The Apostolic Fathers in English Read online

  Bibliography

  Commentaries

  Clarke, W. K. L. The First Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians. London: SPCK, 1937.

  Grant, Robert M., and H. H. Graham. First and Second Clement. Vol. 2 of The Apostolic Fathers, edited by R. M. Grant. New York: Nelson, 1965.

  Lightfoot, J. B. The Apostolic Fathers. Part 1, S. Clement of Rome. 2nd ed. 2 vols. London: Macmillan, 1890. Repr. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1981.

  Studies

  Bakke, Odd Magne. “Concord and Peace”: A Rhetorical Analysis of the First Letter of Clement with an Emphasis on the Language of Unity and Sedition. Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament 2.141. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2001.

  Bowe, Barbara E. A Church in Crisis: Ecclesiology and Paraenesis in Clement of Rome. Minneapolis: Fortress, 1988.

  Breytenbach, Cilliers, and Laurence L. Welborn, eds. Encounters with Hellenism: Studies on the First Letter of Clement. Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2004.

  Brown, Raymond E., and John P. Meier. Antioch and Rome. New York: Paulist Press, 1983.

  Bumpus, Harold B. The Christological Awareness of Clement of Rome and Its Sources. Cambridge, MA: University Press of Cambridge, 1972.

  Donfried, Karl P., and Peter Richardson, eds. Judaism and Christianity in First-Century Rome. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1998

  Fuellenbach, J. Ecclesiastical Office and the Primacy of Rome: An Evaluation of Recent Theological Discussion of First Clement. Washington, DC: Catholic University of America Press, 1980.

  Gregory, Andrew. “1 Clement and the Writings That Later Formed the New Testament.” In The Reception of the New Testament in the Apostolic Fathers, ed. Andrew Gregory and Christopher Tuckett, 129–57. Vol. 1 of The New Testament and the Apostolic Fathers. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005.

  ———. “Clement: An Introduction.” Expository Times 117, no. 6 (2006): 223–30.

  Hagner, D. A. The Use of the Old and New Testaments in Clement of Rome. Leiden: Brill, 1973.

  Hall, S. G. “Repentance in I Clement.” In Studia Patristica, vol. 8.2, edited by F. L. Cross. Berlin: Akademie, 1966.

  Horrell, David G. The Social Ethos of the Corinthian Correspondence: Interests and Ideology from 1 Corinthians to 1 Clement. Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1996.

  Jeffers, James S. Conflict at Rome: Social Order and Hierarchy in Early Christianity. Minneapolis: Fortress, 1991.

  Lampe, Peter. From Paul to Valentinus: Christians at Rome in the First Two Centuries. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2003.

  Maier, Harry O. The Social Setting of the Ministry as Reflected in the Writings of Hermas, Clement, and Ignatius. Waterloo, Ontario: Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 1991.

  Unnik, W. C. van. “First Century A.D. Literary Culture and Early Christian Literature.” Center for Hermeneutical Studies in Hellenistic and Modern Culture Protocol Series 1. Berkeley: Center for Hermeneutical Studies in Hellenistic and Modern Culture, 1975.

  ———. “Is 1 Clement 20 Purely Stoic?” Vigiliae Christianae 4 (1950): 181–89. Reprinted in Sparsa Collecta, vol. 3, 52–58. Leiden: Brill, 1983.

  Wong, D. W. F. “Natural and Divine Order in I Clement.” Vigiliae Christianae 31 (1977): 81–87.

  FIRST CLEMENT

  The Address

  The church of God that sojourns in Rome to the church of God that sojourns in Corinth, to those who are called and sanctified by the will of God through our Lord Jesus Christ:

  May grace and peace from almighty God through Jesus Christ be yours in abundance.

  Corinth’s History of Humility and Harmony

  1 Because of the sudden and repeated misfortunes and reverses that have happened to us, brothers, we acknowledge that we have been somewhat slow in giving attention to the matters in dispute among you, dear friends, especially the detestable and unholy schism, so alien and strange to those chosen by God, which a few reckless and arrogant persons have kindled to such a pitch of insanity that your good name, once so renowned and loved by all, has been greatly reviled. 2 For has anyone ever visited you who did not approve your most excellent and steadfast faith? Who did not admire your sober and magnanimous piety in Christ? Who did not proclaim the magnificent character of your hospitality? Who did not congratulate you on your complete and sound knowledge? 3 For you did everything without partiality, and you lived in accordance with the laws of God, submitting yourselves to your leaders and giving to the older men among you the honor due them. You instructed the young people to think temperate and proper thoughts; you charged the women to perform all their duties with a blameless, reverent, and pure conscience, cherishing their own husbands, as is right; and you taught them to abide by the rule of obedience, and to manage the affairs of their household with dignity and all discretion.

