Clement of Rome

Pope Saint

Clement I
Bishop of Rome
c. 1000 portrayal at Saint Sophia's Cathedral, Kyiv
ChurchEarly Church
Papacy beganc. 92 AD
Papacy endedc. 100 AD
PredecessorAnacletus
SuccessorEvaristus
Orders
Consecrationby Saint Peter
Personal details
Born
Rome, Roman Empire
Diedc. 100 AD
Chersonesus,
Taurica, Bosporan Kingdom
Sainthood
Feast day
Venerated in
Attributes
Patronage
ShrinesBasilica di San Clemente, Rome
Church of St Clement, Nantes
St Clement's Church, Moscow
Diocesan Shrine and Parish of St. Clement, Angono, Rizal, Philippines
Other popes named Clement

Clement of Rome (Latin: Clemens Romanus; Ancient Greek: Κλήμης Ῥώμης, romanized: Klēmēs Rōmēs; died c. 100 AD), also known as Pope Clement I, was the bishop of Rome in the late first century AD. He is considered to be the first of the Apostolic Fathers of the Church,[2] and a leading member of the Church in Rome in the late 1st century.

Little is known about Clement's life. Tertullian claimed that Clement was ordained by Saint Peter.[3] Early church lists place him as the second or third [4][a] bishop of Rome. Eusebius, in his book Church History mentioned Clement as the third bishop of Rome and as the "co-laborer" of Paul.[5] In Against Heresies, Irenaeus describes Clement as the successor to Anacletus (third bishop of Rome), and a personal acquaintance of the Apostles.[6] According to the Annuario Pontificio, Clement was the fourth bishop of Rome, holding office at the very end of the 1st century.[b] It is likely that Clement died in exile, and was possibly martyred. According to apocryphal stories dating back to the 4th century by authors such as Rufinus, Clement was imprisoned by Roman Emperor Trajan, and was executed by being tied to an anchor and thrown into the sea.[2][18] 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 Corinth (1 Clement) in response to a dispute in which certain presbyters of the Corinthian church had been deposed.[4] He asserted the authority of the presbyters as rulers of the church because they had been appointed by the Apostles.[4] His letter, which is 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 became part of the Christian canon. This letter is considered to be the earliest affirmation of the principle of apostolic succession. A second epistle, 2 Clement, was once controversially attributed to Clement, although recent scholarship suggests it to be a homily by another author.[4] In the pseudo-Clementine Writings, Clement is the intermediary through whom the apostles teach the church.[4]

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 Lutheran Church. In Eastern Orthodox Christianity his feast is kept on 25 November.[19]

  1. ^ "Patron Saints and their feast days". Pamphlets. AU. Archived from the original on 22 June 2015. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
  2. ^ a b Chapman, Henry Palmer (1908). "Pope St. Clement I" . Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 4.
  3. ^ Tertullian (1722) [ca 199]. "32". De Praescriptione Haereticorum [Tertullian's Prescription Against Heretics]. Translated by Betty, Joseph. Oxford: The Theatre. The Church of Smyrna produceth her Polycarp placed there by St. John; The Church of Rome has her Clemens placed there by St. Peter…
  4. ^ a b c d e Cross, Frank Leslie; Livingstone, Elizabeth A. (2005). "Clement of Rome, St". The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. Oxford University Press. p. 363. ISBN 978-0-19-280290-3.
  5. ^ Roberts, Alexander; Donaldson, James (1885). "Church History of Eusebius, Book III, Chapter IV, 10". Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers. II. Vol. I (1st ed.). Wikisource.
  6. ^ Irenaeus. "Book III, Chapter 3". Ante-Nicene Fathers. Vol. I. Wikisource.
  7. ^ Libreria Editrice Vaticana 2008, p. 7.
  8. ^ ""Pope St Anacletus, Martyr". The Brighton Oratory, July 13, 2012. 13 July 2012.
  9. ^ Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History, 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."
  10. ^ Jerome, Chronicon, AD 92, 12th of Domitian: "Clement presided as the 3rd bishop of the Church of Rome for nine years."
  11. ^ Jerome. "De Viris Illustribus" [On Illustrious Men]. Fathers. New advent. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
  12. ^ Jerome, Chronicon, AD 42, AD 68."
  13. ^ Liberian Catalogue
  14. ^ a b Liber Pontificalis, The Latin library.
  15. ^ Loomis, Louise Ropes (2006) [1917]. The Book of the Popes (Liber Pontificalis). Arx Publishing. p. 4ff, note 3. ISBN 978-1-889758-86-2 – via Google books.
  16. ^ Chronicon AD 99, 2nd year of Trajan. "Evaristus received the 4th episcopate of the Roman church."
  17. ^ Ecclesiastical History, CCEL 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.
  18. ^ Tyrannius Rufinus (2024) [406]. "The Martyrdom of Clement - an English Translation". Early Church Texts. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  19. ^ "Hieromartyr Clement, Pope of Rome". The Orthodox Church in America. 2024. Retrieved 30 May 2024.


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