Clement

Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament

Mention is made of Clement in  Philippians 4:3 as one of St. Paul’s fellow-workers. If μετὰ καὶ Κλήμεντος is connected with συλλαμβάνου, Clement was urged to help in the work of reconciling Euodia and Syntyche. But it is better to connect the phrase with συνήθλησαν, so including Clement among those with whom these women and St. Paul ‘laboured in the gospel’; i.e. he had been conspicuous in Christian work in Philippi. But the reference does not suggest that he was in Philippi when St. Paul wrote; it is too oblique for that. Would he not have been asked to use his good offices to effect a reconciliation? Two things are possible: ( a ) he may be dead, though his memory is fragrant (the reference to other ‘fellow-workers whose names are in the book of life’ is not inconsistent with this suggestion); ( b ) he may be with St. Paul, one of the band who gathered about him in his imprisonment and through whom the Apostle carried on his work. In that case Clement was in Rome, and one of the arguments against identifying him with Clement, bishop of Rome, who wrote the Letter to the Church of Corinth, would disappear. The difficulty of date is, however, serious, though not insuperable. If Clement were a promising convert from Philippi, who after serving there with marked success became a pupil and companion of St. Paul, he could not very well have been less than 35 or 40 years of age when Phil was written from Rome about a.d. 60. If this Clement is to be identified with Clemens Romanus, he must have lived to extreme old age. The identification, first made by Origen, cannot be proved; it is even precarious; but Kennedy goes too far when he calls it ‘absurd’ ( Expositor’s Greek Testament , ‘Philippians,’ ad loc .).

The name is a common one.

Literature.-J. B. Lightfoot, Philippians 4, 1878 (esp. note on p. 168ff.); H. A. A. Kennedy, Expositor’s Greek Testament , ‘Philippians,’ 1903; articleon ‘Clement’ in Hasting's Dictionary of the Bible (5 vols)  ; E. B. Redlich, St. Paul and his Companions , 1913, p. 223.

J. E. Roberts.

Morrish Bible Dictionary

Fellow labourer with Paul at Philippi.  Philippians 4:3 . He is accounted to be one of the Apostolic Fathers, a name given to those who lived in the times of the apostles and who have left writings bearing their names.

Clement, Epistles Of There are two epistles ascribed to Clement, and which in the Codex Alexandrinus follow the Revelation. The first is considered genuine, but the second is very doubtful. Eusebius says of the first that it was read in the churches in early times and also in his own day.He calls it 'an Epistle in the name of the church of Rome (over which churchClement is recorded as bishop) to the church at Corinth.' Apparently there was dissension in the church at Corinth: he thus addresses them: "It is disgraceful, beloved, yea, highly disgraceful and unworthy of your Christian profession, that such a thing should be heard of as that the most steadfast and ancient church of the Corinthians should, on account of one or two persons, engage in sedition against its presbyters." A great deal is said about repentance, love, and good works; but sacrifices to be offered at Jerusalem are strangely interwoven with the exhortations, though he was writing to Gentiles.

His fanciful use of the O.T. scriptures is remarkable. Thus in speaking of the appointment of bishops and deacons he says, "Nor was this any new thing, since indeed many ages before it was written concerning bishops and deacons. For thus saith the scripture, in a certain place, 'I will appoint their bishops in righteousness, and their deacons in faith.'" Chap. xlii. This is doubtless intended as a quotation from  Isaiah 60:17 in the LXX, but altered to suit his purpose; for the LXX reads "I will make thy princes peaceable, and thine overseers righteous." As an emblem of the resurrection Clement relates the heathen fable of the phoenix living five hundred years, and then rising again as a fresh bird from its own ashes. He then adds that God "even by a bird shows us the mightiness of His power to fulfil His promise." Chaps. xxv., xxvi. Though there are many pious remarks scattered through the epistle, there is on the whole a great difference between it and holy scripture; a deep dark line separates it widely from everything that bears the stamp of divine inspiration.

Fausset's Bible Dictionary

Paul's fellow helper at Philippi, whom Origen (Commentary,  John 1:29) identifies with the Clement, the apostolical father afterward bishop of Rome, whose epistle to the Corinthian church (part of the Alexandrius manuscript of Greek Old and New Testament) is extant. Philippi being closely connected with Rome, as a Roman colony, might easily have furnished a, bishop to the Roman church.

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

Mentioned in  Philippians 4:3 . It is conjectured, though without evidence, that this is the same Clement who was afterwards a bishop at Rome, commonly called Clemens Romanus. The church at Corinth having been disturbed by divisions, Clement wrote a letter to the Corinthians, which was so much esteemed by the ancients, that they read it publicly in many churches.

