Editing Clement of Rome

{{Short description|Head of the Catholic Church from 88 to 99 AD}}
{{Use dmy dates |date=May 2025| cs1-dates=ll}}
{{Infobox Christian leader
| type = Pope
| honorific-prefix = [[List of popes|Pope]] [[List of canonised popes|Saint]]
| name = Clement I
| title = [[Bishop of Rome]]
| church = [[Catholic Church]]
| image = Clemens Romanus.jpg
| caption = {{Circa}} 1000 portrayal at [[Saint Sophia's Cathedral, Kyiv]]
| term_start = {{Circa}} 92 AD
| term_end = {{Circa}} 100 AD
| predecessor = [[Pope Anacletus|Anacletus]]
| successor = [[Pope Evaristus|Evaristus]]
| consecrated_by = [[Saint Peter]]
| birth_date = 
| birth_place = [[Rome]], [[Roman Italy|Italy]], [[Roman Empire]]
| death_date = {{Circa}} 100 AD
| death_place = [[Chersonesos Taurica|Chersonesus]], [[Taurica]], [[Bosporan Kingdom]], [[Crimea in the Roman era|Crimea]], [[Roman Empire]]
| shrine = [[Basilica di San Clemente]], [[Rome]]<br />[[Church of St Clement, Nantes]]<br/>[[St Clement's Church, Moscow|St Clement's Church]], [[Moscow]]<br/>[[Diocesan Shrine and Parish of St. Clement]], [[Angono, Rizal]], [[Philippines]]
| other = Clement
| feast_day = {{unbulleted list|23 November (Catholic Church, Lutheran Church) |24 November (most Byzantine Churches)|25 November (Russian Orthodox Church)|29 [[Hathor (month)|Hathor]] ([[Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria|Oriental Orthodox Churches]])}}
| venerated = {{unbulleted list|[[Catholic Church]]|[[Anglican Communion]]|[[Lutheran Church]]|[[Eastern Orthodoxy]]|[[Oriental Orthodoxy]]|[[Church of the East]]}}
| patronage = {{Hlist|[[Angono, Rizal]] |[[Sailor|Mariners]]|Stone-cutters<ref name=SaintsDays>{{cite web|url= http://www.pamphlets.org.au/docs/cts/australia/html/acts1433.html|title=Patron Saints and their feast days|website= Pamphlets | place = AU |access-date= 15 June 2015|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150622062339/http://www.pamphlets.org.au/docs/cts/australia/html/acts1433.html|archive-date=22 June 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref>}}
| attributes = {{Hlist|Papal vestments |Mariner's cross|Anchor tied to the side |[[Palm of martyrdom]]}}
}}
'''Clement of Rome''' ({{langx|la|Clemens Romanus}}; {{langx|grc|Κλήμης Ῥώμης |Klēmēs Rōmēs}}; died {{circa |100 AD}}), also known as '''Pope Clement I''', was the [[Pope|Bishop of Rome]] in the late first century AD. He is considered to be the first of the [[Apostolic Fathers]] of the Church,<ref name=CE1913>{{cite CE1913|wstitle= Pope St. Clement I |volume= 4 |last= Chapman |first= Henry Palmer |author-link= John Chapman (priest) |short= 1}}</ref> and a leading member of the Church in Rome in the late [[Christianity in the 1st century|1st century]].