  Address sojourns Or lives as an exile or lives as an alien or temporarily resides. 1.1 brothers Gk adelphoi. Some ancient authorities omit this word; one ancient authority reads dear friends. Gk writings (including the letters of Paul and some of the other writings in this volume) regularly employ the masculine plural to refer to a group consisting of both men and women. But this writer may in fact be addressing the brothers rather than the community.

  1.3 reverent Some ancient authorities omit this word.

  2 Moreover, you were all humble and free from arrogance, submitting rather than demanding submission, more glad to give than to receive, and content with the provisions that God supplies. And giving heed to his words, you stored them up diligently in your hearts, and kept his sufferings before your eyes. 2 Thus a profound and rich peace was given to all, together with an insatiable desire to do good, and an abundant outpouring of the Holy Spirit fell upon everyone as well. 3 Being full of holy counsel, with excellent zeal and a devout confidence you stretched out your hands to almighty God, imploring him to be merciful if you had inadvertently committed any sin. 4 You struggled day and night on behalf of all the family of believers, that through fear and conscientiousness the number of his elect might be saved. 5 You were sincere and innocent and free from malice one toward another. 6 Every faction and every schism was abominable to you. You mourned for the transgressions of your neighbors: you considered their shortcomings to be your own. 7 You never once regretted doing good, but were ready for every good work. 8 Being adorned with a virtuous and honorable manner of life, you performed all your duties in the fear of him. The commandments and the ordinances of the Lord were written on the tablets of your hearts.

  2.1 more glad . . . receive Cf. Acts 20:35. • God Most ancient authorities read Christ. 2.4 family of believers Gk adelphotētos. • fear Some ancient authorities read compassion. 2.7 ready for every good work Titus 3:1. 2.8 written . . . hearts Cf. Prov. 7:3.

  Corinth’s Loss of Humility and Harmony

  3 All glory and growth were given to you, and then that which is written was fulfilled: “My beloved ate and drank and was enlarged and grew fat and kicked.” 2 From this came jealousy and envy, strife and sedition, persecution and anarchy, war and captivity. 3 So people were stirred up: those without honor against the honored, those of no repute against the highly reputed, the foolish against the wise, the young against the old. 4 For this reason righteousness and peace stand at a distance, while each one has abandoned the fear of God and become nearly blind with respect to faith in him, neither walking according to the laws of his commandments nor living in accordance with his duty toward Christ. Instead, all follow the lusts of their evil heart, inasmuch as they have assumed that attitude of unrighteous and ungodly jealousy through which, in fact, death entered into the world.

  3.1 My beloved . . . kicked Deut. 32:15. 3.3 those without . . . honored Isa. 3:5. • the young against the old Isa. 3:5. 3.4 righteousness . . . distance Cf. Isa. 59:14. 3.4 death entered into the world Wis. 2:24.

  Ancient Examples of Jealousy

  4 For thus it is written: “And it came to pass after certain days that Cain offered from the fruits of the earth a sacrifice to God, and Abel also offered a sacrifice from the firstborn of the sheep and from the
ir fat. 2 And God looked with favor upon Abel and upon his gifts, but to Cain and his sacrifices he gave no heed. 3 And Cain was greatly distressed and his face was downcast. 4 And God said to Cain, ‘Why are you so distressed, and why is your face downcast? If you offered correctly but did not divide correctly, did you not sin? 5 Be quiet; he shall turn to you, and you shall rule over him.’ 6 And Cain said to Abel his brother, ‘Let us go out to the field.’ And it came to pass, while they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.” 7 You see, brothers, jealousy and envy brought about a brother’s murder. 8 Because of jealousy our father Jacob ran away from the presence of Esau his brother. 9 Jealousy caused Joseph to be persecuted nearly to death, and to be sold into slavery. 10 Jealousy compelled Moses to flee from the presence of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, when he was asked by his own countryman, “Who made you a judge or a ruler over us? Do you want to kill me just as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?” 11 Because of jealousy Aaron and Miriam were excluded from the camp. 12 Jealousy brought Dathan and Abiram down alive into Hades, because they revolted against Moses, the servant of God. 13 Because of jealousy David not only was envied by the Philistines but also was persecuted by Saul, king of Israel.

