The way to holiness according to Clement of Rome
Norbert Widok
Uniwersytet Opolski , PolandAbstract
The third successor of St. Peter on the see of the Roman ecclesiastic community, Clement of Rome, is the author of a letter addressed to the believers in Corinth. The content of this letter offers an essential witness concerning the problems in the initial stage of the history of the Church, especially in relation to its small particle in Corinth. One of the issues discussed by Clement is encouragement for the effort of inner perfection, i.e. holiness. His offer directed to the Corinthian community contains several stages which a Christian should undergo. The ascent to holiness, according to the Bishop of Rome, starts with acknowledgement of one’s guilts. This is a condition and basis for the next stage, i.e. penance and conversion. The final stage is built on the theological virtues of faith and hope. The concept of achieving holiness, offered by Clement of Rome, is close to other witnesses of that epoch: Didache and the letters of Ignatius of Antioch.
Keywords:
Clement of Rome, holinessReferences
Clemens Romanus, Epistula ad Corinthios, ed. A. Jaubert, SCh 167, Paris 1971
Meneghelli R., Fede cristiana e potere politico in Clemente Romano, Bologna 1970
Quasten J., Patrologia, I: Fino al Concilio di Nicea, Casale 1992,
Uniwersytet Opolski
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