The Epistles of St. Clement of Rome and St. Ignatius of Antioch

Ancient Christian Writers #1

by Clement of Rome

St. Clement's epistle, written c. 96, is called the first epistle, and is a model of a pastoral letter. The epistles of St. Ignatius, Bishop of Smyrna at the beginning of the second century, are addressed to six Christian communities.

Genres: Catholic, Nonfiction, Theology, Christian, Religion, Christianity, Church History

176 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1946

About the author

Pope Clement I is also known as Saint Clement of Rome, is listed as Bishop of Rome, holding office from 88 to his death in 99. He is considered to be the first Apostolic Father of the Church.

Also known as Clemens Romanus

Reviews

[7jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book combining epistles of two saints, written pretty close to each other (years 96 and 110). I mainly bought this for the Ignatius letters, but it is interesting to read both writers, and compare a little. Clement writes a 'corrections' letter full of quotes and somewhat not-personal. His letter was also something I didn't gain much out of, mainly just a historical view.

Ignatius writes during two city stops while being taken to Rome from Antioch, about to be martyred, which shows clearly in his letters - personal and 'want to say everything' type. He also stresses the importance of fighting heretic thoughts, mainly Donatism (denying Christ's humanity) here. Clement's letter is fairly long, Ignatius's are short but sentences are fully packed with meaning; his are also personal enough to show some light on his personality.

The notes after the letters explain some things and also show what challenges some words are to the translator of these texts. The letters of Ignatius also have the first appearance of some words (some outside the New Testament use) that we use today, like "Christians/Christianity" (terms created by the Antiochian community), and "Catholic Church" (in the 'universal' sense).

These letters (including Clement's) are great, both in historical and in religious sense; they are a good glimpse to see what it was like when Christ's death was still under 100 years ago, and the death of the last apostle (John) was still fairly recent (and Ignatius quotes him).

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Part of my novice effort to learn more about the early Roman Catholic Church. St Ignatius of Antioch wrote letters to the Bishops of churches he passed by as he was taken, in captivity, to be devoured by beasts in Rome. St. Clement was the third (?) head of the Church in Rome. According to M.R. James, "the Codex Alexandrinus, of the fifth century, adds the Epistle of Clement of Rome to the Corinthians" which was "read in many churches" -- adds it to "our oldest manuscripts of the complete Bible, made for public use."

[Lance · Rating 4 out of 5]

1 Clement is early, and some even included it in their New Testament canon, but obviously that position wasn’t popular enough for it to stick.

Since it is so early (possibly as early as 92 CE, which might be even earlier than Revelation was written) it can give us insight in the theology of the early church, only a couple generations removed from the apostles.

This letter though, is very occasional, dealing with schism in the Corinthian church, so it is far from any kind of detailed exposition of the belief and practice of the time.

What it does offer though is the importance of the bishop (επισκοπος). It really was eye opening to read something so early, that was so adamant about episcopal church polity, and the importance of that to subdue dissension.

The letters from St Ignatius also pound home that point, but in a different light. He has been sentenced to death in Rome, and he writes these 7 letters on his way to his martyrdom. He calls his future death a favor from God, and even implores the Christians in Rome to not intercede for him. He indeed ended up being eaten alive by animals at an amphitheater in Rome in 110 CE.

While he offers many beseeches, the one that connects all his letters is to submit to the bishop. “Apart from the bishop, do nothing” is the most famous of his sayings from these writings. It is striking that on his way to his death, this was his command to Christians.

[Matt K · Rating 5 out of 5]

First book in Ancient Christian Writers series. This book is great! Incredibly readable and wonderfully tangential and similar to the New Testament letters. I plan on reading many of this series, though not in order from here. Would love to deep dive into anything by or about Clement or Ignatius.

[Bellamy Oughton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recommend this article for clarification after reading St. Clement’s bit about the phoenix. https://taylormarshall.com/2007/06/ph...

[Joel]

Much less exciting and convicting than 1 Clement, therefore I don’t have a hard time following the consensus that Clement has nothing to do with this letter.

[Nathan Cole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Must read for any modern Christian in the world to understand early Christian thought and theology