By Leon Bent –
The memory of St. Clement has been surrounded with a peculiar glory from the very beginning of the Roman Church. After the death of the Apostles, he seems to eclipse Sts. Linus and Cletus, although these preceded him in the Pontificate. We pass, as it were, naturally from St. Peter to St. Clement; and the East celebrates his memory with no less honour than the West. He was in truth the universal Pontiff, and his acts as well as his writings are renowned throughout the entire Church.
Clement of Rome was the third successor of Saint Peter, reigning as pope during the last decade of the first century. He’s known as one of the Church’s five “Apostolic Fathers,” those who provided a direct link between the Apostles and later generations of Church Fathers.
Clement’s First Epistle to the Corinthians was preserved and widely read in the early Church. This letter from the Bishop of Rome to the Church in Corinth concerns a split that alienated a large number of the laity from the clergy. Deploring the unauthorized and unjustifiable division in the Corinthian community, Clement urged charity to heal the rift.
Today many in the Church experience polarization regarding worship, how we speak of God, and other issues. We’d do well to take to heart the exhortation from Clement’s Epistle: “Charity unites us to God. It knows no schism, does not rebel does all things in concord. In charity all the elect of God have been made perfect.” Clement of Rome is considered one of the Apostolic Fathers, and the Letters attributed to him are important sources of information about the early church.
“The Lord said: “My words which I have put in thy mouth shall not depart out of thy mouth: and thy gifts shall be accepted upon my altar” (Introit of the Feast, from Isaiah). Thus does the Church open the chants of the great Sacrifice in honour of the Holy Pope, St. Clement! It was indeed a joy and supreme consolation to her to experience that, after the departure of the Apostles, the Word did not fail; for of all the gifts left her by her divine Spouse at His Ascension into Heaven, this was the most indispensable. In his writings, the word continued to traverse the world, authoritative and respected, directing, pacifying, sanctifying the people, as fully and as surely as in the days of the Apostles or of Our Lord Himself. Clear and manifest, thanks to this Saint, was the proof that Jesus, according to His promise, remains with His disciples till the end of the world. Be thou blessed, O Holy Pontiff, for having thus, in the earliest times, consoled our Mother the Church.
St. Clement was predestined to the glory of martyrdom; he was banished to the Chersonesus, on the Black Sea. The Acts of the Apostles, which relates the details of his suffering is of very great antiquity. They tell us how St. Clement found in the peninsula a considerable number of Christians already transported there, and employed in working the rich and abundant marble quarries. The joy of these Christians on seeing St. Clement is easily conceived; his zeal in propagating the Faith in this far-off country, and the success of his apostolate, are no matter for surprise. The miracle of a fountain springing from the rock at St. Clement’s word, to quench the thirst of the confessors, is a fact analogous to hundreds of others related in the most authentic Acts of the Saints. Lastly, the apparition of the mysterious Lamb upon the mountain, marking with his foot the spot whence the water was to flow, carries back the mind to the earliest Christian mosaics, on which may still be seen the symbol of the Lamb standing on a green hill.
Rome’s Basilica of St. Clement, one of the city’s earliest parish churches, is probably built on the site of Clement’s home. History tells us that Pope Clement was martyred either in the year 99 or in 101. The Liturgical Feast of Saint Clement is November 23.
In art, Saint Clement can be recognized as a Pope with an anchor or fish. Sometimes he is also pictured with a millstone, relating to his reported imprisonment in a stone quarry; keys, relating to his position as Pope; a fountain, which miraculously sprung forth while he said Mass; or with a book, representing his writings. He is also shown lying in a temple in the sea. The Mariner’s Cross is sometimes referred to as St. Clement’s Cross in reference to the way he was reportedly martyred.
Now, this golf nugget! He’s known as one of the Church’s five “Apostolic Fathers,” those who provided a direct link between the Apostles and later generations of Church Fathers.
And, this final flourish! St. Pope Clement was a Champion of Orthodoxy!
Leon Bent is an ex-Seminarian and studied the Liberal Arts and Humanities, and Philosophy, from St. Pius X College, Mumbai. He holds Masters Degree in English Literature and Aesthetics. He has published three Books and have 20 on the anvil. He has two extensively “Researched” Volumes to his name: Hail Full of Grace and Matrimony: The Thousand Faces of Love. He won The Examiner, Silver Pen Award, 2000 for writing on Social Issues, the clincher being a Researched Article on Gypsies in India, published in an issue of the (worldwide circulation) Vidyajyoti Journal of Theological Reflection, New Delhi. On April, 28, 2018, Leon received the Cardinal Ivan Dias Award for a research paper in Mariology.
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