Clement
“Mild or merciful”
Summary
A fellow worker with Paul at Philippi mentioned in Philippians 4:3, whose name was 'in the book of life,' and who was later traditionally identified with Clement of Rome.
☩Biblical Reference
Clement is mentioned once in Scripture, in Philippians 4:3, where Paul appeals to his 'true yokefellow' to help reconcile Euodia and Syntyche, women who had 'laboured with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and with other my fellowlabourers, whose names are in the book of life.' This commendation indicates that Clement had been conspicuous in Christian work at Philippi and that Paul held him in high regard. The reference to the 'book of life' is one of the most significant things said about any individual in Paul's letters.
☩Identity Question
The ancient church, beginning with Origen, identified this Clement with Clement of Rome, the third bishop of that city and author of the famous Epistle to the Corinthians. Eusebius, Epiphanius, and Jerome supported this identification. However, this cannot be definitively proved, as the name Clement was common in the Roman world. The remoteness in time and place between a co-worker at Philippi around A.D. 60 and the Roman bishop of the late first century creates difficulty for this identification.
☩Possible Scenarios
If Clement was a promising convert from Philippi who later became Paul's companion, he would have been approximately thirty-five to forty years old when Philippians was written around A.D. 60. To be identified with Clement of Rome, who wrote his epistle around A.D. 95-96, he would have needed to live to extreme old age. Philippi's close connection with Rome as a Roman colony makes it plausible that someone from Philippi could later serve in the Roman church. However, the identification remains uncertain and neither provable nor disprovable.
Related Verses1 mention
Philippians· 1 verse
References
- 1.John McClintock and James Strong, "Clement," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. II (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 2.James Hastings (ed.), "Clement," in Dictionary of the Apostolic Church, vol. I (T. & T. Clark, 1915–1918).
- 3.James Orr (ed.), "Clement," in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, vol. II (Howard-Severance Company, 1915).
- 4.Andrew Robert Fausset, "Clement," in The Englishman's Critical and Expository Bible Cyclopædia (Hodder & Stoughton, 1878).