The Book of 1 Clement
The Book of 1 Clement is an Epistle which is in fact anonymous and which was addressed to the Christian church in Corinth. It is usually dated around the end of the first century AD and a reference within its text to a period of difficulties experienced by the Roman Church is believed to address the persecution of Christians during the reign of Emperor Domitian. If the most widely accepted date for its authorship is correct it is likely the earliest known Christian document which is not included in the Canon of the New Testament.
The Epistle addresses changes in the Church at Corinth which led to the dismissal of several of the members of the church hierarchy, for charges which the author found to be insufficient. It refers to both scriptures of the Old Testament and the New, including several instances where it admonishes the leaders of the Corinthian church to study the Epistles of Paul. The Epistle refers to the execution of Paul and hints at the execution of Peter. If in fact Peter was already dead and the letter was written by Clement of Rome and at the time believed by most scholars, it was a letter from the Pope.
Pope Clement I was the reigning Pontiff from 88 AD until 99 AD. The letter which he sent to the Corinthians addressed the authority of the presbyters – which roughly corresponds to today’s Catholic priests or Protestant ministers – as administrators of the Church. The letter establishes the higher authority of Bishops but makes no reference to himself as the highest authority of the Church. It does assert that the presbyters had authority over their church and answered upwards, not to the local congregation.
The letter was read in worship services in Corinth and elsewhere and by the fourth century, its inclusion in the Canon was taken for granted. Several codices and other documents which listed the Canon of the New Testament included 1 Clement in the fifth century, and in at least some locations the letter was considered to be part of the New Testament. It was found in three languages, Latin, Greek and Coptic, in manuscripts which date back to antiquity.
Although the letter known as 1 Clement was likely written by a very early Pope and was popular for several hundred years it was excluded from the Biblical Canon, possibly because it extended the authority of the priests and bishops and did not address the primacy of the Bishop of the Roman Church, now known as the Pope. The issues of Papal authority over all of the clergy (and lay members of the Church) are at odds with the assertions listed by Clement. A letter included in the Bible which did not support that authority, extended to the line of Popes back to Peter, ordained by Jesus, was simply not acceptable.