Book one

POPE SHENOUDA III COPTIC

THEOLOGICAL COLLEGE SYDNEY,
AUSTRALIA

LECTURES IN PATROLOGY

THE SCHOOL OF
ALEXANDRIA

BEFORE
ORIGEN
Preparatory edition
1995

FR. TADROS Y. MALATY

St. Mark’s Coptic Orthodox Church
427 West Side Ave. Jersey City, NJ
07304

Reverend Father Tadros Y. Malaty has kindly permitted that his books be published in the
COeRL. He has requested that we convey that any suggestions or amendments regarding
their translation are welcome, and should be forwarded to:
[email protected]
 THE SCHOOL OF ALEXANDRIA
AND THE CONTEMPORARY
CHURCH

We are in need of studying the thoughts of the School of Alexandria,

especially during the period of the first five centuries. It helps us to
attain the divine grace of the Holy Trinity and practice the unity with
the Father and the Son through the work of the Holy Spirit. It reveals
how the early Church understands the Holy Scriptures, christianizes
the Hellenic culture, and faces heresies.
The texts that the Alexandrian Fathers used in this study depend on:
Ante-Nicene Fathers, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Ancient
Writings of the Church, the Fathers of the Church, Source Christian,
etc.
The help of the following persons for revising, editing and typing this
text have been valuable and deeply appreciated: Dr. Maged S. Mikhail,
M.D., Mary Rose Halim, Hala Morcos, Silvia George, Monica
Bastawros, Nadia Doss, Peter Fam, and Peter Adel.

We hope that this simple work will fill us with the grace of the Holy
Spirit.
Fr. Tadros Y. Malaty
Jersey City: June 1994
 THE SCHOOL OF ALEXANDRIA

INTRODUCTION to the
SCHOOL OF ALEXANDRIA

1. INTRODUCTION TO THE SCHOOL OF ALEXANDRIA.

2. THE CHARACTERISTICS OF ALEXANDRIAN THEOLOGY.
3. THE ALLEGORICAL INTERPRETATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.
4. THE SCHOOL OF ALEXANDRIA AND THE GNOSTICS.
5. THE SCHOOL OF ALEXANDRIA AND PHILOSOPHICAL ATTITUDES.

7
 AN INTRODUCTION TO
THE SCHOOL OF
ALEXANDRIA

Long before the establishment of Christianity in Alexandria, the city

was famous for its many schools. By far, the largest school was the
"Museum," which was founded by Ptolemy and became the most
famous school in the East. In addition, there were the "Serapeum" and
1
the "Sebastion." Each of these three schools had its own huge library .
Justo L. Gonzalez states that the Museum's library, whose directors
were among the most remarkable scholars of the world, grew to the
point where it housed 700,000 volumes, making it an arsenal of
knowledge that was astounding for its time. The Museum, as its name
proclaims, was dedicated to the Muses, and was a sort of university in
which the most distinguished writers, scientists, and philosophers
gathered and worked. Largely because of these institutions, Alexandria
2
soon became famous as a rich center of knowledge . Numerous Jewish
3
schools were also scattered everywhere .

The geographical position of Alexandria gave a special flavor to the

thought that developed in the city. This was all the more important
because the intellectual work produced in Alexandria was precisely of
the type for which the world was athirst. Egypt had been admired by
the ancient Greeks, who saw in it a mysteri

1
2
C. Bigg: Christian Platonists of Alexandria, Oxford, 1913, p. 26.
Justo L. Gonzalez: A History of Christian Thought, Nashville, 1970, p. 186-7.
3
Philo claims that there were at his time at least one million Jews (Flac. 43). The Jewish community
of Alexandria in the Hellenistic-Roman period was the largest and most important of the
Greek-speaking Diaspora. (Birger A. Pearson: The Roots of Egyptian Christianity {Studies in
Antiquity & Christianity}, Philadelphia, 1992, p. 145.
 ous land, pregnant with hidden wisdom. Moreover, all the various
doctrines emanating from the East converged in Alexandria where they
formed an eclectic mass... Jews with their Scriptures were not the only
ones who had come to Alexandria, but Babylonians had also come
with their astrology, as well as Persians with their dualism, and many
4
others with different and often confused religions .
In other words, Alexandria, the cosmopolitan city, was chosen as a
5 6
home for learning , and a unique center of a brilliant intellectual life ,
where Egyptian, Greek and Jewish cultures together with eastern
mystic thoughts were nourished and gave rise to a new civilization.
Philip Schaff states,
Alexandria... was the metropolis of Egypt, the flourishing seat
of commerce, of Grecian and Jewish learning, and of the
greatest library of the ancient world, and was destined to
become one of the great centers of Christianity, the rival of
Antioch and Rome. There the religious life of Palestine and the
intellectual culture of Greece commingled and prepared the
way for the first school of theology which aimed at a
philosophic comprehension and vindication of the truths of
7
revelation .
In such an environment, there was no alternative but to es
8
tablish a Christian institution to enable the church to face the bat
tle which was waged by these powerful schools.
It is highly probable that there were well-educated Christians in
Alexandria in the apostolic times. In the Acts of the Apostles (18:24
ff.), St. Luke tells of Apollos who was a learned Jew of Alexandria and
mighty in the scriptures; he may well have learnt

4
Justo L. Gonzalez: A History of Christian Thought, Nashville, 1970, p. 186-7.
5 H. M. Gwatkin: Early Church History, London 1909, vol. 2, p.155.
6
J. Lebreton : Hist. of the Primitive Church, London 1949, vol. 3, p. 731. Joseph Wilson Trigg
says,[Alexandria was thus easily the greatest intellectual center of the Roman Empire when Origen
lived there. We have Alexandria to thank for Origen's compelling intellectual drive and his
astonishingly wide interests.] Origen, SCM Press, 1985, p. 7.
7
Philip Schaff: History of the Christian Church, vol. 2, p. 352.
8
De Viris Illustribus 36.
 there the knowledge of Jesus that he possessed before he met Aquilla
and Priscilla.

THE CHRISTIAN SCHOOL

St. Jerome records that the Christian School of Alexandria was
founded by St. Mark himself. He was inspired by the Holy Spirit to
establish it to teach Christianity, as this was the only way to give the
9.
new religion a solid foundation in the city
The School became the oldest center for sacred sciences in the history
10
of Christianity . In it, the first system of Christian theology was
formed and the allegorical method of biblical exegesis was devised. In
this context, Dom. D. Rees states, "The most renowned intellectual
institution in the early Christian world was undoubtedly the
Catechetical School (Didascaleion) of Alexandria, and its primary
concern was the study of the Bible, giving its name to an influential
tradition of scriptural interpretation. The preoccupation of this school
of exegesis was to discover everywhere the spiritual sense underlying
11
the written word of the Scripture ."

ITS DEVELOPMENT
We are not, of course, to think of school buildings in any
modern sense; we are not even to think of church buildings. In
struction was in the teacher's private house.
This Christian School started as a Catechetical School, where
candidates were admitted to learn the Christian faith and some
Biblical studies to qualify for baptism. The deans were in fact
catechists. Origen describes the catechist’s functions in more

9
10
Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate: St. Mark and the Coptic Church, 1968, p. 61.
Quasten: Patrology, vol. 2.
11
Nelson : A New Catholic Comm. on the Holy Scripture, 1969, p. 15.
 12
than one of his books. He had both to teach doctrine and to give
instructions on the Christian life. "If you want to receive Baptism,"
13
Origen says , "you must first learn about God's Word, cut away the
roots of your vices, correct your barbarous wild lives and practice
meekness and humility. Then you will be fit to receive the grace of the
Holy Spirit."
Bardy has suggested that we are dealing with a philosophical school
rather than a catechetical school. But, as Mehat has pointed out,
catechesis is not merely a simple matter of baptismal instruction. J.
Ferguson states that he does not find the two (catechetical and
14
philosophical) incompatible .
Admittance was open to all people regardless of culture, age or
background.
By the second century it became quite influential on church life as can
be seen from the following:
1. It was able to satisfy the thirst of the Alexandrian Christians for
religious knowledge, encourage higher studies and create research
work in a variety of fields. G.L. Prestige gives us a picture about the
students of Origen, the dean of the School, saying,
So their education was completed. No inquiry was closed to
them, no knowledge was withheld from them. They had the
chance to study every branch of learning, Greek or foreign,
spiritual or sociological, human or divine. "We were permitted
with entire freedom to compass the whole round world of
knowledge and investigate it, to satisfy ourselves with every
variety of teaching and to enjoy the sweets of intellect." To be
under the intellectual charge of Origen, says Gregory, was like
living in a garden where fruits of the mind sprang up without
toil to be happy with gladness by the happy occupants; "he
truly was a paradise

12
13
Against Celsus 3:15; Jean Daniélou: Origen, NY, 1955, p. 10.
In Leirt. hom 11:3.
14
John Ferguson : Clement of Alexandria, Twayne Publishers, NY 1974, p. 15.
 to us, after the likeness of the paradise of God;" to leave him
was to renascent the experience of Adam after the Fall. Few
teachers have ever won so remarkable a testimonial from their
15
pupils .
1. It gave birth to numerous spiritual and well-known church leaders along
the years. Many of them were deserving to sit on the throne of St. Mark.
2. Through its missionary zeal, it was able to win many souls to
Christianity from Egypt and abroad.
3. In a true ecumenical spirit, it attracted students from other nations,
many of whom became leaders and bishops in their own churches.
4. It established a common awareness of the importance of education as a
basic element in religious structure.
5. It offered the world the first systematic theological studies.
6. It used philosophy as a weapon in dealing with pagan philosophers, and
16
thus beating them by their own game .
7. Although the School of Alexandria was a church school, and had its
spiritual and educational effect on the clergy and laymen and many of its
deans were ordained Popes, nevertheless it did not interfere in church
affairs (organization). G.L. Prestige says,

The chief difference between the Roman and Alexandrian

school seems to have lain in a closer relationship between
Christian thought and ecclesiastical government in the eastern
metropolis. Possibly the popes of Alexandria enjoyed a more
sympathetic understanding of the minds of visiting professors,
and so may have been better to advise them and control them;
certainly they were not faced with

15
16
G.L. Prestige: Fathers and Heretics, S.P.C.K., 1968, p. 51-2.
Douglas: Dict. of the Christian Churches, p. 26;
 the self-assertive ambitions which animated many of the
theological legal eagles that flocked to the Roman dovecote. In
any case, it may be remembered that for centuries the Egyptian
17
Church was the most highly centralized in Christendom .

ITS PROGRAM
It would have been a grave error to have confined the School's
18.
activities to theology Its teaching was encyclopedic; first presenting
the whole series of profane sciences, and then rising to moral and
religious philosophy, and finally to Christian theology, as set forth in
the form of commentaries on the sacred books. This encyclopedic
conception of teaching was an Alexandrian tradition, for it was also
found in Alexandrian pagan and Jewish schools.

From St. Clement's trilogy, consisting of his chief three works:

Protrepticus (An Exhortation to the Heathen), Paidagogos (the
Educator), and Stromata (Miscellanies), which broadly outlined the
School's program at his time, we may conclude that three courses were
available:
1. A special course for non-Christians, which introduced candidates to
principles of Christianity.
2. A course on Christian morals.
3. An advanced course on divine wisdom and sufficient knowledge for
the spiritual Christian.
19
Worship went side by side with study in the School .
Teachers and their students practiced prayer, fasting and diverse
ways of asceticism. In addition to continence in food and drink,

17
18
G.L. Prestige: Fathers and Heretics, S.P.C.K., 1968, p. 45.
Atiya: Hist. of Eastern Church, p. 33; Mourad Kamel: Coptic Church, p. 36.
19
J. Lebreton, p. 732.
 20
they were also continent in earthly possessions . In purity and in-
tegrity their lives were exemplary. Celibacy was a recommended ideal,
21
and was observed by many. Jean Daniélou in his book, Origen, says ,

At that time, philosophers were not so much teachers of theory as

masters of practical wisdom. Philosophy meant ceasing to bother
overmuch about temporal affairs, such as politics and professional
matters, and putting the things of the soul first. The philosopher’s ideal
was the quest for the perfect life, unlike the rhetorician’s, whose object
was the glory this world bestows. Conversion, in the ancient world,
22
meant conversion to philosophy .

20 21 22
Coptic Patriarchate: St. Mark, p 63. Origen, p. 12. See H.I.
Marrou: Saint Augustin et la fin de la culture antique, p 169 ff.
 THE CHARACTERISTICS
OF ALEXANDRIAN
THEOLOGY

Besides the main Alexandrian views on allegorism, philosophy, and

knowledge (gnosis), of which I prefer to speak in separate chapters, the
School of Alexandria had the following characteristics.

I DEIFICATION (THE GRACE OF 2

. RENEWAL) 3
Many scholars see the core of Alexandrian theology as Deification or
the grace of renewal. By deification the Alexandrians mean the
renewal of human nature as a whole, to attain sharing in the
characteristics of our Lord Jesus Christ in place of the corrupt human
nature, or as the apostles state that the believer may enjoy "the
partaking in the divine nature" (2 Peter 1:4), or the new man in the
image of His Creator (Col. 3:10). This theological mind draws the heart
of the Alexandrians away from the arguments about the definitions of
the theological terms to concentrate on attaining the divine grace as
being an enjoyment of the unity with the Father, in His only-begotten
Son, Jesus, by the work of His Holy Spirit, or attaining Christ Himself
who renews our nature in Him.

