Apostolic Canons after Ascension

This book is the narrative of the Apostles after the Ascension of our Lord and God Christ, the synod which they decreed, which Clement wrote concerning the Apostles, how they ordained for the holy Church, which was established by his precious blood. And they gave to him who followed them and entered into their lot and believed in God at their hands from all nations and also the Jews. And they decreed to appoint after them bishops before the Council of Nicaea, who established the law of God, and they condemned the elders who would oppose righteousness, and they gave a commandment from the Gospel and from the other books of God. And God showed righteousness in all times, in the evening and in the open word, and he put the elders to shame with eternal curse. And Andrew, after he arose from the dead, there were disciples in the land of Galilee and the city of Nazareth where he commanded them. And on the fortieth day after his resurrection, they gathered at the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, and Christ was with them while they did not recognize him in their midst. And he revealed himself to them on that day, and he placed his hand upon the head of each one of them, the eleven and one Andrew, and he blessed them and appointed them priests in place of the priests of the sons of Israel, the chosen.

For as the Lord said through the mouth of Micah the prophet, who said, "The rod of Aaron, behold, I have chosen the priesthood of Levi, your father." And they shall not forget the priesthood of Aaron, for the priest is the angel of the Lord. And He said in the Gospel, "Behold, I send my angel before your face to prepare your way." And then a bright cloud took them and lifted them from their midst, while they watched it until it ascended to heaven, as they gazed with their eyes. And they worshipped the Lord, for they saw Him ascending to heaven as He had told them, and they rejoiced with great joy, for He placed His hand upon them and made them priests. And when He was hidden from them, they entered into the upper room where they had rejoiced with Him, and they remained there praying and fasting for ten days. And they went about to where they would go to call people to the faith. And they did not understand their languages, nor did they know their words. And Peter, who is the head, for Christ placed him over all the apostles, whom he named Simon Peter, said to them, "Is not this deed for us our Lord who sent us, that He might send us the Paraclete, who is the Holy Spirit? And He will teach us all that we need; let us hear and do.

And while Peter was telling them these things, behold, they heard a sound like the sound of a rushing wind, and they saw a sweet fragrance, which they had never known before in the world, and tongues of fire appeared among them, descending upon each one of them. And they began to speak in a new tongue to the people they went to for preaching, among the faithful, and to do what was necessary for their instruction. And to teach the people prayer, prostration, law, and ordinance, and to glorify God for what they had been taught, and to fast forty days for the honor of Him. After that, they dispersed into distant regions on a journey, so that they might call the people to the faith, as Christ had commanded them. And he was a preacher, baptizer, and ordainer of priests, who preceded the priesthood and who gathered all the Jews and the people who dwelt in Jerusalem and in the land of Palestine and its regions, and all the five cities, and Caesarea, and Samaria, and the land of Arabia—James, the brother of our Lord, and he was the ruler over the church of the apostles, which is Zion.

And Mark the Evangelist in Alexandria, Egypt, Nubia, and the land of Ethiopia as far as its border; and India, and Sind, and the regions beyond as far as the Red Sea. Thomas the Apostle; and Syria, and Antioch, and Galatia as far as Crete. Phinotes, Simon Cephas, who is Peter. And while he was ministering, news of Simon Magus reached him, as he was in the city of Rome, and he had deceived the people with his sorcery and his magic. And he went to her, and all the people believed in his hand, and he baptized all of them, and also the people of Antioch and Asia, and the surrounding cities and all of Rome. And the Lord destroyed Simon Magus through the prayer and petition of the holy one, and the faith appeared throughout that entire land through his holiness, purity, and patience. And John the Evangelist in Ephesus, Thessalonica, Asia, Tyre, Achaia, and all the land of Phrygia. Andrew, his brother of Simon, in Nicaea, Nicomedia, and all the land of Dacia and its regions from the border.

