Official feasts used to be an important part of the human community. People would gather together to remember something sacred, express their faith and hope for the future, and / or just be together formally, recognizing each other as being part of a shared community. Few things express a desire for shared companionship and social intimacy more than dining together. Sadly, the gathering together for feasting is increasingly a relic of the past – at least here in the West.
It need not be so! Today we will remember the ancient feasts.
The Feast Day of St. Clement of Rome
This is a Christian religious celebration of Clement, a 1st century Christian who served as Pope from 92 AD until 100 AD. He is considered to be the first of the Apostolic Church Fathers and history records he was ordained by St. Peter and as a “co-laborer” with St. Paul. In fact there is some church tradition that Clement of Rome is one and the same as the Clement mentioned by the Apostle Paul in the Epistle to the Philippians.
Philippians 4:3 Yes, I ask you also, true companion, help these women, who have labored side by side with me in the gospel together with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.
Clement’s own letter to the Church in Corinth (1 Clement) is one of the oldest surviving documents of the Church. This letter is particularly noteworthy because Clement asserts therein Apostolic authority for Church bishops / presbyters. This is the earliest affirmation of the principle of apostolic succession. Clement’s writing is also said to contain some of the earliest evidence of Trinitarian Theology in the Church, outside of the New Testament. Clement is also well-known for his use of the metaphor of the mythical phoenix in teaching the resurrection in the early Church.
He is the patron saint of mariners, sailors, marble-workers, stone-cutters, and sick children.
Little is known about Clement’s life. Tertullian claimed that Clement was ordained by Saint Peter. Early church lists place him as the second or third bishop of Rome. Eusebius, in his book Church History mentioned Clement as the third bishop of Rome and as the “co-laborer” of Paul. In Against Heresies, Irenaeus described Clement as the successor to Anacletus, who was the third bishop of Rome, and as a personal acquaintance of the Apostles. According to the Annuario Pontificio, Clement was the fourth bishop of Rome, holding office at the very end of the 1st century. It is likely that Clement died in exile, and was possibly martyred. According to apocryphal stories dating back to the 4th century by authors such as Rufinus, Clement was imprisoned by Roman Emperor Trajan, and was executed by being tied to an anchor and thrown into the sea. The Liber Pontificalis states that Clement died in Greece in the third year of Trajan’s reign, or 100.
The only known genuine extant writing of Clement is his letter to the church at Corinth (1 Clement) in response to a dispute in which certain presbyters of the Corinthian church had been deposed. He asserted the authority of the presbyters as rulers of the church because they had been appointed by the Apostles. His letter, which is one of the oldest extant Christian documents outside the New Testament, was read in the church at Corinth, along with other epistles, some of which later became part of the Christian canon. This letter is considered to be the earliest affirmation of the principle of apostolic succession. A second epistle, 2 Clement, was once controversially attributed to Clement, although recent scholarship suggests it to be a homily by another author. In the pseudo-Clementine Writings, Clement is the intermediary through whom the apostles teach the church.
11th-century fresco in the Basilica of San Clemente, Rome: Saints Cyril and Methodius bring Saint Clement’s relics to Rome
The Liber Pontificalis presents a list that makes Linus the second in the line of bishops of Rome, with Peter as first; but at the same time it states that Peter ordained two bishops, Linus and Anacletus, for the priestly service of the community, devoting himself instead to prayer and preaching, and that it was to Clement that he entrusted the Church as a whole, appointing him as his successor. Tertullian considered Clement to be the immediate successor of Peter. In one of his works, Jerome listed Clement as “the fourth bishop of Rome after Peter, if indeed the second was Linus and the third Anacletus, although most of the Latins think that Clement was second after the apostle.” Clement is put after Linus and Cletus/Anacletus in the earliest (c. 180) account, that of Irenaeus, who is followed by Eusebius of Caesarea.
Early succession lists name Clement as the first, second, or third successor of Peter. However, the meaning of his inclusion in these lists has been very controversial. Some believe there were presbyter-bishops as early as the 1st century, but that there is no evidence for a monarchical episcopacy in Rome at such an early date. There is also, however, no evidence of a change occurring in ecclesiastical organization in the latter half of the 2nd century, which would indicate that a new or newly-monarchical episcopacy was establishing itself.