For this He came down, for this He assumed

human nature, for this He willingly endured the
sufferings of man,

23
Fr. T. Malaty: The Divine Grace, Alexandria, 1992, 30 ff.
 that by being reduced to the measure of our weakness He might raise
24
us to the measure of His power .
The Word of God, became man just that you may learn from a Man
25
how it may be that man should become god .
St. Clement of Alexandria
The Alexandrian Fathers, in all their theological views, concentrate on
the grace of God as the grace of continuous or dynamic renewal of our
nature by the Holy Spirit, who grants us close unity with the Father in
the Son; that is communion with God. In Jesus Christ, we not only
receive forgiveness of sins by the Holy Spirit, but we also attain a "new
life" which is free from sin as a divine grace. St. Paul speaks of
"putting off the old man" or "the old corruptible nature" and putting on
"the inner man" or the renewed nature in the Spirit, created after the
likeness of God in righteousness and holiness (2 Cor. 5:21; Rom. 8:1).
By divine grace, we become members in the Body of Christ, and
children of the Father, having the power to practice saintly life, because
we are sanctified in Christ and are consecrated to the Father. The be-
liever as a whole, his soul, body, senses, emotions, mind, etc., is
sanctified as a tool for righteousness (Rom. 6:13). The Risen Christ is
present in the believer's life as a divine gift, granting him inner
glorification, as a pledge of the eternal heavenly glories.

This conception of man's renewal in his nature is called "deification,"

because of his sharing in the divine nature (2 Pet. 1:4) and receiving
Christ for our righteousness and sanctification (1 Cor. 1:30).
Alexandrian theology can be summarized by these words: "God took
our humanity, that man may share His life," or "God became man that
26
men may become gods ."
Joseph Sittler stated that the East and West have different ways of
speaking about the work of Christ. In the West, that work

24
25
Quis Dives Salvetur 37.
Protrepticus 1:8:4.
26
Fr. T. Malaty: The Coptic Church as a Church of Erudition and Theology , Ottawa 1986. p. 81f.
 is centered upon redemption from sin; in the East, it is centered upon
the divinization of man. The doctrine of atonement is central to that
work in the West. In contrast, in the East the central doctrine is
participation, illumination, re-enactment, and transformation. In the
West, the work is reunification. The Western Savior is the Eastern
27
Pantocrator .

II. ONENESS OF LIFE

The School of Alexandria reveals to us the oneness of life in Christ.
The dean and his students did not isolate the study of religion,
philosophy and science from their church life nor from their daily life.
They believed in one (integral) life in Christ. This was revealed in
their study, worship, conduct, preaching and witnessing to Christ.

Rown A. Greer summarizes Origen's view of Christian life, by stating,

"The Christian life is a response to (divine) revelation. We begin to
know God and to move toward the face-to-face vision that perfects our
fellowship with Him. The dimensions of this life are ethical,
intellectual, and spiritual or mystical; and they involve us in the
28
life of the church and in action in our world ."
St. Athanasius who devoted all his life to defend the divinity of our
Lord Jesus Christ, is not a Christian philosopher who concentrates on
logical arguments separated from practical life, nor is he merely a
dogmatic theologian. His main interest is pastoral. His only one desire
29
is to forward the salvation of men . He offers a model of the close
relationship between church dogma and piety. He says,

"For faith and godliness are allied to each other, and are sister.

27
28
Essays on Nature and Grace, Philadelphia 1972, p.52.
Rown A. Greer: Origen, p. 28.
29
J. W. C. Wand: Doctors & Councils, 1962,p.29.
 He who believes in Him is godly, and he also who is godly,
30
believes the more ."
In all his discourses against the Arians, he reveals the sanc
tification, renewal and regeneration of our own nature by the Cru
cified Son of God:
If then for our sake He sanctified Himself (John 17:18, 19) and does
this when He became man, it is very plain that the Spirit's descent on
31
Him in Jordan was a descent upon us, because He bears our body .

When it is said that He is anointed, since also, when He is

baptized, it is we who in Him are anointed, since also when He is
32
baptized, we who are in Him are baptized .
The deans and students were mostly virgins who devoted their lives to
Christ. They lived not only as scholars but as true worshippers, ascetics
and preachers. They were eager to devote their lives, contemplating on
God through their study of the Bible, without ignoring their role in
witnessing to Christ and serving Him. It is no wonder that Origen who
devoted his life to studying the Bible attracted many pagans who not
only were converted to Christianity but also became martyrs. This
oneness of life prepared many deans of the School to be elected as
successful Popes.

III. SOTERIOLOGICAL THEOLOGY

Christianity started in Alexandria, Egypt, by a very simple yet deep
action. Arianius, a cobbler, cried "O One God" as a needle pierced his
hand while repairing St. Mark's shoe. St. Mark, the Apostle and
Evangelist, healed his hand in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. He
then witnessed to the One God whom Arianius believed in, but did not
know. St. Mark told the cobbler about God who heals not only our
bodies, but also our human nature through

30
31
Paschal Epist. 11: 9.
Against Arians 1:47.
32
Ibid. 1: 48.
 His incarnate Word, Jesus Christ. Arianius was converted to Chris-
tianity and was ordained by St. Mark as the first Bishop of Alex-
andria.
St. Mark who used the healing of Arianius' wound in the name of Jesus
Christ as a starting point to preach the Gospel, did not reveal God as a
mere idea he believed in, but as the Savior who redeems mankind. This
is the basic principle of the Alexandrian theology until today. We
know God, not through theoretical discussions, but through His
redeeming deeds. God grants us new knowledge, new glorious life and
immortality.
Thus, St. Mark truly sowed in our theological soil the seed that has
produced fruit through the ages. One of these fruits is the close
relationship between theological knowledge and salvation. God
bestows knowledge which is not isolated from our salvation. This is
clear in the theology of St. Clement of Alexandria who usually
introduces Jesus Christ as the "Educator." He wrote a book called
Paidagogos "The Educator." He speaks of this Divine Paidagogue as
33
the "All-healing physician of mankind .'' In other words, divine
knowledge, to St. Clement, cannot be separated from our salvation. He
clearly believes "It is the will of God that we should attain the
34
knowledge of God, which is the communication of immortality .” “The
Word ... became Man so that you might learn from Man how man may
35
become god ."
One of the main features of the School of Alexandria is its
soteriological theology, that is, a system of theology based principally
on the salvation of man. This approach is apostolic, for the apostles in
preaching the Gospel witnessed our Lord Jesus as the "Messiah," of
whom the prophets foretold as the Savior of mankind. They were not
engaged in theological disputes, but were concerned with men's
salvation. Their Christological theology depended on soteriological
thought. Jaraslov Pelikan states that early

33
34
St. Clement: Paidagogos, Book 1, Ch. 2. Section 6.
Stromata: 4:6:27.
35
Protrep. 1:8:4.
 Christians shared the conviction that salvation is the work of no being
less than the Lord of heaven and earth. The oldest surviving sermon in
the early church opens with the words: "Brethren, we ought so, to think
of Jesus Christ as of God, as of the Judge of living and dead. And we
ought not to belittle our salvation, for when we belittle Him, we expect
36
also to receive little ."
Some examples follow:
1. Athenagoras in his Plea on Behalf of Christians, writes to the emperor
Marcus Aurelius Antonius (161-180) and his son Commodus, refuting
the three charges against Christians, but he surpasses the defense by
preaching. He sees it as a great opportunity to declare the truth to the
emperors, and to anyone who reads this defense to witness evangelical
life. His aim is not only to defend the Christian faith but also to
attract everyone to the salvation of Christ.
2. The early church offers no better example of an intellectual Christian
than St. Clement. He insists that the goal of Christian education is
"practical, not theoretical and its aim is to improve the soul, not to
37
teach, and to train it up to a virtuous, not an intellectual, life ."
3. Origen's writings reveal that his primary interest lies in the salvation of
38
our souls, or as Rown A. Greer states the drama of the soul's struggle
to return to God. Origen's views of martyrdom, prayer and Scriptures
merge into one vision of Christian life as a movement towards a perfect
knowledge of God and perfect fellowship with Him through Christ.

36
2 Clem. 1:1-2; Jaroslov Pelikan ; The Christian Tradition, vol. 1: The Emergence of the Catholic
Tradition (100 - 600 ), 1961, p. 173.
37
See Carl A. Volz: Life and Practice in the Early Church, Minneapolis, 1990, p. 103, 222; Paida-
gogos, 1:1.
38
Rown A. Greer: Origen, p.28.
 Frances M. Young gives an account of Origen’s
39
soteriology, saying :
40
Origen collects together in one place all the titles he can find in
scripture which express the nature and work of Christ: Light of
the World, Resurrection, the Way, the Truth, the Life, the Door
and the Shepherd, Christ and King, Teacher and Master, Son,
True Vine and Bread, First and Last, Living and Dead, Sword,
Servant, Lamb of God, Paraclete, Propitiation, Power, Wisdom,
Sanctification, Redemption, Righteousness, Demiurge, Agent of
the good God, High-Priest, Rod, Flower, Stone, Logos. These
ideas he draws on at random as he discusses Christ's saving
work, in Homilies and commentaries which wander
unsystematically form point to point. The only work which is at
all systematic is the De Principiis; even the Contra Celsum
takes the form of a commentary on Celsus' anti-Christian
arguments, and shows little logical sequence of thought. Yet it
seems to the present writer that under this confusing array of
ideas, there is a basic pattern to Origen's soteriology, a pattern of
conflict between good and evil in which Christ achieves the
victory...
Most expositors of Origen's thought have regarded his idea of
Christ as Revealer, Educator and Enlightenment, that is, as the
Logos of God, as his characteristic view of Christ's saving
function. That this should be Origen's main account of Christ's
41
work in the De Principiis is not surprising , since this was a
work dominated by philosophical issues and ideas. It is also
42
prominent in the Commentary on John . As the brightness of
God's glory, Christ enlightens the whole creation, and, as the
Word, he interprets and presents to the

39
Cf. Frances M. Young: The Use of Sacrificial Ideas In Greek Christian Writers From The New
Testament to John Chrysostom, Philadelphia, 1979, p. 172-4.
40
Comm. on John 1:22ff.
41
De Principiis 1:2:6-8; 3:5:8.
42
E.g. Comm. on John 1:23-24, 27, 42.
 rational creation the secrets of wisdom and the mysteries of
knowledge. The Only-Begotten is the Truth, because he
embraces in himself, according to the Father’s will, the whole
reason of all things, which he communicates to each creature in
proportion to its worthiness...
Origen can maintain that Christ as Word conquers the opposing
powers by reason, "by making war on his enemies by reason
and righteousness, so that what is irrational and wicked is
43 44
destroyed ." Right doctrine is a means of conquering sin . The
light shines not only on the darkness of men's souls, but has
penetrated to where the rulers of this darkness carry on their
struggle with the race of men; and shining in darkness the light
45
is pursued by darkness, but not overtaken .

Connected with the idea of Christ as Educator, is another

important theme of Origen's soteriology, the description of Him
as the Example of obedience which Christians should follow,
as the Way. This theme finds expression particularly in the call
to martyrdom, which is the culmination of observance of "the
46
entire pattern of living set out in the Gospel ." This is closely
linked with the idea of illumination which we have already
considered, since by following Christ to heaven, especially
through martyrdom, men will understand as never before, will
learn all secrets and understand all mysteries, and will discover
47
the nature of intelligibles and the beauty of Truth . But again
this description of Christ's saving work is part of the picture of
the struggle against the devil and his angels, for, above all,
"martyrs in Christ despoil with him the principalities and

43
44
Comm. on John 2:4.
Comm. on Rom. 6:3.
45
Comm. on John 2:21.
46
Exhortation to Martyrdom 12; see also Comm. on Rom. 4:10; 7:3, 13; Contra Celsum 7:17; 8:44.
47
Exhortation to Martyrdom 13.
 powers and triumph with him, by partaking in his sufferings
-among which is his triumphing over principalities and powers
which you will soon see conquered and overcome with
48
shame ." Obedience, self-denial and humiliation, death to sin,
49
the spiritualized martyrdom , is like-wise an imitation of
Christ, part of the educative work of the Savior, and an incident
in the drama of conquering evil and leading to virtue and
participation in the divine nature. It was essentially Christ's
work to restore what had been corrupted, and deal with the
50
enemy that had caused the corruption ...
51
Christ brings healing to the morally sick , and resurrection
52
and life to the morally dead . He came into our deadness to
53
deliver mankind from the bondage of corruption . This, too, is
part of Christ's conquest of the tyranny of death, sin and the
devil, for the devil has the power of death and is the enemy of
54
Him who is the Life ...
The context of soteriological thought is dualistic, and the work
of salvation is, first the conquest of the powers of corruption,
and then the exaltation of man by a process of healing and
education. The conquest of the devil is in fact the most
prominent theme of Origen's soteriology. The De Principiis
spends a chapter on "How the devil and the opposing powers
55
are, according to the scriptures, a war with the human race ."
The activity of the demons plays a large role in Origen's
56
arguments with Celsus. The Homilies on Joshua are full of
warfare against the devil, for Joshua's wars
48
49
Ibid. 42.
Comm. on Rom. 9:39; 5:5-9; Contra Celsum 2:69; De. Principiis 4:4:4.
50
De. Principiis 3:5:6.
51
Comm. on Matt. 11:18; Contra Celsum 8:72; 3:60.
52
Comm. on Rom. 5:1-9.
53
Comm. on John 1:25, 28, 35; 2:6; 10:4.
54
See Comm. on Rom. 5:1-9; Comm. on Matt. 13:9; In Jos. hom. 8:6.
55
De Principiis 3:2; 1:5:1; 3:3:6; 3:5:6.
56
Contra Celsum 8:55-57; 1:31; 6:43; 7:17; 8:44,54.
 are allegorized as the wars of Christ and his followers against
57 58
the devil and his angel . In the Commentary on Romans ,
Origen explains the Incarnation and Work of Christ by means
of a parable which expresses this soteriological position: there
was a just and noble king, who was waging a war against an
unjust tyrant, but trying to avoid a violent and bloody conflict,
because some of his own men were fighting on the tyrant's side,
and he wanted to free them, not destroy them. He adopted the
uniform of the tyrant's men, until he managed to persuade them
to desert and return to their proper kingdom, and succeeded in
binding the "strong man" in fetters, destroying his principalities
and powers and carrying off those he held captive. This idea of
soteriology appears throughout Origen's work, and cannot be
treated "as belonging to a lower theological level," or as "a
mere appendage to the philosophically inclined system in which
we find the real Origen." It is basic to his whole understanding
of salvation, and is the theory to which he turns to explain all
soteriological problems.

