Clement of Rome

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Clement of Rome on an 11th century mosaic in St. Sophia Cathedral (Kiev)

Clemens I , also Clemens Romanus or Clemens von Rom (* around 50 in Rome , † 97 (or 101) in Rome or in the Crimea ), is counted among the Apostolic Fathers . As Bishop of Rome, he was the second or third successor to the Apostle Peter . He is the author of the first epistle of Clement and the first significant figure in Christianity after Paul of Tarsus , of which more extensive and reliable source material is available.

Live and act

Giovanni di Paolo - Pope Clement (around 1475), Musée du Petit Palais (Avignon)

Little is known of his life. Presumably he was a Hellenistic Jew with a good knowledge of the scriptures and a thorough philosophical education.

His term as bishop is dated from 88 to 97, which is uncertain. In the list of the bishops of Rome he is listed after Peter and Linus , but before Anaclet as third (like Augustine and Optatus of Mileve ) and after Anaclet as fourth (like Irenaeus of Lyon ). Some researchers assume that he belonged to the servants of Titus Flavius ​​Clemens , a cousin of Emperor Domitian who was executed in 95 for "godlessness" . Others even consider an identity of the two possible, as suggested by the 3rd century pseudo-Cementine homilies . Clemens was related to many important men from the imperial family, and his father grew up with the emperor.

One cannot identify Clement of Rome with Clement from the Letter to the Philippians ( Phil 4,3  EU ), as Origen did. Since there was also no monarchical bishopric in the 1st century - even in the 1st letter of Clement there are only references to elders - the question of the date of his term of office is of little importance. During his time in office, leading members of the Roman nobility and the imperial family are said to have turned to the Christian faith. According to Tertullian , the apostle John is said to have suffered martyrdom in Rome at that time .

The Church of San Clemente in Rome is said to stand above the foundations of his home.

Clemens letters

Clemens gained notoriety through the later widely read first Clemens letter . The extremely long letter consists of 65 chapters. In it he describes the situation of the Roman community at the end of the first century, which held together firmly in faith and love even under persecution. The letter documents the very early judicial influence of the bishops of Rome on other parishes, or at least the attempt to do so. It is of great interest to the history of the papacy . Clemens recalls that “the individual members of the body of Christ are assigned different services and tasks according to the call they have received. The distinction between the hierarchical offices and the services of the faithful is not a problem. ”For the first time in Christian literature, Clemens uses the Greek term laikos ( lay ), which means member of the laos (people of God). The letter was probably written shortly after the persecution by Domitian (95–96 AD). The cause for this gave rise to turmoil in the church of Corinth; some younger members of the congregation rose up against the elders (presbyters) and ousted them from their positions.

Other letters attributed to Clemens are consistently inauthentic. The second letter of Clement , even if it does not come from Clemens, is nevertheless significant as the probably oldest surviving post-New Testament Christian sermon.

Legend

In the 9th century the legend became popular that Clement died a martyr in the Crimea ; earlier sources, however, attribute a natural death to him. According to legend, St. Clement was sunk at an anchor in the sea. A temple was built on the sea floor in which his bones are kept. Once a year, it is said, the sea divided miraculously and made it possible for pilgrims to get to the burial temple. It is even said that a young child was once forgotten in the temple by his mother and came out unscathed a year later when the temple was again accessible.

According to the legend, the life of Constantine , the Slav apostles Cyril and Methodius found his grave on the Black Sea, took the bones with them and gave them as a relic to Pope Hadrian II on their later trip to Rome .

Adoration

Numerous churches in Central and Western Europe are dedicated to St. Consecrated to Clemens. His Protestant, Anglican and Roman Catholic memorial day is November 23, the day of his burial, which is also known as "anchor day". In addition, the days of remembrance are November 24th (Orthodox and Armenian), November 25th (Orthodox and Coptic) as well as January 4th, April 22nd and September 10th (Orthodox). Every year on November 23rd in Seville there is a great procession with the relics of the saint kept in the cathedral , because on the day of St. Clement of the year 1248 was the city of Ferdinand III. recaptured from the hands of the Moors ( reconquista ).

presentation

Clement of Rome (right) next to Martin von Tours in Sant'Apollinare Nuovo (Ravenna, 6th century)

The oldest known depiction of dubious attribution, on which the martyr bishop Clemens was recognized early, dates from the 4th century and is on a fresco in the lower church of San Clemente in Rome. There is also an imago clipeata (medallion) from the 6th century in San Paolo fuori le Mura . The representation on the mosaics of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo in Ravenna , which shows him in a tunic with a martyr's crown in his hands, also dates from the 6th century . Numerous medieval Byzantine representations of St. Because of the similarity with Clement of Ankara, Clemens can not be assigned with certainty unless the identity is confirmed by inscriptions.

In the west, medieval representations of St. Clemens a bishop with general attributes such as tonsure , pallium and book ; sometimes he holds a cross with a staff. Representations with anchors or fish are rarer . In individual scenes he is thrown from a boat into the sea with a millstone around his neck. Portraits from the late Gothic and early Renaissance show him with the papal crown . A Syrian miniature book from the 12th century, kept in Cambridge University Library, shows the author of the letters of Clement as a bearded writer with Biblical scrolls sitting at a desk.

Patronage

He is the patron

literature

See also

Web links

Commons : Clemens I  - album with pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Robert Eisenman: James, the brother of Jesus. Munich 1997, pp. 419, 790.
  2. ↑ Pseudoclemens, H IV 7.2 a. H XII 8.2, in: Wilhelm Schneemelcher (Hrsg.): New Testamentliche Apokryphen II (1997), p. 471 u. 461. Here, however, the emperor is called Tiberius.
  3. ↑ Benedict XVI. , in: Vatican Radio , Christians have second authority ( Memento of October 11, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) March 7, 2007.
  4. ^ Francis Dvornik : Byzantine Mission among the Slavs, SS. Constantine-Cyril and Methodius , Rutgers University Press 1970, SBN: 8135-0613-1, p. 66 and 137 (English)
  5. ↑ Life of St. Constantine ( Pannonian legend ) in: Fontes rerum Bohemicarum I, Jan Emler (ed.), Praha 1873-1932, available online (Cyrillic and Czech). Retrieved January 2, 2017
predecessor Office successor
Anaclet Bishop of Rome
(the term Pope was first used after 384)
88–97 		Evaristus
personal data
SURNAME Clement of Rome
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Clemens Romanus; Clement I.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION early Christian bishop of Rome and one of the Apostolic Fathers
DATE OF BIRTH at 50
PLACE OF BIRTH Rome
DATE OF DEATH 97 or 101
Place of death Rome or the Crimea