Little is known about Clement's life. [[Tertullian]] claimed that Clement was ordained by [[Saint Peter]].<ref name= Tertullian>{{cite book|author= Tertullian |author-link1=Tertullian|translator-last=Betty |translator-first= Joseph|title=De Praescriptione Haereticorum|chapter=32|publisher=[[The Theatre]]|location= Oxford|year=1722|url=https://www.tertullian.org/articles/betty_prae/betty_prae.htm|trans-title=Tertullian's Prescription Against Heretics |orig-date=ca 199|quote=The Church of Smyrna produceth her Polycarp placed there by St. John; The Church of Rome has her Clemens placed there by St. Peter…}}</ref> Early church lists place him as the second or third<ref name="ODCC self"/>{{efn|{{harvnb|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.}} bishop of Rome. [[Eusebius]], in his book ''[[Ecclesiastical History (Eusebius)|Church History]]'' mentioned Clement as the third bishop of Rome and as the "co-laborer" of [[Paul the Apostle|Paul]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Roberts |first1= Alexander | publisher = Wikisource |url= https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Nicene_and_Post-Nicene_Fathers:_Series_II/Volume_I/Church_History_of_Eusebius/Book_III/Chapter_4 |title=Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers | series = II |last2= Donaldson |first2=James |year= 1885 |edition=1st |volume= I | chapter = Church History of Eusebius, Book III, Chapter IV, 10 |author-link= Alexander Roberts}}</ref> In [[Against Heresies (Irenaeus)|Against Heresies]], [[Irenaeus]] described Clement as the successor to [[Pope Anacletus|Anacletus]], who was the third bishop of Rome, and as a personal acquaintance of the [[Apostles in the New Testament|Apostles]].<ref>{{Cite book | publisher = Wikisource |last= Irenaeus |url= https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Ante-Nicene_Fathers/Volume_I/IRENAEUS/Against_Heresies:_Book_III |title= Ante-Nicene Fathers | volume = I |chapter= Book III, Chapter 3}}</ref> According to the ''[[Annuario Pontificio]]'', Clement was the fourth bishop of Rome, holding office at the very end of the 1st century.{{efn|The 2008 ''Annuario pontificio'' gives the dates as either 92–99 or 68–76.{{sfn|Libreria Editrice Vaticana|2008|p=7}} However, the 2012 edition settles for 92 as the beginning date,<ref>{{cite web| url = https://brightonoratory.org/2012/07/13/todays-saints-pope-st-anacletus-martyr/| title = Pope St Anacletus, Martyr | work = The Brighton Oratory, July 13, 2012| date = 13 July 2012}}</ref> following Eusebius and Jerome.<ref>[[Eusebius]], [[Ecclesiastical History (Eusebius)|''Ecclesiastical History'']], [https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf201.iii.viii.xv.html VIII, 15]. "In the twelfth year of ([[Domitian]]) Clement succeeded Anencletus after the latter had been bishop of the church of Rome for twelve years."</ref><ref>[[Jerome]], ''[[Chronicon (Jerome)|Chronicon]]'', [https://www.tertullian.org/fathers/jerome_chronicle_03_part2.htm AD 92], 12th of [[Domitian]]: "Clement presided as the 3rd bishop of the Church of Rome for nine years."</ref> The date of 68–76 is given by the later ''[[Catalogus Liberianus]]'' and ''[[Liber Pontificalis]]'', which are not trustworthy for the chronology of the first popes. All four sources give Peter an episcopate of 25 years in Rome, and the ''Liber Pontificalis'' even records that Peter died 38 years after Jesus' death, that is, AD 67–68.<ref>{{cite web|author= Jerome|title=De Viris Illustribus | trans-title = On Illustrious Men |url= http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/2708.htm|publisher= New advent | work = Fathers |access-date=5 June 2015}}</ref><ref>[[Jerome]], [[Chronicon (Jerome)|Chronicon]], [https://www.tertullian.org/fathers/jerome_chronicle_03_part2.htm AD 42, AD 68]."</ref><ref>[https://www.tertullian.org/fathers/chronography_of_354_13_bishops_of_rome.htm ''Liberian Catalogue'']</ref><ref name= LP>[https://www.thelatinlibrary.com/liberpontificalis1.html ''Liber Pontificalis''], The Latin library.</ref> However, the ''Catalogus'' and ''Liber'' counted Peter's episcopate from AD&nbsp;30 and thus arrived to AD&nbsp;55, as [[Pope Linus]] is said to have succeeded in AD&nbsp;56. The author thus "gives two incompatible traditions."<ref>{{Cite book |last= Loomis |first=Louise Ropes |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=N1KMTRsvPGUC&pg=PA4 |title=The Book of the Popes (Liber Pontificalis) |date= 2006 |publisher=Arx Publishing |isbn= 978-1-889758-86-2|orig-date=1917|page= 4ff, note 3 | via = Google books}}</ref> The year of Clement's death is disputed, it was AD&nbsp;99 according to Jerome<ref>''Chronicon'' [https://www.tertullian.org/fathers/jerome_chronicle_03_part2.htm AD 99], 2nd year of Trajan. "Evaristus received the 4th episcopate of the Roman church."</ref> and AD&nbsp;100 according to Eusebius<ref>''Ecclesiastical History'', CCEL [https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf201.iii.viii.xxxiv.html VIII, 34]. "In the third year of the reign of the emperor mentioned above, Clement committed the episcopal government of the church of Rome to Evarestus, and departed this life after he had superintended the teaching of the divine word nine years in all…" In Bk. IV. chap. 1, Eusebius gives eight years as the duration of Evarestus’ episcopate. The truth is, as the monarchical episcopate was not yet existing in Rome, it is useless to attempt to fix his dates, or those of any of the other so-called bishops who lived before the second quarter of the second century.</ref> (and the ''Liber Pontificalis'', despite previously stating that his tenure ended in AD&nbsp;76).<ref name=LP/> All four sources give him a tenure of 9 years, which would place his death in AD&nbsp;100/101.}} It is likely that Clement died in exile, and was possibly [[martyr]]ed. According to [[apocrypha]]l stories dating back to the 4th century by authors such as [[Tyrannius Rufinus|Rufinus]], Clement was imprisoned by Roman Emperor [[Trajan]], and was executed by being tied to an anchor and thrown into the sea.<ref name=CE1913/><ref name=ECT>{{cite web|author=Tyrannius Rufinus|author-link=Tyrannius Rufinus|title=The Martyrdom of Clement - an English Translation|website=Early Church Texts|date=2024|orig-date=406|url=https://earlychurchtexts.com/main/clementineliterature/martyrdom_of_clement_translation.shtml|access-date=30 May 2024}}</ref> The ''[[Liber Pontificalis]]'' states that Clement died in [[Greece]] in the third year of Trajan's reign, or 100 AD.