A tradition that began in the 3rd and 4th century, has identified him as the Clement that Paul mentioned in Philippians4:3, a fellow laborer in Christ. While in the mid-19th century it was customary to identify him as a freedman of Titus Flavius Clemens, who was consul with his cousin, the Emperor Domitian, this identification, which no ancient sources suggest, afterwards lost support. The 2nd-century Shepherd of Hermas mentions a Clement whose office it was to communicate with other churches; most likely, this is a reference to Clement I.
A large congregation existed in Rome c. 58, when Paul wrote his Epistle to the Romans. Paul arrived in Rome c. 60 (Acts). Paul and Peter were said to have been martyred there. Nero persecuted Roman Christians after Rome burned in 64, and the congregation may have suffered further persecution under Domitian (81–96). Clement was the first of early Rome’s most notable bishops. The Liber Pontificalis, which documents the reigns of popes, states that Clement had known Peter.
Clement is known for his epistle to the church in Corinth (c. 96), in which he asserts the apostolic authority of the bishops/presbyters as rulers of the church. The epistle mentions episkopoi (overseers, bishops) or presbyteroi (elders, presbyters) as the upper class of minister, served by the deacons, but, since it does not mention himself, it gives no indication of the title or titles used for Clement in Rome.
According to apocryphal acta dating to the 4th century at earliest, Clement was banished from Rome to the Chersonesus during the reign of the Emperor Trajan and was set to work in a stone quarry. Finding on his arrival that the prisoners were suffering from lack of water, he knelt down in prayer. Looking up, he saw a lamb on a hill, went to where the lamb had stood and struck the ground with his pickaxe, releasing a gushing stream of clear water. This miracle resulted in the conversion of large numbers of the local pagans and his fellow prisoners to Christianity. As punishment, Clement was martyred by being tied to an anchor and thrown from a boat into the Black Sea. The legend recounts that every year a miraculous ebbing of the sea revealed a divinely built shrine containing his bones. However, the oldest sources on Clement’s life, Eusebius and Jerome, note nothing of his martyrdom.
The Inkerman Cave Monastery marks the supposed place of Clement’s burial in Crimea. A year or two before his own death in 869, Cyril brought to Rome what he believed to be the relics of Clement, bones he found in Crimea buried with an anchor on dry land. They are now enshrined in the Basilica di San Clemente. But there are also other traditions about an ancient veneration of the relics in Chersonesus and the translation of the head to Kyiv. Other relics of Clement, including his head, are claimed by the Kyiv Monastery of the Caves in Ukraine.
Writings
The Liber Pontificalis states that Clement wrote two letters (though the second letter, 2 Clement, is no longer ascribed to him by many modern scholars).
Epistle of Clement
Clement’s only extant, uncontested text is a letter to the Christian congregation in Corinth, often called the First Epistle of Clement or 1 Clement. The history of 1 Clement clearly and continuously shows Clement as the author of this letter. It is considered the earliest authentic Christian document outside the New Testament.
Clement writes to the troubled congregation in Corinth, where certain “presbyters” or “bishops” have been deposed (the class of clergy above that of deacons is argued by certain historians to be designated indifferently by the two terms). Clement calls for repentance and reinstatement of those who have been deposed, in line with maintenance of order and obedience to church authority, since the apostles established the ministry of “bishops and deacons.” He mentions “offering the gifts” as one of the functions of the higher class of clergy. The epistle offers valuable insight into Church ministry at that time and into the history of the Roman Church. It was highly regarded, and was read in church at Corinth along with the Scriptures c. 170.
We should be obedient unto God, rather than follow those who in arrogance and unruliness have set themselves up as leaders in abominable jealousy…. For Christ is with them that are lowly of mind, not with them that exalt themselves over the flock.
Do we then think it to be a great and marvelous thing, if the Creator of the universe shall bring about the resurrection of them that have served Him with holiness in the assurance of a good faith, seeing that He showeth to us even by a bird the magnificence of His promise?
