Clement of Rome

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Other popes named Clement

Clement of Rome (

Apostolic Father of the Church, one of the three chief ones together with Polycarp and Ignatius of Antioch.[3]

Few details are known about Clement's life. Clement was said to have been consecrated by

Peter the Apostle,[3] and he is known to have been a leading member of the Church in Rome in the late 1st century. Early church lists place him as the second or third[2][a] bishop of Rome. The Catholic Church lists him as the fourth pope. The Liber Pontificalis states that Clement died in Greece in the third year of Emperor Trajan's reign, or 101 AD. Eusebius, in his book Church History mentioned Clement as the third bishop of Rome and as the "co-laborer" of Paul.[4] In Against Heresies, Irenaeus describes Clement as the successor to Anacletus (third bishop of Rome), and a personal acquaintance of the Apostles.[5]

Clement's only genuine extant writing is his letter to the church at

2 Clement, was once controversially attributed to Clement, although recent scholarship suggests it to be a homily by another author.[2] In the legendary Clementine literature, Clement is the intermediary through whom the apostles teach the church.[2]

According to tradition, Clement was imprisoned under the

Eastern Orthodox Christianity
his feast is kept on 24 or 25 November.

Life

11th-century fresco in the Basilica of San Clemente, Rome: Saints Cyril and Methodius bring Saint Clement's relics to Rome

The

Eusebius of Caesarea.[10]

Early succession lists name Clement as the first,[11]: 636 [b] second, or third[2][c] successor of Peter. However, the meaning of his inclusion in these lists has been very controversial.[12] Some believe there were presbyter-bishops as early as the 1st century,[12] but that there is no evidence for a monarchical episcopacy in Rome at such an early date.[2] There is also, however, no evidence of a change occurring in ecclesiastical organization in the latter half of the 2nd century, which would indicate that a new or newly-monarchical episcopacy was establishing itself.[12]

A tradition that began in the 3rd and 4th century,

Shepherd of Hermas mentions a Clement whose office it was to communicate with other churches; most likely, this is a reference to Clement I.[13]

A large congregation existed in Rome c. 58, when Paul wrote his Epistle to the Romans.[2] Paul arrived in Rome c. 60 (Acts).[2] Paul and Peter were said to have been martyred there. Nero persecuted Roman Christians after Rome burned in 64, and the congregation may have suffered further persecution under Domitian (81–96). Clement was the first of early Rome's most notable bishops.[14] The Liber Pontificalis, which documents the reigns of popes, states that Clement had known Peter.

Clement is known for his epistle to the church in Corinth (c. 96), in which he asserts the apostolic authority of the bishops/presbyters as rulers of the church.[2] The epistle mentions episkopoi (overseers, bishops) or presbyteroi (elders, presbyters) as the upper class of minister, served by the deacons, but, since it does not mention himself, it gives no indication of the title or titles used for Clement in Rome.

Fungai

Death and legends of final days

According to apocryphal

Chersonesus during the reign of the Emperor Trajan[2][3] and was set to work in a stone quarry. Finding on his arrival that the prisoners were suffering from lack of water, he knelt down in prayer. Looking up, he saw a lamb on a hill, went to where the lamb had stood and struck the ground with his pickaxe, releasing a gushing stream of clear water. This miracle resulted in the conversion of large numbers of the local pagans and his fellow prisoners to Christianity. As punishment, Clement was martyred by being tied to an anchor[15] and thrown from a boat into the Black Sea. The legend recounts that every year a miraculous ebbing of the sea revealed a divinely built shrine containing his bones. However, the oldest sources on Clement's life, Eusebius and Jerome, note nothing of his martyrdom.[11]
: 639 

The

Kyiv Monastery of the Caves
in Ukraine.

Writings

The Liber Pontificalis states that Clement wrote two letters (though the second letter, 2 Clement, is no longer ascribed to him by many modern scholars).[2][3][17]

Epistle of Clement

Clement's only extant, uncontested text is a letter to the

Corinth, often called the First Epistle of Clement or 1 Clement. The history of 1 Clement clearly and continuously shows Clement as the author of this letter. It is considered the earliest authentic Christian document outside the New Testament
.

