The Didache, also known as
The Lord's Teaching Through the Twelve Apostles to the Nations
, is a short work, written in Koine Greek, during the earliest years of the Christian Church. The author and time of composition are not known, but most scholars date it to the first century AD, and perhaps as early as the 50s or 60s.
The contents may be divided into four parts. The first is the Two Ways: the Way of Life and the Way of Death (chapters 1-6). The second part includes instructions concerning food, baptism, fasting, prayer and the Lord's Supper (chapters 7-10). The third part speaks of the ministry and how to treat apostles, prophets, bishops, and deacons (chapters 11-15). The final part (chapter 16) is an apocalyptic prophecy, which has much in common with the content of Matthew 24-25, Mark 13 and Luke 24.