CLEMENT of ROME
  (?ca 90-100 ad)
Letter to the Corinthians
 

 The Martyrdom of St. Clement
The Breviary of Martin of Aragon, f. 409v. 15th c

Neronian Persecution

Envy (zeal) is prompting the Corinthians to depose their leaders: Clement says this makes them no better then those who persecuted the Church: i.e Nero who killed Peter (and Paul?).  These first persecutions to which Clement refers were exclusively - - -  

ROMAN:
i.e. confined to Christians living in the city of Rome.

During the great fire of 64 A.D. Nero tried to shift blame onto the Christians.  Tacitus writes: ...

 an arrest was first made of all who pleaded guilty [to being Christian]; then upon their information an immense multitude was convicted, not so much of the crime of firing the city as of hatred against mankind ...[they were] nailed to crosses or doomed to the fire and burnt ...
    (Tacitus,  Annals 15:44)

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 at length suffered martyrdom, departed to the place of glory due to him. 

^5.3 Λάβωμεν πρὸ ὀφθαλμῶν ἡμῶν τοὺς ἀγαθοὺς ἀποστόλους· ^5.4 Πέτρον, ὃς διὰ ζῆλον ἄδικον οὐχ ἕνα οὐδὲ δύο, ἀλλὰ πλείονας ὑπήνεγκεν πόνους καὶ οὕτω μαρτυρήσας ἐπορεύθη εἰς τὸν ὀφειλόμενον τόπον τῆς δόξης.

The Embrace of Peter and Paul;
Athos, 14th cent, fresco

Martyrdom of St. Peter
Brev. Martin Aragon, 409v 15th c.

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.

6. To these men who spent their lives in the practice of holiness, there is to be added a great multitude of the elect, who, having through envy endured many indignities and tortures, furnished. us with a most excellent example. Through envy, those women, the Danaids and Dircae, being persecuted, after they had suffered terrible and unspeakable torments, finished the course of their faith with stedfastness, and though weak in body, received a noble reward. Envy has alienated wives from their husbands, and changed that saying of our father Adam, “This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh (Gen. 2. 23).” Envy and strife have overthrown great cities and rooted up mighty nations.

7. These things, beloved, we write to you, not merely to admonish you of your duty, but also to remind ourselves. For we are struggling on the same arena, and the same conflict is assigned to both of us. Therefore let us give up vain and fruitless cares, and approach to the glorious and venerable rule of our holy calling. Let us attend to what is good, pleasing, and acceptable in the sight of Him who formed us.

Office of Readings: Ash Wednesday

Lit. of Hours, v. 2, pp. 51-53

Let us look steadfastly to the blood of Christ, and see how precious that blood is to God,³⁴ which, having been shed for our salvation, has set the grace of repentance before the whole world. Let us turn to every age that has passed, and learn that, from generation to generation, the Lord has granted a place of repentance to all such as would be converted unto Him. Noah preached repentance, and as many as listened to him were saved.³⁵ Jonah proclaimed destruction to the Ninevites;³⁶ but they, repenting of their sins, propitiated God by prayer, and obtained salvation, although they were aliens [to the covenant] of God.

He declares, Though your sins be like crimson, I will make them white as snow; though they be like scarlet, I will whiten them like wool. And if you be willing and obey Me, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse, and will not hearken unto Me, the sword shall devour you, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken these things.”⁴¹ Desiring, therefore, that all His beloved should be partakers of repentance, He has, by His almighty will, established [these declarations].

Office of Readings: November 23, Clement I, Pope and martyr.

Liturgy of Hours, vol. 4, pp. 1579-1580

35. How blessed and wonderful, beloved, are the gifts of God! Life in immortality, splendour in righteousness, truth in perfect confidence,¹⁴⁴ faith in assurance, self-control in holiness! And all these fall under the cognizance of our understandings [now]; what then shall those things be which are prepared for such as wait for Him? The Creator and Father of all worlds,¹⁴⁵ the Most Holy, alone knows their amount and their beauty. Let us therefore earnestly strive to be found in the number of those that wait for Him, in order that we may share in His promised gifts. But how, beloved, shall this be done?

