporeal; and if anyone is obdurate and resists peace he should be expelled from the church until he repents. And when 21

Prov 22:10.

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the two persons approach, those who are in judgement should judge without respect of persons. On the second day of the week they should investigate the conduct of the complainant with great care, and his conscience and the reasons for his lawsuit and his dispute. And likewise, in the same manner, the accused; and that they should punish the guilty with justice. And concerning those who are angry, that it is right that they should forgive one another’s offences, since we are seeking forgiveness from God. [2.44] Therefore, bishops, together with the deacons, you are to seek to be true to the Lord, since the Lord says: ‘“If you are true with me, I also will be true with you, and if you act unfairly towards me, I will act unfairly towards you,” says the Lord of hosts.’1 Be true, then, so that you may be deserving of praise from the Lord, rather than the opposite, rebuke. 2. Thus the bishops and deacons are to be of a single mind, and are to be diligent in shepherding the people, with one accord. It is required that you become a single body, as Father and Son, for you are in the likeness of the Lordship. 3. The deacon should make everything known to the bishop as did Christ to his Father. The deacon should settle such matters as he is able, and the bishop should determine the other, remaining, matters. 4. But the deacon should be the hearing of the bishop, and his mouth, and his heart and his soul. For when you are of a single accord then there is also peace in the church through your unanimity. [2.45] The fairest praise for a Christian is that he has no evil word with anyone. But if it should so happen that, through the operation of the enemy, somebody falls into temptation and has a lawsuit, he should seek to be saved from it, even should he lose something. Above all he should not go to pagan courts, 2. and do not accept the testimony of pagans against any one of yourselves, for it is by means of the pagans that the enemy plots against the servants of God. 3. Thus, because the pagans are prepared to stand on the left, he called them the left hand.2 Indeed our Lord and Saviour addresses us thus: ‘Do not let 1 The citation corresponds directly to no known source, though the latter part corresponds to Lev 26:23-24, 27-28. It is cited by Macarius Chrysocephalus in the fourteenth century and attributed to Clement of Alexandria, but is not in any of Clement’s extant works. It is also cited by Praedestinatus (PL 53.610). See for further details Funk (1905), 138. 2 The Opus imperfectum in Matthaeum refers to a ‘book of canons’ which explains that the right hand is the Christian people, which is at the right hand of Christ, whereas others are at the left. Mt 6:3 is thus interpreted as stating that pagans should not see Christian charity. Given that CA has so rewritten this passage, it seems that the author of the Opus, who also cites the version of the story of Manasseh found in the seventh chapter above, had read DA.

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your left hand know what your right hand is doing.’3 [2.46] The pagans are not to know of your lawsuits, and you are not to accept testimony against yourselves from them. And do not go to court before them, as also in the Gospel he says: ‘Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.’4 2. Thus you should be willing to lose, and to seek to make peace. Even should you lose some worldly goods for the sake of peace you shall gain from God, as you have feared God and acted according to his commandments. 3. If, however, there should be brothers who quarrel with one another, which should not be, and which should not occur, it is incumbent upon you who are leaders5 to know immediately that this is no deed of brotherhood in the Lord on the part of those who dare to act in this way. 4. But if one of them is found to be one of the sons of God, who is humble and who is suffering wrong, then he is a son of the light. Yet anyone who is intractable and insolent and domineering and blasphemous is a hypocrite, and the enemy is working in him. Rebuke him, therefore, and shame him and chasten him and put him out, as a warning to him. And afterwards, as we said above, receive him that he does not perish utterly, for when people like this are corrected and reproved there will not be many lawsuits among you. 5. But if they do not know the saying which was spoken by our Lord in the Gospels, when he said: ‘How many times should I forgive my brother when he offends me?’6 and grow angry with one another and become enemies, you are to teach them and you are to reprove and make peace between them, since the Lord has said: ‘Blessed are the peacemakers.’7 6. And be aware that it is required of the bishop and presbyters to judge with caution; as our Saviour said when we asked him ‘How many times should I forgive a brother when he wrongs me? As many as seven times?’ Our Lord, however, taught us and said to us: ‘I say to you, not seven times only, but seventy times seven.’8 7. For the Lord desires that they who in truth are his should bear no grudge at all against anyone, and should not be angry with anyone; so how much the less does he desire you to have lawsuits against each other. [2.47] But if anything should occur through the operation of the enemy they Mt 6:3. Mt 22:21. 5 A significant group of manuscripts add here ‘that you should make peace’ 6 Mt 18:21. 7 Mt 5:9. 8 Mt 18:21-22. 3 4

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should be judged in front of you, in the same manner that you are likewise to be judged. First of all your judgements should be given on the second day of the week, so that should it so happen that somebody rises up against the statement of your judgements you have opportunity until the sabbath to rectify the matter and to bring about peace between those who are at odds one with the other and to reconcile them on the Sunday.9 Thus the presbyters and the deacons should always be present with the bishops in every case. Judge without respect of persons. 2. Now when the two persons, those who, as Scripture says, have a suit and a quarrel one with another, come and stand in the place of judgement give the statement of judgement and sentence when you have heard them properly. And be careful in maintaining kindness towards them before the statement of judgement and sentence emerges from you lest a sentence of earthly judgement emerges from you against a brother. Judge in such a way that you are likewise so to be judged, as in this very judgement your co-participant, assessor, counsellor, witness and judge is Christ. 3. If there are those who are being charged and who are accused of not walking properly in the way of the Lord, once again you should listen to the two persons and make diligent investigation, as you are passing sentence in matters of everlasting life or of harsh and bitter death. For if somebody is fittingly reprimanded and convicted and departs from the church he is cast out of eternal life and glory, becoming contemptible in human company and condemned before God. [2.48] Thus you are to give judgement in accordance with the gravity of the charge, whatever it may be, and with great mercy, and be inclined to save alive, without respect of persons, rather than to destroy those who are being judged through your condemnation. 2. If there is anyone who is innocent who is condemned by the judges through respect of persons it will do him no harm before God, rather it will be to his advantage. Since although for a short time he is wrongfully judged by humanity, subsequently, on the day of judgement, he shall be the judge of the unjust judges, as he has been wrongfully convicted. 3. For you shall have been arbiters of wrongful judgment, and thus you shall receive retribution from God and cast out of the catholic church of God. And it shall be fulfilled, concerning you: ‘With the judgement with which you judge you shall be judged.’10 9 10

Jewish courts likewise sit on fixed days. See TB Baba Qamma 82A. Mt 7:2.

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[2.49] For this reason, when you sit in judgement the two persons should stand before you. We do not call them brothers until there is peace between them. And investigate carefully and with caution those between whom there is a lawsuit, or who have a quarrel with one another. 2. And apprise yourself of the accuser, whether he is himself accused of anything, whether he has brought charges against others, and again whether he has brought the accusation out of some former hostility, or through a quarrel, or through envy. And also what his conduct is, whether he is humble, and not irascible, and not slanderous, and whether he is kind to widows and to the poor and to strangers, and not a lover of impure profit. And whether he is peaceable, and friendly to all and kind to all, whether he is compassionate and open-handed in his giving, not a glutton, nor greedy, and not rapacious and not a drunkard, and not a prodigal, and not idle, since ‘the perverse heart devises evil, and at all times disturbs towns,’11 and whether he has acted wickedly as does the world, in adultery and fornication. 3. And if the accuser is free of all this he is clearly trustworthy, and his accusation is manifestly truthful. Yet if he is known to be perverse, quarrelsome and not a performer of good deeds, it is evident that he is bringing false witness against your brother. 4. When you discover such a one and know that he is a deceiver, admonish him and cast him out for a while, until he repents and is converted and weeps, lest he blaspheme against some other of the brothers who conducts himself properly, or lest others of those who are seated in the congregation who are like him should see that he has not been rebuked and should dare likewise to take action against one of the brothers and should so perish before God. 5. If, however, the one who has sinned is rebuked and cast out for a while, anyone who considered imitating him and acting likewise will see that he has been cast out will be afraid lest the same be done to him and will be prevented, and so will live before God and be not ashamed in human sight. [2.50] And again, the same with regard to the person subject to judgement. Observe his conduct and his actions in the world; take counsel together and consider among yourselves, observing his conduct and his actions in the world, whether there are frequent complaints heard about him, or whether many bad deeds have been done by him. 2. Since if it is determined that he has done bad deeds it is all the more likely that the complaint being brought against him is true. Again, however, it may so happen that he has previously committed some sin and yet is innocent of the charge on this occasion. 3. On this account 11

Prov 6:14.

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investigate these matters thoroughly that your statement of sentence may be made with certainty and caution. Pass sentence with rectitude on the one who is found to be guilty; 4. and any who does not stand by your judgement should be rebuked and cast out of the assembly until he repents and begs of the bishop or of the church and confesses that he has sinned and that he has repented. Thus advantage shall accrue to many, lest anyone who sees that a person is sitting in church, and that he has not been corrected or chastised, should dare to do the same as he, thinking that he is alive in human company whereas he is perishing towards God. [2.51] If you hear a single person on his own, without the other being present to answer the charge laid against him, and you swiftly declare the verdict, without taking counsel and without investigation, convicting on the basis of lies, which you have believed, and when the one you have convicted is not present to answer the charge for himself, you shall be associated, before God, with the one who brought the false witness, and you shall be tormented by God together with him.12 For the Lord says in Proverbs: ‘Whoever incites trouble which is not his business is like somebody grabbing a dog’s tail.’13 And again, in another place, he says: ‘Judge with right judgement.’14 And again: ‘Save the oppressed, and cut every bond of wickedness.’15 And again: ‘Do justice for orphans, and righteousness for widows.’16 2. But if you are like those elders who were in Babylon, who bore false witness against Susanna, and wickedly condemned her to death you will be associated with them in their judgement and in their condemnation. For the Lord saved Susanna from the hand of the wicked by means of Daniel, but he condemned to fire those elders who were guilty of her blood.17 [2.52] Whereas we set the things of the sanctuary far from the things of the world, nonetheless, brothers, we say this: Observe, when a murderer is brought before the civil power, how the judges interrogate carefully those who bring them, and from them learn what he has done. And they address themselves to the doer of wicked deeds, and ask whether these things are so. Even should he confess, and say yes, Cf. Hermas Mand. 2.2. Prov 26:7. 14 Dt 1:16. 15 Is 58:6. 16 Is 1:17. 17 Dan 13. To this whole passage regarding the practice of law and judgement within churches cf. the provisions of TB Sanhedrin 40A-41A, with its associated Mishnah. 12 13

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they do not send him straightaway to death, but question him again for many days and, drawing the curtain, take much thought and counsel together. When, at length, they pass the sentence of death upon him they raise their hands to heaven and claim: ‘We are innocent of this man’s blood.’18 They do all this, even though they are pagans and know not God, and know not the recompense which they shall receive from God on account of those they judge and condemn unjustly. 2. And do you, you who know who is our God, and who know what his judgements are, dare pass sentence on one who is not guilty? 3. We counsel you therefore that you make careful investigation, with great caution, since the sentence which you pass when you are in judgement ascends straightaway to God. And if you have judged justly you will receive a recompense of justice from God, both now and in what is to come, but if you have judged unjustly you shall receive like recompense from God. Strive therefore, brothers, to be worthy to receive praise from God, and not blame. Praise from God is everlasting life for people, but blame for God is everlasting death for people. [2.53] Thus you should be careful, bishops, not to be rushed in sitting in judgement with haste, lest you be compelled to condemn somebody; but warn them before they come to stand in the place of judgement, and make peace between them. Warn those who have a quarrel or a lawsuit 18

This is a puzzling passage. One thing which may readily be explained is the curtain, which would seem to have been an appurtenance of courts in the east. Thus Basil informs us that judges (a1rxontej) consider the death sentence behind a curtain (Ep. ad Eustathium 79.123), and Chrysostom (Hom. in Matt. 17.61; Hom 5 in 2 Tim) speaks of judges seated behind a curtain. There is also a reference in the Acta Pilati 9.5 to such a curtain, as Pilate draws the curtain before sentencing Jesus. Finally in the Acts of Sharbil, of uncertain date but set in Edessa, the judge lowers a curtain before opening it in order to pass sentence. Since Persian royal ritual in the Sassanid period had the king enthroned behind a curtain, a custom which is ancient (it is already established in the Achaemenian courts (so Xenophon Agesilaus 9.12), it is possible that the practice has derived from custom further east. However, although the curtain may have travelled from its Persian origin to be found in Roman courts within the east, the care taken over the questioning of witnesses, the plurality of judges and the hesitation over passing sentence are more reminiscent of Persian law, and indeed Talmudic law (note for instance TB Sanhedrin 32A on the care taken in questioning witnesses and 34A for the extent to which verdicts and sentences might be debated) than of Roman law (so contrast the somewhat summary sentences passed in the Acta of the martyrs, and the robust attitude on the part of Roman judges towards the sentence of death evidenced by Bauman (1996), 141-159.) Of the practice of declaring personal innocence in passing sentence I can find no trace beyond the words and action of Pilate in Mt 27:24. However the Jewish translators at Ep. Aristeae 306 claim that when they wash their hands they are asserting their innocence. One wonders whether the whole passage is a commonplace piece of paraenesis derived by the redactor from general tradition, possibly having its origin outside the Empire.

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between them, teach them that, in the first place, it is not right that anybody should be angry, since the Lord has said: ‘Everyone who is angry with his brother is condemned to judgement.’19 2. Secondly, moreover, should it come about through the operation of the enemy that some anger arise, it is necessary for you that very day to be straightaway reconciled and pacified, and to be at peace with one another. For it is written: ‘Do not let the sun go down on your anger against your brother.’20 And again he says in David: ‘Be angry and do not sin.’21 That is, be quickly reconciled, lest anger should remain, and that lasting anger should in turn beget sin. He says in Proverbs: ‘The soul which retains anger shall die.’22 3. And again our Lord and Saviour also said: ‘If you are making your offering upon the altar and there recall that your brother is angry with you, leave your offering before the altar and go first to be reconciled with your brother. Then go to make your offering.’23 4. The offering to God which is ours is prayer and eucharist, but if you continue in anger with your brother, or he with you, your prayer shall not be heard, nor shall your eucharist be accepted, and you shall be found wanting in prayer and in eucharist on account of the anger which you are maintaining. 5. A person should pray carefully at all times, but God does not hear those who bear anger and rebuke towards their brother. Even should you pray three times in an hour it shall avail you nothing, as God will not listen to you on account of your hostility towards your brother. 6. On this account, if you are seriously seeking to be a Christian, follow the saying of the Lord which states: ‘Loosen all ties of wickedness, and cut the bands of violence and oppression.’24 7. For the Lord has laid on you the authority to forgive your brother when he offends you as many as seventy time seven, seven, that is four hundred and ninety. 8. Thus, how many times have you forgiven your brother that you desire no more to forgive but to continue in anger and to maintain the hostility and to go to law? Your prayer is thus refused. 9. But even if your fulfil the four hundred and ninety times, add more for your own account, and out of your own goodness, without anger forgiving your brother. Even if you do not do this for your brother, do it for yourself. Forgive your Mt 5:22. Eph 4:26. 21 Ps 4:5. 22 Prov 12:28. 23 Mt 5:23-24. 24 Is 58:6. 19 20

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neighbour and your prayer will be heard and the offering which you make shall be acceptable to the Lord. [2.54] Bishops, it is so that your prayers and oblations may be acceptable that, when you are standing at prayer in the church, a deacon calls out in a loud voice: ‘Is there anyone who maintains anger with his neighbour?’25 And if persons who have a lawsuit or a quarrel between themselves are found you may persuade them and make peace between them. 2. Those who enter a house and say: ‘Peace be in this house’ are both proclaiming peace and granting peace. 3. Thus, if you are announcing peace to others, it is all the more incumbent upon you to be yourself at peace with your brothers. 4. As a son of light and peace you are to be light and peace to all. You are to contend with none, but be in concord and peace with all. And be a helper for God, that the number of those being saved may increase, for this is the will of the Lord God. 5. Those, however, who love enmity and strife and disputes and lawsuits are enemies to God. [2.55] For the Lord, in the beginning, called each generation to repentance and life through the prophets and through the righteous. 2. Moreover we, the apostles, who have been accounted worthy to be witnesses of his appearance and heralds of his divine word, have heard from the mouth of the Lord Jesus Christ and we have secure knowledge as we say that his will and the will of his father is that none should perish but that all should believe and be saved.26 [2.56] For this is what he taught us to say when we pray: ‘Your will be done on earth as in heaven.’27 Just as the angels of heaven and the powers and all (his)28 servants give praise to God, so everyone on the earth should give praise to God. 2. Thus it is his will that he should give life to all, and it is his pleasure that those who are saved should be numerous. Anyone who is contentious, or who is in enmity with his neighbour, is reducing the people of God, for either he drives out from the church the one whom he accuses, and so reduces her, and deprives God of a human soul 25

Vööbus (1979b), 59* and (1979a), 128, points out that this reading of Mt 5:23 reflects the old Syriac version. ‘Something against his neighbour’, which is the reading of the Greek, appears in some parts of the Syriac MS tradition, reflecting the process of correction. This diaconal announcement may be an extract from a longer statement, such as that of Testamentum Domini 1.23, a proclamation by the deacon before the anaphora which begins: ‘If anyone is angry with his neighbour he should be reconciled.’ Note also the introduction, 4.c.2. 26 Cf. 2 Pet 3:9. 27 Mt 6:10. 28 This addition to the text seems demanded by the context.

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which was being saved, or else, through his contention, expels and throws himself out from the church, and so again sins against God. For so said God our Saviour: ‘Anyone who is not with me is against me; and whoever does not gather with me is scattering.’29 3. And thus you are of no help to God in gathering the people since you are a disturber and a scatterer of the flock, and an adversary and enemy to God. Thus you should not constantly be carried away with quarrels or conflicts or complaints or with enmity or with lawsuits, lest you scatter anyone away from the church. For we, by the power of the Lord God, have been gathering from all nations and languages and have brought them to the church through much labour and toil and danger every day that we might do the will of God and fill the house, that is the holy catholic church, with guests who rejoice and exult and praise and glorify God who called them to life. 4. Thus you laypeople should be like wise doves, at peace with one another, striving to fill the church, converting and taming those who are wild, bringing them into her midst. And this is the great reward should you deliver them from fire and present them to the church, established and faithful.

the twelfth chapter It commands bishops that they should be gentle and humble, and that they should be far removed from all harshness and anger. And it teaches them about the ordering of the house of God, and how the places for sitting and standing should be separated from each other, for each rank, as is right. And anyone who should come from another church should have the honour which is due, and be honoured with the place that befits him. And that Christ, who loves strangers, should not be despised in him. [2.57] And you, bishops, shall not be harsh, nor tyrannical, and shall not be irascible, and shall not be ill-tempered with the people of God which is delivered into your hands. You shall not disperse the Lord’s household, nor scatter his people, but convert everyone, so that you may be fellow-workers with God. You shall gather the faithful with great humility, with forbearance, with patience, without anger, with instruction and with petitions, as servants of the eternal kingdom. 2. Now, in your congregations in the holy churches your gatherings should be conducted with good order. Appoint places for the brothers 29

Mt 17:30.

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with care and gravity; 3. the place of the presbyters should be separate, at the east end of the house, 4. and the bishop’s seat should be set among them, and the presbyters should sit with him. It is in another eastern part of the house that the laymen are to sit, for so it is required.1 5. The presbyters are to be seated in the eastern part of the house with the bishops,2 and then the laymen, and then the women, so that when you stand up to pray the leaders should stand first, and then the laymen and subsequently the women.3 For it is required that your prayers should be directed towards the east, as you know what is written: ‘Give glory to God who rides upon the heavens of heaven, towards the east.’4 6. One of the deacons should continue to stand by the offerings of the eucharist; another should stand outside the door observing those who come in. And afterwards, when you are offering, they should minister together in the church. 7. And if anyone is found sitting in a place which is not his, the deacon within should warn him and make him stand up and seat him in the place which is his own, as is right.5 8. For our Lord compared the church to a pen,6 for there we may observe that dumb animals, by which we mean oxen and sheep and goats, lie down and get up, feed and chew the cud, in family groups, and none is separated from its own species. Similarly the wild animals on the mountains each go with their own kind. And so should it be 1 The prescriptions here fit remarkably closely with the archaeological evidence supplied by the house church excavated at Dura Europos, significantly enough in Syria. It would not be unreasonable to see this community worshipping in a similarly converted domestic complex. There two rooms were turned into a single, long room and a dais built at the east end. For descriptions and diagrams see White (1997), 121-131. 2 As Connolly (1929), 119, notes, the plural is puzzling. Also puzzling, however, is the absence of deacons. The prominence of presbyters is a clear indication that this section has been included from a distinct source, but the plural bishops and absence of deacons is nonetheless odd. It is possible that the plural has come about through a misreading of tw~n e)piskopou~ntwn as tw~n e)pisko/pwn (on the assumption that the preposition is meta/), that is to say it is the deacons, or other presbyters, who are overseeing the altar and what occurs there, and that the reference is to them. 3 By contrast to Testamentum Domini there are no prominent positions for widows. This may well simply result from independent developments within the communities and should not be read in the light of comments about widows below as a deliberate downgrading of widows within the community. 4 Ps 67:34. The eastern direction for prayer is widespread, though justifications vary. Note, among other early sources, Origen De Oratione 32, Clement of Alexandria Strom. 7.7, Tertullian Apol. 16.9-10. 5 Cf. to this K 17-18 cited and discussed in the introduction at 4.a. Note again that here deacons are doing the duties ascribed to presbyters in K. 6 Jn 10:1.

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with the church. Those who are young should sit separately, if there is room, and not stand on their feet. Those who are elderly are to sit separately. The children should stand on one side, or they should go to their fathers or mothers, and stand on their feet. The young girls should sit separately, and if there is no room they should stand on their feet behind the women. And the young women who are married and have children should stand separately. And the elderly women and widows should sit separately. 9. And the deacon should observe that each who enters goes to their proper place, and that nobody is setting in the wrong place. 10. And the deacon should also observe that nobody is whispering or going to sleep or laughing or gesticulating, 11. for it is fitting that they should be7 watching in the church respectfully and attentively, with ears alert to the word of the Lord. [2.58] Should anyone come from another congregation, a brother or a sister, the deacon should enquire and ascertain whether she is married or a widow, whether faithful,8 a daughter of the church, or whether she is a member of one of the heresies, and he should lead her and set her in a place which is right for her. 2. But if a presbyter from another congregation should come, you presbyters should receive him in your place with fellowship. And should a bishop come he should sit with the bishop, and receive the same honour which is due to him. 3. And, bishop, you should invite him to address your people since the exhortation and admonition of strangers is very profitable,9 especially since it is written: ‘A prophet is not received in his own country.’ And he should offer the oblation.10 But if he is sensible, and is unwilling, reserving that honour for you, he should speak over the cup.11 4. If, however, when you are seated, some other man or woman should arrive who is honoured in the world, whether from the same district or of some other congregation, you should not, bishop, leave off your ministry of the word, whether you are speaking it, or hearing it, or reading, in order to show them to a place, but remain as you are and do not interrupt the word. Rather the brothers should themselves 7

Lat. resumes here. Syr. is slightly unclear and Lat. does not assist, as it reads: ‘a widow, or of the faithful.’ The phrase is lacking in CA. 9 So Syr. and CA. Cf. Lat.: ‘when a stranger addresses them, it is profitable to the people. For it is written . . .’ 10 As Anicetus is reported by Irenaeus at Eusebius HE 5.24.17 to have ceded the celebration of the eucharist to the visiting Polycarp. 11 See, on this passage, the introduction, 4.c.2. 8

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receive them. 5. But if there should be no place, one of the brothers who is charitable and full of goodwill to the brothers and is courteous should get up and offer his place, and stand. However, if an elderly man or woman should rise and give up a place while those who are young are seated, you are to look around at the young who are seated and see which man or woman of them is youngest and make them get up and seat the person who had got up and had given up their place. You are to make the person who had not got up and had not yielded their place to stand behind the others so that those others may learn to give up their places to those who are more honourable.12 6. But if a poor man or woman should arrive, whether from the same district or of another congregation, most especially if they are well on in years, and they have no place, then you, bishop, should act for them from your heart, even should you sit on the ground yourself. There should be no respect of persons with you, but you should please God, through your ministry.13

12 So Syr. and CA. Lat. has ‘greater in age.’ One suspects, in the context, that Lat. may be the correct reading. 13 The whole passage on seating is significant. Although such attention to place, as well as segregation of different groups, may seem strange, seating was another way in which social distinction was noted in Graeco-Roman society. Segregated seating was commonplace, and indeed was legally directed by the Lex Julia theatralis at the theatres and public displays within the Empire, with particular seats being reserved for senators, others for members of the equestrian order, others for soldiers who had won the corona civilis (Pliny Historia naturalis 16.13), and such decrees were indeed enforced (note Martial Epigrammata. 5.8, 14, 23, 25, 27 regarding the ejection of various individuals from seats which were not properly theirs.) Likewise at private dinners and public banquets a great deal of attention was paid to seating arrangements which would reflect the social hierarchy of those attending. This matter is discussed by Plutarch in Quaestiones convivales 1.2-3 (615D-619). Thus the concern for good order in the seating of the congregation demonstrated in 2.7.2, at the beginning of this discussion, is directly comparable to the concern expressed in part of Plutarch’s discussion that a)taci/a be avoided (615E). In synagogues likewise there were seats of honour (Mt 23:6, Tosefta Sukkah 4.6). As such the concern for order and segregation in the seating of the congregation is not surprising. However, what is distinct is the directive that the bishop should not interrupt his discourse at the arrival of a wealthy person and even more the concern shown for the poor and elderly. Thus compare the tale told of Augustus’ horror that no seat was given up for a senator who arrived late for games at Puteoli (Suetonius Diuus Augustus 44.1). Schöllgen (1998), 183-184, is certainly right in suggesting that this is intended to bolster the position of the bishop over and against potential patrons who might offer alternative influence, yet in its position we may also suggest that this is an addition (probably by the uniting redactor) to a source regarding seating which to an extent overturns the more conventional concern for order demonstrating status which is implicit in the source.

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the thirteenth chapter That no Christian person is to leave the assembly of the church at the time of prayer or of the eucharist on account of manual labour or on account of any other worldly labour. He is not to go the theatrical displays to hear pagan words, depriving his soul of hearing the words of the lifegiving Scriptures, and not to the foreign assemblies of the heretics. And that the children of the church should be obedient and serve her without idleness, And that no Christian person should love to desist from working at a craft, for this is rejected by the church. [2.59] When you are teaching you are to command and exhort the people that they should gather in church, and come together always, that none should be absent and so reduce the church through their withdrawal, so as to make the body of Christ defective in a limb. People should not simply be thinking of others, but of themselves, since it is said: ‘Whoever does not gather with me, is a scatterer.’1 2. Since you are members of Christ you should not scatter yourselves from the church by failing to gather with others. Since, as he promised, you have Christ as your head, present with you and communicating himself to you,2 do not neglect yourselves, nor distance the Saviour from his own members, and do not tear or scatter his body, not lend precedence to worldly affairs over the word of God,3 but put them aside each Lord’s day and hurry to the church;4 for she is your glory.5 3. For what excuse shall they who do not assemble on that day6 to hear the saving word and to be nourished with divine and everlasting food, give to God?7 [2.60] You are concerned to gain things which are temporary, lasting a day or an hour, but neglect those which are eternal. You are concerned about bathing, and the nourishment of food and drink Mt 12:20. Some Syriac MSS read ‘me’ and others ‘us’. ‘You’, however, is supported by Lat. and CA. 3 Lat. lacks ‘of God’. 4 There is a certain thematic coherence here with TA 35 ⁄41. Whereas no direct literary relationship is suggested it is possible that there is some common source. Certainly the manner in which this material is included by way of instruction to bishops in what they should teach indicates that it is a secondary addition to the episcopal manual. 5 ‘For she is your glory’ is absent in Lat. CA offers no assistance. 6 ‘On that day’ Lat, CA. Syr. reads ‘on the Lord’s day.’ 7 Lat. breaks off in the middle of this sentence. 1 2

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for the belly, and for other things, but there is no concern for things eternal; rather you are neglectful of your souls and have no interest in the church, for hearing and receiving the word of God. 2. What excuse do you have, by comparison to those who are astray? For every day the pagans go in the morning to worship and serve their idols when they rise from sleep, and before any work or business they go first to worship their idols; likewise they do not absent themselves from their feasts and festivals but are faithful in their attendance, not only those from the locality but those who attend from afar. And likewise they all assemble and attend the spectacle of their theatre. 3. The same is true of those who vainly are called Jews; after six days they remain idle for a day, and assemble in their synagogue. They do not absent themselves, and do not neglect their synagogue and do not neglect their idleness. They are denuded of the meaning of the word, of the name, Jew, by which they call themselves,8 since they do not believe. For ‘Jew’ is to be interpreted as ‘confession’,9 but these are no confessors, for they do not confess the murder of Christ,10 which they brought about through transgressing the law, and so repent and be saved. 4. Thus, if they who are not saved are attentive at all times to things which bring them no profit and which help them in nothing, what excuse before the Lord God shall the one who absents himself from the assembly of the church have? He does not even imitate the gentiles, but through failing to assemble grows neglectful and scornful and distances himself and does evil. 5. He it is whom the Lord addresses by means of Jeremiah: ‘You have not kept my laws, you have not even acted in accordance with the laws of the gentiles; you have nearly surpassed them in wickedness.’11 And ‘Do the gentiles exchange their gods, which are not gods. But my people have exchanged their honour for what is worthless.’12 How then shall anyone who is neglectful, and who has no concern for the assembly of the church of God, excuse himself? 8 Cf. CA: ‘They are emptied of the power of the Word through their unbelief, as of the name, Jew, by which they call themselves.’ This could well be a more accurate reflection of the original. 9 The Syriac for ‘confess’ is ydw), from which the author has derived )YdwhY. It is significant that this is a verbal association which can only be made in Syriac, which provides further evidence of the Syriac speaking milieu of this part of DA at least. 10 Cf. CA ‘the passion of Christ.’ 11 Ez 5:7. The attribution to Jeremiah is not an error introduced by the Syriac translator as CA has the same attribution. 12 Jer 2:11.

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6. And if there is anyone who is delayed by worldly work, and becomes hindered, he should know that the trades of the faithful are termed unnecessary works; for their true works are religion. 7. Pursue your trades, therefore, as unnecessary works, for your support, but let your true work be religion. [2.61] So you should be concerned never to withdraw from the assembly of the church. If anyone should leave the church and go to the assembly of the gentiles, what shall he say, what excuse should he give to God, on the day of judgement? He has deserted the holy church, and the words of the living God, which are living and lifegiving, which are able to redeem, to deliver from fire, and to save alive, and has gone to the assembly of the gentiles through craving for the spectacle of the theatre. 2. He shall, on this account, be reckoned as one of those who went into it out of craving to hear and to receive the words of their stories, which are of dead men, and of the spirit of Satan.13 They are dead and they are deathly, turning away from the faith and leading on to everlasting fire. 3. Yet your care is for this world, and your concern for material matters, whilst disdaining to attend to the catholic church, the beloved daughter of the Lord, God most high, where you may receive the teaching of God, which endures for ever, and which is capable of saving those who receive the word of life. 4. Be constant, therefore, in assembling with those faithful who are being saved, in your mother, the church, which is living and lifegiving. [2.62] Be careful not to assemble with those who are perishing in the theatre, which is the assembly of the pagans, of error and destruction, for anyone who enters the assembly of the gentiles shall be counted as one of them, and shall receive the woe. 2. For the Lord God speaks by means of Isaiah to those who are such: ‘Woe, woe to them that come from the spectacle.’14 And again he says: ‘Come, you women who are coming from the spectacle, since it is a people without understanding.’15 So it is that he refers to the church as women, whom he called and rescued and brought forth from the theatre. He kept hold of them and received them and taught us to go there no more. For he says through Jeremiah: ‘You shall not learn 13 On early Christian attitudes towards Greek myths note particularly the critique of Aristides Apol. 8-11. 14 Funk (1905), 176, notes that the nearest identification found for this citation is the targum of ps-Jonathan on Dt 28:9: ‘You are cursed when you enter your theatrehouses and the places of your shows, to make void the precepts of the law. And you are cursed when you come forth to your business.’ 15 Is 27:11.

