First Clement

First Clement was written by the church in Rome to the church in Corinth and is most likely the earliest extant Christian document outside the New Testament. It was written in Rome near the end of the first century, about the same time the apostle John was writing the book of Revelation, around A.D. 95 or 96, in the last year of the emperor Domitian or the first year of emperor Nerva. The author of this letter is unknown to us, and though the letter claims to be the work of the whole church, tradition identifies the author as some named Clement, who tradition claims was the third bishop of Rome after Peter. However, historical evidence suggests that Rome still had a plurality of elders who governed the church at this time, so Clement was most likely the leading elder and not the sole leader.

The letter was written because a certain faction, composed mainly of younger men, in Corinth had ousted the duly appointed bishop of the church. When news of this reached Rome, the church wrote this letter to admonish the faction to step down and reinstate the duly appointed bishop. The church in Rome also dispatched mediators to Corinth to restore peace and proper order.

This letter was held in high regard in the early church and was quoted from frequently. Clement of Alexandria even quotes it as authoritative scripture. This letter even made it into some early copies of the New Testament, so the early church had great respect for this letter.

The first sentence in chapter 1 indicates that there was some trouble in Rome that hindered an immediate response: “Because of the sudden and repeated misfortunes and reverses which 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.”

The letter goes on to challenge the usurpers to submit to the duly established leadership as is fitting and proper. The letter then refers to a few instances of rebellion in the Old Testament, such as Cain’s murder of Abel, Jacob and Esau, Moses and the rejection of his early leadership by those who knew he killed the Egyptian master, Miriam and Aaron opposing Moses, and David being persecuted by Saul. The letter then gives sever current examples, such as Peter and Paul who were martyred for their faith, and several women who were persecuted named Danaids and Dircae.

One interesting note is that Paul is said to have “reached the farthest limits of the West” and “when he had given his testimony before the rulers, he thus departed from the world and wen tot he holy place.…” This implies that Paul reached his goal of bringing the gospel to Spain after his imprisonment in Rome. It also implies that he was able to present his defense to Caesar, most likely explaining the gospel to all who were present, and that he was found not guilty and set free.


The letter goes on to warn the Corinthians that such rebellion and factiousness has always been punished. Therefore, the letters calls for the rebels to repent and restore the original leaders. Several examples from the Old Testament of faithful people, who were saved because of their hospitality and generosity, are held up as models for them to imitate, such as Abraham, Lot, Rahab. The letter calls for the church in Corinth to humble itself, repent, and be obedient to God and not follow the arrogant rebels. Christ is then held up as an example of humility and submission to God to follow. Elijah, Elisha, Ezekiel, Job, Moses, and David are also held up as examples to follow. Then the fact that even creation obeys God and follows his decrees is given as a reason to submit to God in this matter. The letter goes on for many more chapters giving exhortations and reasons to repent and submit to God’s order for the church.

One important passage (chapter 44) indicates that the apostles had appointed leaders in the churches and that these leaders were to be honored and obeyed: “Our apostles likewise knew, through our Lord Jesus Christ, that there would be strife over the bishop’s office. For this reason, therefore, having received complete foreknowledge, they appointed the officials mentioned earlier and afterwards they gave the offices a permanent character, that is, if they should die, other approved men should succeed to their ministry. Those, therefore, who were appointed by them or, later on, by other reputable men with the consent of the whole church, and who have ministered to the flock of Christ blamelessly, humbly, peaceably, and unselfishly, and for a long time have been well spoken of by all—these men we consider to be unjustly removed from their ministry.”

This passage indicates that by the end of the first century, only sixty to seventy years after Christ’s death and resurrection, there was a clear understanding that leadership was, first of all, appointed by the apostles, and second, that those men would have the authority to choose successors, and third, the whole church had to agree on those choices. Therefore, an established leadership was already taking shape immediately after the apostolic period.

The young men in the church of Corinth had clearly gone against this tradition. They had no authority to depose the current leadership, nor did they have the authority to appoint themselves. The church should have resisted such attempts, but it failed to follow the pattern given by the apostles, resulting in schisms and confusion.

In Chapter 47, the letter refers to the apostle Paul’s teaching, calling for them to submit to his authority. In chapter 48 the letter calls for them to quickly root out this offense and pray for forgiveness, so God may be merciful and restore them. The following chapters focus on the need for love and calls the church to show love and not be divided. The letter ends with several chapters of appeal to the rebellious to repent and restore the leadership and seek God’s forgiveness.


This letter also shows us the beginning of the church of Rome’s slow climb to supremacy and dominance over the other churches. The church in Rome saw it fitting to exert its influence over another church in a different region. While it would take centuries before the church in Rome became the leading church and its bishop the leading bishop, it seems that the seeds for that domination began early on as is evident in this letter. This letter also clearly sets up the idea of apostolic succession, with the first bishops being established by the apostles, and the succeeding bishops being established by those bishops, on down through a line of unbroken apostolic succession. While it is evident that this is how it happened historically, it doesn’t mean that Christ or the apostles intended for the bishop of Rome to have dominance over all the other churches. It would seem that the plan was to insure local autonomy not hegemony by one church.