An early model of
contemplative prayer:

CHRIST through whom we
BEHOLD the HEAVENS

Antiphoner: Bodleian Library, Oxford
MS. Don. a 11, 103v

Office of Readings: Friday of the Fourth Week of Easter

The Liturgy of the Hours,
vol. 2, pp. 797-799

By Him we look up to the heights of heaven.

By Him we behold, as in a mirror, His immaculate and most excellent visage.

By Him are the eyes of our hearts opened.

By Him our foolish and darkened understanding blossoms¹⁵³ up anew towards His marvellous light.

By Him the Lord has willed that we should taste of immortal knowledge,¹⁵⁴

^36.2 Διὰ τούτου ἀτενίζομεν εἰς τὰ ὕψη τῶν οὐρανῶν,

̈διὰ τούτου ἐνοπτριζόμεθα τὴν ἄμωμον καὶ ὑπερτάτην ὄψιν αὐτοῦ,

διὰ τούτου ἠνεῴχθησαν ἡμῶν οἱ ὀφθαλμοὶ τῆς καρδίας,

διὰ τούτου ἡ ἀσύνετος καὶ ἐσκοτωμένη διάνοια ἡμῶν ἀναθάλλει εἰς τὸ φῶς,

διὰ τούτου ἠθέλησεν ὁ δεσπότης τῆς ἀθανάτου γνώσεως ἡμᾶς γεύσασθαι,

“who, being the brightness of His majesty, is by so much greater than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.” (Heb. 1:3,4). For it is thus written, “Who maketh His angels spirits, and His ministers a flame of fire.”¹⁵⁶ But concerning His Son¹⁵⁷ the Lord spoke thus: “You art my Son, to-day have I begotten Thee. Ask of Me, and I will give Thee the heathen for Thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for Thy possession.”¹⁵⁸ And again He saith to Him, “Sit You at My right hand, until I make Thine enemies Thy footstool.”¹⁵⁹ But who are His enemies? All the wicked, and those who set themselves to oppose the will of God.¹⁶⁰

37. Let us then, men and brethren, with all energy act the part of soldiers, in accordance with His holy commandments. Let us consider those who serve under our generals, with what order, obedience, and submissiveness they perform the things which are commanded them. All are not prefects, nor commanders of a thousand, nor of a hundred, nor of fifty, nor the like, but each one in his own rank performs the things commanded by the king and the generals. The great cannot subsist without the small, nor the small without the great. There is a kind of mixture in all things, and thence arises mutual advantage.¹⁶¹ Let us take our body for an example.¹⁶² The head is nothing without the feet, and the feet are nothing without the head; yea, the very smallest members of our body are necessary and useful to the whole body. But all work¹⁶³ harmoniously together, and are under one common rule¹⁶⁴ for the preservation of the whole body.

38. Let our whole body, then, be preserved in, Christ Jesus; and let every one be subject to his neighbor, according to the special gift¹⁶⁵ bestowed upon him. Let the strong not despise the weak, and let the weak show respect unto the strong. Let the rich man provide for the wants of the poor; and let the poor man bless God, because He has given him one by whom his need may be supplied. Let the wise man display his wisdom, not by [mere] words, but through good deeds. Let the humble not bear testimony to himself, but leave witness to be borne to him by another.¹⁶⁶ Let him that is pure in the flesh not grow proud¹⁶⁷ of it, and boast, knowing that it was another who bestowed on him the gift of continence. Let us consider, then, brethren, of what matter we were made,—who and what manner of beings we came into the world, as it were out of a sepulchre, and from utter darkness.¹⁶⁸ He who made us and fashioned us, having prepared His bountiful gifts for us before we were born, introduced us into His world. Since, therefore, we receive all these things from Him, we ought for everything to give Him thanks; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

§ 4

[Concerning the Episcopal Office]
 

ECCLESIASTICAL RANKS
MODELED on (Now-Defunct)
JEWISH TEMPLE-PRACTICE

Bishop with John the Baptist
and the Agnus Dei
Memling, 1490

  (Not in the Liturgy of the Hours

^[1] the high priest,

^[2] and their own proper place is prescribed to the priests,

^[3] and their own special ministrations devolve on the Levites.