Luke, the Evangelist, in Zantia, and Bariqya, and Fariqya, and the regions beyond as far as the western border as far as the sea that is great. And Mark, one of the seventy-two disciples, in the island, and Persia, and the land of Babylon, and all the black peoples, and the regions beyond them, and the land of the South, and the islands, and the land of Arabia, those who dwell in tents as far as the Red Sea. And Akai, the companion of Mark, in the land of mountains and valleys, and Tarsus as far as the land of Sind, and as far as Gog and Magog. And after this, the apostles were sent to the sheep that were scattered, and they called the people into the faith, and they baptized them according to the command of our Lord Christ in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, until they departed from the world and went into rest and joy eternal. And before they departed into the regions, they made a rule and a canon, and they commanded those who believed, and they taught them this, and they confirmed them in it when they were gathered together in Zion. And then they departed, and they taught all those who believed with their hands from all the journeys to where they went.

1. Command: That their prayer be toward the East, for our Lord Jesus Christ said that God Himself will come from heaven at the end of days like lightning that issues from the East and flashes as far as the West. And because of this we know that His coming will be from the East. 2. Command: Concerning the Christian Sabbath: That they assemble every Sunday at the third hour for prayer and reading of the Scriptures, both the Old and the New, and for the offering of the Eucharist. For in it is the annunciation of the angel to Mary that she would conceive her Christ, and in it He rose from the dead, and in it He will descend from heaven on the day of Resurrection with His angels in great glory, and He will dwell with His holy apostles and judge the living and the dead. 3. Command: Concerning the day of Wednesday: That they perform the prayer of assembly on the day of Wednesday, for on it Jesus told them that they would crucify Him and He would die and rise on the third day, and they grieved and sorrowed for Him.

4. Command: Concerning Friday, that they perform the prayer on the day of Friday at the ninth hour, because Christ told them on Wednesday concerning his passion and crucifixion on the day of Friday, and it was he who was sought when the earth trembled and the sun darkened on that day. 5. Command: Concerning the clergy, that the faithful choose for themselves clergy, archbishops, and bishops, and episcopoi, that they may be in the likeness of Moses and Aaron, the high priests, and that they may command the whole people. 6. Command: That they choose priests, that they may be in the likeness of the priests of the sons of Israel. 7. Command: That they choose deacons and subdeacons and anagnosts, that they may be for service, like the sons of Levi, and that they may guard the goods of the offering and the goods of the temple and the goods of the sacrifice. 8. Command: Concerning the Nativity, and that they perform the feast of the Nativity of our Lord each year on the day he was born, on the 29th of the month of Taḫśaś, because it is the head of all feasts.

9. Command: Concerning Baptism. And they shall celebrate the feast of the baptism of our Lord, for the day of the consecration is when he was baptized by John the Baptist, which is on the 11th of Ṭerr. 10. Command: Concerning the Fast of Pascha. And they shall fast each year forty days, as Moses, Elijah, and the prophets fasted in former times. And our Lord Jesus Christ began likewise in his flesh, and he commanded that they do it before his sufferings. And they shall remember the suffering of Christ, his crucifixion, his death, and his descent into the tomb. And on the day of his resurrection they shall celebrate Pascha, and they shall celebrate the feast at the conclusion of the fast, without including Sabbaths and Sundays, having fasted forty days, and the day of Friday and the first Sabbath, both of them, on the day of his crucifixion and burial, and the day of Sunday, his resurrection. And there is no fast after these days until the conclusion of the fifty days. 11. Command: Concerning the Feast of the Forty. And they shall celebrate the feast of the ascension of our Lord into heaven, after his resurrection, on the fortieth day.