The only known genuine extant writing of Clement is his letter to the church at [[Ancient Corinth|Corinth]] ([[First Epistle of Clement|1 Clement]]) in response to a dispute in which certain [[presbyter]]s of the Corinthian church had been deposed.<ref name="ODCC self">{{cite book|last1=Cross|first1=Frank Leslie |author-link1=Frank Leslie Cross|last2=Livingstone|first2=Elizabeth A. |title=The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fUqcAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA363|year=2005|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-280290-3|page=363|chapter=Clement of Rome, St}}</ref> He asserted the authority of the presbyters as rulers of the church because they had been appointed by the Apostles.<ref name="ODCC self"/> His letter, which is [[List of early Christian writers|one of the oldest]] extant Christian documents outside the [[New Testament]], was read in the church at Corinth, along with other epistles, some of which later [[Development of the New Testament canon|became part of the Christian canon]]. This letter is considered to be the earliest affirmation of the principle of [[apostolic succession]]. A second epistle, [[Second Epistle of Clement|2 Clement]], was once controversially attributed to Clement, although recent scholarship suggests it to be a [[homily]] by another author.<ref name="ODCC self"/> In the [[Clementine literature|pseudo-Clementine Writings]], Clement is the intermediary through whom the apostles teach the church.<ref name= "ODCC self"/>

Clement is recognized as a [[saint]] in many Christian churches and a [[patron saint]] of mariners. He is commemorated on 23 November in the [[Catholic Church]], the [[Anglican Communion]], and the [[Lutheranism|Lutheran Church]]. In [[Eastern Orthodoxy|Eastern Orthodox Christianity]] his feast is kept on 25 November.<ref name= OCA>{{cite web |title=Hieromartyr Clement, Pope of Rome|date=2024 |publisher=The Orthodox Church in America |url= https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2009/11/25/103393-hieromartyr-clement-pope-of-rome|access-date=30 May 2024}}</ref>

==Life==
[[File:San clemente fresco.jpg|thumb|11th-century fresco in the Basilica of San Clemente, Rome: Saints Cyril and Methodius bring Saint Clement's relics to Rome]]
The ''[[Liber Pontificalis]]''<ref name="Loomis19166">{{cite book|last=Loomis|first=Louise Ropes |title=The Book of the Popes (Liber Pontificalis)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N1KMTRsvPGUC&pg=PA7|year=1916|publisher=Columbia University Press|location=New York |isbn=978-1-889758-86-2|page=7}}</ref> presents a list that makes [[Pope Linus|Linus]] 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 [[Anacletus]], 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.<ref name="Tertullian1903p258">{{cite book|author=Tertullian |editor1=Alexander Roberts|editor2=James Donaldson|title=The Ante-Nicene Fathers: Translations of the Writings of the Fathers Down to A.D. 325.|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/antenicenefathe03menzgoog/page/n272/mode/2up|volume=III, Part II, Section I, Ch XXXII|year=1903|publisher=C. Scribner's Sons|page=258|chapter=Prescription against Heretics}}</ref> In one of his works, [[Jerome]] listed Clement as "the fourth bishop of Rome after Peter, if indeed the second was Linus and the third Anacletus, although most of the Latins think that Clement was second after the apostle."<ref name=Jerome>{{cite wikisource|wslink=Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers: Series II/Volume III/Lives of Illustrious Men/Jerome/Clemens the bishop|author=Jerome|author-link=Jerome|date=1885|work=Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers: Series II|volume= III|title=Lives of Illustrious Men, Ch XV Clemens the bishop|chapter=|editor1=Alexander Roberts|editor2=James Donaldson}}</ref> Clement is put after Linus and Cletus/Anacletus in the earliest (c.&nbsp;180) account, that of [[Irenaeus]],<ref name=Irenaeus>{{cite wikisource|wslink=Ante-Nicene Fathers/Volume I/IRENAEUS/Against Heresies: Book III/Chapter III.|author=Irenaeus|author-link=Irenaeus|work=Ante-Nicene Fathers|date=1885|volume= I|title=Against Heresies, Book III, Ch. III|editor1=Alexander Roberts|editor2=James Donaldson}}</ref> who is followed by [[Eusebius of Caesarea]].<ref name=Eusebius>{{cite wikisource|wslink=Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers: Series II/Volume I/Church History of Eusebius/Book III/Chapter 4|author=Eusebius of Caesarea|author-link=Eusebius of Caesarea|work=Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers: Series II|volume= I|title=Church History of Eusebius, Book III, Chapter 4, paragraph 10|editor1=Alexander Roberts|editor2=James Donaldson|date=1885}}</ref>