Clement writes to the troubled congregation in Corinth, where certain "presbyters" or "bishops" have been deposed (the class of clergy above that of deacons is argued by certain historians to be designated indifferently by the two terms).

apostles established the ministry of "bishops and deacons."[2] He mentions "offering the gifts" as one of the functions of the higher class of clergy.[2] The epistle offers valuable insight into Church ministry at that time and into the history of the Roman Church.[2] It was highly regarded, and was read in church at Corinth along with the Scriptures c. 170.[2]

We should be obedient unto God, rather than follow those who in arrogance and unruliness have set themselves up as leaders in abominable jealousy.... For Christ is with them that are lowly of mind, not with them that exalt themselves over the flock.

— Clement of Rome 1885b, 1 Clem 14:1; 16:1

Do we then think it to be a great and marvelous thing, if the Creator of the universe shall bring about the resurrection of them that have served Him with holiness in the assurance of a good faith, seeing that He showeth to us even by a bird the magnificence of His promise?

— Clement of Rome 1885b, 1 Clem 26:1

In the epistle, it is argued by some that Clement uses the terms "bishop" and "presbyter" interchangeably for the higher order of ministers above deacons.[2] In some congregations, particularly in Egypt, the distinction between bishops and presbyters seems to have become established only later.[18] But by the middle of the second century all the leading Christian centres had bishops.[18] Scholars such as Bart Ehrman treat as significant the fact that, of the seven letters written by Ignatius of Antioch to seven Christian churches shortly after the time of Clement, the only one that does not present the church as headed by a single bishop is that addressed to the church in Rome, although this letter did not refer to a collective priesthood either.[19]

Clement's letter also contains historical references, it mentions persecutions of Christians, records the martyrdom of the Apostle Peter and suggests that the apostle Paul traveled to Spain.[20]

Theology

Clement of Rome

Clement's view on justification has had much scholarly discussion, as he is sometimes argued to have believed sola fide, though others believe him as having synergist views. Debate exists, because Clement directly stated that "we are not justified by ourselves but by faith", however in other places of the letter, he stresses judgement on sin.[21] The Protestant scholar Tom Schreiner argued that Clement of Rome believed in a grace oriented justification by faith, which will cause the believer to do works as a result,[22] Philip Schaff also said that Clement probably taught a faith alone doctrine[23] while Catholic Encyclopedia wrote that Clement believed works to be part of justification.[24] Rudolf Knopf and Rudolf Bultmann also believed that Clement believed in synergism, and that the believer needs to cooperate with the grace of God to be saved. Rudolf Knopf in his commentary on the letter of Clement to the Corinthians stated that: "Pre-Christian sins are wiped out by baptism. For those sins that follow, a person must have faith in divine mercy and, at the same time, that person must exhibit his or her own good deeds, apart from which the person cannot be saved"[21] David Downs argued against the view that Clement of Rome holds synergist views, he argued that Clement did not write a letter about deep soteriology, but instead to provide moral guidance to the Corinthians, David Downs stated "According to the soteriological economy of Clement everything rests on the goodness, mercy, and election of the Creator, which have befitted the 'chosen portion' through Jesus".[21]

Papal Infallibility in Letter to the Corinthians 1, 63. Because of him speaking of the Corinthians to "being obedient" to the things he has "written through the Holy Spirit" in order to correct and "root out the wicked passion of jealousy".[28][29]

It has also been argued that the epistle may contain early evidence for belief in

According to Catholic Encyclopedia, the letter of Clement has Trinitarian theology and Christ is frequently called as the high priest by him.[20]

Writings formerly attributed to Clement

Saint Clement, by Tiepolo

Second Epistle of Clement

The Second Epistle of Clement is a homily, or sermon, likely written in Corinth or Rome, but not by Clement.[2] Early Christian congregations often shared homilies to be read. The homily describes Christian character and repentance.[2] It is possible that the Church from which Clement sent his epistle had included a festal homily to share in one economical post, thus the homily became known as the Second Epistle of Clement.

While 2 Clement has been traditionally ascribed to Clement, most scholars believe that 2 Clement was written in the 2nd century based on the doctrinal themes of the text and a near match between words in 2 Clement and in the Greek Gospel of the Egyptians.[3][17]

Epistles on Virginity

Two "Epistles on Virginity" were traditionally attributed to Clement, but now there exists almost universal consensus that Clement was not the author of those two epistles.[31]

False Decretals

A 9th-century collection of church legislation known as the False Decretals, which was once attributed to

metropolitan archbishops respectively.[32][33][34]

Clement is included among other early Christian popes as authors of the Pseudo-Isidoran (or False) Decretals, a 9th-century forgery. These decrees and letters portray even the early popes as claiming absolute and universal authority.[g] Clement is the earliest pope to whom a Pseudo-Isidoran text is attributed.

