Allyson Presswood

NTRC9301
12-5-13
Apostolic Fathers
Significance of the Apostolic Fathers for NT Interpretation
The Apostolic Fathers, writers in the first few generations after the death of the apostles
(traditionally A.D. 70-150), are incomparably valuable for the study of the NT. Holmes mentions
how these writers show the working out of Christian doctrine during a critical transition stage
in Christianity (Holmes 17). Authoritative answers given by an apostle were no longer available,
so the locus of authority was shifting and developing. During this time, church government
systems shifted to a more hierarchical system with single bishops, and the rule of faith became
the answer to the need for an authority (Holmes 17).
In the Baur school of thought, the Apostolic Fathers writings were viewed as the result
of a struggle between Jewish (Petrine) and Gentile (Pauline) Christianity as evidenced in some
NT works. He thus dated the AFs very late (190s) since they show a stable, systematized version
of Christianity. In Bauers thesis, early Christianity is exemplified by (now-called) heretical
writings. He uses the AFs to prove his points. Even if one does not hold to either of these views,
it must be noted that the AFs are quite significant in their development and theses, and
understanding these writings will be necessary to refine or combat Baur and Bauer (Holmes 1828).
Clayton Jefford, whose work on the AFs is outstanding, has written an essay at the end of
his book entitled The Significance of the Apostolic Fathers for New Testament Study (Jefford
247-52). His main points of significance are as follows:
overlap in genre between NT and AF helps interpret the NT by giving more
examples of how to interpret a specific (sometimes uniquely Christian) genre
understanding both the Jewish and Hellenistic backgrounds to Christian thought
great focus on combating heresy in both groups of literature
continued focus by the AF writings (from the NT) on a call for unity
continued focus on the ethical implications of the gospel
the development of Christian theology and liturgy can be seen in the AF
Jeffords metaphor (a good one) for understanding the relationship between the two
groups of works is that of a staircase. A lengthy quote is in order here, as Jefford summarizes
quite well the significance of the literature.
Though it certainly is true that the reach of the latter materials extended perhaps some
half a century beyond the scope of the former works, the relationship of the two
collections is somewhat analogous to adjoining steps within a staircase: one leads to the
next, and they very much resemble each other. They are of the same materials; they are
engendered for the same perspective. In the same way that biblical scholars recognized
long ago that the New Testament could neither be clearly understood nor accurately
interpreted without some direction from the Hebrew Scriptures, so too must Christian

historians come to read the churchs earliest canonical writings within the light of the
generation of ecclesiastical leaders who produced the first responses to that materialIt
is through the eyes of the apostolic fathers that the contexts of the ancient biblical debates
are improved and our understanding of the rise of Christianity is greatly enhanced
(Jefford 252).
The Apostolic Fathers sound more like Scripture than any other collection outside the NT
canon itself, and the overlaps between them are enormous. When they were being written, they
really were viewed as a continuation of Christian writing, not as a separate group from the NT
documents. They make up the next step in forming Christian doctrine and working out for a
new generation how this belief system will function. Their understanding of NT documents is
especially important, since their context was so similar to the context within which the
documents were written. Though the AF authors were not (all) in the original audiences of the
NT documents, they share much context with those audiences and probably know many of the
situational events which called the documents into being, so they can understand them much
more easily than a modern interpreter, for whom the past is a foreign country. Thus their
understandings of the NT, and working out of its teachings into new situations, are incomparably
important to NT interpretation.

Bibliography
Holmes, Michael W. The Apostolic Fathers: Greek Texts and English Translations. 3rd Ed.
Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2007.
Jefford, Clayton N. The Apostolic Fathers and the New Testament. Peabody: Hendrickson, 2006.