  4.1–6 Gen. 4:3–8. 4.8 Cf. Gen. 27:41–28:5. 4.9 Cf. Gen. 37. 4.10 Exod. 2:14. 4.11 Cf. Num. 12. 4.12 Cf. Num. 16. 4.13 Cf. 1 Sam. 18–31. • king of Israel One ancient authority omits these words.

  Recent Examples of Jealousy

  5 But to pass from the examples of ancient times, let us come to those champions who lived nearest to our time. Let us consider the noble examples that belong to our own generation. 2 Because of jealousy and envy the greatest and most righteous pillars were persecuted and fought to the death. 3 Let us set before our eyes the good apostles. 4 There was Peter, who because of unrighteous jealousy endured not one or two but many trials, and thus having given his testimony went to his appointed place of glory. 5 Because of jealousy and strife Paul showed the way to the prize for patient endurance. 6 After he had been seven times in chains, had been driven into exile, had been stoned, and had preached in the east and in the west, he won the genuine glory for his faith, 7 having taught righteousness to the whole world and having reached the farthest limits of the west. Finally, when he had given his testimony before the rulers, he thus departed from the world and went to the holy place, having become an outstanding example of patient endurance.

  5.2 pillars I.e., of the church; cf. Gal. 2:9.

  6 To these men who lived holy lives there was joined a vast multitude of the elect who, having suffered many torments and tortures because of jealousy, set an illustrious example among us. 2 Because of jealousy women were persecuted as Danaids and Dircae, suffering in this way terrible and unholy tortures, but they safely reached the goal in the race of faith and received a noble reward, their physical weakness notwithstanding. 3 Jealousy has estranged wives from their husbands and annulled the saying of our father Adam, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh.” 4 Jealousy and strife have overthrown great cities and uprooted great nations.

  A Call to Repent

  7 We write these things, dear friends, not only to admonish you but also to remind ourselves. For we are in the same arena, and the same contest awaits us. 2 Therefore let us abandon empty and futile thoughts, and let us conform to the glorious and holy rule of our tradition; 3 indeed, let us note what is good and what is pleasing and what is acceptable in the sight of the one who made us. 4 Let us fix our eyes on the blood of Christ and understand how precious it is to his Father, because, being poured out for our salvation, it won for the whole world the grace of repentance. 5 Let us review all the generations in turn, and learn that from generation to generation the Master has given an opportunity for repentance to those who desire to turn to him. 6 Noah preached repentance, and those who obeyed were saved. 7 Jonah preached destruction to the people of Nineveh; but those who repented of their sins made atonement to God by their prayers and received salvation, even though they had been alienated from God.

  5.6 stoned Cf. 2 Cor. 11:25. 5.7 farthest . . . west I.e., the Straits of Gibralter. 6.2 women . . . Dircae In ancient mythology, the daughters of Danaus were given as prizes to the winners of a race; thus it is likely that Danaids is a reference to Christian women being raped prior to being martyred. Dirce died by being tied to the horns of a bull and dragged to death. Lightfoot suspects that all the extant witnesses are corrupt at this point, and is disposed to adopt, in place of Danaids and Dircae, a conjectural emendation: Because of jealousy women, tender maidens, slave-girls were persecuted. 6.3 Gen. 2:23. 7.6 Cf. Gen. 7; 1 Pet. 3:20; 2 Pet. 2:5. 7.7 Cf. Jon. 3; Matt. 12:41.

  8 The ministers of the grace of God spoke about repentance through the Holy Spirit; 2 indeed, the Master of the universe himself spoke about repentance with an oath: “For as I live, says the Lord, I do not desire the death of the sinner so much as his repentance.” He also added this merciful declaration: 3 “Repent, O house of Israel, of your iniquity; say to the children of my people: ‘Though your sins reach from the earth to heaven, and though they be redder than scarlet and blacker than sackcloth, yet if you turn to me with your whole heart and say “Father,” I will listen to you as a holy people.’” 4 And in another place he says this: “Wash and be clean; remove the wickedness from your souls out of my sight. Put an end to your wickedness; learn to do good; seek out justice; deliver the one who is wronged; give judgment on behalf of the orphan, and grant justice to the widow. And come, let us reason together, he says: even if your sins are as crimson, I will make them white as snow; and if they are as scarlet, I will make them white as wool. And if you are willing and listen to me, you shall eat the good things of the earth; but if you are not willing and do not listen to me, a sword shall devour you, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken these things.” 5 Seeing, then, that he desires all his beloved to participate in repentance, he established it by an act of his almighty will.

