The Biblical Concept of Church Authority in the Early Church Fathers: Clement of Rome
Now, having spent three posts looking at the concept of Church authority in the New Testament, let us begin to look into what the earliest Christians had to say on this issue. In this and in many future posts, we will be doing extensive research into the writings of the early Church Fathers. And so, not only will I be explaining the doctrinal content of these men but I will also be giving a short biography for each writer. I will show how each and every early Father plays a role in the formation of the Universal Church throughout History. So, without further ado, let's dive right in.
The first of the Fathers that we will explore is Clement of Rome who is in fact the fourth Pope, the bishop and successor of Peter located in Rome. Historians and scholars note that Clement is an Apostolic Father, meaning that he was one of the men devoted to the service of the faith who either knew the Apostles directly or lived during the lifetimes of the Apostles. It is commonly believed that Clement knew the Apostle Peter and that he was in fact ordained by him. This makes sense because in his famed Letter to the Corinthians, Clement is writing from the city of Rome where both he and his flock are undergoing intense persecutions. It is also held in some circles that Clement of Rome is in fact the same Clement mentioned by Paul in Philippians 4:3. Regardless, we know that Clement died as a brave martyr for the true faith, being drowned with an anchor according to certain ancient sources. His Letter to the Corinthians provides an excellent look into the issues that arose in the early Church and indeed, this letter is very ancient, dating to circa 80 A.D. if not earlier, given several key remarks made in the letter. Now, let's take a look at the content of this letter.
In the first two chapters of his letter, Clement opens up with several praises and encouragements for the Church in Corinth, describing how "Every kind of faction and schism was abominable in your sight." Then, he gets right to business after the early praise, which he poured out as if to prepare the recipients of the letter for his harsh rebukes. After describing the former uprightness and holiness of the Corinthian people, Clement shows how they have resumed "the practice of an unrighteous and ungodly envy, by which death itself entered into the world." He quotes Deuteronomy 32:15 to make his point, saying, "My beloved ate and drank, and was enlarged and became fat, and kicked." It is with this descriptive language that Clement exposes the immorality of the Corinthian people in recent times, namely, the wickedness of their envy and prideful actions.
Shifting gears, he then begins to highlight certain Old Testament heroes (such as Jacob, Moses, and Aaron) who were wronged by evil people (such as Esau or Pharaoh) who were themselves displaying improper traits similar to the Corinthians. Clement then 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 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 labors; and when he had at length 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."
As we can deduce from this quote, Clement's audience would most definitely be familiar with the great Apostles Peter and Paul who were only martyred just recently under the Roman empire, most likely on or around the year 67 A.D. And so, given that this event appears to have happened in recent times, people have concluded that Clement's letter was penned scarcely more than a couple of years after the death of these two mentioned Apostles. Also, it is very illuminating to note that in the 41st chapter of his letter, Clement clearly indicates that daily sacrifices were taking place in the temple in Jerusalem. This fact lends credence to the idea that Clement's letter was written before 70 A.D. because the temple of Jerusalem was utterly destroyed by the Roman armies in that year.
Moving on, Clement writes the following concerning order in the Church:
"The apostles have preached the gospel to us from the Lord Jesus Christ; Jesus Christ from God. Christ therefore was sent forth by God, and the apostles by Christ. Both these appointments, 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 established 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, having first proved them by the Spirit, to be bishops and deacons 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 says the Scripture in a certain place,
Again, we see the recurring theme of Matthew 28:18 and John 20:21 in which Christ bestows upon His twelve Apostles Divine authority and power given to Him by the Father. Clearly, as we have seen in previous posts, this passing on of authority in the Church was not to end with the deaths of the Apostles but was to continue through all generations down through the ages of the world. Let's take a look at another long quote from Clement's letter which continues this theme:
"Our apostles also knew, through our Lord Jesus Christ, that there would be strife on account of the office of the episcopate [aka. the office of the bishop]. For this reason, therefore, inasmuch as they had obtained a perfect fore-knowledge of this, they appointed those [ministers] already mentioned, and afterwards gave instructions, that when these should fall asleep, other approved men should succeed them in their ministry [emphasis mine]. We are of opinion, therefore, that those appointed by them, or afterwards by other eminent men, with the consent of the whole church, 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 fulfilled its duties. Blessed are those presbyters who, having finished their course before now, have obtained a fruitful and perfect departure [from this world]; for they have no fear lest any one deprive them of the place now appointed them. But we see that you have removed some men of excellent behavior from the ministry, which they fulfilled blamelessly and with honor."
