Listen to the Music – The Canon of Clement of Alexandria (original) (raw)

Early Orthodoxy, the Scriptures in Clement of Alexandria

This article establishes the role and view of Scripture in Clement of Alexandria's literary legacy. It argues that his writings reflect a belief in the verbal divine inspiration of Holy Writ that extended to words and even syllables. In Clement's view the Scriptures served as an educational tool in the hand of God to teach people his ways. The Holy Spirit is considered the author of Scripture, who wrote the Bible for this purpose and continues to apply its truths to the hearts and minds of men and women. Clement refers to most of the books of the later canon of the Bible as authoritative or specifically as Scripture.

Classical tradition and Judeo-Christian revelation in Clement of Alexandria

Graeco-Latina Brunensia

Clement of Alexandria is one of the most iconic intellectuals of primitive Christianity. His attitude towards Classical Greek culture had a decisive role in its acceptance as an appropriate instrument for the interpretation of biblical revelation. In the context of the present article, we follow the Clementine account of the Orphic texts, an interpretation distinguished by its manner of tackling the issue. This meant not only that he ignored the context in which the "Orphic tradition" developed, but also that he set aside the immanent quality of Greek culture. Clement's approach would have a deep impact on the way in which Late Antiquity Christianity would understand divine nature and the limits of the act of faith.

“Clement of Alexandria: An Introduction” The Expository Times 120 (2009), 261-271.

) was one of the leading Christian thinkers and writers of his time. He lived and taught in the North African city of Alexandria -perhaps intellectually the most lively and stimulating city in the Roman Empire. A number of Clement's works survive and they reveal a wide-ranging mind that is able to synthesize perspectives from the Bible, Greek philosophers, the writings of the tragedians, and postbiblical Christian authors. Clement's thought has influenced Christian thinkers down through the centuries, such as John Wesley, and for modern theologians his methods represent the beginning of a long tradition of Christian philosophical reflection.

Clement of Alexandria and His Doctrine of Scripture

2015

This article discusses Clement of Alexandria's doctrine of Scripture based on the terms "voice" of God, "first principle," and "demonstration" that he uses for Scripture. By studying the usage of these terms and the related passages, it will be made clear that Clement regards Scripture as a vessel of God's voice, favoring what is now called the theory of verbal inspiration. Moreover, the divine voice, like the voice of sirens, leaves no choice for the listeners but to submit and follow. This absolute submission is rational, because Scripture is a first principle, whose truth does not depend on any demonstrations. However, those who firmly believe in its truth will find abundant demonstrations in it that will guide them to a better and deeper understanding of its teachings.

Divergent Gospel Traditions in Clement of Alexandria and other Authors of the Second Century

Apocrypha 7 (1996), pp. 43-62, 1996

Les lEuvres de Clement contiennent plusieurs logia et d'autres materiaux evangeliques harmonises qui ant lite qualifies com me traditions «extra-canoniques ». Ces textes se rapprochent d'autres qu'on trouve chez Justin Martyr. Cette contribution examine taus les textes disponibles et essaie de redefinir les ressemblances et les differences. Les procedes de transformation reperes peuvent s'expliquer par une longue pratique d'enseignement catechetique et / ou par des traditions homiletiques et liturgiques.

Apostolic Authority: Reading and Writing Legitimacy in Clement of Alexandria

What was the Alexandrian ‘Catechetical School’ like in the second century? What authority did it exercise in the church? This article will explore these questions through the writings of Clement of Alexandria; his works will be read, however, not just as a source for a plausible historical reconstruction, but as a textual embodiment of dynamic relationships, encoding the tensions between author and audience(s), and constructing as well as reflecting debates about authority and tradition. Clement presents himself as the guardian of the apostolic tradition, but one who guards that tradition for a Church much wider than his school: there is a careful negotiation between a teaching authority based on demonstration of elite paideia, and the separate authority structures of an institutional church. The succession of intellectual Christian teachers, educated above and beyond most ordinary Christians, is figured as a necessary conduit between the Logos and the church, but only insofar as those teachers remain in contact with and under the liturgical authority of church office-holders. Through his appropriation of the imagery and metaphorical use of the technical language of church structures, Clement offers a parallel and symbiotic authority. It is a difficult balancing act, and the texts that have come down to us are not just evidence for this delicate claim to apostolic authority, but the means of claiming it, and the method of exercising it.