Pope Clement I
| Saint Clement I | |
|---|---|
| File:StClement1.jpg | |
| Birth name | Unknown |
| Papacy began | circa 88 |
| Papacy ended | 99 |
| Predecessor | Anacletus |
| Successor | Evaristus |
| Born | Unknown Rome, Italy |
| Died | circa 99 Crimea |
| Other popes named Clement | |
Saint Clement I was the Bishop of Rome from 88 to 99 C.E. Also called Clement of Rome and Clemens Romanus, he was the fourth pope according to Catholic tradition. In his own lifetime, however, the term "Pope" itself and the attributes presently associated with the term did not yet exist.
Clement I is considered one of the Apostolic Fathers, and his name is in the Roman Canon of the Mass. Saint Clement I is commemorated on November 23 as pope and martyr in the Roman Catholic Churchas well as the Anglican Communion and the Lutheran church. The Syriac Orthodox and Malankara Orthodox Church, as well as the Syriac Catholic and Syro-Malankara Catholic Churches commemorate St. Clement of Rome (called Mor Clemis) on November 24.
Identity and biography
Tradition identifies Cement I as the Clement mentioned by Saint Paul in Philippians 4:3 [1]. He may have been a freedman of Titus Flavius Clemens, who was consul with his cousin, the Emperor Domitian. The Shepherd of Hermas (Vision II. 4. 3) mentions a Clement whose office it is to communicate with other churches. This function has been adduced to support Clement's authorship of the letter to the church at Corinth, Greece, which ascribed to him in the collection of early Christian literature known as the Apostolic Fathers.
The Liber Pontificalis supports the further belief that Clement of Rome had personally known Saint Peter, and states that he wrote two letters which have been preserved. (However, the second letter, 2 Clement, is now challenged as belong to him.) Liber Pontificalis further states that Clement died in Greece in the third year of Trajan's reign, or 100 C.E. Earlier sources indicate that he died a natural death, but later tradition holds that he was martyred. The Holy See's Annuario Pontificio (2003) cites a reign from 92 to 99.
The tradition of Clement's martyrdom dates from the ninth century. It indicates that he was exiled from Rome by the Emperor Trajan to a prison camp in Chersonesus, where he was sentenced to work in a stone quarry. In retaliation for having converted large numbers of the local pagans to Christianity, Clement was martyred by being tied to an anchor and thrown from a boat into the Black Sea in the year 102.
St. Cyril reportedly brought relics of St. Clement to Rome in 868, where they are now enshrined at the Basilica di San Clemente. Other relics of St. Clement, including his head, are claimed by the Kiev Monastery of the Caves in the Ukraine.
Symbolism
In art, Saint Clement can be recognized as a pope with an anchor or fish. Sometimes his also pictured with a millstone, relating to his reported imprisonment in a stone quarry; keys, relating to his position as pope; a fountain, which miraculously sprung forth while he said Mass; or with a book. He is also shown lying in a temple in the sea.
The Mariner's Cross is sometimes referred to as St. Clement's Cross in reference to the way he was reportedly martyred.
Writings
Clement is perhaps best known by his letter to the church at Corinth, often called 1 Clement. The letter is particularly significant in Catholic ecclesiology in that it demonstrates the Roman church's early role in guided the conduct of other churches.
A second epistle, better described as a homily, has been traditionally ascribed to Clement. However recent scholars suggests dates the letter to the second century and challenges Clement's authorship.
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.
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- ↑ "Writers of the 3rd and 4th cents., like Origen, Eusebius, and Jerome, equate him, perhaps, correctly, with the Clement whom St. Paul mentions (Phil. 4:3) as a fellow worker."—Kelly (1985). The Oxford Dictionary of Popes. Oxford University Press, p. 7.
External links
| Roman Catholic Popes | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by: Anacletus |
Bishop of Rome Pope 88–98 |
Succeeded by: Evaristus |
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