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in accordance with the ways of the gentiles.’16 And again he says, in the Gospel: ‘You shall not go in the way of the gentiles’,17 3. thus warning us in demanding that we shun every heresy, which are the ‘towns of the Samaritans’, and furthermore that we stay far away from the assemblies of the gentiles and that we enter not any gathering of strangers, and that we should stay far away from the theatre, and from their festivals, because of the idols. 4. A believer should go nowhere near a festival, except to buy nourishment for his body and soul.18 So avoid any idolatrous spectacle, and the festivals of their feasts. [2.63] The young in the church should serve diligently, without laziness, in every matter required of them, with abundant reverence and purity. Thus every one of you, the faithful, every day and at all times, whensoever you are not in the church, should be constant in your work, so that through the course of your entire life you are either continuing in the Lord’s affairs19 or labouring at your work, and are never idle, 2. as the Lord has said: ‘Look to the ant, you who are workshy, imitate her ways, and be wiser than she. For she has no tillage, there is nobody to compel her, and none is set over her. Yet she gathers food for herself in summer, and stores much food for herself in the harvest.’20 3. And again he says: ‘Go to the bee, learning the manner of her labour; for she labours working in wisdom, and food is brought forth for rich and poor from her working. She is beloved and praised, and, though slight in strength, she honours wisdom and is commended. 4. How much longer, you malingerer, will you sleep, and when will you rise from your sleep? You shall sleep a little and doze a little, and sit around a little and lay your hand upon your breast a little, and poverty shall overtake you like somebody running, and want like an assiduous man. However, if you are not lazy, your goods will increase, Jer 10:2. Mt 10:5. Connolly (1929), 128, supported by Vööbus (1979b), 139, suggests that in the light of the comment below the citation is incomplete and should go on with ‘and do not enter the cities of the Samaritans.’ 18 This is clarified by CA; the nourishment is for the body so that the believer is kept alive. 19 The term ‘Lord’s affairs’ is translated following Connolly (1929) and Vööbus (1979b), 139, reading )twrM rather than )twMr, which would be hapax legomenon. Cf., however, Flemming in Achelis and Flemming (1904), 185, who reads )twMr and renders as ‘assembly.’ 20 Prov 6:6-8. 16 17

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and overflow like a fountain and, like a feeble runner, poverty shall be far away from you.’21 5. Thus, be working at all times, for idleness is a vice for which there is no cure. ‘If anyone among you will not work, he should not eat.’22 Indeed the Lord God also despises the workshy, for it is not possible for one who is workshy to be a believer.

the fourteenth chapter Concerning the time for the ordering of widows1 [3.1] Widows who are to be appointed: should2 be less than fifty years of age,3 who by reason of her age is far from the consideration of taking to herself a second husband 2. lest, having been appointed whilst young to the office of widow she does not remain a widow because of her youth and is married. Then she shall bring shame on the glory of widowhood, and give an account to God. First for having two husbands and secondly because, promising to God to remain a widow, and receiving as a widow, she did not continue in widowhood. 3. Should there be a young woman who has been with her husband a short time, and her husband die, or there be some other cause for separation, and she spends her time in on her own, the honour of widowhood shall be hers.4 She shall receive good things from God, being like the widow of Sarepta of Sidon, with whom rested the holy angel, the prophet of God.5 Or she shall be like Hannah, who received testimony as she praised the coming of Christ.6 She shall be honoured on account of her virtue, being honoured on earth by people and praised by God in heaven. Prov 6:8-11. 2 Thes 3:10. 1 Some of the later Syr. MSS have a more extensive title than this. 2 This sudden shift from plural to singular has caused editors to propose corrections. It may be the result, however, of the inclusion of a source of which the first words were the title. 3 Cf. 1 Tim 5:10 which stipulates the age as sixty. CA likewise has sixty, but we may agree with Schöllgen (1998), 153, that CA has corrected DA in order to return the text to the provisions of Scripture. 4 Perhaps this should be rendered ‘the honorarium of widowhood.’ This is the sense in which CA understands the underlying Greek timh/, which may have either meaning. It is in this sense that she may receive ‘good things from God.’ The passage is thus consistent with the statement following in 3.2 that younger widows should, even if not in an order of widows, receive support. 5 1 Kg 17:8-24. 6 Lk 2:36-38. 21 22

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[3.2] Widows who are young should not be appointed to the office of widows, but they should be assisted and supported, so that they do not desire out of need to marry a second time, which is damaging.7 2. For you know that she who has had one husband may lawfully take another, but after this she is a harlot.8 [3.2] On this account take care of those who are young that they may continue in chastity to God. So take care of them, bishop. 2. Be mindful of the poor, support them and feed them, [3.4] even though there may be those who are not widowers or widows yet are in need of help on account of want, sickness, the raising of children, and are in distress. It is incumbent upon you that you labour for all and take good care of all. 2. On this account those who give gifts do not give them to the widows by their own hands, but bring them to you, as you are well aware of those who are afflicted, and so that you, like a good steward, may distribute among them whatever has been given. For God knows by whom it is given, even though he be not present. 3. And when you are distributing you are to say the name of the donor, so that they may pray for him by name.9 4. For in all the Scriptures the Lord remembers the poor and commands concerning them, for you are to do good to all people, not discriminating between one and another. For the Lord says: ‘Give to all who ask.’10 Clearly this means to all in need, whether friend of foe, whether family member or stranger, whether unmarried or married.11 And again he adds through Isaiah: when he says: ‘Break your bread for the hungry and bring the poor man who has no shelter into your house, and cover any you see to be naked, and do not neglect anyone who is of your own flesh.’12 Thus in every way you should take good care of the poor. Cf. 1 Tim 5:11-12 There is general hostility to further marriage within early Christianity, stopping short of an outright ban. Thus note, among other sources, canon 19 of the Council of Ancyra, canon 3 of the Council of Neocaesarea, Vita Poycarpi. 14-16 and the anti-Montanist of Epiphanius Pan. 48. 9 In some ancient rites, including at least some Syrian rites, as is evidenced by Theodore of Mopsuestia Hom. catecheticae 15.43, intercessions for the living were made at the liturgy, closely connected to the offertory, through the reading of the diptychs. It may be that the announcement of the name of the donor at the distribution of the offering outside the liturgy reflects the same liturgical practice, insofar as those who have made the offering are thus commemorated. 10 Lk 6:30. 11 These two sentences are rendered from CA. Syr. is evidently corrupt and lacunose, breaking off after ‘gives command’ and picking up with ‘even if they are married’ but CA makes sense, and fits in with the remains of Syr., indicating that the original text is substantially preserved within CA. 12 Is 58:7. 7 8

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the fifteenth chapter The right manner in which widows should conduct themselves1 [3.5] Thus it behoves every widow to be gentle and peaceable and gentle. She should be without malice and without anger, not talkative, or loud,2 or garrulous3 or fond of strife. And should she see or hear anything detestable she should act as though she had not seen it or heard it. 2. For a widow should have no other concern except to pray for those who give and for the entire church. 3. And if anybody should ask her about anything she should not answer quickly, except concerning righteousness and faith in God; she should send those who wish to be instructed to the leader. They should give a single answer only to those who enquire, 4. concerning the destruction of idols and that there is but one God alone.4 But neither a widow nor a layman should speak with regard to punishment, and the rest,5 and the Kingdom of the name of Christ, and the divine plan, for when they speak without knowledge of doctrine they blaspheme the word. 5. For our Lord compared the word of his message to mustard;6 mustard is bitter and sharp 1

Again, some MSS have a more extensive title. Vööbus (1979b), 144, renders this word ‘glamorous.’ Perhaps a misprint for ‘clamorous.’ MSS of the E family extend the statement and have ‘not lifting up her voice when she speaks.’ 3 Schlarb (1995), 42, connects this concern with widows’ speaking to the prohibition below on teaching. It is possible that a traditional (dis)qualification list has been extended since, as is noted in the introduction, 4.c.3, the uniting redactor is concerned to extend the teaching authority of the bishop. CA extends the catalogue yet further. 4 Funk (1905) and Flemming in Achelis and Flemming (1904) follow Syriac MSS and place a full stop after ‘enquire’ and run this sentence on, connecting what is said about the destruction of idols and the oneness of God to what a widow is not to teach. The punctuation here is that of CA, as followed by Connolly (1929) and Vööbus (1979b) and supported by Schöllgen (1998), 162-163. Funk (1905), 188, whilst unwilling to emend the text, likewise suspects that CA has the correct understanding of the text. Syr. is defended by Schlarb (1995), 45-46, largely because she is mistrustful of the witness of CA. She further suggests that the unity of God with the eschatological result forms a miniature catechism. One must acknowledge some force in Schlarb’s argument, but may also suggest that the second sentence is a redactional addition which Syr. has taken as part of the original. 5 This word is not present in CA, and Vööbus (1979b), 144 n.8, surmises that it is added in Syr. Odae Salamonis 3.5 speaks of the rest, as does Odae Salamonis 16.12 of the rest of God at the end of creation. Cf. Also Joseph and Asenath 8.11: ‘Let her enter into the rest which you have prepared for your elect.’ The idea also appears in Acta Thomae 147. But, as Schöllgen (1998), 162 n. 146, points out, this Syrian background does not necessitate us seeing the word as an interpolation as the redactor is himself Syrian. 6 Mt 13:31 and par. 2

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for those who employ it if it is not prepared with skill. For this reason our Lord said in the Gospel to widows and to all the laity: ‘Do not cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample on them7 and turn against you and tear you up.’8 6. When the gentiles hear the word of God, but not spoken with clarity,9 as it should be, to build up for everlasting life, and particularly when a woman speaks of the incarnation10 and suffering of Christ, they shall sneer and scoff, rather than glorifying the word of the old woman,11 and she shall be subject to a harsh judgement for her sin. For the Lord says: ‘When words are many, sin is not absent.’12 [3.6] Thus it is neither fitting nor necessary that a woman should teach, in particular about the name of the Lord13 and the redemption of his passion. 2. For you women, and especially widows, are not appointed to teach but solely to pray and beseech the Lord God.14 For the teacher himself,15 when he sent us, the twelve, to instruct the people and the nations did not send with us the women disciples who were with us, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the daughter of James and Salome,16 to instruct or save the world. If it were necessary for women to teach our master would himself have commanded them to give instruction alongside us. 3. Thus the widow should know that she is the altar of God, and she should sit constantly at home, not 7 CA and some Syr. MSS add ‘with their feet.’ Although this variant is present in two MS traditions, the Syrian MSS are the later and less reliable MSS, and so the co-incidence may represent independent attempts to conform the citation to the text. 8 Mt 7:6. 9 The Greek fragment begins here. As it is both corrupt and lacunose some reference to Syr. is inevitable. 10 Cf. Syr.: ‘How our Lord clothed himself in a body.’ 11 So Greek, supported by CA. Syr. has ‘word of doctrine.’ 12 Prov 10:19. The citation is not in Syr. but is supplied from the Greek fragment. 13 So Greek. Syr. has ‘Christ.’ 14 Cf. the approach of K in which widows, whose function in kk is prophecy alongside prayer, are brought to fulfill in its stead the pastoral role among women which here is assigned to female deacons. As such this ministry is brought under tighter episcopal control. 15 So Greek. Cf. Syr.: ‘The Lord God, Jesus Christ, our teacher’. The title ‘teacher’ alone is surely correct given that K 22 and 26 likewise use this title alone, and indeed in a similar context, employing apostolic example to restrict the role of women and to regulate the church. 16 So Greek. Syr. has ‘the other Mary.’ Cf. also the list in CA which is further extended. Cf. also Testamentum Domini 1.16, where Mary, Martha and Salome are present with the apostles in a post-resurrection appearance. The instructions given them by Jesus, in a transitional section which is probably the work of the compiler of the document, imply a similar use of apostolic example to regulate and to restrict the roles and functions of women within the ministry of the church.

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wandering or going to the houses of the faithful to receive, for the altar of God does not wander or go anywhere, but is fixed in a single place.17 4. A widow, therefore, should not wander or go from house to house. Those who roam and who have no shame cannot be still even within their own houses. They are not widows, they are begging bags,18 and have no care other than being ready to receive. And because they are gossips, garrulous and complaining,19 they cause quarrels. They are bold and shameless. Those who are like this are unworthy of the one who called them.20 5. For in the assembly of rest on the Lord’s day such men and women do not gather or keep watch, but either go to sleep or chat about some other matter, so that others are taken captive by the wicked enemy, who does not allow them to be watchful in the Lord. And so they who go empty into the church emerge even emptier, since they have not heard the words of those who teach or those who read, unable to receive it with the ears of their hearts. 6. So they are like those indicated by Isaiah when he said: ‘Hearing shall you hear, and not understand, and seeing you shall see, and you will not see. For the heart of this people is grown fat, and their ears hear heavily, and their eyes are shut, so that they may not see with their eyes or hear with their ears.’21 [3.7] In the same way widows who are like this have the ears22 of their hearts stopped. They do not stay within their houses addressing the Lord but run about impatiently after gain, and do what the enemy would have them do through their chattering. 2. Such a widow is not in conformity to the altar of Christ, as it is written in the Gospel: ‘If two shall agree together and ask concerning anything it shall be given them. They may say to a mountain, “move yourself and fall into the sea” and so it shall be.’23 17 On widows as altars see 2.26.5 above and the accompanying note. The immobility of the altar is a new twist on the image. 18 Syr. has ‘blind’. Although the Greek fragment is lacunose at this point, the error can easily be explained as a misreading and the text restored through CA, especially since a pun is intended. The Greek word for widows, xh/ra, sounds like that for ‘begging bag’, ph/ra, a word which, in turn, was misread by the Syriac translator as pera/ (blind). 19 Lat. resumes here. 20 The Greek fragment concludes here. 21 Is 6:9-11. 22 So Syr. and CA. Lat. reads ‘eyes’. 23 Lat. misses out part of this citation. It is a combination of Mt 18:19 and 17:20 (or 21:21.)

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3. So we see that there are some widows who act improperly, begging for gain.24 They think of this as trade, and are greedy in receipt. And rather than doing good works, giving to the bishop for the support of strangers and the refreshment of those in distress, they let it out at bitter usury, caring only for mammon, for their God is their purse.25 Where their treasure is, there is also their heart. 4. For she who is in the habit of wandering around, running around to receive, gives no thought to any spiritual work but serves mammon, that is to say, money. She cannot please God, nor be faithful to her ministry through constant prayer and intercession, because her mind is taken up with many things, and notably with making money.26 5. So when she stands for prayer she thinks of where she might go to take some money, or that she has forgotten to tell her friend about something. So when she stands her mind is not on her prayer, but descends on whatever comes into her head. So the prayer of anyone such is not heard, because she quickly leaves off her prayer and her mind is distracted and she does not offer prayer to God with her whole heart, but wanders off with thoughts inspired by the enemy, which cannot save, her, and goes to talk with her friends. So she is unaware of the position which has been entrusted to her27 or of the dignity of her rank. 6. A widow who wishes to please God sits within her house and meditates night and day, offering prayer and intercession with purity of heart before the Lord. And she obtains whatever she asks, since her prayer is pure,28 and her mind is fixed on this alone. Her mind is not greedy, and set upon receiving, nor is her desire to spend large sums upon herself, nor does she desire with her eyes as she looks upon nothing thus, nor is her mind withdrawn, nor, because she does not wander or go about, does she hear wicked words, or pay attention to them. On these grounds, therefore, nothing prevents her prayer. 7. Such is her purity and tranquillity that they are apparent before God, and whatever she asks of God, her prayer is answered. For such a widow, one who seeks not after money, who does not love wealth, who is not greedy or 24 So Lat., though the clause is absent in Syr. and CA. Nonetheless, as Connolly (1929), 137, notes, the cause is probably original in view of the following sentences. 25 Syr. adds ‘and their belly.’ Given that this is neither in Lat. nor CA this is probably added to conform the citation to Phil 3:19. 26 There are many minor variations here between Syr. and Lat. CA indicates that Lat. is closer, and this has been followed here. 27 Syr. has ‘How she has believed.’ Although CA is wanting here, Lat. is certainly correct as Syr. can easily be ascribed to an error of translation. 28 ‘Since her prayer is pure’ is to be found neither in Syr. nor CA, and may therefore not be original.

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avaricious, but is constant in prayer, is meek, is undisturbed, is faithful and reverent, sits in her house 8. and works at her wool, so that she may provide for those in distress, or may make return for what she has received from them.29 She has in mind that widow to whom the Lord bears witness in the Gospel, who came and put into the treasury two small coins, namely mites.30 When our Lord and teacher, the tester of hearts, saw this he said to us: ‘My disciples: this impoverished widow has put in more alms than anyone. For everyone else has deposited from what was superfluous, whereas this one has laid up treasure for herself in heaven from all that she possessed.’31 [3.8] Widows, therefore, should be modest, submissive to the bishops and deacons, fearing the bishop as God, and holding him in reverence and respect. They should do nothing on their own authority, without the counsel or command of the bishop,32 nor desire to go to anyone to eat or drink, or to fast with anyone, or to accept anything from anybody, or to lay a hand on anyone with prayer,33 as we said above, without the advice of the bishop or deacons. Should she do anything which has not been commanded she should be corrected on account of her lack of discipline. 2. How, woman, do you know, from whom you are receiving, or from whose ministry you are feeding, or on whose account you are fasting, or on whom you are laying your hand? Do you not know that you will have to render an account to the Lord for each of these things on the day of judgement, since you have 29 On this entire paragraph Connolly (1929), 138, writes: ‘There is much divergence here between Syr. and Lat., which CA does not help to explain. Syr. is probably paraphrastic, while Lat. appears in places to be corrupt.’ The approach in rendering the paragraph has been to accept the reading of CA as decisive where it offers guidance, and secondly to prefer Lat. except where it is evidently corrupt. The result, of course, is nothing other than a paraphrase based on guesswork. 30 Syr. renders: ‘Two mites, which is one dinar.’ 31 Mk 12:41-44. The introduction ‘My disciples’ is not in any version of Scripture but is attested by Syr. and Lat. It is the work of a redactor, intent on constructing an apostolic fiction. 32 Syr. adds: ‘nor speak to anybody by way of response.’ This is in neither CA nor Lat. 33 References to the laying on of a hand are omitted by CA. We cannot be sure of the purpose of this handlaying; it is unlikely that, like the action of the bishop described at 2.18.7 above, its purpose its reconciliation, as much of the point of the discourse there is to bring reconciliation under the sole control of the bishop. Laying hands to dismiss catechumens (as at TA 19.1) is a possibility, for even though the redactor is attempting to limit the catechetical role of widows it is possible that this continues, However since handlaying is mentioned below in the context of visiting those who are sick this is the most probable purpose of the handlaying mentioned here. Laying hands on the sick is mentioned in the long ending of Mark and by Irenaeus at Haer. 2.32.4 and the practice is known to Origen since, at Hom. in Leviticum 2.4, he interprets the instruction of Jas 5:14 that the elders should pray over a sick person as laying on hands.

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had a part in all their deeds? 3. And yet, undisciplined widow, you see your fellow widows and your brothers laid low in sickness yet make no effort to visit your members, or to fast on their behalf or to pray for them, or to lay hands on them, but claim that you have not time, or feign illness, but are well prepared and hasty to visit those who are in sin, or put out of the synagogue, on account of their generous gifts. You who are so should be ashamed because you desire to know more, and know better, not only than men, but than the presbyters and the bishops. 4. Be aware, therefore, sisters, that you are being obedient to God when you give ear to the demands of those who are your pastors together with the deacons. And should you communicate with anyone at the bishop’s behest34 you are blameless before God. So it is for all brothers of the laity, if you obey the bishop and are submissive to him, since it is they who are to render an account for everybody. But if you are not obedient to the will of the bishops and deacons they will be set free from your offences, but you, men and women, shall render an account for whatever you have done of your own will. 5. It is right and proper that anyone who prays or communicates with anyone who has been expelled from the church should be reckoned together with him, for this leads to the undoing and destruction of souls. For anyone who is disobedient to the bishop is disobeying God in communicating with or praying with anyone expelled from the church, and is defiled along with him. And, moreover, he is not allowing that person to repent. For if nobody communicate with him he will repent and will weep, he will ask and pray to be received, repenting of what he has done, and will be saved. [3.9] As to whether a woman may baptize, or whether one should be baptized by a woman, we do not counsel this, since it is a transgression of the commandment and a great danger to her who baptizes as to the one baptized. 2. For were it lawful for a woman to be baptized our Lord and teacher would himself have been baptized by Mary his mother; he was, however, baptized by John just as others of the people. 3. Brothers and sisters, do not endanger yourselves by acting outside of the law of the Gospel. [3.10] However, as regards jealousy, or spite, or as to accusations and grumbling, or as regards disputes and mocking and idle speech, or as to contentiousness: already have we said to you that a Christian should have no truck with such things. It is improper that such things should even be named among widows. 2. But since he who is the author of evil has many wiles and devices he enters those who are not widows and glorifies himself in them; indeed there are those who say of themselves 34

Lat. breaks off here.

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that they are widows but do no deed deserving of the name, as it is not the name of widowhood which is rewarded by entry to the Kingdom but fidelity and good deeds. She who does good shall receive praise, and be received, but she who does evil, who works the work of the evil one, shall receive blame, and be cast out of the eternal Kingdom because she has abandoned the eternal, and desired and embraced what is temporal. 3. For we observe and we hear that there are widows who are envious of one another. 4. Yet when a fellow aged woman has been clothed, or has received anything from somebody, you, widow, if you are indeed a widow, should say: 5. ’Blessed be God who has brought relief to my aged companion’ when you see your sister relieved, and you should praise God. And afterwards you should say: ‘May his deed be received in truth’ with regard to the one who ministered, and ‘Remember him for good, O Lord, on the day of your retribution, and the bishop who has ministered before you and has managed the alms rightly; for my fellow aged woman was naked and is supplied, so add glory to him, and give him likewise a crown of glory in the day of the revelation of your coming.’35 6. Likewise the widow who has received charity should pray for him who has administered this service, concealing his name like a wise woman so that his righteousness may be with God rather than in human sight as he said in the Gospel: ‘When you undertake almsgiving do not let your right hand know what your left hand is doing.’36 Otherwise, should you pronounce and reveal the name of the donor in your prayer his name may be disclosed and reach the ear of a heathen,37 and the heathen, being a man of the left hand,38 would know it. 7. Otherwise one of the faithful might hear it, and go out and talk, (and it is improper that what occurs or what is spoken in church should emerge and be revealed. Anyone who goes out and speaks of them is being disobedient to God and becomes a traitor to the church.) But when you are praying for him, conceal his name, and so shall you, and the widows in acting in this manner, fulfil what has been written. For you are the holy altar of God, Jesus Christ. 35

There is some variation between CA and Syr. here about what is prayer and what is rubric. Syr. is rendered, as it is impossible to say which is correct, but the point should nonetheless be noted. 36 Mt 6:1. 37 Note that the prayer is said out loud. Origen De oratione 11.4 speaks of prayers being answered as the result of being heard by people competent to answer the prayer, such as a doctor who overhears the prayer of one who is sick, or a wealthy person overhearing the prayer of a poor person. A context is thus provided for the advice given here to conceal the name of the donor. 38 For an explanation of this term see 2.45.3 above and the note ad loc.

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8. Now indeed we hear that there are widows who do not conduct themselves in accordance with the commandment but care only that they may wander around and about begging.39 And she who has received alms from the Lord is without sense in revealing when asked the name of the donor. And she who hears it complains and blames the bishop who has made the dispensation, or the deacon,40 or him by whom the gift was originally given and says: ‘Do you not know that I was nearer to you than she, and in more distress than she?’ She does not know that this was done not by human will but in accordance with the command of God. 9. For if you speak up and say to him: ‘I was nearer to you than she, and you do not know that I was more naked than she’ you should know who it was who commanded that it be done this way, to be silent and not to blame the one who ministered. Rather you should go into your house and fall upon your face, giving thanks to God on behalf of your fellow widow, praying for the donor and for him who administered it, praying to the Lord that he would open to you likewise the door of his favour. And straightaway the Lord would hear your prayer, without malice, and would send you more mercy than your fellow widow, from whence you had no hope of receiving any ministry. And such a demonstration of your patience would be praised. 10. Or do you not know what is written in the Gospel: ‘When you are acting charitably, do not publicly sound a trumpet as do the hypocrites, so that they might be observed. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward.’41 11. If God has decreed that a ministry should be secretly administered, and he who administered it administered it thus, then why do you, who received it secretly, openly proclaim it? Or you, why do you question it? For not only are you complaining, and casting blame, like one who is no true widow, but even cursing like pagans. 12. Or have you not heard what the Scripture says, that everyone who blesses is blessed, and everyone who curses is cursed.42 And again, in the Gospel, he says: ‘Bless those who curse you.’43 And again he says: ‘When you enter a house say: “Peace be on this house.” And if the house be deserving of peace your peace shall come upon it, but if it is not deserving your peace shall return to you.’44 39 Literally ‘asking’, which may be interpreted as ‘asking questions.’ ‘Begging’ seems to be dictated by the context. 40 MSS of the E family read ‘or the presbyter.’ 41 Mt 6:2. 42 Num 24:9. 43 Lk 6:28. 44 Mt 10:13.

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[3.11] (Now if peace returns to those that send it, how much more shall a curse return upon those that put it forth without cause, if the one upon whom it was put does not deserve to receive a curse?) 2. Indeed, anyone who curses somebody else without cause is cursing himself, since it is written in Proverbs: ‘As birds, small and large, fly, so do undeserved curses return.’45 And again he says: ‘Those who send out curses are lacking in understanding.’46 3. The likeness of a bee is also applied to us as the Lord says: ‘Look to the bee, and learn how she labours. She undertakes her labours in wisdom, and food is brought forth from her work for rich and poor. She is beloved and praiseworthy, although she is slight in strength.’47 The bee is slight in strength because when she stings somebody she loses her sting, and so grows weak and rapidly dies. The same is true of us, the faithful, by similitude, for by whatever evil we do to another we harm ourselves. For ‘Whatever you would hate to be done to you, do not to another.’48 Since everyone who blesses is blessed in turn. 4. And so warn and rebuke those who are without discipline and exhort, encourage and assist those who act rightly. And widows should keep away from cursing, as they have been appointed for blessing. 6. And for this reason a bishop, a presbyter, a deacon or a widow should set forth no curse from their mouths, so that they should not inherit a curse, but a blessing. And your concern, bishop, should likewise be that no layman puts forth a curse from his mouth, for the care of all is committed to you.

the sixteenth chapter Concerning the appointment of deacons and deaconesses, and the right manner in which they should conduct their ministry, without mental idleness, and subject to regulation [3.12] So, bishop, appoint for yourself fellow-workers in almsgiving,1 assistants who may co-operate with you towards life. You are to choose and appoint deacons from all the people who are pleasing to Prov 26:2. Prov 10:18. 47 Prov 6:8. 48 Tob 4:15. 1 So Flemming in Achelis and Flemming (1904); Connolly (1929) alleges an error, stating that the proper translation is ‘in righteousness’ but, as Vööbus (1979b), 156, notes, either rendering of )twQYDz is possible, though in his translation he follows Connolly (1929). 45 46

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you, a man for the administration of the many things which are necessary, a woman however for the ministry of women, since there are houses where you can not send a deacon to the women because of the pagans but you can send a deaconess, 2. and in many other matters there is need for an office of deaconess. In the first instance it is required that when women go down into the waters that they should be anointed with the oil of anointing by deaconesses as they enter the waters.2 When there is no woman present, and particularly no deaconess, it is necessary that he who baptizes should himself anoint her who is being baptized. But if a woman is present, and particularly a deaconess, it is not right that a woman should be seen by a man.3 But anoint the head alone, with a laying on of a hand. As in ancient times the priests and kings of Israel were anointed so you should do the same, 3. anointing the head, with a laying on of a hand, of those who come to baptism, both men and women and subsequently, whether you yourself baptize or command deacons to baptize, or presbyters, a woman deaconess, as we said above, should anoint the women.4 But a man should pronounce over them the invocation of the divine names in the water. When she who has been baptized comes out of the waters a deaconess should receive her and instruct her and educate her so that the mark of baptism may be kept intact in chastity and holiness. 4. On this account we declare that the ministry of a woman, a deaconess,5 is particularly useful and important. Our Lord and Saviour also received ministry at the hands of women, Mary Magdalene, and6 Mary the

2 Some MSS of the E family add here: ‘It is necessary that they be anointed by a deaconess, and it is not right that the oil for anointing should be given to a woman, apart from the deaconess, to touch. For it is necessary for the priest who baptizes to anoint her who is being baptized.’ 3 MSS of the E family recast this, excluding the possibility that any woman other than a deaconess should have contact with the oil or undertake the anointing. 4 CA tidies this up, and clarifies that a male deacon anoints the head and that a woman deacon complete the anointing of the rest of the body. Vööbus (1979b). 157, n. 10 seems to make this determinative of the meaning here. However Schlarb (1995), 65, points out that the singular address here is to the bishop. The bishop is to anoint the head and subsequently, that is to say after anointing the head, a woman may anoint the bodies of other women (here the sentences have been repunctuated, removing a full-stop before ‘and subsequently.’) Schlarb links this to what she sees as the general strengthening of the position of the bishop. 5 Or, perhaps, ‘a woman deacon.’ 6 Lat. resumes here.

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daughter of James and mother of Joses,7 and the mother of the sons of Zebedee. You too have need of the ministry of a deaconess in many things, so that they may go into the homes of pagans, where you may not go, where there are believing women, that they may minister as necessary to those who are sick and bathe those beginning to recover from sickness.8 9[3.13] The deacons should be like the bishops in their actions, working yet harder than he, not receiving impure profit, diligent in their ministry. They should be numbered in proportion to the size of the church,10 so that they can be aware of all, and relieve all: older women who are infirm, brothers and sisters who are in sickness, ministering effectively in their proper service. A woman should be devoted to ministry among women, and a male deacon to ministry among men. He should be ready and willing to serve and minister at the command of the bishop; 2. each should know his own place and carefully fulfil it. And wherever he is sent to minister, or to speak to anybody about some matter, he should labour and toil. And you should be of one mind, and one purpose, as two bodies bearing a single soul.11 And know what your ministry is, 3. as the Lord God says in the Gospel: ‘Whoever wishes to be great among you should be your servant,12 and whoever wishes to be chief must be your slave, just as the Son of Man came not to receive service but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.’13 You deacons should act thus, if it falls to you in your ministry to lay down your life for your brothers. Do not doubt this.14 For our Lord and Saviour had no hesitation about ministering to us, as it is written in Isaiah: ‘To justify the 7 So Syr. Lat. may be read this way, or as ‘Mary the mother of James and Joseph.’ Cf. Mt 27:56. 8 Lat. adds ‘in baths’. The passage, however, is possibly corrupt. MSS of the E family have ‘anoint.’ It is possible that some kind of nursing was intended; K 21.2 entrusts this duty to a widow. 9 Lat. here has a subtitle: ‘What sort of person the deacon should be.’ 10 It is noteworthy that there is no restriction as to the number of deacons, as in K 20.1 and as occurred later in Rome. 11 So Lat. Syr. is equally probable, and preferred by Connolly (1929), 149: ‘One soul dwelling in two bodies.’ CA paraphrases, stating that they should minister o(moyu/xwj. 12 Syr. omits this first part of the citation. Flemming, in Achelis and Flemming (1904), 194, suggests through homoioteleuton. 13 Mt 20:26-28. 14 ‘Do not doubt this’ is absent in Syr. but present in Lat. and CA; the punctuation in Lat. is uncertain but CA reveals the proper significance of the phrase.