In the epistle, it is argued by some that Clement uses the terms “bishop” and “presbyter” interchangeably for the higher order of ministers above deacons. In some congregations, particularly in Egypt, the distinction between bishops and presbyters seems to have become established only later. But by the middle of the second century all the leading Christian centres had bishops. Scholars such as Bart Ehrman treat as significant the fact that, of the seven letters written by Ignatius of Antioch to seven Christian churches shortly after the time of Clement, the only one that does not present the church as headed by a single bishop is that addressed to the church in Rome, although this letter did not refer to a collective priesthood either.
Clement’s letter also contains historical references, it mentions persecutions of Christians, records the martyrdom of the Apostle Peter and suggests that the apostle Paul traveled to Spain.
Theology
Clement of Rome
Clement’s view on justification has had much scholarly discussion, as he is sometimes argued to have believed sola fide, though others believe him as having synergist views. Debate exists, because Clement directly stated that “we are not justified by ourselves but by faith”, however in other places of the letter, he stresses judgement on sin. The Protestant scholar Tom Schreiner argued that Clement of Rome believed in a grace oriented justification by faith, which will cause the believer to do works as a result, Philip Schaff also said that Clement probably taught a faith alone doctrine while Catholic Encyclopedia wrote that Clement believed works to be part of justification. Rudolf Knopf and Rudolf Bultmann also believed that Clement believed in synergism, and that the believer needs to cooperate with the grace of God to be saved. Rudolf Knopf in his commentary on the letter of Clement to the Corinthians stated that: “Pre-Christian sins are wiped out by baptism. For those sins that follow, a person must have faith in divine mercy and, at the same time, that person must exhibit his or her own good deeds, apart from which the person cannot be saved” David Downs argued against the view that Clement of Rome holds synergist views, he argued that Clement did not write a letter about deep soteriology, but instead to provide moral guidance to the Corinthians, David Downs stated “According to the soteriological economy of Clement everything rests on the goodness, mercy, and election of the Creator, which have befitted the ‘chosen portion’ through Jesus”.
Thomas Schreiner argued that Clement taught that faith was enough to be saved because of 1 Clement 32:4 where he stated:
And so we, having been called through His will in Christ Jesus, are not justified through ourselves or through our own wisdom or understanding or piety or works which we wrought in holiness of heart, but through faith, whereby the Almighty God justified all men that have been from the beginning; to whom be the glory for ever and ever. Amen. (1 Clement 32:4)
The epistle has been cited as the first work to establish Roman primacy, because he wrote to settle a problem in the church, but most scholars see the epistle as more fraternal than authoritative, and Orthodox scholar John Meyendorff sees it as connected with the Roman church’s awareness of its “priority” (rather than “primacy”) among local churches. It has also been argued by Dave Armstrong, that Clement supported Papal Infallibility in Letter to the Corinthians 1, 63. Because of him speaking of the Corinthians to “being obedient” to the things he has “written through the Holy Spirit” in order to correct and “root out the wicked passion of jealousy”.
The Second Epistle of Clement is a homily, or sermon, likely written in Corinth or Rome, although it is doubtful it was written by Clement. Early Christian congregations often shared homilies to be read. The homily describes Christian character and repentance. It is possible that the Church from which Clement sent his epistle had included a festal homily to share in one economical post, thus the homily became known as the Second Epistle of Clement.
While 2 Clement has been traditionally ascribed to Clement, most scholars believe that 2 Clement was written in the 2nd century based on the doctrinal themes of the text and a near match between words in 2 Clement and in the Greek Gospel of the Egyptians. Doubts about the authorship were already expressed in antiquity by Eusebius and Jerome.
Epistles on Virginity
Two “Epistles on Virginity” were traditionally attributed to Clement, but now there exists almost universal consensus that Clement was not the author of those two epistles.
False Decretals
A 9th-century collection of church legislation known as the False Decretals, which was once attributed to Isidore of Seville, is largely composed of forgeries. All of what it presents as letters of pre-Nicene popes, beginning with Clement, are forgeries, as are some of the documents that it attributes to councils; and more than forty falsifications are found in the decretals that it gives as those of post-Nicene popes from Sylvester I (314–335) to Gregory II (715–731). The False Decretals were part of a series of falsifications of past legislation by a party in the Carolingian Empire whose principal aim was to free the church and the bishops from interference by the state and the metropolitan archbishops respectively.
