When was clement of rome born

In about , Clement opened his own "school," which was more like a cycle of conferences drawn out over years. He taught a "new philosophy" that addressed the cultural and philosophical concerns of the day. The "philosophy" was not all that new—Christianity—but Clement's teaching of it was. He wrote three books to expound his views. His Exhortation to the Greeks was an introductory philosophical work for the unbaptized, in which he attempted to show the reasonableness of the Christian faith.

In Instructor , he outlined the specific duties and ethics taught by the "Instructor" i. His Miscellanies is a multicolored patchwork of teachings in advanced philosophy, ethics, and disciplined instruction for "Christian Gnostics" to lead them into esoteric knowledge gnosis : "The man of understanding and discernment is, then, a Gnostic. And his business is not abstinence from what is evil If this sounds mystical, it is. Clement sought to reach the literati of his day, and Gnosticism was the rage.

He sought to present the Christian faith in terms these people could recognize. Clement didn't spend all his time on pagans but also sought to help the church. Paul's First Epistle to the Corinthians, and appears to imply a second.

He knows Romans and Titus, and apparently cites several other of St. Paul's Epistles. But Hebrews is most often employed of all New Testament books. James, probably, and I Peter, perhaps, are referred to. Fathers", by a Committee of the Oxford Society of Hist.

Theology, Oxford, The tone of authority with which the letter speaks is noteworthy, especially in the later part 56, 58, etc. And yet undoubtedly this is the case. Doctrine There is little intentional dogmatic teaching in the Epistle, for it is almost wholly hortatory. A passage on the Holy Trinity is important. Christ is frequently represented as the High-Priest , and redemption is often referred to.

Clement speaks strongly of justification by works. So then Christ is from God , and the Apostles from Christ. Both [missions] therefore came in due order by the will of God So preaching everywhere in country and town, they appointed their first-fruits , having proved them by the Spirit , to be bishops and deacons for those who should believe.

And this in no new fashion, for it had indeed been written from very ancient times about bishops and deacons ; for thus saith the Scripture: 'I will appoint their bishops in justice and their deacons in faith "' a strange citation of Isaiah For this cause therefore, having received complete foreknowledge, they appointed the aforesaid persons , and afterwards they have given a law, so that, if these should fall asleep, other approved men should succeed to their ministration.

For epinomen dedokasin , which the Latin renders legem dederunt , Lightfoot reads epimonen dedokasin , "they have provided a continuance".

In any case the general meaning is clear, that the Apostles provided for a lawful succession of ministers. Presbyters are mentioned several times, but are not distinguished from bishops. There is absolutely no mention of a bishop at Corinth , and the ecclesiastical authorities there are always spoken of in the. Sohm thinks there was as yet no bishop at Corinth when Clement wrote so Michiels and many other Catholic writers; Lightfoot leaves the question open , but that a bishop must have been appointed in consequence of the letter; he thinks that Rome was the origin of all ecclesiastical institutions and laws Kirchenrecht Harnack in Chronol.

The liturgical character of parts of the Epistle is elaborately discussed by Lightfoot. The prayer already mentioned, which reminds us of the Anaphora of early liturgies , cannot be regarded, says Duchesne, "as a reproduction of a sacred formulary but it is an excellent example of the style of solemn prayer in which the ecclesiastical leaders of that time were accustomed to express themselves at meetings for worship" Origines du culte chret.

The fine passage about Creation, , is almost in the style of a Preface, and concludes by introducing the Sanctus by the usual mention of the angelic powers : "Let us mark the whole host of the angels , how they stand by and minister unto His Will.

For the Scripture saith: Ten thousand times ten thousand stood by Him, and thousands of thousands ministered unto Him, and they cried aloud: Holy holy, holy is the Lord of Sabaoth ; all creation is full of His glory. Yea, and let us ourselves then being gathered together in concord with intentness of heart, cry unto Him.

It is interesting to note that the contemporary Apocalypse of St. John shows the four living creatures, representing all creation, singing the Sanctus at the heavenly Mass. The historical references in the letter are deeply interesting: "To pass from the examples of ancient days, let us come to those champions who lived very near to our time. Let us set before us the noble examples which belong to our generation.

By reason of jealousy and envy the greatest and most righteous pillars of the Church were persecuted , and contended even until death. Let us set before our eyes the good Apostles. There was Peter, who by reason of unrighteous jealousy endured not one or two, but many labours, and thus having borne his testimony went to his appointed Place of glory. By reason of jealousy and strife Paul by his example pointed out the prize of patient endurance. After that he had been seven times in bonds, had been driven into exile, had been stoned, had preached in the East and in the West, he won the noble renown which was the reward of his faith having taught righteousness unto the whole world and having reached the farthest bounds of the West; and when he had borne his testimony before the rulers, so he departed from the world and went unto the holy place having been found a notable pattern of patient endurance 5.

It is obvious that these two Apostles are mentioned because they suffered at Rome. It seems that St. Paul went to Spain as he intended Romans and as is declared by the spurious Acts of Peter and by the Muratorian fragment.

By reason of jealousy women being persecuted , after that they had suffered cruel and unholy insults as Danaids and Dircae, safely reached the goal in the race of faith , and received a noble reward, feeble though they were in body" 6. The "vast multitude" both of men and women "among ourselves" at Rome refers to the horrible persecution of Nero , described by Tacitus, "Ann.

