11.23.2013 EARLY CHURCH FATHERS - clement, bishop of rome (92-99AD)

taken from the 'handbook of the early christian fathers' by e. leigh-bennett

st. clement of rome, bishop of rome from about a.d. 92-99

all that we know of this first of the apostolic fathers
may be summed up in an account of st. irenaeus given about 100 years later.
'the blessed apostles, peter and paul, having built up the church of rome,
entrusted the bishopric to linus,
who was followed by anacletus,
and third in succession to the apostles clement obtained the bishopric;
who had also himself seen the blessed apostles,
and had conferred with them
and had still their preaching sounding in his ears,
and their traditions before his eyes;
not alone, for there were still many left of those who had been taught by the apostles.
in the time of this clement, no small dissension arising among the brethren at corinth,
the church at rome sent a very weighty epistle to the corinthians
reconciling them to peace and restoring their faith
and declaring to the m the traditions they had recently received from the apostles.'

from this statement we gather,
1. that there is no proof that the church of the first century regarded st. peter as the bishop of rome
in any sense apart from st. paul;
for after stating that that church was founded jointly by the two apostles
(which the roman church has always admitted),
it proceeds to say that they both jointly appointed linus as bishop.
2. it helps materially to fix the date of st. clement's bishopric,
....because it makes him third after the apostles (the tradition still preserved in the roman mass);
whereas at a later date it was held that clement came next to linus and was consecrated by st. peter.
3. it attributed to st. clement, or rather to the roman church,
the epistle known as the first to the corinthians,
ignoring other writings now known to be spurious. but for a long time attributed to him.
 4. although st. clement was doubtless mainly responsible for that epistle,
and may have entirely composed it,
the personal element of the mediaeval and modern papacy is not found in it.
it was sent from the church of rome by the hand of clement.
on the other hand the roman church as such took rather an authoritative line in the epistle.

...a striking sentence appears in the third section (note: of clement's first epistle to the corinthians) bearing on the apostolic succession.
'the apostles knew through our Lord Jesus
that there would be strife over the name of the bishop's office.
for this cause therefore, having complete foreknowledge,
they appointed the aforesaid persons
and afterwards they provided a continuance,
that if these should fall asleep,
other men should succeed to their ministrations.'