A large church-order compilation presented in apostolic voices, combining earlier sources with instruction on ethics, worship, ministry, discipline, liturgy, widows, ordination, and ecclesial administration across eight books.
Author
Anonymous Syrian compiler
Traditional attribution
The Apostles, transmitted through Clement of Rome
Date
Late 4th century, incorporating earlier material
Origin
Syria (often proposed)
Genre
Church Order
The compilation incorporates earlier documents and should not be dated or attributed as a single uniform composition.
Sec. I.—On the Two Ways,—The Way of Life and the Way of Death.
That There are Two Ways,—The One Natural, of Life, and the Other Introduced Afterwards, of Death; And that the Former is from God, and the Latter of Error, from the Snares of the Adversary.
Section 1
I.ThelawgiverMosessaidto
the
Israelites
,
“
Behold
,
I
have
set
before
your
face
the
way
of
life
and
the
way
of
death
;
”
and
added
,
“
Choose
life
,
that
thou
mayest
live
.
”
Elijah
the
prophet
also
said
to
the
people
:
“
How
long
will
you
halt
with
both
your
legs
?
If
the
Lord
be
God
,
follow
Him
.
”
The
Lord
Jesus
also
said
justly
:
“
No
one
can
serve
two
masters
:
for
either
he
will
hate
the
one
,
and
love
the
other
;
or
else
he
will
hold
to
the
one
,
and
despise
the
other
.
”
We
also
,
following
our
teacher
Christ
,
“
who
is
the
Saviour
of
all
men
,
especially
of
those
that
believe
,
”
are
obliged
to
say
that
there
are
two
ways
—
the
one
of
life
,
the
other
of
death
;
which
have
no
comparison
one
with
another
,
for
they
are
very
different
,
or
rather
entirely
separate
;
and
the
way
of
life
is
that
of
nature
,
but
that
of
death
was
afterwards
introduced
,
—
it
not
being
according
to
the
mind
of
God
,
but
from
the
snares
of
the
adversary
.
Moral Exhortations of the Lord’s Constitutions Agreeing with the Ancient Prohibitions of the Divine Laws. The Prohibition of Anger, Spite, Corruption, Adultery, and Every Forbidden Action.
The Greek words properly mean: “Introduced was the way of death; not of that death which exists according to the mind of God, but that which has arisen from the plots of the adversary.”
10
[The larger half of chap. i., Teaching, is found in the first half of this chapter; but the matter peculiar to each is of about the same extent.—R.]
11
Deut. vi. 5; Mark xii. 32
12
Lev. xix. 18
13
Tob. iv. 15.
14
Matt. v. 44.
15
Luke vi. 32; Matt. v. 46, 47.
16
Deut. xxiii. 7
17
1 Pet. ii. 11
18
Matt. v. 39; Luke vi. 29
19
Ps. vii. 4.
20
Matt. v. 41.
21
Matt. v. 40; Luke vi. 29.
22
Luke vi. 30.
23
Matt. v. 42.
24
Ps. cxii. 5.
25
Matt. v. 45.
26
Prov. iii. 9
27
Gal. vi. 10
28
[Ex. xx. 13 Five brief precepts, of which this is the first, are common to Teaching, ii. 2, and the rest of this chapter.—R.]
29
Gen. ii. 24.
30
Lev. xviii. 22.
31
Gen. xix.
32
Deut. xxvii.
33
Deut. xxiii. 17.
34
Josh. vii.
35
2 Kings v.
36
John xii. 6.
37
Matt. xxvii. 5; Acts i. 18.
38
Acts v.
39
[Seven brief clauses of Teaching, ii. 2, 3, are found in this chapter.—R.]
40
Ex. xxii. 18
41
Ex. xxi. 23., LXX.
42
Matt. v. 34.
43
Ps. lxiii. 11.
44
Prov. xiv. 31.
45
[Chap. iv. also contains seven clauses found in Teaching (ii. 3–6), while chap. v. has but five and a verbal resemblance; chap. ii. of the Teaching is, however, almost entirely given in these passages.—R.]
46
Prov. xii. 28., LXX.
47
Prov. vi. 2.
48
Ps. cxl. 11.
49
Matt. xii. 36; Lev. xix. 11.
50
Ps. v. 6.
51
Hab. ii. 9.
52
Matt. xxiv. 51
53
1 Pet. v. 5
54
Deut. i. 17; Lev. xix. 17
55
Prov. ix. 8
56
Isa. liv. 14
57
Gen. iv
58
1 Sam. xvii., xviii
59
2 Sam. iii., xx
60
[Chaps. vi.-viii. contain passages parallel to nearly one-half of chap. iii., Teaching, and in the same order.—R.]
61
1 Sam. xv. 23.
62
Num. xxiii. 23.
63
Lev. xix. 26, 31; Deut. xviii. 10, 11.
64
Matt. vi. 24.
65
Ps. cxxxi. 1.
66
Num. xii. 3; Ps. cxxxi. 1.
67
Matt. v. 5.
68
Prov. xiv. 29., LXX.
69
Matt. v. 7.
70
Isa. lxvi. 2.
71
Luke xviii. 14.
72
Luke xvi. 15.
73
Prov. xiii. 17., LXX.
74
The words from “for he that walketh” to “be known” are omitted in one V. ms.
75
Prov. xiii. 20.
76
Job xlii.; Luke xvi.
77
[Chaps. ix.-xvii. contain nearly every clause of Teaching, chap. iv., in the same order, and with every appearance of a designed enlargement of that passage.—R.]
78
Num. xvi
79
Ex. ii. 13
80
Deut. i. 17
81
1 Kings xviii., xxi., xxii.; 2 Sam. xii.; Matt. xiv.
82
Matt. xiv. 31.
83
Ecclus. iv. 31.
84
Prov. xvi. 6; Dan. iv. 27.
85
Prov. xix. 17.
86
Prov. xxi. 13.
87
Prov. xix. 18.
88
Eph vi. 5.
89
Eph. vi. 7.
90
Prov. xxx. 6.
91
Isa. lviii. 7.
92
[For the remarkable agreement of this chapter with Teaching, chap. v., see the latter; comp. also Barnabas, xx.—R.]
93
[Chaps. xix.-xxi. have few parallels with the Teaching.—R.]