4. The root of the Athanasian doctrine of the Logos is the idea of

59
redemption . He claims fervently that only God can save the fallen
60
race (Soteriological interest). The doctrine of sanctification was
always present in the mind of the great Pope of Alexandria as the final
purpose of his pastoral efforts, as well as the main goal of his
61
theological dispute, especially in his fight against Arianism .

a. We would not have been redeemed if God Himself had not become
man, for man was in need of the Creator to redeem his fallen nature to
its origin, bestowing upon it the image of God, and re

57
58
In Jos. hom. 12:1; 7:3-6,7; 9:4:5.
Comm. on Rom. 5:10; 5:1,3, 6,7, 10.; 4:8.
59
Quasten: Patrology, vol. 3, p.70.
60
J. N. D. Kelly: Early Christian Doctrines, 1960, p.284.
61
Fr. Matthias F. Wahba: The Doctrine of Sanctification in relation to Marriage according to St.
Athanasius, Ottawa, 1993, p. 2.
 storing it from corruption to incorruption. In Him mankind overcame
62
death and was regenerated or recreated .

. Being the Son of God, one and equal with the Father in the same
essence (ousia), He offered Himself as a self-sacrifice that can pay our debt
of sins and achieve divine justice and mercy at the same time.

. He is God who overcame Satan for our sake, granting us the power
to tread on him and all his evil angels.

. Being the true God, He restored our honor and bestowed upon us
the adoption to the Father in Him by the Holy Spirit. St. Athanasius states,

63
He was made man that we might be gods ...
For as, although there be one Son by nature, True and Only-Begotten,
we too become sons, not as He in nature and truth, but according to
the grace of Him that calls, and though we are men from the earth, are
64
yet called gods ."
e. The incarnation introduces us to God. The Incarnate Logos reveals
the Father to us, and the Father attracts us to the Son (John 17: 26, 6:44
).
5. St. Athanasius defends the divinity of the Holy Spirit in his reply to
the Arians who believed that He was a creature and less than the
Logos. He also writes about the Holy Spirit in four letters addressed to
his friend Bishop Serapion. His theology concerning the Holy Spirit is
the same concerning Christ. The Holy Spirit must be God, because if
He were a creature, we could not participate in His divine nature. He
states, "If by participation in the Spirit, we are made 'sharers in the
divine nature' 2 Pet. 1:4. It should not to be doubted that His nature is
65
of God ."

62
63
De Inarch. 8, 9.
Ibid. 54.
64
Orate. Arians, Disc. 3:19.
65
Epis. ad Serapion 1:24.
 IV. PENANCE AND REPENTANCE
As the Alexandrian theology is soteriological, it is important to
66
explain the Alexandrian view concerning repentance .
67
In his second homily on Leviticus , Origen says that there are seven
ways for sins to be forgiven:
1. baptism,
2. martyrdom,
3. almsgiving,
4. forgiving our brethren's sins,
5. restoring a sinner,
6. abundance of charity, and
7. "there is also a seventh way, a hard and painful one, and that is by
penance, when the sinner drenches his pillow with his tears... and is
not ashamed to confess his sin to one of the Lord's priests and ask him
68
for a remedy ." J. Daniélou believes that in this passage "the reference
69
to sacramental confession is quite plain .”

Origen seems to make a distinction among sins, some being graver

than others and "one involving exclusion from the community, and the
70
other not ." What he terms "trifling sins" seem not to need the
71
absolution of a priest or the doing of penance .
Origen does indeed share four views with St. Peter of Alexandria
(and St. Cyprian):
1. There are different classes of sins;

66
Tim Vivian: St. Peter of Alexandria, Bishop and Martyr, Philadelphia, 1988, p. 162 ff.
67 68 69 70 71
In Lev. hom. 2:4. J. Daniélou: Origen, NY, 1975, p. 69. Ibid., Ibid., 70-71.
Origen: In Josh. hom. 76; Daniélou: Origen, p. 71.
 2. penance is necessary for forgiveness, at least for major sins;

3. priestly absolution is necessary, at least for some sins;

4. lay persons are not to assume the powers of forgiveness, at least for
major sins.
Dr. Vivian believes that it seems reasonable to conclude that the views
Origen gives on penance are not merely personal but rather reflect the
custom of the Alexandrian church of his day. This is the tradition
handed down to St. Dionysius and St. Peter.
In a papyrus fragment on repentance, St. Dionysius argues against
severity toward apostates: "Let us then not repel those who return, but
gladly welcome them and number them with those who have not
72
strayed, and thus supply that which is wanting in them ." St.
Dionysius here is arguing that sinners and saints are welcomed to the
church, but he points out that those who have strayed are in need of the
church's teaching.

V. THEOLOGICAL TERMS
Many modern scholars look to Origen as the first theologian. His work
De Principiis ("On First Principles") is perhaps the greatest of Origen
works and marks a long step towards the formation of Christian
theology.
Concerning theological terms, the Alexandrian School uses Greek
philosophical terms to explain Christian doctrines, because of the
existing world-wide Greek culture, and in order to deal with the
philosophers and heretics. But the Alexandrians were not enslaved to
these terms. This is what St. Athanasius explains when he states that
disputes merely about words must not be suffered to divide those who
73
think alike .

72
73
Vivian, p. 165; Feltoe: St. Dionysius, p. 62; St. Dionysius: Letters, p. p. 62-64.
Quod non sint tres de ( That They are not three Gods ).
 When Dionysius of Rome misunderstood his namesake,
Dionysius of Alexandria who had stated that there are three
Hypostaseis, mistakenly thinking that this meant three essences, the
latter sent an explanation to Rome, affirming his belief in one divine
74
essence .

VI. DEFINITIONS OF THEOLOGICAL TERMINOLOGY

The Alexandrian Fathers did not give definitions to any theological
terminology, because they were interested only in the practice of
theology in their worship and daily life. Benjamin Drewery could not
find a direct definition to the grace of God through the numerous works
of Origen. He deduced it stating, "We may suggest that if Origen had
been required to offer a formal definition of grace, he would have
responded somewhat as follows: 'Grace is the power of God freely, but
not unconditionally, placed at man's disposal, whereby He appropriates
through the Holy Spirit the offer of salvation to a new and ultimate life,
revealed and enacted in the Scriptures, by the Incarnate Jesus Christ,
75.'"
and made available by Him to the world

VII. ECUMENICAL SPIRIT

Ecumenicism is a spirit that the School of Alexandria
spread not by speaking about the unity of churches all over the
world but by practicing it in many ways:

. The School attracted many foreign students to study theology,
especially the interpretation of the holy Scriptures. Those students later
became leaders in their churches. This created a kind of inner unity based on
the word of God.

. The deans of the School were very active outside Egypt, because of
their love towards the universal church; they were not

74
B. Drewery: Origen and the Doctrine of Grace, London, 1960, p. 48; Fr. T. Y. Malaty: The Divine
Grace, Alexandria 1992, p. 23.
75
Fr. T. Malaty: The Terms: Physis & Hypostasis in the early church, 1987, p. 4.
 looking for any personal prestige nor gaining any political power for
their church. For example Origen traveled to Rome, Caesarea, Arabia,
Tyre, etc.

. The Alexandrian theologians were leaders and pioneers in the
ecumenical councils.

. The Coptic manuscripts witness that the Copts translated almost all
the Christian literature existing in the world at that time.

Here I refer to H. G. Metropolitan Bishoy's comment on the footnote

written by the Catholic publisher of the letters of St. Cyril of
Alexandria, which states, "Letter 11 and this Memorandum sent to
Rome indicate that in Cyril's day doctrinal matters were referred to
76
Rome for decision ." His Grace states that St. Celestine of Rome's
response to St. Cyril's letter makes this footnote unacceptable. St.
Celestine had in fact stated that the documents which St. Cyril had sent
turned his sadness into joy, and his sorrow into happiness. He calls
them a remedy from pestilential disease, and a pure spring that
77
transmits to all a proper understanding of our faith . Moreover he says,
"We rejoice seeing that such vigilance is in your piety that you have
already surpassed the examples of your predecessors who always
78
were themselves defenders of the orthodox teaching ." This is the
testimony of the bishop of Rome on the role of the Alexandrians in
defending the orthodox faith on the ecumenical level.

76
St. Cyril of Alexandria, translated by John I. McEnerney, The Catholic University of America
77 78
Press Inc, 1987, p. 65, n. 2. Ibid., 67. Ibid., 68.
THE ALLEGORICAL
INTERPRETATION OF THE
SCRIPTURES

Allegorism was well established in Alexandrian Judaism, especially

79
by Philo , who made a systematic use of it to bridge the chasm
between the Old Testament revelation and the Platonic philosophy.
Philo compares the literal sense of Scripture to the shadow which the
body casts, finding its authentic, profounder truth in the spiritual
80
meaning which it symbolizes . He does not want to depreciate or
abolish the literal or the historical meaning, but looks to it as man’s
81
body which merits the fullest respect .
The School of Alexandria adopted the allegorical interpretation of the
Holy Scripture, believing that it hides the truth and at the same time
reveals it. It hides the truth from the ignorant, whose eyes are blinded
by sin and pride, hence they are prevented from the knowledge of the
truth. At the same time it always reveals what is new to the renewed
eyes of believers. St. Clement of Alexandria is considered the first
Christian theologian (writer) who uses allegorical interpretation,
giving a cause of using it in a practical way. He says that the Bible has
hidden meanings to incite us to search and discover the words of
salvation, which are hidden from those who despise them. The truth is
in the pearls which must

79
Philo (c. 20 BC.- c. AD. 50), the Jewish thinker and exegete in whom that literature flourished
also lived in Alexandria. He belonged to a prosperous priestly family of Alexandria, and was
firmly convinced that the teaching of the Old Testament could be combined with Greek
speculation. His philosophy of religion embodies such a synthesis.( Esmat Gabriel: St. Clement of
Alexandria,
80
Coptic Church Review, Spring 1980, v.1, No. 1, p. 22.)
De confus. ling. 190.
81
De. migrat. Abrah. 89-93; J.N.D. Kelly: Early Christian Doctrines, 1978, p. 9.
not be offered to the swines. His disciple, Origen, adds other
justifications of using allegorical interpretation to the Scriptures.
Nevertheless a vigorous reaction against the Alexandrian allegorism
made itself manifest in the fourth and fifth centuries. Its center was
Antioch, which concentrated on the literal sense of the holy
Scriptures.
As Kelly says, “It has been fashionable to distinguish different
schools of patristic exegesis, notably the Alexandrian with its bias
towards allegory, and the Antiochene with its passion for
82
literalism .”
ALLEGORY
The word "allegory," is derived from the Greek "alla," meaning
"other," and "agoreuo," meaning "proclaim." It originally referred to a
figure of speech that Cicero defined as a "continuous stream of
83
metaphors ." According to St. Augustine, allegory is a mode of
84
speech in which one thing is understood by another . Allegory differs
from the parable in its more systematic presentation of the different
features of the idea which it illustrates, as well as in its contents which
are concerned with the exposition of theoretical truths rather than
85
practical exhortation .
ALLEGORY AND TYPOLOGY
The holy Scriptures use at least three kinds of allegory: figurative
allegory, narrative allegory and typological allegory. St. Paul’s Ode to
Charity (Corinthians 13) is figurative allegory. So is Wisdom, as she
is presented in Proverbs 8. In some parables - those for instance of the
Good Samaritan (Luke 10: 30-35) and the Prodigal Son (Luke
15:11-32) - the allegory is narrative. The most characteristic biblical
form is the typological allegory, a New

82
83
J.N.D. Kelly: Early Christian Doctrines, 1978, p. 72.
Orator 27.94; Everett Ferguson: Encyclopedia of Early Christianity, N.Y, 990, p. 23.
84
De Trin., 15:9:15.
85
F.L. Cross: The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, 1990, p. 37.
Testament exegetic method which treats events and figures of the
Old Testament as combining historical reality with prophetic
86
meaning in terms of the Gospels and the Christian Dispensation .
Modern distinction between allegory and typology stems from
Antiochene criticism of Alexandrian allegory. For example, Jean
Daniélou states, “It would be an entire abuse of language to include
moral allegory with typology under the one heading of spiritual
sense, as opposed to the literal sense: typology is a legitimate
extension of literal sense, while moral allegory is something entirely
alien: the former is in truth exegesis, the latter is not. Origen was the
first to bring together these two interpretations in a forceful
synthesis. But they are in reality two distinct approaches, artificially
87
put side by side .”
Some scholars distinguish "allegory," defined as a method in
which earthly realities are interpreted symbolically to refer to
heavenly realities, from "typology," in which historical reality is
interpreted as foreshadowing another, especially the person and
88
work of Christ .
The word “type,” ôõðïé in Greek has its basic meaning, ‘something
struck out; a print, impression of a seal.’ The seal is the New
Testament event, which has struck out a prophetic impression of itself
89
in the pages of the Old Testament .
J.N.D. Kelly gives a base for the distinction between
allegory and typology, saying, ... the word (allegory) led to
confusion even in the patristic age, and its accepted meaning to day
denotes a somewhat different type of exegesis from typology. Since
the fathers employed both typology and allegory (in its

86
87
Cf. John MacQueen: Allegory, Methuen & Co, London, 1970, p.18ff.
Jean Daniélou: From Shadows to Reality, Studies in the Biblical Typology of the Fathers, p. 64.
88
Everett Ferguson: Encyclopedia of Early Christianity, N.Y, 990, p. 23.
89
John MacQueen: Allegory, Methuen & Co, 1970, p. 20.
 modern sense), the distinction between the two methods
needs to be clearly brought out...
In allegorical exegesis the sacred text is treated as a mere
symbol, or allegory, of spiritual truths. The literal, historical
sense, if it is regarded at all, plays a relatively minor role, and
the aim of the exegete is to elicit the moral, theological or
mystical meaning which each passage, indeed each verse and
even each word, is presumed to contain...