Early succession lists name Clement as the first,<ref name=Schaff>{{cite book|first=Philip|last=Schaff|author-link=Philip Schaff|date=1883|chapter-url = https://archive.org/details/historyofchristi02scha/page/634/mode/2up|title=History of the Christian Church|volume= II: Ante-Nicene Christianity. A.D. 100-325.|publisher=Charles Scribner's Sons|location=New York|chapter=Ch XIII, §162 Clement of Rome.}}</ref>{{rp|636}}{{efn|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.{{harv|Libreria Editrice Vaticana|2008|p=7}}}} second, or third<ref name="ODCC self" />{{efn|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.}} successor of [[Saint Peter|Peter]]. However, the meaning of his inclusion in these lists has been very controversial.<ref name="Bishop">{{cite CE1913|last=Van Hove|first= Alphonse|wstitle=Bishop|volume=2}}</ref> Some believe there were presbyter-bishops as early as the 1st century,<ref name="Bishop" /> but that there is no evidence for a monarchical episcopacy in Rome at such an early date.<ref name="ODCC self" /> 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.<ref name="Bishop" />

A tradition that began in the 3rd and 4th century,<ref name="ODCC self" /> has identified him as the Clement that Paul mentioned in [[Philippians]] {{Bibleverse-nb||Philippians|4:3|KJV}}, a fellow laborer in Christ.{{efn|{{harvnb|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 ({{bibleverse|Phil|4:3}}) as a fellow worker."}}  While in the mid-19th century it was customary to identify him as a freedman of [[Titus Flavius Clemens (consul)|Titus Flavius Clemens]], who was [[consul]] with his cousin, the Emperor [[Domitian]], this identification, which no ancient sources suggest, afterwards lost support.<ref name=CE1913/> The 2nd-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.<ref>"Vision II", 4. 3</ref>

A large congregation existed in Rome c.&nbsp;58, when Paul wrote his Epistle to the Romans.<ref name="ODCC self"/> Paul arrived in Rome c.&nbsp;60 (Acts).<ref name="ODCC self"/> 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.<ref name="CrossLivingstone2005p1422">{{cite book|last1=Cross|first1=Frank Leslie |author-link1=Frank Leslie Cross|last2=Livingstone|first2=Elizabeth A. |title=The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fUqcAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA1422|year=2005|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-280290-3|page=1422|chapter=Rome (early Christian)}}</ref> 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.&nbsp;96), in which he asserts the apostolic authority of the bishops/presbyters as rulers of the church.<ref name="ODCC self"/> 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.

[[File:Saintclementmartyr.png|left|thumb|upright|Martyrdom of St Clement by [[Fungai]]]]

== Death and legends of final days ==
According to apocryphal [[Acts of the Martyrs|''acta'']] dating to the 4th century at earliest, Clement was banished from Rome to the [[Chersonesos Taurica|Chersonesus]] during the reign of the Emperor [[Trajan]]<ref name="ODCC self" /><ref name=CE1913/> 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 [[martyr]]ed by being tied to an anchor<ref name="Stracke" /> 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.<ref name=Schaff />{{rp|639}}

The [[Inkerman Cave Monastery]] marks the supposed place of Clement's burial in [[Crimea]]. A year or two before his own death in 869, [[Cyril and Methodius|Cyril]] brought to Rome what he believed to be the [[relics]] of Clement, bones he found in Crimea buried with an anchor on dry land. They are now enshrined in the [[Basilica di San Clemente]].<ref name=CE1913/> But there are also other traditions<ref>Bernhard Gallistl: 'Klemens von Rom und sein Kult auf der Krim'. In: Würzburger Jahrbücher für die Altertumswissenschaft. NF, vol.45, 2021, pp. 101–143.</ref> about an ancient veneration of the relics in [[Chersonesus]] and the translation of the head to [[Kyiv]]. Other relics of Clement, including his head, are claimed by 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).<ref name="ODCC self"/><ref name=CE1913/><ref name=McBrien/>

