The Apostolic Constitutions is an early Christian writing that contains teachings and church orders attributed to the Twelve Apostles. It is believed to have been compiled in Syria in the late 4th century CE. The work is divided into eight books that cover various topics relating to church life and Christian practice.
Overview of the Apostolic Constitutions
The Apostolic Constitutions sets forth regulations concerning church leadership and hierarchy, the sacraments, ceremonies, duties of the clergy, the Christian life, and more. It claims to derive these rules and precepts directly from the Twelve Apostles, to whom each book is attributed. However, scholars agree that the Apostolic Constitutions was not actually written by the apostles themselves.
The first six books are likely derived from an earlier Christian work known as the Didascalia Apostolorum, which dates to the early 3rd century CE. The compiler of the Apostolic Constitutions drew material from the Didascalia but made extensive changes, additions, and reorganizations. Books 7 and 8 appear to be distinct and do not seem reliant on the Didascalia.
Contents of the Eight Books
Here is an overview of the topics covered in each of the eight books:
Book 1
Attributed to Clement of Rome. Provides regulations about the relationships between bishops, presbyters, deacons, and the laity. Covers the ordination and offices of bishops.
Book 2
Attributed to James the Just. Focuses on the duties and qualifications for bishops, presbyters, deacons, subdeacons, readers, singers, widows, virgins, exorcists, and deaconesses. Describes ordination ceremonies.
Book 3
Attributed to Andrew. Covers topics related to church life including catechumens, marriages, funerals, visiting the sick, almsgiving, hospitality, and so on.
Book 4
Attributed to John. Provides prescriptions about miscellaneous ethical matters such as honoring parents, neighborly love, avoiding anger and lust, the right use of material goods, and so forth.
Book 5
Attributed to Thomas. Offers instructions concerning various Christian feasts and observances like Lent, Passover/Easter, and Pentecost. Includes details on fasting practices.
Book 6
Attributed to Peter. Lays down precepts for schismatics seeking to return to the church. Covers procedures for receiving converts and heretical groups.
Book 7
Attributed to Paul. Serves as a directory of prayers and liturgies for sacraments (baptism, ordination, Eucharist), ceremonies, and various occasions.
Book 8
Attributed to James the brother of Jesus. Provides a summary of Christian duties, largely revisiting the topics covered in prior books. Ends with chapters on the end times and resurrection.
Key Teachings in the Apostolic Constitutions
Some of the notable teachings and instructions found in the Apostolic Constitutions include:
- Church leadership is hierarchical, with bishops having authority over presbyters and deacons.
- Bishops derive their authority by succession from the apostles.
- Baptism is by immersion and should be done in the name of the Trinity.
- Prayers should be offered facing east.
- The Eucharist is a true sacrifice and should be celebrated with reverence.
- Christians should observe the Lord’s Day (Sunday) as well as other feast days.
- The Bishop of Jerusalem should be honored above other bishops.
- Married men may be ordained but not unmarried priests or widowed priests.
- Detailed instructions for ordinations, funerals, and other rites.
The Apostolic Constitutions gives insight into early Christian worship, governance, discipline, and daily practices. TheCompiler evidently sought to promote unity and codify order in the 4th-century church by appealing to the authority of the apostles. While not actually apostolic in origin, this ambitious work had influence in Syria and elsewhere for centuries.
Authorship and Date of Composition
As noted above, the Apostolic Constitutions was not written by the apostles themselves despite its claims. Scholars debate the identity of the anonymous compiler but suggest it was likely a 4th-century Syrian Christian, possibly a bishop. The material in the first six books appears to borrow heavily from the 3rd century Didascalia Apostolorum, which was also a Syrian church order. The seventh and eighth books were probably composed first, perhaps around 375 CE, with the rest added sometime in the late 4th century. The definitive compiled work reached its final form around 380 CE but underwent further minor revisions afterwards.
Manuscripts and Translations
The Apostolic Constitutions originally circulated in Greek but only fragmentary portions of the Greek text survive today. In the 6th century it was translated into Syriac, Coptic, Arabic, Ethiopian, and Armenian.
The oldest complete manuscript is a late 8th or early 9th century uncial codex in Syriac called Ms. Mingana 17 discovered at the monastery of Dair al-Suriani in Egypt. This manuscript resides at the Mingana Collection of the Cadbury Research Library in Birmingham, England.
In 1680, William Whiston produced the first complete English translation which brought wider attention to the work in modern times. Many other English translations have followed since.
Relation to Other Works
As mentioned above, a large part of the Apostolic Constitutions borrows from or rearranges material in the earlier Didascalia Apostolorum from Syria. The first six books especially are reliant on the Didascalia with modifications.
The Didache, an anonymous early Christian work dating to the late 1st or early 2nd century CE, appears to have been an additional source for parts of the Apostolic Constitutions. Some scholars theorize that the Didache and Didascalia may have shared a common but now lost source.
The Apostolic Constitutions, Didascalia, and Didache all contain similar church orders, liturgies, ethical precepts, and disciplines. However, the Apostolic Constitutions expands greatly beyond them and weaves in additional material and its own organizational framework.
Book 7 of the Apostolic Constitutions provides early versions of certain liturgical prayers and hymns that would influence later Christian and Eastern Orthodox liturgies such as John Chrysostom’s Divine Liturgy.
An Evaluation of the Apostolic Constitutions
The Apostolic Constitutions provides a valuable window into the life, worship, governance, and practices of the 4th-century Syrian church. While not authentically apostolic, it captures early traditions and furnishes the earliest texts for certain prayers and ceremonies still used in some Orthodox churches today. As a late work with various sources, it sheds light on the development and evolution of church orders in early Christianity leading up to the Nicene period.
However, historians approach the Apostolic Constitutions cautiously since its writer freely modified earlier material and framed the combined work as being of apostolic origin. The compiler’s motives likely included promoting uniformity amid diversity, appealing to apostolic authority for contemporary practices, and resisting heretical factions by upholding orthodoxy. While useful for history, the pseudonymous character and combination of disparate sources in the Apostolic Constitutions means its testimony requires careful evaluation.
Overall, as one of the most extensive early Christian documents beside the Bible itself, the Apostolic Constitutions supplies modern researchers with invaluable perspective on the post-apostolic era, despite needing to be read with a critical eye. It continues to inform understanding of early church structure and worship. This influential work merits ongoing study as both a lens into late antiquity Christianity and a witness to the development of tradition.