Typological exegesis works along very different lines. Essentially it

is a technique for bringing out the correspondence between the two
Testaments: a technique where the Old reflects the New, i.e.
prefigures and anticipates the events and personages of the New. The
typologist takes history seriously; it is the scene of the progressive
90
unfolding of God’s consistent redemptive purpose...

Jean Daniélou also says, “The typology of the Fathers is based on

the continuity which exists between the Old and New
91
Testaments .
ALLEGORY AND THE JEWISH EXEGESIS
According to Philo, the allegorical interpretation of the
92
Scriptures was practiced in Palestinian Rabbinical schools .
In Palestinian Jewish exegesis, allegory provides material for
haggadah, the interpretation of non-legal passages of Scripture. An
example of this Jewish allegorical exegesis is Rabbi Jochanan ben
Zakkai's (ca. A.D 70) explanation that a robber receives a lighter
punishment than a thief because the thief, by acting secretly, has
contempt for God's oversight. Also the interpretation

90
91
J.N.D. Kelly: Early Christian Doctrines, 1978, p. 70-1.
Jean Daniélou: From Shadows to Reality, Studies in the Biblical Typology of the Fathers, p. 69.
92
F.L. Cross: The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, 1990, p. 37.
that unclean animals, such as the hare and the pig, refer to Greece
and Rome.
Although Palestinian allegory is generally more restrained than
Hellenistic Jewish allegory and careful in particular to maintain
legal validity, Rabbi Akiba (ca. AD. 50-132) could interpret the
Song of Solomon allegorically to refer to the love between Israel
93
and God .
The Alexandrian Jew Philo, as we mentioned above, uses two kinds
of interpretation, literal and allegorical, which he links to the Platonic
concept of a dual world - one of which is spiritual and immaterial like
God, an archetype and model, and the other world being visible and
corporeal. In Philo's opinion the literal sense, the written word, is
concerned with appearance, while the allegorical sense expresses only
94
what can be seized by intelligence and leads directly to the truth .

John Dillon in the preface of the book “Philo of Alexandria” says,

“Philo did contribute enormously, through the Christian thinkers of
the Alexandrian School, to the tradition of spirituality both in the
Western Europe and in the Eastern Orthodox world, and the
magnificent intellectual tour-de-force constituted by his Platonizing
95
allegory of the Pentateuch deserves recognition and honor .”

Jean Daniélou, in his speech of the effect of Philo on the Alexandrian

Didascalia, assures that the Alexandrian Fathers who adopted Philo’s
method of interpretation, christianized it, giving it a Christological
and more spiritual understanding. He says,
In his treatise on Paradise, Ambrose, who was much
influenced by Philo, writes as follows: “Philo confined his
attention to the moral sense, because his Judaic outlook

93
94
Everett Ferguson: Encyclopedia of Early Christianity, N.Y, 990, p. 23.
See M. Hermaniuk: La parabole chez Clement d' Alexandrie (Ephemerides theologicae
Lovanienses, 21, 1945, p. 52); Alexander Kerrgan: St. Cyril of Alexandria, Roam 1952, p28.
95
David Winston: Philo of Alexandria, Paulist Press, 1981, p. XIV.
 96
prevented him from a more spiritual understanding .”
Spiritualia here denotes the Christological or typological
97
sense, while moralia implies philosophical allegory...
This allegorizing of Philo will be adopted by that succession
of Alexandrian Didascalia which will transform it into a
Christian theology. Not that this will be, as with Philo, the
only interpretation; but whereas, until then, typology was the
only Christian interpretation, afterwards Origen, St. Ambrose
98
and the Middle Ages will make use of allegory also...

A whole stream of Patristic tradition shows us the union of

the Pauline typological “mystery” with the Philonian
allegorical “mystery.” While borrowing from Philo his
principle, quite unexceptionable in itself, of a hidden meaning
in the whole Bible, the Christian exegesis of Alexandria will
give to these themes a meaning which is quite beyond the
allegorizing of Philo. It will endow them with the whole
99
mystery of Christ, who is truly the “fullness of grace .”

ALLEGORY AND TYPOLOGY IN THE NEW TESTAMENT

The term “allegory” is used by St. Paul in Gal. 4:24, "which things
contain an allegory." Some scholars believe that he introduces the
allegorical interpretation of the Law by the question "Is it for the oxen
that God cares, or says He altogether for our sake?" (1 Cor. 9:10) does
not necessarily mean that Paul, besides abolishing this particular law
with his advocacy of the abrogation

96
97
IV, 25; C.S.E.L. 281,21.
Jean Daniélou: From Shadows to Reality, Studies in the Biblical Typology of the Fathers,
98 99
Newman Press, 1960, p. 57. Ibid., 61. Ibid. 136.
of the Law as a whole, also denies that this law was ever meant to be
100
taken literally .
The New Testament uses allegory and typology. Here are
some examples.

. The Gospels present our Lord Jesus using allegory as a rhetorical
device in his own parables (cf. Matt. 13:18-35; Mark 4:12-20, 33-34; Luke
8:11-15), and the two witnesses whose testimony is true (Deut. 19:15; John
8:17-18). The majority of the New Testament parables are examples of
101
prophetic and situational allegory, not involving typology .

. Our Lord interprets allegorically the brazen serpent (Num. 21:9;
John 3:14) as a type of salvation by His Cross.

. The words of our Lord in Matt. 12:42 concerning the queen of the
south reveals that our Lord uses allegory to speak of the Song of Solomon
in terms of the mutual love of Christ and the Church. Solomon is a type of
Christ, the Queen of Sheba represents the Church, as well as the New
Testament authority for the interpretation is to be found in Matthew
102
12:42 .

. In Matt. 12:40-42 we acknowledge Jonah in the whale’s belly as
an allegory of the Descent into Hell and Resurrection of our Lord Jesus
during Good Friday and Bright Saturday.

. St. Paul sees the relationship between the Church and the
Synagogue prefigured in the story of Isaac and Ishmael. He applies allegory
to the two mountains, Sinai and Zion, in Galatians 4:22

29. Hagar, Paul says, is a type of Mount Sinai, where Moses later
received the Old Law, and so of the Jerusalem of his own day, the site
of the Jewish Temple, and the center of the Jewish people and
religion. Sarah is a type of the Heavenly Jerusalem of the Christian
Church. The miraculous birth of Isaac typifies the virgin birth of

100
Cf. M. Guttmann, Das Judentum und seine Umwelt, I, p. 252; Harry Austryn Wolfson: The
Philosophy
101
of the Church Fathers, Harvard University Press, 1976, p.42.
Cf. John MacQueen: Allegory, Methuen & Co, 1970, p. 23.
102
Cf. John MacQueen: Allegory, Methuen & Co, 1970, p. 20.
Christ, as is further illustrated by the messianic quotation from
103
Isaiah 54:I .

. Allegory is also applied to cleaning out the old leaven at the
Passover to indicate the Christian community's purity (1 Cor. 5:6-8).

. Hebrews 8-10 interprets the Levitical sanctuary and sacrificial
system as a temporary earthly manifestation of a heavenly reality revealed
104
in Christ .

. In I Corinthians 10:6-13, St. Paul teaches that events mentioned in
Exodus and Numbers, while the people of Israel wandered in the wilderness
(Exod. 13:21-22; 14:22-29; 16:4,35), prefigure Christian sacraments. He
further claims that such happenings are intended “typically” to forewarn
Christians about the coming of Christ and the consequences of His ministry.

. In Romans 5:14 St. Paul suggests that Adam was a “type” of the
Christ who was to come.

. The main Old Testament personages who typify aspects of the
New Testament - ‘so great a cloud of witnesses’ - are listed in Hebrews 11.
They are Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses,
Rahab, Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the Prophets.
In this list we have a stage in the development of a new point of view, In the
full Christian form, this sees history, not as sequence, but as process,
directed from Creation and the Fall of Man towards the Incarnation and
Redemption, and finally to Judgment Day. The ultimately significant events
are concentrated into the few years of the earthly life of Jesus, the
carpenter’s son from Nazareth. All history becomes a typology, whose
meaning is to be assessed in terms of a single humble life which had
105
apparently ended in ignominy .

103
104
Cf. John MacQueen: Allegory, Methuen & Co, 1970, p. 21.
Everett Ferguson: Encyclopedia of Early Christianity, N.Y, 990, p. 24.
105
John MacQueen: Allegory, Methuen & Co, 1970, p. 22.
Such explanations illuminate the New Testament idea that all
incidents during the old dispensation predicted the major events of the
career of Jesus Christ and of the early church, which relived them in a
Christian sense. Most obvious analogies concern the flood and the ark,
the liberation of the people of Israel from Egypt (the Exodus), the
wandering in the wilderness, the crossing of the River Jordan, the later
return from exile, and the rebuilding of Jerusalem. Actual historical
episodes are seen to foreshadow later events not in a literal but in a
spiritual sense; thus, the liberation from Egypt is paralleled in Christ’s
freeing us from our sins. These types are perpetuated and enormously
increased in the writings of the ancient Christian Fathers. Indeed, the
Bible is ransacked to extract types regarded as fulfilled in the
Christian dispensation, some of them absurd and farfetched...

The use of types in this manner may be said to have entered

deeply into Christian prayer, worship, hymnology, and piety
106
generally .
According to St. Augustine, the allegories which New Testament
writers find in the Old Testament are not mere rhetorical figures but
historical facts ("non in verbis sed in facto"); God, the true author of
Scripture, foreordained certain facts recorded in the Bible in such a
manner as to be, apart from historical reality, also a prophetic
107
announcement of future events .

All the work of the prophets, which is of cardinal importance in the

Old Testament, rests on a twofold movement; it recalls the great
works of God in the past, but it recalls them only as a foundation for
a faith in great works to come. The past is only recalled as a
foundation for future hope. As God had set man in Paradise so must
Israel wait to be brought into a New Paradise.

106
107
The Coptic Encyclopedia, p. 2283-4.
F.L. Cross: The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, 1990, p. 37
This is precisely the essence of typology, which is to show how
108
past events are a figure of events to come .
In the New Testament, we have four kinds of non-literal
interpretations of Old Testament texts:
1. Interpretations dealing with predictions of the first coming of
Christ.
2. Interpretations dealing with predictions of the second coming
of Christ.
3. Interpretations dealing with the pre-existence of Christ.
4. Interpretations dealing with legal or moral matters.

We refer to these four kinds of non-literal interpretations as

adventual, eschatological, pre-existential, and moral, respectively.
All these non-literal interpretations are of the rabbinical midrashic
kind; none of them is of the Philonic philosophical kind, except
perhaps the pre-existential, which may reflect indirectly some
philosophic view. Still, several instances of adventual, non-literal
interpretation is explicitly described by the Philonic terms of allegory,
type, shadow, and parable; undoubtedly it is only by mere accident
that these terms are not used in connection with other instances of
adventual interpretation, and also in connection with eschatological,
pre-existential, and moral, non-literal interpretations. Thus, according
to St. Paul, for a non-literal interpretation of a text of Scripture to be
described by the Philonic term allegorical it is not necessary that it be
philosophical. It is with these four kinds of non-literal interpretations
found in the New Testament - adventual, eschatological,
pre-existential, and moral - of which only some instances of the first
kind are described by the term allegory or by the terms type, shadow,
and parable, that the Fathers started on their discussion of the
109
allegorical method .

108
Jean Daniélou : From Shadows to Reality, Studies in the Biblical Typology of the Fathers,
Newman Press, 1960, p. 12.
109
Harry Austryn Wolfson: The Philosophy of the Church Fathers, Harvard University Press,
1976, p.43; Cf. S. Davidson, Sacred Hermeneutics (1843); F. W. Farrar, History of Interpretation
Finally, it is worthy to note that even the Old Testament uses allegory.
A whole book (Song of Songs) cannot be interpreted literally but
allegorically. Also it is used in the Prophets, such as in Ezek. 27-32.
Tyre is presented as a magnificent merchant ship, wrecked at sea,
“The rowers have brought you into great waters; the east wind has
broken you in the midst of the seas” Ezek. 28:26. The east wind is
Nebuchadnezzar, who captured Jerusalem in 586
B.C. The Egyptian Pharaoh is the Nile crocodile, hooked and
110
thrown out to rot on the desert . Also in the New Testament,
there is the Book of Revelation, a connected series of visions,
which cannot be interpreted except allegorically.
ALLEGORY AND TYPOLOGY IN THE EARLY
111
CHURCH
Early Fathers such as St. Clement of Rome, St. Irenaeus, and
112
Tertullian continued to use this method of interpretation which is
found in the Epistle of Barnabas. Chapter 9 of the latter contends that
in the dietary laws Moses expounded moral principles in a spiritual
manner, but the Jews, being carnal, misunderstood them to refer
literally to foods. Moses forbade eating pork in order to discourage
associations with swinish people; that is, people who remember the
Lord only when they are in need, are just like the pig which does not
pay attention to its master while it is greedily feeding at the trough
but squeals incessantly when it is hungry.

