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Acts of the Martyrdom of Perpetua and Felicitas
Acts of the Martyrdom of Perpetua and Felicitas Author:Charles Bigg, Arthur John MacLean, J. Rendel Harris There has never been a literary discovery that prompted as much discussion as the Didache. This work was used as a catechism by the early church; that is, believers were expected to both understand and implement its contents prior to being baptized. The Didache was used throughout the early churches of Syria, which suggests an early date for its... more » composition, as it was into that region Christianity first expanded. The simplicity of the work, however, did not suit later, more sectarian forms of the faith, so it fell into disuse. Hundreds of books and articles have been written on this small treatise, and no standard edition was embraced until early in the twentieth century. Since its original publishing in 1883, when it was taken from an ancient manuscript found in Constantinople, debate about the Didache has been fierce. During the first two decades after its discovery, no fewer than a dozen prominent opinions circulated about its origin and influence. Among them was an edition by Charles Bigg, whose work in early church history was legendary. Dr. Bigg embraced a fourth-century date for the Didache in his first edition, a view that he alone held. Twenty years later, after the death of the eminent scholar, and when a second edition of the work was in demand, A. J. Maclean was recruited to update the volume. His views on the date and origin of the Didache differ vastly from those maintained by Bigg, and are expressed in his rewriting of the expanded notes and an entirely new introduction. The combined skills of these two scholars resulted in one of the finest treatments every published on the Didache. The introduction updates study in the field and evaluates contemporary thought on the work. Bigg's translation is retained, with minor changes, and to it is added a phrase-by-phrase analysis of the content. Maclean's acute commentary is especially helpful for the first-time reader of the Didache. If reconstructing the first-century church is of interest to you, or if the development of early Christian thought is desired, then this book is required reading.« less