The Didascalia of the Apostles

Historical context: dating, Syrian provenance, and structure of the didascalia apostolorum (3rd century, pre-Nicaea)

The Didascalia, or catholic doctrine of the twelve apostles and holy disciples of our Savior, is a third-century ecclesiastical constitution that deals with the duties of bishops, the ordinations of deacons, the ministry of deaconesses, and many practical, liturgical, and charitable topics. Originally written in Greek, but later reworked and tampered with, it has come down to us in the Syriac version and in a partial Latin translation.

The Marian fragment serves to show the veneration that existed in the third century toward the Mother of the Lord.

The Marian fragment: veneration of the mother of the Lord in the third-century Syrian didascalia apostolorum

A woman is not a minister of baptism

(Didascalia III, 9).

We do not approve that a woman should baptize or be baptized by a woman: this is unlawful and brings serious danger both to the one who baptizes and to the one who is baptized. Indeed, if it were permitted to be baptized by a woman, the Lord our master would certainly have been baptized by Mary His mother: instead, He was baptized by John, like all the others of the people.

https://sourceschretiennes.org/hors-collection/sagesses-chretiennes/constitutions-apostoliques

To explore further the Marian testimony of the patristic documents, consult the encyclical Redemptoris Mater of Saint John Paul II on Mary in the tradition of the Church.

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