12. Command: Concerning the Reading of the Scriptures. And they shall read the Scriptures upon the high seat in the church, from the Law and all the books of the Prophets and the Acts of the Apostles. And after that, they shall read from the Gospel, for it is the fulfillment of all the Scriptures. And all the people shall listen, standing on their feet, for it is the story of life and salvation and a gift for all people. And they shall honor it above all the Scriptures, and the people shall pray to God while it is being read. 13. Command: Concerning the Discipline of Fasting. And a fast shall not be imposed upon a Christian, nor shall they be commanded by one who does not know the law and discipline. But rather, one who observes it and is good in his person, and chaste in humility, and good in his conduct. And if he transgresses this and does not do all that we have said, he shall be removed from his fast by force, and his word and command shall not be accepted, for he has become a believer in his hypocrisy. 14. Command: Again Concerning Fasting. And they shall appoint a fast and a mission of the church, and a judge among the people, for all who fear false oaths and false witness, and accusation against people, and those who have sinned against them in what they have not done.

15. Command: And that one who believes in the calculation of the stars, and believes in the matter of Mary, and men of sorcery, and seers of a star, and the calculation of nativity, and asks them concerning what he does not know, and accepts their word, and transgresses the command of God and His ordinance and His judgment, and separates Christians from those who do not know God, he shall be removed from the order of the priesthood, for he has acted like the Jewish magicians. 16. Command: And if there is in the ministry of the church one who is lacking in his ministry, and is not trustworthy in it, and they do not trust him over it, they shall remove him from his order, for he is not a believer and is not good in his ministry, and he only destroys people and himself, for God does not desire darkness. 17. Command: And every priest and deacon who is known for adultery and fornication, and who persists in this world, shall be removed from his order. 18. Command: And they shall not be in the order and ministry of the church, and shall not be joined with the priests: those who love the Jews, and those who are their friends like the Iscariot, and those who are not haters of the pagans who worship idols; and one who is like this, they shall expel him from among them, and they shall not leave him in their midst, and he shall not be served with them, and he shall not eat with them.

19. Command: And they shall receive everyone who comes into the faith, and they shall teach him with them, and they shall not prevent him from going to his people from the Jews and the priests of idols. And if he has entered into the place of sorcery, his deed is after the teaching, and then he shall be separated from those who do not believe, and they shall not receive him, except like the priests of idols. 20. Command: And the head who commands the church of God shall not perform the work of this world. And he shall not mingle in the affairs of the people without the counsel of the elders who preceded him, who stand in prayer like him. And he shall not judge without his counsel and their counsel together, in what is pleasing to God and what is beneficial to the people, and his judgment is just. And he shall not be in his judgment one who oppresses their assembly, and he shall not be harsh in his just correction. And one who is thus harsh shall be removed, and a priest or deacon shall not abandon his prayer which he has taken up, and he shall not go out to the affairs of another. And one who has done thus, he shall not be, but he shall return to his former place.

[21] 21st Command: Concerning the commemoration of martyrs. And they shall make for every faithful martyr whose blood was shed for Christ our Lord a commemoration on the day of their martyrdom. [22] 22nd Command: Concerning the order of prayer. And they shall multiply prayer by night and by day with the Psalms of David, and they shall sing prayer in it, for he said, "I will bless the Lord at all times, and always his praise in my mouth." And again he said, "Sweet to my throat, you have recited from honey, and honey is sweet to my mouth." And because of this, they shall read in sweet melody concerning the greatness of the Lord and his praise and his thanksgiving and his grace and supplication to him and prostration in everything for his glorious and holy name. And again he shall tell concerning prayer and praise and confession and faith and sins and petitions which are fitting for the faithful. They shall pray in it when they encounter affliction and sorrow and distress, and they shall repent from sin.

[23] 23rd Command: Concerning the number of priests. And there shall be seven deacons, who are chosen from the people for the service of the house of the sanctuary, good and virtuous, and wise in knowledge and understanding, and God-fearing, who know His ordinance, for they are the ones who proclaim concerning prayer and consecrate the offering and guide the people in righteousness and peace, for they are the children of God in faith, as it is said in the holy Gospel. And the deacons of prophecy, and they shall be trustworthy, and they shall not be occupied with worldly works, but their work shall be the service of the knowledge of the law. [24] 24th Command: And there shall be a leader who will govern the people and lead them with the cross, for we govern and not we rule without righteousness. And if a priest is negligent while they are pure, they shall lay priests upon him in righteousness. And if they are found guilty, they shall send him to the bishop or to the archbishop, and they shall judge him in righteousness, and they shall not abandon him to be scattered over the sheep of Christ, who have been redeemed by His precious blood. And they shall not oppress them so that they do not fall into sin against God and blasphemy against His holy name. And they shall be faithful, good, who are restrained from violence as is fitting, as God will be avenged on their account. And they shall not judge unjustly among the people, and his punishment shall be severe. And he who acquits the guilty for the sake of what he gives him, and condemns the innocent because of his weakness and poverty, he shall be cursed and excommunicated, and they shall not receive him except as a servant of idols.

