Pope Clement I

Pope Clement I (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin_language" title="Latin language" class="mw-redirect" >Latin</a>: Clemens Romanus; <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_language" title="Greek language" >Greek</a>: Κλήμης Ῥώμης; died 99), also known as Saint Clement of Rome, is listed as Bishop of Rome from the late 2nd century (Irenaeus and Tertullian), holding office from 92 to his death in 99.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Clement_I#cite_note-ODCC_self-1" >[1]</a> He is considered to be the first <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apostolic_Father" title="Apostolic Father" class="mw-redirect" >Apostolic Father</a> of the Church.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Clement_I#cite_note-CE-2" >[2]</a>

Few details are known about Clement's life. According to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tertullian" title="Tertullian" >Tertullian</a>, Clement was consecrated by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Peter" title="Saint Peter" >Saint Peter</a>,<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Clement_I#cite_note-CE-2" >[2]</a> and he is known to have been a leading member of the church in Rome in the late <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity_in_the_1st_century" title="Christianity in the 1st century" >1st century</a>. Early church lists place him as the second or third<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Clement_I#cite_note-ODCC_self-1" >[1]</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Clement_I#cite_note-3" >[3]</a> bishop of Rome after Saint Peter. The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liber_Pontificalis" title="Liber Pontificalis" >Liber Pontificalis</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Clement_I#cite_note-4" >[4]</a> presents a list that makes <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Linus" title="Pope Linus" >Pope Linus</a> the second in the line of bishops of Rome, with Peter as first; but at the same time it states that Peter ordained two bishops, Linus and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Cletus" title="Pope Cletus" class="mw-redirect" >Pope Cletus</a>, for the priestly service of the community, devoting himself instead to prayer and preaching, and that it was to Clement that he entrusted the Church as a whole, appointing him as his successor. Tertullian considered Clement to be the immediate successor of Peter.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Clement_I#cite_note-5" >[5]</a> In one of his works, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerome" title="Jerome" >Jerome</a> listed Clement as "the fourth bishop of Rome after Peter" (not in the sense of fourth successor of Peter, but fourth in a series that included Peter), and added that "most of the Latins think that Clement was second after the apostle".<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Clement_I#cite_note-6" >[6]</a> Clement is put after Linus and Cletus/Anacletus in the earliest (c. 180) account, that of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irenaeus" title="Irenaeus" >Irenaeus</a>,<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Clement_I#cite_note-7" >[7]</a> who is followed by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eusebius_of_Caesarea" title="Eusebius of Caesarea" class="mw-redirect" >Eusebius of Caesarea</a>.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Clement_I#cite_note-8" >[8]</a>

Clement's only genuine extant writing is his letter to the church at <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Corinth" title="Roman Corinth" class="mw-redirect" >Corinth</a> (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1_Clement" title="1 Clement" class="mw-redirect" >1 Clement</a>) in response to a dispute in which certain <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presbyter" title="Presbyter" >presbyters</a> of the Corinthian church had been deposed.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Clement_I#cite_note-ODCC_self-1" >[1]</a> He asserted the authority of the presbyters as rulers of the church on the ground that the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apostle_(Christian)" title="Apostle (Christian)" >Apostles</a> had appointed such.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Clement_I#cite_note-ODCC_self-1" >[1]</a> His letter, which is one of the oldest extant Christian documents outside of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Testament" title="New Testament" >New Testament</a>, was read in church, along with other epistles, some of which later <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Development_of_the_Christian_Biblical_canon" title="Development of the Christian Biblical canon" class="mw-redirect" >became part of the Christian canon</a>. These works were the first to affirm the apostolic authority of the clergy.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Clement_I#cite_note-ODCC_self-1" >[1]</a>

A second epistle, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2_Clement" title="2 Clement" class="mw-redirect" >2 Clement</a>, was attributed to Clement, although recent scholarship suggests it to be a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homily" title="Homily" >homily</a> by another author.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Clement_I#cite_note-ODCC_self-1" >[1]</a> In the legendary <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clementine_Literature" title="Clementine Literature" class="mw-redirect" >Clementine Literature</a>, Clement is the intermediary through whom the apostles teach the church.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Clement_I#cite_note-ODCC_self-1" >[1]</a> According to tradition, Clement was imprisoned under the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emperor_Trajan" title="Emperor Trajan" class="mw-redirect" >Emperor Trajan</a>; during this time he is recorded to have led a ministry among fellow prisoners. Thereafter he was executed by being tied to an anchor and thrown into the sea.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Clement_I#cite_note-ODCC_self-1" >[1]</a>

Clement is recognized as a saint in many Christian churches. He is commemorated on 23 November in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Catholic_Church" title="Roman Catholic Church" class="mw-redirect" >Roman Catholic Church</a>, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglican_Communion" title="Anglican Communion" >Anglican Communion</a>, and the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lutheran_Church" title="Lutheran Church" class="mw-redirect" >Lutheran Church</a>.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Clement_I#cite_note-9" >[9]</a> In <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Orthodox_Christianity" title="Eastern Orthodox Christianity" class="mw-redirect" >Eastern Orthodox Christianity</a> his feast is kept on 24 or 25 November.

Pope Clement I

Attachments