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righteous, performing well a service for many.’15 4. Therefore, if the Lord of heaven and earth performed a service for us, suffered and bore all things for us, how much more should we do the same for our brothers, since we are his followers and appointed to the place16 of Christ. For written in the Gospel you will find the manner in which our Lord put around himself a linen cloth and poured water into a basin, and washed our feet while we were seated at supper, and wiped them with the cloth.17 5. So he showed us brotherly love so that we in turn might do the same.18 Thus if the Lord should do this, you, deacons, should not hesitate to do the same for the weak and sick, since you are labourers in the truth and bear the likeness of Christ. 6. Minister therefore with love, without complaining or hesitating, which would be service as for human sake, and not for God, for which you will receive a reward, in accordance to your ministry, on the day of visitation.19 7. Thus it is required of you deacons to visit all in need, and to report to the bishop regarding any in distress. You shall be his life and his mind, with regard to all matters, labouring in obedience to him.

the seventeenth chapter That it is right for the bishop to take care of orphans who are left while young, and hand them over to be raised, and that there is condemnation for those who have, and are in no need, who are greedy and who take the gifts which have been given to the church for the orphans and for the poor [4.1] If any of the Christians’ children, boy or girl, be orphaned, it is good that any of the brothers who has no child should take the child as his own child. If anyone has a son, he should adopt a girl, so that in due time his son may take her as his wife, and his deeds may be completed in the ministry of God.1 2. Should anyone be unwilling to do this, seeking to please people, and ashamed of orphans as a result of Is 53:11. Since this is the reading both of Lat. and Syr. I am loath to make any alteration, but may nonetheless point out that the deacon is said to be the type of Christ at 2.26.5, and so to wonder whether tu/poj here has been misread as to/poj. 17 Jn 13:4-5. 18 Jn 13:14. 19 So Lat., supported by CA (e0n h(me/ra| e0piskoph~j u(mw~n.) Cf. 1 Pet 2:12. Syr. reads ‘day of judgement.’ 1 An allusion to Sir 7:25. 15 16

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their wealth, they have reached the stage at which they lose all their hoard:2 ‘whatever the saints have not eaten, the Assyrians shall eat, and their land shall be devoured by strangers before their very eyes.’3 [4.2] Thus, bishops, you should be careful about their upbringing, so that they lack nothing. 2. And when a girl wishes to marry, give her to one of the brothers. And when a boy is being raised4 he should learn a trade so that when he is of age he can receive a wage fitting to his trade, so that he may make the tools necessary for his trade, and no longer be a burden on the love which he has received without guile or partiality from the brothers. [4.3] Anyone who can assist himself without disturbing the place of the orphan, the stranger or the widow is truly blessed, as this is a gift from God. 2. But woe to those who have, yet falsely receive, or who are able to assist themselves but receive anyway.5 Anyone who receives will have to give an account to the Lord God regarding what they received on the day of judgement.6 3. If anyone receives on account of an orphaned childhood, or poverty in old age, or sickness or weakness or for bringing up a large number of children, he shall indeed be praised, considered as the altar of God and honoured of God, because he did not receive in vain since he diligently and frequently prayed for those who gave to him, as far as he was able,7 and this prayer he offered8 as his payment. These shall so be declared blessed by God in everlasting life. [4.4] Yet those who have, and yet receive under pretence, or otherwise are idle, and so receive rather than working as they should and assisting themselves and others, shall 2 Syr. is confused here, but CA and Lat. make the meaning clear. Although adoption was common in the Roman Empire among the upper classes, this was usually arranged between persons of similar social status to ensure heredity. Thus the adoption of a child from a lower social order would create social difficulties. Moreover, quite apart from the expense of raising the child this would raise issues of inheritance. Here, through the suggestion that the adopted child should marry into the family, inheritance is controlled less to keep property in a family as to keep it within the church. 3 The source of the first part of this citation is unknown, though Funk (1905), 218, notes a proximity to Jer 27:17. The second part of the citation is Is 1:7. 4 So Syr. Lat. reads ‘accipiens substantiam.’ Funk (1905), 220, suggests that this may result from a misunderstanding of bi/oj. 5 This phrase is absent in Syr. but supplied by Lat., with support from CA. 6 Cf. Hermas Mand. 2.5. Whereas Connolly (1929), lxxix, asserts that the redactor of DA was acquainted with the work of Hermas, this could be an example of the common use of traditional material. There is also an echo of D1.5. 7 So Lat. and CA. Syr. translates, through misunderstanding, ‘which is his strength.’ 8 ‘Prayer he offered’ is present in Syr. and CA, but not Lat. The overall sense of this passage, with its different corruptions in Lat. and Syr. is obtained from CA.

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give an account as they have reduced the place of the impoverished faithful. 2. Or anyone who has possessions and does not use them himself, nor helps others, is laying up perishable treasure for himself on earth. He is in the position of 9 the snake lying upon the treasure and is in danger of being reckoned alongside it.10 3. Whoever possesses, and yet receives in falsehood, is not trusting in God but in wicked mammon. On account of wealth he is keeping the word hypocritically and is fulfilled in unbelief. Anyone who is like this is in danger of being reckoned with the unbelievers in condemnation.11 4. But anyone who simply gives to all does well, and is innocent. Whoever receives on account of distress and uses what he receives sparingly12 receives well, and will be glorified13 by God in everlasting life.14

the eighteenth chapter An exhortation directed to bishops that they be carefully vigilant in not receiving gifts from those who are reprehensible for the nourishment of orphans, widows and the poor, even if they face destruction by hunger, and that they are guilty if they accept them: and that the prayers of the poor are not heard when they pray for such as these, if they are nourished by what is theirs. It is right that they should receive from those who are faithful and just, to nourish the poor and to redeem the prisoners and the oppressed. [4.5] Be constant, you bishops and deacons, in the ministry of the altar of Christ, that is to say the widows and the orphans, with all 9 ‘He is in the position of ’: so Syr. and CA. Cf. Lat. ‘is to be compared to’. There is also significant variation between the versions later in the sentence. Syr. is followed here, though CA does not assist, as it seems that the Latin translator has not understood the image. 10 The image may be a general folkloric reference but may refer more specifically to a parable about a farmer who finds a snake in his barn; the snake vomits up treasure and so the farmer does not kill it, although the snake eventually eats both his livestock and his family. It was discovered and published by Cumont (1905) and summarized in the course of a discussion by Holl (1907). The identification with DA was made by Holzhey, though Cumont suggests that it may be inspired equally by stories of springs guarded by serpents (citing Pausanius) or indeed the pearl guarded by a serpent in the Hymn of the pearl of the Acta Thomae. 11 ‘In condemnation’ is absent in Syr. 12 ‘Uses what he receives sparingly’: so Syr. Lat. is corrupt. 13 The Syr. word here, xBt$N, may mean ‘praised’, but Lat. clarifies the meaning. 14 So Lat. Syr. reads ‘in life and everlasting rest.’ This emphasis on the rest is typically Syrian, and may on this occasion be surmised to be an addition of the translator. CA offers no guidance.

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care, diligently endeavouring to find out with regard to gifts, the conduct of him who gives, or her who gives, for the support of, 2. we say again, the altar.1 When widows are nourished by the labour of righteousness2 they will offer a ministry which is holy and acceptable before Almighty God, through his beloved Son and his Holy Spirit. To him be glory and honour for ever and ever. 3. You should be working hard and diligently in ministering to the widows with a righteous mind, so that whatever they ask or request may speedily be given them, as they make their prayers. 4. But if there should be bishops who are uncaring, and inattentive to these matters, through respect of persons, or through impure profit, or through failure to make enquiry, the account that they shall give shall be no ordinary one. [4.6] For what they are receiving for ministry to orphans and widows is from the rich, who have men locked in prison, from the wicked who make poor provision for their slaves, or act with cruelty in their cities, or oppress the poor, 2. or from the impure, who abuse their bodies with wickedness, or from evildoers, or from fraudsters,3 or from lawless advocates, or from those who accuse falsely, or from hypocritical lawyers, 3. or from painters of pictures4 or from makers of idols, or from workers of gold or silver or bronze who steal, or from corrupt taxgatherers, or from those who watch the shows, or from those who alter weights, or from those who measure deceitfully, or from innkeepers who water (drinks), 4. or from soldiers who act lawlessly, from spies who obtain convictions, or from Roman authorities, who are defiled by wars and who have shed innocent blood without trial, and from pervertors of judgement who deal corruptly and deceitfully with the peasantry and all the poor in order to rob them, 5. or from idolaters, or from the unclean or from usurers and extortionists.5 6. Those who 1 Lat. is confused here due to breaking off in the middle of the construction and Syr. is followed. 2 Lat. breaks off here. 3 This reading is derived from CA r(a|diourgou/j, following Connolly (1929), 158. Syr. reads ‘subtract and lend’ in the majority of MSS (though ‘subtract and add’ is present in some), which Connolly suggests means ‘perhaps those who falsify accounts or other documents.’ Some of the E family read ‘subtract and lend at interest.’ It seems that the later scribes, removed from the Greek original, did not comprehend the reference. 4 Literally ‘painters of colours.’ Lagarde suggested that this is a mistranslation and that the original read ‘those who prepare medications.’ 5 The list of sinners and forbidden occupations may be compared to TA 16 on those who are not to be admitted as catechumens. The whole chapter, moreover, is closely paralleled by the conclusions of the ps-Athanasian Syntagma doctrinae and the Coptic version of Fides patrum. See the introduction, 2.d, for further details and argument.

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nourish widows6 from these will be found guilty when judged on the day of the Lord, since Scripture says: ‘Better a meal of herbs with love and compassion than the slaughter of fattened oxen with hatred.’7 7. Should a widow be nourished solely by bread from the labour of righteousness this will be plenty for her, but if much be given her from iniquity it will not be enough for her. 8. Moreover, if she is nourished from iniquity she will be unable to offer her ministry and her intercession before God in purity. Even if, being righteous, she prays for the wicked, her intercession for them will not be heard, but only that for herself, in that God tests their hearts in judgement and receives intercessions with discernment. 9. Yet if they pray for those who have sinned and repented their prayers will be heard. But when those who are in sin and are not repentant pray before God, not only are their prayers not heard, but their transgressions are brought to God’s memory. That those bishops who accept alms from the culpable are guilty.8 [4.7] And so, bishops, flee and shun such administrations as these. For it is written: ‘The price of a dog or the wages of a prostitute shall not go up upon the altar of the Lord.’9 2. For if, through your blindness, widows are praying for fornicators and for those who transgress the law and are not being heard as their requests are not granted, you will be bringing blasphemy upon the word as the result of your wicked management, as though God were not good and generous. 3. Thus you should be very careful that you do not minister the altar of God from the ministrations of those who transgress the law. You have no excuse in saying ‘We do not know’, as you have heard what Scripture says: ‘Shun any wicked man and you shall not be afraid; and trembling shall not approach you.’10 [4.8] And if you say: ‘These are the only people who give alms; and if we do not accept from them, from what shall we minister to the orphans and the widows and those in distress?’ God says to you: ‘On this account you received the gifts of the Levites, the firstfruits and the offerings of your people, that you might be nourished and, having more than this, that you should 6

CA reads ‘widows and orphans.’

Prov 15:17. This is quite possibly a marginal note which has crept into the text. Elsewhere in the MSS we find similar marginal notes, which in some cases have found their way into the texts of these MSS. 9 Dt 23:18. The original, in all versions, speaks not of going onto the altar but of entering a house. 10 Is 54:14. 7 8

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not be obliged to accept from wicked people. 2. But if the churches are so poor that those in need should be nourished by people like this, it is better that you be laid waste by hunger than receive from those who are wicked. 3. Thus you should be making investigation and examination so that you receive from the faithful, those who are in communion with the church, and conduct themselves properly, in order to nourish those who are in distress, and do not receive from those who have been expelled from the church until they are worthy of becoming members of the church. 4. If, however, you are in want, speak to the brothers so that they may labour together and give, so supplying out of righteousness. [4.9] You should be teaching your people, saying what is written: ‘Honour the Lord from your just labour and from the first of all your harvests.’11 2. And so from the just labour of the faithful shall you clothe and nourish those who are in want. And, as we said above, distribute from what is given by them for ransoming the faithful, for the redemption of slaves, captives and prisoners, and those treated with violence, and those condemned by the mob, and those condemned to fight with beasts, or to the mines, or to exile, or condemned to the games, and to those in distress. And the deacons should go in to those who are constrained, and visit every one of them, and distribute to them with whatever each is lacking. [4.10] But if ever you should be obliged to accept, against your will, some coins from somebody who is wicked, do not spend them on food but, if a small amount, spend it on firewood for yourselves and for the widows, so that a widow should not receive them and be obliged to buy food for herself with them. 2. And so the widows shall not be defiled with evil when they pray and receive from God the good things for which they ask and which they seek, whether all together or individually, and you will not be bound by these sins.

the nineteenth chapter An exhortation to the bishops that they should care for those who are persecuted or imprisoned on account of the name of Christ. They are to visit them, but are to stay away from anyone who is imprisoned and punished by judges on account of wrongdoing or who is accused of wickedness. And a further exhortation to all Christians that they should suffer together with 11

Prov 3:9.

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those who suffer for the sake of Christ and that they should not deny or abandon them out of fear. And whoever denies them is denying his own Christianity, and Christ. And he should pray that he enter not into temptation. [5.1] Should a Christian be condemned to the games, or to the beasts, or to the mines on account of the name of God and for his faith and his love, you are not to turn your face from him but shall send to him for his nourishment and payment for the soldiers guarding him from your labour and from the sweat of your brow, so that your blessed brother be relieved, receive attention, and be not entirely afflicted.1 2. Anyone who has been condemned for the sake of the name of the Lord God should be considered a holy martyr, an angel of God, or indeed God himself upon earth, one who is spiritually clothed in the Holy Spirit of God. Through him you may look upon the Lord our Saviour, as he has been found worthy of the crown that shall not be corrupted, and renews again the witness of the passion. 3. For this reason all you faithful are obliged carefully to minister and, through the bishop, to refresh those who are bearing witness2 from your possessions. 4. And anybody who has nothing should fast, giving to his brothers something of what he would have spent on that day.3 Yet if you are rich you are obliged to minister to them to the extent of your ability even to 1 Although a basic food ration might be provided to prisoners, it was far better should the prisoner be fed by friends or relatives, and this was common practice. Thus the Theodosian code (9.3.7) provides that prisoners should be fed should they not otherwise have food, but the general ration was only enough to sustain life, as may be illustrated from the comments of Lucianus the confessor, apud Cyprian Ep. 22, which states that even before the starvation to which the confessors had been condemned they had previously received only a small portion of bread for food, and the Passio Montani et Lucii 6 which refers to illness brought on by prison rations and 9, where the martyrs state that they had not actually been fed, but that Lucian was able to bring them (eucharistic?) ‘food which does not fail.’ Similarly, although prison guards received a stipend, it was common enough practice to bribe them in order to obtain preferential treatment. So Lucian Toxaris 31 describes the support provided by Demetrius to his imprisoned friend Antiphilus, by which Demetrius would earn money in order to bribe the guards, so obtaining better treatment for his friend, and in order to feed him, and in Passio Perpetuae 3 Tertius and Pomponius, deacons, are able to obtain some relief for the prisoners through remunerating the guards. Digesta 48.3.8 is an attempt to legislate against such practice. 2 Perhaps ‘being martyred’, though CA does not confirm this reading since it simply reads toi~j a(gi/oij. 3 A not uncommon idea. So note Aristides Apol. 15; Hermas Sim. 5.3.7.

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the extent of giving all you have to redeem them from bondage. For these are they who are worthy of God, and the sons who fulfil his will, as the Lord says: ‘Everyone who confesses me before people will I confess before my father.’4 5. And you shall not be ashamed to go into them where they are imprisoned; and when you do these things you shall inherit eternal life as you participate in their witness. 6. For we may learn how the Lord speaks in the Gospel: ‘”Come before me all you who are blessed by my father: inherit the kingdom prepared for you before the foundation of the world, since you fed me when I was hungry, and gave me drink when I was thirsty. You gathered me in when I was a stranger and you covered me when I was naked. You visited me when I was sick and you came to me when I was imprisoned.” 7. Then the righteous will answer and say: “Our Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and fed you, or thirsty and gave you a drink, or naked and covered you, or sick and visited you, or a stranger and gathered you in or imprisoned and came to you?” 8. And he shall answer and say to them: “All that you did to one of these who are insignificant and lowly you did to me.” And then they shall go to eternal life.’5 [5.2] But should there be somebody who is called a Christian who is led astray and tempted by Satan and is guilty of wicked deeds, or is condemned for wicked deeds, whether of theft or murder, you should stay well away from him or anyone like him lest any of you be put to trial by one of those who have imprisoned him. 2. For should anyone take you and question you and say to you: ‘Are you, like this man, a Christian?’ you would be unable to deny it, but confess. However, you will not be condemned as a Christian but punished as a malefactor. Indeed he asks you whether you are ‘like this man’, and so your confession is evacuated, whereas if you deny you have also denied the Lord. For this reason stay away from them, so that you may not give offence. 3. You are to assist with great care and extensive effort, as your own limbs, any of the faithful who is unjustly and violently taken, imprisoned or even bound as an evildoer, to deliver them from the hands of the wicked. 4. And if anyone visits them and is taken together with them and be afflicted for no fault but for the sake of his brother he is blessed in being called a Christian, since he has confessed the Lord and shall live before God. And if anybody visits those who are bound for the name of the Lord and is taken with them he shall indeed be blessed, 4 5

Mt 10:32. Mt 25:34-40.

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being found worthy of such company. [5.3] Also you are to receive and refresh those who are persecuted for the faith and move ‘from town to town’6 as the Lord commanded, receiving them with gladness that you are made to share in their persecution. 2. For our Lord spoke of them in the Gospel thus: ‘You are blessed when they persecute you and scorn you on account of my name.’7 3. For when a Christian is persecuted, and bears witness and is killed on account of the faith he becomes a man of God, and can be persecuted no more by anyone, as he is recognized by the Lord. [5.4] If, however, he denies, and says that he is not a Christian he shall be called a stumbling block and, not being persecuted by people, shall be cast off by God on account of his denial, and no more shall he receive any part with the saints in the eternal kingdom promised by the Lord but shall be placed with the ungodly. 2. For the Lord God has said: ‘When I come in power and glory to judge the dead and the living I will be ashamed of, and deny before my Father in heaven, anyone who denies me or my words before the world or who denies me.’8 3. And again you will find it written: ‘Anyone who loves a father or a mother more than me is not worthy of me. And anyone who loves a son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And anyone who does not take up a cross with glad rejoicing to come after me is not worthy of me. And everyone who loses his life for my sake shall find it; and anyone who saves his life by means of denial shall lose it. For what does a person gain if, obtaining the whole world, he loses his life? Or what should he give in exchange for his life?’9 4. And again, ‘Do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and cannot kill the soul; rather fear especially me, I who can destroy both body and soul in Gehenna.’10 [5.5] Thus everybody who learns a trade watches his master, observing how, by means of his skill and knowledge, he performs the task of his trade. And likewise he imitates him, performing the task set for him, so that he may hear nothing bad from him. And if he fails in anything set for him he is not perfect. 2. Why then do we not copy our Lord, who is master and instructor for us, in what he teaches and in what he does? 3. For he came in poverty, having left behind riches and Mt 10:23. Mt 5:11. 8 Lk 9:26. The citation has been influenced by the credal confession of the community, a glimpse of which may be gained from the end of the work (6.23.8). 9 Mt 10:37-39. 10 Mt 10:28. 6 7

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splendour and honour and glory. And, moreover, he withdrew himself from his blessed mother Mary, and also from his brothers, and from himself, and endured persecution, even to the cross. He endured on our behalf, on behalf of those of us from the people, to redeem us from the bonds of the secondary (legislation),11 of which we have already spoken, and also you who are of the gentiles, to redeem you from fear of idols, from all evil, and so that you might inherit. 4. If so he suffered for our sake, to redeem us who believe in him, and shrank not from the task, why do we not imitate his suffering, while he gives the endurance? And this is for our own sake, to be saved from a fiery death. 6. For whereas he endured on our behalf, we suffer on our own behalf. Why should our Lord need us to suffer on his behalf, except only that we may prove the love of our faith, and of our freewill. [5.6] Thus we may take leave of our parents, of our family and from that is worldly, and even from our own lives. 2. We should be praying that we do not enter into testing. Yet if we are called to martyrdom we should confess when we are interrogated, and be patient while we are suffering, and rejoice while we are afflicted, 3. and be not distressed while we are persecuted. 4. Not only shall we save ourselves from Gehenna when we act thus, but shall teach those who are young in the faith and the catechumens to do the same. And they shall live before the Lord. 5. If however we come short in faith in the Lord, and deny on account of the weakness of the body, as our Lord said, ‘The spirit is willing and ready but the body is weak’,12 not only do we destroy our own selves but kill our brothers together with ourselves, 6. for when they observe our denial they will think that they have been instructed in a teaching of error, and when they are caused to stumble, on the day of judgement 11 Syr. actually reads ‘of the house of trees’, which is clearly corrupt. As Connolly (1929) and Vööbus (1979b), 172 n.51, alike observe we would anticipate a mention of the secondary legislation, but there is no obvious basis on which the corruption came about. The translation offered here is derived from the suggestion of Flemming in Achelis and Flemming (1904), 201, who, whilst noting a number of unlikely emendations, suggests that (NLY) tYBd (house of trees) should be emended to )NYNtBd, which would mean ‘which are from the secondary’ (the word ‘legislation’ having dropped out.) The paragraph may readily be observed as an intervention from the deuterotic redactor. Connolly (1929), 164, however, finds this unlikely and is particularly troubled by the absence of the word ‘legislation.’ If, however, this word dropped out first, then the corruption might the more readily come about. The word has, moreover, dropped out from the phrase in Syr. at 6.18.3 where Lat. is extant and confirms its inclusion. 12 Mt 26:41.

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we shall be giving an account to the Lord on their behalf as well as our own. 7. Yet if you are taken and brought before the authorities and deny your hope in the Lord and your holy faith, being set free that day, and the following day however should fall ill with a fever and take to bed, or your stomach give you pain and not hold down food but return it with severe pain, or you be afflicted with pains in the belly, or pain in one of your limbs, or you bring up blood and bile from within you, with severe pain, or you have an ulcer on one of your limbs and are cut by the physicians, and you die in distress and great agony, then what good will your denial do you, who denied, since your soul’s inheritance is pain and affliction and you have destroyed your life of eternity before God, to burn and be tortured endlessly and for ever. As the Lord said: ‘Everyone who loves his life shall lose it, and everyone who loses his life for my sake shall find it.’13 8. Thus, should a Christian deny out of love for the short-lived life of this world, so that he may not die for the name of the Lord God, he has destroyed his very self for ever in the fire, for he has fallen into Gehenna, for Christ, as he said in his Gospel, has denied him: ‘I shall deny before my father who is in heaven all who deny me in human sight.’14 They put forth any whom the Lord has denied, casting them into outer darkness, and there is wailing and gnashing of teeth. As he said: ‘Whoever loves his life more than me is not worthy of me.’15 9. We should therefore he diligent in committing our lives to the Lord God. Should any find themselves worthy of martyrdom they should accept it with joy that they are found worthy of so great a crown and are quitting this world through martyrdom. For our Lord and Saviour has said that no disciple is greater than his master, but that everyone should be perfected like his master. So, as our Lord suffered all this willingly for our salvation, accepting beating, and that people should spit in his face, and drinking vinegar and gall, and at the last consenting to be hanged upon a cross, 10. so we, his disciples, should also be his imitators. For if he bore and suffered all this on our behalf, suffering to the end, how much more should we, for our own sakes, be patient in affliction when we are suffering. And we should have no Mt 10:39. Mt 10:33. 15 Mt 10:37. 13 14

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doubt, for so he has counselled us, even should we be burned in coals of fire,16 whilst yet we believe in our Lord Jesus Christ, and in God, his Father, the Lord Almighty God, and in his Holy Spirit, to whom be glory and honour for ever and ever. Amen.17

the twentieth chapter Concerning the resurrection of the dead, teaching us not only from the holy Scriptures but also by means of proofs from the books of the pagans and furthermore by proofs of nature that we should be careful, being believers who have a true hope of resurrection, not to avoid martyrdom on behalf of Christ if we are so called. [5.7] God the Father Almighty raises us by means of God our Saviour, as he promised. We are raised, however, from the dead as we are, in the form in which we presently are, yet with the great glory of life everlasting in which there is nothing lacking to us. 2. For even if we are thrown into the depths of the sea, or scattered among the winds like chaff, we are yet within the world and the whole world is itself laid beneath the hand of God.1 Thus it is from within his hand that he will raise us up, as the Lord our Saviour said: ‘Not a hair from your head shall perish, but you shall own your lives in your patience.’2 16 Flemming in Achelis and Flemming (1904), 202, suggests that something has dropped out here. CA reads ‘even though we should be burnt by people yet we shall not be dissuaded . . .’ and goes on to employ the example of Ananias Azarias and Mizael in the furnace. Whereas the exemplum may be the supplement of the redactor of CA it is possible that it preserves the verb which has been lost from Syr. 17 Connolly (1929), 167, comments that this doxology is effectively a parenthesis, and that the beginning of the next chapter is the apodosis to the sentence with which this chapter concludes. Thus the chapter heading would appear to interrupt a sentence. Whereas the doxology may have been introduced only once the chapter division had been introduced, there is another possibility, namely that this is the conclusion of the large block of material on bishops which began with the fourth chapter (2.1), and the catechetical manual, material from which was in the opening chapters of DA, is picked up, once more, in the next chapter. Thus it is possible that the doxology might originally have marked the conclusion of the book, and that it has therefore been retained, but recast. The sentence is restructured so that the next subject follows on, whereas originally it had followed on from the end of the third chapter (1.10.4). The mention of resurrection would not be out of place in the context of the end of chapter three, which makes mention of the Kingdom of God and of the refrigerium, but not of the resurrection which is to follow. 1 Note the discussion of the issue of how those who are dismembered may be resurrected in Athenagoras De Resurrectione 4-8. 2 Lk 21:18-19.

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The Lord spoke thus about the resurrection and about the glory of martyrs in Daniel: ‘Many who are sleeping in the breadth of the earth shall rise on that day, some to eternal life and some to scorn and shame and scattering. And those of understanding shall shine like the lights of the heaven, and those who are strengthened by the word like the stars of the heaven.’3 4. Like the sun and like the moon, the lights of heaven, is the glorious light which he has promised to give to the understanding, those who confess his holy name and bear witness. He has promised resurrection, moreover, not only to martyrs but to all people. 5. For he speaks in Ezekiel thus: ‘The hand of the Lord was upon me and the Lord brought me out in the way4 and put me down within a valley. And it was full of bones. He made me go among them, and there were a great many, and they were very dry. And he said to me: “Mortal man, are these bones alive?” And I said, “You know, Lord Adonai.” And he said to me: “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them: ‘Hear the word of the Lord, you dry bones. Thus says the Lord Adonai to these bones: “I will make the spirit enter you and you shall live. I shall put sinews on you, and build flesh onto you and clothe you with skin. And will make the spirit enter you and you shall know that it is I who am the Lord.”’” And I prophesied to them as he said to me. And while I was prophesying there was sound and movement and the bones drew themselves together, bone to bone. And I saw that sinews and flesh came upon them, and skin was stretched on them from above, and there was no spirit in them. And the Lord said to me: “Prophesy to the spirit and say: ‘Thus says the Lord Adonai: “Come, spirit, from the four winds and enter these who are dead, and they shall live.”’” And I prophesied as he said to me. And the spirit entered them, and they lived, and they stood on their feet as a mighty army. And the Lord said to me: “Mortal man, these bones are those of the house of Israel who say: ‘We are dried up, and our hope is departed and we are no more.’ Thus says the Lord Adonai: ‘My people, see, I am opening your graves and shall take you out from there, and bring you to the land of Israel. And you shall know that it is I who am the Lord when I open your graves and bring my people from the graves. And I shall place my spirit within you and you shall live, and I shall cause you to dwell in your land. And you shall know that it is I, the Lord, who Dan 12:2-3. Since every other witness has ‘in the spirit’ Connolly (1929), 168 and Vööbus (1979b), 176, suggest that this is a copyist’s error, )Xrw)B being written for )XwrB. 3 4

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have spoken and acted. And all who dwell upon the earth shall be silent, says the Lord.’”’5 6. Again he says, through Isaiah:6 ‘All who sleep and are dead shall rise, and all in the graves shall awake, because your dew is dew of healing to them. But the land of the wicked shall perish.’7 7. And much else is said by Isaiah and by the other prophets concerning the resurrection, and everlasting life in the glory of the righteous, and likewise concerning the wicked, their shame and their ruination, and concerning their undoing and their condemnation. 8. For what is said: ‘Yet the land of the wicked shall perish’ is said of their body, as it is of the earth and is reckoned with the earth in dishonour. Because they did not serve God they shall fall into fire and torture. 9. In the twelve prophets he speaks thus: ‘Look, you wicked, and observe, and see wonders, and turn back to corruption. For in your days I am doing a deed which you would not believe if anyone told you of it.’8 10. These things, and many more than these, are said of the unfaithful who have no faith in the resurrection, and concerning those who deny and do not serve God, and about the transgressors and of the pagans, for they shall see the glory of the faithful and shall be turned back into fire to perish, as they did not believe. 11. Yet we have learned to believe from our Lord’s resurrection from the dead that our resurrection is secure for us, as God, who does not lie, has promised it to us. 12. For our Saviour himself is the pledge of our resurrection, as he rose first. And you who are called from among the gentiles, even the pagans,9 read and hear of the resurrection from what is said and proclaimed to them by the Sibyl thus: 13. ‘When all things are made dust and ashes the indestructible10 God shall damp down the fire which he himself lit. God himself shall re-form people from bones and ashes. Mortals11 shall stand as they were before, and then shall there 5 Ez 37:1-14. There is, however, some confusion here as this last phrase is from the citation of Isaiah which follows. The beginning of Lat., ‘says the Lord’, may be the end of the Ezekiel citation, and the introduction to Isaiah slightly altered by the Syriac translator. 6 Lat. resumes here. 7 Is 26:18-19. 8 Hab 1:5. 9 ‘Even the pagans’ is not found in Lat. CA provides no guidance. 10 So CA; Lat. has immortalis which could represent the same word, a1fqitoj, whereas Syr. has ‘Almighty.’ 11 So CA. Syr. reads ‘people’ and Lat. reads: ‘They shall stand as they were before, immortal . . .’ Possibly a Latin scribe has failed to understand the sentence and corrected mortales to immortales.

