Ante-Nicene Fathers The Writings of the Fathers Down to A.D. 325
Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. I
Clement of Rome
Clement 1, Saint or Clement of Rome (died 101?), pope from
about 92 to about 101, first of the ecclesiastical writers called Apostolic
Fathers. According to the 2nd-century theologian Saint Irenaeus, Clement was
the third bishop of Rome and was personally acquainted with both Saint Peter
and Saint Paul. Eusebius of Caesarea, Origen, and Saint Jerome identified
him with the Clement mentioned by Saint Paul as a fellow worker (Philippians
4:3). There is no historical basis for his identification with Titus Flavius
Clemens, a cousin of Emperor Domitian who, according to the historian Dio
Cassius, was executed in the last decade of the first century for
atheism—that is, for adopting Jewish practices.
Although few details of his life are known, the high esteem in which Clement
was held is evident from his Epistle to the Corinthians, which was widely
considered a canonical book of the Bible until the 4th century. One of the
most important documents of apostolic times, the letter is the earliest
piece of Christian literature outside the New Testament for which the name,
position, and date of the author are historically attested. The occasion for
the letter was the outbreak of a fierce dispute in the church of Corinth,
where certain presbyters had been deposed. The letter is the first example
of interference by Rome in the affairs of another church. In it Clement
outlined the principles governing the succession of bishops and called for
the reinstatement of the deposed presbyters (see Apostolic Succession).
Despite the fact that Clement wrote as spokesperson for the Christian
community in Rome, his letter suggests that he wrote before the emergence of
the monarchical episcopate, or rule of a local church by a single bishop
rather than by a council of presbyter-bishops. The letter is a valuable
source of information about the life, doctrine, and organization of the
early Christian church. Clement's feast day is November 23. See also
Clementine Literature.
Clementine Literature, body of religious writings
attributed to Saint Clement I of Rome, the late-1st-century bishop of Rome
believed to be third in succession from Saint Peter. The most important of
these writings is the
First Epistle of
Clement to the Corinthians. The text of the letter does not claim
Clement as its author, but merely states that the church at Rome is writing
to the church at Corinth. The letter seems to have been written during
Clement's pontificate, however, and is generally considered an authentic
work of Clement. It is an important document for the study of early church
organization and belief. The Second Epistle of Clement, which is not a
letter but a homily, is of less importance than the First Epistle. It is,
however, one of the earliest surviving examples of its kind. The Second
Epistle was definitely not written by Clement, but was probably written in
Egypt in the first half of the 2nd century.
The document known as Two Epistles to Virgins, which discusses questions
arising from the practice of celibacy in the church, is of Syrian origin and
probably dates from the 3rd century. These writings were attributed to
Clement by mistake; however, the group of writings known as the Homilies and
Recognitions were deliberately credited to him to enhance their prestige.
The author of the Homilies and Recognitions, according to textual evidence,
was a Judaic-Christian. The work was first mentioned in the 4th-century
Historia Ecclesiastica (Ecclesiastical History) of the scholar and
theologian Eusebius of Caesarea. In the Homilies and Recognitions, the
travels of Clement and the apostle Peter form the framework for doctrinal
and ethical discussions; the Samaritan sorcerer Simon Magus, who is
described in Acts 8:9-24, is presented as the antagonist. Several letters
forming part of the False or Pseudo-Isidorean Decretals and the so-called
Apostolic Constitutions may also be classed with the spurious Clementine
writings.
