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[LETTER OF CLEMENT TO JAMES.]

Clement to James, the lord and bishop of bishops, who governs the holy church of the Hebrews in Jerusalem, and those everywhere well-established by the providence of God, with the presbyters and deacons and all the other brethren. May peace be always.

Be it known to you, my lord, that Simon, who for his true faith and the most sure foundation of his doctrine was appointed to be the foundation of the church, and for this very reason was by Jesus himself, with his unerring mouth, named Peter, the first-fruits of our Lord, the first of the apostles, to whom the Father first revealed the Son, whom Christ rightly blessed, the called and elect, and companion at table and on the way, the good and approved disciple, who was commanded to enlighten the darker part of the world, the West, as being more capable than all, and was able to accomplish it—and to what point shall I prolong my speech, not wishing to signify the sorrowful thing, which of necessity I must, however briefly, certainly tell? —he himself, on account of his immense love for men, having clearly and publicly proclaimed to the whole world the good king who is to come, in opposition to the present evil one, having come as far as Rome, saving men by his God-willed teaching, has himself by violence exchanged this present life for another. And in those very days in which he was about to die, the brethren having been gathered together, suddenly taking me by the hand, he rose up in the church and said: Hear me, brethren and fellow-servants. Since (as I was taught by the Lord and Teacher who sent me, Jesus Christ) the days of my death are at hand, I ordain for you this Clement as bishop, to whom I entrust my chair of discourse, to him who has journeyed with me from the beginning to the end and thus has heard all my homilies, in short, he who has shared in all my temptations and been found steadfast in the faith, whom I have found more than all others to be pious, philanthropic, pure, learned, prudent, good, just, long-suffering, and who knows how to bear nobly the ingratitude of some of the catechumens. Therefore I bestow on him the power of binding and loosing, so that whatever he shall ordain on earth shall be decreed in the heavens. For he shall bind what ought to be bound, and loose what ought to be loosed, as one who knows the rule of the church. Hear him, therefore, as knowing that he who grieves the president of the truth sins against Christ and provokes the Father of all; for which reason he shall not live. And therefore the president himself must hold the place of a physician, not have the passion of an irrational beast. As he said these things, I fell down and besought him, declining the honor and power of the chair. But he answered: Do not ask me concerning this; for this has been decided by me to be done, and all the more if you refuse. For such a chair has no need of a bold man who loves to preside, but of one who is reverent in manner and learned in the word. Give me then a better man, who has companied with me more than you, and has heard my words, and has fully learned the administration of the church, and I will not compel you if you are unwilling to do well. But you will not now be able to provide one better than yourself; for you are the better first-fruit of the nations that are saved through me. But consider this also, that if, fearing the danger of sin, you do not undertake the administration of the church, be well assured that you sin more, in that, being able to help the pious who are, as it were, sailing and in danger, you are unwilling, considering only

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[EΠIΣΤOΛH ΚΛHΜEΝΤOΣ ΠΡOΣ IAΚΩΒOΝ.]

Κλήμης Ἰακώβῳ τῷ κυρίῳ καὶ ἐπισκόπων ἐπισκόπῳ, διέποντι δὲ τὴν Ἱερουσαλὴμ ἁγίαν Ἑβραίων ἐκκλησίαν καὶ τὰς πανταχῆ θεοῦ προνοίᾳ ἱδρυθείσας καλῶς, σύν τε πρεσβυτέροις καὶ διακόνοις καὶ τοῖς λοιποῖς

ἅπασιν ἀδελφοῖς. εἰρήνη εἴη πάντοτε.

