The three most prominent figures were Clement of Rome, Ignatius of Antioch, and Polycarp of Smyrna. They served as church leaders and missionaries. They wrote letters, to individuals, churches, and to one another, and it is these letters that are our primary sources for their lives and ministry.
Rome as the center of Christianity
Clement is the third of those considered to be the Apostolic Fathers. He was the Bishop of Rome and lived in the generation following the apostles. There is much to suggest that he knew the Apostles personally, had traveled with them, and had likely heard both Peter and Paul speak in Rome.
Rome was the center of the world, the heart of the vast Roman Empire, and the capital attracted people from every corner of the enormous empire. There was therefore also a Jewish diaspora there, and when Christianity began to spread through the missionary work of Paul and the other apostles, a church was quickly established in Rome as well. When Paul wrote his letter there in 58 AD, there was already a large, well-established church there.
But Rome was also a place where the whims and caprices of various emperors quickly had consequences. The city’s Christians often experienced this firsthand as well. When Rome burned in 64 AD, Christians were blamed for the fire and were often tortured and even burned alive as punishment. In general, Christians were not very popular in Rome. This may be due, among other things, to their steadfast refusal to participate in Roman customs such as sacrifices in honor of the emperor, which in practice meant acknowledging the emperor’s divinity.
Clement of Rome
Clement’s lifetime coincided with that of Emperor Domitian, who also persecuted the Christians. The persecutions were most often caused by the fact that Christians refused to worship him as God and refused to acknowledge Roman religious customs.
There is only one text that we can say with a high degree of certainty is by Clement. A number of texts have subsequently been attributed to him, but it cannot be confirmed that he wrote them.
Clement’s letter to the Corinthians
The text we know to have been written by Clement is often referred to as the First Epistle of Clement, or Clement’s Epistle to the Corinthians. The letter was written to the church in Corinth, a port city in modern-day Greece, which Paul had both visited and written to several decades earlier.
From the letter, we understand that difficulties had arisen in the church in Corinth, which Clement felt it was absolutely necessary to address.
Irenaeus of Lyon also mentions this letter in his major work, Against Heresies, in which he writes that: “a not insignificant division among the brothers in Corinth” had prompted the church in Rome to send “a particularly forceful letter” to the church in Corinth, to exhort them to peace, renewal of faith, and to hold fast to their adherence to the Apostles’ teaching.
The church workers who were dismissed
The reason for the letter was thus a schism in the church in Corinth, where a number of church leaders had been removed from office by younger members who were demanding a say in church affairs.
Clement is strongly critical of this, and urges the Corinthians to repent and to reinstate the church leaders who have been removed from office. When Clement analyzes the cause of the split, he points to envy:
“From this sprang jealousy and envy, strife and sedition, persecution and anarchy, war and captivity. Then the dishonored rose up against the honored, the ignoble against the highly esteemed, the foolish against the wise, the young against their elders. For this reason, righteousness and peace are far removed, because everyone has abandoned the fear of God and lost the clear vision which faith affords, and nobody regulates his conduct by the norms of his commandments or tries to make his life worthy of Christ. On the contrary, everyone follows the appetites of his depraved heart, for they have absorbed that unjust and unholy jealousy through which death came into the world.”
Source: https://app.hiddentreasures.org/en/hidden-treasures/1917/6/1-the-epistle-of-clement-to-the-corinthians
Warnings
He then cites a number of cautionary examples from the Old Testament:
“You see, brethren, jealousy and envy brought on fratricide. Jealousy was the reason for our father Jacob’s flight from his brother Esau. Jealousy caused Joseph to be persecuted with deadly intent and to finally end up in servitude. Jealousy compelled Moses to flee from Pharaoh, king of Egypt, when he heard his fellow tribesman say: ‘Who has appointed you to be ruler and judge over us? Do you mean to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’ Through jealousy Aaron and Miriam were exiled from the camp. Jealousy sent Dathan and Abiron alive down into Hades, because they had rebelled against Moses, the servant of God. Because of jealousy David not only incurred the envy of strangers, but was even persecuted by Saul, king of Israel.”
Source: https://app.hiddentreasures.org/en/hidden-treasures/1917/6/1-the-epistle-of-clement-to-the-corinthians
Clement praises the Corinthians’ past conduct, highlighting how they have previously served as shining examples of living lives worthy of their faith. They must therefore seek to regain what has been lost, for they allowed envy to take root, which led to brothers turning against one another.
Clement’s pastoral care
While Clement issues stern admonitions and strong warnings, he also shows that he understands these same tendencies exist within his own nature. He comforts the Corinthians by assuring them that he himself is engaged in the same struggle, when he writes:
“We are writing this, beloved, not only for your admonition but also to remind ourselves; for we are on the same battlefield and face the same conflict before us.
