Letter of Saint Clement to the Corinthians

Letter of Saint Clement to the Corinthians November 23, 2011

Saint Clement was one of the first bishops of Rome after Saints Peter, Linus and Cletus.  He served as bishop from AD 88 to 97 until his exile by Roman authorities to the Crimean Peninsula where he worked at a stone quarry until his death by being tossed into the Black Sea.  In the ninth century, Saint Cyril, who with his brother Saint Methodius converted the Slavs to Christianity, found the remains of Saint Clement and brought them to Rome.  Since then, the relics have been revered at the Basilica of Saint Clement in Rome where Saints Cyril and Methodius have also traditionally been remembered.

Saint Clement is most remembered for having written a letter to the Christian community in Corinth in the year AD 95.  The community in Corinth faced division and immorality since the very beginning as attested in Saint Paul’s letters.  Saint Clement wrote the Corinthians as a reply to their request for guidance in their internal affairs.

The letter begins, “The Church of God which sojourns at Rome, to the Church of God sojourning at Corinth, to those who are called and sanctified by the will of God, through our Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you, and peace, from Almighty God through Jesus Christ, be multiplied.

“Owing, dear brethren, to the sudden and successive calamitous events which have happened to ourselves, we feel that we have been somewhat tardy in turning our attention to the points respecting which you consulted us; and especially to that shameful and detestable sedition, utterly abhorrent to the elect of God, which a few rash and self-confident persons have kindled to such a pitch of frenzy, that your venerable and illustrious name, worthy to be universally loved, has suffered grievous injury.”

This letter is presented as early ancient evidence of the role of the bishop of Rome in the Universal Church as the universal leader.  Clement gives advice to the Corinthians and historians attest that his letter was read at the church in Corinth for many years.  Why did not Corinth seek advice from Alexandria or Antioch?  Here we see the role of the Papacy in seminal form which would come to full flower later in history where the Papacy served as an appeals court for the whole Christian world, settling disputes and granting dispensations.

Interesting to note is that Clement makes mention of the “sudden and successive calamitous events” which the Roman church has faced.  Later in the letter his speaks of these events, primarily the martyrdom of Saints Peter and Paul.  He writes, “But not to dwell upon ancient examples, let us come to the most recent spiritual heroes. Let us take the noble examples furnished in our own generation. Through envy and jealousy, the greatest and most righteous pillars [of the Church] have been persecuted and put to death. Let us set before our eyes the illustrious apostles. Peter, through unrighteous envy, endured not one or two, but numerous labours, and when he had finally suffered martyrdom, departed to the place of glory due to him. Owing to envy, Paul also obtained the reward of patient endurance, after being seven times thrown into captivity, compelled to flee, and stoned. After preaching both in the east and west, he gained the illustrious reputation due to his faith, having taught righteousness to the whole world, and come to the extreme limit of the west, and suffered martyrdom under the prefects. Thus was he removed from the world, and went into the holy place, having proved himself a striking example of patience.”

Even more interesting, he mentions Saint Paul’s travels to “the extreme limit of the west” providing evidence for the tradition that Saint Paul traveled to Spain to preach the Gospel before meeting martyrdom in Rome.

Let us pray.

Almighty ever-living God,
who are wonderful in the virtue of all your Saints,
grant us joy in the yearly commemoration of Saint Clement,
who, as a Martyr and High Priest of your Son,
bore out by his witness what he celebrated in mystery
and confirmed by example what he preached with his lips.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

Saint Clement, pray for us!


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