Best first collection for Clement, Ignatius, Polycarp, the Didache, Barnabas, Hermas, and Papias in one place.
Clement of Rome
c. 35 – c. 99 · b. Rome · Bishop of Rome
BishopMartyr
Quick facts
- Born
- c. 35, Rome
- Died
- c. 99, Crimea
- See
- Rome
- Region
- west
- Era
- apostolic father
- Significance
- Major Father(3/4)
- Also known as
- Pope Clement I
Highlights
- Main contribution
- 1 Clement is the oldest surviving Christian writing outside the New Testament, and it is not abstract theology.
- Best first read
- 1 Clement (Letter to the Corinthians)
- Primary source
- 1 Clement (entire)
Bishop of Rome late in the 1st century. Author of 1 Clement to the Corinthian church c. AD 96 — the earliest surviving Christian document outside the New Testament.
Why Clement matters
1 Clement is the oldest surviving Christian writing outside the New Testament, and it is not abstract theology. Around AD 96, the church in Rome wrote to Corinth because the Corinthians had deposed their elders and fractured the community. That makes the letter invaluable: it shows second-generation Christians already caring about order, humility, succession, scripture, and peace before later debates had formal names. Some churches valued it so highly that they read it alongside the New Testament for centuries.
Recommended reading near Clement
A cover-visible starting point chosen from the curated reading path, either by this figure or by their era.
Chain to Jesus
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Common questions
- Who was Clement of Rome?
- Clement of Rome (35–99) — Bishop of Rome late in the 1st century. Author of 1 Clement to the Corinthian church c. AD 96 — the earliest surviving Christian document outside the New Testament.
- Who taught Clement of Rome?
- Peter.
- Who did Clement of Rome meet?
- Hermas.
- Who did Clement of Rome succeed as bishop of Rome?
- Anacletus of Rome.
Works
- 1 Clement (Letter to the Corinthians)c. 96
Earliest surviving non-canonical Christian writing — a letter from Rome calling Corinth back to order amid factional strife, and the first witness to Roman intervention in another church's affairs.
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Sources for biography
- 1 Clement (entire) primary
- Irenaeus, Adv. Haer. 3.3.3 primary
- Eusebius, Hist. Eccl. 3.4, 3.15-16 primary
tradition connections(4)
- succeeded in see Anacletus of RomeRoman succession list reconstructed by Irenaeus c. 180; the order Linus-Anacletus-Clement is not contemporaneously attested.Irenaeus, Adv. Haer. 3.3.3 · Eusebius, Hist. Eccl. 3.15
- taught by PeterTertullian (De Praesc. 32) says Clement was ordained by Peter. Origen and others identify him with the Clement of Phil 4:3. No first-person testimony survives — marked tradition per the brief.Tertullian, De Praescriptione 32 · Jerome, De Viris Illustribus 15
- knew of Paul of Tarsus1 Clement 5 speaks vividly of Paul's martyrdom in the first person plural ('our generation'); patristic tradition (Origen, Eusebius, Jerome) identifies Clement with the fellow worker of Phil 4:3.1 Clement 5 · Philippians 4:3 · Eusebius, Hist. Eccl. 3.15
- met (incoming) HermasThe Shepherd (Vis. 2.4.3) instructs Hermas to give a copy of the book to 'Clement', who will send it abroad. The identification with Clement of Rome is plausible but traditional, and the Muratorian Fragment dates Hermas under Pius I (mid-2nd c.) which would post-date Clement.Shepherd of Hermas, Vision 2.4.3
External resources
📖WikipediaFull encyclopedic biography with footnotes and further reading.📜Primary text on CCELChristian Classics Ethereal Library — full text in English, free.🔗WikidataStructured data hub linking to library catalogues, archives, and academic sources worldwide.🏛️WikisourcePublic-domain primary texts and translations (search).⛪Catholic Encyclopedia1913 reference — long entries, useful for less-known figures (search for Clement of Rome).