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Clement

4th Pope of the Catholic Church

Clement of Rome (Latin: Clemens Romanus; Ancient Greek: Κλήμης Ῥώμης, romanized: Klēmēs Rōmēs; died c. 100), also known as Pope Clement I, was the Bishop of Rome in the late first century. He is considered to be the first of the Apostolic Fathers of the Church. 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. Clement is recognized as a saint in many Christian churches and 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 25 November.