113
J. Daniélou states that primitive Christian tradition recognized
two senses of Scripture, namely the literal and the

(1886); G. H. Gilbert, Interpretation of the Bible (1908); H. de Lubac, '"Typologie" et

"Allegorisme,"' Recherches de Science Religieuse, 34 (1947), 180-226; J. Daniélou, Sacramentum
Futuri: Etudes sur les Origines de la Typologie Biblique, 1950.
110 111
John MacQueen: Allegory, Methuen & Co, 1970, p. 28. Everett Ferguson:
112
Encyclopedia of Early Christianity, N.Y, 990, p. 24. F.L. Cross: The Oxford Dictionary
113
of the Christian Church, 1990, p. 37. J. Daniélou: L' Unite des deux testaments dans
l'oeuvre d'Origene (Revue de Sciences
religieuses, 22 - 1948-p. 45); Alexander Kerrigan: St. Cyril of Alexandria, Interpreter of the Old
Testament, Rome, 1952, p.26 ff.
 typological. The latter is in reality a "Charistic," or
"Christological" sense, having Christ in His totality as its object. He
also states that there was at least five kinds of typological sense in
114
early Christian literature :
1. Typology that aims at discovering the circumstances of Christ's earthly
life in the Old Testament. This type of exegesis serves to characterize
the Western tradition.
2. Typology, common to all the Fathers, which does not therefore bear
distinctive marks of any particular current, scrutinizes the Old
Testament with a view to discovering Christ there, not in the exterior
circumstances of His earthly life, but in the mysteries which He came to
accomplish.
3. Typology that concentrates on those features of the Old Testament
which are figures of the Church's sacramental life; it is found in the
sacramental catches and is particularly dear to the School of Antioch.
4. Typology which looks in the Old Testament for figures of the role that
Christ plays in the souls of believers; it is in Alexandria that this
typology is cultivated with special predilection. For this reason some
115
scholars call the School of Alexandria, "the School of the Souls ."
This does not mean that the Alexandrian school ignored the
sanctification of the body, but it concentrates on the ascent of the souls
by the Holy Spirit to heavenly life while the believer still lives in this
world, through the study of the Bible and worshipping God in his daily
life.
5. Eschatological typology aims at discovering the traits of the Old
Testament which are vestiges of Christ's glorious manifestation at the
end of time. Daniélou notes that writers of Jewish apocalyptic literature
favor this form of interpretation,

114
Cf. J. Daniélou: Les vivers sens de l'Ecrriture dans la radition chretienne primitive
(Ephemerides
115
theologicae Lovanienses, 24), p. 120-125.
Brian E. Daley: The Hope of the Early Church, Cambridge University, 1991, p. 44.
without giving to it a Christological signification. Origen quotes
many of them.
Although Marcion rejected allegory along with the Old Testament,
allegory played a role in much of the biblical interpretations found in
Gnosticism, which extended its use to the New Testament. Valentinus,
for example, interpreted the woman in the parable of the leaven (Matt.
13:33-34; Luke 13:20-21) as the fallen aeon, Sophia; the three batches
of meal as the three classes of human beings, material, psychic, and
116
spiritual; and the leaven itself as the Savior . Valentinus' follower
Heracleon interpreted the Gospel of John allegorically, presenting, for
example, the "royal officer" of John 4:46-53 as the inferior Creator of
117
the material world .

St. Clement of Alexandria believes that the Bible looks like St. Mary
the Virgin who brought forth Jesus Christ and her virginity was
preserved. Thus we discover spiritual meanings of the Bible, but its
meaning is still virgin, as it has many hidden spiritual meanings.
However, one must be careful not to exaggerate St. Clement's
proneness to allegorism, for he tries not to abandon the historical
sense of Scripture, as has often been done by some allegorical
interpreters. St. Clement says once and again that the Scriptures do
118
have a literal historical sense .
St. Clement of Alexandria distinguishes between literal, mystical,
moral, and prophetic interpretations. C. Mondésert states that
meditating on the text of the Scripture, St. Clement discovers at least
five senses: an historical sense; a doctrinal sense; a prophetic
signification; a philosophical sense;

116
117
Irenaeus, Hear. 1.1.16.
Origen, JO. 13.60.416
118
Stromat 1:21; 2:19; 3:6; 6:3,8; 7:3.
 119
and a mystical sense .
Allegory is developed and carried to excess by Origen. He believes
that the Logos, the heavenly Groom, is present under the accidents of
the Scriptures as Food, Educator and Groom for the soul. “I will
endeavor to show,” he says, “what the accepted methods of
interpretation are, and therefore I will follow the rule which has
always been used in Jesus Christ’s heavenly Church since the time of
120 121
the apostles . According to him , the words of the Scriptures
should be printed in the soul in one of three ways:
1- The simple people or the uneducated should be edified by the letter
itself, which we call the obvious meaning or the straightforward
historical sense. Origen himself is the foremost biblical scholar of
antiquity and by no means ignores the literal meaning or the
122
importance of history , when he thinks that one existed, he
considers it inferior to the spiritual. Nearly all would have agreed with
the fourth-century Didymus the Blind, who was influenced by Origen,
that "in fact it is impossible to understand the spiritual or elevated
thought without the shadow, which is the letter, or without the
123
preliminary propaedeutic sciences ." Origen interprets the past in
terms of present faith in Christ, and he shares a tradition which is
124
concerned with spirit rather than letter . The inner spiritual mysteries
125
are concerned with the present: hodie, etiam hodie . The spiritual
meaning of the law is found only in the mystery of the Cross and of
126
the Church . The Gospels are chiefly concerned with present
spiritual realities and point to the eternal gospel, to the time of the
parousia when those who have
119
Clement d' Alexandria, Paris 1944, p. 154; Alexander Kerrigan: St. Cyril of Alexandria, Roma
1952,
120
p.29.
De Principiis 4:2:2.
121
De Princip. 4:2:4.
122
H. de Lubac: Histoire et espirit, Paris 1950, p. 94.
123
In EsaiamII:3:7; Boniface Ramsey: Beginning to Read the Fathers, Paulist Press, 1985, p. 36-7.
124
H. D. Lubac, p, 92-194; COQ, (Osborn, p. 3).
125
Lubac, p. 149.
126
Lubac, p. 177.
lived according to the spirit on earth, 'will live in the kingdom of
127
heaven according to the laws of the eternal gospel '. History
128
remains the starting point for our ascent to the mystery , because
it shows God's condescension, economy, providence and instruction.
Law and prophets come together in Christ. The spiritual realities to
which both testaments point are the Cross, the resurrection, and the
129
kingdom of heaven; they are not Platonic forms or Gnostic aeons .

Literalism did not mean a blind acceptance of whatever was

written in the Bible but the acceptance of the Law as meaningful
in everyday life. To prove his point, De Lange also offers five
130
examples of Origen’s indebtedness to Rabbinical sources .

Origen prefaces the Homilies on Leviticus with an example of how

foolish following the literal meaning would be. If taken literally, the
entire book of Leviticus would require Christians "to sacrifice calves
and lambs and to offer fine wheat flour with incense and oil." In the
same passage he calls those who insist on a literal meaning "wicked
131
presbyters ." He is quick to mention those passages which present
particular difficulties. In replying to critics of his allegorical method
132
of interpretation, Origen claims that the letter of the gospel kills . In
133
addition literal teaching also can hinder the work of the Church .

Jean Daniélou gives an example of Origen’s interest in the

literal and historical meaning, saying,

127
128
Lubac, p. 185, In Exod. hom. 4;9.
Lubac, p. 246; In Num. hom.5:1.
129
Osborn, COQ, p. 3.
130
Gary Wayne Barkley: Origen; Homilies on Leviticus, Washington, 1990, p. 14; N.R.M. De
Lange: Origen and the Jews: Studies in Jewish- Christian Relations in Third-Century Palestine,
1976, Cambridge, p. 103-12.
131
In Lev. hom. 1:1.
132
In Lev. hom. 7:5.
133
Cf. In Lev. hom. 6:24-30; Gary Wayne Barkley: Origen; Homilies on Leviticus, Washington,
1990, p. 16.
 The second Homily on Genesis is a basic text for our purpose.
We shall see how Origen both echoes tradition as he knew it
and develops the historical outline in which he discusses
difficulties raised against the veracity of the story of the Flood,
in particular the very limited size of the ark to contain so many
species of animals. Apelles, a disciple of Marcion, ironically
remarked that it could hardly hold four elephants. Origen sets
out to answer this difficulty. This is an important point, for we
see that he does not dream of contesting the historicity of the
event but falls back on a symbolic interpretation. He lays
down first the literal meaning of the text with the help of all
the sources at his command. Then only does he pass on to the
allegorical meaning. The story of the ark is not, then, just
symbolical . There was a real ark which did once float on the
waters, typifying the Church of the future, escaping from the
flames of the great conflagration to come. Origen is here more
literal than many of the literal exegetes of our own day, a point
which Pére de Lubac has made clear in his introduction to the
134
Homilies sur la Genese .

Sometimes Origen denies the literal meaning. For example he says,

“Could any man of sound judgment suppose that the first, second and
third days (of creation) had an evening and a morning, when there
were as yet no sun or moon or stars? Could anyone be so
unintelligent as to think that God made a paradise somewhere in the
east and planted it with trees, like a farmer, or that in that paradise he
put a tree of life, a tree you could see and know with your senses, a
tree you could derive life from by eating its fruit with the teeth in your
head? When the Bible says that God used to walk in paradise in the
evening or that Adam hid behind a tree, no one, I think, will question
that these are only fictions, stories of things that never actually
happened, and that figuratively they

134
Jean Daniélou : From Shadows to Reality, Studies in the Biblical Typology of the Fathers,
Newman Press, 1960, p. 105.
 135
refer to certain mysteries .” It is the same with the New
Testament text which says that Satan took Jesus up a high mountain
from which he could see all the kingdoms on earth. So much for the
136
impossible and its symbolical interpretation .
2- People at the higher level should find edification for their souls
through the moral meaning, or the lessons of the texts for the will.
137
Jean Daniélou says “it might be said that Origen took from Philo
the idea of looking to Scripture for allegories applying to the moral
life. This is particularly evident at the beginning of the homilies on
Genesis, where the whole of creation is regarded as an allegory of the
soul, as the macrocosm of the microcosm. Man and woman are the
two parts of the soul. If they are in harmony they have children, i.e.,
good impulses. The fish, birds, and beasts over which man reigns are
the acts proceeding from the heart and soul (the birds) and the desires
of the body and movements of the flesh (the fish and the beasts). All
this is based on Philo.”

In the Homilies on Leviticus, there are several instances of where this

138
moral meaning is emphasized . The moral sense of Scripture
speaks to the reason of a person. Reason is the ability to distinguish
139
between good and evil . By offering holy doctrine from God’s
word, the priest appeals to the moral sense of his hearers and thus
140
cleanses their consciences .
According to De Lange’s conclusion, commenting on the wider
body of Origen’s writing, that "the “moral” sense is not clearly
141
undistinguished from the third [the spiritual] ," is undoubtedly
correct. Therefore, the second and third levels of

135
136
De Principiis 4:3:2.
Jean Daniélou: Origen, p. 180.
137
Jean Daniélou: Origen, p.186.
138
In Lev. hom. 1:5; 2:4.
139
In Lev. 9:6.
140
In Lev. hom. 5:3; Gary Wayne Barkley: Origen; Homilies on Leviticus, Washington, 1990, p.
17.
141
Origen and the Jews, p. 111.
meaning in Scripture are closely related in Origen’s
142
understanding .
3- The perfect should be edified by the mystical or spiritual sense in
relation to Christ, or the spiritual Law, as it contains the shadow of the
blessings to come. Origen's real interest is the spiritual interpretation
of the Scripture. "The priest," Origen said explaining Leviticus 1:6
(which mentions skinning the carcass of a sacrificial animal)."is the
one who removes the veil of the letter from God's word and bares the
members within , which are the elements of a spiritual
143
understanding ." For Origen the allegorical meaning is not hard, as
he says, “The spiritual interpretation, however, is not so difficult and
hard to come by. For the Bride of the Word, the soul who abides in
His royal house
-that is, in the Church - is taught by the Word of God, who is her
Bridegroom, whatsoever things are stored and hidden within the
144
royal court and in the King's chamber .”
He recognizes that, as man is composed of body, soul and spirit,
in the same way the structure of the Scripture has been planned
by God for man's salvation, i.e., the literal, moral, and spiritual
senses.
For example, Origen finds in the ark of Noah a materialization to his
theory, as it was built of three stages. “In thus ascending by the
various stages of accommodation, we arrive at Noah himself, whose
name means ‘rest’ and ‘righteous,’ which is Jesus Christ.”

. The bottom serves as the foundation which refers to the literal or

the historical explanation of Scripture.

. The higher is the spiritual or the mystical. In his homilies on the
Genesis, he says, “Those who live according to the dictates of the
knowledge of the Spirit, and are capable not only of

142
143
Gary Wayne Barkley: Origen; Homilies on Leviticus, Washington, 1990, p. 17.
Ibid ,1.4
144
Comm. on the Songs of Songs, book 3:13 (ACW).
governing themselves, but of instructing others, because they are
few in number, are typified by the small number of those saved with
Noah, as Jesus Christ, the true Noah, has few who are close to him
in relation and intimacy to share in his word and understand
wisdom.
145
c. The middle represents the moral one .
The Scriptures must be interpreted spiritually because they are
146
the work of the Spirit, who unites them in one book , and
147
inspires both writer and reader .
According to Origen the understanding of the Scripture is "the art
148
of arts," and "the science .” The words of the Scripture are its
body, or the visible element, that hides its spirit, or the invisible
element. The spirit is the treasure hidden in a field: hidden behind
149
every word , every letter but even behind every iota used in the
150
written word of God . Thus “every thing in the Scripture is
151
mystery .”
This spiritual understanding of the Scripture is a grace given to the
perfect believers by Christ. For only those who have the Spirit of
152
Jesus can understand their spiritual meaning , i.e., to enter this
chamber of eternal marriage between Christ and the soul.
We obtain this grace through praying, as we must weep and beg the
Lord to open our inner eyes like the blind man sitting by the roadside
at Jericho (Mat. 20:30). Origen says that we must pray for we are
often beside the wells of running water-God's Scripture-and we yet
fail to recognize them by ourselves.