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be the judgement as God judges, judging in the world to come. And the earth shall cover once again the sinner and the ungodly, and those who acted righteously shall live again in the world, as God gives them spirit and grace and life, and they shall all see one another.’12 14. Dear brothers, not only by the Sibyl is the resurrection proclaimed and made manifest, but also through the holy Scriptures does our Lord announce in advance to Jews and pagans and Christians alike the resurrection from the dead which is to come about for people, 15. for also through a dumb animal has God given us a clear demonstration of the resurrection, namely by the phoenix, which is unique. 16. Indeed, if he had a mate, or if there were many of them, then many would be visible to people, like a dream,13 but now it is seen when it appears, as it is one alone, 17. but once every five hundred years, as it comes to Egypt to the place which is called the altar of the sun, carrying cinnamon. And as he prays towards the east he bursts spontaneously into flames, is burned up and turns to ash. A worm emerges from the ash, and this ash grows and is formed and again becomes a perfect phoenix. And then he departs and goes off whence he had come.14 [Proof of the resurrection from natural arguments also.] 18. If God demonstrates the resurrection for us by means of the type of a dumb animal, then we who believe in the resurrection and in God’s promise should rejoice all the more, as those found worthy of such glory and of wearing an incorruptible crown in everlasting life, 19. if the great gift and honour of the glory of God, martyrdom, should come to us, accepting it freely and joyfully with faith in the Lord God who will raise us up glorious in his light. 20 As in the beginning God gave the command and made the world by his word, as he said: ‘Let there be light’,15 and day, night, sky, earth, sea, birds, fish, creeping things, four-legged things and trees, everything which was made and established in its nature by his word, as Scripture shows, these all, through their obedience, bear witness to God who This is a fairly loose citation from Oracula Sibyllina 4; these oracles were attributed to the pagan oracle called the sibyl, but are chiefly forgeries from Jewish and Christian hands. 13 The phrases ‘or if there were many of them’ and ‘like a dream’ are not found in Syr.; it is hard to see the rationale behind their appearance, which may be the reason for their omission. CA lends no assistance here. 14 The phoenix is used as a proof of the resurrection by, among others, 1 Clem. 2526, Tertullian De resurrectione. 13 and, interestingly in view of its catechetical setting, Cyril of Jerusalem Hom. catecheticae 18.8. 15 Gen 1:3. 12

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made them, showing forth that they were made of nothing, as well as signs of the resurrection. As he made all things, so will he give life to humanity, raising it up, as it is of his own formation. 21. For if he made the world from what was not he will more readily give life to a person and raise one up from that which is, as he himself formed him, just as he causes a seed to grow and forms it into a person in the womb.16 22. If, then, he raises up all people, as he says through Isaiah: ‘All flesh shall see the salvation of God’,17 how much more shall he save and revive those who were faithful to him. 23. And how much the more again will he raise up the most faithful of the faithful, the martyrs, establishing them in great glory and taking them as his counsellors. To those who are simply his faithful disciples he has promised glory like that of the stars, but to the martyrs he has promised that for all time they may shine like the unfailing lights which shine in everlasting glory. 24. As faithful disciples of Christ, therefore, let us believe that we shall receive all the good things from him which he has promised us in everlasting life, and so let us imitate his teaching and his patience. 25. Concerning his birth, which was from a virgin, and his coming and his voluntary passion we are convinced by the divine Scriptures, as the prophets announced beforehand everything concerning his coming, by which we are convinced, and our hearts strengthened, as even the demons extolled his coming even as they trembled at his name.18 26. You are thus already convinced concerning what has already happened, of which we have spoken already, but we are more so, having seen him and spoken with him19 and eaten with him and having been associates and witnesses of his coming.20 And so we have faith as we hope in what is to be, to receive his great and indescribable gifts in accordance with his promises. 27. All our faith is put to the test of believing that all his promises are true. And if we are called to martyrdom for his name we shall depart this world to be found innocent, cleansed from every offence and every sin, 16 Vööbus (1979b), 181, observes that Aphraahat employs the same argument at Dem. 8.6, likewise on the resurrection. We may well be dealing with a commonplace within the Syrian catechetical tradition. 17 Is 40:5. 18 For the demons trembling cf. Jas 2:19. Funk (1905), 260, notes a degree of parallelism between this kerygmatic passage and words attributed by Clement of Alexandria Strom. 6.15 to the Predicatio Petri. However there is not a great deal of verbal parallelism and the common content may readily be attributed to a common kerygmatic pattern embracing the proof from prophecy. 19 Syr. has ‘seen him with our eyes’ and omits ‘spoken with him’. 20 Cf. 1 Jn 1:1; Act 10:41.

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as he said in David concerning the martyrs thus: ‘Blessed is the one whose iniquity is forgiven21 and whose sins are covered over. Blessed is the one to whom the Lord does not impute his sins.’22 [5.8] Thus the martyrs are blessed and cleansed from all offences, for they have been lifted up and carried off from all iniquity. So he said in Isaiah with regard to Christ and his martyrs: ‘Look the righteous one is perished and there is nobody of understanding. Holy people are taken away, and none lays it to their heart. For the righteous is gathered far from the presence of evil and his burial shall be in peace.’23 [5.9] Now these things are said of those who bear witness to the name of Christ. The sins of those who are of the gentiles are remitted from those who approach and enter the holy church of God through baptism. 2. Also we should enquire concerning those to whom no sin is imputed. Such are Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the patriarchs, and the martyrs also. 3. So let us pay attention, brothers, for Scripture speaks: ‘Who shall boast and say “I am free of sin.”? Or who shall state assuredly “I am absolved.”?’24 And again: ‘There is nobody who is pure of pollution, even if his life be but a single day.’25 4. The former sins of any who believes and is baptized are forgiven, 5. as they are after baptism, provided26 that he has committed no deadly sin, or been party thereto, and is convicted of sin simply through looking or hearing or speaking. 6. But anybody who departs the world through martyrdom for the sake of the name of the Lord is blessed. For the sins of those who depart from this world are covered over.

the twenty-first chapter Concerning the Pascha and the resurrection of our Saviour1 [5.10] For this reason it is required that all Christians should keep themselves from idle speech and from words of frivolity and impurity. 21

Lat. breaks off here. Ps 31:1-2. 23 Is 57:1-2. 24 Prov 20:9. 25 Job 14:4-5. 26 This is the reading of one MS only; the others, however, which simply read ‘not’, make no sense. The corruption of )L nLP) to )LP) is easy to explain. 1 There is great variety in the title among the manuscripts. This is the title of two. One has ‘Concerning festivals’. Another group adds to the above: ‘Thus we should preserve 22

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Even on a Sunday, which is a day of rejoicing and pleasure for us, nobody is permitted to speak a word of frivolity, alien to the fear of God. For so our Lord teaches us in the Psalm through David, saying thus: ‘Understand, you kings, and be instructed, you who are judges on earth: serve the Lord in fear, and rejoice in him with trembling. Be careful and disciplined, lest the Lord be angry and you perish from the way of justice as in a little while will his anger be kindled against you. Blessed are all they who put their trust in him.’2 2. Thus it is required that we should keep our festivals and rejoicings with reverence and fear, for it says that a faithful Christian should not join in the songs of the pagans nor go near the laws or teachings of alien gatherings, for it may occur that by means of the songs he will make mention of the names of idols, which should absolutely not be done by the faithful. [5.11] For the Lord, through Jeremiah, casts blame onto people saying thus: ‘They have departed from me and sworn by those who are not gods.’3 And again: ‘If Israel returns to me, let him return, says the Lord, and if he remove the abominations from his mouth, and tremble before my face and swear “as the Lord lives”.’4 2. And again he says: ‘I shall remove the name of idols from your mouth.’5 And through Moses he said again to them: ‘They have provoked me to jealousy through what is not god, and have enraged me with their idols.’6 And in all the Scriptures he speaks out against such things. [5.12] And not by idols alone is it unlawful for faithful people to swear, but also not by the sun and not by the moon. For the Lord God says this by Moses: ‘My people, if you would see the sun and the moon and not be led astray by them you would not serve them, for they have been given you for light upon the earth.’7 And again our souls from the doings of the pagans and concerning the holy feasts’ whereas others add: ‘Warning every Christian to keep his soul from all evil conduct and frivolity and from all evil and pagan doings. And concerning the holy fast. And concerning the passion of Our Lord and his crucifixion. And concerning the fourteenth of the Pascha of the Jews. And concerning the Friday of the passion and the sabbath of the Gospel and the first day of our Saviour’s resurrection. And concerning the mourning of the sabbath day of the people of the Jews and concerning the rejoicing of the people of the Christians.’ 2 Ps 2:10-12. 3 Jer 5:7. 4 Jer 6:1-2. 5 Hos 2:17. 6 Dt 32:21. 7 Dt 6:19. The text is complex here. It seems that the citation was defective in an early archetype and that later copies have made a correction. The corrected version is rendered here.

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he says, by Jeremiah: ‘You shall not learn by the ways of the gentiles, and you shall not fear the signs of heaven.’8 2. And he speaks thus by Ezekiel: ‘He brought me into the courtyard of the house of the Lord, between the porch and the altar and there I saw men who had turned their backs to the temple of the Lord and their faces towards the east, and they were worshipping the sun. And the Lord said to me: “Mortal man, is it a small thing to the house of Judah to do the abominations which they are doing here, filling the land with iniquity and returning to provoke me to anger? They are become scoffers, but I shall act in wrath and shall have no mercy. They shall cry out to my ears with a loud voice, but I shall not hear.”‘9 4. Observe, beloved, how strict is the sentence passed by the Lord in his rage on those who worship the sun or who swear by it. 5. Thus it is not lawful for any believer to swear by the sun, or by the other signs of the heavens, nor by the elements, not to utter the name of idols with his mouth, nor to issue a curse from his mouth, but rather blessings and psalms and the dominical and divine Scriptures, which are the certain foundation of our faith. And especially in the days of the Pascha, when all the faithful are fasting, throughout the whole world, 6. as our Lord and teacher said when they asked him ‘Why are the disciples of John fasting, yet yours are not fasting?’ In answer he said to them: ‘The sons of the bridechamber cannot fast while the bridegroom is with them. But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and in those days they shall fast.’10 He is with us now by means of his operation, but is remote from our sight since he has ascended to the heights of heaven and is seated at the right hand of his Father. [5.13] On this account you are to pray and intercede for them that are lost when you are fasting, as we also did when our Saviour was suffering.11 [5.14] For when he was with us still, before he suffered, when we were eating the Passover together with him, he said to us: ‘This day, this very night, one of you will betray me.’ And each one of us said to him: ‘My Lord, is it I?’ And he answered and said to us: ‘Whoever stretches out his hand into the dish together with me.’ 2. And Judas Iscariot, one of us, got up and went out to betray him.12 3. Then our Lord said to us: ‘Truly I say Jer 10:2. Ez 8:16-18. 10 Mk 2:18-20. 11 So Evangelium Petri 7. 12 There is a major excision of material in the MSS of the E family in this chapter. The excision begins here and runs to 5.17. 8 9

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to you, a little while yet and you will leave me since it is written: “I shall strike the shepherd and the lambs of his flock will be scattered.” 4. Then came Judas with the scribes and the priests of the people and delivered up the Lord Jesus.13 Now this was on the fourth day of the week; 5. for when we were eating the Pascha on the third day of the week in the evening, when we went out to the Mount of Olives, they seized our Lord Jesus at night. 6. And the next day was the fourth day, and he remained under guard at the house of Caiaphas the High Priest. And the same day the chiefs of the people gathered to take counsel against him. 7. And the next day, again, which was the fifth day, they brought him before Pilate the governor and again he remained under guard with Pilate, for the night of the fifth day of the week. 8. And when it was dawn on Friday they made serious accusations against him before Pilate, but they were unable to show anything that was true. Yet they gave false witness against him, and asked that he be executed by Pilate. 9. And they crucified him on the Friday. He suffered at the sixth hour on Friday. These hours in which our Lord suffered were reckoned as a day, 10. and then there was darkness for three hours, and this was reckoned a night. And again, there were three hours, from the ninth hour until evening, - a day, and afterwards the night of the sabbath of the passion. 11. Now in the Gospel of Matthew it is written thus:14 ‘On the evening of the sabbath as the first day of the week was dawning came Mary and the other Mary, Magdalene, to see the tomb.15 And there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down and rolled the stone away.’16 12. And so there was the day of the sabbath, and three hours of the night which were after the sabbath when our Lord was sleeping. 13. And what he had said was fulfilled, that the Son of Man should spend three days and three nights in the heart of the earth, as it is written in the Gospel. 13

This passage is a mosaic of synoptic and Johannine elements. Connolly (1929), 182, points out that this is the sole point in DA where there is reference to a New Testament text by name, and suggests, given that the citation interrupts the flow of the calculation, that this is a marginal note which has been included in the text. 15 Connolly (1929), 182, corrects this reading to ‘Mary Magdalene and the other Mary’, suggesting that the reading here is an error, but Vööbus (1979b), 190, defends the reading as appearing within the Syrian tradition. Note that, in conformity to 3.6.2 and 3.12.4 this chapter states immediately below that the appearance was to ‘Mary Magdalene and Mary the daughter of James.’ This second passage is the work of the apostolic redactor. 16 Mt 28:1-2. 14

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And again it is written in David: ‘Behold you have set up my days with a measure.’17 It was written thus because those days and nights were short ones.18 14. Thus at night, when the first day of the week was dawning, he appeared to Mary Magdalene and to Mary the daughter of James. And in the morning of the first day of the week he came to Levi, and then appeared to the rest of us.19 15. Then he said to us, when he was instructing us: ‘Is it for me that you are fasting during these days? Or do I have need that you should afflict yourselves?20 Rather, you are doing this on account of your brothers; moreover you should do the same on these days on which you are fasting, and always on the fourth day of the week and on the Friday, as it written in Zechariah: “The fast of the fourth and the fast of the fifth”21 (that is Friday), since it is not right that you should fast on the first day of the week, as this is my resurrection. 16. On this account the first day of the week is not taken into account in reckoning the days of the fast of the passion, but they are counted from the second day of the week, and make six days.22 Thus ‘The fast of the fourth and the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh and the fast of the tenth are for those of the house of Israel.’ 17. You should be fasting from the second day of the week six entire days, up to the night after the sabbath, and this shall be accounted to you as a week. 18. The tenth since the beginning of Ps 38:6. Whereas Aphraahat Dem. 12 likewise deals with the issue of how three days and three nights might be calculated, his method is a different one, as he starts at the Last Supper. Although the reasoning that the days are short ones may seem bizarre this may be understood, as Visotzky (1991), 168-171, points out, by reference to rabbinic thinking about what constitutes a day. In the same way partial days are allowed to constitute complete days in order to compute periods of days, as for instance in TB Niddah 33A (regarding the period of menstruation) TB Bekhoroth 20B on the age of a foetus and TB Nazir 5B-6A on the period of a Nazirite vow. 19 Connolly (1929), 183, suggests that the source of this narrative is Evangelium Petri 14. Funk (1905), 276, is, however, uncertain that this Levi is to be identified with Levi the son of Alphaeus who appears with the apostles who depart to Galilee at this point as this appearance is apparently in Jerusalem. He has a point as this appearance would appear to have taken place in the morning, which does not allow time to depart Jerusalem. Also puzzling is the privileged position given to this obscure figure. As Funk suggests, one might expect James to appear in this position (a tradition preserved by Jerome in De uiris illustris 2) but James is nowhere known as Levi. Is it possible that the name has been substituted for that of James under the influence of Evangelium Petri? 20 Cf. Is 58:4-5. 21 Zech 8:19. 22 The MSS actually read ‘five days.’ Certainly an error. Immediately below, 5.14.17, the fast is said to extend for six days. 17 18

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my name is iota, and is thus the origin of the fasts.23 But not in the manner of the former people, but in accordance with the new covenant which I have established for you. You should fast on their behalf on the fourth day of the week, because on the fourth day of the week they began to destroy their souls and apprehended me, 19. for the night which is after the third day of the week is that of the fourth, as it is written: “There was evening and there was morning, a single day.”24 The evening is thus that of the following day. 20. For on the third day of the week I ate my Passover with you in the evening, and at night they seized me. 21. And also you should fast on their behalf on the Friday, since then they crucified me, in the midst of their festival of unleavened bread,25 as was said beforehand in David: “In the midst of their festivals they set up their signs and they knew it not.”26 22. You are to be fasting continually at all times in these days, and especially you who are of the gentiles. For since the people did not obey I saved them (the gentiles) from blindness and from the error of idols and I received them so that by means of your fast, and of those of you who are of the gentiles, and through your service in those days when you are praying and interceding for the error and the destruction of the people, your prayer and intercession may be accepted before my father which is in heaven as though from one mouth, from all the believers who are on the earth, and all that they did to me might be forgiven them. For this reason I have already said to you in the Gospel: “Pray for your enemies”27 and “Blessed are those who mourn over the destruction of those who do not believe.”28‘ 23 The Greek letter iota stands as the numeral 10, and is the first letter of the name of Jesus in Greek (a phenomenon exploited elsewhere in DA, thus note 2.26.1, 6.15.2 and 4 with the annotation ad loc). This is the day on which the lamb is selected, brought to the beginning of the week by the redactor who is constructing a week-long fast alongside Hebrew paschal chronology. The point of the uniting redactor’s involvement, as argued at length in the introduction, is to regularize the fast by contrast to Quartodeciman practice, and to do so on the basis of scriptural arguments which would satisfy the Quartodeciman insistence on the proof texts of Exodus 12. 24 Gen 1:5. 25 Properly speaking the days of unleavened bread followed the festival of the Passover. However both Jewish and Christian authors are very free with their terminology regarding the originally distinct observances. Thus, e.g., Lk 22:1 refers to the feast of unleavened bread h( legome/nh pa/sxa and Josephus to the feast of unleavened bread h4n pa/sxa le/gomen (De antiquitate Judaica 14.21). 26 Ps 73:4. 27 Cf. Mt 5:44. The text is often cited in this form. 28 Cf. Mt 5:4. It is interesting that such a free citation should be in the mouth of Jesus!

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23. For this reason you are to be aware, brothers that the fast which we are fasting at the Pascha, and which you are to fast, is on account of those brothers who were disobedient. Moreover, even though they hate you, yet we are to call them brothers, for thus is it written for us in Isaiah: ‘Call brothers those who hate and reject you so that the name of the Lord may be glorified.’29 24. We should be fasting, and mourning, on their behalf and on account of the judgement and destruction of the place, so that we may rejoice and be glad in the world to come, as it is written in Isaiah: ‘Rejoice, all you who mourn over Zion.’30 And again he says: ‘To comfort all those who mourn over Zion, oil of gladness instead of ashes and vesture of glory instead of an afflicted spirit.’31 [5.15] So it is required of us to show pity to them, to have faith and to fast and to pray for them, as when Our Lord came to the people they did not believe in him when he taught them, but let his teaching pass from their ears. 2. Thus, since this people paid no heed, he accepted you brothers from the gentiles and opened your ears for the obedience of the heart, just as Our Lord and Saviour himself said by means of Isaiah the prophet: ‘I appeared to those who asked not after me, and was found by those who sought me not, and I said “I am here” to a people which called not upon my name.’32 3. Now concerning whom did he speak thus? Was it not concerning the gentiles since they knew not God and were worshipping idols? 4. When, however, our Lord came into the world teaching you, you that believed in him believed that God is one, and those who are worthy also shall believe until the number of those being saved shall be completed, ‘a thousand thousands and ten thousand times ten thousand’,33 as it is written in David.34 5. However, he speaks thus of the people who did not believe in him: ‘I opened my hands all day long to a people that would not be persuaded and who resisted, who walk in a way which is not right, who go after their sins, which angers me in my sight.’35 [5.16] Thus observe that the people made the Lord angry by not believing in him, Is 66:5. Is 66:10. 31 Is 61:2-3. 32 Is 65:1. 33 Ps 67:18. 34 Funk (1905), 282, as at 5.8.24, once again refers to the fragments of the Praedicatio Petri in Clement of Alexandria Strom. 6.5-6, suggesting that that is the source of this statement. Once again, however, we must respond that the unity of God is hardly a rare theme in apologetic discourse. 35 Is 65:2-3. 29 30

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for which reason he says: ‘They made the Holy Spirit angry, and made themselves into enemies.’36 2. And again, he speaks against them in another way through Isaiah the prophet: ‘Land of Zebulon, land of Napthali, the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the gentiles, a people sitting in darkness, you have seen great light. And light has dawned on those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.’37 3. He says ‘those who sit in darkness’ concerning those of the people who came to believe in our Lord Jesus, for on account of the blindness of the people a great darkness was all around them, for they looked on Jesus but did not recognize him as the messiah, and they did not understand him, neither from the writings of the prophets nor from his works and his healings. 4. However, we say to you of the people who have come to belief in Jesus that you may learn how the Scripture bears witness to us when it says ‘They have seen great light.’ You who have believed in him have seen great light, Jesus Christ our Lord, as those who come to believe in him shall see. 5. However, those who sit in the shadows of death are you, you who are of the gentiles, since you were in the shadows of death when you put your trust in the worship of idols and had no knowledge of God. 6. Yet when Jesus Christ our Lord and teacher appeared a light dawned upon you as you looked upon and put your trust in the promise of an everlasting Kingdom. You removed yourself far from the habitual conduct of former error, worshipping idols no longer, as you were worshipping, but long since have believed and been baptized in him, and a great light has dawned on you. 7. Thus the people, who paid no heed, became darkness but you who paid heed, you who are of the gentiles, became the light. For this reason you are praying for them and interceding, most especially in the days of the Pascha, that they may find forgiveness through your prayers and return to the Lord Jesus Christ. [5.17] 38Thus it is required, brothers that you investigate carefully in the days of the Pascha and perform your fasting with all diligence, making a beginning when your brothers from the people are keeping Is 63:10. In the text it is the Holy Spirit who turns in enmity. Is 9:1-2. 38 The MSS of the E family resume here. However, they have many variations from the text of the A family in this chapter, particularly tending to abbreviation. A few are noted here; all may be located in Vööbus’ apparatus, but yet more conveniently studied through Rouwhorst (1989b), 125-139, in which the two versions of the text are given in French translation in parallel columns. 36 37

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the Pascha.39 For when our Lord and teacher ate the Pascha with us he was handed over by Judas after that hour, and we began immediately to be grieved because he was taken from us. 2. The priests and the elders of the people assembled and went to the court of Caiaphas the high priest on the tenth of the month, on the second day of the week, reckoning by the moon, as we reckon in accordance with the reckoning of the believing Hebrews.40 They plotted to seize Jesus and kill him, but took fright and were saying: ‘Not during the festival, lest the people be disturbed’, since everybody was adhering to him, and considered him a prophet, because of his healing miracles which he was performing among them. 3. Now that day Jesus was in the house of Simon the leper and we were together with him, and he told us what would happen to him. 4. But Judas went out from among us in secret,41 hoping to escape our Lord’s notice, and he went to the house of Caiaphas, where the chief priests and the elders were assembled, and said to them: ‘What will you give me if I deliver him to you when I have an opportunity?’ And they decided and gave him thirty pieces of silver. 5. And he said to them: ‘Make ready young men, and arm them because of his disciples. Should he go by night to a deserted place I will come and lead you. They made the young men ready, preparing to seize him, and Judas looked for an opportunity to deliver him up. 6. However, on account of the crowds of the people who were coming to the temple from every town and every village to keep the Pascha in Jerusalem the priests and the elders determined and ordered and established that they should keep the festival without delay so that they could seize him without disturbance, for the people of Jerusalem were busy with the offering and eating of the Passover and all the people from outside had not yet come since they deceived them with regard to the days. 7. They anticipated the Passover by three days, keeping it on the eleventh day of the month and the third of the week,42 and are so held to blame before God for great error in all things, for they 39 In the E family this simply reads: ‘Thus it is required, brothers, that you perform your fasting with all diligence.’ 40 ‘Believing Hebrews’ probably means Jewish Christians who observe a Quartodeciman chronology, since faith is denied to Jews even by the uniting redactor, whose work this paragraph probably is. 41 MSS of the E family read ‘on that Monday.’ The additional chronological note is required by the omission. 42 Likewise reported by Epiphanius Pan. 51. It is possible, however, that DA is Epiphanius’ source.

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said: ‘Since all the people are following him in his error, let us seize him while we have an opportunity, killing him in the sight of all when all the people have arrived, so that this may be publicly acknowledged and all the people turn back from following him.’ 8. And thus, on the night when the fourth day of the week dawned, he betrayed our Lord to them; but they gave the fee to Judas on the tenth of the month, on the second of the week. For this reason they were reckoned by God as though they took him on the second of the week, because on the second day of the week they determined to seize him and kill him. And they brought their wickedness to its conclusion on the Friday, as Moses spoke of the Passover thus: ‘It shall be observed by you from the tenth until the fourteenth, and then shall all Israel sacrifice the Passover.’43 [5.18] Therefore, from the tenth, which is the second day of the week, you shall fast in the days of Pascha. You shall sustain yourselves with bread and salt and water only, at the ninth hour, until the fifth day of the week. However on the Friday and the Saturday you shall fast entirely, tasting nothing. [5.19] You shall come together and watch and keep vigil for the entire night, reading the prophets and with the Gospel and with psalms, with fear and trembling and constant supplication until the third hour of the night after the sabbath,44 and then break your fasts. 2. For we too were fasting as our Lord suffered, bearing witness to the three days. We were keeping vigil and praying, making intercession because of the ruination of the people, since they went astray and did not confess our Saviour.45 3. Thus you also should be praying that the Lord hold not their guilt for the betrayal with which they betrayed our Lord against them until the end, but grant them room for repentance, conversion and forgiveness for their wickedness. 4. Yet Pilate the judge, who was a pagan and of an alien race, did not consent to their evil deeds but took water and washed his hands and said: ‘I am innocent of this man’s blood.’46 But the people answered and Ex 12:6. This is to be read as 9pm (reckoning the beginning of the day, as in this chapter, from the previous evening (thus the events of Holy Week begin on the Monday, the tenth of the month, with the conspiracy of Judas with Caiaphas and the priests.) Earlier Quartodeciman practice postponed the celebration until midnight specifically so that their festivities would not co-incide with the Jewish Pascha, but since, with the move to a Sunday, the feasts would not generally co-incide, this is no longer necessary. For some discussion of the timing of the Quartodeciman celebration see Stewart-Sykes (1998), 164-172. 45 Cf., again, Evangelium Petri 7. On the significance of fasting while the Lord suffers note also Melito Peri Pascha 80, which contrasts the sufferings of the Lord to the festivities of the Jews. 46 Mt 27:24. Cf. also Evangelium Petri 1. 43 44

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said: ‘His blood be on us and on our children.’47 5. And Herod commanded that he be crucified.48 And on the Friday the Lord suffered on our behalf. 6. And so the fast of the Friday and of the sabbath is especially binding upon you, as is the vigil and watching of the sabbath, and the reading of the Scriptures and the psalms, and prayer and intercession on behalf of those who have sinned, and the watching and the hope of the resurrection of our Lord Jesus, until the third hour in the night which is after the sabbath. 7. And thereafter offer your offerings, eat and be merry, rejoice and be glad because Christ, the pledge of our own resurrection, is risen. This shall be an eternal law to you, to the end of the ages; 8. for to those who have not believed in our Saviour he is dead, since their hope in him is dead, but to those who believe, to you, our Lord and Saviour is risen, since your hope in him shall not die but lives evermore. 9. Thus fast on the Friday, because it was then that the people killed themselves in crucifying our Saviour, and again on the sabbath since it is the Lord’s sleep. 10. For this day especially should be observed with fasting; so the blessed Moses, who is the prophet of all such matters, commanded.49 Indeed he knew through the Holy Spirit, and it was commanded of him by Almighty God, since he knew beforehand what the people would do to his son, the beloved, Jesus Christ. Indeed, even then they denied him by means of Moses and said: ‘Who has appointed you over us as leader and judge?’50 Therefore he set apart and established the sabbath for them, binding them in advance with perpetual mourning, since they deserved to be mourning, having denied their life and laid hands upon their Saviour and delivered him up to death. And so, from that time on, mourning on account of their ruination was laid upon them in advance. [5.20] We may look, and observe, brothers, that the majority of people imitate the sabbath when they mourn, and also that in the same way those who are mourning imitate those who keep the sabbath. 2. For somebody who is mourning does not kindle a light, as the people on the sabbath do not, on account of the commandment of Moses, as thus it was commanded of them by him. 3. Somebody in Mt 27:25. That crucifixion is ordered by Herod rather than Pilate is also the case in Evangelium Petri 2. 49 Most of the material between ‘those who have sinned’, in 5.18.6, and this point, is omitted in the E family of MSS. 50 Ex 2:14. 47 48

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mourning does not wash, and likewise not the people on the sabbath. 4. Somebody in mourning does not lay a table, as the people on the sabbath do not, but they lay and set out for themselves in the evening, since they have a premonition of mourning, that they would lift up their hands against Jesus. 5. Somebody in mourning does no work and does not speak, but sits in sadness, as also the people on the sabbath. For thus was it said to the people concerning the mourning of the sabbath: ‘You shall not lift up your foot to do any work, and you shall not utter a word from your mouth.’51 6. Now who bears witness that for them the sabbath should be mourning? The Scripture bears witness and says: ‘Then shall the people grieve, family opposed to family, the family of the house of Levi apart from them, their women apart from them, the house of Judah apart from them, their women apart from them.’52 Just as, from after the mourning of Christ until now, they come together on the ninth of August and read the lamentations of Jeremiah, weeping and grieving.53 7. Nine, moreover, stands for theta, and theta denotes God;54 8. and so they are grieving for God, for the messiah who suffered. Or rather they mourn for themselves and their ruination on account of God our Saviour. For what reason, brothers, does anybody grieve, unless they are in mourning? 9. For this reason you likewise are to mourn on their behalf on the sabbath day of the Pascha, until the third hour of the night following.55 And then, at the resurrection of Christ, rejoice and be glad on their behalf, and break your fast. Offer to the Lord God what you have gained from your six-day fast. Moreover, those who are wealthy in the things of this world should serve those who are poor and needy, and carefully refresh them; thus should the rewards of the fast be received. 10. You shall observe it in this way whenever the fourteenth of the Pascha should occur, for neither the month nor the day falls at the same time each year, but is changeable. Thus you should be fasting when that people performs the Pascha; yet be careful to conclude your vigil within their (week of) unleavened bread. 11. Rejoice at all times, however, on the first day of the week. Indeed, anyone who afflicts himself on the first Is 58:13. For this characterization of the Sabbath see the introduction, 2.c.4. Zech 12:12-13. 53 See Josephus De bello Judaico 6.4.5. This fast is in commemoration of the destruction of the Temple. 54 Theta is the first letter of the Greek word for God, and also represents the number nine, as iota represents ten. 55 On this timing see 5.19 above and the note ad loc. 51 52

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day of the week is guilty of sin.56 12. Thus, apart from the Pascha, it is not lawful for anybody to fast during the three hours of the night between the Pascha and the first of the week, since this night is of the first of the week. Yet, at the Pascha alone, Christians who belong to the Lord should be assembled together and fasting for these three hours of that night.

the twenty-second chapter That it is right to teach crafts to children1 [4.11]2 And teach your children crafts which are agreeable and suitable to the fear of God lest through idleness they give themselves to extravagance,3 for once they are not directed by their parents they do works of wickedness like the pagans. 2. For this reason you are not to spare them but should rebuke, discipline and instruct them. You will not kill them by disciplining them, rather you will save their lives. So our Lord likewise teaches us in Wisdom, and says: ‘Discipline your son, so that there may be hope for him, for if you strike him with a rod you deliver his life from Sheol.’4 3. And again he said: ‘Anyone who spares the rod hates his son.’5 Our rod is the word of God, Jesus Christ,6 just as Jeremiah saw him as an almond 56 Whereas, in context, this is surely aimed at Quartodecimans, whose paschal fast would over-ride the Sunday, we may also observe the prohibition on fasting on Sunday in the Council of Gangra, canon 14, the 64th apostolic canon, the Council of Trullo, canon 55, and the ps-Athanasian Syntagma and its related documents. 1 Four MSS of the E family have an extended title. 2 Funk’s enumeration is out of order as he followed CA in moving this chapter to a position following chapter 17. Connolly (1929), xxxi, agrees that this is the ‘natural place’ for the chapter. The apparent dislocation of the chapter in DA results from the expansion of the twenty-first chapter to consider the Pascha, rather than simply the swearing of oaths, with the consequent loss of the rational arrangement of the catechetical manual. 3 This direction is to a certain extent counter-cultural since the upper classes of the Empire regarded manual labour with disdain. See, for instance, 1.5 above. Domitian, on meeting the family of Jesus and observing that their hands were the hands of working men, was not troubled by the thought that they might be a disruptive influence (so Hegesippus, preserved by Eusebius at HE 3.20.1-3). Note also Lucian’s decision not to become a sculptor at Somnium 9. 4 Prov 29:17; 23:14. 5 Prov 13:24. 6 The vision of the almond rod would seem to indicate that the vision is of Christ as the word. Thus Connolly (1929), 193 and Vööbus (1979b), 203 are quite right to take the phrase in apposition. Cf. Nau (1902), Funk (1905) and Flemming, in Achelis and Flemming (1904), who render, ‘the word of God, of Jesus Christ.’

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rod.7 Thus anyone who forbears from speaking a word of rebuke to his son hates his son. 4. So you should teach your children the word of the Lord and punish them with lashes and subdue them from their youth through speaking of the fear of God. Do not give them the authority to set themselves up against you, their parents, and do not let them do anything without your consent, otherwise they will go off with those of their own age, and get together for amusement and learn vanity, so falling into the trap of fornication. 5. Even if this occurs without their parents their parents will themselves be responsible for the judgement of their souls before God. Again, if it is with your consent that they are undisciplined, and sin, you parents shall be guilty before God on their account. 6. For this reason be sure to take wives for them, and have them married when the time comes.8 Otherwise they shall commit fornication like the heathen in the ardour of youth and you, on the day of judgement, will have to render an account to the Lord God.

the twenty-third chapter On heresies and schisms1 [6.1] Above all else beware all the loathsome, wicked and bitter heresies. Flee them, and all who are joined to them, as you would a blazing fire. Indeed when a person forms a schism he is condemning himself to the fire together with all who go astray after him; if anyone should go and be immersed in the heresies, how much more is this the case! 2. For you should be aware of this: any of you who loves the primacy and dares to form a schism will, together with those with him, inherit the place of Korah and Dathan and Abiram,2 and with them shall be condemned to the fire. 3. For even those who were with Korah were Levites, and were ministers in the tent of witness, yet they loved 7 Jer 1:11-12. The MSS of the A family actually read ‘a walnut rod.’ The E family read ‘almond’, as here. It is possible that the error entered the tradition very early, and that the original of the E family made the correction. )zwL (almond) might readily be miscopied as )zwG (walnut.) 8 Cf. TB Derekh Eretz Rabbah 2.16 recommending that a son be married just before puberty since the onset of puberty marks the onset of the possibility of coming within the power of sin. 1 Three MSS of the E family have an extended title. 2 Num 16:1.

