
The Second Epistle of Clement (), often referred to as 2 Clement (pronounced "Second Clement"), is an early Christian writing. It was at one point possibly considered canonical by the
Coptic Orthodox Church
The Coptic Orthodox Church (), also known as the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria, is an Oriental Orthodox Christian church based in Egypt. The head of the church and the See of Alexandria is the pope of Alexandria on the Holy Apo ...
and
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially the Orthodox Catholic Church, and also called the Greek Orthodox Church or simply the Orthodox Church, is List of Christian denominations by number of members, one of the three major doctrinal and ...
. 1 and 2 Clement were included in some Bibles, such as the
Codex Alexandrinus
The Codex Alexandrinus (London, British Library, Royal MS 1. D. V-VIII) is a manuscript of the Greek Bible,The Greek Bible in this context refers to the Bible used by Greek-speaking Christians who lived in Egypt and elsewhere during the early ...
and
Codex Hierosolymitanus, but are not included by active churches in the modern
New Testament
The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...
and is classified by them as
New Testament apocrypha
The New Testament apocrypha (singular apocryphon) are a number of writings by early Christians that give accounts of Jesus and his teachings, the nature of God, or the teachings of his apostles and of their lives. Some of these writings were cit ...
. It is part of the
Apostolic Fathers
The Apostolic Fathers, also known as the Ante-Nicene Fathers, were core Christian theologians among the Church Fathers who lived in the 1st and 2nd centuries AD who are believed to have personally known some of the Twelve Apostles or to have be ...
collection.
Authorship
2 Clement was traditionally believed to have been an epistle to the Christian Church in Corinth written by
Clement of Rome
Clement of Rome (; ; died ), also known as Pope Clement I, was the Pope, Bishop of Rome in the Christianity in the 1st century, late first century AD. He is considered to be the first of the Apostolic Fathers of the Church.
Little is known about ...
sometime in the late 1st century. However, 4th-century bishop
Eusebius
Eusebius of Caesarea (30 May AD 339), also known as Eusebius Pamphilius, was a historian of Christianity, exegete, and Christian polemicist from the Roman province of Syria Palaestina. In about AD 314 he became the bishop of Caesarea Maritima. ...
, in his historical work, says that there was only one recognized epistle of Clement (namely the so-called
First Epistle of Clement
The First Epistle of Clement () is a letter addressed to the Christians in the city of Corinth. The work is attributed to Clement I, the fourth bishop of Rome and was almost certainly written by him. Based on internal evidence some scholars say ...
). He expresses doubt about the authenticity of a second epistle. Similar doubts were also expressed by
Jerome
Jerome (; ; ; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was an early Christian presbyter, priest, Confessor of the Faith, confessor, theologian, translator, and historian; he is commonly known as Saint Jerome.
He is best known ...
in the 5th century. Modern scholars believe that Second Clement is actually a sermon written around AD 120–140 by an anonymous author, one who was not Clement of Rome. Nonetheless, scholars still generally refer to the work by its traditional name "Second Clement", although it is sometimes also referred to as "An Ancient Christian Homily".
2 Clement appears to be a transcript of a
homily
A homily (from Greek ὁμιλία, ''homilía'') is a commentary that follows a reading of scripture, giving the "public explanation of a sacred doctrine" or text. The works of Origen and John Chrysostom (known as Paschal Homily) are considered ...
or sermon that was originally delivered orally at a Christian worship service. For example, in chapter 19, the speaker announces that they will read aloud from scripture – something one would only expect to find in a transcript of an oral sermon. Similarly, whereas an epistle would typically begin by introducing the sender and recipient, 2 Clement starts with by addressing "Brethren", and then proceeding directly to the sermon. If it is a sermon, 2 Clement would be the earliest surviving Christian sermon (aside from those found in the New Testament).
[See footnote 936 i]
McGiffert's translation of Eusebius
p. 307.
Like many early Christian texts, 2 Clement was written in
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
, the common language of the
Hellenized
Hellenization or Hellenification is the adoption of Greek culture, religion, language, and identity by non-Greeks. In the ancient period, colonisation often led to the Hellenisation of indigenous people in the Hellenistic period, many of the te ...
Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...
area.
The earliest external reference to 2 Clement is found in
Eusebius
Eusebius of Caesarea (30 May AD 339), also known as Eusebius Pamphilius, was a historian of Christianity, exegete, and Christian polemicist from the Roman province of Syria Palaestina. In about AD 314 he became the bishop of Caesarea Maritima. ...
's Ecclesiastical History written in the early 4th century:
Content
Rather than trying to convert others to Christianity, 2 Clement appears to be directed at an audience of Christians who had converted from Paganism. 2 Clement seems to reference a history of
idolatry
Idolatry is the worship of an idol as though it were a deity. In Abrahamic religions (namely Judaism, Samaritanism, Christianity, Islam, and the Baháʼí Faith) idolatry connotes the worship of something or someone other than the Abrahamic ...
: "
reviouslywe were maimed in our understanding – we were worshipping stones and pieces of wood, and gold and silver and copper – all of them made by humans".
Despite their pagan background, the speaker and audience in 2 Clement appear to consider the Jewish texts to be scripture – the speaker quotes repeatedly from the
Book of Isaiah
The Book of Isaiah ( ) is the first of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible and the first of the Major Prophets in the Christian Old Testament. It is identified by a superscription as the words of the 8th-century BC prophet Isaiah ben Amo ...
and interprets the text. The speaker also regards the words of Jesus as scripture – for example, 2 Clement 2:4 mentions a saying of Jesus (identical to Mark 2:17) as "scripture":
In addition to the canonical literature, the author of 2 Clement appears to have had access to Christian writings or oral tradition aside from those found in the New Testament. Some quotes attributed to Jesus are found only here, e.g. 4:5:
In 2 Clement 5:2–4, the author quotes a saying of Jesus which is partially found in the New Testament, but the version quoted in 2 Clement is substantially longer than the version found in the New Testament.
In the 20th century, a manuscript fragment was discovered that suggests this saying is a quote from the
Gospel of Peter
The Gospel of Peter (), or the Gospel according to Peter, is an ancient text concerning Jesus Christ (title), Christ, only partially known today. Originally written in Koine Greek, it is a non-canonical gospel and was rejected as apocryphal by the ...
, much of which has been lost. Similarly, 2 Clement 12:2 says:
He then goes on to give interpretations of these metaphors. The saying was ascribed to
Cassianus and to the
Greek Gospel of the Egyptians by
Clement of Alexandria
Titus Flavius Clemens, also known as Clement of Alexandria (; – ), was a Christian theology, Christian theologian and philosopher who taught at the Catechetical School of Alexandria. Among his pupils were Origen and Alexander of Jerusalem. A ...
.
A version of the saying is found in the
Coptic Gospel of Thomas, which was lost until the mid-20th century:
See also
*
Pseudo-Clementine literature
Notes
Sources
*
*
*
*
Further reading
*
External links
An extensive list of English translations of 2 Clement*
*
(See also the Wikisource links to the right.)
English translation (with some typos)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Second Epistle Of Clement
Clement
Apostolic Fathers
2nd-century Christian texts
Documents of Pope Clement I
Christian sermons