145 146
Hom. Gen 2:6. Lubac, p. 297-302; In Num. hom. 16:9;
147 148
De Principiis 1:3. Lubac, p. 315; Comm. John 32:18.
149 150 151
Comm. John 23:46. Hom. Levit. 4:8. Hom. Jerm. 39.
152
Hom. Gen. 10:1. In Ezk. Hom 11:2.
 Every time Moses is read to us, We should pray to the Father
of the Word that the words of psalm: “open my eyes: and I
will consider the wondrous things of Your law” (Ps. 118:8)
may apply in our case too. Unless he opens our eyes himself,
how can we see what great mysteries were wrought in the
patriarchs, mysteries variously signified by the images of
153
night, marriage and birth?
The Alexandrian theologians who followed him, from St. Dionysius
to St. Cyril, are all to a greater or lesser extent infected with the
predilection for allegory; and the same can be said of the Palestinian
(Epiphanius was a notable exception) and Cappadocian Fathers.

The School of Antioch came on the scene comparatively late. It

had a vigorous reaction against allegorism. Though not
completely rejecting allegorical interpretation, used it very
sparingly preferring the historical sense.
Through the influence of the Alexandrian theologians the tradition of
allegory passed to the West, and is visible in the expository writings,
for example, of St. Hillary and St. Ambrose. The greatest of Latin
exegetes, St. Jerome, though in his later days he became suspicious of
allegorism, accepted Origen’s three senses of Scripture, deeming that
recourse to the spiritual meaning was made necessary by the
anthropomorphism’s inconsistencies and incongruities with which the
Bible abounded. St. Augustine employs allegory with the greatest
freedom, delighting particularly in the mystical significance of names
154 155
and numbers . St. John Cassian , following St. Clement of
Alexandria, establishes the division which re-distinguishes four
senses, viz. the literal, the allegorical (applying passages to Christ and
the Church Militant),

153
154
In Gen. hom. 12:1.
Cf. J.N.D. Kelly: Early Christian Doctrines, 1978, p. 74-5.
155
Collat. 14:8.
the typological or moral (understanding of the soul and its virtues),
156
and the analogical (applying passages to heavenly realities) .
THE ALEXANDRIANS' JUSTIFICATIONS OF ALLE-
GORICAL INTERPRETATION
As we have already said, St. Clement believes that allegory incites
believers to discover the hidden meanings of the Scripture.
Alexander Kerrgan says,
Much agreement reigns among the older Alexandrians in
regard to the raison d'etre of the spiritual sense. Clement,
who was primarily a moralist and an educator, is inclined to
emphasize its pedagogical value: the symbols which intimate
it pique curiosity and stimulate the mind to discover the
157
words of salvation .
Other scholars state that the biblical authors, inspired by the Holy
Spirit, used allegory to keep simple Christians from doctrines they
are not mature enough to handle and piques the curiosity of the more
intelligent and spiritually advanced. Finding the deeper meaning is
thus the process by which God gradually leads those to whom He
would reveal himself from the sensible to the intelligible world. In
this way the genuine gnostic, pondering the obscurer passages of the
Bible, takes flight from this world to the other and becomes like God.

Origen discusses two problems which the early Church

faced, concerning the Old Testament:
1. The Jews, who stick to the letter of the prophecies of the Old
Testament, were expecting that the Messiah would fulfill them
literally, such as He must be their King who reigns over the whole
158
world. Therefore, they refused Jesus as the true Messiah , because
He does not literally promise the release of captives (Isa.

156
157
F.L. Cross: The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, 1990, p. 37.
Alexander Kerrgan: St. Cyril of Alexandria, Roma 1952, p. 135 ff.
158
De Principals 4:2:1.
61:1, rebuild what they take to be the true “City of God,” destroy the
chariots of Ephraim and the horses of Jerusalem (Zach. 9:10) or eat
milk and honey (Isa. 7:22). They could not acknowledge Him as
Lord, for they did not see the wolf and the lamb feed together (Isa.
65:25), leopard be at ease with kid, or calf, lion and sheep led
159
together to pasture (Isa. 11:7) . Nicolas De Lange states, “It is no
exaggeration to say that, for Origen, the whole of the debate between
the Church and the Synagogue can be reduced to the one question of
an interpretation of the Scriptures. ‘Jesus is the Son of God who gave
the law and the prophets,’ and ‘the religion of Moses and the
prophetic writings form the introduction to the faith of Christians;’
Christianity is thoroughly rooted in the Jewish Bible. The difference
between Judaism and Christianity is that the Christians perceive the
mysteries which are only hinted at in the Bible, whereas the Jews are
160
only capable of strictly literal reading of the text .”

“Both Jews and Christians,” Origen says, “believe that the

Bible was written by the Holy Spirit, but we disagree about the
interpretation of what is contained in it. Nor do we live like
the Jews, since we consider that it is not the literal
interpretation of the law which contains the spirit of the
161
legislation .”
Elsewhere he says, “We in the Church do not overlook the fact that
Jesus is the Son of God who gave the law and the prophets, but while
we have avoided the mythologies of the Jews we derive practical
wisdom and education from the mystical contemplation of the law and
162
the prophets .” Origen often speaks of “Jewish Mythology,” a phrase
borrowed from Titus 1:14, and he describes the Jewish mythology as
163
“useless” and “fetid .” There
159
160
De Principiis 4:2:1.
N.R.M. De Lange: Origen and the Jews: Studies in Jewish-Christian Relations in Third-Century
Palestine, 1976, Cambridge, p. 82-3.
161
Contra Celsus 5:60.
162
Contra Celsus 2:6.
163
In Lev. hom. 3:3.
 is no doubt that he means by “Jewish myths” the literal
interpretations of the law, indeed “Jewish” can be used simply as a
synonym for “literal,” but this is an exaggerated and one sided
characterization of the Jewish attitude, which is presented as a
contrast to Origen’s own, richer interpretation. Indeed, its use is not
confined to Jews; he can even apply it to Christians who adopt what is
164
to him a narrow view of the meaning of Scripture .
Origen says, "If therefore both the Lord and God are “Spirit,” we
165
ought to hear spiritually those things which the Spirit says ."

2. The Gnostics rejected the Old Testament, for they were scandalized
by some passages which refer to God as being angry, or that He
regretted or changed His mind. They were scandalized because they
166
interpreted them literally and not spiritually . Origen suggests that
allusions to anthropomorphism, such as God's anger, are not to be
understood literally. "If you hear of God's anger and wrath, do not
think of wrath and anger as emotions experienced by God." God is
simply accommodating human language to serve the purpose of
correcting human faults, as a human father corrects a child. "We too
put on a severe face for correcting children, not because that is our
true feeling but because we are accommodating ourselves to their
level. If we let our kindly feelings show in our face ... we spoil the
child." But God is not really wrathful or angry, yet we experience the
effects of wrath when we find ourselves in trouble on account of our
wickedness, which is the discipline of the "so-called wrath of

God167."

164
N.R.M. De Lange: Origen and the Jews: Studies in Jewish-Christian Relations in Third-Century
Palestine, 1976, Cambridge,chapter 9.
165
In Lev. hom. 1:1.
166
Ibid.
167
On Jer. Ohm., 18:7-10; Carl A. Volz: Life and Practice in the Early Church, Minneapolis, 1990,
p. 114.
In Jos. hom 9:8 Origen expresses his position with regard to the Old
Testament quite admirably. It represents a system which is done away
with. Yet the Church, unlike the Gnostics, does not reject it; she
preserves it, simply because it contains the type of Christ. But carnal
man, the slave of the letter, is incapable by himself of deciphering this
type of Christ. Christ Himself must grant that spiritual understanding
by bestowing His own Spirit. This is the reason why a spiritual
exegesis is so closely linked with the ideal of a spiritual perfection.
“Jesus it is who reads the Law, when he reveals the secrets of the
Law. We, who belong to the Catholic Church, do not reject the Law of
Moses, but receive it if and when it is Jesus who reads it to us. For it
is only if Jesus reads the Law in such wise that through his reading
we grasp its spiritual significance, that we correctly understand the
Law. Do not think they have grasped the meaning who could say: Was
not our heart burning within us when he opened to us the Scriptures,
and, beginning at Moses and the Prophets and expounding them all
showed that they wrote of him.” By linking Joshua’s reading of the
Law with Jesus’ reading to the disciples of Emmaus, Origen gives us
an exegesis of the Matthew type, which is not usual with him, yet
which emphasizes the profound continuity of the Old Testament, the
168
Gospel and the interior Christ who instructs each Christian .

Origen sees that these two groups of people (the Jews and the
Gnostics) misinterpreted the Scripture as they held the literal sense
exclusively. For this reason he set his theory that there are three
various meanings in the Scriptures, the literal, the moral and spiritual
meanings.
169
Alexander Kerrgan writes ,
Both he and Origen allude to a reason that is
invoked by profane exegetes in justification of the

168
Jean Daniélou: From Shadows to Reality, Studies in the Biblical Typology of the Fathers,
Newman
169
Press, 1960, p. 282-3.
Alexander Kerrgan: St. Cyril of Alexandria, Roma 1952, p. 135 ff.
 allegorical interpretation of the Homeric poems: the
purpose of the higher sense is to explain and transmit
Scripture in a manner that is worthy of God.
Origen dwells at length on a third reason: the spiritual sense is
justifiable on the grounds that the institutions of the Old
Testament prefigured Christ. "In what is written in the law,"
he writes, "everything is either a figure or an enigma of
170
Christ ." The spiritual sense, accordingly, is the expression
of the relationship of the Old Testament to the New; it aims at
discovering the connections that exist between them. This
principle is known to Clement but he invokes it rarely. (As we
shall see presently) it is a cardinal principle of St. Cyril’s
exegetical method. (We have already noted that) St. Cyril
regards the spiritual sense as a hinge on which his theory of
the identity of both Testaments hangs. He expresses his views
on this point for the first time during a discussion in which he
endeavors to harmonize the implications of texts like Mt. 5,17
f. and Phil. 3, 7-9 (which imply that the Mosaic law is still in
force) with those of John. 4, 21-24, Gal. 5, 4 f., Heb. 7,18f., 8,
171
7-10 and 13 (which imply that the law is abolished) .

In dealing with St. Cyril's views, Kerrgan further writes, Three

conclusions are reached which, though formulated negatively, are
quite positive in their contents:
1. It is a mistake to hold that the law has been abolished to the
extent that none of its prescriptions have any force.
2. It is likewise a mistake to think that it is altogether useless; (ta
anayxaia), if they are explained, they are still useful.

170
171
In Ioh. Comm 13:26.
PG 68:137A.
 3. Finally, it is erroneous to claim that the law
172
cannot be used as a proof of the truth .
Three reasons are adduced in support of these conclusions:
1. "the law is a type, shadow, or form of religion that brings forth
in childbirth, as it were, the beauty of the truth which is hidden
173
inside ."
2. "The law is a teacher that leads beautifully to the mystery
174
concerning Christ ."
3. "The law contains the first elements of God's words."
Kerrgan also writes, On these biblical foundations the Patriarch of
Alexandria (St. Cyril) builds his theory of the higher sense of
Scripture. We must not lose sight of the fact that this higher sense is
primarily a mode of utterance existing in the Scriptures themselves. A
few quotations will illustrate this point. "The law brings forth spiritual
things in its depths, as it were, and contains the meaning of more
175
subtle ideas in delicate shadows ." With regard to the prophecy of
Aggeus, Cyril writes: "His discourse is mixed. And the mystical
(Sophia) befitting spiritual things is buried in the deeds and utterances
176
of history ." "Great spiritual wealth," our author remarks elsewhere,
177
"was pounded into the Mosaic oracles ."

Of course, in order that these riches be unearthed, the literal

sense must necessarily be superseded. On this subject St.
Cyril, apparently, can never say too much." The law is perfect
and imperfect at one and the same time. It is

172
173
PG 68:140A.
Ibid 137B.
174
Ibid 140A.
175
PG 68:540 B.
176
Comment. on Agg. Pusey II:243, 16 ff.
177
Comment on St. John, Pusey II:386, 4 f.
 perfect, if it is understood spiritually (since it speaks to us of
Christ's mystery). But it is imperfect, if the mind of those who
are being instructed does not go beyond the letter. The crudity
178
of the letter is only half-knowledge ." In another place the
Patriarch states that the law, considered precisely as a system
of types and shadows, did not constitute food which could be
eaten; to become food, it needed to be transformed into an
evangelical Sophia and then deflected towards Christ's
179
mystery . Quoting Lev. 19, 23f he endeavors to give a
somewhat more artistic finish to these ideas. "...The writings
of Moses, since they yield a variegated growth of oracles and
are adorned with trees (namely laws concerning each single
thing) seem to us to be like most fertile gardens. But you must
purify the impurity of each tree, that is to say, you must cut off
the worthlessness of history and remove the woodiness of the
letter. Then you may reach the heart of the plant, you may
investigate the interior fruit of the oracle and make food of
it180."

181
Ideas like these St. Cyril hears again and again . The saying of St.
Paul "the letter kills but the spirit vivifies" 2 Cor. 3:6 is frequently
invoked and made a universal norm. Just one quotation more: "For the
letter kills, that is to say, the letter of the law as the wise Paul says. Of
itself the shadow is useless. But in regard to us , who understand, the
shadow has become most useful, since it enables us to grasp the things
of Christ. It has become, as it were, a kind of spiritual rain which
irrigates the earth in a certain fashion. If it is true that the ancient law
was bitter and unbearable for the ancients, it has become for us a
Paidagogos to Christ's

178
179
Comment on Osee, Pusey I:85, 25ff.
PG 68:585 C.
180
PG 68:585D.
181
PG 70:1429 A.
mystery, so that we can bring forth fruit in him, by peeling off the
182
thickness of the shadow ."
183
THE ANTIOCHENE REACTION
There was a reaction against allegorism in Antioch, the ecclesiastical
metropolis of Syria, where a tradition of Bible study, with meticulous
attention to the text, had been fostered since the days of Lucian of
Antioch (martyred A.D 312).
The beginnings of the school of Antioch seem to have been very
184
modest; it never could boast a head like Origen . It was not a
regular institution with a continuous secession of teachers, like the
Catechetical School of Alexandria, but a theological tendency, more
185
particularly a peculiar type of hermeneutics and exegesis .
The Antiochene Fathers used few typological elements in their
186
writings, since their exegesis reduced this element to a minimum .
We noticed that the Alexandrians faced the Hellenic culture, and were
obliged to use even their terms to defend the Christian faith and to
attract the well-educated pagans and Jews to Christianity. The
Antiochenes were strongly influenced by the Jewish literalist tradition
of Antioch. They were convinced that the primary level of the
interpretation was the historical level. They gave attention to the
revisions of the text, a close adherence to the plain, natural meaning
according to the use of language and the condition of the writer, and
justice to the human factor. In other words, its exegesis is grammatical
and historical, in distinction from the allegorical method of the
Alexandrian School. Yet, as regards to textual criticism, Lucian
followed the steps of Origen.