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primacy and coveted the high priesthood, 4. and they began to speak evil against the great one, Moses, that he was married to a heathen woman, as Moses had a Cushite wife,3 and is defiled with her, and many others, and those with Zimri, who lie with Midianite women,4 are with him, and the people with him are defiled, and also that Aaron, his brother, was the author of idolatry, as he made the molten and graven image for his people. [6.2] They spoke evil against Moses [6.3] who performed for the people all these wonders and signs from God, who performed glorious and amazing deeds for their welfare. He brought the ten plagues upon the Egyptians. He divided the Red Sea and stood the waters up on either side like a wall, making the people pass through as in the desert and drowning their enemies, their evildoers and all who were with them. He sweetened the fountain of waters for them, bringing them streams from a flinty rock, so that they could drink and be satisfied. He brought manna down from heaven for them, and moreover he gave them meat with the manna. As light and guidance he gave them a pillar of fire by night, and as shade a cloud by day. He stretched out his hand in the desert to dispense the law for them and gave them the ten sayings of God. 2. And they were speaking evil against the friend and loyal servant of the Lord God as though glorifying in righteousness and boasting of holiness, making a show of purity and making a show of worship in hypocrisy. And thus, as puritans and zealots for holiness they were speaking thus: ‘Let us not be polluted with Moses and the people with him, since they are defiled.’ 3. And there rose up two hundred and fifty men to lead the people astray and to abandon the great Moses so that they might be thought to be glorifying God the more truly and the more assiduously serving him. For among the large number of the people already mentioned a single censer of incense was offered to the Lord God. The schism, however, numbered two hundred and fifty, together with their leaders, and every one of them offered a censer of incense, two hundred and fifty censers, as though they were indeed more devoted, and pure, and zealous, than Moses and than Aaron and than the people who were with them. 4. Yet the large number of those ministering within the schism was of no advantage; rather fire was kindled from before the Lord and devoured them and those two hundred 3 4

Num 12:1. Num 25:1-2.

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and fifty men were burnt up as they held their censers in their hands. And the earth opened her mouth and swallowed Korah and Dathan and Abiram and their tents and their vessels and all who were with them, and whilst yet alive they went down to Sheol to be punished.5 And thus the leaders of the erroneous schism were swallowed up by the earth and the two hundred and fifty men who strayed were burned with fire while all the people watched. 5. However the Lord spared the greater part of the people, though many sinners were among them, each of whom the Lord would judge in accordance with what they had done. He spared the greater part of the people, apart from those who considered themselves pure and holy and ministering better; these the fire devoured since they were of the schism. 6. And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron: ‘Take the censers of brass from the midst of the burning and form them into fine leaves and lay them over the altar so that the children of Israel may see them and act in such a way no more. And there spread out6 the strange fire, as it has sanctified the censers of those who in their souls were sinners.’7 7. Beloved, let us observe and look at the end of the schismatics, and what happened to them. Even though they gave the appearance of purity, holiness and chastity their final end was fire and everlasting burning. 8. This should make you afraid, that even the fire of the schismatics was judged with fire, though not on account of its sanctification of the censers, as rather they sanctified them in their souls, (that is to say that while the fire was performing its function they supposed in their heart and in their souls that it was sanctifying their censers). 9. For it was right that the fire, which was taken to transgress the law and to provoke God, should not obey them but should cease working, or be extinguished, and should not devour or burn or consume anything put upon it. But it was said ‘there spread out the strange fire’ because it did not then obey the will of the Lord God but obeyed the schismatics, and so the Lord judged the fire with fire. [6.4] If such a threat and such a judgement was imposed on those schismatics who thought themselves to be glorifying God, what will happen to the heretics who blaspheme him? 2. When you see with believing eyes the plates of brass from the Scriptures laid upon the altar you will be careful not to form schisms. Those who were with Korah Num 16:32-35. Reading, with Connolly (1929), and MS E (which makes a correction) hYrD, rather than the hYDr of the other MSS. 7 Num 16:36-38. 5 6

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and Dathan and Abiram were made a sign and example of the destruction of schismatics, and all who imitate them will perish likewise. 3. Therefore you should avoid schisms utterly, and not go near them in any respect, as those who believe and who are knowledgeable. For as Moses said to the people concerning them:8 ‘Separate yourselves out from among those hard-hearted men, and do not go near anything that is theirs, so that you do not perish with them in all their wrongdoing.’9 And it is written that when the Lord’s anger burned against the schismatics the people fled from them saying: ‘That the earth should not swallow us up together with them.’10 4. And so, as those who are struggling to attain to life,11 flee schism and reject any who act thus, since you are well aware of the place of their condemnation. [6.5] But as for heresies, you should be unwilling to defile your ears even by hearing their names. For not only do they fail properly to glorify God, they actually blaspheme him. 2. The heathen are judged on account of their not knowing, whereas the heretics are condemned outright because they set themselves up against God.12 As our Lord and Saviour Jesus said: There will be heresies and schisms’13 and again, ‘Woe to the world because of stumbling blocks. Though stumbling blocks will inevitably come, yet woe to the man to whom they come.’14 3. What we heard indeed we now have also seen indeed, just as the Scripture conveys by means of Jeremiah as it says: ‘The defilements of heresies have issued forth to all the earth.’15 They have occurred for the persuasion of our hearts and the confirmation of our faith that what was foretold has come true, as they have come about and are come to completion. 4. Now all the activity of the Lord God has passed from the people to the church by means of ourselves, the apostles. He has abandoned the people and left them, as it is written in Isaiah: ‘He has left his people, the house of Jacob’16 and ‘Jerusalem is deserted and

8 MSS of the E family completely recast this, giving dominical authority to the command to avoid schism. 9 Num 16:26. 10 Num 16:34. 11 This address is perhaps indicative of the catechetical origin of this section. 12 Cf. Hermas Sim. 4.4. 13 An agraphon also cited by Justin Dialogus 35. 14 Mt 18:7. 15 Jer 23:15. Although the phrase ‘to all the earth’ is not secure in the Syriac MS tradition it is included on the basis of its inclusion in CA’s paraphrase. 16 Is 2:6.

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Judah is fallen. Their tongues are in evil and they are not obedient to the Lord’17 and ‘I will abandon the vineyard’18 and ‘Look, your house is abandoned to you desolate.’19 20 5. So he has left the people and has filled the church. And he has accounted her as a mountain for habitation, as a throne of glory and as a house in the heights, as he said by David: ‘The mountain of God is a mountain of fatness, a mountain of peaks.’21 What do you think is the mountain of peaks? It is the mountain ‘on which God has chosen to dwell; the Lord shall remain there for ever.’22 Do you observe how he says to others ‘What do you think?’ to those who erroneously think there are other churches; yet there is one mountain which is the habitation of God. 6. And again he said by Isaiah: ‘In the last days the mountain of the Lord, the God of Jacob, shall be set up as the highest of the mountains, higher than the heights. And all nations shall flow there, and many peoples shall go there and shall say: “Come, let us go to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob. And he shall teach us his ways and we shall go to it.”‘23 And again he says: ‘There shall be signs and wonders from the Lord of hosts in the midst of the people, from him who dwells on the mountain of Zion.’24 And again he says by Jeremiah: ‘A throne of heights is our sanctuary.’25 7. Just as he abandoned the people so he deserted the temple utterly. He tore the curtain and removed the Holy Spirit from it, pouring it out on those from the gentiles who believed,26 as he said through Joel: ‘I shall pour out my spirit on all flesh.’27 For he took the Holy Spirit away Is 3:8. Is 5:6. 19 Mt 23:38. 20 Some MSS have a subtitle here: ‘Demonstration that he has left the people of the Jews and the temple and has come to the church of the gentiles’ Others, of the E family, begin a new chapter at this point. 21 Ps 67:15. 22 Ps 67:16. 23 Is 2:2-3. 24 Is 8:18. 25 Jer 17:12. 26 The reference is to the tearing of the veil of the Temple at Mt 27.51 and par. This is interpreted in a number of ways in patristic exegesis. This reading is directly paralleled by Testamentum Benjamin 9: ‘And the curtain of the Temple will be torn apart; and God’s Spirit will pass to the gentiles, like a fire poured out.’ I thank Andrew Criddle for making me aware of this. This is in a Christian interpolation into the Testamentum and is likewise probably of Syrian origin. 27 Joel 2:28. 17 18

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from that people, and the power of the word and all the administrations, and they were obtained by the church. 8. And in the same way, likewise, did Satan the tempter depart from that people and come against the church, and no longer does he tempt that people since they fell into his hands through their deeds of wickedness, and has prepared himself to tempt the church and to do his work within her. He has raised up afflictions and persecutions and blasphemies and heresies and schisms against her. [6.6] As in former times there were heresies and schisms within the people, so now Satan, through his works of wickedness, has driven some from the church and formed heresies and schisms. Regarding Simon the sorcerer: [6.7] In this way did heresy begin.28 Satan clothed himself with somebody called Simon who was a sorcerer, and was formerly his minister. 2. When we were performing miracles of healing in Jerusalem by the gift of the Lord God and the power of the Holy Spirit, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit was being given by the laying on of our hand to those who were brought near, he offered us a great deal of money,29 so that, just as he had deprived Adam of the knowledge of life through eating of the tree,30 so, through the gift of money, he might separate us from the gift of God, capturing our mind through money, handing over to him for money the power of the Holy Spirit as a trade. 3. Since we were all disturbed by this, Peter faced up to Satan, dwelling within Simon, and said: ‘Your money can go with you to hell, for you shall have no part or share in this word.’31 [6.8] But when we had divided the world among ourselves into twelve parts,32 and had gone out to the nations so that we could preach the word 28

Simon Magus is made the originator of all heresy likewise by Irenaeus Haer. 1.23.2. Cf., however, Hippolytus Ref. 6.6-20. 29 Lat. resumes here. 30 So Syr. Lat. reads: ‘desiring that, just as he had deprived Adam of the tree of life through eating of the tree of knowledge . . .’ CA, reading, ‘just as he had deprived Adam of the promise of immortality by eating of the tree . . .’ indicates that Syr. is a closer reflection of the original, even though its precise detail must elude us. Connolly (1929), 201, is surely correct in suggesting that the idea of the tree of life is an introduction by the Latin translator. 31 Cf. Act 8:18-23. Whereas Acts places these events in Samaria, DA is in agreement with Acta Petri 23 in locating them in Jerusalem. 32 So, likewise, K 1 (though no literary relationship is suggested at this point) and Acta Thomae 1.

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in all the world, the devil33 set about to agitate the people and send false apostles behind us to undo the word. And he sent a certain Cleobius out from among the people and joined him to Simon, and yet others after them.34 [6.9] Thus Simon, and those who were with him, followed in my, Peter’s, footsteps, leading the people astray.35 2. And when he came to Rome he gravely depopulated the church by discouraging many and leading them to himself,36 leading the gentiles away through his magic art and agency.37 One day when I went in I saw him flying in the air. 3. I stood still and said to him: ‘By the power of the holy name of Jesus I cut your powers off.’ 4. And so he fell and broke the ankle-bone of his foot.38 5. Then many of them turned away from him but others, who were worthy of him, remained with him. And so his heresy was first established. And the devil worked through other false apostles. [6.10] And they had alike39 one single law, that they should not employ the law and the prophets,40 and that they should blaspheme 33

So Lat. and CA; Syr. reads Satan. Cleobius is mentioned as a companion of Simon in Hegesippus, cited by Eusebius, HE 4.22, and in the third letter to the Corinthians found at Acta Pauli 8. In the latter instance they are said to deny any appeal to the prophets, that God is not Almighty, that there is no resurrection of the flesh, that the human creation is not the work of God, that Christ was neither in the flesh nor born of Mary and that the creation is the work of angels. Cf. to the first three propositions 6.10.1 below. A literary relationship cannot be ruled out. Both the Syr. MS tradition in the E recension (though not E itself ) and CA expand the text here with further heresiological catalogues. 35 So Lat. Syr. reads ‘corrupting the word.’ CA does not help here. 36 So Lat., supported by CA. Syr. is widely divergent here: ‘He disturbed the church greatly and subverted many, making a show as though he might fly.’ 37 The Syriac MSS of the E family are even more distinct, demonstrating a growth in the tradition. From this point they read: ‘One day I went and saw him the marketplace, deceiving the people. We had a dispute with each other about the resurrection and about the life of the dead. And when he had been defeated her pretended to fly in the air, and was giving a signal to his men to lift him up. And when he had risen to a great height I stood and said to him ‘By the power of the name of Christ I cut your powers off, so that they leave you. And the demons departed from him, and he fell and broke the heel of his foot and died.’ 38 Hippolytus Ref. 6.20 tells of Simon coming to Rome, though not of this incident, which is reported in Acta Petri 32. Disputes between Simon and Peter are described in the pseudo-Clementine literature. 39 Alike (e)pi/sh~j) is misread by the Syriac translator as ‘on earth’ (e)pi\ gh~j), so rendering ‘they had a single law on earth . . .’ Lat., aequaliter, assures us of the right reading. 40 Lat. omits ‘law’ but CA supports its retention. Syr. however has ‘serve’, whereas the ‘employ’ (utantur) of Lat. is correct, as shown by CA (xra~sqai). It is possible that ‘law’ is rightly omitted by Lat. in view of the beliefs of Simon and Cleobius reported in Acta Pauli. Cf. moreover the footnote below. 34

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God the Almighty41 and that they would not believe in the resurrection. And they disturbed others with their various opinions. 2. For many taught that one should not marry,42 saying that those who did not marry had a higher chastity, so defending their heretical beliefs by means of chastity.43 3. Yet others taught that one should not eat meat, saying that one should not eat anything which had a soul,44 4. whereas others said that one should abstain solely from pork, but should eat whatever the law declares to be clean, and that, in accordance with the law, one should be circumcised. 5. Thus all manner of teachings were found, causing divisions and enfeebling the churches.

the twenty-fourth chapter On the stability of the church: it also shows that the apostles gathered to correct errors1 [6.11] Now we, when we had already preached the truthful word of the catholic church, came once again to the churches, and we found people pre-occupied with other opinions. 2. For some were observing chastity,2 others abstaining from meat and wine,3 others simply from pork. And some were observing much of the chains that are derived 41 So CA and Syr. Lat. reads ‘father.’ Although it is possible that Marcionite belief is at issue and thus that Lat. is correct, the comparison with the tenets ascribed to Simon and Cleobius in the Acta Pauli indicate the correctness of CA and Syr. Cf., moreover, to this first part of the catalogue the catalogue of heresies at Tosefta Sanhedrin 13.5 cited in the introduction at 4.b. 42 So Syr. Cf. Lat. ‘Some taught many that they should not marry.’ 43 Syr. has ‘holiness’ for ‘chastity’ which, as Connolly (1929) points out, is often substituted in Syriac translations. 44 Note the discussion of this practice and this term in the introduction at 4.b. 1 Some MSS of the E family have a more extensive title. 2 Literally, in Syr., ‘holiness’. Cf. 6.10.2 above with the annotation. MSS of the E family felt the need to clarify this term in view of later usage, adding ‘thinking marriage defiled.’ 3 Notably there is no earlier discussion of abstaining from wine. The earlier catalogue is part of the catechetical manual whereas this is the work of the apostolic redactor. Whereas it is possible that the redactor is thinking of Nazirites, or possibly of Christian groups which did not use wine at the eucharist, the combination of abstention from wine alongside abstention from meat is so common (thus note the cynic diet of vegetables and water only described by Diogenes Laertius at Vitae Philosophorum 6.9.104) that we should not draw any conclusion from this beyond noting that the addition of wine to the catalogue is the result of the different level of redaction.

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from the secondary legislation.4 [6.12] Because the entire church was in danger of falling into heresy we twelve apostles gathered together as one in Jerusalem to determine what should be done. And we were of one accord5 in deciding to write this catholic didascalia6 to give assurance to all of you. And in it we have fixed and established that you should worship Almighty God and Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, and that you should be served by the Holy Scriptures and that you should believe in the resurrection of the dead, that you should make use of all his creation with thanksgiving and that you should marry. 2. For he says in Proverbs, ‘A woman betrothed to a man is from God.’7 And Our Lord, in the Gospel, also said ‘From the beginning he created the male and he says he created the female. For this reason shall a man leave his father and mother and join himself to a woman, and the two shall become one body. Therefore nobody may separate what God has joined together.’8 Moreover, for those who believe, the spiritual circumcision of the heart is sufficient, as he says through Jeremiah: ‘Light a lamp for yourselves and do not sow among thorns.9 Men of Judah, be circumcised to the Lord your God, and circumcise the foreskins of your hearts.’10 And again he says in Joel: ‘Rend your hearts and not your clothing.’11 And again, concerning baptism, one only, which utterly remits your sins, is sufficient to you. For in Isaiah he does not say ‘wash’ but ‘wash and be cleansed.’12 3. And we had a great debate, like men struggling for life itself, and not we apostles alone, but also the people with James, bishop of Jerusalem, who is our Lord’s brother after the flesh, and also with his presbyters and his deacons and all the church as a few days before there had come to Antioch men from Judaea who were teaching the brothers that ‘if you do not circumcise and act in accordance with the law of 4 Syr. is slightly confused due, suggests Flemming in Achelis and Flemming (1904), to the reversal of two words, so reading )rwS) nM lKw instead of the reading )rwS) lKw nM of the MSS of the A family. Lat., rendered here, is clear and supports this reading. 5 Cf. Act 15:25. 6 Lat. breaks off here. 7 Prov 19:14. 8 Mt 19:4-6. 9 Vööbus (1979b), 215, notes that this citation is taken from the Peshitta, as it repeats a misunderstanding of the Hebrew from that version. 10 Jer 4:3-4. 11 Joel 2:13. 12 Is 1:16.

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Moses and keep yourselves pure from meats and from all other such things you cannot be saved’; and there was a great dispute and debate.13 And when the brothers of Antioch came to know that we were assembled and that we were all come to make enquiry into these matters they sent some faithful people to us who were knowledgeable about the Scriptures so that they could learn about this debate. And when they arrived in Jerusalem they informed us of the debate which they had been conducting in Antioch. And some believers who had come from the school of the Pharisees arose saying: ‘You must be circumcised and keep the law of Moses.’ 4. And others besides were crying out and saying such things.14 Then I, Peter, stood up and said to them: ‘Men, brothers: you will know that from the earliest days in which I was among you God chose that the gentiles should hear the Gospel and believe through me and God, who tests the heart, bore witness to them.15 5. An angel appeared to a centurion called Cornelius and told him of me, and he sent for me. 6. When I was setting out to see him it was shown to me that the gentiles were about to believe, and concerning all foods. For I had gone up to a rooftop to pray and I saw the heavens open and some kind of basket tied by its four corners being let down and lowered to earth, and in it were all kinds of four-footed beasts and things that creep on the earth and birds of the sky. And there came to me a voice which said: “Simon, get up, kill and eat.” But I said “No Lord, as I have never eaten anything defiled or unclean.” Yet there came to me another voice which said to me a second time: “What God has made clean you may not defile.” This happened three times, and the basket was taken up to heaven.16 7. Then I considered this, and recalled the saying of the Lord, as he said: 8 “Rejoice, gentiles, together with the people.”17 And he speaks everywhere of the calling of the gentiles. 9. And I got up and went my way. When I had entered his house and 10. begun to speak the word of the Lord the Holy Spirit rested on him and on all the gentiles who had gathered with him.18 To them, as to us, God gave the Holy Spirit, making no distinction between them and us in the faith, and purifying their hearts. 11. So why are you testing God, and putting a yoke Cf. Act 15:1-2. Cf. Act 15:4-5. 15 Cf. Act 15:7-11. 16 Cf. Act 10:9-16. 17 Dt 32:43. 18 Act 10:44-48. 13 14

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on the disciples which neither our ancestors nor we ourselves have been able to bear? Rather we believe that we shall be saved by the grace of Our Lord Jesus Christ as they are.19 Since the Lord came to us and released us from the bonds and said: “Come to me all who are weary and carrying heavy burdens and I shall give you rest. Take my yoke upon yourselves and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble of heart. And you shall find rest for your souls, as my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”20 Thus, if our Lord has released us and unburdened us, why are you laying a halter on your own selves?’ 12. Then all the people were silent and I, James, answered and said: ‘Men, brothers, listen to me. Simon has said how God from of old had said he would choose a people for his name from the gentiles. The words of the prophets agree with this, as it is written: “Afterwards I shall raise up and build the tabernacle of David, which has fallen. And I shall build and raise up its ruins, that the remnant of people may seek the Lord and all the nations who are called by my name, says the Lord who has made this known from everlasting.” 13. For this reason I say that nobody should aggravate the lot of any of those who turn to God from among the gentiles; yet it should be communicated to them that they should abstain from wickedness and from idolatry, from anything sacrificed, from anything strangled and from blood. 14. So we, the apostles, and the bishops and the presbyters together with the whole church decided to send out chosen men together with Barnabas and Paul who had come from there. And we chose and appointed Judas, who was called Barsabbas,21 and Silas, well known to the brothers, and wrote22 through them as follows: 15. ’The apostles and presbyters and brothers to the brothers from among the gentiles who are at Antioch, and Cilicia and Syria, greeting. Since we have heard that people, whom we did not send, have been troubling you with words to corrupt your souls we have all agreed, as we were all assembled together, to choose and send to you men together with those you sent with out beloved Barnabas, sending Judas and Silas who will speak to you in person about all this. For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, as to us, that we should not place any further burden upon you, but you should shun these things of necessity: from23 Cf. Act 15:8-11. Mt 11:28-30. 21 Syr. actually reads ‘Barnabas’, but this can be accounted a simple scribal error. 22 Some MSS add ‘this letter.’ 23 Lat. resumes here. 19 20

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anything sacrificed,24 from blood, from anything strangled, and from fornication.25 Keep yourself from these and do what is good. Farewell.’26 [6.13] We sent the letter and ourselves remained many days in Jerusalem, discussing and composing whatever is helpful for all the people, and so we were writing this catholic Didascalia.

the twenty-fifth chapter1 Showing that the apostles returned to the churches and restored them2 Thus we affirmed and established the decision which we had reached after consultation and consideration with regard to those who had gone astray. 2. And we will return again to the churches where first we had preached in order to exhort the faithful to avoid the offences discussed above and not to receive them who come falsely under the name of apostles, and to recognize them because of the changeability of the words and through the way in which they act. It is of these whom the Lord spoke when he said: 3. ‘Some will come to you wearing sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves; you shall know them by their fruits. Be aware, for false Christs will arise, and false prophets, to lead many astray. And the love of many shall grow cold because of the abundant wickedness. But whoever shall endure to the end shall be saved.’3 [6.14] We decree and command that those who have remained4 and have not erred, and those who repent their error, are to remain in the church, whereas those who continue in error and are not penitent are to be put apart from the faithful as they are become heretics. The faithful are to be instructed to avoid them utterly and to have no converse with them in speech or in prayer. 2. For they are hostile and opposed to the church. The Lord instructed us who are faithful5 24

Lat. clarifies: sacrificed to idols. MSS of the E family omit ‘and from fornication.’ 26 Cf. Act 15:13-29. 1 Once again the chapter division disrupts a sentence in Lat., implying that the chapter division is relatively late. This leads to some divergence between the versions, as Syr. begins a new sentence. 2 Some MSS of the E family have an extended title. 3 A mosaic of texts including Mt 7:15-16 and Mt 24:24, and 11-13. 4 ‘Those who have remained’ om. Lat. Included following Connolly (1929), 210. 5 So Lat. Syr. simply reads ‘us.’ I believe that the Syriac translator assumed that the speakers here were the apostles, but this is part of the work of the uniting redactor, and so Lat. preserves the original text. 25

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about these when he said: ‘Beware the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees’6 and ‘Do not go into the cities7 of the Samaritans.’8 These ‘cities of the Samaritans’ are those of the heresies who wander in a crooked way, of whom the Lord spoke in Proverbs: ‘There is a way which people think is right, but which comes in the end to the depths of hell.’9 3. They are those of whom the Lord laid down a stern and bitter sentence: ‘They shall have no release, either in this world or in that to come.’10 4. As regards the people, which does not believe in Christ and laid hands on him, him whom they blaspheme is the Son of Man. The Lord said: ‘It will be forgiven them.’11 And likewise the Lord said of them: ‘My father, they know not what they have done or what they are saying. If it is possible, forgive them.’12 5. Likewise the gentiles also deny the Son of Man,13 yet forgiveness has come forth for them. 6. To those who have believed, whether of the people or of the gentiles, is forgiveness given for their evil deeds, as the Lord Jesus Christ said: ‘For this reason I say to you: every human sin and blasphemy is forgiven, but blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this world or in the world to come. And anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven; however there will be no forgiveness for anyone who has said a word against the Holy Spirit, either in this world or in the world to come.’14 7. Those who blaspheme the Holy Spirit, those who readily and hypocritically blaspheme Almighty God, that is to say the heretics who do not15 receive his holy Scriptures, or who receive them in a perverted, hypocritical or blasphemous sense, who blaspheme the catholic church, which is the receptacle of the Holy Spirit,16 with wicked words, Mt 16:6. Syr. and Lat. both have plural though note that Mt 10:5 reads po/lin. 8 Mt 10:5. 9 Prov 14:12. 10 Mt 20:32. 11 Mt 12:32. 12 ‘My father,’ here represents both Syr. and Lat. Cf. the reading ‘brothers’ in the same citation at 2.16.1 above where Syr. alone is extant. 13 So Syr. Lat. reads ‘deny the Son of Man and the cross’. CA offers no guidance. 14 Mt 12:31-32. So Syr. The central part of the citation is absent in Lat., probably through homoioteleuton. 15 ‘Not’ is absent in Syr. but present in Lat. Its inclusion is supported moreover by CA: oi( tou\j qei/ouj lo/gouj a0rnou/menoi. 16 In MSS of the E tradition those who blaspheme the Holy Spirit are identified with those who deny the operation of the Spirit in baptism and eucharist. 6 7

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are condemned of Christ even before the judgement which is to come, without prospect of defence. For that which he said, ‘They shall have no release’ is the sentence of condemnation which issues against them. 8. And when, with one accord, we had established17 and agreed and set down all of this18 we each went out to the provinces formerly allotted to us to strengthen the churches, as what had been foretold had come about, for hidden wolves were present and false Christs and false prophets had made themselves known. 9. For it is evidently clear that as the times move on and the end of the age19 draws near there shall many more of such, and worse indeed.20 Yet God will deliver you from them. 10. Thus we have healed those who have repented of their erroneous godlessness through much admonition, with the word of doctrine, and with intercession, and have allowed them to take their places in the church. But we have driven out those who are mortally wounded by the word of error, and all the more those who have erred without reason,21 as their wound is incurable, and so that they can do no harm to the chosen holy catholic church of God, and so that the evil cannot spread like leprosy and extend itself like an infection22 to all parts, but that the church should remain pure and unspotted and unscarred for the Lord God. 11. This we have undertaken in every province throughout the entire earth, leaving this catholic didascalia justly and rightly to the catholic church as a commemoration to bear witness23 for the strengthening of the faithful.

17

This word is not in Lat.; it could be an embellishment of the translator. The verb has no object in Syr. Lat. statuentes conveys the meaning without requiring an object, but an object needs to be supplied in English (as in Syr.) 19 For ‘end of the age’ Syr. reads ‘coming’ ()tYt)M). Both could be renderings of suntelei/a represented by CA. 20 Connolly (1929), 215 asks: ‘Could this be an echo of D 16.3?’ The source, however, is as likely to be Mt 24:11, or indeed a generalized apocalyptic tradition. 21 Although ‘all the more those who have erred without reason’ is not in Syr. Connolly (1929), 214, and Vööbus (1979b), 222, agree that it is original and has been omitted by Syr. 22 Syr. uses an unknown word, )KYPS, possibly a corruption of the Greek word shpedw/n, at this point, and so the MSS of the E family substitute )NXw$, ’sore.’ 23 There is no agreement between the versions about where the clause concerning bearing witness belongs. Syr. places this at the beginning of the clause, thus making ‘we have borne witness’ as the first phrase before ‘leaving this catholic didascalia’ (the understanding here) whereas in Lat. the rendering contestati is found at the end of the clause. So Connolly (1929), 215, renders ‘thus delivering our testimony.’ CA is too much altered to determine the issue absolutely, but tends to support Syr. even though the relevant clause is, as in the English above, part-way through the phrase. 18

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the twenty-sixth chapter On the bonds of the secondary legislation of God 1 [6.15] You who have been converted from the people,2 who believe in God and in our Saviour Jesus Christ should not now be continuing to keep to your former conduct, keeping pointless obligations, and purifications, and separations and baptismal lustrations and distinction between foods. As the Lord said to you: ‘Do not remember things of old’3 and ‘Look, I am making everything anew, and am now declaring them so that you may know them. And I shall lay down a pathway in the desert.’4 Now previously the churches were ‘deserts’, in which the divine and unerring pathway of the Christian religion has been laid.5 2. Therefore, as you know Jesus Christ the Lord and his dispensation for all which was made in the beginning,6 be aware that he gave a simple law, pure and holy, in which the Saviour set his name. For the decalogue which he gave indicates Jesus. For ten represents iota, yet iota is the beginning of the name of Jesus.7 The Lord bears witness in David to the law in this way, as he says:8 ‘The law of the Lord is blameless, and converts souls.’9 And much else of this nature is said elsewhere: and at the last, at the end of the writings of the prophets,10 the Lord spoke thus through Malachi, who is known as the angel:11 ‘Recall the law of Moses the servant of 1

Some MSS of the E family have an extended title. So Syr. Lat. is cast in the third person plural. Although CA is partly paraphrastic it indicates the correctness of the address in Syr. 3 Is 43:18. 4 Is 43:18-19. This citation is given from Syr. which shows noticeable deviations from other versions, whereas Lat. is close to LXX. 5 For the idea that the lot of the gentiles was originally an arid and waterless place see Irenaeus Dem. 84. 6 There is wide divergence between this version of the passage, which is that of Lat., and Syr. which reads: ‘Now previously the churches were “deserts”, in which there is now a pathway and the knowledge of the fear of God, which is unerring, but new and manifest,- Jesus Christ the Lord and his dispensation for all which was made in the beginning.’ Vööbus (1979b), 223, opines that Syr. has ‘blurred the original clarity and force of the passage’, and for Flemming, in Achelis and Flemming (1904), likewise the passage is less comprehensible in Syr. compared to CA where extant and Lat. 7 A phenomenon also exploited at DA 2.26.1, and 5.13.18. See also the annotation ad loc. as well as immediately below. 8 This clause is absent in Lat. 9 Ps 18:7. 10 This simply means that Malachi is the last in order of the twelve prophets. 11 That the ascription of this title to Malachi was common may be illustrated from 2 Esd 1:4. 2

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the Lord as he gave you commandments and judgements.’12 3. Likewise our Saviour, when he cleansed the leper, sent him to the law when he said: ‘Go and show yourself to the chief priest and offer the gift of your cleansing, as Moses commanded, as a testimony to them’,13 so showing that he does not undo the law but teaches what is the law and what is the secondary legislation. Thus he said: ‘I have not come to destroy the law, nor the prophets, but to fulfil them.’14 Thus the law is indissoluble, whereas the secondary legislation is transitory. 4. For the law is the decalogue, and the judgements to which Jesus bore witness when he said: ‘Not one iota letter shall pass away from the law.’15 Now it is the iota which does not pass away from the law, for the iota is known, through the decalogue, to signify the name of Jesus.16 But the letter is a sign of the spreading out of the wood.17 For Moses and Elijah, that is the law and the prophets, were both with our Lord on the mountain. 12 Mal 4:6. The citation is rendered from Syr., which departs from canonical versions, whereas Lat. reflects a more common text form. 13 Mk 1:44. 14 Mt 5:17. 15 Mt 5:18 rendered from Syr. Lat. reads: ‘Iota, that is one letter, shall not pass away from the law.’ Connolly (1929), 219, suggests that h1toi has been read for h1. The argument below demonstrates the rightness of the Syr. reading. 16 Part of the argument is built on the observation, made elsewhere in DA, that the letter iota, the first letter of the name of Jesus in Greek, represents ten. In this instance the ten is allowed to represent the decalogue (as at 2.26.1 and, as noted ad loc., by R Yehoshua ben Levi). It is significant that Leviticus Rabbah 19.2 discusses the disobedience of Solomon and suggests that he had removed a single yod from the law. The book of Deuteronomy is hypostasized and appears before God, and is told that ‘not even a single yod that is in you shall ever be made void.’ Visotzky (1990) suggests that this is a response to Christian attempts to reduce the scope of the law. Certainly the gematric argument here is close to rabbinic argumentation. See also below. 17 So Lat., cf. Syr., ‘But the letter is the spreading out of the wood of the cross. ‘ Of the cross’ is probably an explanatory note, and the absence of the word ‘sign’ may be due to the similarity of the word for sign, )t), with its similar cognate )twt), the word for ‘letter.’ According to Connolly (1929) the phrase seems to reflect the ‘sign spread out in heaven’ of which D 16.6 speaks, which is generally taken as a reference to the sign of the cross in heaven as a precursor to the Lord’s return. However, the overall point is that both Jesus, signified by the first letter of the name of Jesus, iota, and his cross, signified by the word ‘letter’, are present in the law. The point is not obvious until it is realized that the Greek word for letter is kerai/a. This means the apex of a letter, but also means any horn-like protrusion. Thus it is used to refer to a yard-arm on a ship or the projecting beam of a wooden crane. As such it brings to mind not only the wood of the cross but more particularly the horizontal cross-beam. The upright is then represented by iota, which may be represented as a simple vertical letter. ‘One iota letter’ is thus taken to refer to the presence of Jesus and the cross within the law as defined here.