Clementine literature

Clement is also the hero of an early Christian romance or novel that has survived in at least two different versions, known as the Clementine literature, where he is identified with Emperor Domitian's cousin Titus Flavius Clemens. Clementine literature portrays Clement as the Apostles' means of disseminating their teachings to the Church.[2]

Recognition as a saint

a Russian Orthodox church
dedicated in his name.

Clement's name is in the

Episcopal Church on 23 November.[35][36]

The St Clement's Church in Moscow is renowned for its glittering Baroque interior and iconostasis, as well as a set of gilded 18th-century railings. The parish was disbanded in 1934 and the original free-standing gate was demolished. The Lenin State Library stored its books in the building throughout the Soviet period. It was not until 2008 that the building reverted to the Russian Orthodox Church.

Clement of Rome is commemorated in the Synaxarium of the

Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria
on the 29th of the month of Hatour [25 November (Julian) – equivalent to 8 December (Gregorian) due to the current 13-day Julian–Gregorian Calendar offset]. According to the Coptic Church Synaxarium, he suffered martyrdom in AD 100 during the reign of Emperor Trajan (98–117). He was martyred by tying his neck to an anchor and casting him into the sea. The record of the 29th of the Coptic month of Hatour states that this saint was born in Rome to an honorable father whose name was Fostinus and also states that he was a member of the Roman senate and that his father educated him and taught him Greek literature.

Relics

Besides relics venerated in Rome and Kyiv (see above), in the city of Santa Cruz de Tenerife in Spain, the shinbone of Clement is kept. It was a gift of Sidotti, Patriarch of Antioch, to the Church of the Immaculate Conception. Historically, this was a highly revered relic in the city.[37]

Symbolism

Anchored Cross
, also known as Mariner's or Saint Clement's cross.

In workings of art, Clement can be recognized by having an anchor at his side or tied to his neck. He is most often depicted wearing

papal vestments, including the pallium, and sometimes with a papal tiara but more often with a mitre. He is also sometimes shown with papal symbols such as the papal cross and the Keys of Heaven
. In reference to his martyrdom, he often holds the palm of martyrdom.

Clement can be seen depicted near a

Anchored Cross or Mariner's Cross is also referred to as St. Clement's Cross, in reference to the way he was martyred.[15]

See also

References

Notes

  1. ^ Campbell 1907 details the debate regarding whether there was one pope with two names, or two distinct popes. Ancient sources are contradictory, and modern scholarship is divided.
  2. ^ Like Schaff, the Holy See's Annuario Pontificio, gives Clement as "supreme pontiff of Rome" in either 92–99 or 68–76, making him either the first or the third successor of Saint Peter, but not the second.(Libreria Editrice Vaticana 2008, p. 7)
  3. ^ The Catholic Encyclopedia article says that only on the false assumption that "Cletus" and "Anacletus" were two distinct persons, instead of variations of the name of single individual, did some think that Clement was the fourth successor of Saint Peter.
  4. ^ Kelly & Walsh 2005, p. 7 note that "Writers of the 3rd and 4th centuries, like Origen, Eusebius, and Jerome, equate him (St. Clement I), perhaps, correctly, with the Clement whom St. Paul mentions (Phil 4:3) as a fellow worker."
  5. ^ Phan 2000, p. 32 writes, "Most scholars would now regard 1 Clement as an impressive example of fraternal correction rather than an authoritative intervention."
  6. ^ The Encyclopædia Britannica places the Donation of Constantine in this section; the Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church places it in the section of the pre-Nicene Popes.
  7. ^ Durant 2011, p. 525 writes, "These early documents were designed to show that by the oldest traditions and practice of the Church no bishop might be deposed, no Church councils might be convened, and no major issue might be decided, without the consent of the pope. Even the early pontiffs, by these evidences, had claimed absolute and universal authority as vicars of Christ on Earth."

