Clement of Rome (died 110 A.D.) [Third Successor To St. Peter And Friend of Apostles]

CatholicFaithAndReason ^

[Steelfish]

Clement of Rome (died 110 A.D.)

The Fathers of the Church spread the gospel of Jesus Christ, defended the Church in apologetic writing and fought the many heresies of the first six centuries of Christianity. These men, also called Apostolic Fathers, gave special witness to the faith, some dying the death of a martyr. Like Jesus who referred to Abraham as a spiritual father (Luke 16: 24) and St. Paul, who referred to himself in the same terms (1 Cor 4: 15), the Fathers were zealous for the word of God.

Their writings are a testimony to the faith of the early Church, yet many Christians are unfamiliar with the work of Clement of Rome, Ignatius of Antioch, Polycarp of Smyrna, Justin the Martyr, Irenaeus, Tertullian, Origen, Cyprian of Carthage, Athanasius, Ephraim, Cyril of Jerusalem, Hilary of Poitiers or Gregory the Great to name of few of the early Fathers. This site will provide biographical information and examples of the writing of these great men of faith. We will focus on Clement of Rome.

St. Clement of Rome was the third successor of Peter the Apostle as bishop of Rome, and therefore, our fourth Pope. St. Irenaeus, himself a Father of the Early Church, tells us that Clement "saw the blessed Apostles and conversed with them, and had yet ringing in his ears the preaching of the Apostles and had their tradition before his eyes, and not he only for many were then surviving who had been taught by the Apostles ".

Similarly Epiphanius tells us that Clement was a contemporary of Peter and Paul. His service as Bishop of Rome was probably from about 92-101 A.D. There is a tradition that he was ordained by St. Peter and acted as a kind of auxiliary bishop to Linus and Anacletus,..

[demshateGod]

Was he married like Peter was?

[Salvation]

[JAKraig]

Was there some problem with being married? Remember that the qualification of being a bishop included having a wife.

[Steelfish]

Peter left his wife and followed Christ. This is not about the “personal”life of Peter or the Pope. It is about the ONE true Church. The rest of course in Hillaire Belloc famous words, a fourteen centuries later, how Protestantism “spawned a cluster of heresies” unlike any other before that time.

[CynicalBear]

"The word pope derives from Greek πάππας meaning "Father". In the early centuries of Christianity, this title was applied, especially in the east, to all bishops and other senior clergy, and later became reserved in the west to the Bishop of Rome, a reservation made official only in the 11th century." [Mazza, Enrico (2004). The Eucharistic Prayers of the Roman Rite. Liturgical Press. p. 63. ISBN 9780814660782.]

"The earliest record of the use of this title was in regard to the by then deceased Patriarch of Alexandria, Pope Heraclas of Alexandria (232–248)." [Eusebius, Historia Ecclesiastica Book VII, chapter 7.7]

"The title was from the early 3rd century a general term used to refer to all bishops. From the 6th century, the title began to be used particularly of the Bishop of Rome, and in the late 11th century Pope Gregory VII issued a declaration that has been widely interpreted as stating this by then established Western convention. By the same 6th century, this was also the normal practice of the imperial chancery of Constantinople. [ "Pope", Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, Oxford University Press, 2005, ISBN 978-0-19-280290-3]

The Catholic history of the title pope is fallacy.

[Jim from C-Town]

I think they mean the first six decades of the Church. The first six centuries happened five hundred years after he died.

[cothrige]

Remember that the qualification of being a bishop included having a wife.

There was no such qualification. They were to be, by the instruction of the Apostle Paul, who was not married btw, the husband of only one wife, but there was no requirement that they must have a wife. Those are two different things.

[CynicalBear]

>>but there was no requirement that they must have a wife.<<

So they had to have raised children without a wife?

[Campion]

There’s no evidence that he was married. The next “married Pope” was St Hormisdas (died AD 523), but he was a widower when elected. He was also the only Pope to have been the father of a Pope.

[JAKraig]

Where in 1st Timothy 3 does it say “only” one wife? It says one wife, (Period)

2 A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach;

It doesn’t say if married only one wife, it doesn’t say “not” one wife it simply says “One wife”, if there is any implication of a qualification it is that he must be a husband..

The scriptures over the ages have been turned on their head more than once and perhaps men much more learned than myself know that that the “but” as in “but only one wife if he happens to be married” is what it really means but it doesn’t say that it says “one wife”.

[JAKraig]

Where in 1st Timothy 3 does it say “only” one wife? It says one wife, (Period)

2 A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach;

It doesn’t say if married only one wife, it doesn’t say “not” one wife it simply says “One wife”, if there is any implication of a qualification it is that he must be a husband..

The scriptures over the ages have been turned on their head more than once and perhaps men much more learned than myself know that that the “but” as in “but only one wife if he happens to be married” is what it really means but it doesn’t say that it says “one wife”.

[JAKraig]

Where pray tell does it say Peter left his wife? It is obviously possible that he was away for long periods of time but it would have been sinful to just up and leave. This is a rather strong accusation that I have never before heard.

Just because they were Apostles didn't mean they didn't have families or family life. Recall that John was given the responsibility by Christ Himself as He hung on the cross to take care of His mother. He could hopefully do that while taking care of his Apostolic duties.

Church leaders didn't start being celibate for centuries after Christ and the practice wasn't codified until the 12th century. Marriage was normal. I don't think homosexual activity was a problem with church leadership until the codification of celibacy. I do wish The Church would get rid of the practice.

[Steelfish]

Luke 18:28

Then Peter said: Behold, we have left all things, and have followed thee.

[JAKraig]

I answer to my question about where are we told that Peter left his wife you replied with:

Luke 18:28

Then Peter said: Behold, we have left all things, and have followed thee.

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Well he must have not left all things very far because after the Crucifixion he was out in his boats fishing.

The statement leaving all things to follow Him did not mean abandoning their families, that would have been a despicable act that would have gotten him excommunicated. Leaving all things referred leaving his old life, he was now a fisher of men.