Most Christians believe that everything about Jesus and theearly church can be found in their New Testament. In recent years,however, the discovery of the Gospel of Thomas and the reconstruction of the Q-Gospel have led scholars to recognize that some very earlymaterials were left out. Now, due to the pioneering efforts of Dr. Aaron Milavec, the most decisive document of them all, namely, the Didache, has come to light. Milavec has decoded the Didache and enabled it to reveal its hidden secrets regarding those years whenChristianity was little more than a faction within the restless Judaisms of the mid-first-century.

The Didache reveals a tantalizingly detailed description of the prophetic faith and day-to-day routines that shaped the Jesus movement some twenty yearsafter the death of Jesus. The focus of the movement then was not uponproclaiming the exalted titles and deeds of Jesus - aspects that come to the fore in the letters of Paul and in the Gospel narratives. Incontrast to these familiar forms of Christianity, the focus of the Didache was upon "the life and the knowledge" of Jesus himself. Thus, the Didache details the step-by-step process whereby non-Jews were empowered byassimilating the prophetic faith and the way of life associated withJesus of Nazareth.

Milavec's clear,concise, and inspiring commentaries are not only of essential importance to scholars, pastors, and students but also very useful for ordinarypeople who wish to unlock the secrets of the Didache. Milavec'sanalytic, Greek-English side-by-side, gender-inclusive translation isincluded as well as a description of how this document, after beingfashioned and used 50-70 C.E., was mysteriously lost for over eighteenhundred years before being found in an obscure library in Istanbul. Thestudy questions, bibliography, and flowcharts enable even first-timeusers to grasp the functional and pastoral genius that characterized the earliest Christian communities.

Reviews

A groundbreaking study of the use of the Didache in the earliest of Jewish-Christian communities, and for today's Church.
—Dennis D. McManus, Georgetown University, Managing Editor, Ancient Christian Writers

This work has revolutionized the understanding of the Didache. The best introduction to a new way of studying.
—John Dominic Crossan, Professor Emeritus of Religious Studies, DePaul University, Chicago

About the Author

Aaron Milavec, Professor Emeritus, has served as aseminary and university professor for over twenty-five years. Hebrought his fresh approach to the Didache to the attention of biblicalscholars by originating a new program unit of the national Society ofBiblical Literature, "The Didache in Context," which he chaired2002-2005. Meanwhile, his website, Didache.info, promotes pioneeringresearch and scholarly exchange on issues of the early church. Histhousand-page commentary, THE DIDACHE: FAITH, HOPE, AND LIFE OF THEEARLIEST CHRISTIAN COMMUNITIES, 50-70 C.E., received a 2004 CatholicPress Club award recognizing the best books in theology. To date, Aaron has published over twenty books in theology and ministry.

From 2007-2014, Aaron joined with a group of academics from the UK tocreate, to recruit, and to train a visionary international facultyoperating within CATHERINE OF SIENA VIRTUAL COLLEGE, an online collegedevoted to empowering women for life and leadership through engagedgender studies. In July of 2015, the University of Roehampton (London)took over the pioneering methodology while retaining the name, Catherine of Siena Virtual College.

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Category: Ecclesiology

ISBN: 978-08091-0537-3

Hardcover $64.95