Pope Clement I

Saint Clement I, also known as Pope Clement I, Saint Clement of Rome, or Clemens Romanus, was the fourth Pope and Bishop of Rome and is considered the first Apostolic Father of the early Christian church.

Clement's letter to the Corinthian church (1 Clement) was widely read and is one of the oldest Christian documents still in existence outside the New Testament. This important work is the first to manifest Rome's primacy and the first to affirm the apostolic authority of the church fathers.

Few details are known about Clement's life. While sources vary, it is likely Clement became pope in 88, although it may have been as late as 92. It is somewhat certain that he died in 99. The Holy See's Annuario Pontificio (2003) cites a reign from 92 to 99. According to tradition, Clement was imprisoned under the Emperor Trajan but nonetheless led a ministry among fellow prisoners. He was then executed by being tied to an anchor and thrown into the sea.

St. Clement's name is in the Roman Canon of the Mass. He is commemorated on November 23 as pope and martyr in the Roman Catholic Church as well as in the Anglican Communion and the Lutheran church. The Syriac Orthodox Church, the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church and the Greek Orthodox Church, as well as the Syriac Catholic Church, the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church and Byzantine Rite Eastern Catholic Churches, commemorate St. Clement of Rome (called in Syriac Mor Clemis) on November 24; the Russian Orthodox Church on November 25; and the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria on December 8.

Identity

Tradition identifies him as the Clement that Paul mentioned in Philippians as a fellow laborer in Christ, and the mere apposition of the name with a location at one time in Philippi has never warranted saying that he must be a Philippian, as Paul didn't grow up in a place he ministered at, merely for being stationed there. In the 19th century he was identified as a freedman of Titus Flavius Clemens, who was consul with his cousin, the Emperor Domitian, but no ancient sources suggest this identification and it is likely false. The 2nd-century Shepherd of Hermas mentions a Clement whose office it is to communicate with other churches. It should be noted, most significantly, that an allusion in 1 Clement is made back to Paul's comment that Clement's name is in the Book of Life.

Ancient sources sometimes named Clement as the third Bishop of Rome. Little evidence exists to corroborate or disprove that Clement was a Bishop of Rome,, and in fact, some historians challenge the assertion that the episcopacy was established as early as Clement's lifetime.

The Liber Pontificalis, which documents the reigns of popes states that Clement had known Saint Peter. It also states that he wrote two letters (though the second letter, 2 Clement is no longer ascribed to him) and that he died in Greece in the third year of Trajan's reign, or 100 AD.

Martyrdom

According to tradition, Saint Clement was banished from Rome during the reign of the Emperor Domitian. He was sent to Chersonesus where he was sentenced to work with other prisoners in a stone quarry. Saint Clement arrived to find the prisoners suffering from a great lack of water. After kneeling down in prayer, the saint looked up to see a lamb standing upon a hill. Taking his pickaxe, Saint Clement went to where the lamb had stood and struck the ground, revealing a gushing stream of clear water.

In retaliation for this miracle and for having converted large numbers of the local pagans and his fellow prisoners to Christianity, Saint Clement was martyred by being tied to an anchor and thrown from a boat into the Black Sea.

According to a 9th-century tradition St. Cyril brought the relics of Saint Clement to Rome where they are now enshrined at the Basilica di San Clemente. Other relics of Saint Clement, including his head, are claimed by the Kiev Monastery of the Caves in Ukraine.

Symbolism

In works of art, Saint Clement can be recognized by having an anchor at his side or tied to his neck. He is most often depicted wearing the Papal vestments, including the pallium, and sometimes with the Papal tiara but more often with the mitre. He is also sometimes shown with symbols of his office as Pope and Bishop of Rome such as the Papal Cross and the Keys of Heaven. In reference to his martyrdom, he often holds the palm of martyrdom. Saint Clement can be seen depicted near a fountain or spring, relating to the incident from his hagiography, or lying in a temple in the sea. The Mariner's Cross is also referred to as St. Clement's Cross in reference to the way he was martyred.

Writings

Clement's best known writing is a letter to the Christian Church in Corinth, often called the First Epistle of Clement or 1 Clement. The history of 1 Clement clearly and continuously shows Pope Clement I as the author of this letter. It is considered the oldest authentic Christian document outside of the New Testament, and it is the first work to assert the primacy of Rome.

A second epistle is traditionally attributed to Clement, although some modern scholarship suggests it may have been written later. The Second Epistle of Clement is often described as a homily, although in form it closely resembles the Epistle to the Hebrews in its abrupt beginning and in its didactic line of expression. Irenaeus, however, in his work entitled Refutation and Overthrow of the Knowledge Falsely So Called, mentions 1 Clement and includes details about divine punishment that close resemble 2 Clement, suggesting that 2 Clement may very well have been originally appended to 1 Clement. Second Clement, unlike First Clement, may have been intended to serve as a homily, as churches often shared homilies to be read during liturgies. 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 modern scholars believe that 2 Clement was written in the second 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. 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.

St 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 Domitian's cousin Titus Flavius Clemens.