Clement is included among other early Christian popes as authors of the Pseudo-Isidoran (or False) Decretals, a 9th-century forgery. These decrees and letters portray even the early popes as claiming absolute and universal authority. Clement is the earliest pope to whom a Pseudo-Isidoran text is attributed.
Clementine literature
Clement is also the hero of an early Christian romance or novel that has survived in at least two different versions, known as the Clementine literature, where he is identified with Emperor Domitian‘s cousin Titus Flavius Clemens. Clementine literature portrays Clement as the Apostles’ means of disseminating their teachings to the Church.
The St Clement’s Church in Moscow is renowned for its glittering Baroque interior and iconostasis, as well as a set of gilded 18th-century railings. The parish was disbanded in 1934 and the original free-standing gate was demolished. The Lenin State Library stored its books in the building throughout the Soviet period. It was not until 2008 that the building reverted to the Russian Orthodox Church.
Anchored Cross, also known as Mariner’s or Saint Clement’s cross.
Clement of Rome is commemorated in the Synaxarium of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria on the 29th of the month of Hatour [25 November (Julian) – equivalent to 8 December (Gregorian) due to the current 13-day Julian–Gregorian Calendar offset]. According to the Coptic Church Synaxarium, he suffered martyrdom in 100 during the reign of Emperor Trajan (98–117). He was martyred by tying his neck to an anchor and casting him into the sea. The record of the 29th of the Coptic month of Hatour states that this saint was born in Rome to an honorable father whose name was Fostinus and also states that he was a member of the Roman senate and that his father educated him and taught him Greek literature.
In workings of art, Clement can be recognized by having an anchor at his side or tied to his neck. He is most often depicted wearing papal vestments, including the pallium, and sometimes with a papal tiara but more often with a mitre. He is also sometimes shown with papal symbols such as the papal cross and the Keys of Heaven. In reference to his martyrdom, he often holds the palm of martyrdom.
Clement can be seen depicted near a fountain or spring, relating to the incident from his hagiography, or lying in a temple in the sea. The Anchored Cross or Mariner’s Cross is also referred to as St. Clement’s Cross, in reference to the way he was martyred.
In the realm of competing traditions, some argue that St. Clement was tied to an anchor and martyred in the Black Sea. Other traditions say he was buried at what is now known as the Inkerman Monastery in Crimea. I suppose it is possible that both are true. I embedded a short video tour of the monastery wherein St. Clement is said to have been buried.
For a great video biography of St. Clement of Rome, I recommend the following:
What is a food to eat when celebrating the Feast Day of St. Clement?
Due to the belief that St. Clement of Rome was buried in Crimea, I thought it might be fun to remember him with food that reminds us of that region of the world. Even if you ascribe to the tradition that he was martyred via drowning, tied to an anchor in the Black Sea… Crimea is *right there.* Either way, Crimean food is a great way to help share this saint’s story on his Feast Day.
I found a Crimean Tartar dish that sounds delicious.
Çiberek, also called chiburekki (a fried turnover with a filling of ground or minced meat and onions)
Çiğ börek means raw börek, or raw pastry. Rather confusing for a dish that’s not just cooked, but deep fried (though I shallow fry it at home). I thought perhaps it was because the filling was put in raw, but, alas, it turns out that “che” means “delicious” in tatar language. Mystery solved!
Combine flour, baking powder and salt. Add water, yoghurt and melted butter. Bring together to a dough, then knead until relatively smooth, but don’t overdo it. A few minutes is enough, even by hand. Cover with a damp cloth and leave to rest for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, process three-quarters of the onion very finely in a food processor. Finely chop the rest. Mix with minced meat, water, salt and black pepper.
Divide the dough into six pieces. Roll each piece into a circle slightly smaller than your frying pan, using a plate to trim the edges for a perfectly circular shape (mine’s 21½ cm/8½ in diameter). Place a thin layer of filling on one half, leaving a 1 cm/½ in edge. Moisten the edges and fold over. Seal by pressing the edges down, first with your fingers and then with a fork, making sure not to trap any air inside the pastry.
