First Epistle of Clement

The First Epistle of Clement (Ancient Greek: Κλήμεντος πρὸς Κορινθίους Klēmentos pros Korinthious "Clement to Corinthians") is a letter addressed to the Christians in the city of Corinth. The letter was composed at some time between AD 80 and AD 140, and ranks with Didache as one of the earliest—if not the earliest—of extant Christian documents outside the canonical New Testament. As the name suggests, a Second Epistle of Clement is known, but this is a later work by a different author. Neither 1 nor 2 Clement are part of the canonical New Testament, but they are part of the Apostolic Fathers collection.

Although traditionally attributed to Clement of Rome, the letter does not include Clement's name, and is anonymous; it is addressed as "the Church of God which sojourneth in Rome to the Church of God which sojourneth in Corinth." Its stylistic coherence suggests a single author.

Scholars have proposed a range of dates, but most limit the possibilities to the last two decades of the 1st century, and no later than AD 140. The traditional date for Clement's epistle is at the end of the reign of Domitian (c. AD 96): the phrase "sudden and repeated misfortunes and hindrances which have befallen us" (1:1) is taken as a reference to persecutions under Domitian. The Epistle to the Hebrews' call for leadership from the church in Rome has been thought to have been influential. Some scholars believe 1 Clement was written around the same time as the Book of Revelation (c. AD 95 – 97).

The letter was occasioned by a dispute in Corinth, which had led to the removal from office of several presbyters. Since none of the presbyters were charged with moral offences, 1 Clement charges that their removal was high-handed and unjustifiable. The letter was extremely lengthy — it was twice as long as the Epistle to the Hebrews — and includes many references to the Old Testament, of which he demonstrates a knowledge. Clement repeatedly refers to the Old Testament as Scripture.

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