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[6.16] Thus the law consists of the decalogue and the judgements which the Lord spoke before the people made the calf and worshipped idols.18 For it is particularly on account of its judgements that it is called the law. 2. For this law is simple and is light, is not burdensome with regard to the separation of foods, or incensations,19 or sacrifices or burnt offerings. In this law he speaks only of the church and of the foreskin.20 Speaking of sacrifice he says: ‘If you would make me an altar, make it of earth. And if of stones, they should not be worked; insofar as you should lay an iron tool upon it, it is defiled’21 not of an axe but of the tool which is the iron scalpel with which the surgeon circumcises the foreskin.22 3. For he did not say ‘make’ but ‘if you should make’ an altar.23 He did not demand it as of necessity, but showed what was to come about.24 4. For the Lord had no need of sacrifice, and of old it was not demanded of Cain and Abel, but they made their offerings of their own accord and their oblations led to their fratricide. Likewise Noah offered and was 18 A certain sensitivity about the worship of the calf is demonstrated by Leviticus Rabbah 27.8, which denies that Israel itself had made the calf, but that it was the work of the proselytes who had come out of Egypt. This is in response to the ‘nations of the world’ who taunt Israel and say ‘You made the golden calf.’ As Visotzky (1990) suggests, there would seem to be some response to Christians who are using similar arguments in their engagement with Jews as those employed here, as noted in the note on 6.15.4 above regarding the yod which will not disappear from the law. 19 ‘Incensations’ is not in Lat. CA offers no guidance. 20 So Lat. Syr. reads: ‘In this law he speaks only of the dispensation of the church and of the foreskin of the flesh.’ 21 Ex 20:24-25 cited here, again, following Lat., with support from CA. Syr. reads: ‘If you would make me an altar, make it of earth. And if of stones, you should make it whole and unworked, and not of stones which have been worked; insofar as you should lay an iron tool upon it, you have defiled it already.’ Lat. has a redundant extra verb in the citation which may be attributed to a scribe beginning to write one verb and then correcting himself. 22 This obscure sentence is corrupt in different ways in both versions, though its meaning may, through both, be recovered with reasonable certainty. Lat. reads: Non ergo in bipinnae facies sed de manuale, quod est medicinale ferramentum, quod et circumdidit praeputium whereas Syr. reads, literally, ‘not of the iron of an axe (or knife) there is the knife (or axe!) of a surgeon with which he circumcises the foreskin.’ Clearly something is missing here and the situation is confused as the word )rzGM could mean either ‘knife’ or ‘axe.’, whereas the facies in Lat. is confusing. It is perhaps not a verb but a noun, albeit in the wrong case. However it is clear that the intent of the author is to use this proof text to proscribe circumcision as well as the altar of sacrifice. 23 It is worth observing that this ‘if ’ is neither in Hebrew nor LXX, nor indeed in the Vulgate or the Peshitta! Lat. here is defective but Syr. is supported by CA. 24 Again Lat. is corrupt but Syr. is clear.

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blamed. For this reason he says: ‘If you wish to sacrifice, though I need it not, then sacrifice.’ 5. Thus this law is simple, is light and very easy.25 6. Yet when the people denied God, who had visited them in their troubles by means of Moses, who worked signs for them with his rod and hand, who struck the Egyptians with the punishment of the ten plagues, who drowned their enemies and adversaries, who make the bitter well of Marah sweet with his staff, who brought forth water from a rock in abundance to satisfy them, who overshadowed and guided them by a pillar of fire and a pillar of cloud, who brought manna from heaven for them and gave them meat from the sea, who gave them the law from the mountain. When they denied him and said: ‘We have no God to go before us’ and made themselves a molten calf and worshipped it, and sacrificed to the statue, then was the Lord angry, and in the heat of his anger, yet in his merciful goodness, he bound them to the secondary legislation as to a heavy load and the hardness of a yoke.26 7. Thus no longer did he say: ‘If you should make’ as previously but said: ‘Make an altar, and sacrifice continuously’, as though he had need of such. 8. Thus he imposed on them as a necessity that they should make frequent burnt offerings and he made them abstain from foods by means of the distinction of foods.27 9. From then on were clean animals and unclean foods defined, from then on there were separations and purifications and baptisms and sprinklings. From then on were there sacrifices28 and offerings and tables. From then on were there burnt offerings, and offerings and shewbread, and the offering of sacrifices, and firstlings, and ransoms,

25 For ‘very easy’ Syr. has ‘not little-voiced.’ Although it is not readily explainable as a corruption, since there is a corruption in the same sentence, where ‘simple’ ()+Y$P, so also Lat.) becomes ‘easy’ ()QY$P), a corruption must be assumed and therefore Lat. is followed. 26 This is something of an eclectic reading. Syr. reads: ‘he bound them to the secondary legislation as to a heavy load and a hard yoke’ whereas CA. reads: ‘He bound them with indissoluble bonds, put a load upon them and the hardness of a yoke’ and Lat.: ‘He bound them into the secondary legislation and with a heavy load and to the hardness of a chain.’ The same argument is employed by Aphraahat Dem. 15.7. 27 Here following Syr. Cf. Lat.: ‘No longer did he say: “If you should make” but said: “Make an altar, and sacrifice continuously”, as though he had need of such, “and make many burnt offerings.” And he imposed of them as a necessity that they should separate themselves from foods. From this time on there were distinctions between foods . . .’ It is impossible to say for certain which is the more original version. It seems that both are reading a similar Greek text but significant divergences have grown up between the two texts, quite apart from the different emphases of the translators. 28 Lat. breaks off here.

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and scapegoats, and vows, and much else that is astounding. On account of the great number of their transgressions were customs laid on them which cannot be described. 10. However, they abided in none of them, and so again caused the Lord to be angry. And so, through the secondary legislation, he gave them in addition the blindness which their deeds deserved as he said: ‘If sins deserving of the sentence of death be found in anyone, and he die and you hang his body on a tree, his body shall not remain the night on the tree, but you should bury him the same day, as cursed is any who hangs on a tree.’29 Thus when Christ came they were unable to assist him as they thought him under the condemnation of a curse. 11. Thus it was spoken of their blinding when Isaiah said: ‘Look, I am showing you my righteousness and your wickedness, and they shall not assist you in anything.’30 For the Lord judged them with a just judgement, treating them thus because of their wickedness, and hardening their heart like that of Pharaoh,31 as the Lord said to them through Isaiah: ‘Hearing you shall hear, and not understand. Seeing you shall see and not know. The heart of this people is swollen, their eyes are shut and their ears are stopped so that they may not be converted, lest ever they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears.’32 12. And again, in the Gospel, he says: ‘The heart of this people is swollen, and their eyes are shut and their ears are stopped so that they may not ever be converted. Yet blessed are your eyes which see and your ears which hear.’33 For you have been released from the bonds and relieved of the secondary legislation. You have been set free from the bitterness of slavery, and a curse is lifted from you and taken away from you. [6.17] For the secondary legislation was on account of the calf, and was imposed on the grounds of idolatry. You, however, have been released from the worship of idols through baptism, as from the secondary legislation. For in the Gospel he renewed and fulfilled and confirmed the law, and abolished and abrogated the secondary legislation. It was, indeed, for this reason that he came: to confirm the law and to abrogate the secondary legislation and to fulfill the power of human liberty and to show forth the resurrection of the dead. 2. Even before his coming he Dt 21:22-23. Is 57:12. 31 Ex 4:21. 32 Is 6:9-10. 33 Mt 13:15-16. 29 30

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spoke in advance of his coming through the prophets, and alongside his coming he indicated also a people who would not believe, and again he proclaimed the abrogation of the secondary legislation, as he spoke through Jeremiah: ‘Why do you bring me frankincense from Sheba and cinnamon from a far-off land. Your burnt offerings are not acceptable to me, and your sacrifices do not please me.’34 And again he said: ‘Bring your burnt-offerings together with your sacrifices, and eat flesh; for I gave you no commandment when I brought you out from the land of Egypt, either concerning burnt offerings or concerning sacrifices.’35 Indeed he really gave no commandment in the law, but in the secondary legislation, which was subsequent to the worship of idols. 3. And, moreover, he said through Isaiah: ‘”What is the point of your multitude of sacrifices to me?” says the Lord. “I am sated with the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of lambs and the blood of oxen36 I desire not. When you come to look upon me, who demanded these things from your hands? Do not tread my courts any more! If you bring fine flour for me it is pointless;37 I cannot abide your new moons and your sabbaths and your feast-days, and my soul despises your fasts and your days of rest and your festivals.”‘38 4. And in all the Scriptures he speaks thus in deprecating the practice of sacrifice,39 for sacrifices, as we have said already, are prescribed in the secondary legislation. 5. Thus if, before his coming, he made known40 his coming41 and the disbelief of the people and his destruction of the secondary legislation when he came he totally and utterly42 abolished the secondary legislation. Nor did he make use of sprinklings, or baptisms43 or the Jer 6:20. Jer 7:21-22. 36 Lat. resumes here. 37 Lat. adds here, in keeping with the canonical text ‘and incense is an abomination to me.’ These words, however, are in neither Syr. nor CA. 38 Is 1:11-14. 39 Cf. Syr.: ‘And in all the Scriptures he speaks thus, abolishing by means of sacrifice the secondary legislation.’ 40 Lat. is very corrupt here. It is possible that the translator misread the Greek entirely; Syr., however, may be trusted confidently at this point. 41 Lat. has libertatem ( ‘liberty’), a misreading of the Greek parousi/an (so CA) as parrhsi/an. 42 Lat. reads simply omnipotens which makes little sense. If this is read as omnino, however, then this may indicate a double translation on the part of Syr. 43 Lat. omits ‘or baptisms.’ CA offers no guidance. 34 35

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other customary practices,44 nor offer sacrifices or burnt offerings or anything else that is prescribed as an offering in the secondary legislation. 6. What else does this signify apart from his abolition of the secondary legislation? And so he set you free, calling you away45 from chains as he says: ‘Come to me all you who labour and are heavyburdened, and I will give you rest.’46 So we may recognize that our Saviour is speaking not to the gentiles but to us, who became his disciples from among the Hebrews,47 and is leading us away from our burdensome loads. Those who do not obey him, that he may lighten their load and deliver them from the chains of the secondary legislation, are not putting their faith in God who is calling them to release and remission and refreshment and are binding themselves with the heavy loads of the secondary legislation, which do no good. [6.18] For the Lord God himself, who gave them the law and the secondary legislation, bears witness that the law is life to those who act in accordance with it but demonstrates that the secondary legislation is a chain and is blindness. For he makes the distinction everywhere, commanding and charging that we should be under the law, as anyone who is not under the law is lawless. He bears witness to the law in this way: ‘His pleasure will be in the law of the Lord, and he will meditate upon it day and night. Not so the wicked.’48 2. So, brothers, we see that the righteous are declared to be blessed through righteousness and through keeping the law. Not so the wicked, as they are not just, and do not observe the law, and do not meditate upon it. So he says that the wicked are those who do not act in accordance with the law. 3. So, in the Gospel he affirms the law yet calls us forth, leading us away from the burden of our chains and from the secondary legislation.49

44 Syr. reads ‘festivals.’ This is probably a corruption of )dY( (customs) to )d)( (festivals). Lat., consuetudinibus, supported by CA, assures us of the right reading. 45 So Syr.: Lat reads ‘ . . . set us free, calling us away’. Since the speakers are Jewish this may be correct, but the possibility of scribal error, given the similarity in Latin between the words for ‘you’ and ‘us’ (namely nos and uos), is so great that the benefit of doubt is given to Syr. 46 Mt 11:28. 47 So Lat. Syr. reads ‘(house of the) Jews.’ 48 Ps 1:2. 49 So Lat. Cf. Syr.: ‘So, in the Gospel he affirms the law yet calls us forth, leading us away from the secondary.’ Connolly (1929), 128, and Vööbus (1979b), 131, agree that Syr. is defective.

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That the law is one thing and the secondary legislation another50 is also shown in David as the distinction is made when he says: ‘Let us shatter their chains, and throw off their yoke from us.’51 4. Observe how the Holy Spirit is speaking in the voice of the world,52 revealing human thoughts, declaring that the law is ‘a yoke’ whereas the secondary legislation is ‘chains’. The law is said to be a yoke because, like a yoke used for ploughing, it is laid on the former people and also upon the present church of God. And now it is upon us who were called from the people into the church just as it is upon you who, being from the gentiles, have received mercy. 5. So it governs and unites us in a single accord. Rightly, however, does he refer to the secondary legislation as ‘chains’. For as the people turned to idolatry so the secondary legislation was put upon them as a burden;53 it was right that these bonds should be imposed, as they were upon the people on that occasion. Yet the church is not so bound. 6. He clarifies, making it known to Ezekiel that the law of life is one thing and the secondary legislation of death is another, as he says: ‘I brought them forth from the land of Egypt and led them into the desert. There I gave them my commandments, and made my judgements known to them, so that anybody who performed them might live by them.’54 Subsequently, when he holds them to account on the grounds of their sin and as they had not kept the law of life, he repeats himself as he says this to them: ‘I gave them commandments which are unprofitable, and judgements which do not convey life.’55 Now the judgements which do not convey life are those of the bonds. 7. For this reason the statement within the secondary legislation which was mentioned beforehand, that is ‘cursed is any who hangs on a tree’, was so that a blind people might be blinded. So they considered that he who gave and distributed blessings to those who were worthy was under a curse. For this reason they did not recognize him, even after the signs that he did while in the world. When he suffered, in keeping with what they did, that statement was justly set down so that the people might be blinded, and it prevented them from 50

So Syr. Cf. Lat.: Quia uero aliut est secundatio . . . Some words have fallen out. Ps 2:3. 52 Lat. has unius uocis (‘one voice’). Connolly (1929), 229, suggests that uniuersi has been miswritten as unius. 53 Lat. breaks off here. 54 Ez 20:10-11. 55 Ez 20:25. 51

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believing and being saved. 8. For this reason he speaks thus in Isaiah: ‘Who is blind but my servants? And the servants of God are blinded and I have brought forth a blind people who have eyes yet do not see, and their ears are also stopped.’56 As a result of this statement their eyes were blinded, on account of what they did, and their ears were stopped like those of pharaoh. For this reason, together with this saying, the secondary legislation was also established, as Moses established it. And the secondary legislation is that which he calls judgements which are unprofitable, and they are incapable of saving. 9. Therefore those who take upon themselves what was imposed on account of the worship of idols shall be inheritors of the woes: ‘Woe to them who prolong their sins like a long rope, and like the strap on a heifer’s yoke.’57 Now the yoke of the bonds is a heifer’s yoke, and the bonds of the law were put on the people like a long rope on account of the sins of others from former times and generations which they bring upon themselves. Everyone who attempts to be under the secondary legislation58 is guilty of the worship of the calf, for the secondary legislation was not imposed except on account of the worship of idols, for the bonds were decreed because of the worship of idols, 10. and so any who observe them are prisoners and idol-worshippers. For this reason anyone who so binds himself is guilty of the woe and ought to confess the worship of idols. And anyone who is such is also asserting the curse against our Saviour, for if you uphold the secondary legislation you are also asserting the curse against our Saviour. You are ensnared in the bonds and are so guilty of the woe, as an enemy of the Lord God. 11. For this reason be silent, dear brothers who have come to faith from among the people and who wish still to be bound with the bonds, and who insist that the sabbath is prior to the first day of the week because Scripture says that God made all that is in six days and that on the seventh he completed all his works and sanctified it.59 12. We ask you now, which is prior, alef or tau?60 For that which is greater is that which is Is 42:19. Is 5:18. 58 The text reads: ‘Anyone who attempts to be under the law.’ However this is contrary to the whole thrust of the argument here, and it is probable that the word ‘secondary’ has fallen out here, thus leading to the rendering given here. 59 Gen 2:2. 60 These are the first and last letters of the Syriac (and Hebrew) alphabet. We can be reasonably sure that the Greek read ‘alpha or omega’, these being the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, though as Fonrobert (2001), 506-507, points out in her treatment of this passage Hebrew days might be known as day alef etc. 56 57

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the61 beginning of the world, just as the Lord our Saviour62 says through Moses: ‘In the beginning God made the heaven and the earth. And the earth was invisible and shapeless.’63 And after this he says in addition: ‘And one day was over’,64 and the seventh was not yet known. So what do you think was the greater, that which was made and formed, or that which was not yet known and of which there was no expectation that it would come to be? 13. And again we ask you: Are your most recently born children blessed, or the firstborn? Since Scripture also says ‘Jacob is blessed among the firstborn’65 and ‘Israel is my firstborn son’66 and ‘Every firstborn male who opens his mother’s womb is blessed to the Lord.’67 14. Hear then, so that we may establish you in the faith, how the first and the last day are equal. For learn that you may find it written so: ‘In his Kingdom68 the day of the Lord is like a thousand years, as yesterday, a day passed by, and like a nocturnal watch.’69 One day, therefore, is a thousand years in the Kingdom of Christ, in which the judgement will occur. For a watch of the night70 indicates the judgement, which is a prison of darkness for those who are condemned. 15. A day is to be revealed, then, in which the sun shall stand in mid course, and likewise the moon shall follow it. For he said: ‘Look, I am making the first things like the last, and the last things like the first’71 and ‘The last shall be first and the first shall be last’72 and ‘Do not remember things of old, and do not think about them. Look I am making things anew, which are now being revealed’73 and ‘In those days and in that time they 61

Lat. resumes here. So Syr. Lat. reads ‘Lord God’. 63 Gen 1:1. 64 Gen 1:5. 65 The source of this citation is unknown, but it is not scriptural. Nonetheless Ephrem Sermo ad noctem Domini resurrectionis 4 likewise uses the argument from the status of the firstborn to demonstrate the primacy of the first day of the week, and claims Jacob’s conferred primogeniture in support. 66 Ex 4:22. 67 Whereas the ultimate source of this citation is Ex 13:2, 12, it is closer here to Lk 2:23. 68 ‘In his kingdom’ is not in Lat. and may be an accretion in Syr. 69 Ps 89:4. 70 ‘One day, therefore, is a thousand years in the Kingdom of Christ, in which the judgement will occur. For a watch of the night’ is omitted by Syr. and supplied here from Lat. Connolly (1929), 235, suggests that the omission is accidental, though it is possible that it is deliberate, due to the chiliastic tone taken here. 71 An agraphon also cited in Barn. 16.13 and to which it is possible that Hippolytus In Danielem 4.37 alludes. 72 Mt 20:16 and par. 73 Is 43:19. 62

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shall no longer say “The ark of the covenant”. It shall no more be considered, nor visited, nor made.’74 But as the sabbath is counted up to the sabbath inclusively, so making eight days, so it forms an octave, which is greater than a seven-day week, namely a single week.75 16. Thus, brothers, every day is the Lord’s. For the Scripture says: ‘The earth and its fullness are the Lord’s, the world and all who dwell in it.’76 Thus if God had wished that we should be idle after every six days, first of all the patriarchs and those who were just before Moses would have been idle, as well as God himself and all his creatures. 17. Even now the course77 of the world is managed continuously, as the luminaries do not cease for a moment from their accustomed courses, following their universal and constant motion at the command of the Lord.78 If he were to say: ‘You shall be idle, you and your son, and your servant and your maid and your ass’,79 how should he continue to work, providing for80 and feeding and governing us and his creation, even as all things are moving and working on the Sabbath day.81 18. But this has been created as a type for the occasion, just as many other things are given us typologically;82 it is a type of the sabbath rest, indicating the Jer 3:16, cited from Syr. An alternative translation of this latter clause would be simply ‘the first of the week’ (i.e. Sunday). This is the rendition of former translators. The prior clause is understood differently, however, by Flemming in Achelis and Flemming (1904), who renders it ‘so it forms an octave, that which is greater than a week, the Sunday.’ The influence of Flemming on the translation here is manifest. The argument is that to count inclusively from sabbath to sabbath forms eight days, but that the true eighth day is also the first day of the next week. A similar argument is employed by Justin Dialogus 41 and, in a different context, Barnabae Ep. 15.9 to point to the superiority of Sunday, which has in turn influenced translators here, but the point made in this passage is not the superiority of Sunday but the equality of all days. 76 Ps 23:1. 77 That the underlying Greek was oi)konomi/a is indicated by the Latin translator’s note, similar to that occurring several times in the Latin version of TA within this MS: dispensatio, quod dicit Graecus oeconomia’. 78 The latter part of this clause is wanting in Syr. 79 Cf. Ex 20:10. 80 So Lat. (representing prouidens.) Syr. reads: ‘Making his winds blow.’ 81 There is a great diversity here between the versions. Lat. has been followed, but there are two illegible words, perhaps representing a clause, in the phrase ‘all things are moving and working on the sabbath day.’ The best translation of Syr. would be: ‘ . . . how should he continue to work, causing growth, and making the winds blow, so allowing his creatures to grow, and nourishing them. On the sabbath day he allows blowing and flowing, and thus he works.’ To the thought cf. Odae Salamonis 16.12 and Aphraahat Dem. 13.3 (likewise on the Sabbath). 82 ‘Just as many other things are given us typologically’ is not in Lat. and may be a gloss. 74 75

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seven thousandth year.83 [6.19] But when Our Lord and Saviour came, fulfilling the types and explaining the parables, he showed what is lifegiving, and destroyed whatever avails nothing and abolished whatever does not give life. Not only did he teach this himself, he also brought it about through the Romans. He overthrew the temple, making an end of the altar and doing away with sacrifices, abolishing every commandment and chain of the secondary legislation.84 For the Romans also hold to the law, but they disregard the secondary legislation, for which reason their dominion85 is securely established. 2. And so you, who wish today to live under the secondary legislation, are unable to do what the secondary legislation demands as long as the Romans are in government. You cannot stone the evildoer, nor execute adulterers, nor discharge the ministry of the sacrifices, nor sprinkle the ashes86 of a heifer,87 nor fulfil any of the other duties of the secondary legislation, nor complete them. For it is written: ‘Cursed be all who do not keep these words and perform them.’88 3. Yet it is impossible for you to fulfil the secondary legislation while you are dispersed among the gentiles. And so, should any of you approach it you shall fall under a curse, and inherit the woe as you bind yourself, asserting the curse against our Saviour and so suffering condemnation as somebody who resists God. 4. But if you follow Christ you shall possess the blessings. For there is no disciple greater than his master;89 you should thus conform to him, so conforming to the law by means of the Gospel, and keeping yourselves from the secondary legislation in every respect,90 just as the Lord, when he handed the Kingdom over to human keeping, let it be known that his commandments ought properly to be observed in accordance with the times and laws which he made to be kept.91 5. Now as you have the Gospel you have the 83 See, for similar imagery which may illuminate the usage here, Barnabae Ep. 15 and Hippolytus In Danielem 4.23. 84 A similar argument is employed by Eusebius at Dem. evangelica 1.3. 85 ‘Their dominion’ is wanting in Lat. CA offers no guidance. 86 ‘The ashes’ is wanting in Syr. but this version adds ‘perform libations.’ Because of the confusion in Syr. Lat. is followed. Again CA does not assist. 87 See Num 19:9. 88 Dt 27:26. 89 Mt 10:24. 90 Lat. is tortuous and probably corrupt, and so, although there is some resemblance to Syr., it is disregarded for this sentence. 91 Rendering Lat. secundum tempora et leges definitionis fecit. Cf. Syr.: ‘Justly there is law in every age.’

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recapitulation and completion of the law92 and the seal, so that you should have no desire to seek out anything which is beyond the law and the prophets.93 For the secondary legislation is abrogated whereas the law is confirmed. And those who do not want to be under the law are unwillingly brought under the law. He said in the law, ‘You shall not kill’,94 and so anyone who does kill is condemned in accordance with the Roman law and is so under the law. If you are conformed in what you do to the rule of the church and to the form of the Gospel you shall not be disappointed in putting your hope in the Lord. [6.20] Therefore stay away from all heretics, who do not employ the law or the prophets and are hostile to Almighty God whom they do not obey, and who abstain from foods and prohibit marriage, and deny the resurrection of the body, as they refuse to eat and drink but seek to raise up demons, insubstantial spirits. They shall be condemned to the fire for ever, and there they shall be judged. Therefore flee from them and avoid them so that you do not perish along with them. [6.21] And if any are scrupulous, and wish to observe the usual courses of nature with regard to natural emissions and intercourse, they should be aware, first of all, that they are affirming the curse against our Saviour in accordance with the secondary legislation, as we have already said,95 and bringing themselves into condemnation for no reason.96 92 So Lat. recapitulationem et uerticem legis; cf. Syr. which has ‘renewal.’ The Greek word was almost certainly a)nakefalai/wsiv. This rhetorical term meant a summary. The meaning is thus that, as the Gospel summarizes the law and the prophets, there is no need for what is in them beyond what is also in the Gospel. Lat. therefore, as Connolly (1929), 241 and Vööbus (1979b) 237, suggest, may be attempting a double rendition of the word. 93 So Syr. Lat reads: quod plus est a lege a profetis ut euangelio nolite nihil aliud quaerere. If the ut is emended to et then this might be rendered: ‘so that you should not seek anything out beyond the law, beyond the prophets, and the Gospel.’ Although Connolly (1929), 241, emends ut here to ab, in line with the previous prepositions, the meaning is the same. He suggests that the words are inserted ‘in order to avoid an apparent exclusion of the Gospel.’ 94 Ex 29:13. 95 At 6.19.3. 96 The scriptural basis for separation of men who discharge semen and women who are menstruating is Leviticus 15. It is from here that the seven days derive; the bathing after ejaculation likewise is scriptural, but the bathing after normal menstruation which appears to have been practised in this community is the product of later discussion, as menstruation is confounded with other forms of haemorrhage, as stated in TB Niddah 67B. It is interesting that, according to Tosefta Berakoth 2.12-13, menstruants, though not men who had had a seminal discharge, are permitted to read Scripture and to study the law, and both are permitted to pray whereas, as Fonrobert (2005), 249, points out,

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Moreover they should tell us at what days and what hours they refrain from prayer, or participation in the eucharist, or contact97 with the Scriptures on the grounds that they are void of the Holy Spirit.98 For we have received the Holy Spirit in baptism, and he is always with those who act properly, and does not depart on the grounds of emissions or intercourse but is always present, keeping them who possess him,99 just as the Lord says in Proverbs: ‘He shall keep you, even while you are sleeping, and when you arise he will talk to you.’100 And again the Lord speaks similarly in the Gospel: ‘It shall be given to all who have, and he shall have plenty, but even what they think they have shall be taken from any who has not.’101 Thus it is added to those who have but is taken away from those who think that they have not, as even what they think they have is taken away.102 Concerning those who observe the days of menstrual flux.103 2. Now if, woman, you think that you have been deserted by the Holy Spirit in the seven days of your menstruation, and if you die during these days you will go forth empty and devoid of hope. Yet if the Holy Spirit is with you constantly there is no reason to stay away from prayer and from eucharist and from the Scriptures.104 Consider that prayer is taken up by the Holy Spirit, that the eucharist is sanctified by both in this setting are absenting themselves from Scripture as well as prayer and eucharist. Assuming that the practice of these persons within Christianity is an extension of that learnt within Judaism this indicates the existence of schools of interpretation of what is proper and not for various classes of person other than those codified in the rabbinic literature. This is not the only discussion of such issues in early Christian literature. Thus we may note that TA 41.13, whilst brief, takes the same view as DA at least of prayer by a man who may have had intercourse with his wife, whereas the observances condemned here are actually prescribed in Hom. Clem. 7.8. Generally we must agree with Fonrobert that what is at issue here is less theological precept than a need to construct boundaries between the two religious systems. 97 Syr. has ‘reading’ but Lat. contingant is supported by CA qi/gein. 98 The logic of this sentence is obscure in Syr. but CA and Lat. are clear and allow the rendering given here. 99 Lat. is largely illegible in this sentence. Syr. is followed. 100 Prov 6:22. 101 Mt 13:2. 102 Lat. glosses this explanation by suggesting that ‘on some days’ they think they have nothing whereas ‘on other days’ they think they have something! Connolly (1929) suggests that this is an attempt to smooth over the inconsistency. 103 This subtitle is only present in Syr. Elsewhere marginal notes have become included in the text of some MSS, and this could be a further example of the same, except that it is extant in more MSS. 104 So Lat. Syr. reads ‘ . . .from prayer, and from the Scriptures and from the eucharist.’

