The Didache (a.d. 100)

The Didache probably represents the type of small Christian group that met in the region of Syria, perhaps outside of the city of Antioch. By the fifth century, this hilly countryside was dotted with small churches and baptistries, but in the late first century there were probably no buildings specifically designated as churches. Christianity was still a proscribed religion, and the Christians of a village or rural area gathered after work. Although they did not necessarily meet in secret, they certainly did not publicize their gathering loudly. Introduction Sunday was a workday, and the Christians gathered after work for a potluck meal, known throughout the Mediterranean world as the agape, and for the Eucharist (literally, the thanksgiving), which was the ongoing celebration of the command of Jesus to break the bread and drink the cup in remembrance of him (1 Cor. 11:26). While the Agape-meal and the Eucharist were celebrated together, as early as the time of the Didache, Christ…