182
183
Comment on Amos, Pusey I, 535, 19 ff.
J.N.D. Kelly: Early Christian Doctrines, 1978, p. 75 f.
184
J. Quasten: Patrology, vol. 2, p. 122.
185
Schaff: History of the Christian Church, vol. 2, p.816
186
Jean Daniélou: From Shadows to Reality, Studies in the Biblical Typology of the Fathers,
Newman Press, 1960, p.6.
Besides the Antiochenes did have regard for the spiritual sense,
and the divine element in the Scriptures.
With regard to prophecies and psalms that were generally
understood to be Messianic, the Antiochenes allowed for a fuller
sense alongside the historical sense. Thus, they understood passages
to refer to Christ, the Church and the spreading of the gospel; but
187
they did this only in certain clearly defined circumstances .

J. Quasten states that the scholars in the two different schools were
convinced of a deep-seated discord, a fundamental contradiction, in
their respective approaches. At Antioch, the object was to find in Holy
Writ its most obvious meaning; at Caesarea or Alexandria the search
was for the figures of Christ. The one site accused allegory of
destroying the value of the Bible as a record of the past, of travestying
it into mythological fable; the other dubbed ‘carnal’ all who clung to
the letter. Still between the two there was no absolute opposition;
there was even broad agreement on entire traditional exegesis; but
special emphasis fell on distinct points of view. For Origen discovers
types not just in certain episodes, but in every detail of the inspired
word. Each line is filled with mystery. On the other hand, Antioch
made it a fundamental principle to see figures of Christ just
occasionally, not always, in the Old Testament. Where the
resemblance was marked and the analogy clear, only there would it
admit a foreshadowing of the Savior. Types were the exception, not
the rule; the Incarnation was everywhere prepared, but not everywhere
188
prefigured .

Lucian of Antioch: The Arians and Nestorians claimed descent from,

or affinity with, Lucian and his school. J. Quasten states “Its (the
school of Antioch) rationalistic tendency led to its becoming the
womb of heresy; Lucian, its founder, was the teacher

187
188
Cf. J. Rogerson: The Study and Use of the Bible, Grand Rapids, 1988, p. 36.
J. Quasten: Patrology, vol. 2, p. 121-2.
 189
of Arius . He was not a prolific writer. St. Jerome refers to his ‘small
treatise on faith’ without indication of its contents. He was a Hebrew
scholar and corrected the Greek version of the Old Testament from the
original. This revision of the Septuagint was adopted by the greater
number of the churches of Syria and Asia Minor from Antioch to
Byzantium, and was highly esteemed. Large fragments of it are extant
in the writings of St. John Chrysostom and Theodoret. Lucian
extended his textual criticism to the New Testament also, but limited it
190
most probably to the four Gospels .

Theodoret quotes the following passage from the letter of St.

Alexander of Alexandria, ten years after Lucian’s death, which was
sent to all the bishops of Egypt, Syria, Asia and Cappadocia.
You yourselves have been instructed by God; you are not
unaware that this teaching, which is setting itself up again
against the faith of the Church, is the doctrine of Ebion and
Artemas; it is the perverse theology of Paul of Samosata, who
was expelled from the Church at Antioch by a councilor
sentence of bishops from all place; his successor Lucian
remained for a long time excommunicated under three
bishops; the dregs of the impiety of those heretics have been
absorbed by these men who have risen from nothing....., Arius,
191
Achillas, and the whole band of their companions in malice

In fact, Arius and the future upholders of his heresy were educated
by Lucian at Antioch. Arius himself boasted of being a pupil of his,
called himself a ‘Lucianist,’ and addressed Lucian’s successor,
Bishop Eusebius of Nicomedia, as ‘Collucianist.’ All this indicates
that Lucian is the father of Arianism. Thus this

189
190
J. Quasten: Patrology, vol. 2, p. 122.
J. Quasten: Patrology, vol. 2, p. 142.
191
Eusebius: H.E. 1:4.
heresy has its roots not in Alexandria, where it was first taught, but at
192
Antioch .
The chief theologians concerned with this were Diodore of Tarsus
(c.330-c.390). The Exegetical School of Antioch produced one of its
greatest scholars and teachers in Diodore of Tarsus. Highly esteemed
as a pillar of orthodoxy during his lifetime, he was accused of heresy
and condemned as the originator of Nestorianism a century after his
193
death .
Eusebius twice mentions him and his glorious martyrdom, but is silent
about his theological opinions. St. Alexander of Alexandria, in an
encyclical of 321, associates him with Paul of Samosata and makes
him responsible for the Arian heresy; he also says that he was
excommunicated or kept aloof from the church during the episcopate
of Domnus, Timaeus, and Curillus; intimating that his schismatic
condition ceased before his death. The charge brought against him and
his followers is that he denied the eternity of the Logos, and the
human soul of Christ (the Logos taking the place of the rational soul).
Arius and the Arians speak of him as their teacher.

In his exegesis, Diodore follows firmly the historical and grammatical

method and strenuously opposes the allegorical interpretation peculiar
to the Alexandrian School. He does not look for a hidden meaning in
194
the text, but for the sense intended by the inspired writer .

His best work is his Commentary on the Psalms, which gives a good
idea of how Antiochene exegesis is both historical and
Christological. David is held to be the author of the Psalms, but, by
the gift of prophecy, some of the Psalms refer historically to the times
of later kings and prophets, the exile, and even the Maccabean period.
His treatment of Psalms 2 and 22 show the two

192
193
J. Quasten: Patrology, vol. 2, p. 143.
Schaff: History of the Christian Church, vol. 2, p. 813.
194
J. Quasten: Patrology, vol. 3, p. 397, 8.
extremes of the Antiochene exegesis. Psalm 2 is about the Lord Jesus
Christ, and tells how the Jews handed Him over to Herod and Pilate,
how He will save those who believe in Him, and how He will crush
those who do not believe. Against this thoroughly Christological
interpretation of Psalm 2, Diodore firmly rejects the idea that Psalm 22
has anything to do with Christ in spite of the use of the words of Jesus
195
when He was on the Cross in the opening lines of the Psalm .

In Diodore’s formula ‘We do not forbid the higher interpretation

and theoria, for the historical narrative does not exclude it, but is on
the contrary the basis and substructure of loftier insights... We must,
however, be on our guard against letting the theoria do away with
the historical basis, for the result would then be, not theoria, but
196
allegory .’
197
Theodore of Mopsuestia (c. 350-428): Diodore’s pupil, Theodore,
was like his teacher born at Antioch. He studied rhetoric and literature
under the famous sophist Libanius, in whose school he began his
lifelong friendship with St. John Chrysostom. Highly esteemed by his
contemporaries but condemned as a heretic 125 years after his death,
he shared the fate of his master Diodore of Tarsus. He is the most
typical representative of the Antiochene school of exegesis and by far
its most famous author. His works show that he was much more
restrained in using the Christological interpretation of the Old
Testament.
198
Photius seems acquainted only with an interpretation of
Genesis. He states in his very biased report:
Read the work of Theodore of Antioch entitled Commentary
on Genesis, the first book which contains seven volumes. The
style is neither brilliant nor very clear.

195
196
Ibid. 38.
Praef. in Pss. (ed. Maries, Recherches de science religieuse, 1919), p. 88. Kelly, p. 776-7.
197
J. Quasten: Patrology, vol. 3, p. 401ff.
198
Bibl. cod. 38.
 The author avoids the use of allegory as much as possible,
being only concerned with the interpretation of history. He
frequently repeats himself, and produces a disagreeable
impression upon the reader. Although he lived before
Nestorius, he vomits up his doctrines by anticipation. This is
that Theodore of Mopsuestia, from whom on several
occasions John Philoponus demanded a serious explanation of
his method of interpretation in his own work on the Creation.

Theodore is the first interpreter to insist that the Psalms must be read
against a historical background. He recognizes the Davidic
authorship of all the Psalms but at the same time is convinced that
the context and setting of many of the Psalms are altogether
unsuitable to David. His solution to this problem is that those Psalms
which reflect another period were written by David, but as a prophet
revealing the future state of Israel. Thus he classifies the Psalms
chronologically from David to the Maccabees. He maintains that the
prophetic horizon of David did not reach further than the Maccabees,
and that there is consequently no direct Messianic message in the
Psalms. He justifies the Messianic use in the New Testament as an
accommodation. But he recognizes four exceptions: Ps. 2; 8; 44;

109. Though he does not regard even these as properly Messianic in

the sense of referring to the future prepared for the chosen people, he
explains the Messianic interpretations proposed by the allegorical
school of Alexandria which violate his sound principle that each
Psalm must be treated as a literary whole and that a verse cannot be
199
divorced from its context .
Theodoret of Cyrrhus (c.393-c.460): His exegetical works deal with a
large number of the Old Testament books. These works shows the
Antiochene attitude in the method of interpretation.

199
J. Quasten: Patrology, vol 3, p. 404.
The practical illustrations of the Antiochene method are to be
found in the sermons of the other great representative of this
School St. John Chrysostom (c.347-407), who is furthermore
deeply rooted in the common tradition and furnishes a large
200
number of typical interpretations .
The sermons of St. John Chrysostom give evidence of his strict and
intelligent training in the tenets of that School. Always anxious to
ascertain the literal sense and opposed to allegory, he combines great
facility in discerning the spiritual meaning of the Scriptural text with
an equal ability for immediate, practical application to the guidance
of those committed to his care. The depth of his thought and the
soundness of his masterful exposition are unique and attract even
modern readers. He is equally at home in the books of the Old and
the New Testaments and has the skill to use even the former for the
201
conditions of the present and the problems of daily life .

He combines the historical interpretation of his

predecessors with doctrinal and didactic gifts.
St. John Chrysostom brings out the same point when he
202
divides Scriptural statements into:

. those which allow a ‘theoretical’ in addition to the literal
sense,

. those which are to be understood solely in the literal sense,
and

. those which admit only of a meaning other than the literal,
i.e. allegorical statements.

Valid though this contrast is, it should not be pressed to the extent
of overlooking the underlying unity, at the deeper level of typology,
of the fathers ’approach to the Scriptural revelation.

200
Jean Daniélou: From Shadows to Reality, Studies in the Biblical Typology of the Fathers,
Newman
201
Press, 1960, p. 6.
J. Quasten: Patrology, vol. 3, p. 433.
202
De creat. PG 56:459 , Kelly 76.
There is general agreement about cardinal issues, such as that Adam,
or again Moses the law-giver, in a real sense, foreshadowed Christ;
the flood points to baptism, and also to the judgment; all the sacrifices
of the old law, but in a pre-eminent way the sacrifice of Isaac, are
anticipations of that of Calvary; the crossing of the Red sea and the
eating of manna looks forward to baptism and the Eucharist; the fall
of Jericho prefigured the end of the world. The list of correspondences
could be expanded almost indefinitely, for the fathers were never
weary of searching them out and dwelling on them. They unanimously
believe that what Origen calls the Jewish mystery (or dispensation) in
its entirety’ was, as it were, a rehearsal of the Christian mystery.
Alexandria, famous in the late second and third centuries for its Matt
school, became the home of allegorical exegesis, with the great
Biblical scholar, Origen, as its leading exponent.

Despite differences of emphasis among the Antiochene Fathers, the

whole believed that allegory was an unreliable, indeed illegitimate,
instrument for interpreting Scripture. The true key to its deeper
spiritual message where this was not already fully explicit, as in
genuine prophecy, was what they called ‘insight.’ By this they meant
the power of perceiving, in addition to the historical facts set out in the
text, a spiritual reality to which they applied themselves to indicate.
Thus they accepted typology proper indeed, the classic definition of a
type as ‘a prophecy expressed in terms of things’ was framed by
Chrysostom but tried to rescue it from being exploited arbitrarily. For
theoria to operate they considered it necessary

. that the literal sense of the sacred narrative should not be

abolished,

. that there should be a real correspondence between the
historical fact and the further spiritual object discerned, and

. that these two objects should be apprehended together,
though of course in different ways.
EXAMPLES OF THE
ALEXANDRIAN ALLEGORY
AND TYPOLOGY
The following is an attempt to give a clear picture of
Alexandrian allegory and typology through some examples.
Although it is extremely hard task to do; it is considered
worthwhile.