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the Holy Spirit,105 and that the Scriptures are holy because they are the words of the Holy Spirit. For if the Holy Spirit is in you, it is pointless to try and avoid the deeds of the Holy Spirit, like those who say: ‘Whoever swears by the altar is not sinning, but anyone who swears by the gift placed upon it is sinning.’ The Lord says to them: ‘You are stupid and blind! What is the greater, the gift, or the altar which sanctifies the gift? Thus anybody who swears by the altar is swearing by it and by everything which has been placed upon it. And anyone who swears by the temple is swearing also by the one who dwells within it. And whoever swears by heaven is swearing by the throne of God and by the one seated upon it.’106 And so if you possess the Holy Spirit but keep yourselves away from its fruits you shall likewise hear, from the Lord Jesus Christ: ‘You are stupid and blind! What is the greater, the bread or the Holy Spirit who sanctifies the bread?’ 3. Thus if you possess the Holy Spirit107 your observances are pointless and your customs are pointless.108 But if the Holy Spirit is not in you, how can you do anything righteous?109 The Holy Spirit is always present with those who possess it, even with those who have long neglected it. But should the Holy Spirit be absent for even a single day an unclean spirit will rapidly move in, as the Lord says:110 ‘When an unclean spirit goes out of somebody it goes around in waterless places’ (that is, among those people who have not been baptized) ‘but when it finds no place of rest it says: I shall go back to my home, from which I came. And if it comes and finds it empty and clean, he then goes and brings with himself seven spirits which are even worse than he, and they shall come and make their home in that person. And the state of the person will be even worse than it was previously.’111 4. Now learn why an unclean spirit finds nowhere to rest when it emerges. Every person is filled with a spirit, some with the Holy Spirit, 105

So Lat. Syr. reads: ‘accepted and sanctified’ Mt 23:18-22. 107 The words from ‘ . . .sanctifies the bread’ up to ‘ . . .Holy Spirit’ are absent in Syr., probably through homoioteleuton, and supplied from Lat. 108 So Lat. Syr. reads ‘You fool, you are keeping pointless observances’, but the plural of ‘pointless’, probably kena/, has, on its first appearance, been mistaken for a feminine singular. 109 This phrase is absent in Lat. Connolly (1929) thinks it might have been omitted by the same process of homoioteleuton which led to the earlier confusion in Syr. It is also possible, however, that this is a gloss. 110 Here the translation is from Lat. Syr. seems to omit a great deal. 111 Mt 12:43-45. 106

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some with an unclean spirit, the faithful with the Holy Spirit and the unbeliever with one which is unclean, which allows no entry to any other spirit.112 5. Now anyone who has rejected and put off and been set free from the unclean spirit in baptism is filled with the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit continues in the person, who remains filled, as the unclean spirit finds no place, as long as that person continues in doing good, as somebody filled with the Holy Spirit will not receive it.113 Now all people are filled with their own spirit, and the unclean spirits114 do not go far from the pagans as long as they remain as pagans, even if they are doing good. For there is no other way in which an unclean spirit may be got to depart except by sacred purification and holy baptism.115 And so, when it can find no place to enter, it returns to the one who had rejected it and put it off, and if he is filled with the Holy Spirit he will not receive it.116 6. And so, woman, if117 you are empty in the seven days of your menstruation it is just as you say it is, as you will be filled with an unclean spirit, It will return to you and find an empty space, and dwell within you always,118 and there will be constant entrances and exits of pure and impure spirits, and perpetual warfare! It is your own foolish beliefs which bring this about, and the observances which you keep, as your belief has led to the absence of the Holy Sprit from you which is filled up by the impure ones, which lead to your rejection from life and to everlasting burning. 7. And, moreover, tell me, woman: the seven days of your menstruation or flux are unclean for you according to the secondary legislation, so are you then, as it were, unbaptized at the end of the seven days and so are cleansed, or baptized, so that you may seem to be pure and so hand yourself over to the everlasting fire as though you were not baptized (since you have not accepted the perfect 112 ‘ . . .which allows no entry to any other spirit. ‘So Lat. Syr. reads ‘and his nature is not receptive of any other spirit.’ CA offers no guidance with ‘he is unable to flee one or other of the spirits.’ It is impossible to determine the right reading, but the overall meaning is clear enough. 113 ‘As somebody filled with the Holy Spirit will not receive it ‘ om. Lat. Flemming in Achelis and Flemming (1904), 221, suggests that the inclusion in Syr. is erroneous. 114 ‘Unclean spirits’ so Syr.; Lat. is illegible. 115 So Lat. Syr. has ‘except by the pure and holy Spirit of God’, which Connolly (1929), 247, calls ‘a quite unaccountable variant!’ MSS of the E family, however, have ‘except through baptism and the Holy Spirit.’ 116 As Connolly (1929), 246, observes, there are strong echoes of Hermas Mand. 5.2.5-7 in this passage. However, we may also compare Aphraahat Dem. 6.14-17, likewise concerned with the indwelling of the Spirit brought about through baptism. 117 ‘If ’ is not in Syr. but its presence is confirmed by Lat. and CA. 118 ‘ . . .and dwell with you always’ om. Lat.

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cleansing for sin)?119 For in accordance with your own opinion you will remain unclean, and you will have gained nothing by your pointless observance of the seven days. Indeed, it did you harm. You are impure by your own supposition, and are condemned on the grounds of your impurity.120 8. You should have this regard towards all who are observant with regard to emissions of semen and intercourse with women. For all these observances are foolish and harmful. For if anyone has an emission of semen,121 or intercourse with a woman, he ought to be baptized, and wash his bed as well. And he will have the constant vexation of baptizing himself, and washing his things122 and his bed as well, and he will not be able to do anything else. Now if you are baptized after an emission and after intercourse in accordance with the secondary legislation, you ought to be baptized after stepping on a mouse. And if you come into contact with a bone,123 or a tomb,124 you should be baptized, and never will you 119 So Lat. Syr. reads: ‘Woman, I say to you again: if you consider yourself unclean during the seven days of your menstruation according to the secondary legislation, after the seven days how are you to purify yourself except through baptism? But if you bathe yourself you shall deny the perfect baptism of God which remitted your sins completely, by the means by which you think you are being cleansed, and so be found in the wickedness of your previous sins, and handed over to everlasting fire.’ Although the two versions are clearly dealing with the same text there are distinct differences between them, and I am unable to determine which is the more accurate rendition of the original. CA offers no guidance. 120 Fonrobert (2005), 247-248, suggests that the women who observed the seven days of purification during menstruation had argued that in this time the Holy Spirit was absent from them, but it seems more probable that this is a constructed argument by the Deuterotic redactor, suggesting that the women are behaving as though they had been deserted by the Holy Spirit and then drawing out the implications of such an argument. Since the issue is the continuation of Jewish practices by those who had been baptized into the Christian church one might anticipate that the weight of tradition had primacy amongst those of Jewish descent, to which the redactor creates a theological counter-argument based on their baptismal experience. 121 Syr. has ‘issue of blood’, but Lat. makes clear that semen is meant. 122 ‘Things’ is rendered following Lat. rerum. Connolly (1929), 249, suggests that skeuw~n is being rendered, as Syr. yhwN)M might mean either ‘his vessels’ or ‘his clothes.’ 123 Lat. adds aut pellem aut ossuum uulneratum (‘or skin or a damaged bone’). Connolly (1929), 251, suggests that these are marginal notes which have been incorporated into the MS. It is also possible that they have themselves been corrupted, ossuum uulneratum being a corruption of mortuum uulneratum, ‘dead or bleeding,’ in which case it is more likely to have been part of the original. 124 Syr. reads ‘enter a tomb.’ In the absence of guidance from CA Lat. is preferred in view of the argument below regarding eucharist in the cemeteries, which take place at tombs but not in them.

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be clean!125 You are even shod with shoes made from the skin of dead animals which have been sacrificed to idols, and your clothes are made of the wool of similar animals. Thus you will never be clean, and will undo your most sacred baptism, renewing the secondary legislation and taking upon yourself the idolatry of the calf. 9. For if you take up the secondary legislation you are also taking up idolatry, which was the reason for the imposition of the secondary legislation, bringing upon yourself the sins of others from of old like ‘a long rope and a heifer’s band’126 and submitting yourself to the woes. In consenting to the secondary legislation you are agreeing with the curse which was laid upon the Saviour, and bearing testimony to a curse which is opposed to the blessing and opposed to Christ, who shares blessings with those who are worthy, and shall gain a curse.127 For ‘anyone who curses is cursed.’128 And so to how great a curse, and to how great a condemnation, shall they who affirm a curse upon our Saviour, our Lord and our God, be delivered! [6.22] Therefore, beloved, flee and shun such observances; having received release do not bind yourselves again and, having been relieved of your loads by our Lord and Saviour, do not burden yourselves. But make no observance of such matters, and do not think that such things pollute you, and do not alter your conduct on their account,129 and seek after separations130 or sprinklings or baptisms or purifications. For in the secondary legislation anyone who touches a tomb or somebody who is dead is to be baptized 2. but you, in accordance with the Gospel and in accordance with the power of the Holy Spirit, gather in the cemeteries to read the Holy Scriptures and to offer your prayers and your rites131 to God without observance132 and offer an 125 This sentence is placed in the position found in Lat. Syr. seems to have moved it slightly, placing it after the sentence following, regarding shoes and clothes. 126 Is 5:18. So Syr.; Lat. is confused, possibly due to the inclusion of some marginalia. 127 So Lat. Syr. is slightly simpler, reading: ‘ . . .and despise Christ the blessed (or ‘Christ the King’ in two MSS) who shares blessings with those who are worthy.’ 128 Num 24:9. Syr. adds: ‘and anyone who blesses is blessed.’ 129 ‘Do not alter your conduct on their account’ om. Lat. 130 ‘Separations’ om. Syr. Its inclusion from Lat. is supported by CA. 131 ‘And your rites’ om. Syr. Although CA offers a distinct version here, speaking of singing and the honour of the martyrs, it implies there was more here than reading, prayers and eucharist. 132 That is to say, without observing the Jewish prohibition on contact with the dead. This is the reading ()YrwN )L) of one good Syr. MS supported by CA. The majority of Syriac MSS read )YNwr )L (without hesitation) which, as Vööbus (1979b), 243, remarks, is easy to explain as a corruption. Lat. has ‘ceaselessly.’

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acceptable133 eucharist, the likeness of the royal body of Christ,134 both in your congregations and in your cemeteries and on the departure of those who sleep.135 You set pure bread before him, which is formed by fire and sanctified by the invocation, offering without demur and praying for those who sleep. 3. For according to the Gospel those who sleep136 are not dead, as Our Lord and Saviour137 said to the Sadducees: ‘Have you not read what was written regarding the resurrection of the dead? I am the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob For his is not God of the dead but of the living.’138 4. Elisha the prophet raised up a dead man when he was sleeping and had been a long time dead139 as his body touched the body of a dead man and revived it. This could not have happened had not the body of him who slept been holy and filled with the Holy Spirit. 5. And so you are to have contact with those who rest, without regard for observances, and not to consider them unclean. Likewise you are not to enforce separation on those (women) who are as usual. For the woman who was suffering from haemorrhage was not censured when she touched the hem of the Saviour’s cloak but was then healed140 and obtained the forgiveness of her sins. 6. Therefore you should not go to your wives when they are undergoing natural flux, but hold to them,141 knowing that they are your own members and that you love them as your own lives, as it is written in Malachi, 133

Lat. reads ‘royal.’ ‘Acceptable’ is given following Syr. and CA. Syr reads: ‘The likeness of the body, the Kingdom of Christ’. This is an error which is readily explained. CA supports Lat. One Syr. MS reads ‘the likeness of the Body of the Kingdom’ which Vööbus (1979b), 243, believes is the correct reading. 135 On ritual meals at funerals and in cemeteries see the introduction 4.c.2 and refs. 136 Lat. reads ‘who are dead.’ 137 So Lat. Syr. has ‘Our Lord’ and CA has ‘Our Saviour’! 138 Mt 22:31-33. 139 In Lat. it appears that it was the man who was raised who had been dead a long time whereas that it was Elisha who was dead is clear from Syr. Cf. 2 Kg 13:21. 140 ‘Was then healed’ is not in Syr. CA, which does not, however, mention the forgiveness of sins, supports its inclusion. 141 ‘You should not go to’ is absent in Syr. which reads instead ‘And when they (your wives) are in their natural flux you should hold to them in the manner which is right . . .’ Flemming in Achelis and Flemming (1904), 223, suggests some accidental omission on the part of the Syriac translator and Vööbus (1979b), 244, similarly opines that Lat. is closer to the original and that accidental omission has occurred. However, although the suggestion of Flemming and Vööbus is followed here there is much to be said for Connolly’s assertion (1929), 255, that Syr. is ‘more in the spirit of the author’. Although CA tends to support Lat. there is little verbal correspondence, thus supporting Connolly’s suggestion that Lat. and CA are independent ‘improvements’ of the original. 134

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who is called the angel, among the twelve prophets:142 7’For the Lord has borne witness between yourself and the wife of your youth, whom you have deserted. She is your partner and the wife of your covenant. And did he not make her? And they are the residue of his spirit. And you have said: “What does God want apart from pure seed?” Take heed in your spirits and do not abandon the wife of your youth.’143 8. And so a woman when she is menstruating, and a man who has an emission of semen, and a man and woman who come together in marriage and then get up from each other, are to pray without observance and without washing, as they are pure. 9. But whoever corrupts and defiles the wife of another after illumination,144 or defiles himself with a prostitute, shall not be pure145 when he has got up from her, even if he is washed in all the seas and all the rivers in the world. 10. And so, dear brothers, avoid and shun146 all such pointless observances, and stand firm in whose which lead to immortality,147 keeping your body pure and unspotted with one marriage, so that you may participate in immortality, and have communion with the Kingdom of God, and may receive what the Lord God has promised and rest in eternity. [6.23] We could explain the didascalia to you more clearly with many proofs like these, and so extend the writing, yet here we complete the discourse so that the severity of the truth should not over-fill you with the teaching with which we speak.148 2. And so do not be wearied of what has been said; for our Lord and Saviour himself responded with harshness to those who deserved condemnation when he said: ‘Take them away and throw them into outer darkness And there shall be weeping there, and the gnashing of teeth’149 and ‘Get away from me, you accursed, into the everlasting fire which my father has prepared for On this ascription see 6.15.2 above and the footnote ad loc. Mal 2:14-15, translated following Syr. which has many divergences from any other version. 144 Lat. actually reads: post inluminationem, quod dicit Graecus fotisma. The Greek word is cited as above, when the word oikonomia is verbally cited, and as in the Latin version of TA. Syr. reads ‘baptism.’ 145 MSS of the E family read ‘clean of sin.’ 146 Lat. has one verb only, cauete. Both may be independent renditions of mh\ parathrei~sqe. 147 ‘Keeping to those which lead to immortality’ is not in Syriac. 148 Cf. Syr.: ‘so that the teaching of our discourse should remain with you only briefly.’ Connolly (1929), 256, followed by Vööbus (1979b), 256, observes that the Syriac translator has confused koro/j with kairo/j. 149 Mt 25:30. 142 143

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the devil and his angels.’150 3. And he has also compared the word to fire and the sword as he said by Jeremiah: ‘The word of the Lord is like an axe cutting stone, and a fire going around and burning up.’151 4. It is a sword and a fire and an axe not to those who hear the truth, but the saying (refers) to the people who did not desire to hear when reproved by our Lord and master, for they did not believe because they thought it like iron and fire,152 and did not obey when they heard what was said to them by him,153 for his words appeared to be harsh and severe to them. 5. And so he said to them: ‘Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and do not do what I say?’154 Likewise our writing may appear to some to be severe and harsh because of its truth. 6. But had we written gently, to please people, then many might have fallen away from the faith and we would be responsible for them.155 7. For just as a sensible physician, unable to contain an ulcer through drugs and poultices, turns to a more severe form of remedy,156 that is to the knife and to cauterization, by which alone he can overcome the disease and heal the sick, so the word of the Lord is like a poultice and a salve and a plaster to those who hear it and keep it, but to those who hear and do not act it seems to be iron and fire. 8. And so to him, who is able to open the ears of your hearts to receive the words of the Lord which are supplied157 through the Gospel and through the teaching of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, who was crucified under Pontius Pilate158 and who slept, in order to tell Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all his saints of the end of the age and the resurrection of the dead which is to be, and who rose from the Mt 25:41. Jer 23:19 cited following Lat. Whereas Syr. is the same as Peshitta, this text is different from any other. Connolly (1929), 257, however, points out that the text is cited in this form by Irenaeus at Haer. 5.17.4, and suggests that DA here is indebted to Irenaeus. 152 So Lat., which is not altogether free of difficulty, and in which the negative is supplied from Syr. Cf. Syr.: ‘It is a sword and a fire and distress not to those who hear the truth, but as the saying which the people did not desire to hear when our Lord and teacher reproved them, because they thought it hard like iron.’ 153 Cf. Syr. ‘They did not obey what he said to them.’ Lat. is preferred in the light of the following citation. 154 Lk 6:46. 155 Syr. reads ‘we should be guilty of their blood.’ 156 Syr. adds ‘and to surgery’. 157 So Lat. (ministrata) and CA (dihkonhme/na). Syr. reads ‘incisive’ words, through mistakenly deriving the participle from diakona/w. 158 Syr. reads ‘in the days of Pontius Pilate.’ CA supports Lat. 150 151

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dead to show and to give us who know him159 a pledge of the resurrection, and was received into the heavens through the power of God and his Spirit, and who is seated above the cherubim at the right hand of the throne of Almighty God, and who will come again in power and glory to judge the living and the dead:160 to him be power and glory and majesty and Kingdom, to his Father and the Holy Spirit,161 who was and is and shall be both now and to all generations for ever and to the ages. Amen.

159 Syr. reads ‘that we might know him’ whereas Lat. reads, literally, ‘(to) known ones who are his’ (notis suis). CA simply reads h(mi~n, which led Hauler (1900) to emend notis to nobis. However the notion that the resurrection is given as a means of knowledge of God is central here and so the emendation evacuates the point. As Connolly (1929), 259, points out, the issue may be resolved by postulating that the Greek was toi~v gnwri/moiv au)tou~. 160 ‘Living and the dead.’ So Lat.; cf. Syr. ‘the dead and the living’ which is, as Connolly (1929), 258, points out, the usual order in early Syriac literature. 161 Lat. reads ‘to the Son’ which Connolly (1929), 258, thinks right. However since Jesus is the subject of all that precedes it seems that this is an error on the part of the Latin translator.

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There are two significant blocks of material which are present in the E family of MSS but not in the A. They are printed as an appendix so that the reader might not get the impression that they have manuscript support equal to the main body of the Didascalia, since they are certainly among the latest elements to be included in DA. However, given their importance for an understanding of the Nachleben of the document, they are not altogether omitted. the first block: a preface The first block of material found solely in E is a preface which is found after the primitive contents list. Connolly and Vööbus agree that it is entirely secondary,1 as it is reminiscent of versions of DA in Ethiopic and Arabic, which are derived from AC. In its position at the front of the document it sets out the apostolic authorship of DA from the very beginning, a setting which otherwise only emerges slowly from a reading of the document.

the didascalia In the name of the Father Almighty, and the eternal Word, and the only Son, and the Holy Spirit, one true God. We begin to write the book of the Didascalia as the holy apostles of our Lord laid down for

1

Connolly (1929), xiv; Vööbus (1979b), 37*.

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us, concerning the leaders of the holy church, and the canons and laws for believers, as they directed therein. We, however, the twelve apostles of the only son, the eternal Word of God, our Lord, our God and our Saviour, Jesus Christ, were assembled with one accord in Jerusalem, the city of the great King, and with us was our brother Paul, the apostle to the nations, and James, bishop of the said city, and we confirmed this Didascalia, in which the confession of the faith is incorporated, and have named all the ordinances like the ordinances of heaven, and also the ordinances of the holy church.2 We pronounce that everybody should stand and confess and believe in that which has been assigned by God: that is to say the bishop as shepherd, and the presbyters as teachers, and the deacons as servants, and the subdeacons as assistants, and the readers as those who recite, and the choir as those who make music with understanding in their position,3 and the rest of the people as those who listen to the words of the Gospel for correction. When we completed and determined these canons we set them up in the church, and now have written this other book of teaching which enlightens the whole habitable world. When we had written it we sent it by the hands of our partner Clement. What you are listening to, O Christian Nazarenes, wherever you are under the sun, you shall learn with diligence and care. Whoever hears and keeps the commandments which are written in this Didascalia will have everlasting life, and great boldness before the be¯ma 4 of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who instructs us in the great mystery which is of himself. They shall expel, as an opponent and a schismatic, whomsoever disputes them and does not keep them, and he shall dwell in Gehenna for eternity, as it is written that those who do evil will go to eternal torment, and that those who do good shall inherit eternal life in the Kingdom of Heaven. Amen. It consists of twenty-seven chapters. 2 The idea that the church mirrors heaven is early: note Ignatius Ad Trallianos 3.1, 1 Clem. 34.1-6, Clement of Alexandria Strom. 4.8. It is possible that the idea here is derived from K 1, which itself incorporates an earlier source, especially since K likewise sets out with a description of the gathering of the apostles. 3 )MwQB. Vööbus (1979b), 8, n. 5, suggests, as an alternative rendering, ‘tenure of office.’ 4 The be¯ma was a raised platform located in the nave, or between the nave and the sanctuary, in Syrian churches employed liturgically for readings, sermons and blessings. See Taft (1968) and (1970); Renhart (1995). Note also the tenth canon, regarding the reading of Scripture, of the commandments of Addai below.

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the second block: a collection of canonical material The second extraneous block found in E is a collection of canonical material from diverse sources. In the E recension this block is found after the third chapter, thus prefacing the account of the appointment of bishops within the original DA. Vööbus suggests that their inclusion is the work of a Syrian canonist, who had them all from a single collection of material.5 The first set of material, largely concerning the ordering of the church, being derived from Testamentum Domini thus supplements what is said in what follows when DA is recommenced regarding the election of bishops. From then further church order material follows, firstly a version of K. The material from K, however, omits much of the second half of K which concerned the election and appointment of presbyters, deacons, widows and laymen, presumably because these subjects are covered elsewhere in this collection of material. Having cited the two-ways section of K in its entirety this version goes on to include the canon regarding the reader, which is not otherwise discussed in this collection. Such an omission may have been the work of the canonist who collected this material. Beyond that there is a statement regarding hours of prayer, a version of the canons appended to the Doctrina Addaei and a collection of canons regarding marriage and baptismal sponsorship ascribed to an otherwise unknown Yohanan. It is hard to see the basis for the inclusion of these further documents apart from their claim to apostolic authorship. Gerlach, however, suggests that the inclusion of the statements regarding the Pascha from the Canons of Addai enabled the redactor of the E recension to make the deep cuts found in the twenty-first chapter of DA, regarding the Pascha, since this material, found in the recension long before the twenty-first chapter, has already in part discussed the timing and breaking of the paschal fast.6 It is possible that the inclusion of this material enabled reduction in the material elsewhere, but this of itself does not account for the selection. As suggested in the introduction, however, this does provide evidence that DA was living literature; the desire to supplement the apostolic teaching and, indeed, through the provision of a new preface to re-inforce it, indicates that this teaching continued useful in the Syrian church. 5 6

Vööbus (1979b), 39*-43*. Gerlach (1998), 208.

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concerning the appointment of bishops Let a bishop be appointed, being elected by all the people7 in accordance with the will of the Holy Spirit. He should be without fault, pure, gentle, humble, free of anxiety, vigilant, no lover of money, blameless, not contentious, merciful, not overmuch talkative, a lover of the good, a lover of the poor, expert in the mysteries, not confused or wandering in step with the world, peaceable and perfect in all good things, as befits one to whom the order and place of God has been entrusted. Moreover it is best that he should have no wife, and so remain. Otherwise that he has been the husband of one wife only, so that he may sympathize with the weakness of the widows. He should be appointed when of middle age, and not a youth. If he is so, he should receive laying on of hands on the first day of the week while all who participate in his appointment give testimony on his behalf together with all the presbyters and together with all the bishops who are in attendance. concerning the election of presbyters A presbyter should be ordained on the testimony of all the people with regard to those things which were mentioned above with regard to bishops: wise in readings, humble, gentle, poor, no lover of money, hard-working in the service of the weak, proven as pure, without fault; whether he has been as a father to the orphans; whether he has served the poor, whether he has not absented himself from the church, who is noble in piety in all things. If he is so, so he is worthy. Those things which are useful and suitable are revealed to us by God; thus it is with regard to those who are held worthy of the gift of healing. that a presbyter should teach; and also whom and on the basis of what experience However, the teaching of the presbyter should be suitable and apt, gentle, temperate too, mingled with fear and trembling, in conformity moreover with that of the bishop. And in their teaching they should not teach vanity, but the hearers should keep all that they hear, so that the presbyter may say that they have remembered all that he 7 )M( hLK nM. This could mean ‘from all the people’, but such a reading is unlikely. A similar point is raised by the corresponding direction in TA, from which this section is ultimately derived.

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has taught. For in the day of the Lord a word will be required of him as he will bear witness for the people, so that they who have not listened should be punished, and so that he may, himself, rise up before the glory of the Father. And when he speaks he should do so in accordance with his teaching, so that by teaching he does not perish. He should pray on behalf of his listeners that the Lord should give them understanding of the spirit of the knowledge of truth, so that he should not pointlessly be throwing a pearl before swine, but may prove that they who have listened and laboured are worthy, lest the word should not bear fruit in them, but perish, and he must account for its perdition. concerning the election of deacons A deacon should be ordained when he has been elected in accordance with all the things which were said above. If his conduct is good, if he is chaste (if he is being elected on account of his chastity or on account of his indifference to attraction; otherwise he should be married to a single wife). He should be one to whom all the faithful bear witness that he is not entangled with worldly concerns, who knows no devilish craft, who has neither riches nor sons. And if he has sons it is also right that they should learn the loveliness of piety, that they should be pure, that they should beautify the church and the canon of service. The church, however, should support them so that they may continue in the law and in labouring in service; so should he not fulfill in the church those things which are right? His service should be of this nature: firstly the proclamation of whatever is commanded by the bishop so that this may be done above all else; he shall be the counsellor of all the clergy and the council of the church.8 He it is who serves the sick, who serves the strangers, who assists the widows. He visits all the houses of the needy lest there should be any in distress, or sickness, or affliction. He visits all the houses of the catechumens so that he may strengthen those who are in doubt, and teach anyone who is in ignorance. He is to dress dead men, having laid them out, and bury strangers, those who are away from their dwellings, wayfarers or captives. The care of those in need is his concern, and he should inform the church about them.

8 Reading here )rz) with Testamentum Domini, as against the MSS of DA which read r)z); this would mean he shall be the counsellor of all the clergy and the sacrament (conceivably, ‘symbol’) of the church.

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what is right for those who are sons of the church Twelve presbyters should be known in the church, seven deacons and four9 subdeacons. However, let there be three widows who are seated at the front.10 One from among the deacons, who is held of them to be most painstaking and careful, should be chosen to be the one who receives strangers in the house which is the church’s inn. He should be clad at all times in white garments, with only a stole upon his shoulder. He is the eye of the church in all things, as with reverence he represents in a type the people which is outstanding in piety. the teaching of the twelve holy apostles11 Rejoice, sons and daughters in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. John and Matthew and Peter and Andrew and Philip and Simon and James and Nathanael and Thomas and Kephas and Bartholomew and Jude the son of James13 were gathered together at the command of our Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour. Just as he commanded us: ‘Before you are ready to make any assignations to provinces you are to count the number of the places, the jurisdictions of the bishops, the seats of the presbyters, the constancy of the deacons, the admonitions of the readers, the blamelessness of the widows and all that is rightful for the foundation and constitution of the church, that thus they may know the type of things heavenly. They should be careful in guarding themselves against every error, mindful that, on the great day of judgement, they shall have to give account of what they heard and did not keep.’ And he commanded us to establish his demands everywhere. Thus it seemed to us, with regard to reminding and advising the brotherhood, that, just as Our Lord revealed to each of us these words of remembrance through the Holy Spirit in accordance with the will of God, so we should command you. 12

9 So the text. The Coptic and Arabic versions read ‘fourteen’, which is more likely. The scribal error is easily explained. Rahmani, the editor of Testament Domini suggests ‘readers’. 10 So the text. Again the Coptic and Arabic versions read ‘thirteen’, which Vööbus (1979b), 30, prefers. However, K 21 codifies the appointment of three widows, so the number at this point may well be correct. 11 As already noted, this is a version of the two ways from K from which the latter part, regarding ministries in the church, has mostly been omitted. To this cf. the Greek text, ed. Stewart-Sykes (2006). 12 Reading wdh, in keeping with Greek, rather than the wzh (look!) of the MSS. This, rendering xai/rete, is a regular epistolary greeting. 13 There is some dissension among the manuscripts in the order of these names. The order given here is that of the Greek text, followed by some Syriac manuscripts.

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John said: ‘Men, brothers, since we are aware that we are to give an account of what was commanded us, we should not be acceptors of persons, but if anyone seems to say anything which is not fitting, somebody should speak up in opposition to him.’ They all agreed that John should speak first. John said: ‘There are two ways: the one of life and the other of death. However, there are many differences between these two ways. The way of life is thus: firstly you shall love God who made you with all your heart, and you shall glorify him who has redeemed you from death; this indeed is the first commandment. The second, however: you shall love your neighbour like your own life; this indeed is the second commandment. On these depend all the law and the prophets.’ Matthew said: ‘Whatever you would not have done to you, do not to others. Do not do to others that which you hate. Brother Peter: tell the teaching of these sayings.’ Peter said: ‘You shall not kill. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not fornicate. You shall not corrupt a boy. You shall not steal. You shall not practise divination. You shall not practise magic. You shall not kill a child through abortion, nor kill him after birth. You shall not covet what belongs to your neighbour. You shall not act against your oaths. You shall not witness falsely. You shall not speak wickedly. You shall not store up wrongs. You shall not be double-minded nor doubletongued, for being double-tongued is a snare of death. Your words should not be empty or false. You shall not be rapacious or grasping, also not a respecter of persons, nor malevolent, nor boastful, nor shall you plot evil against your neighbour. You shall hate no man, but some you shall reprove and some you shall pity. Concerning them, however, you shall pray; and love them more than your own life.’ Andrew said: ‘My son, flee from all evil and from everything like to it. Do not be prone to anger, since anger leads to murder, for anger is a male demon. Do not be jealous, nor quarrelsome, nor hot-blooded. For murder comes about from these.’ Philip said: ‘My son, do not be lustful, for lust leads to fornication, and draws men toward herself, for lust is a female demon. The one with anger, the other with sweetness, destroy those into whom they enter. The path of an evil demon is a sin of the soul. And even should it have a narrow entrance it enlarges it for itself, and leads that soul into all manner of evil and does not allow the man to look and see what is true. Let wrath within you have a measure to it, bring it instantly under control and suppress it, lest it force you to do evil. For

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anger, and the enjoyment of evil, when they remain in a man for a period, become demons. And, when a man allows them, they swell up in his soul, growing greater, leading him to works of wickedness, laughing at him and rejoicing in the destruction of a man.’ Simon said: ‘My son, do not utter obscenity, nor lift up the eyes; from these adulteries come about.’14 James said: ‘My son, do not practise divination, for this will lead you to the worship of idols, nor be a charmer, nor teach foreign or pagan teachings, nor a purifier, nor desire to see nor hear such things. From all of these comes the worship of idols.’ Nathanael said: ‘My son, do not be deceitful, for deceit leads to theft, nor a lover of money, nor glory in vain things, for theft comes from all of these. My son, do not be a grumbler, for grumbling leads on to blasphemy. Do not be overbearing or arrogant, nor plan evil,15 for from all these come blasphemies. Rather be humble and gentle, for those who are humble and gentle will inherit the Kingdom of Heaven. Be patient, merciful, a peacemaker, pure of any evil in your heart, innocent and quiet.16 It is good that you should observe the words which you have heard in trembling. Do not exalt yourself, nor spend your life with the haughty, but with the righteous, and be concerned with the poor. Whatever befall you count as goodness, since you know that nothing occurs without God.’ Thomas said: ‘My son, you shall love as the apple of your eye the one who speaks the Word of God to you, and is the cause of your life, and who gives you the seal that is of Christ. You shall remember him by night and by day, moreover you should honour him as God, for wherever what is of the Lord is spoken, the Lord is there. Each day you should seek his face, as of the rest of the saints, so that you may find refreshment. Indeed, you are sanctified through being joined to the saints. You shall honour him as you are able through your sweat, and through the labour of your hands. For if the Lord has held you worthy to receive through him spiritual food and drink and everlasting life, so 14 A significantly different text is represented by some manuscripts; Simon the Zealot is introduced before Simon, and he gives a declaration almost identical to that of James found below. Then they go on to James: ‘James said: ‘My son, do not be a speaker of words which are obscene or foolish. For these take you far from God. Nor be one who lifts up eyes, for whoever lifts up eyes falls away from God. Do not desire the wife of your friend. Do not long for sodomy, since from these come about adulteries and the wrath of God.’ This is not represented in the Greek text. 15 Syr. here takes the Greek ponhro ’ frwn as ponhrofronw~n. 16 Some MSS add ‘and sober’, a reading unsupported by the Greek.

