Didascalia Apostolorum 2.2–2.14.2

English translation by R. H. Connolly (1929); the original is not shown

And let him be watchful and chaste and staid and orderly; and let him not be turbulent, and let him not be one that exceeds in wine ; and let him not be a backbiter ; but let him be quiet, and not be quarrelsome ; and let him not be money-loving. And let him not be youthful in mind, lest he be lifted up and fall into the judgement of Satan: for every one that exalteth himself shall be humbled. But it is required that the bishop be thus: aman that hath taken one wife, that hath governed his house well. And thus let him be proved when he receives the imposition of hands to sit in the office of the bishopric : whether he be chaste, and whether his wife also be a believer and chaste; and whether he has brought up his children in the fear of God, and admonished and taught them ; and whether his household fear and reverence him, and all of them obey him. For if his household in the flesh withstand him and obey him not, how shall they that are without his house become his, and be subject to him?

English translation by R. H. Connolly (1929); the original is not shown

And let him be proved whether he be without blemish in the things of the world, and likewise in his body ; for it is written: See that there be no blemish in him that standeth up to be priest. But let him be also without anger ; for the Lord saith: Anger destroyeth even the wise. And let him be merciful and gracious and full of love; for the Lord saith: Love covereth a multitude of sins.

English translation by R. H. Connolly (1929); the original is not shown

And let his hand be open to give; and let him love the orphans with the widows, and be a lover of the poor and of strangers. And let him be alert in his ministry, and constant in ministration; and let him be afflicting his soul, and not be one that is put to confusion. And let him know who is the more worthy to receive; for if there be a widow who has (somewhat), or is able to nourish herself with that which she needs for her bodily sustenance; and there be another who, though she is not a widow, is in want, whether by reason of sickness, or of the rearing of children, or of bodily infirmity: to this (latter) rather let him stretch out his hand. But if there be any man who is dissolute, or drunken, or idle, and he be in straits for bodily nourishment, the same is not worthy of an alms, neither of the Church.

English translation by R. H. Connolly (1929); the original is not shown

And let the bishop be also without respect of persons, and let him not defer to the rich nor favour them unduly ; and let him not disregard or neglect the poor, nor be lifted up against them. And let him be scant and poor in his food and drink, that he may be able to be watchful in admonishing and correcting those who are undisciplined. And let him not be crafty and extravagant, nor luxurious, nor pleasure-loving, nor fond of dainty meats. And let him not be resentful, but let him be patient in his admonition ; and let him be assiduous in his teaching, and constant in reading the divine Scriptures with diligence, that he may interpret and expound the Scriptures fittingly. And let him compare the Law and the Prophets with the Gospel, so that the sayings of the Law and the Prophets may be in accord with the Gospel. But before all let him be a good discriminator between the Law and the Second Legislation, that he may distinguish and show what is the Law of the faithful, and what are the bonds of them that believe not; lest any one of those under thy authority take the bonds for the Law, and lay upon himself heavy burdens, and become a son of perdition. Be diligent 3 sustenance] H: ‘old age’ S (with change of one letter). ui therefore and attentive to the word, O bishop, so that, if thou canst, thou explain every saying: that with much doctrine thou mayest abundantly nourish and give drink to thy people; for it is written in Wisdom: Be careful of the herb of the field, 8 that thou mayest shear thy flock: and gather the grass of summer, that thou mayest have sheep for thy clothing: give attention and care to thy pasture, that thou mayest have lambs.

English translation by R. H. Connolly (1929); the original is not shown

Let not the bishop therefore be a lover of filthy lucre, and especially from the heathen. Let him be suffering a wrong, and not doing a wrong; and let him not love riches. And let him not think ill of any man, nor bear false witness ; and let him not be wrathful, nor quarrelsome; and let him not love the presidency; and let him not be double-minded nor double-tongued, nor given to incline his ear to words of Slander and murmuring; and let him be no respecter of persons. And let him not love the festivals of the heathen, nor occupy himself with vain error. And let him not be lustful, nor money-loving: for all these things are of the agency of demons. Now all these things let the bishop command and enjoin upon all the people. And let him be wise and lowly ; and let him be admonishing and teaching with the doctrine and discipline of God. And let him be of a noble mind, and aloof from all the evil artifices of this world, and from all as the evil lust of the heathen. And let his mind be keen to discern, that he may know beforehand them that are evil: and do you keep yourselves from them. But let him be the friend of all, being a righteous judge. And whatever of good there be that is found in men, let the same be in the bishop. For when the pastor shall be remote from all evil, he will be able to constrain his disciples also and encourage them by his good manners to be imitators of his good works; as the Lord has said in the Twelve Prophets: The people shall be even as the priest. For it behoves you to be an example to the people, for you also have Christ for an example. Be you therefore also a good example to your people, for the Lord said in Ezekiel: ! And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying: ? Son of man, speak to the sons of thy people, and say unto them: When I bring the sword upon a land, let the people of that land take one man from among them and make him their watchman: ? aud. he shall see the sword coming upon the land, and shall blow the trumpet and warn the people; ? and every one that heareth the sound of the trumpet shall give ear. And if he take not warning, and the sword come and take him away, his blood shall be upon his head. Because he heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning, his blood shall be upon his head. But he that took warning hath delivered his soul. 95 But if the watchman see the sword coming, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned, and the sword come and take away a soul from them: he hath been taken away in his sins, and his blood will I require at the hands of the watchman. Now the sword is the judgement, and the trumpet is the Gospel, but the watchman is the bishop who is set over the Church.