===Epistle of Clement===
{{main|First Epistle of Clement}}
Clement's only extant, uncontested text is a letter to the [[Early Church|Christian congregation]] in [[Roman Corinth|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).<ref name="ODCC self"/> Clement calls for repentance and reinstatement of those who have been deposed, in line with maintenance of order and obedience to church authority, since the [[Twelve Apostles|apostles]] established the ministry of "bishops and deacons."<ref name="ODCC self"/> He mentions "offering the gifts" as one of the functions of the higher class of clergy.<ref name="ODCC self"/> The epistle offers valuable insight into Church ministry at that time and into the history of the Roman Church.<ref name="ODCC self"/> It was highly regarded, and was read in church at Corinth along with the Scriptures c.&nbsp;170.<ref name="ODCC self"/>

{{Blockquote|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.|source={{harvnb|Clement of Rome|1885b|loc= 1 Clem 14:1; 16:1}}}}

{{Blockquote|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?|source={{harvnb|Clement of Rome|1885b|loc= 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.<ref name="ODCC self" /> In some congregations, particularly in Egypt, the distinction between bishops and presbyters seems to have become established only later.<ref name="CrossLivingstone2005p210">{{cite book|last1=Cross|first1=Frank Leslie |author-link1=Frank Leslie Cross|last2=Livingstone|first2=Elizabeth A. |title=The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fUqcAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA210|year=2005|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-280290-3|page=210|chapter=bishop}}</ref> But by the middle of the second century all the leading Christian centres had bishops.<ref name="CrossLivingstone2005p210" />  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.<ref name="Ehrman2008p83">{{cite book|last=Ehrman|first=Bart D |author-link=Bart D Ehrman|title=Peter, Paul, and Mary Magdalene: The Followers of Jesus in History and Legend|url=https://archive.org/details/peterpaulmarymag00ehrm_0/page/83|year=2008|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-534350-2|page=83}}</ref>

Clement's letter also contains historical references, it mentions persecutions of Christians, records the martyrdom of the [[Saint Peter|Apostle Peter]] and suggests that the apostle Paul traveled to [[Spain]].<ref name=CE1913/>

==== Theology ====
[[File:Pope Clement I.jpg|thumb|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 [[Synergism|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.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last=Downs|first=David J.|date=2013|title=Justification, Good Works, and Creation in Clement of Rome's Appropriation of Romans 5–6|url=https://www.academia.edu/7541118|journal=New Testament Studies|volume=59|issue=3|pages=415–432|doi=10.1017/S0028688513000040|s2cid=170840708|issn=0028-6885}}</ref> 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,<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Did the Early Church Teach 'Faith Alone'?|url=https://zondervanacademic.com/blog/did-the-early-church-teach-faith-alone|access-date=31 December 2021|website=Zondervan Academic|language=en}}</ref> [[Philip Schaff]] also said that Clement probably taught a faith alone doctrine<ref>{{Cite web|title=Philip Schaff: History of the Christian Church, Volume II: Ante-Nicene Christianity. A.D. 100-325 - Christian Classics Ethereal Library|url=https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/hcc2.v.xiv.xviii.html|access-date=21 January 2022|website=www.ccel.org}}</ref> while ''[[Catholic Encyclopedia]]'' wrote that Clement believed works to be part of justification.<ref name=CE1913/> 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"''<ref name=":1" /> 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".<ref name=":1" />