  8.2 Cf. Ezek. 33:11. 8.3 Possibly a loose paraphrase of Ezek. 33, or from an apocryphal work attributed to Ezekiel. • children Lit. sons. 8.4 Isa. 1:16–20. • let us reason together, he says Some ancient authorities read let . . . the Lord says.

  Ancient Examples of Proper Behavior

  9 Therefore let us be obedient to his magnificent and glorious will, and presenting ourselves as suppliants of his mercy and goodness, let us fall down before him and return to his compassion, laying aside the fruitless toil and the strife and the jealousy that leads to death. 2 Let us fix our eyes on those who perfectly served his magnificent glory. 3 Let us consider Enoch, for example, who was found righteous in obedience and so was taken up and did not experience death. 4 Noah, being found faithful, proclaimed a second birth to the world by his ministry, and through him the Master saved the living creatures that entered into the ark in harmony.

  9.3 Cf. Gen. 5:21–24; Heb. 11:5. 9.4 Cf. Gen. 6–9; Heb. 11:7. 10.1–7 Cf. Heb. 11:8–12, 17–19.

  10 Abraham, who was called “the friend,” was found faithful when he became obedient to the words of God. 2 He obediently went forth from his country, from his people, and from his father’s house, leaving a small country, a weak people, and an insignificant house in order that he might inherit the promises of God. For he said to him: 3 “Go forth from your country and from your people and from your father’s house to the land that I will show you, and I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you and will make your name great, and you will be blessed. And I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse those who curse you, and in you all the tribes of the earth will be blessed.” 4 And again, when he separated from Lot, God said to him: “Lift up your eyes and look from the place where you now are to the north and the south and the sunrise and the sea; for all the land that you see I will give to you and your seed forever. 5 Furthermore, I will make your seed like the dust of the earth. If any one can count the dust of the earth, then your seed will be counted.” 6 And again it says: “God led Abraham forth and said to him,
‘Look up to heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them; so shall your seed be!’ And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.” 7 Because of his faith and hospitality a son was given to him in his old age, and for the sake of obedience he offered him as a sacrifice to God on one of the mountains that he showed him.

  10.1 James 2:23; 2 Chron. 20:7; Isa. 41:8. 10.3 Gen. 12:1–3. 10.4–5 Gen. 13:14–16. 10.6 Gen. 15:5–6; cf. Rom. 4:3; James 2:23. 10.7 Because . . . old age Gen. 18:1–15; 21:1–7. • for the sake . . . showed him Cf. Gen. 22:1–19; Heb. 11:7.

  11 Because of his hospitality and godliness Lot was saved from Sodom when the entire region was judged by fire and brimstone. In this way the Master clearly demonstrated that he does not forsake those who hope in him but hands over to punishment and torment those who turn aside. 2 Of this his wife was destined to be a sign, for after leaving with him she changed her mind and was no longer in harmony, and as a result she became a pillar of salt to this day, that it might be known to all that those who are double-minded and those who question the power of God fall under judgment and become a warning to all generations.

  11.1 Because of his . . . brimstone Gen. 19. 11.2 Of this his wife . . . to this day Gen. 19:26.

  12 Because of her faith and hospitality Rahab the harlot was saved. 2 For when the spies were sent to Jericho by Joshua the son of Nun, the king of the land realized that they had come to spy out their country, and so he sent out men to capture them, intending to put them to death as soon as they were caught. 3 The hospitable Rahab, however, took them in and hid them in an upstairs room under some flax stalks. 4 And when the king’s men arrived and said, “The men spying on our land came to you; bring them out, for so the king commands,” she answered, “Yes, the men whom you seek came to me, but they left immediately and are already on their way,” and she pointed them in the opposite direction. 5 Then she said to the men: “I am absolutely convinced that the Lord your God is handing this country over to you, for fear and terror of you have fallen upon all the inhabitants. Therefore, when you do take it, save me and my father’s house.” 6 And they said to her: “It shall be exactly as you have said. Therefore, when you learn that we are coming, gather together all your family under your roof, and they will be saved. But anybody found outside the house will perish.” 7 And in addition they gave her a sign, that she should hang from her house something scarlet—making it clear that through the blood of the Lord redemption will come to all who believe and hope in God. 8 You see, dear friends, not only faith but also prophecy is found in this woman.