This quote is actually quite self-explanatory. It explains the doctrine of Apostolic succession in a very articulate way and also serves to admonish the Corinthians who turned certain men out of the presbyterate for no good reason, completely disregarding the righteousness of these men. Two chapters later, Clement rebukes the Corinthians on account of their "schism [which] has subverted [the faith of] many, has discouraged many, has given rise to doubt in many, and has caused grief to us all." In the early Church of both the Apostles and the other Church Fathers, the concept of schism, separation, or any disagreement or dispute was utterly detrimental to Christ's prayer for unity in John 17. As the Apostle Paul wrote in 1st Corinthians 12:25, "That there might be no schism in the body; but the members might be mutually careful one for another." Throughout the early centuries of the Church, heretics and their schismatic and disruptive heresies were rampant in many churches in the various lands. Such evil groups include the Judaizer, Gnostic, Docetist, and Montanist heresies which plagued the integrity of Christ's Church in both practice and doctrine. Fortunately, the true Church of Jesus Christ, protected by the Holy Ghost against the gates of Hell, prevailed over these heretical sects with many brave and holy men leading the people of God in word and action against these evil-doers.
And so, we end our analysis of Clement's Letter to the Corinthians, having examined his conception of Church authority. In regards to Clement's martyrdom, not much is known except for the fact that he died of drowning at the command of the pagan emperor Trajan because of his faithful preaching of the faith. His death occurred most likely between the years 99 and 101 A.D. according to scholars. In conclusion, the written words and the historical example of Clement of Rome give us a perfect model of the unbreakable faith and dedication of the earliest Christians who suffered even horrible deaths and torments. The many testimonies of these men and women ought to inspire us to live in holiness and with zeal for the Gospel and for Our Lord Jesus Christ.
The first of the Fathers that we will explore is Clement of Rome who is in fact the fourth Pope, the bishop and successor of Peter located in Rome. Historians and scholars note that Clement is an Apostolic Father, meaning that he was one of the men devoted to the service of the faith who either knew the Apostles directly or lived during the lifetimes of the Apostles. It is commonly believed that Clement knew the Apostle Peter and that he was in fact ordained by him. This makes sense because in his famed Letter to the Corinthians, Clement is writing from the city of Rome where both he and his flock are undergoing intense persecutions. It is also held in some circles that Clement of Rome is in fact the same Clement mentioned by Paul in Philippians 4:3. Regardless, we know that Clement died as a brave martyr for the true faith, being drowned with an anchor according to certain ancient sources. His Letter to the Corinthians provides an excellent look into the issues that arose in the early Church and indeed, this letter is very ancient, dating to circa 80 A.D. if not earlier, given several key remarks made in the letter. Now, let's take a look at the content of this letter.
In the first two chapters of his letter, Clement opens up with several praises and encouragements for the Church in Corinth, describing how "Every kind of faction and schism was abominable in your sight." Then, he gets right to business after the early praise, which he poured out as if to prepare the recipients of the letter for his harsh rebukes. After describing the former uprightness and holiness of the Corinthian people, Clement shows how they have resumed "the practice of an unrighteous and ungodly envy, by which death itself entered into the world." He quotes Deuteronomy 32:15 to make his point, saying, "My beloved ate and drank, and was enlarged and became fat, and kicked." It is with this descriptive language that Clement exposes the immorality of the Corinthian people in recent times, namely, the wickedness of their envy and prideful actions.
Shifting gears, he then begins to highlight certain Old Testament heroes (such as Jacob, Moses, and Aaron) who were wronged by evil people (such as Esau or Pharaoh) who were themselves displaying improper traits similar to the Corinthians. Clement then 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 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 labors; and when he had at length 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."
