Today the Church honors Pope St. Clement I of Rome.
Ora pro nobis.
Pope Clement I, also known as Saint Clement of Rome, is counted as one of the Apostolic Fathers of the Church, along with St. Polycarp and St. Ignatius of Antioch. Few details are known with certainty about Clement's life.
Tradition says that when he was still a young man from a wealthy family, the news of Jesus and His teaching began to reach the capital, Rome. Clement left his home and estate and went to the lands where the Apostles were preaching. At Alexandria, Clement met the holy Apostle Barnabas, listening to his words with deep attention, and perceiving the power and truth of the Word of God. Seeking deeper knowledge, he traveled then to Israel, where he met and was baptized by the holy Apostle Peter and became his zealous disciple and constant companion, sharing his toil and sufferings with him.
Shortly before his own sufferings and death, Saint Peter consecrated Saint Clement as Bishop of Rome. After the death of the Apostle Peter, Saint Linus (AD 67-79) was the next Bishop of Rome, succeeded by Saint Anacletus/Cletus (AD 79-91), and then Saint Clement (AD 88-c. 99). Early church lists place him as the second or third bishop of Rome. The Roman Catholic Church lists him as the fourth pope. 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." Clement is put after Linus and Cletus/Anacletus in the earliest (c. AD 180) account, that of St. Irenaeus, who is followed by St. Eusebius of Caesarea.
The Liber Pontificalis presents a list that makes 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. St. Eusebius, in his book Church History, mentions Clement as the third bishop of Rome and the "co-laborer" of Paul.
Clement’s inclusion in these lists has been very controversial among scholars. Many scholars point out that there were priest-bishops as early as the 1st century AD, but there is no evidence for a monarchical episcopacy in Rome or anywhere else, such as we have now, at such an early date. It is, however, probable that the Church at Rome had at first two apostolic successions, one Petrine and the other Pauline, but that they speedily merged into one; and this will account for the confusion in the lists of the first bishops of Rome. This has led to speculation that, given the overlapping dates of Linus, Anacletus, and Clement, perhaps St. Peter appointed Clement as overseer (bishop) of the Jewish Christians of Rome and St. Paul appointed Linus and then Anacletus as overseer of the Gentiles Christians of Rome.
The virtuous life, charitable works and prayerful activity of Saint Clement converted many to the Faith. He once baptized 424 people on the day of Pascha (Easter). Among the baptized were people of all social classes: slaves, officials, and even members of the imperial family.
Clement's only genuine extant writing 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. He asserted the authority of the presbyters as rulers of the church on the ground that the Apostles had appointed such. His letter, which is one of the oldest extant Christian documents outside the New Testament, was read in church, along with other epistles, some of which later became part of the Christian canon. These works were the first to affirm the apostolic authority of the clergy. A second epistle, 2 Clement, was attributed to Clement, although recent scholarship suggests it to be a homily by another author. In the legendary Clementine Literature, Clement is the intermediary through whom the apostles teach the church.
According to tradition, Clement was banished and imprisoned under the Emperor Trajan 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, Saint Clement was martyred by being tied to an anchor and thrown from a boat into the Black Sea.
Almighty God, you chose your servant Clement of Rome to recall the Church in Corinth to obedience and stability: Grant that your Church may be grounded and settled in your truth by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit; reveal to it what is not yet known; fill up what is lacking; confirm what has already been revealed; and keep it blameless in your service; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.
Amen.
