Historical Figures Codexery

Clement of Alexandria

Christian theologian and philosopher who taught at the Catechetical School of Alexandria, known for blending Hellenistic philosophy with Christian doctrine.

The Christian theologian and philosopher who taught at the Catechetical School of Alexandria was known as Clement of Alexandria, with the full name Titus Flavius Clemens.[1] Clement's surviving major works show that Hellenistic philosophy, especially from Plato and the Stoics, had a strong impact on his thinking.[2]

Quick Facts

Birth name
Titus Flavius Clemens
Feast day
4 December (Eastern Catholicism, Anglicanism), 5 December (Episcopal Church, Anglicanism)
Venerated in
Oriental Orthodoxy; Anglican Communion
Born
c. 147 AD
Died
c. 215 AD
Birthplace
Alexandria or Athens, Roman Empire
Place of death
Jerusalem, Syria Palaestina, Roman Empire
Titles
Church Father, Theologian

Facts from the source article.

Life and work

His parents were pagans, and he converted to Christianity after rejecting paganism due to its perceived moral corruption.[3] In the Protrepticus, Clement exhorts pagans to adopt Christianity and criticizes Greek paganism for its false deities and poor moral examples.[4][5] Scholars are unsure of Clement's exact birthdate or birthplace, though a common estimate places his birth around 147 AD.[6] Origen and Alexander of Jerusalem were among those taught by Clement.[2]

In the Paedagogus, Christ is depicted as the instructor of all humanity, and the work gives practical guidance for Christian conduct.[7][8] The Stromata is a collection of varied material that addresses philosophy, asceticism, martyrdom, and other subjects.[7][9][10][11]

What the cited sources add

The same source contrasts Clement's view with Cyril of Alexandria's statement that "the Holy Spirit deifies and is not deified, whereas man is deified."[12] A translation of the Stromata hosted at newadvent.org states Clement's aim was to demonstrate that "the Gnostic alone is holy and pious, and worships the true God in a manner worthy of Him."[13]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Clement of Alexandria" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Buell 1999, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=Q850NV-C5fEC&pg=PA10 10] (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Clement of Alexandria" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Outler 1940, p. 217 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Clement of Alexandria" (CC BY-SA 4.0) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Clement of Alexandria" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: ; Droge 1989, p. 130 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Clement of Alexandria" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: ; Burrus 2010, p. 101; Ferguson 1974, p. 50 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Clement of Alexandria" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: ; Westcott 1877, p. 560 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Clement of Alexandria" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Ferguson 1974, p. 50; Osborn 2008, p. 19–24 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Clement of Alexandria" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: ; (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  9. Wikipedia, "Clement of Alexandria" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Ferguson 1974, p. 50; Ferguson 1974, p. 50; Ferguson 1974, p. 50 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  10. Wikipedia, "Clement of Alexandria" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Heid 2000, p. 65; Seymour 1997, p. 257; Clark 1999, p. 198; Clark 1999, p. 198; Burrus 2010, p. 101 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  11. Wikipedia, "Clement of Alexandria" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Ferguson 1974, p. 50 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  12. "Fruits of Healing", Saint Andrew GOC, 7 May 2015. facts only, no text reused. saintandrewgoc.org
  13. "CHURCH FATHERS: The Stromata (Clement of Alexandria)", www.newadvent.org. facts only, no text reused. newadvent.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Clement of Alexandria (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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