Smith's Bible Dictionary

Clem'ent. (Mild, Merciful).  Philemon 4:3. A fellow laborer of St. Paul, when he was at Philippi, (A.D. 57). It was generally believed, in the ancient Church, that this Clement was identical with the bishop of Rome who, afterwards, became so celebrated.

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible

CLEMENT . The name of a fellow-worker with St. Paul (  Philippians 4:3 ). There are no sufficient grounds for identifying him with Clement, bishop of Rome, the writer of the Epistle to the Church of Corinth .

J. G. Tasker.

King James Dictionary

CLEMENT, a. Mild in temper and disposition gentle lenient merciful kind tender compassionate.

Webster's Dictionary

(a.) Mild in temper and disposition; merciful; compassionate.

Holman Bible Dictionary

 Philippians 4:3

Easton's Bible Dictionary

 Philippians 4:3

The Nuttall Encyclopedia

Clement, the name of 14 Popes:

Clement I., Pope from 91 to 100; one of the Apostolic Fathers; wrote an Epistle to the Church of Corinth, with references to the Canonical books.

Clement II., Pope from 1046 to 1047.

Clement III., Pope from 1187 to 1191.

Clement IV., Pope from 1265 to 1268.

Clement V., Bertrand de Goth, Pope from 1305 to 1314; transferred the seat of the Papacy to Avignon, and abolished the Order of the Knights Templars.

Clement VI. Pope from 1342 to 1352; resided at Avignon.

Clement VII., Giulio de Medici, Pope from 1523 to 1534; celebrated for his quarrels with Charles V. and Henry VIII., was made prisoner in Rome by the Constable of Bourbon; refused to sanction the divorce of Henry VIII., and brought about the schism of England from the Holy See.

Clement VIII., Pope from 1592 to 1605; a patron of Tasso's; readmitted Henry IV. to the Church and the Jesuits to France.

Clement IX., Pope from 1667 to 1669.

Clement X., Pope from 1670 to 1676.

Clement XI., Pope from 1700 to 1721; as Francesco Albani opposed the Jansenists; issued the bull Unigenitus against them; supported the Pretender and the claims of the Stuarts.

Clement XII., Pope from 1738 to 1740.

Clement XIII., Pope from 1758 to 1769.

Clement XIV., Pope from 1769 to 1774, Ganganelli, an able, liberal-minded, kind-hearted, and upright man; abolished the Order of the Jesuits out of regard to the peace of the Church; his death occurred not without suspicions of foul-play.

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

( Κλήμης for Lat. Clemens, Merciful ) , a person (apparently a Christian of Philippi) mentioned by Paul ( Philippians 4:3) as one whose name was in the book of life (q.v.), A.D. 57. This Clement was, by the ancient Church, identified with the bishop of Rome of the same name (Eusebius Hist.  Ecclesiastes 3:4; Constitut. Apost. 7, 46, Origen, vol. 1, p. 262, ed. Lommatzsch; and Jerome, Scriptor. Eccl. p. 176, a); and that opinion has naturally been followed by Roman Catholic expositors. It cannot now be proved incorrect; and, in fact, it is not improbable in itself. There are essays on his life, identity, and character as a teacher, by Feuerlein (Altorf, 1728), Freudenberger (Lips. 1755), Frommann (Cobl. 1768), Roudinini (Romans 1606). (See Clement Of Rome).

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

klem´ent ( Κλήμης , Klḗmēs , "mild"): A fellow-worker with Paul at Philippi, mentioned with especial commendation in  Philippians 4:3 . The name being common, no inference can be drawn from this statement as to any identity with the author of the Epistle to the Corinthians published under this name, who was also the third bishop of Rome. The truth of this supposition ("it cannot be called a tradition," Donaldson, The Apostolical Fathers , 120), although found in Origen, Eusebius, Epiphanius and Jerome, can neither be proved nor disproved. Even Roman Catholic authorities dispute it (article "Clement," Catholic Cyclopaedia , IV, 13). The remoteness between the two in time and place is against it; "a wholly uncritical view" (Cruttwell, Literary History of Early Christianity , 31).

Kitto's Popular Cyclopedia of Biblial Literature

Clement, a person mentioned by Paul , as one whose name was in the book of life. For the meaning of this phrase, see Book of Life. This Clement was, by the ancient church, identified with the bishop of Rome of the same name; and that opinion has naturally been followed by Roman Catholic expositors. It cannot now be proved incorrect; but the suspicion exists that the case here may be as with many other names in the New Testament, which have been assigned to celebrated persons of a later period. Clement is said to have lived to the third year of the emperor Trajan (A.D. 100), when he suffered martyrdom.