Clement of Rome

Pope Saint Clement I
Bishop of Rome
c. 1000 portrayal at Saint Sophia's Cathedral, Kyiv
Church	Early Church
Papacy began	88 AD
Papacy ended	99 AD
Predecessor	Anacletus
Successor	Evaristus
Orders
Consecration	by Saint Peter
Personal details
Born	c. 35 AD Rome, Roman Empire
Died	99 AD (aged 63-64) Chersonesus, Taurica, Bosporan Kingdom
Sainthood
Feast day	23 November (Catholic Church, Lutheran Church) 24 November (most Byzantine Churches) 25 November (Russian Orthodox Church) 29 Hathor (Oriental Orthodox Churches)
Venerated in	Catholic Church Anglican Communion Lutheran Church Eastern Orthodoxy Oriental Orthodoxy Church of the East
Attributes	Papal vestments Mariner's cross Anchor tied to the side Palm of martyrdom
Patronage	Angono, Rizal Mariners Stone-cutters[1]
Shrines	Basilica di San Clemente, Rome St Clement's Church, Moscow Diocesan Shrine and Parish of St. Clement, Angono, Rizal, Philippines
Other popes named Clement

Clement of Rome (Latin: Clemens Romanus; Ancient Greek: Κλήμης Ῥώμης, romanized: Klēmēs Rōmēs) (c. 35 AD – 99 AD), also known as Pope Clement I, was the bishop of Rome in the late first century AD. He is listed by Irenaeus and Tertullian as the bishop of Rome, holding office from 88 AD to his death in 99 AD.^[2] He is considered to be the first Apostolic Father of the Church, one of the three chief ones together with Polycarp and Ignatius of Antioch.^[3]

Few details are known about Clement's life. Clement was said to have been consecrated by Peter the Apostle,^[3] and he is known to have been a leading member of the Church in Rome in the late 1st century. Early church lists place him as the second or third ^[2][a] bishop of Rome. The Catholic Church lists him as the fourth pope. The Liber Pontificalis states that Clement died in Greece in the third year of Emperor Trajan's reign, or 101 AD. Eusebius, in his book Church History mentioned Clement as the third bishop of Rome and as the "co-laborer" of Paul.^[4] In Against Heresies, Irenaeus describes Clement as the successor to Anacletus (third bishop of Rome), and a personal acquaintance of the Apostles.^[5]

Clement's only genuine extant writing 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.^[2] He asserted the authority of the presbyters as rulers of the church on the ground that the Apostles had appointed such.^[2] His letter, which is one of the oldest extant Christian documents outside the New Testament, was read in church, along with other epistles, some of which later became part of the Christian canon. These works were the first to affirm the apostolic authority of the clergy.^[2] A second epistle, 2 Clement, was once controversially attributed to Clement, although recent scholarship suggests it to be a homily by another author.^[2] In the legendary Clementine literature, Clement is the intermediary through whom the apostles teach the church.^[2]

According to tradition, Clement was imprisoned under the Emperor Trajan; during this time he is recorded to have led a ministry among fellow prisoners. Thereafter he was executed by being tied to an anchor and thrown into the sea.^[2] Clement is recognized as a saint in many Christian churches and is considered a patron saint of mariners. He is commemorated on 23 November in the Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion, and the Lutheran Church. In Eastern Orthodox Christianity his feast is kept on 24 or 25 November.

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