St. Clement is the first of the Apostolic Fathers. His feast day is celebrated 23rd November. Both Origen and Eusebius believed him to be the associate of St. Paul (Philippians 4:3). There is some controversy about this. Nevertheless, he was believed on the earliest accounts to have been a companion to the apostles. Irenaeus said of him that he “had seen the blessed Apostles and conferred with them, and had the doctrine of the Apostles yet sounding in his ears, and their traditions before his eyes.” Clement was the fourth Pope (Peter, Linus, Anencletus, Clement). He was thought by the Fathers to have been ordained by St. Peter himself.
St. Clement is said to have been martyred in 98 AD, the second year of the reign of Trajan. He is said to have been banished to the Crimea where he “slaked the thirst of two thousand Christian confessors.” The people then converted and Trajan ordered him thrown into the sea tied to an anchor. St. Cyril later dug up his bones and the anchor and placed them with those of St. Ignatius in the altar of the basilica of St. Clement at Rome.
St. Clement's known extant writing is his Epistle to the Corinthians, "From the church that sojourns at Rome to the church sojourning at Cotinth," written during a time of repeated persecutions (referenced below) under Domitian in order to admonish those at Corinth who had risen up against their rightful leaders.
Owing, dear brethren, to the sudden and successive calamitous events qwhich have happened to ourselves, we feel that we have been somewhat tardy in turning our attention to the points respecting which you consulted us; and especially to that shameful and detestable sedition, utterly abhorrent to the elect of God, which a few rash and self-confident persons have kindled to such a pitch of frenzy, that your venerable and illustrious name, worthy to be universally loved, has suffered grievous injury.
What follows is not Clement's Epistle to the Corinthians but a summary of that epistle, at times in my own words and at times drawing from the text. Each number corresponds to a chapter in the epistle. I find this a useful exercise for understanding a text. The epistle itself can be found any number of places including here.
St. Clement’s Epistle to the Corinthians, in brief
1. From the
Church at Rome to the Church at Corinth. Sorry for the delay in getting back to
you regarding the sedition that has brought injury you’re once great name.
2. You have
been known for humility, obedience, and unity.
3. You were
blessed and you became fat. Envy has led to sedition. Because of envy,
righteousness and peace have left you; you’ve become blind; you’ve resumed the
practice of unrighteous envy that brought death into the world.
4. Envy has
been the source of evils throughout history. Many examples might be given.
Consider Cain and Abel.
5. Envy has
led also to the recent deaths of Peter and Paul.
6. It has
produced also other martyrs, e.g., the danaids and Dircae. Moreover, it has
alienated wives from husbands.
7. It’s not
just you. We’re dealing with the same issues here. Let’s all turn back to our
holy calling. Let’s focus on the blood of Christ which brings repentance and
salvation. Repentance has always brought salvation. Consider Jonah.
8. The Lord
desires not our death but abundant life for us. It is for this reason that he
calls us to repentance.
9. Let’s be
obedient to God’s will and reject envy, which brings death, and receive God’s
mercy. Life comes through obedience. Consider the examples of Enoch and Noah.
10. Abraham
attained to the promises of God by his obedience. Moreover, because of his
faith and his hospitality (to those sent to him by God), he was given a son in
his old age.
11. Lot, too,
was rewarded for his faith and his hospitality (to the same). Consider, by
contrast, the behavior of the Sodomites (and their reward). Consider also Lot’s
wife.
12. Rahab, too,
was saved for her hospitality to those whom God had sent to her. Her scarlet
thread also prophesied a greater salvation through the blood of the Lord.
13. Let us,
then, be humble and forget pride and anger. Let us glory not in our own
“righteousness,” but in the Lord. “Be merciful, that you may attain mercy…
forgive, that it may be forgiven you… as you judge, so shall you be judged.”
14. Let’s
follow God, then, rather than those who, through pride, have become the leaders
of a sedition. Their way leads to destruction: “The kind-hearted shall inhabit
the land,… but transgressors shall be destroyed from off the face of it.”
15. Let’s
cleave to those who seek peace with godliness, rather than those hypocrites who
pretend to do this. “This people honours
me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.”
16. Christ did
not exalt himself over us. He did not come in pomp and arrogance, but in a
lowly condition. He endured humiliation for our salvation. Shall we do
otherwise?
17. Neither did
the prophets exalt themselves. Consider Abraham who said “I am but dust and
ashes.” Consider also Job, and Moses who said “I am but as the smoke of a pot.”
18. Also David:
“The sacrifice [acceptable] to God is a bruised spirit; a broken and a contrite
heart God will not despise.”
19. In
humility, let us follow these examples and turn back to the path of peace which
has been marked out for us.
20. Notice that
the operations of natural things are subject to God’s government and coincide
in peace, never hesitating, nor changing any of the ordinances which he has
fixed.
21. It is right,
then, that we should remain in the post assigned to us. It is better to offend
the foolish than to offend God. Let us esteem our leaders with meekness. Let us
train our young men and direct our wives in goodness and purity.
22. Christ
admonishes us to seek peace: The eyes of the Lord, are on the righteous; he
hears their prayers; he will deliver them; the face of the Lord is against
those who do evil.
23. God favors
the sincere. Let’s be sincere then and not glory in his gifts. And do not doubt
that what you have heard will come to pass. Do not think that you needn’t be
concerned. The Lord will come, and he will come suddenly.