[[Thomas R. Schreiner|Thomas Schreiner]] argued that Clement taught that faith was enough to be saved because of 1 Clement 32:4 where he stated:<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Schreiner |first=Thomas R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=20dIBQAAQBAJ&q=faith+alone+history |title=Faith Alone---The Doctrine of Justification: What the Reformers Taught...and Why It Still Matters |date=15 September 2015 |publisher=Zondervan Academic |isbn=978-0-310-51579-1 |language=en}}</ref><blockquote>And so we, having been called through His will in Christ Jesus, are not justified through ourselves or through our own wisdom or understanding or piety or works which we wrought in holiness of heart, but through faith, whereby the Almighty God justified all men that have been from the beginning; to whom be the glory for ever and ever. Amen. (1 Clement 32:4)<ref name=":2" /></blockquote>The epistle has been cited as the first work to establish [[Primacy of the Roman Pontiff|Roman primacy]], because he wrote to settle a problem in the church,<ref>{{cite web|last=Mirus|first=Jeffrey|title=...and Protects His Church from Teaching Error in Faith and Morals'|url=https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/library/and-protects-his-church-from-teaching-error-in-faith-and-morals-1127|access-date=6 January 2022|website=www.ewtn.com/|publisher=Eternal Word Television Network.|quote=}}</ref> but most scholars see the epistle as more fraternal than authoritative,{{efn|{{harvnb|Phan|2000|p=32}} writes, "Most scholars would now regard 1 Clement as an impressive example of fraternal correction rather than an authoritative intervention." }} and [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Orthodox]] scholar [[John Meyendorff]] sees it as connected with the Roman church's awareness of its "priority" (rather than "primacy") among local churches.<ref name="Meyendorff1992">{{cite book|author=John Meyendorff|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hMjoJx8FD2wC|title=The Primacy of Peter: Essays in Ecclesiology and the Early Church|publisher=St. Vladimir's Seminary Press|year=1992|isbn=978-0-88141-125-6|series=135-136}}</ref> It has also been argued by Dave Armstrong, that Clement supported [[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".<ref>{{cite web|date=18 September 2021|title=Christians Have Always Recognized the Pope's Authority — Here's Proof From the 1st Century|url=https://www.ncregister.com/blog/christians-have-always-recognized-the-pope-s-authority-here-s-proof-from-the-1st-century?amp|access-date=6 January 2022|publisher=National Catholic Register|quote=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).}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=|title=Authority of the Pope|url=https://www.churchfathers.org/authority-of-the-pope|access-date=6 January 2022|website=www.churchfathers.org/|publisher=Church Fathers Organization|quote=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}}</ref>

It has also been argued that the epistle may contain early evidence for belief in [[universal salvation]].<ref>Cf. Downs, "[https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/new-testament-studies/article/abs/justification-good-works-and-creation-in-clement-of-romes-appropriation-of-romans-56/32B4E1D94BDF0B8E9AC25299283AD8B4 Justification, Good Works, and Creation in Clement of Rome's Appropriation of Romans 5–6]," in ''New Testament Studies''.</ref>

According to ''Catholic Encyclopedia'', the letter of Clement has [[Trinity|Trinitarian theology]] and Christ is frequently called as the [[High Priest of Israel|high priest]] by him.<ref name=CE1913/>

=== Writings formerly attributed to Clement ===
[[File:Giovanni Battista Tiepolo 094.jpg|thumb|''Saint Clement'', by [[Giovanni Battista Tiepolo|Tiepolo]]]]

====Second Epistle of Clement====
{{main|Second Epistle of Clement}}
The Second Epistle of Clement is a homily, or sermon, likely written in Corinth or Rome, although it is doubtful it was written by Clement.<ref name="ODCC self"/> Early Christian congregations often shared homilies to be read. The homily describes Christian character and repentance.<ref name="ODCC self"/> 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]].<ref name=CE1913/><ref name=McBrien>{{cite book|last=McBrien|year=2000|title=Lives of the Popes|pages=35|publisher=HarperCollins}}</ref> Doubts about the authorship were already expressed in antiquity by [[Eusebius]] and [[Jerome]].<ref>{{harvnb|Eusebius Pamphilius|325}}. [http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf201/Page_147.html Book 3, Chapter 16].</ref><ref>Jerome, ''[[De Viris Illustribus (Jerome)|De Viris Illustribus]]'', Chapter 15</ref>

====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.<ref name=Virginity>{{cite book|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/antenicenefather08robeuoft/page/52/mode/2up|title=The Ante-Nicene Fathers : translations of the writings of the Fathers down to A.D. 325|volume= VIII|chapter=Ch. XXX Two Epistles Concerning Virginity: Introductory Notice.|publisher=C.L. Pub. Co.|location=Buffalo |date=1885|author=Clement of Rome|page=53}}</ref>

====False Decretals====
{{main|Pseudo-Isidore}}
A 9th-century collection of church legislation known as the False Decretals, which was once attributed to [[Isidore of Seville]], is largely composed of forgeries. All of what it presents as letters of pre-[[First Council of Nicaea|Nicene]] popes, beginning with Clement, are forgeries, as are some of the documents that it attributes to councils;{{efn|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.}} and more than forty falsifications are found in the decretals that it gives as those of post-Nicene popes from [[Sylvester I]] (314–335) to [[Pope Gregory II|Gregory II]] (715–731). The False Decretals were part of a series of falsifications of past legislation by a party in the Carolingian Empire whose principal aim was to free the church and the bishops from interference by the state and the [[Metropolitan archbishop#Roman Catholic|metropolitan archbishops]] respectively.<ref>[https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/200996/False-Decretals Encyclopædia Britannica: ''False Decretals'']</ref>{{sfn|Bunson|2004|p=345}}<ref name="CrossLivingstone2005p601">{{cite book|last1=Cross|first1=Frank Leslie |author-link1=Frank Leslie Cross|last2=Livingstone|first2=Elizabeth A. |title=The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fUqcAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA601|year=2005|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-280290-3|page=601|chapter=False Decretals}}</ref>

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.{{efn|{{harvnb|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."}} Clement is the earliest pope to whom a Pseudo-Isidoran text is attributed.