^[4] The layman is bound by the laws that pertain to laymen.

ἀρχιερεῖ ἴδιαι λειτουργίαι δεδομέναι εἰσὶν

καὶ τοῖς ἱερεῦσιν

ἴδιος ὁ τόπος προστέτακται καὶ λευΐταις ἴδιαι διακονίαι ἐπίκεινται·

ὁ λαϊκὸς ἄνθρωπος τοῖς λαϊκοῖς προστάγμασιν δέδεται.

41. Let every one of you, brethren, give thanks to God in his own order, living in all good conscience, with becoming gravity, and not going beyond the rule of the ministry prescribed to him. Not in every place, brethren, are the daily sacrifices offered, or the peace-offerings, or the sin-offerings and the trespass-offerings, but in Jerusalem only. And even there they are not offered in any place, but only at the altar before the temple, that which is offered being first carefully examined by the high priest and the ministers already mentioned. Those, therefore, who do anything beyond that which is agreeable to His will, are punished with death. You see,¹⁷⁶ brethren, that the greater the knowledge that has been vouchsafed to us, the greater also is the danger to which we are exposed.

§5

APOSTOLIC ORIGINS of the
EPISCOPATE and DIACONATE

The Apostles at Pentecost,
Bodleian Library, Oxford
MS. Don. a 11,  1360, 021r

42. The apostles have preached the Gospel to us from¹⁷⁷ the Lord Jesus Christ;

^42.1 Οἱ ἀπόστολοι ἡμῖν εὐηγγελίσθησαν ἀπὸ τοῦ κυρίουἸησοῦ Χριστοῦ,

Jesus Christ [has done so] from¹⁷⁸ God.

Ἰησοῦς ὁ Χριστὸς ἀπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐξεπέμφθη.

Christ therefore was sent forth from God,

^42.2Ὁ Χριστὸς οὖν ἀπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ,

and the apostles from Christ.

καὶ οἱ ἀπόστολοι ἀπὸ τοῦ Χριστοῦ·

Both these appointments,¹⁷⁹ then, were made in an orderly way, according to the will of God. Having therefore received their orders, and being fully assured by the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, and established¹⁸⁰ in the word of God, with full assurance of the Holy Ghost, they went forth proclaiming that the kingdom of God was at hand. And thus preaching through countries and cities, they appointed the first-fruits [of their labors], having first proved them by the Spirit,¹⁸¹ to be bishops [=overseers] and deacons [=stewards] of those who should afterwards believe. Nor was this any new thing, since indeed many ages before it was written concerning bishops and deacons. For thus say the Scripture in a certain place, “I will appoint their bishops in righteousness, and their deacons in faith.”(Isa. 60:17)

[Note that Clement here offers A SIGNIFICANTLY MODIFIED [mis]-QUOTE.  This is the actual text:

Isaiah 60:17

And for brass I will bring you gold, and for iron I will bring you silver, and instead of wood I will bring you brass, and instead of stones, iron; and I will make your princes peaceable, and your overseers righteous.