24. That there
will be a resurrection, of which Christ is the first fruit. Nature declares
this. Day passes into night and, again, arises. The seed dies and is raised
again, a tree bearing fruit.
25. Consider also
the Phoenix. Having lived 500 years, it builds its nest and dies. A worm
appears, grows feathers, and flies off, carrying the bones of its parent to the
altar of the sun.
26. Will he not
do for those who have piously served him in good faith what he has shown he can
do with a bird?
27. God has
promised a resurrection. He fulfils his promises. He can do all things except
lie. So let us cleave to him.
28. God sees
all things. So forsake those wicked works that proceed from evil desires and
that lead to judgement.
29. Let us draw
near to God in holiness. He has made us partakers in the blessings of the
elect. He has chosen us, made us a nation taken out of the midst of the
nations.
30. Let us clothe
ourselves in humility and meekness. God
resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. Let us be justified by our
works, not our words. “He that speaks much, shall also hear much in answer.”
31. How might
we receive God’s blessing? Consider Abraham. He acted in faith. So, too, did
Isaac and Jacob.
32. These were
not honored for their own sake, nor for their works, nor for the righteousness
they wrought, but through the operation of God’s will. We, too, are not
justified by ourselves, but by that faith through which God justifies.
33. Should we,
then, not work? Rather, let us hasten to perform every good work. The righteous
are adorned with good works. The Lord himself, seeing his works, rejoiced.
34. The Lord
renders to every man according to his work. The angels are ever ready to do his
will. Let us likewise do so, in harmony, that we may be partakers of his
promises.
35. The gifts
that God has prepared for those who wait for him are beyond our comprehension;
only he knows their beauty. Let’s strive to be among those who wait for him.
God hates not only pride and prideful acts, but also the proud.
36. Our way to
these blessings is Jesus Christ. And his enemies are those who set themselves
to oppose the will of God.
37. Let us be
like soldiers who, each in his own rank obeys the commands of his superior,
each needs the other and performs, to collective advantage. Consider also the
body.
38. Let us each
be subject to our neighbor, in humility and according to the various gifts
bestowed on each one. These gifts are not from us but from him. Let us give
thanks.
39. There is no
basis for self-exultation. All that we have is given to us. Each of us is made
out of the dust.
40. It is right
to act according to the order set out by God. Those duties assigned to the
priest belong to the priest. The layman is bound to the laws that pertain to
the layman.
41. Let no one
go beyond the ministry prescribed to him.
42. Christ was
sent by God; the Apostles by Christ; all in an orderly way. The Apostles, in
turn, appointed others, having first proved them by the spirit, to be bishops
and deacons of those who should afterwards believe.
43. Moses, when
rivalry arose regarding the priesthood, declared that the tribe whose rod shall
blossom God has chosen for the priesthood. This belonged to Aaron. Moses knew
in advance, but acted thus so as to prevent sedition.
44. The
Apostles knew, through Jesus, that there would be strife because of the offices.
Thus, they appointed Bishops saying that when these should die, other approved
men should succeed them. Such, having been so-appointed and having served
blamelessly, cannot without sin be dismissed from the ministry. But we see that
you have done just this.
45. You will
notice when reading the scriptures that it is always and only the wicked who
persecute the righteous.
46. Cleave to
the righteousness. Why cause harm to the body? Your schism has subverted the
faith of many.
47. What you’re
doing is worse than the factionism of earlier times. Your forebearers built
factions around apostles. You are being led by much less reputable men.
48. Let us
humble ourselves before God, asking forgiveness and restoration to our former
practice of brotherly love.
49. Love makes
us pleasing to God.
50. Let us pray
to be blameless in love and free from partialities. It is precisely through
love that our sins are forgiven.
51. Let us seek
forgiveness for our sins. It is better to acknowledge our sins and suffer blame
than to harden our hearts and suffer hell. Consider Korah and his followers.
52. God is
pleased with confession. He wants to deliver his people. “The sacrifice
acceptable to God is a broken spirit.”
53. Remember
that Moses interceded for his people when they sinned. He loved them so much as
to tie his life to theirs.
54. You, too,
if you are noble, should, seeking peace, be willing to humiliate yourselves and
submit to the presbyters.
55. There are
examples even of heathens who have given their lives in order to deliver their
people. Consider also Judith.
56. Let us pray
for the restoration of those who have sinned, that in humility they may submit,
not to us, but to God.
57. You, the
seditious, submit yourselves to the presbyters. Better to cast aside your pride
than to be cast into hell.
58. Let us all
submit and repent. Let us humble ourselves that we should be placed among the
number of the saved.
59. If any
disobey the words, spoken by God through us, he is in serious danger. But we
shall be innocent of sin. Prayer: You who have called us out of darkness,
you who are the highest, continue to redeem us, free us, and sanctify us.
60. You who
ordered the world; You who are compassionate, forgive our sins; purify us; make
us pleasing in your sight; save us from our enemies; bring us peace and concord.
61. You’ve
given authority to our earthly rulers. Give them health, peace, concord, and
stability, and direct their counsel that they may rule rightly and come to you.
62. We have
thus said enough about these things. We are sure that our words will be
received well by faithful men of highest repute and who know the instruction of
God.
63. We will
have joy if you become obedient having received these words. We have sent this
letter with aged men of the highest repute, that you may know that we’re
serious.
64. Prayer: May
God give all virtues to all who call on him.
65. Quickly
return our messengers with the joyful news that peace, order, and harmony has
been restored at Corinth. The Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.
DSMW