===Clementine literature===
{{main|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 (consul)|Titus Flavius Clemens]]. Clementine literature portrays Clement as the Apostles' means of disseminating their teachings to the Church.<ref name="ODCC self"/>

==Recognition as a saint==
[[File:StClement Church Moscow 01-2016 img2.jpg|thumb|St. Clement is one of the few Roman popes to have [[St. Clement's Church in Moscow|a Russian Orthodox church]] dedicated in his name.]]
Clement's name is in the [[Roman Canon]] of the [[Mass (liturgy)|Mass]]. He is commemorated on 23 November as a [[pope]] and [[martyr]] in the [[Catholic Church]] as well as within the [[Anglican Communion]] and the [[Lutheran Church]]. The [[Syriac Orthodox Church]], the [[Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church]], the [[Macedonian Orthodox Church]] and the [[Greek Orthodox Church]], as well as the [[Syriac Catholic Church]], the [[Syro-Malankara Catholic Church]] and all [[Byzantine Rite]] [[Eastern Catholic Churches]] commemorate Clement of Rome (called in [[Syriac language|Syriac]] ''"Mor Clemis"'') on 24 November; the [[Russian Orthodox Church]] commemorates Clement on 25 November. Clement is honored in the [[Calendar of saints (Church of England)|Church of England]] and in the [[Calendar of saints (Episcopal Church)|Episcopal Church]] on 23 November.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Calendar|url=https://www.churchofengland.org/prayer-and-worship/worship-texts-and-resources/common-worship/churchs-year/calendar|access-date=27 March 2021|website=The Church of England|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bEq7DwAAQBAJ |title=Lesser Feasts and Fasts 2018 |date=17 December 2019 |publisher=Church Publishing, Inc. |isbn=978-1-64065-235-4 |language=en}}</ref>

The [[St Clement's Church, Moscow|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 [[Clement of Rome#Death and legends of final days|above]]), 
in the city of [[Santa Cruz de Tenerife]] in [[Spain]], the [[Tibia|shinbone]] of Clement is kept. It was a gift of Sidotti, [[Patriarch of Antioch]], to the [[Iglesia de la Concepción (Santa Cruz de Tenerife)|Church of the Immaculate Conception]]. Historically, this was a highly revered relic in the city.{{sfn|González|2007|p=3}}

===Symbolism===
[[File:Mariner's Cross.svg|thumb|[[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 [[fountain]] or [[spring (hydrosphere)|spring]], relating to the incident from his [[hagiography]], or lying in a temple in the sea. The [[Anchored Cross]] or Mariner's Cross is also referred to as St. Clement's Cross, in reference to the way he was martyred.<ref name="Stracke">{{cite web |last1=Stracke |first1=Richard |title=Saint Clement: The Iconography |url=http://www.christianiconography.info/clement.html |website=Christian Iconography | date=20 October 2015}}</ref>

{{Clear}}

==See also==
*[[List of popes]]
*[[List of Catholic saints]]
*[[Portal:Catholic Church/Patron Archive/November 23|Pope Saint Clement I, patron saint archive]]
*[[St Clement's Day]]
*{{annotated link|Saint Clement and Sisinnius inscription}}

