Labosseuse said:
Where can I get my hands on a comprehensive record of the church post-Pentecost?
A
comprehensive record does not exist. Records of any event, practice or institution in the ancient world are very complex and occasionally spotty. (By the way, what do you mean by "record," exactly? Manuscripts? Papyri? Archaeological evidence? Copies of primary texts in their original language? Translations of those texts in relevant ancient languages, e.g. Coptic, Syriac, Armenian? Modern translations? Or are you talking about basic summaries written by modern scholars?)
At any rate, if you are specifically looking for primary texts that describe
worship and life, you should look for several major documents from the first few centuries.
1)
First/early second century: The
Didache or Teaching of the Twelve Apostles. This text, which exists in several forms, including a late Greek text, a medieval Georgian version and some ancient -- but tiny -- fragments of Papyri from Oxyrhynchus, is referenced by many of most important ancient liturgically-related sources. Some early Christians considered it essential reading, on par with the Apostolic letters in the New Testament.
2)
Third century: The Syriac
Didascalia Apostolorum. This is a very early attempt from Roman Syria to create a canonical handbook of sorts. Thus, it describes the proper worship and discipline of the Church, lists the ordained orders and contains some basic prayers, etc.
3)
Fourth century: (a) The Greek and Latin versions of the
Apostolic Constitutions (which expand upon the
Didascalia Apostolorum); (b) the various versions of the
Euchologion of Bishop Serapion, which contains a lot of liturgical prayers and descriptions; and (c) the
Itinerarium Egeriae (or Peregrinatio Aetheriae), the latter part of which contains detailed descriptions of the worship and liturgical practices in the ancient Church of Jerusalem, especially during Holy Week.
By the way, the
Apostolic Constitutions contains the basic "Antiochian"
anaphora that we now celebrate in the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom. Most scholars date this
anaphora to the 3rd or MAYBE 4th century. At any rate, it pre-dates St. John by a good number of years. It be old.
4)
Fifth to seventh centuries: The various archaeological sites and still-functional Churches, especially those in Rome and Asia Minor that offer significant insights into Christian worship at the time. Form and environment necessarily influence ritual. A liturgical action must take place in a liturgical space, and the liturgical space conforms to the liturgical action. Also, in this period there are various references to Christian liturgical rites in the sermons of the Church Fathers, e.g. St. John Chrysostom.
5)
Eighth Century: The
Barberini Euchologion, a famous Greek manuscript which is the most complete late antique record of the Church's divine worship.
Otherwise, more general resources would include the records and canons of the various Oecumenical Councils, as well as the writings of the Church Fathers. The best editions and translations of these can be found in two series: Sources Chrétiennes and Corpus Christianorum.
Finally, I would recommend two more synthetic resources. First, the famous
History of the Church written by Eusebius in the early fourth century. It's not perfect or comprehensive, but it's the earliest general history we have. Second, an excellent little book by one of the most learned and balanced modern historians of the early Church, i.e. Robert Louis Wilken's
The Spirit of Early Christian Thought: Seeking the Face of God, which is the fruit of many decades of considerable research in the original documents.
