The Didache: The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles; translated by Roswell D. Hitchcock & Francis Brown with introduction notes & Greek version (Aziloth Books).

The Didache or teaching is a treasured gem in the crown of Christian writings being as close a link as there is to Jesus original teachings. Written in the first or second century A.D. by early Jewish followers of Jesus it mysteriously disappeared in the fifth century only to reappear again 1400 years later in 1873. The Didaches remit was to disseminate early Christian ethics and rules of conduct to the gentiles although it was never included in the canon of the New Testament. It is a short work in four parts: the first section Chapters 1-6 are moral guidelines for converts; the second part gives advice on Christian ritual - such as baptism fasting and the Eucharist (Chapters 7-10); the third centres on the ministry and how to treat apostles prophets bishops and deacons (Chapters 11-15); and the final section (Chapter 16) is eschatological in nature and speaks of Christs second coming. This easy-to-read translation by Hitchcock and Brown was the first English translation to be published and comes with both an introduction and notes.