Apostolic Fathers

The term Apostolic Fathers refers both to a group of early Christian writers (the first among the Church Fathers) and to a particular collection of their writings. These writings comprise the first known Christian writings after the composition of the New Testament, and some were even considered for inclusion in the canon (i.e., the epistles of St. Clement of Rome).

The most common lists of these writings usually include most or all of the following:


 * The Epistle to Diognetus
 * The First Epistle of Clement
 * The Second Epistle of Clement
 * The Didache
 * The Epistle of Barnabas
 * Seven short Epistles of Ignatius of Antioch (the longer forms of these Epistles, and those beyond the seven, are widely considered later emendations and forgeries)
 * The Epistle of Polycarp
 * The Martyrdom of Polycarp
 * The Shepherd of Hermas