Γνώριμον ἔστω σοι, κύριέ μου, ὅτι Σίμων, ὁ διὰ τὴν ἀληθῆ πίστιν καὶ τὴν ἀσφαλεστάτην αὐτοῦ τῆς διδασκαλίας ὑπόθεσιν τῆς ἐκκλησίας θεμέλιος εἶναι ὁρισθεὶς καὶ δι' αὐτὸ τοῦτο ὑπ' αὐτοῦ τοῦ Ἰησοῦ ἀψευδεῖ στόματι μετονομασθεὶς Πέτρος, ἡ ἀπαρχὴ τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν, ὁ τῶν ἀποστόλων πρῶτος, ᾧ πρώτῳ ὁ πατὴρ τὸν υἱὸν ἀπεκάλυψεν, ὃν ὁ Χριστὸς εὐλόγως ἐμακάρισεν, ὁ κλητὸς καὶ ἐκλεκτὸς καὶ συνέστιος καὶ συνοδοιπόρος, ὁ καλὸς καὶ δόκιμος μαθητής, ὁ τῆς δύσεως τὸ σκοτεινότερον τοῦ κόσμου μέρος ὡς πάντων ἱκανώτερος φωτίσαι κελευσθεὶς καὶ κατορθῶσαι δυνηθείς-καὶ δὴ μέχρι ποῦ μηκύνω τὸν λόγον, μὴ βουλόμενος σημῆναι τὸ λυποῦν, ὃ ἐξ ἀνάγκης κἂν βραδὺ πάντως εἰπεῖν με δεῖ; -οὗτος αὐτὸς διὰ τὴν ἄμετρον πρὸς ἀνθρώπους στοργὴν σαφῶς δημοσίᾳ ἐπὶ τοῦ ἐνεστῶτος πονηροῦ τὸν ἐσόμενον ἀγαθὸν ὅλῳ τῷ κόσμῳ μηνύσας βασιλέα, μέχρις ἐνταῦθα τῇ Ῥώμῃ γενόμενος, θεοβουλήτῳ διδασκαλίᾳ σóζων ἀνθρώπους, αὐτὸς τοῦ νῦν βίου βιαίως τὸ ζῆν μετήλλαξεν. Πρὸς αὐταῖς δὲ ταῖς ἡμέραις, αἷς ἤμελλεν τελευτᾶν, συνηθροισμένων τῶν ἀδελφῶν, αἰφνιδίως λαβόμενός μου τῆς χειρὸς ἐγερθεὶς ἐπὶ τῆς ἐκκλησίας ἔφη· Ἀκούσατέ μου, ἀδελφοὶ καὶ σύνδουλοι. ἐπεί (ὡς ἐδιδάχθην ἀπὸ τοῦ με ἀποστείλαντος κυρίου τε καὶ διδασκάλου Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ) αἱ τοῦ θανάτου μου ἠγγίκασιν ἡμέραι, Κλήμεντα τοῦτον ἐπίσκοπον ὑμῖν χειροτονῶ, ᾧ τὴν ἐμὴν τῶν λόγων πιστεύω καθέδραν, τῷ ἀπ' ἀρχῆς μοι μέχρι τοῦ τέλους συνοδεύσαντι καὶ οὕτως πασῶν μου τῶν ὁμιλιῶν ἐπακούσαντι, συνελὼν ἐρῶ, ὃς ἐν πᾶσι πειρασμοῖς μου κοινωνήσας τῇ πίστει προσκαρτερῶν εὑρέθη, ὃν πλεῖον πάντων πεπείραμαι θεοσεβῆ, φιλάνθρωπον, ἁγνόν, πολυμαθῆ, σώφρονα, ἀγαθόν, δίκαιον, μακρόθυμον καὶ γενναίως εἰδότα φέρειν τὰς ἐνίων τῶν κατηχουμένων ἀχαριστίας. διὸ αὐτῷ μεταδίδωμι τὴν ἐξουσίαν τοῦ δεσμεύειν καὶ λύειν, ἵνα περὶ παντὸς οὗ ἂν χειροτονήσῃ ἐπὶ γῆς ἔσται δεδογματισμένον ἐν οὐρανοῖς. δήσει γὰρ ὃ δεῖ δεθῆναι καὶ λύσει ὃ δεῖ λυθῆναι, ὡς τὸν τῆς ἐκκλησίας εἰδὼς κανόνα. αὐτοῦ οὖν ἀκούσατε ὡς γνόντες ὅτι ὁ τὸν ἀληθείας προκαθεζόμενον λυπῶν εἰς Χριστὸν ἁμαρτάνει καὶ τὸν πατέρα τῶν ὅλων παροργίζει· οὗ εἵνεκεν οὐ ζήσεται. καὶ αὐτὸν οὖν δεῖ τὸν προκαθεζόμενον ἰατροῦ τόπον ἐπέχειν, οὐ θηρίου ἀλόγου θυμὸν ἔχειν. Aὐτοῦ ταῦτα λέγοντος ἐγὼ προσπεσὼν ἐδεόμην αὐτοῦ, παραιτούμενος τὴν τῆς καθέδρας τιμήν τε καὶ ἐξουσίαν. ὁ δ' ἀπεκρίνατο· Περὶ τούτου μή με ἀξίου· τοῦτο γὰρ γενέσθαι δέδοκταί μοι, καὶ ταύτῃ μᾶλλον εἰ παραιτῇ· ὅτι ἡ τοιαύτη καθέδρα οὐ φιλοκαθεδροῦντος τολμηροῦ χρείαν ἔχει, ἀλλ' εὐλαβοῦς τὸν τρόπον καὶ πολυμαθοῦς τὸν λόγον. δὸς δὲ τὸν κρείττονα, ὃς ἐμοὶ σοῦ πλέον συνώδευσεν καὶ τῶν λόγων ἐπήκουσεν καὶ τὴν διοίκησιν τῆς ἐκκλησίας ἐκμεμάθηκεν, καὶ οὐκ ἀναγκάσω σε καλῶς ποιεῖν οὐ θέλοντα. ἀλλ' οὐ δυνήσει νῦν τὸν σοῦ κρείττονα παρασχεῖν· σὺ γὰρ δι' ἐμοῦ τῶν σῳζομένων ἐθνῶν ἡ κρείττων ἀπαρχή. πλὴν καὶ τὸ ἕτερον λόγισαι ὅτι, εἰ τὸν κίνδυνον τῆς ἁμαρτίας φοβούμενος οὐκ ἀναδέχῃ τῆς ἐκκλησίας τὴν διοίκησιν, εὖ ἴσθι εἰδὼς ὅτι πλεῖον ἁμαρτάνεις, ὅστις τοῖς θεοσεβέσιν ὥσπερ πλέουσιν καὶ κινδυνεύουσιν βοηθεῖν δυνάμενος οὐ θέλεις, διασκοπῶν μόνον