The Apostolic Fathers and the Word

The apostolic fathers and their writings reflect the doctrine and life of the church immediately following the death of the apostles. They are called apostolic fathers because in their days the teaching and preaching of the apostles was still a matter of living memory in the church of a not yet remote past. The identity of these men and the authenticity of their writings are to some extent matters of scholarly debate which need not fully concern us. They lived and wrote roughly in the period...