Clement of Alexandria

Clement made room for the educated Christian mind. At Alexandria, he argued that Greek philosophy could serve as preparation for the gospel, much as the Law had prepared Israel. His Protrepticus, Paedagogus, and Stromateis show a teacher trying to form converts intellectually, morally, and spiritually rather than simply win arguments. He taught Origen, but his importance is wider than that: without Clement, the Alexandrian tradition would have been far less confident that pagan learning could become Christian material.