==References==
===Notes===
{{Notelist}}

===Citations===
{{Reflist|}}
{{Catholic|wstitle=Pope St. Clement I}}
----

===Sources===
{{Refbegin}}
*{{cite book|last=Bunson|first=Matthew|title=OSV's Encyclopedia of Catholic History|year=2004|publisher=Our Sunday Visitor|isbn=978-1-59276-026-8|chapter=False Decretals}}
*{{cite CE1913|wstitle=Pope St. Anacletus|first=Thomas Joseph |last=Campbell|volume=1}}
*{{cite wikisource|author=Clement of Rome|wslink=Ante-Nicene Fathers/Volume IX/The Epistles of Clement/The First Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians/Chapter 14|title=The First Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians|work=Ante-Nicene Fathers|volume=IX|translator=John Keith|date=1885b|editor1=Alexander Roberts |editor2=James Donaldson}}
*{{cite book|last=Durant|first=Will|author-link=Will Durant|title=The Story of Civilization|url={{google books|id=cusRoE1OJvEC|keywords=vicars of Christ on Earth|plainurl=yes}}|volume=IV: The Age of Faith|year=2011|publisher=Simon and Schuster|isbn=978-1-4516-4761-7}}
*{{citation|author=Eusebius Pamphilius|author-link=Eusebius|title=Ecclesiastical history|url=http://www.documentacatholicaomnia.eu/03d/0265-0339,_Eusebius_Caesariensis,_Historia_ecclesiastica_%5BSchaff%5D,_EN.pdf|year=325|access-date=27 November 2012}}
*{{cite book|last=González|first=Manuel Hernández|title=Fiestas y creencias en Canarias en la Edad Moderna|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YzofqK1vZJ8C&pg=PA3|year=2007|publisher=Ediciones IDEA|isbn=978-84-8382-107-7}}
*{{cite book|last1=Kelly|first1=John Norman Davidson|last2=Walsh|first2=Michael J.|title=The Oxford Dictionary of Popes|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ExYOAQAAMAAJ|edition=2nd|year=2005|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-861433-3}}
*{{cite book|author=Libreria Editrice Vaticana|title=Annuario pontificio (2008)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4rG4MQEACAAJ|year=2008|publisher=Libreria Editrice Vaticana|isbn=978-88-209-8021-4}}
*{{cite book|last=Phan|first=Peter C.|title=The Gift of the Church: A Textbook on Ecclesiology in Honor of Patrick Granfield, O.S.B.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2knW3bIxIYgC|year=2000|publisher=Liturgical Press|isbn=978-0-8146-5931-1}}
{{Refend}}

===Further reading===
*{{cite book|editor-last=Clarke|editor-first=W. K. Lowther|title=The First Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians|year=1937|publisher=Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge|location=London}}
*{{cite book|editor-last=Grant|editor-first=Robert M.|title=The Apostolic Fathers|year=1964|publisher=Nelson|location=New York}}
*Loomis, Louise Ropes (1916). ''The Book of Popes'' (''Liber Pontificalis''). Merchantville, NJ: Evolution Publishing. {{ISBN|1-889758-86-8}}.
*{{cite book|last=Lightfoot|first=J.B.|title=The Apostolic Fathers|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TkYtAAAAYAAJ|year=1890|publisher=Macmillan|location=London}}
*{{cite book|last=Meeks|first=Wayne A.|title=The origins of Christian morality : the first two centuries|year=1993|publisher=Yale Univ. Press|location=New Haven|isbn=978-0-300-05640-2}}
*{{cite book|last=Richardson|first=Cyril Charles|title=Early Christian Fathers|year=1943|publisher=Westminster Press|location=Philadelphia|series=The Library of Christian Classics}}
*{{cite book|last=Staniforth|first=Maxwell|title=Early Christian writings |url=https://archive.org/details/earlychristianwr00stan|url-access=registration|year=1968|publisher=Penguin|location=Baltimore}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Clemens I}}
{{Wikisource author}}
{{Wikiquote|First Epistle of Clement}}
{{Spoken Wikipedia|En-Pope Clement I-article.ogg|date=1 July 2014}}

*[https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/121001/Saint-Clement-I "Saint Clement I."]  Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
*{{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Clement/Clement I|display=Clement s.v. Clement I.|volume=6|pages=482–483|first1=Alexander James|last1=Grieve|author-link1=Alexander James Grieve|first2=Joseph Armitage|last2=Robinson|author-link2=Armitage Robinson}}
* {{BHL author|276139}} 
*{{Internet Archive author |search=( ("Saint Clement" AND Pope) OR "Clement I" )}}
*{{Librivox author |id=4738}}
*[http://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/ecf/008/index.htm Two Epistles Concerning Virginity ].
*[http://www.documentacatholicaomnia.eu/01_01_0088-0097-_Clemens_I,_Sanctus,_Martyr.html Opera Omnia]
*[http://ocafs.oca.org/FeastSaintsViewer.asp?SID=4&ID=1&FSID=103393  Hieromartyr Clement the Pope of Rome] Eastern Orthodox [[icon]] and [[synaxarion]]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20081122032727/http://saints.sqpn.com/saintc14.htm Patron Saints Index: ''Pope Saint Clement I'']
*[http://www.christianiconography.info/clement.html Saint Clement] at the [http://www.christianiconography.info Christian Iconography] web site
*[http://www.christianiconography.info/goldenLegend/clement.htm "Here Followeth the Life of St. Clement"] in the Caxton translation of the ''Golden Legend''
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20121112015737/http://www.paulandpeters.com/blog/st-clement-of-rome/  "St. Clement of Rome, Pope and Martyr (1st Century)"]
*[http://www.stpetersbasilica.info/Exterior/Colonnades/Saints/St%20Clement-110/StClement.htm Colonnade Statue in St Peter's Square]

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{{S-rel|ca}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Pope Anacletus|Anacletus]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Bishop of Rome]]|years=92–100}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Pope Evaristus|Evaristus]]}}
{{s-end}}

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