[24] 24th Command: Concerning the one who commits a sin. And they shall rebuke him for his transgression, and his episcopate shall not frighten you. [25] 25th Command: And there shall not be in the hundred, and he shall not approach, who is proud in his soul and boasts over people, and considers himself as one who is greater than people, and honors and despises, and looks upon the people of God with the eye of contempt. But he is cursed before God, and deficient, having no good remembrance in his life, and no mercy before God at his death, and he is removed from his priesthood. Concerning this, God said in the book: "I will give grace to another rather than to those who are proud." [26] 26th Command: And the chief of priests shall teach over the priests in the journeys that pass among them, and he shall admonish them, and command them, and rebuke them, and they shall know that he has authority over them, and he shall know their deeds, and he shall command them to do his commands, as Samuel the prophet, who went around in the regions of Jerusalem and commanded them and rebuked them.

[27] 27th Command: Concerning the king. And the place of the king shall be with the faithful at the time of prayer before all the people. And he shall stand with the deacons and the lay priests, and he shall enter with them into the sanctuary. And his place shall be there, for David the king and those kings who resemble him precede all people in prayer, and they enter the temple, and their place is within. [28] 28th Command: The king shall not perform a deed in the temple by his own will, but by the fear of God and by election, so that God may establish his throne in righteousness, prolong his days, and grant him eternal spiritual grace. And his children who sit upon his throne shall not remove him forever. [29] 29th Command: Priests. And the priests and the deacons shall not deviate from the work that was commanded them, nor shall they transgress the commandment from what was set before them, so that they may command and rebuke. And they shall appoint them to what is fitting and proper, and not to what incurs sin and shame, and there shall be a penalty upon him.

[30] 30th Command: Concerning the offering. And they shall offer the bread that is made for the offering upon the altar on the day of the making. And they shall not leave it for the morrow, and they shall consume it on that day, and they shall not leave it for a second day, for it is not fitting. And thus we have commanded you, that you do as the Lord showed us after us. And this the apostles decreed, while they were gathered together in the upper room in Jerusalem, for those who heard them, followed them, and believed in the Lord at their hands, from the Jews and from all the nations. And they decreed it for the whole world, for the Holy Spirit descended upon them on the summit of Zion on the feast of Pentecost, and wisdom was with them, and it taught them all that is permitted, as our Lord Christ had granted them in all their deeds. And they had no doubt concerning this, for they had the help of that which was given: authority and understanding of the Lord, and they did it, for they feared for those who followed them and believed at their hands, from the wolves, the deceivers, lest they come and snatch them from behind them, for there are people who resemble the apostles and come in the guise of sheep, but they are wolves, the snatchers.

And first, our Lord spoke these things; and Paul also, the righteous, and Silvanus, his companion, when they went to the land of Syria and beyond, commanded those who believed by their hands and by the hands of all the apostles. And again, they assembled and performed this commandment while reading the interpretations of the holy scriptures; and they revealed to the people what was hidden in the understanding for their souls, and they established law and ordinance for the holy church; and it was in humility and gift, and they brought forth hidden things to the people and showed wonders, as their Lord had done, and as it was by their hands. And many people came to them each day and believed in Christ by their hands; and people came to them from distant lands and heard their word, and they accepted their commandments and their teaching, which was firm in faith. And Nicodemus and Gamaliel, the chief priests and the council of the Jews, came in secret and accepted their teaching and commandments, seeing what they brought forth from the hidden things; and Ancus and Levi and Cadai and Neri and Hanna and Caiaphas and Alexander, priests of the Jews, came by night and believed and confessed that it is Christ whom we have found, he is the righteous Messiah whom the prophets prophesied concerning him, he is the Son of God in truth, and they did not fear the fear of the Jews.