Let us, then, give up those empty and futile aspirations, and turn to the glorious and venerable rule of our tradition. Let us attend to what is noble, what is pleasing, what is acceptable in the sight of our Maker.
Let us fix our gaze upon the Blood of Christ and understand how precious it is to the Father, because, being poured out for our salvation, it brought the grace of repentance to the whole world.”
Source: https://app.hiddentreasures.org/en/hidden-treasures/1917/7/1-the-epistle-of-clement-to-the-corinthians
The Old Testament examples
Furthermore, Clement turns his attention to all the examples of faithfulness and godliness that are also found in the Old Testament. Repentance and humility are necessary to find our way back to what we have lost:
“The ministers of the grace of God have, by the Holy Spirit, spoken of repentance.
And the Lord Himself has spoken of repentance with an oath: ‘As truly as I live, says the Lord, I do not desire the death of the sinner, but his repentance;’ and He added a gracious declaration:
‘House of Israel, repent from your iniquity.’
Say to the children of My people: ‘and though your sins are like scarlet and blacker than sackcloth, and should you turn to me with all your heart and say, “Father!”—then I would listen to you as to a consecrated people.’
[…]
It follows that He wants all His beloved to have a chance to repent, and this He has ratified by His Almighty Will.
Therefore, let us comply with His magnificent and glorious purpose, and let us crave His mercy and loving kindness on bended knee, and turn to His compassion, after abandoning our vain efforts and our strife and the jealousy which leads to death.”
Source: https://app.hiddentreasures.org/en/hidden-treasures/1917/7/1-the-epistle-of-clement-to-the-corinthians
Conditions and promises
Throughout the letter, Clement alternates between emphasizing God’s glorious, powerful, and steadfast promises to the godly, and issuing stern, serious warnings to those who despise God’s word and believe that misfortune will not befall them. He also urges us to be active in our faith, to do good deeds, and to devote all our energy and abilities to doing good.
Church ministers are appointed by God
A central and important principle for Clement is that church ministers who have been appointed to their posts and who have served faithfully and justly cannot be removed from office, as had been done in Corinth. This, Clement writes, is not in accordance with the teaching of the Apostles:
“You have looked deep into the sacred writings, which tell the truth and proceed from the Holy Spirit.
You know that nothing unjust or fraudulent is written in them.
You will not find righteous men were ever repudiated by Godly men.
Righteous men were persecuted, of course, but only by lawless men. They were put in prison, but only by unholy men. They were stoned to death by contemners of the law. They were killed by men animated by unjust and abominable jealousy.
Under such ill-treatment they bore up gloriously.”
Source: https://app.hiddentreasures.org/en/hidden-treasures/1917/9/3-the-epistle-of-clement-to-the-corinthians
Clement then sternly urges repentance and calls for the damage that has been done to be repaired:
“Let us, then, quickly blot out this blemish and fall on our knees before the Master, and with tears implore Him to have mercy on us and to be reconciled to us and restore us to the venerable and holy practice of brotherly love.
For this is the gate of observance of the law, which opens out into life, as the Scripture says: ‘Open to me the gates of righteousness:
I will go in through them and praise the Lord.
This is the gate of the Lord:
The righteous will enter through them.'”
Source: https://app.hiddentreasures.org/en/hidden-treasures/1917/9/3-the-epistle-of-clement-to-the-corinthians
Clement’s Prayer
Clement concludes the letter with a heartfelt prayer to God. There is much to suggest that this prayer was a regular part of the church’s worship service, a so-called liturgy. But it is not merely a prayer; it is also a profession of faith and a hymn of praise to God, in which Clement also refers to a number of well-known biblical quotations, particularly songs of praise from the Book of Psalms or from the prophets.
It is believed that Clement, like Ignatius and Polycarp, was martyred. Beyond that, there is little information about his life and work. Yet the letter he wrote to the church in Corinth still offers us a unique glimpse into an extraordinarily devout and faithful life.
Clement’s letter in Hidden Treasures
Throughout the summer and fall of 1917, Clement’s letter was serialized in the Hidden Treasures magazine. The letter clearly made a strong impression, not only on editor Johan Oscar Smith, but also on his close coworker Elias Aslaksen. In 1975, Elias Aslaksen, then over 80 years old, gave one of his final speeches, in which he also mentioned Clement’s letter. Here he expresses his enthusiasm for several of the early Church’s writings, stating that “They are characterized by an overwhelming degree of godly fear that we just aren’t accustomed to.”
Inspired by Smith’s and Aslaksen’s enthusiasm for these writings, Hidden Treasures continues today to spread this message, using new technology and new opportunities, yet with the same passion and enthusiasm for the life that can emerge within us through obedience to God’s word to us in our time.
Watch the film about Clement of Rome here.