Heat a generous amount of oil in a large pan with high sides over medium heat. To check that your oil is hot enough, add a small piece of bread. If it sizzles immediately, it’s hot enough. Fry each chebureki until golden brown and crispy all over, 2-3 minutes on one side and about a minute on the other. If yours take considerably more or less than that, your oil is too hot or too cold, so you may want to adjust your heat. I fry two cheburekis at a time. Drain on kitchen paper.
Serve immediately with your preferred sides, if any.
Notes
The recipe was developed using European measurements. US equivalent measurements for the filling are provided for convenience. I strongly recommend using weight measures for doughs and baking, and have therefore not provided US equivalent volume measures for the dough.
What is a prayer to say for the Feast Day of St. Clement of Rome?
There is a novena prayer for Pope St. Clement of Rome that I will share below. (via allpowerfulprayers.com)
Repeat the following Novena prayer every day for 9 consecutive days.
We shall pray without ceasing to the Creator of all things, and beg him to preserve the number of his elect throughout the whole world, through his beloved son Jesus Christ, and not let a single one of them fall away.
Through him You called us from darkness into light and gave us the knowledge of the glory of Your name.
He taught us to hope in You, from whom all creation has its being. He opened our eyes so that we would recognise You, most high among the highest, holy and surrounded by holiness. You put an end to the pride of the arrogant, You frustrate the plans of the gentiles, You raise up the lowly and bring down those who are exalted. You give riches and give poverty, You dispense both death and life. You succour every spirit, You are the God of all flesh. You behold what is hidden in the depths, You see all that men do. You give help to those in peril and rescue to those without hope. You create all that has breath and watch over it; You multiply the peoples of the earth, and from among them You choose those who love You through Jesus Christ Your beloved Son, through whom You give us wisdom, holiness, and honour.
We beg You, Lord, to be our help and our support. Free us from our troubles; take pity on the lowly; raise up those who have fallen; give help to the poor, health to the sick, and bring home those who have wandered away. Feed the hungry, ransom captives, give strength to the weak and courage to the faint-hearted. Let all peoples come to know that You alone are God, that Jesus Christ is Your son, and that we are Your people and the sheep of Your flock.
For by Your acts You made visible the everlasting structure of the Universe and set the Earth on its foundations. For all generations You have been faithful and just in Your judgements, and wonderful in Your power and majesty. Wisely You have created, and wisely You have kept things in being. All that we see shows Your goodness; to all who trust in You, You are faithful, kind, and merciful. Forgive us our wickednesses and injustices, our sins and our transgressions.
Do not weigh down Your servants with the burden of their sins, but purify us and direct the paths we take so that we go forward in purity and innocence of heart, so that all that we do is good and acceptable to You and to those who lead us.
Come, Lord, let Your face shine upon us so that we may peacefully enjoy all good things. May Your powerful hand be a roof over our heads and may Your strength preserve us from all wrongdoing. Free us, Lord, from those who hate us without cause. Give peace and harmony to us and to all the inhabitants of the Earth, as You gave them to our fathers who called on You with trust and faith.
You alone can give us these gifts and confer these favours on us. We put our trust in You through Jesus Christ, our high priest, the guardian of our souls. Through him be glory and majesty to You now and through all generations until the end of time.
Amen.
(Note: This excerpt from Saint Clement’s First Letter to the Corinthians (Nn. 59, 2-60, 4; 61, 3) is used in the Roman Office of Readings for Monday in the 1st week in ordinary time. Saint Clement of Rome was one of the earliest of the Church Fathers who likely had personal contact with Peter and Paul before their death at the hands of the emperor Nero. Such writers are called the Apostolic Fathers.)
When is the Feast Day of St. Clement of Rome celebrated?
The Feast Day of St. Clement of Rome is celebrated on the following dates:
23 November (Catholic Church, Lutheran Church) 24 November (most Byzantine Churches) 25 November (Russian Orthodox Church) 29 Hathor (Oriental Orthodox Churches)
I hope that everyone who celebrates has a wonderful day!
