The Didache
The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles — the oldest surviving catechism, ~100 AD
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Sign in to save progressThe Teaching of the Lord to the Gentiles
By the Twelve Apostles
The Didache (Greek: "Teaching") is the oldest surviving catechism of the Christian church, written around 100 AD — within living memory of the apostles.
The early church prepared converts for baptism using this text. Then it was lost for centuries — buried in a library, forgotten by the very church that treasured it — until it was rediscovered in 1873. Now, recovered, it is a manual for becoming a Christian again.
The structure is simple and apostolic: 1. The Two Ways — the way of life and the way of death 2. The rituals — baptism, fasting, prayer, Eucharist 3. The order — apostles, prophets, teachers, bishops, deacons 4. The expectation — Christ is coming again
This is the path the early church walked. This is the path we walk still.
Why the Didache?
The Didache is the oldest surviving Christian catechism, written within decades of the crucifixion. It was the manual the apostolic church used to prepare converts for baptism. For centuries the church formed disciples through this text — and then it was lost, only to be recovered in 1873. Not through systematic theology first, but through the Two Ways, the Lord's Prayer, and the path to the waters of baptism.
At The Essentialists, we return to this ancient path. The Didache is the first track in our catechesis — the foundation upon which all later formation is built.