Clement 			November 23
Bishop of Rome, Martyr
We know from the New Testament of some of the troubles that Paul had with the church in Corinth. The church there suffered from further troubles towards the end of the first century, and the church in Rome wrote to Corinth about 96 in an effort to resolve the issue. The letter known as 1 Clement was sent by Clement in the name of the church in Rome.
Clement by later tradition is reckoned as the third or fourth bishop of Rome. At that time, on evidence from 1 Clement, the church in Rome appears to have been controlled by a group of presbyter-bishops, for whom Clement was the spokesman. Church order as it later developed with a single bishop in each centre was not yet the norm in Rome. Other than his position as a bishop in Rome, we know almost nothing about Clement.
The actual trouble in Corinth concerned a group of young Christian leaders who had usurped the proper position of the respected elders of the community. Clement writes at some length in an effort to restore peace in the church. The letter is much more than a call to order in the church in Corinth. Clement sets out a picture of the church as an orderly body under God, with authority vested in the duly appointed leaders. Variously designated “bishops” or “presbyters”, they are the ones who are to lead the worship and preside over the church’s life. The attitude of the younger members of the church in Corinth is, therefore, not just a problem of youthful exuberance, but a challenge to the duly ordained divine order of things.
The first letter of Clement was widely read in the early church, giving as it did very clear support to a hierarchical view of things at a time when the church was searching for appropriate lines of authority to combat some of the more radical views springing up. Some ancient manuscripts include 1 Clement as part of the New Testament, along with 2 Clement, which is an anonymous second century homily.
For Liturgical Use
Clement was a bishop in Rome at the end of the first century. About 96 he wrote a letter known as 1 Clement. It was sent in the name of the church in Rome to Corinth to settle a dispute there caused by some of the younger members of the church. Clement strongly upheld the notion of hierarchical authority divinely instituted in the church. These views were influential in the growth of episcopacy, and 1 Clement was highly regarded by the early church.
Sentence
In you O Lord I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame.	Psalm 71:1
Collects
Merciful God,
you called your servant Clement
to bring peace and stability
to the church in Corinth;
may your church always be
grounded in your truth,
filled with your Spirit
and strong in your service;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Praise to you, God of every time and situation,
for those who, like Clement,
brought order and stability to the church;
help us in any conflict and confusion
to fix our gaze on your eternal truth.
Psalms	31:1-9	78:1-7
Readings
Proverbs 15:1-4		Words of wisdom
Titus 2:11-15		Teaching for the church
Luke 14:7-11		Humility
Post Communion Sentence
Fight the good fight of the faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called.	
				1 Timothy 6:12