καὶ ἀντὶ χαλκοῦ οἴσω σοι χρυσίον, ἀντὶ δὲ σιδήρου οἴσω σοι ἀργύριον, ἀντὶ δὲ ξύλων οἴσω σοι χαλκόν, ἀντὶ δὲ λίθων σίδηρον. καὶ δώσω τοὺς ἄρχοντάς σου ἐν εἰρήνῃ καὶ τοὺς ἐπισκόπους σου ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ·

§6

OLD TESTAMENT STRIFE
over PRIESTHOOD
Prefigures
CORINTHIANS´ STRIFE

Priests and Levites with the Ark of the Covenant
Tres Riches Heures of the Duke of Berry, 1440

     43. And what wonder is it if those in Christ who were entrusted with such a duty by God, appointed those [ministers] before mentioned, when the blessed Moses also, “a faithful servant in all his house,”¹⁸⁵ noted down in the sacred books all the injunctions which were given him, and when the other prophets also followed him, bearing witness with one consent to the ordinances which he had appointed? For, when rivalry arose concerning the priesthood, and the tribes were contending among themselves as to which of them should be adorned with that glorious title, he commanded the twelve princes of the tribes to bring him their rods, each one being inscribed with the name¹⁸⁶ of the tribe. And he took them and bound them [together], and sealed them with the rings of the princes of the tribes, and laid them up in the tabernacle of witness on the table of God.

§7

THE DOCTRINE of
APOSTOLIC  SUCCESSION

for Clement
BISHOPS = PRESBYTERS

OFFER (EUCHARISTIC) GIFTS

The call of the Apostles
Domenico Ghirlandaio, 1481

We are of opinion, therefore, that those:
[1] appointed by them, [i.e. by the apostles]

[2] or afterwards by other eminent men,

[3] with the consent of the whole Church,

^44.3 Τοὺς οὖν κατασταθέντας ὑπ' ἐκείνων

ἢ μεταξὺ ὑφ' ἑτέρων ἐλλογίμων ἀνδρῶν

συνευδοκησάσης τῆς ἐκκλησίας πάσης

and who have blamelessly served the flock of Christ in a humble, peaceable, and disinterested spirit, and have for a long time possessed the good opinion of all, cannot be justly dismissed from the ministry.

For our sin will not be small, if we eject from the episcopate those who have blamelessly and holily OFFERED THE GIFTS [=the Eucharist]

Blessed are those presbyters who, having finished their course before now, have obtained a fruitful and perfect departure [from this world];

^44.4Ἁμαρτία γὰρ οὐ μικρὰ ἡμῖν ἔσται, ἐὰν τοὺς ἀμέμπτως καὶ ὁσίως προσενεγκόντας τὰ δῶρα τῆς ἐπισκοπῆς ἀποβάλωμεν.

^44.5 Μακάριοι οἱ προοδοιπορήσαντες πρεσβύτεροι, οἵτινες ἔγκαρπον καὶ τελείαν ἔσχον τὴν ἀνάλυσιν·

45. You are fond of contention, brethren, and full of zeal about things which do not pertain to salvation. Look carefully into the Scriptures, which are the true utterances of the Holy Spirit. Observe¹⁹³ that nothing of an unjust or counterfeit character is written in them. There¹⁹⁴ you will not find that the righteous were cast off by men who themselves were holy. The righteous were indeed persecuted, but only by the wicked. They were cast into prison, but only by the unholy; they were stoned, but only by transgressors; they were slain, but only by the accursed, and such as had conceived an unrighteous envy against them. Exposed to such sufferings, they endured them gloriously.

47. Take up the epistle of the blessed Apostle Paul. What did he write to you at the time when the Gospel first began to be preached?²¹¹ Truly, under the inspiration²¹² of the Spirit, he wrote to you concerning himself, and Cephas, and Apollos,²¹³ because even then parties²¹⁴ had been formed among you. But that inclination for one above another entailed less guilt upon you, inasmuch as your partialities were then shown towards apostles, already of high reputation, and towards a man whom they had approved.

49. Let him who has love in Christ keep the commandments of Christ. Who can describe the [blessed] bond of the love of God? What man is able to tell the excellence of its beauty, as it ought to be told?