English translation by R. H. Connolly (1929); the original is not shown

It behoves thee therefore, O bishop, when thou preachest, to testify and affirm concerning the judgement according as it is (found) in the Gospel. For to thee also has the Lord said: And thee, son of man, I have set as a watchman to the house of Israel; that thou mayest hear a word from my mouth, and give warning and preach it as from me. And when I say to the ungodly: The ungodly shall surely die, and thou preach not and say that the ungodly should depart from his iniquity: the ungodly shall die in his iniquity, and at thy hands will I require his blood. But if thou warn the ungodly from his way, and he take not warning: the ungodly shall die in his iniquity, and thou shalt deliver thy soul. Wherefore you also, since to your account is laid the blame of them that sin in ignorance, do you preach and testify ; and those who behave themselves without discipline admonish and rebuke openly. Now whereas we speak and repeat these things often, we are not blameworthy ; for through much teaching and hearing it happens that a man is put to shame, and does good and avoids evil. For the Lord also said in the Law: Hear, O Israel; and unto this day they have not heard. And in the Gospel likewise He often proclaims and says: Avery one that hath ears to hear, let him hear. But not even they have heard who thought that they heard; for they cast them-

English translation by R. H. Connolly (1929); the original is not shown

with an oath promised forgiveness to them that have sinned, as He said in Ezekiel: And thou, son of man, say to the house of Israel: Ye have said thus: Our crimes and our sins are upon us, and in them we are wasted away: how then can we live? Say unto them: As I live, saith the Lord Adonai, I desire not the death of the sinner, but that the wicked return from his evil way and live. Return, therefore. and be converted from your evil ways, and ye shall not die, O house of Israel. Here, then, He gave hope to them that sin, when they shall have repented, that they may have salvation by their repentance, and may not despair of themselves and continue in their sins and further add to them, but may repent and sigh and weep for their sins, and be converted with all their heart. But let them that have not sinned continue without sin, lest they also come to have need of weeping and sighs and sorrow, and of forgiveness. For whence knowest thou, O man that sinnest, how many are the days of thy life in this world, that thou mayest repent? For thou knowest not thy exit from the world, whether haply thou die in thy sins and there be no more repentance for thee ; as it is said in David: Jz Sheol who shall confess to thee? Wherefore he remains without danger, whosoever spares his soul and remains without sin: so that the righteousness also which was done by him in time past may be preserved to him. Do thou therefore, O bishop, thus judge: first of all strictly ; and afterwards receive (the sinner) with mercy and compas- sion, when he promises to repent. And rebuke and afflict him, and (afterwards) be entreated of him,

English translation by R. H. Connolly (1929); the original is not shown

because of the word which is spoken in David thus: Deliver not up the soul that confesseth to thee. And in Jeremiah again He speaks thus concerning the repentance of them that sin: Shall he that zs fallen not rise up? or he that is turned away not return? Wherefore are my people turned away with a shameless perversion, and are held fast in their own devices, and have refused to repent and to return? For this cause, then, receive him that repents without hesitating ever so little; and be not hindered by those who are without mercy, who say: ‘It is not fitting that we should be defiled with these.’ For the Lord God has said: The fathers shall not die for the sons, nor the sons for the fathers. And again in Ezekiel He speaketh thus : And the word of the Lord came unto me saying: Son of man, if a land sin against me, and do iniquity before me, I will stretch forth my hand against her, and will destroy out of her the staff of bread, and will send a famine upon her, and will destroy out of her men and beasts. But if there be in her these three men, Noah and Daniel and Fob, they by their righteousness shall deliver their souls, saith the Lord Adonai. The Scripture, then, has shown clearly that if there be found a righteous man with an ungodly, he shall not perish with him, but every man shall be saved by his righteousness: and if he is hindered, it is by his own sins that he is hindered. And again in Wisdom He saith: Every man ts tied with the cord of his sins. Each one therefore of the laity is to render an account of his own sins; and a man is not hurt by reason of tn the sins of others. For neither did Judas harm us at all when he was praying with us, but he alone perished. And in the ark, Noah and his two sons who were saved alive, they were blessed ; but Ham, his other son, was not blessed, but his seed was cursed; and the animals that went in, animals they came forth. It behoves you not therefore to hearken to those who desire (to put to) death, and hate their brethren and love accusations, and are ready to slay on any pretext: (for one shall not die for another). But do you help them that are sore sick and exposed to danger and are sinning, that you may deliver them from death ; and (do) not according to the hardness of heart and the word and thought of men, (but according to the will and command of the Lord our God). For it behoves thee not, O bishop, that being the head thou shouldst obey the tail, that is a layman, a contentious man who desires the "destruction of another; but do thou regard only the word of the Lord God. And concerning this, that (men) are not to suppose that they perish or are defiled by the sins of others, He again cut off their evil thought, and by Ezekiel also the Lord our God spoke thus: ! And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying: ? Son of man, why use ye this proverb in the land of Israel, and say: The fathers do eat sour grapes, and their sons teeth are on edge? ?.As I live, saith the Lord Adonai, there shall no more be any that useth this proverb in Israel. For all the souls are mine: as the soul of the father ts mine, so also ihe soul of the son is mine. The soul that sinneth, the same shall die. And a man, if he be righteous, and do judgement and righteousness, *and eat not upon the 2-6 And in the ark, etc.] xai ev 77 kai of viol tmnpxov,