As we can deduce from this quote, Clement's audience would most definitely be familiar with the great Apostles Peter and Paul who were only martyred just recently under the Roman empire, most likely on or around the year 67 A.D. And so, given that this event appears to have happened in recent times, people have concluded that Clement's letter was penned scarcely more than a couple of years after the death of these two mentioned Apostles. Also, it is very illuminating to note that in the 41st chapter of his letter, Clement clearly indicates that daily sacrifices were taking place in the temple in Jerusalem. This fact lends credence to the idea that Clement's letter was written before 70 A.D. because the temple of Jerusalem was utterly destroyed by the Roman armies in that year.
Moving on, Clement writes the following concerning order in the Church:
"The apostles have preached the gospel to us from the Lord Jesus Christ; Jesus Christ from God. Christ therefore was sent forth by God, and the apostles by Christ. Both these appointments, 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 established 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, having first proved them by the Spirit, to be bishops and deacons 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 says the Scripture in a certain place,
I will appoint their bishops in righteousness, and their deacons in faith."
Again, we see the recurring theme of Matthew 28:18 and John 20:21 in which Christ bestows upon His twelve Apostles Divine authority and power given to Him by the Father. Clearly, as we have seen in previous posts, this passing on of authority in the Church was not to end with the deaths of the Apostles but was to continue through all generations down through the ages of the world. Let's take a look at another long quote from Clement's letter which continues this theme:
"Our apostles also knew, through our Lord Jesus Christ, that there would be strife on account of the office of the episcopate [aka. the office of the bishop]. For this reason, therefore, inasmuch as they had obtained a perfect fore-knowledge of this, they appointed those [ministers] already mentioned, and afterwards gave instructions, that when these should fall asleep, other approved men should succeed them in their ministry [emphasis mine]. We are of opinion, therefore, that those appointed by them, or afterwards by other eminent men, with the consent of the whole church, 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 fulfilled its duties. Blessed are those presbyters who, having finished their course before now, have obtained a fruitful and perfect departure [from this world]; for they have no fear lest any one deprive them of the place now appointed them. But we see that you have removed some men of excellent behavior from the ministry, which they fulfilled blamelessly and with honor."
This quote is actually quite self-explanatory. It explains the doctrine of Apostolic succession in a very articulate way and also serves to admonish the Corinthians who turned certain men out of the presbyterate for no good reason, completely disregarding the righteousness of these men. Two chapters later, Clement rebukes the Corinthians on account of their "schism [which] has subverted [the faith of] many, has discouraged many, has given rise to doubt in many, and has caused grief to us all." In the early Church of both the Apostles and the other Church Fathers, the concept of schism, separation, or any disagreement or dispute was utterly detrimental to Christ's prayer for unity in John 17. As the Apostle Paul wrote in 1st Corinthians 12:25, "That there might be no schism in the body; but the members might be mutually careful one for another." Throughout the early centuries of the Church, heretics and their schismatic and disruptive heresies were rampant in many churches in the various lands. Such evil groups include the Judaizer, Gnostic, Docetist, and Montanist heresies which plagued the integrity of Christ's Church in both practice and doctrine. Fortunately, the true Church of Jesus Christ, protected by the Holy Ghost against the gates of Hell, prevailed over these heretical sects with many brave and holy men leading the people of God in word and action against these evil-doers.
And so, we end our analysis of Clement's Letter to the Corinthians, having examined his conception of Church authority. In regards to Clement's martyrdom, not much is known except for the fact that he died of drowning at the command of the pagan emperor Trajan because of his faithful preaching of the faith. His death occurred most likely between the years 99 and 101 A.D. according to scholars. In conclusion, the written words and the historical example of Clement of Rome give us a perfect model of the unbreakable faith and dedication of the earliest Christians who suffered even horrible deaths and torments. The many testimonies of these men and women ought to inspire us to live in holiness and with zeal for the Gospel and for Our Lord Jesus Christ.
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