And the apostles received them and rejoiced in them, and said to them: "It is fitting for you to act thus, and not to hide from people, nor to fear them, and to end your life in truth and righteousness. For it is fitting for you to fear God, who has no concealment, and not to die in the midst of them. And you will be numbered with your fathers in the blood of our Lord Christ, which your fathers shed. And it is fitting for you only if you have believed in Christ, that you may openly confess and believe in the faith which the apostles proclaimed, and receive every righteous person to yourselves." And when the priests of the Jews heard their words, they cried out with a loud voice in the midst of all the apostles, and said: "Truly we believe in Christ, whom the Jews crucified, and who was buried and arose on the third day. And we believe that he is the first God from the beginning, and he will judge those who crucified him. And we are separate from them." And they revealed all the hidden things to the people, and they believed openly, and they did not separate from the apostles, because they taught them everything that they had taught the people from the new law, which is the excellent ordinance that came forth from Zion, as the scripture says.

and they shall hear teaching and perform it before every person. And if they find the apostles in tribulation, they shall help them and endure scourges, beatings, and every loss for the sake of faith in Christ, and rejoice in all that befalls them, and increase, going unto faith in our Lord Christ. And after the apostles went out into the world, they became teachers for the holy church, and they taught and instructed people in all that they had received from the apostles. And they commanded before their death for those who were after them, their disciples. And Paul planted the church in Antioch, and James wrote in Jerusalem, and Simon Peter in the city of Rome, and John in Ephesus, and Mark in Alexandria, and Andrew in Africa, and Luke in Macedonia, and Judas and Thomas in the land of India, among the teachers and the faithful throughout the whole world, so that his books and epistles might be distributed and read in all the churches of God, just as the narrative of the apostles written by Luke is read, so that they might know that the apostles, the prophets, and the scriptures, both the Old and the New, agree with one another.

and they called to one righteousness and one word, all of them one spirit, which is the Holy Spirit from one Lord, to whom we all bow. And the apostles were sent and preached there, and they called to him all who were far from them. And everything that the apostles received from our Lord Jesus Christ, and the apostles taught and entrusted to them, and they believed in him in all cities and countries, and to the ends of the whole world, while his power helped them for the Lord, and they were strong, and they did not deny the word that says, "I will be with you until the end of the world." And with this, they will contend in struggle with the Jews through the books of the prophets, and they will struggle with the pagans through the great miracle that they perform in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. And all the nations of foreign cities were entrusted to those who were called into faith in Christ without hesitation. And when tribulation finds them on his account, they say, "This tribulation that has found us will pass away for us, because we ourselves have angered the one who created us.

And among them, there was one who was crucified, and one who was killed by the sword, being strangled, and one whose limbs were torn apart by prolonged torture, and one who was separated from his limbs, his children, and his home, and while they were in torment, they were mocked and tortured willingly until they died for the sake of faith in Christ. And their preaching and calling multiplied and spread, and did not cease, until it reached the four corners of the world. And the apostles did not cease all this when they began to proclaim and call to faith, but they hastened so that all would be turned from error, pride, and idol worship to righteousness and faith, and they commanded them to abstain from eating meat sacrificed to gods, from blood, and from what is offered to a foreign god. And when many who believed in Christ became from among them preachers and evangelists, it was permitted to establish commandments and ordinances for the ordering of law and the completion of action, and the apostles gave them this canon, which is called the "Word of the Nail" in the Təlsat, in which the apostles of Christ, the good, righteous, pure, and leaders, assembled and commanded in it that it should be enacted, and it is fitting for one who has undergone torment, and we also follow their tradition.