The Post-Apostolic Fathers

Introduction

Among the ancient manuscripts of the early centuries following the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord Yeshua, there came into existence many books, letters, chapters and scrolls, written in an Apostolic (or Post-Apostolic age) that regrettably became all but forgotten over the course of time. Among this collection of sacred texts are such works as were written by the very disciples of Yeshua’s Apostles themselves. Clement of Rome, for example, was a disciple of Peter, and both Polycarp of Smyrna and Ignatius of Antioch were disciples of John. Contained within these writings are many teachings, ascribed to our Lord Yeshua, and His apostles, that cannot be found in the canonical New Testament. As such, these works warrant a certain degree of spiritual and academic attention be paid to them.

The Purpose of this Edition

This collection of sacred writings presents us with a fascinating insight into the understanding and thought processes of the first century believers, just shortly after the writing of the commonly accepted “New Testament.” By these writings, we are able to acquire a deeper understanding of Yeshua’s teachings, and are able to discern how they were understood by the disciples of His own apostles.

Editorial Notes to this Edition

I have attempted to remain as objective as possible to the true nature of the texts, I will readily admit that there is no translation under the sun that is free from the bias of its translator.

I have gone to great lengths to present the words of these writings as accurately as possible, not changing or swaying their meaning in any way, but remaining true to the context of what was originally presented. The text for this edition has been created by taking the best public domain English translations and updating the language to modern English, replacing things like “thee” and “thine” with “you” and “yours”, and cleaning up the awkward language whenever possible. Any alterations to the text beyond the scope of linguistic updating have been noted in the footnotes below.

Clement of Rome (Download as PDF)

Polycarp of Smyrna (Download as PDF)

Ignatius of Antioch (Download as PDF)