It is in the recent past, and the writer continues: "We are in the same lists, and the same contest awaits us" 7 - he is under another persecution , that of Domitian , covertly referred to as a series of "sudden and repeated calamities and reverses", which have prevented the letter from being written sooner. The martyrdom of the Consul Clement probably patron of the pope's own family and the exile of his wife will be among these disasters.

Date and authenticity The date of the letter is determined by these notices of persecution. It is strange that even a few good scholars such as Grotius Grabe, Orsi , Uhlhorn, Hefele, Wieseler should have dated it soon after Nero. It is now universally acknowledged, after Lightfoot, that it was written about the last year of Domitian Harnack or immediately after his death in 96 Funk. The Roman Church had existed several decades, for the two envoys to Corinth had lived in it from youth to age.

The Church of Corinth is called archai Bishops and deacons have succeeded to bishops and deacons appointed by the Apostles Yet the time of the Apostles is "quite lately" and "our own veneration" 5.

The external evidence is in accord. The dates given for Clement's episcopate by Hegesippus are apparently , and that early writer states that the schism at Corinth took place under Domitian Eusebius , Church History III. Volkmar placed the date in the reign of Hadrian , because the Book of Judith is quoted, which he declared to have been written in that reign.

He was followed by Baur, but not by Hilgenfeld. Such a date is manifestly impossible, if only because the Epistle of Polycarp is entirely modelled on that of Clement and borrows from it freely. It is possibly employed by St. Ignatius, c. Polycarp, c. The Epistle is in the name of the Church of Rome but the early authorities always ascribe it to Clement.

Dionysius, Bishop of Corinth , wrote c. Hegesippus attributed the letter to Clement. Irenaeus , c. Clement of Alexandria , c. He was also one of the earliest popes, and the patron saint of mariners.

Not to be confused with Clement of Alexandria, who lived during the second and third centuries, Clement of Rome is most known for the letter he wrote to the church in Corinth, simply called 1 Clement. It is one of the oldest surviving Christian writings outside of the New Testament. Tradition holds that Clement of Rome is the same Clement who Paul mentions in Philippians , and that after being imprisoned, he was martyred by being thrown into the sea with an anchor chained around his neck.

Clement of Rome was born around 35 AD, about the time scholars believe Jesus died. He grew up as the early Christian church was first spreading throughout the Roman empire. Early Christian writers suggest that he knew some the apostles personally, and that he was directly influenced by their teachings. Origen, and later the historian, Eusebius , claimed that Clement of Rome is the same Clement Paul refers to in his letter to the Philippians :.

Scholars have no way of confirming or denying this claim, but church tradition has generally accepted it. In any case, as the church grew in Rome, Clement developed into one of its most notable leaders, and as the apostles were martyred, Clement encouraged the church to trust in the leadership the apostles helped establish.

Apostolic authority was one of the main topics in his letter to the Corinthians, which scholars believe was written around 96 AD, when John was the only living apostle. The apostles were the first leaders of the Christian church. And as their influence spread, they designated leaders at each of the churches they established: deacons, bishops, and presbyters. By the late first century, the church in Corinth had removed some of the leaders the apostles put in place.

So Clement of Rome wrote to them, urging them to reinstate these leaders and trust in the authority the apostles had handed down to them. This letter was so important to the Corinthians that they read it in church alongside Scripture.

Some of his words closely parallel those of Paul and the other apostles, revealing a leader who was deeply attuned to the tradition and teachings of the Christian church:. We get a sense of the perspectives, decisions, and behaviors that shaped the church as the apostles were giving way to new leaders, and we see how their teachings were expressed in the life of the church.

While the New Testament tells us that the early church readily shared their resources with those who needed it, even selling their possessions to help the poor Acts , —35 , Clement shows us that some in the church went so far as to become slaves for the sake of others:.

Many, too, have surrendered themselves to slavery, that with the price which they received for themselves, they might provide food for others. Like Paul and others, Clement weaves in references to the Old Testament throughout his letter, using the Greek translation of the original Hebrew known as the Septuagint. Some of these references are made in passing or to point out prophecies that have been fulfilled in the church, but Clement also uses summaries and key points from Old Testament stories to support his argument about the dangers of division in the church.

Some have argued that this letter proves that the Roman church already held authority over other Christian churches, because Clement wrote from a position of authority and told another church what to do. You can read 1 Clement online through Archive. Church tradition used to hold that Clement wrote another important letter in the late first century.

With love and compassion, Clement urged his readers to: be of humble mind, laying aside all haughtiness, and pride, and foolishness, and angry feelings Hurry Up to Perform Clement of Rome reasoned that since none of our thoughts are hidden from God, we should seek to obey Him rather than follow the human leaders of any faction.

Because we hope in the resurrection , we should live lives of purity and righteousness. Clement emphasized that we are not justified by our own understanding or works or godliness, but "by that faith through which, from the beginning, Almighty God has justified all men.

Clement then encouraged the young men in Corinth to repent of their strife and disruption which had discouraged many within the church. He further urged the Corinthians to "pray for those who have fallen into sin, that meekness and humility may be given to them, so that they may submit, not unto us, but to the will of God.

Early Church Far from Perfect We can easily tend to idealize the early church and think that their fellowship was pure and untroubled. Clement reminds us they struggled with the same temptations we do. In fact his letter suggests that the deaths of the apostles Peter and Paul were probably brought about due to envy and strife among Christians: "Through jealousy and envy the greatest and most righteous pillars Peter and Paul were persecuted and contended unto death.