body of ethical
instruction which is founded on a Jewish and probably pre-Christian
document, which forms the basis also of the _Epistle of Barnabas_. The
second part consists of vii.-xv., and treats of church ritual and
discipline; and the third part is eschatological and deals with the
second Advent. The book is variously dated by different scholars: Zahn
assigns it to the years A.D. 80-120; Harnack to 120-165; Lightfoot and
Funk to 80-100; Salmon to 120. (See Salmon in _Dict. of Christ. Biog._
iv. 806-815, also article DIDACHE.)

_Apostolical Constitutions._--For the various collections of these
ecclesiastical regulations--the Syriac _Didascalia, Ecclesiastical
Canons of the Holy Apostles_, &c.--see separate article.

(c) EPISTLES.--_The Abgar Epistles._--These epistles are found in
Eusebius (_H.E._ i. 3), who translated them from the Syriac. They are
two in number, and purport to be a petition of Abgar Uchomo, king of
Edessa, to Christ to visit Edessa, and Christ's answer, promising after
his ascension to send one of his disciples, who should "cure thee of thy
disease, and give eternal life and peace to thee and all thy people."
Lipsius thinks that these letters were manufactured about the year 200.
(See _Dict. Christ. Biog._ iv. 878-881, with the literature there
mentioned.) The above correspondence, which appears also in Syriac, is
inwoven with the legend of Addai or Thaddaeus. The best critical edition
of the Greek text will be found in Lipsius, _Acta Apostolorum
Apocrypha_, 1891, pp. 279-283. (See also ABGAR.)

_Epistle of Barnabas._--The special object of this epistle was to guard
its readers against the danger of relapsing into Judaism. The date is
placed by some scholars as early as 70-79, by others as late as the
early years of the emperor Hadrian, 117. The text has been edited by
Hilgenfeld in 1877, Gebhardt and Harnack in 1878, and Funk in 1887 and
1901. In these works will be found full bibliographies. (See further
BARNABAS.)

_Epistle of Clement._--The object of this epistle is the restoration of
harmony to the church of Corinth, which had been vexed by internal
discussions. The epistle may be safely ascribed to the years 95-96. The
writer was in all probability the bishop of Rome of that name. He is
named an apostle and his work was reckoned as canonical by Clement of
Alexandria (_Strom._ iv. 17. 105), and as late as the time of Eusebius
(_H.E._ iii. 16) it was still read in some of the churches. C