St. Paul would often close his letters with a personal touch, mentioning those that held a special place in his heart. His letter to the Philippians is not unique is that regard. What is unique about this particular letter however is the man whom he mentions and what he says about him. St. Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, speaks of a man named Clement “whose name is listed in the book of life” (Philippians 4:3). It is rare that the canon of Scripture canonizes a saint, but St. Clement is just such a man. He was predestined to become a saint and therefore he did. This Clement, according to Eusebius, became the fourth man to occupy the Chair of St. Peter. In fact, next to St. Peter he may be the most influential of all 266 of them.
When the two pillars, St. Peter and St. Paul, were both martyred in 67AD the Church barely skipped a beat. For any other human endeavor, to lose men of this relative importance so close in time (some say it was on the same day), would have signaled the death knell. Instead the Church kept going and growing because the Apostles had formed the next generation the way that Jesus had formed them. This next generation, whom we call the Apostolic Fathers, still “had the voice of the Apostles ringing in their ears” (St. Irenaeus’ description of Clement in Against Heresies). Of these men, St. Clement, as a disciple of not only St. Paul, but also St. Peter, was one of the most prominent. Although we do not know much about his history, Tertullian tells us he was both baptized and ordained a bishop by St. Peter himself. He eventually became the fourth bishop of Rome in around the year 91, reigning for 9 years before being martyred during the persecution of Trajan.
A Monumental Letter
The fact that he had both seen and been acquainted with the Apostles gave him a great deal of credibility, but his influence has spread beyond his own time because of a letter that he wrote to the Church in Corinth around the year 96AD. This letter has been passed down through posterity completely intact with many known copies. Not only does it give us a glimpse into the life of the early Church, but it gives us the earliest known exercise of Papal Authority outside of Sacred Scripture (c.f. Acts 15).
St. Paul himself once had to deal with schismatic groups forming within the Church of Corinth. Some 50 years later, they are at it again. This time a dispute arose over the liturgy arose and a schismatic group arose trying to expel the Bishop and the Presbyters. When and how long this went on, we do not know. What we do know is that it was brought before the attention of the fourth Pope. He was unable to address it immediately because of a new round of persecutions spearheaded by the Emperor Domitian. But once the Emperor died in the year 96AD, Clement turned to the issue at hand by writing them a letter.
The letter should be read by all of us, but there are a few points worth noting. First, he opens with an apology for not addressing the issue sooner (because of the persecution). This means that he saw it not just as an exhortation, but as a duty. Second, Corinth is about 240 miles from Ephesus, the home of St. John the Apostle. Rome is about 600 miles away. St. John does not deal with the issue, but St. Clement does. Third is that, the only reason why we have the letter to this day, is because it was received and read as an authoritative statement. That is, after the letter is received, the schism is put to rest. Again, how long it took, we do not know. But we do know that it was. In fact, the entire Church saw it as an authoritative document as it was read throughout the entire Church. It was even read in the liturgy in many of those Churches leading many to lobby for its inclusion in the Biblical canon. Finally, we can not forget what was said at the beginning—Clement’s name is written in the Book of Life. If he is disobeying God’s plan for the Church and setting it down a divergent path then we must explain how he is still infallibly among the future blesseds.
Although intended specifically for the Church in Corinth it was relevant to all Christians of the time, and even in our own day, because it clearly demonstrates that the Church hierarchy including Papal primacy was in place before the close of the first Christian century.
The Fundamental Problem
For St. Clement the source of the problem in Corinth is an unwillingness to accept the hierarchy as ordained by God. He reminds them that the hierarchy of Bishops, Priests, Deacons and Laymen was instituted by the Apostles. He says that,
“the Apostles have preached the Gospel to us from the Lord Jesus Christ; Jesus Christ [has done so] from God. Christ therefore was sent forth by God, and the apostles by Christ. Both these appointments, then, were made in an orderly way, according to the will of God…preaching through countries and cities, they appointed the first-fruits [of their labors], having first proved them by the Spirit, to be bishops and deacons of those who should afterwards believe.”
Letter to the Corinthians, (LC) 42
We find a similar structure enunciated in the first century Church manual The Didache (c.f. Chapter 15).
He then goes on to show why a hierarchy is fitting by pointing out that God had ordained such a hierarchy in the Old Covenant which is fulfilled (not abolished) in the New Covenant. There can be no novelty in worship or in structural hierarchy. The hierarchy is based not on subjection but mutual dependence. St. Clement says,
“[T]hese things therefore being manifest to us, and since we look into the depths of the divine knowledge, it behooves us to do all things in [their proper] order, which the Lord has commanded us to perform at stated times. He has enjoined offerings [to be presented] and service to be performed [to Him], and that not thoughtlessly or irregularly, but at the appointed times and hours. Where and by whom He desires these things to be done, He Himself has fixed by His own supreme will, in order that all things, being piously done according to His good pleasure, may be acceptable unto Him. Those, therefore, who present their offerings at the appointed times, are accepted and blessed; for inasmuch as they follow the laws of the Lord, they sin not. For his own peculiar services are assigned to the high priest, and their own proper place is prescribed to the priests, and their own special ministrations devolve on the Levites. The layman is bound by the laws that pertain to laymen.”
LC, 40
The tone of Clement’s letter is very pastoral as he attempts to appeal to them in charity and faith. But this means only that he waits until the end of the letter to remind them of their duty to obey him. In fact, it is these latter paragraphs that make it abundantly obvious that Clement is exercising his prerogative based upon his primacy.
In language very reminiscent of St. Peter’s language at the Council of Jerusalem, St. Clement reminds them that the Holy Spirit speaks through him and to disobey will put them in spiritual danger—
“Accept our counsel, and you will nothing to regret. For as God lives, and as the Lord Jesus Christ live and the Holy Spirit…as surely will he that humbly and with equanimity and without regret carries out the commandments and precepts given by God, be enrolled and chosen among the number of those who are being saved through Jesus Christ…If anyone disobeys the things which have been said by Him through us, let them know that they will involve themselves in transgression and in no small danger.”
LC 58-59
Given the clarity with which St. Clement wrote, it becomes very evident that the Pope is not a late Catholic invention. In fact, to deny Papal primacy and the hierarchy of the Church is to say that the Church went off the rails even before the death of the last Apostle. A very dangerous proposition, especially when the Scriptural canon was not even complete yet (John’s Gospel still wasn’t written). For it is quite clear from Clement’s Letter to the Corinthians that Christians everywhere understood that the Bishop of Rome enjoyed a place of primacy and that each local Church, in union with the Bishop of Rome, had a hierarchy of its own. And this is why both reading and knowing the Church Fathers is very important for Catholics.