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much the more should you offer him perishable and temporal food, for ‘the labourer is worthy of his wage’,17 and ‘you shall not muzzle a threshing ox’,18 and ‘nobody plants a vineyard and does not eat from its fruit.’19 Kephas20 said: ‘Do not make schisms, but reconcile those who are quarrelling; judging justly, have no regard for persons in reproving any man who is a wrongdoer. For wealth is of no advantage with the Lord, nor do those with authority have any preference or honour, nor is beauty an advantage, but with him all are equal. Do not be divided in your prayer as to whether it shall be or whether it should not be. Do not be stretching out your hand to receive, while closing the hand that gives. If you have anything in your hands give it as a redemption for your sins. And do not be divided when you give, and do not grumble when you give; know who it is that is the good payer of your reward. Do not turn your face from anyone in need, but share with your brother in all things and do not claim anything as your own. For if you share in that which is immortal, how much the more in those which are perishable?’ Bartholomew said: ‘We are persuading you, brothers, while there is time, and while you have among you those things with which you labour, do not spare yourselves nor anything that is yours, for the day of the Lord is approaching, when all these will be destroyed, along with the evil one. For Our Lord will come, and his reward with him. Legislate for yourselves, be good counsellors for yourselves, taught of God. Observe what you have received, adding nothing to them, nor taking anything away from them.’ James21 said: ‘Let a reader be appointed, after being tested by much examination, not talkative, not a drunkard, not somebody who speaks jests. Whose conduct is worthy, whose disposition is worthy, persuadable, whose intention is worthy, who is pre-eminent in the assembly of Lk 10:7; 1 Tim 5:18. Dt 25:4; 1 Cor 9:9; 1 Tim 5:18. 19 1 Cor. 9:7. 20 Some MSS have ‘Jude, the son of James.’ This figure appears among the twelve in the Greek version, but has nothing to say! This would appear to be a rationalization of a confusing situation; originally only eleven disciples stood in the source but the number has been made up to twelve. 21 Some MSS have ‘Matthias’. Since this is a single canon from a longer set concerning offices, in which the apostles speak a second time, this is a rationalization intended to assign a single speech to each apostle, and therefore adding Matthias. Note that Matthias does not appear in the opening list of apostles! 17 18

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the Lord on the first day of the week, who is worthy in listening, and skilful in storytelling, who knows that he is labouring in the place of an evangelist. For he who fills the ears of the ignorant shall be considered as inscribed before God.’ of paul the apostle concerning the times of prayer22 Complete prayer at dawn, at the third hour, at the sixth hour, and at the ninth hour, and in the evening, and when you go to sleep, that is compline,23 and at cockcrow. In the morning to thank God who has caused the night to pass and has brought in the day. At the third hour because at this time Our Lord received sentence from Pilate. In that of the sixth hour because at this time Christ was crucified. All creatures were shaken, trembling at the presumption of the acts of the wicked Jews. He was pierced in the side by a lance, and blood and water flowed forth. At the ninth hour because when Our Lord was crucified the sun was darkened in the midst of noon, and the dead rose from their tombs, and creatures were afraid to look upon the shame of Our Lord; and also (because) he delivered his spirit into the hand of his Father. At evening to thank God, who has given us the night to rest from the labours of the day. In that of compline that you may sleep peacefully and rest from work. But pray that you should not depart this world in restful sleep. And if it should so happen, the prayer that you have prayed will assist you in the way of eternity. And at cockcrow, because this is the time which announces to us the beginning of the day, and service in the deeds of light. commandments from the writing of addai the apostle24 1: The apostles therefore decreed: Pray towards the east, since ‘just as the lightning lights up the east and is seen in the west, so shall be the coming of the son of man.’ From this we know and should understand that he appears without warning from the east. 2: Again the apostles decreed: That there shall be a liturgy on the first day of the week, and the reading from the Holy Scriptures, and 22 Although there is some similarity between this and a similar statement of the significance of the hours of prayer in TA 41, which was subsequently adapted in Testamentum Domini, this is a distinct version. 23 Literally, ‘Covering’, because Ps 91, which begins with this word, was said. 24 These canons are found attached to the Doctrina Addaei, a document telling of the conversion of the King of Edessa by Addai, and generally dated to the early fifth century. The attached canons, however, may be even later.

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the offering, because Our Lord rose from among the dead on the first day of the week, and he showed himself to the world on the first day of the week, and he ascended to heaven on the first day of the week,25 and he will appear at the last with the angels of heaven on the first day of the week. 3: Again the apostles decreed: That there shall be a service on the fourth day of the week,ref. for it was on this day that Our Lord explained about his trial, and about his sufferings, and his crucifixion, and his death and his resurrection, and his disciples were saddened on this account. 4: Again the apostles decreed: There shall be a service on the day of preparation at the ninth hour, since what was said on the fourth day of the week concerning the suffering of our Saviour occurred on the day of preparation, when the words and the creatures trembled, and the lights of the heavens were darkened. 5: Again the apostles decreed: There shall be presbyters, and deacons like the Levites, and subdeacons like those who carried the vessels of the court of the Lord’s sanctuary, and a watchman, the guide of all the people, like Aaron, the head and the chief of all the priests and Levites in the whole camp.26 6: Again the apostles decreed: Observe the day of the Epiphany of our Saviour, which is the chief of the festivals of the church, on the sixth day of January according to the long reckoning of the Greeks.27 7: Again the apostles decreed: Forty days before the passion of our Saviour shall be spent in fasting; then you shall keep the day of the passion and the day of the resurrection. Because Our Lord likewise, the Lord of the festival, was fasting for forty days. Moses and Elijah, who were endued with this mystery, also fasted forty days, and were then illuminated. 8: Again the apostles decreed: At the conclusion of all the Scriptures the Gospel shall be read as the seal of all the Scriptures. And also that all the people should listen to it standing on their feet, since it is the tidings of the salvation of all people. 25 Celebration of the Ascension on the fortieth day of Eastertide (a Thursday) is a later custom; previously it had been observed on the Pentecost, always a Sunday as here, and as prescribed in canon 9 below. 26 Reading )tYr$M with all but one MS, which reads ‘town’ ()tNYDM); this latter reading is preferred by Vööbus (1979b), 37. 27 Some MSS so amend this canon as to make it apply to Christmas on 25th Dec. This, however, was a later festival to be established in the east. Ref: Many manuscripts clarify that this is a liturgy of the offering.

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9: Again the apostles decreed: That at the end of fifty days after his resurrection you should commemorate his ascension to his glorious Father. 10: The apostles decreed: That apart from the Old Testament, the prophets and the Gospel, the acts of their triumphs, there shall be nothing read upon the be¯ma of the church. 11: Again the apostles decreed: That anyone who does not know the faith of the church, and its organization, and the laws which are established in her, shall not be a leader or a ruler. And that anyone who is aware of them and who acts contrary to them shall cease to serve, as he is no longer accepted in his ministry on account of his deception. 12: Again the apostles decreed: That anyone who swears, or lies, or who bears false witness, or who resorts to magicians, or charmers or Chaldaeans, or who puts his trust in fates or in horoscopes, which are things in which those who know not God put their faith, should be accounted as a man who does not know God, and should be deposed from his ministry and not serve. 13: Again the apostles decreed: If any man is uncertain about the ministry and is not faithful to it, he shall not continue to serve, as he is not faithful to the Lord of ministry, and although he may deceive men, he does not deceive God, ‘who is not duped by cunning plots.’28 14: Again the apostles decreed: Anyone who is a lender and receives interest, and is occupied with trade and usury shall not continue to serve and shall not remain in ministry. 15: Again the apostles decreed: That anyone who loves the Jews as Iscariot loved them, or worships creatures instead of the creator, shall not go among them and serve; if he is already among them they shall not depart from him, but he will separate himself from them and will not continue to serve. 16: Again the apostles decreed: If anyone should come from the Jews or the pagans and join himself to them and if, when he has joined himself to them he turns and goes back again to the side where he was, and if he turns again and comes to them a second time, he shall not be received again, but those who know him should regard him as on the side which he was in the first place. 17: Again the apostles decreed: It is not permitted to a leader to conduct the affairs of the church without reference to those who serve alongside him, but he should take counsel of them all in his directions, and that something should be done when all agree and none dissent. 28

1 Sam. 2:3.

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18: Again the apostles decreed: That you should make commemoration of any who departs this world with a good testimony to the faith of Christ and in affliction on account of his name, on the day on which they were killed. 19: Again the apostles decreed: In the services of the church you will recite the ‘praises’ of David day by day, on account of this: ‘I shall bless the Lord at all times, and at all times his praises are in my mouth’29 and ‘by day and by night will I meditate and make my voice heard before you.’30 20: Again the apostles decreed: It is those who renounce mammon and do not pursue the gain of wealth who are to be chosen and brought to the service of the altar. 21: Again the apostles decreed: Any priest who happens to bind, contrary to righteousness, shall receive punishment in righteousness. But the one who has been bound shall receive his binding as though the binding were correct. 22: Again the apostles decreed: If it appears that those who are accustomed to hear court cases are respecters of persons, convicting those who are innocent and pardoning those who are guilty, they shall not hear any trial again, receiving the punishment which is due to them on account of their respect of persons. 23: Again the apostles decreed: Those who are haughty, and are lifted up in the arrogance of pride shall not be admitted to the ministry, on account of this: ‘Whatever is highly regarded by men is loathsome to God.’31 And against them is said: ‘I will gain recompense against those who conduct themselves with grandeur.’32 24: Again the apostles decreed: There shall be a superintendent over the elders who are in the villages, and he shall be recognized as head of them all, and all shall be required at his hand. For Samuel also went from place to place in this manner, giving directions. 25: Again the apostles decreed: Such kings as hereafter believe in Christ shall be entitled to go up and stand before the altar of the church alongside the leaders of the church, since David, and those who were like him, would go up and stand before the altar. 26: Again the apostles decreed: No man should dare act in the authority of the priesthood contrary to what is just and right, but with justice and without blame for respecting persons. Ps 44:1. Ps 1:2. 31 Lk 16:15. 32 Is 2:12. 29 30

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27: Again the apostles decreed: That the bread of the offering should be placed on the altar on the same day that it is baked, and not after several days, which is not authorized. again, a little of the canons of the apostles and the fathers, through which the church of christ is truly united33 To all who agree in everything with us, in orthodox faith and in the apostolic laws; the venerable bishops, the splendid priests and the pure deacons and the faithful and Christ-loving people, together with the rest of the ecclesiastical order, and the sons of the Lord who dwell in all the various provinces, or rather sojourning there, as their true home is in the Lord. Amen. Since, beloved, we are thus sons and heirs of the prophetic and apostolic laws which continually charge and admonish us at all times to learn the way which is straight and noble and to walk in it, we have drawn up twenty canons for you, and they are these: Canon 1: Canon 2: Canon 3: Canon 4: Canon 5: Canon 6: Canon 7: Canon 8: Canon 9: Canon 10: Canon 11:

A man shall not take a wife, and his son her daughter. Not should a man (take) a girl (in marriage) and his son the girl’s mother. Nor a man and his two sisters, or two daughters of his father’s brother. Nor two brothers a woman and her daughter. Nor shall a man take a woman and give his daughter to her son. Nor a man a woman and give his daughter to her brother. Nor a man a woman and give his daughter to her father. Nor shall a man take the sister of his wife or the daughter of her sister. Nor a man the wife of the brother of his wife. Nor the wife of a brother of his son’s wife. Nor is a man bound to the wife of a paternal uncle.

33 Although these canons are found elsewhere, ascribed to a certain Yohanan, nothing is known of their date or provenance. Their intent would seem to be to regulate marriage and sponsorship for baptism in such a way as to ensure that families did not organize marriages as a means of keeping wealth within a family or allow it to pass outside of the catholic community.

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Canon 12: Canon 13: Canon 14: Canon 15: Canon 16: Canon 17: Canon 18: Canon 19:

Canon 20:

Nor is the wife of a maternal uncle lawful. Nor should a man take the daughter of his brother’s wife. Nor should anyone take a (baptismal) sponsor from among men for three generations. Nor the brothers of the sponsor for two generations. Nor should anyone take a sponsor closely related to him in the family for five generations. Nor should a presbyter baptize his bodily child, unless death should threaten the child and no other presbyter is there to baptize him. A man should not confirm the engagement of a woman except before the presbyters and deacons, and before free persons who are credible. Anyone who engages himself to a fiancée shall have no authority over the girl, nor shall he look upon her face, until he has fulfilled to her all obligations of the order of Christians. Then she should enter his house. A Christian is not allowed to give a woman to any sort of marriage with a Nestorian or with a people outside our fold, or to a heretic, or to anyone whose faith is different from ours.

We have determined and established these things for you as for beloved and obedient sons. And so you should keep them and act in accordance with them. Also observe the canons, spoken by the Spirit; in them you shall be kept, and in this world you shall be blessed, and in that which is coming you shall be saved. You shall find rest in the Kingdom of Our Lord by pleasing him in good works.

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1. Nominum 2: Locorum 2a: Scripture 2b: Anonymous Church order literature 2c: Roman legislative sources 2d: Rabbinic literature 2e: Church councils 2f: Other early Jewish and Christian writings 2g: Other ancient writings

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107, 108, 109, 114, 115, 118, 121, 131, 137, 139, 146, 152, 175, 181, 184, 187, 188, 192, 194, 196, 198, 204, 206, 207, 214, 215, 223, 226, 229, 231, 235, 237, 239, 244, 245, 247, 250, 251, 252, 253, 254, 255, 257, 258, 259, 261 Corssen, P.: 115 Cox, James J. C.: 49, 103 Cumont, Franz: 197

1: Index Nominum Achelis, H.: 5, 6, 8, 17, 54, 56, 61, 62, 64, 66, 72, 73, 81, 83, 118, 120, 121, 123, 126, 129, 131, 157, 181, 184, 192, 194, 204, 205, 223, 232, 238, 248, 253, 257 Andreau, Jean: 159 Audet, J-P: 16 Auon, Marc: 133 Bartlet, J.V. : 13, 17, 63, 81, 83, 89, Barton, John: 8 Battifol, P.: 47, Bauman, Richard A.: 171 Bernhard, Jean: 81, 86 Beaucamp, Pierre: 82 Blokscha, J.: 118 Bötticher, Paul: vide sub Lagarde, Paulus Bradshaw, P.F.: 5, 6, 7, 15, 78, 161 Brent, Allen: 62, 151 Brock, Sebastian: 75

Eyben, Emiel: 118 Faivre, A.: 6, 146, 150 Faivre C.: vide sub Faivre, A. Favazza, J.A.: 85 Flemming, J.: vide sub Achelis, H. Fonrobert, Charlotte Elisheva: 24, 32, 70–71, 150, 246, 251, 254 Funk, F.X.: 50, 51, 52, 81, 82, 91, 117, 134, 155, 166, 180, 184, 196, 210, 215, 217, 223

Camplani, A.: 90, 115 Clarke, G.: 78 Connolly, R.H.: 6, 13, 16, 17, 21, 48, 51, 53, 54, 55, 62, 72, 78, 82, 89–90, 103, 104,

Galtier, P.: 20, 49–50, 54, 81, 87 Gamber, Klaus: 45, 49 Garrow, A.J.P.: 16 Gerlach, Karl: 34, 48, 263

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Gibson, Margaret Dunlop: 5 Gryson, Roger: 63

Rahner, K.: 85 Rajak, Tessa: 67 Renhart, Erich: 262 Revillout, Eugène: 47 Rouwhorst, G.A.M.: 21, 34–41, 52, 218

Harnack, Adolf: 5, 7, 13, 60, 71, 81, 117, 153 Hatch, E.: 60 Hauler, E.: 5, 49, 103, 259 Hayman, A.P.: 33 Hilhorst, A.: 51 Holl, Karl: 41–42, 197 Holzhey, C.: 5, 6, 8, 12, 15–17, 55, 197

Salzmann, J.C.: 73, 79 Schiffmann, Lawrence H.: 53 Schlarb, Cornelia: 68, 151, 184, 193 Schmidt, Carl: 33, 43 Schöllgen, Georg: 3, 49, 50, 62, 66, 67, 68, 87, 109, 115, 116, 120, 146, 151, 152, 153, 157, 177, 182, 184 Schwartz, Eduard: 5, 20, 34, 35, 37, 41, 42, 43, 49, 81, 87 Setzer, Claudia: 53 Stark, Rodney: 53 Stewart-Sykes, Alistair: 3, 5, 7, 16, 47, 66, 78, 80, 119, 220, 266 Strecker, G.: 71, 72, Strobel, A.: 95

Johnson, M.E.: vide sub Bradshaw, P.F. Koch, D-A: vide sub Barton, J. Lagarde, Paulus: 5, 126, 198 Lietzmann, H.: 60 Lieu, Judith M.: 54 Luce, T.J.: 9 Malherbe, Abraham J.: 84 Marmorstein, A.: 32 Methuen, Charlotte: 63–64, 66–67, 69, 70 Metzger, M. : 78 Mosiek, U.: 86 Mueller, Joseph G., 3, 4 Mühlsteiger, Johannes: 49 Myers, Susan E.: 74

Taft, Robert F.: 262 Thurston, Bonnie Bowman: 151 Tidner, E.: 5, 90, 91, 115 Torjeson, Karen Jo: 68, 69, 87 Visotzky, Burton L.: 32, 224, 239, 240 Volp, Ulrich: 80 Vööbus, Arthur: 4, 48, 83, 89, 90, 91, 95, 112, 114, 121, 126, 139, 142, 173, 181, 184, 192, 193, 204, 207, 209, 214, 218, 223, 232, 237, 238, 244, 250, 256, 257, 258, 261, 262, 263, 266, 271

Nau, F.: 5, 6, 17, 22, 25–26, 62, 110, 223 Nestle, E.: 115, 139, 146 Niederwimmer, Kurt: 16 Osiek, Carolyn: 66, 151 Parrott, Douglas M.: 51 Pelling, C.B.R.: 9 Penn, Michael: 63, 64, 65, 66 Phillips, L.E.: vide sub Bradshaw, P.F.

White, L. Michael: 175 Wilken, R.L.: 53 Winkler, Gabriele: 74, 75

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Yegül, Fikret: 116

18:1: 133 18:1–32: 147–149 18:8–31: 146 19:9: 249 24:9: 105, 191, 255 25:1–2: 225

2: Index Locorum 2a: Scripture Gen 1:1: 247 1:3: 209 1:5: 216, 147 2:2: 246 4:7: 131 9:6: 164 9:20–27: 127

Dt 1:16: 170 1:17: 163 5:21: 104 6:4: 123 6:19: 212 19:15: 160 21:22–23: 242 23:18: 199 24:16: 126 25:4: 146, 260 27:26: 249 29:18: 144 32:21: 212 32:43: 233

Ex 2:14: 221 4:21: 242 4:22: 247 7:1: 154 12:3: 37 12:6: 220 13:2: 247 13:12: 247 16:8: 154 20:10: 248 20:17: 104 20:24–25: 240 22:28: 154 23:8: 163 23:15: 159 29:13: 250

1 Sam. 2:3: 272 8:10–17: 156 1 Kg 17:8–24: 182 2 Kg 11:21: 118 13:21: 256 21:1: 118 21:1–17: 141–143 21:19: 144

Lev 15: 251 21:17: 120 26:23–24, 27–28: 166

2 Chr 33:1–33: 141–143 Num 3:32: 150 5:16: 150 12:1: 225 12:14: 131 14:2: 154 16:1: 224 16:32–35: 226 16:36–38: 226 16:26: 227 16:34: 227

2 Esd 1:4: 239 Tob 4:15: 104, 192 Job 14:4–5: 133, 211 Ps 1:2: 244, 273 2:3: 245 2:7: 155

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2:10–12: 212 4:5: 172 6:5: 126 18:7: 238 23:1: 248 31:1–2: 210 38:6: 215 44:1: 273 50:6: 133 67:15–16: 228 67:18: 217 67:34: 175 68:34: 157 73:4: 216 73:19: 126 89:4: 247 91: 270

23:14: 223 26:2: 192 26:7: 170 27:25–26: 121 29:17: 223 31:10–31: 113 Sir 2:1: 124 7:25: 195 Is 1:7: 196 1:11–14: 243 1:16: 232 1:17: 163, 170 2:2–3: 228 2:6: 227 2:12: 273 3:8: 228 5:6: 228 5:18: 246, 255 6:9–10: 242 6:9–11: 186 8:18: 228 9:1–2: 218 18:6: 132 26:18–19: 207 27:11: 180 29:13: 158 40:5: 210 42:7: 157 42:19: 246 43:18–19: 238 43:19: 248 45:9–10: 158 49:9: 157 50:20, 23: 163 52:5: 116 53:2–5: 147 53:11: 195 53:12: 147 54:14: 199 57:1–2: 211 57:12: 242 58:6: 170

Prov 3:9: 200 5:1–14: 111 5:22: 127 6:6–8 181 6:8: 192 6:8–11: 182 6:14: 169 6:22: 251 7:1–27: 110 9:13–18: 114 10:18: 192 10:19: 185 11:22: 114 11:25–26: 157 12:4: 114 12:28: 172 13:24: 223 14:12: 236 15:1: 120 15:17: 199 18:3: 114 19:14: 232 20:9: 211 20:22: 105 21:9, 19: 114, 116 22:10: 165

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58:4–5: 215 58:6: 172 58:7: 183 58:13: 222 59:7–8: 139 61:2–3: 217 62:11: 127 63:10: 218 65:1: 217 65:2–3: 217 66:2: 119 66:5: 217 66:10: 217

Dan 12:2–3: 206 13: 170 Hos 1:10: 156 2:17: 212 4:9: 122 Joel 2:13: 232 2:28: 228 Hab 1:5: 208 Zech 8:16: 163 8:19: 215 12:12–13: 222

Jer 1:11–12: 224 2:11: 179 3:16: 246 4:3–4: 232 5:7: 212 6:1–2: 212 6:20: 243 7:21–22: 243 8:4–5: 126 10:2: 181, 212 17:12: 228 23:15: 227 23:19: 258 27:17: 196

Mal 2:14–15: 257 4:6: 239 Mt 5:4: 216 5:5: 119 5:7: 119 5:8: 119 5:9: 119, 167 5:11: 124, 203 5:17: 239 5:18: 239 5:20: 158 5:22: 155, 172 5:23–24: 172 5:27: 104 5:44: 105, 216 6:1: 190 6:2: 191 6:3: 166, 167 6:10: 173 6:12: 140 6:20: 159 7:1: 159 7:2: 163, 168 7:3, 5: 131 7:6: 185 7:15–16: 235 9:2: 138

Ez 5:7: 179 8:16–18: 213 13:1–32: 127–129 14:9: 144 14:12–14: 126 20:10–11: 245 20:25: 245 33:1–6: 122 33:7–9: 123 33:10–11: 125, 138 33:12–19: 130 34:1–31: 134–136 34: 3: 135 34:4, 5: 139 37:1–14 207

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9:12: 138 10:5: 181, 236 10:10: 145 10:13: 192 10:23: 203 10:24: 249 10:28: 203 10:32: 202 10:33: 205 10:37: 205 10:37–39: 203 10:39: 205 11:15: 123 11:28: 244 11:28–30: 157, 234 12:20: 178 12:31–32: 236 12:36: 117 12:43–45: 253 13:2: 251 13:15–16: 242 13:31: 184 16:6: 236 17:20: 186 17:30: 174 18:7: 227 18:10: 132 18:12–13: 138 18:15–17: 87, 160 18:16–17: 161 18:18: 125, 133 18:19: 186 18:21–22: 167 19:4–6: 232 19:19: 159 19:21: 158 20:16: 247 20:26–28: 194 20:32: 236 21:13: 132 21:21: 186 22:21: 167 22:31–33: 256 23:6: 177

23:18–22: 252 23:38: 228 24:7: 142 24:11: 237 24:24: 235 25:30: 258 25:34–40: 202 25:41: 258 26:41: 204 27:24: 171, 220 27:25: 221 27:51: 228 27:56: 194 28:1–2: 214 Mk 1:.44: 239 2:17: 162 2:18–20: 213 12:30: 158 12:41–44: 188 Lk 2:23: 247 2:36–38: 182 3:13: 161 3:22: 155 6:27–28: 105 6:28: 191 6:30: 183 6:37: 164 6:37–38: 140 6:46: 248 9:26: 203 10:7: 269 10:16: 137, 154 12:48: 133 14:11: 119 16:15: 273 19:2–10: 161 21:18–19: 206 22:1: 216 Jn 8:3–11: 144 10:1: 175

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13:4–5: 195 13:14 195

1 Jn 1:1: 210 5:7: 160

Act 8:18–23. 10:9–16 10:41 10:44–48 15:1–2 15:4–5 15:7–11 15:8–11 15:13–29 15:25

2b: Anonymous Church order literature (apart from DA and CA) Canones apostolorum 64: 223 Canones Hippolyti 22: 52 33: 80 D 1.2: 104 1.3: 16, 17, 104, 105 1.5. 2.3–7: 15 2.4: 121 2.7: 87 3.2: 104 3.7–8: 15 4.2: 107 5.2: 104 8.1: 42 9–10: 17, 78 13.3: 150 15.1: 121 16.3: 237 16.6: 239

1 Cor 9:9: 146, 269 11:3: 112 Eph 4:26: 172 5:22: 112 Phil 3:19: 187 2 Thes 3:10: 182 1 Tim 3:2–3: 119 3:2: 117, 145 3:3: 121 3:4: 119 3:6 119 5:10: 182 5:11–12: 183 5:17: 143 5:18: 146, 269

K 1: 229, 262 12: 151, 155 15: 111 16: 12–14 17–18: 62, 175 20: 194 21: 66, 194, 266 22: 185 26: 185

2 Tim 2:22: 117 Jas 1:12: 124 2:19: 210 5:14: 188

TA 2: 264 7.2: 153 16: 198 19.1: 188 25: 78 30: 45, 152 35/41: 178, 251, 270

1 Pet 2:12: 195 4:8: 120 2 Pet 3:9: 173

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Testamentum Domini 1.16: 185 1.19: 63 1.23: 63, 79, 173 2.8: 63

Nicaea I (325): canon 8: 86 canon 11: 82 Gangra (ca 343) canon 14: 223 Laodicea (361) canon 7: 87 canon 13: 116 canon 29: 53 Trullo (692) canon 55: 223

2c: Roman legislative sources Codex Theodosianus 9.3.7: 201 Codex Justinianus 2.55.1: 59 Digesta 1.16.6.3: 58 4.1: 59 48.3.8: 201 Novella 6.4: 117

2f: Other early Jewish and Christian writings Anon.: 1QS 3.13: 16 2 Clement 13.2: 116

2d: Rabbinic literature Leviticus Rabbah 19.2: 239 27.8: 249 Midrash Tehilim 5.1: 150 Mishnah Ketuboth 5.5: 112 Sanhedrin 10.1: 71 Targum of ps-Jonathan on Dt 28:9: 180 TB Berakoth 27B: 118 Shabbath 118A–B: 39 Pesahim 68B: 39 Nazir 5B–6A: 215 Baba Qamma 82A: 168 Sanhedrin 32A: 171 34A: 171 40A–41A: 170 Menahoth 65B: 164 Hullin 24B: 118 Bekhoroth 20B: 215 Niddah 33A: 215 67B: 251 Derekh Eretz Rabbah 2.16: 224 Tos. Berakoth 2.12–13: 251 Sukkah 4.6: 177 Sanhedrin 13.5: 70–71, 231

Acta Johannis 72: 80 85–6: 80 Acta Pauli 8: 71, 230 Acta Petri 23: 229 32: 230 Acta Pilati 9.5: 171 Acta Sharbil: 171 Acta Thomae 1: 229 27: 54, 75 121: 54, 75 132–3: 54, 75 144: 140 147: 184 157: 54, 75 CII 587: 118 Evangelium Petri 1: 220 2: 221 5: 35 7: 213, 220 14: 215

2e: Church councils Ancyra (314) canon 19: 183 Neocaesarea (315) canon 8: 183

Historia Johannis 40: 74

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Joseph and Asenath 8.11: 184

Barnabae ep.: 15: 248, 249 16.13: 247

Odae Sal. 3.5: 184 16.12 : 184

Basil: Ep. ad Eustathium 79.123: 171

Opus imperfectum in Matthaeum: 124, 166

Clement of Alexandria: Paedagogus 2.8: 17 2.10: 17 3.3: 17 3.5: 17, 116 3.9: 17 Strom. 1.28: 159 4.8: 262 6.5–6: 217 6.15: 210 7.7: 175

Oracula Sibyllina 4: 208 Passio Montani et Lucii 6, 9: 201 Passio Perpetuae 3: 201 Test. Ben. 9: 228 Vit. Pol. 2: 43 14–16: 183

Clement of Rome: Ad Corinthios 25–26: 209 34.1–6: 262 57.3: 110

Aphraahat: Dem. 8.6: 209 12: 52, 215 6.14–17: 253 13.3: 248 15.7: 241

Ps-Clement: Hom. 7.4: 33, 105 7.8: 251 8.15.4: 71 12.6.4: 71

Aristeas: Ep. 306: 171

Cyprian: De habitu virg. 19: 116 Ep. 17.2.1: 134 22: 201 63.16: 78 64.1: 134 74: 86

Aristides: Apol. 8–11: 180 15: 201 ps-Athanasius: Syntagma doctrinae: 16, 46–48, 198, 223 Fides patrum: 16, 46–48, 198

Cyril of Jerusalem: Cat. myst. 5.17: 124 Hom. cat. 18.8: 209

Athenagoras: De Resurrectione 4–8: 206

Dionysius of Alexandria Ad Basileiden Ep.: 52

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Ephrem: Serm. ad noct. Dom. resurrectionis 4: 247

Smryn. 8.2: 67 Trall. 2: 151 3.1: 262

Epiphanius: Pan. 47.1: 71 48: 183 51: 219 70: 40 80.5: 145

Irenaeus: Dem. 84: 238 Haer. 1.23.2: 229 1.18: 71 2.32.4: 188 5.17.4: 258

Eusebius: Dem Evang. 1.3: 249 HE 2.23: 71 3.20.1–3: 223 4.22: 51, 110, 230 5.24: 52, 176 5.28.12: 134 6.30: 118 7.8: 55, 87 7.32.5–6: 55

Jerome: Vir. Ill. 2: 215 John Chrysostom: Hom. 5 in 2 Tim: 171 Hom. in Matt. 17.61: 171 Josephus: AJ 14.21: 216 BJ 6.4.5: 222

Hermas: Vis. 1.4: 111 3.9.2: 145 Mand. 2.2: 170 2.5: 196 5.2.5–7: 253 Sim. 4.4: 227 5.3.7: 201 8.6.1,5: 129

Justin: I Apol. 1.55,57: 59 Dial. 35: 227 41: 248 47: 52 129: 110 Melito: Peri Pascha 80: 220

Hippolytus/Hippolytean school: Comm. in Dan. 4.23: 249 4.37: 247 Ref. 6.6–20: 229 6.20: 230 9.7: 50, 127

Origen: Hom. in Lev. 2.4: 188 De oratione 11.4: 190 32: 175 Philo: De specialibus legibus 3.37: 106

Ignatius of Antioch: Magn. 6: 151, 153 7: 151

ps-Phocylides: Sententiae 210–212: 106

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Polycarp: Phil. prescript: 62 4: 151

Martial: Epigr. 3.74: 107 5.8: 177 5.14: 177 5.23: 177 5.25: 177 5.27: 177

Tertullian: Apol. 16.9–10: 175 De baptismo 17: 63 20: 124 De Cultu feminarum 2.5: 115 De idolatria 24: 127 De Resurrectione 13: 209

Philodemus: Lib. fragment 63–65: 84 Philostratus: Vita Apoll. 1.8, 10–11: 71

Theodore of Mopsuestia: Hom. cat. 15.43: 183

Pliny: Nat Hist. 16.13: 177

2g: Other ancient writings P.Fayyum 117: 57

Plutarch: Quaestiones convivales 1.2–3 (615D–619): 177 Quaestiones Romanae 267A–B: 115

P.Oxy. 1610: 9–11 Dio Chrysostom: Or. 32.17–18: 84–85 Diodorus Siculus: Bibl. 11.59–61: 9–11

Quintilian: Inst. 11.3.137–144: 106 11.3.142: 107

Diogenes Laertius: Vit. phil. 6.9.104: 231

Seneca: Ep. 56: 107

Epictetus: Diss. 1.22.18–20: 107 3.7.29–33: 57 4.6.4: 106

Suetonius: Aug. 44.1: 177 76.4: 39 Jul. 45: 107

Juvenal: Sat. 2: 107

Valerius Maximus: Facta et dicta memorabilia 3.6: 106

Lucian: Demonax 7: 84 10: 84 Somnium 9: 223 Toxaris 31: 201

Xenophon: Agesilaus 9.12: 171

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