Citations

  1. ^ "Patron Saints and their feast days". pamphlets.org.au. Archived from the original on 22 June 2015. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
  2. ^ .
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Chapman, Henry Palmer (1908). "Pope St. Clement I" . In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 4. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  4. ^ Roberts, Alexander; Donaldson, James (1885). Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers: Series II. Vol. I (1st ed.). Church History of Eusebius, Book III, Chapter IV, 10.
  5. ^ Irenaeus. "Book III, Chapter 3". Ante-Nicene Fathers Vol. I.
  6. .
  7. ^ Tertullian (1903). "Prescription against Heretics". In Alexander Roberts; James Donaldson (eds.). The Ante-Nicene Fathers: Translations of the Writings of the Fathers Down to A.D. 325. Vol. III, Part II, Section I, Ch XXXII. C. Scribner's Sons. p. 258.
  8. ^ Jerome (1885). Alexander Roberts; James Donaldson (eds.). "Lives of Illustrious Men, Ch XV Clemens the bishop" . Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers: Series II. Vol. III – via Wikisource.
  9. ^ Irenaeus (1885). Alexander Roberts; James Donaldson (eds.). "Against Heresies, Book III, Ch. III" . Ante-Nicene Fathers. Vol. I – via Wikisource.
  10. Eusebius of Caesarea (1885). Alexander Roberts; James Donaldson (eds.). "Church History of Eusebius, Book III, Chapter 4, paragraph 10" . Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers: Series II. Vol. I – via Wikisource
    .
  11. ^ a b Schaff, Philip (1883). "Ch XIII, §162 Clement of Rome.". History of the Christian Church. Vol. II: Ante-Nicene Christianity. A.D. 100-325. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons.
  12. ^ a b c Van Hove, Alphonse (1907). "Bishop" . In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 2. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  13. ^ "Vision II", 4. 3
  14. .
  15. ^ a b Stracke, Richard (2015-10-20). "Saint Clement: The Iconography". Christian Iconography.
  16. ^ Bernhard Gallistl: 'Klemens von Rom und sein Kult auf der Krim'. In: Würzburger Jahrbücher für die Altertumswissenschaft. NF, vol.45, 2021, pp. 101–143.
  17. ^ a b McBrien (2000). Lives of the Popes. HarperCollins. p. 35.
  18. ^ .
  19. .
  20. ^ a b "CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Pope St. Clement I". www.newadvent.org. Retrieved 2022-01-21.
  21. ^
    S2CID 170840708
    .
  22. ^ "Did the Early Church Teach 'Faith Alone'?". Zondervan Academic. Retrieved 2021-12-31.
  23. ^ "Philip Schaff: History of the Christian Church, Volume II: Ante-Nicene Christianity. A.D. 100-325 - Christian Classics Ethereal Library". www.ccel.org. Retrieved 2022-01-21.
  24. ^ "CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Pope St. Clement I". www.newadvent.org. Retrieved 2021-12-31.
  25. ^ .
  26. ^ Mirus, Jeffrey. "...and Protects His Church from Teaching Error in Faith and Morals'". www.ewtn.com/. Eternal Word Television Network. Retrieved 6 January 2022.
  27. .
  28. ^ "Christians Have Always Recognized the Pope's Authority — Here's Proof From the 1st Century". National Catholic Register. 18 Sep 2021. Retrieved 6 January 2022. Clement definitely asserts his authority over the Corinthian church far away… That is extraordinary, and very similar to what we see in the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15:28 ("For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things") and in Scripture itself… infallibility (divine protection from error and the pope as a unique representative of God).
  29. ^ "Authority of the Pope". www.churchfathers.org/. Church Fathers Organization. Retrieved 6 January 2022. You will afford us joy and gladness if being obedient to the things which we have written through the Holy Spirit, you will root out the wicked passion of jealousy
  30. ^ Cf. Downs, "Justification, Good Works, and Creation in Clement of Rome's Appropriation of Romans 5–6," in New Testament Studies.
  31. ^ Clement of Rome (1885). "Ch. XXX Two Epistles Concerning Virginity: Introductory Notice.". The Ante-Nicene Fathers : translations of the writings of the Fathers down to A.D. 325. Vol. VIII. Buffalo: C.L. Pub. Co. p. 53.
  32. ^ Encyclopædia Britannica: False Decretals
  33. ^ Bunson 2004, p. 345.
  34. .
  35. ^ "The Calendar". The Church of England. Retrieved 2021-03-27.
  36. .
  37. ^ González 2007, p. 3.

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domainHerbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Pope St. Clement I". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.

Sources

Further reading

External links

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Catholic Church titles
Preceded by
Bishop of Rome

88–99
Succeeded by