The First Catechism?

Posted By on July 8, 2010

Have you ever heard of The Didache?  Until recently, I had not; but I came across this short treatise.  The Didache is an ancient document of the Church, which is more formally called “The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles”.  It is a fairly brief writing that lists the do’s and don’ts for early Christians. Beyond that, it describes early Christian liturgical rituals like baptism and celebrating the Eucharist.

What struck my when reading this is that, at it’s core, Catholicism has not changed much.  Sure, we’ve explained things more clearly to show how they pertain to a particular time; but the principles are very similar.  I mean seriously, who would have thought that in the early second century (which is when this is believed to have been written), there was an explicit prohibition against abortion, or that one could not approach the Eucharist if they had not confessed their sins first.

I guess there is some truth in the saying that the more things change, the more they stay the same.

For those interested, there are a number of English translations for The Didache.  Below I will link one of them as well as the audio book:

The Didache at New Advent
The Didache Audio Book

The writing is very short but a great way to peer into our Church’s history.  While it may not be a catechism, per se, you can’t deny that it describes ”the Way”.

Until next time, keep sharing the faith!

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About the author

My name is Carlos Torres, and for better or for worse, I am a Catechist. As a Catechist, I help supplement the religious education that parents give at home with focused and detailed lessons around Scripture and Tradition as taught by the Church. Now, I have no background in teaching, much less in dealing with a group of tweens and teens who don’t want to be with me, in a classroom, on a weeknight, learning about faith; yet week after week, I and many other Catechists do just that by letting the Holy Spirit guide us in planting those seeds and helping fulfill the Church’s mission to “go and make disciples”.

Comments

  • Marc Cardaronella

    Isn't the Didache cool? I was amazed by it as well. It's so Catholic! The teaching on abortion is very cool! There's no disputing that this isn't the constant teaching of the Church.

    I guess abortion and infanticide were pretty popular forms of birth control in ancient Rome. Have you ever read Quo Vadis? The ancient Romans had a pretty ramped up party life and didn't always want to deal with the consequences. Yeah, the more things change the more things stay the same.

  • http://www.catechistcorner.com Carlos

    I have not heard of the “Quo Vadis”. Is it a Church document or a book of some sort?

  • Marc Cardaronella

    It's a book written around the year 1900. It's a work of fiction structured around the story that during the persecution of Nero, Peter was fleeing Rome and met Jesus carrying his cross and heading *toward* Rome! Peter asked Jesus, “Quo Vadis?” which means “Where are you going?” Then Jesus said he was going to Rome to be crucified again and Peter knew that this is where he needed to make his stand and be crucified himself.

    The book mixes in historical fact with fictional characters to paint a picture of life in ancient Rome and what it was like for Christians including the persecution and martyrdoms. Basically, it was quite a backbiting society and, for the wealthy, one long party where every night was a drunken sexual orgy!

    It's interesting because I don't think most people realize the impact Christianity has had on secular culture. I mean, it was Christianity that civilized Europe to pave the way for a just culture. You see the stark contrast between Christian and pagan life in Quo Vadis. I think much of the human rights we enjoy in society today are largely the result of Christian influence.

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About the author

My name is Carlos Torres, and for better or for worse, I am a Catechist. As a Catechist, I help supplement the religious education that parents give at home with focused and detailed lessons around Scripture and Tradition as taught by the Church. Now, I have no background in teaching, much less in dealing with a group of tweens and teens who don’t want to be with me, in a classroom, on a weeknight, learning about faith; yet week after week, I and many other Catechists do just that by letting the Holy Spirit guide us in planting those seeds and helping fulfill the Church’s mission to “go and make disciples”.