otelier published at Paris the writings current under the names of
Barnabas, Clement of Rome, Hermas, Ignatius and Polycarp. But the name
itself is due to their next editor, Thomas Ittig (1643-1710), in his
_Bibliotheca Patrum Apostolicorum_ (1699), who, however, included under
this title only Clement, Ignatius and Polycarp. Here already appears the
doubt as to how many writers can claim the title, a doubt which has
continued ever since, and makes the contents of the "Apostolic Fathers"
differ so much from editor to editor. Thus the Oratorian Andrea Gallandi
(1700-1779), in re-issuing Cotelier's collection in his _Bibliotheca
Veterum Patrum_ (1765-1781), included the fragments of Papias and the
Epistle to Diognetus, to which recent editors have added the citations
from the "Elders" of Papias's day found in Irenaeus and, since 1883, the
_Didache_.

The degree of historic claim which these various writings have to rank
as the works[1] of Apostolic Fathers varies greatly on any definition of
"apostolic." Originally the epithet was meant to be taken strictly, viz.
as denoting those whom history could show to have been personally
connected, or at least coeval, with one or more apostles; and an effort
was made, as by Cotelier, to distinguish the writings rightly and
wrongly assigned to such. Thus editions tended to vary with the
historical views of editors. But the convenience of the category
"Apostolic Fathers" to express not only those who might possibly have
had some sort of direct contact with apostles--such as "Barnabas,"
Clement, Ignatius, Papias, Polycarp--but also those who seemed specially
to preserve the pure tradition of apostolic doctrine during the
sub-apostolic age, has led to its general use in a wide and vague sense.

Conventionally, then, the title denotes the group of writings which,
whether in date or in internal character, are regarded as belonging to
the main stream of the Church's teaching during the period between the
Apostles and the Apologists (i.e. to c. A.D. 140). Or to put it more
exactly, the "Apostolic Fathers" represent, chronologically in the main
and still more from the religious and theological standpoint, the
momentous process of transition from the type of teaching in the New
Testament to that which meets us in the early Catholic Fathers, from the
last quarter of the 2nd century onwards. The Apologists no doubt show us
certain fresh factors entering into this development; but on the whole