Saint of the Week: Clement of Rome
11/26/2025
Clement of Rome
1st Century AD
Bishop
According to early Church tradition, Clement was a disciple of Jesus’ Apostles and the third Bishop of Rome. He is more widely regarded as the author of a letter written circa 96 AD from the Church in Rome to the Church in Corinth and is known as First Clement in The Apostolic Fathers, a collection of early church documents. He wrote the letter to correct the actions of a younger group at Corinth, who had deposed their elder clergy because they were dissatisfied with their ministrations. This dispute over ministry jeopardized the very unity of the Church. Clement’s letter, therefore, stipulated a hierarchical view of Church authority. He insisted that God requires due order in all things, that the deposed clergy must be reinstated, and that legitimate superiors must be obeyed. His letter used the terms “bishop” and “presbyter” interchangeably to describe the higher ranks of clergy but referred to some of them as “rulers” of the Church. It is they who lead its worship and “offer the gifts” of the Eucharist, he wrote, just as duly appointed Old Testament priests performed the various sacrifices and liturgies in their time. Early Church congregations doubtlessly read this letter as part of worship, and several early manuscripts include it among canonical New Testament books, along with a second letter which is an early homily of unknown authorship. The text of First Clement was temporarily lost to the western Church in the Middle Ages and was not rediscovered until 1628. In it, Clement writes: “The apostles received the Gospel for us from the Lord Jesus Christ; Jesus the Christ was sent from God. Thus, Christ is from God and the apostles from Christ. In both instances, the orderly procedure depends on God’s will. So thereafter, when the apostles had been given their instructions, and all their doubts had been set at rest by the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, they went forth in the confidence of the Holy Spirit to preach the Good News of the coming of God’s kingdom. They preached in country and city, and appointed their first converts, after testing them by the Spirit, to be the bishops and deacons of future believers.” Clement's feast day is November 23.
Almighty God, who 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, for ever and ever. Amen.