THE NUMBERS
The mystical significance of numbers was developed
especially at Alexandria, beginning with Philo and developed by
203
Origen. Jean Daniélou gives signs of Origin’s dependence on
Philo, saying, The third sign... is to be seen in the way he treats
symbolism in certain cases. One thing, however, needs pointing out in
this connection, and that is that there is a certain amount of numerical
symbolism in the Bible itself, where it often constitutes the literal
meaning of the text. The use of the number seven is a case in point. It
is clear that there is a feeling for symbolism in the Bible; it is
discernible, for instance, in the story of creation. Hence, when Origen
says that the “number six seems to denote effort and labor and the
204
number seven to signify rest ,” he is proceeding on the same lines as
Scripture itself. But when referring to the number fifty, Pentecost and
the number one hundred, which he takes to denote fullness, he says,
“The people who were refreshed by (= resting in, ) the food that Jesus
gave them had to be in groups of a hundred - which is a sacred
number, dedicated to God because of the monad in it - or in groups of
fifty, a number signifying remission, as you can see from Pentecost
and the

203
204
Jean Daniélou: Origen, p. 184f.
Comm. on Matt. 14:5
 205
mystery of the Jubilee, which took place every fifty years ,”
he is combining the legitimate symbolism of the Bible with
pagan symbolism. It is true that fifty is a symbol of
forgiveness in the Old Testament, both in the case of the
Jubilee and in the case of the annual celebration of Pentecost.
And Origen may very likely be right when he claims to find
the same thing in the New Testament. But when he takes a
hundred as a symbol of perfection, he is inserting into this
genuine symbolism a kind of symbolism which is based on
external considerations and foreign to the text. The idea that a
hundred is the holy number par excellence is in fact embedded
deep in Hellenistic tradition...

St. Ambrose, St. Augustine, St. Jerome, Caesarius of Arles and

others borrowed their numerical symbolism from Origen.

* Number 2 = The two Testaments

Concerning the sacrifice of peace, the priest eats the meat through two
days (Lev. 7:17). Origen comments, “To the best of my understanding,
206
I think in these two days the two Testaments can be understood .” In
other words, through the two Testaments we can participate in the
spiritual sacrifice of peace, joy and thanksgiving. The holy Scripture
reveals God’s pleasure in believers, and the believers’ joy with their
God.
For St. Augustine number two refers to love. He says,
The precepts of love, given to us by the Lord, are two: “You
shall love the Lord Your God with all your heart, and with all
your soul, and with all your mind;” and, “You shall love your
neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all
the law and the prophets” (Matt. 22:37-40). With good reason
did the widow cast “ two mites;” all her substance, into the
offerings of God. With

205
206
Ibid 11:3.
In Lev. Hom. 5:9.
 good reason did the host take “two” pieces of money for the
poor man who was wounded by the robbers. Jesus spent two
207
days with the Samaritans, to establish them in love .
* Number 3 = The Holy Trinity, the resurrection of Christ, the
three kinds of sin, and the three elements of man.
Abraham knew that he prefigured the type of things to come,
he knew Christ would be born of his seed, to be offered as a
true victim for the whole world and the resurrection of the
dead... He arrived at the place to which the Lord had directed
him on the third day (Gen. 22:4). The third day is always a fit
one for mysteries. When the people went forth from Egypt they
offered sacrifice to God on the third day (Exod. 3:18), and the
208
Lord’s Resurrection is on the third day .

Origen sees in these three days which precede the Passover

209
the Paschal “triduum” of the Lord . Pharaoh did not allow the
children of Israel to go forward to the place of signs, and wished to
prevent them advancing till they could enjoy the mysteries of the third
day. Hear what says the Prophet: “The Lord will revive us after two
days: on the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his
sight.” The first day is for us the Lord’s passion; the second that of
the descent into hell, and the third that of the Resurrection. That is
why, on this third day, God will go before them, by day a pillar of
cloud, and by night a pillar of fire. If, according to what we said
above, the Apostle rightly teaches us that these words enshrine the
mystery of baptism, then it will follow that “those who are baptized in

207
208
On the Gospel of St. John, tr. 17:6.
Origen:In. Gen. hom. 8:1, 4.
209
Jean Daniélou: From Shadows to Reality, Studies in the Biblical Typology of the Fathers,
Newman Press, 1960, p. 186.
 Christ Jesus are baptized into his death and buried
together with him” (Rom 6:3), and rise with him on the
third day. When you have made your own the mystery of
the third day, God will begin to lead you and himself to
210
show you the way of salvation .
By the “Mystery” of the three days Origen is able to harmonize the
crossing of the Red Sea with the general theology of Baptism as a
sharing in the death and Resurrection of Christ. Later he sees in the
pursuit of the Egyptians a stereotype of the devils straining to keep the
211
soul from Baptism .
Through the trip of the wilderness, the camp of the people was
divided into four divisions, each one consisted of three tribes (Num.
2). According to Origen, it was a symbol of the Father, the Son
and the Holy Spirit. He States that the inhabitants of the four
corners of the world are censured by the Holy Trinity alone, those
who call God and sit with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom
212
of the Heaven (Matt. 8:11) .
Number 3 refers also to the three kinds of sin.
Man’s way of sinning is three fold: sin is committed in deed,
213
or in word or in thought . What is the "journey of three
days" which we are to go, that going out from Egypt we can
arrive at the place in which we ought to sacrifice? I
understand "way" to refer to him who said, "I am the way, the
truth, and the life."(John 14.6.) We are to go this way for
three days. For he who "has confessed with his mouth the
Lord Jesus and believed in his heart that God raised him from
the dead" on the third day, "will be saved" (Cf. Rom 10:9).
This, therefore, is "the way of three days" by which one
arrives at the place
210
211
In Exod. hom 5:2.
Jean Daniélou: From Shadows to Reality, Studies in the Biblical Typology of the Fathers,
Newman Press, 1960, p. 187.
212
In Num. hom. 2:2.
213
Origen: In Exod. Hom. 6:3.
 in which the "sacrifice of praise"(Cf. Ps. 49.14.) is sacrificed
and offered to the Lord. What we have said pertains to the
mystical meaning. But if we also require a place for the moral
meaning which is very useful for us, we travel a "journey of
three days" from Egypt if we thus preserve ourselves from all
filth of soul, body, and spirit, that, as the Apostle said, "our
spirit and soul and body may be kept whole in the day of Jesus
Christ"(1 Thess 5:23). We travel a "journey of three days"
from Egypt if, ceasing from worldly things we turn our
rational, natural, moral wisdom to the divine laws. We travel
a "journey of three days" from Egypt if, purifying our words,
deeds, or thoughts - for these are the three things by which
men can sin - we would be made "pure in heart" so that we
could "see God" (Cf. Matt. 5:8).

* Numbers 5, 50, 250, and 500 And the number five hundred, or two
hundred and fifty, either contains the mystery of the five senses
perfected a hundred-fold in Him; or else, as being the pardonable
number, fifty multiplied five times, it signifies the remission of sins
214
that is bestowed through Him .

St. Augustine like Origen believes that number five refers

to the five senses. However he gives another explanation to num
ber fifty, as he says, The number of fifty is made up by multiplying 7
by 7, with the addition to 1, for 7 times 7 makes 49. (Number 7 refers
to perfection, for on the seventh day God rested after the creation)
And the 1 is added to show that there is one who is expressed by
seven on account of His sevenfold operation; and we know that it was
on the fiftieth day after our Lord’s resurrection that the Holy Spirit
was sent, for

214
Origen:Comm. on the Songs of Songs, book 1:3 (ACW).
 whom the disciples were commanded to wait according to
215
the promise (Acts 4; 2:2-4) .
* Number 10
Now the number ten is a sacred one, not a few
216
mysteries being indicated by it .
217
* Numbers 22, 273 and 1000 According to Origen, the Levites
were counted (Num. 3). The count of all the males a month old and
upwards. They were 22,000. The numeral 22 coincides with the
number of the Hebrew Alphabet, the numeral 1000 is a symbol of
heaven. As if their work was to register the names of all the people in
a heavenly language so that everyone may share in the heavenly
glory.
The number of the firstborns from all the people of Israel was
22,273. The 273 souls were left uncompensated for. For the
redemption of each one of them, 5 golden shekels were to be
presented to Aaron and his sons. The numeral 273 is a symbol of our
redemption through baptism or spiritual birth. The physical birth
requires the fetus to remain two hundred and seventy days in his
mother's womb (9 X 30 = 270), and this spiritual birth is
accomplished by 3 immersions. As for the five shekels they
symbolize the sanctification of the five senses, so that we may
resemble the five wise virgins (Matt. 25).

218
Number 25 Origen states that the Levites start their work at age 25,
spending five years for attaining their experience (Num. 4).

215
216
On the Gospel of St. John, tr.122:8.
Origen: Commentary on John 2:29.
217
In Num. hom. 4.
218
In Num. hom. 5.
 Number 25 denotes the perfect sanctification of the five senses
(both spiritual and physical: (5 X 5 = 25).

* Number 300
With regard to these foxes (Judges 15:3-5) that differ from
and disagree with one another, however, the number three
hundred itself signifies that there are three kinds of sins. For
every sin is committed either in deed, or in word, or by the
219
consent of the mind .
Jean Daniélou says, The length (of the ark of Noah) of 300 cubits
unites 100 and 3. The number 100 indicated fullness and “contains
the mystery of the totality of the Spiritual creation, as we read in the
Gospel, when it is said that a man having a hundred sheep and losing
one of them left the ninety-nine others and went to seek the lost one....
This ‘hundredth,’ the fullness of Spiritual creation, does not subsist of
itself, but proceeds from the Trinity and receives from the Father,
through the Son and Holy Spirit, the length of life, that is the grace of
immortality; it is because of this multiplied by three, so that having
fallen from the ‘hundred’ through ignorance, it is restored in the three
hundred by the knowledge of the Trinity.” The breadth has fifty
cubits, “because that number is consecrated to redemption and
220
remission.” It is the interpretation already given by Clement and
221
comes from Philo . The number thirty contains the same “mystery”
as

300. Finally, the top of the building leads to the number one
because ‘one God is Father and Lord ; there is one faith of the
Church and one baptism” and “all things hasten to

219
220
Origen: Comm. on the Songs of Songs, book 3(4):15 (ACW).
Stromata 6:2.
221
De Mut. Nom. 228
 222
the one end of divine perfection .” Origen has worked out
his own theology in these mysteries of the ark as Clement has
previously worked out his.

THE NAMES
Ronald E. Heine says, “Etymological exegesis of names is one of
the techniques of Origen's allegorical interpretation of Scripture.
This is his attempt to draw spiritual significance from the meaning
of the names of various persons and places in the Scriptural
narrative by relating the names to words from which they are
223
derived or, what is often the case, which they resemble .”

* Aaron and his sons = Christ and His apostles

Origen states that our Lord Jesus Christ is “Aaron,” and His apostles
are the sons of Aaron. According to Lev. 10:9, they do not drink wine
or strong drink when they go into the Tent of Witness or when they
approach the Altar. In other words they cannot rejoice while we are in
iniquity, and are in need of Christ’s redeeming work and the apostles’
224
ministry .
According to the authority of the Apostle Paul, our Lord and
Savior is called “the High-priest of the good things to come”
Heb. 9:11. Thus, this one is “Aaron,” but “his sons” are His
apostles to whom He Himself was saying, “My little
children..” John 13:33... Let us now see how our Savior
drinks no wine “until He drinks it” with the saints “anew in
the kingdom of God” (Matt. 26:29). My Savior even now
laments my sins. My Savior cannot rejoice while I continue
in iniquity. Why not? Because He is “an Advocate for our
sins before the

222
223
In Gen hom. 2:5.
Ronald E. Heine: Origen, Homilies on Genesis and Exodus - Frs. of the Church, 71, p. 389.
224
For more detail see our book Leviticus (in Arabic), p. 95 ff.
 Father,” as John, his fellow priest, proclaims, saying that
“if anyone should sin, we have an Advocate before the
Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous; and He Himself is the
Propitiation for our sins” (1 John 2:1-2)....
As long as we do not act so that we may ascend to
the kingdom, He cannot drink alone the wine which He
promised to drink with us. Therefore, He is in sorrow as
225
long as we persist in error .
* Agar and Sara
226
For Origen the opposition of Agar and Sara is not the opposition of
two historical peoples. It is rather a stereotype of the interior conflict
which goes on in each individual Christian. The historical conflict
becomes that of Jew and Christian which each of us bears in himself.
Thus the history of nations becomes the history of the individual soul,
227
a transposition along the lines of authentic typology .

* Balaam
228
From the symbolic aspect, Origen believes that the angel who
appeared to Balaam, depicts the Angel of God who was leading His
people (Exod. 23:43), while Balaam represents the non-believers, his
name denotes "vain people." As for the donkey it refers to the simple
Church that serves non-believers. The Church that reveals to them
what they cannot perceive.
* Bethabara
They say that Bethabara is pointed out on the banks
of the Jordan, and that John is said to have baptized there.

225
226
In Lev. hom. 7:2.
In Genesis hom 7:2.
227
Jean Daniélou: From Shadows to Reality, Studies in the Biblical Typology of the Fathers,
Newman Press, 1960, p. 141.
228
In Num. hom. 13, 14.
 The etymology of the name, too, corresponds with the
baptism of him who made ready for the Lord a people
prepared for Him; for it yields the meaning “House of
preparation,” while Bethany means “House of
229
obedience .”
* Etham (Exod. 13:21) = signs for them Etham, they say, is
translated in our language as "signs for them," and rightly so, for here
you will hear it said: "God was preceding them by day in a column of
cloud and by night in a column of fire" (Exod. 13:21). You do not find
this done at Ramesse nor at Socoth, which is called the second
encampment for those departing. It is the third encampment in which
divine signs occur. Recollect what was read above when Moses said to
Pharaoh, "We will go a journey of three days in the wilderness and
sacrifice to the Lord our God" (Exod. 5:3). This was the three days to
which Moses was hastening and Pharaoh was opposing, for he said,
"You shall not go far"(Exod. 8:28 [LXX 8:24]). Pharaoh would not
permit the children of Israel to reach the place of signs; he would not
permit them to advance so that they could enjoy fully the mysteries of
the third day. Hear what the prophet says: "God will revive us after
two days, and on the third day we will arise and live in his sight"
(Hos. 6:2). The first day is the passion of the Savior for us. The second
is the day on which he descended into hell. The third day is the day of
resurrection (Cf. Matt. 16.21). Therefore, on the third day "God went
before them, by day in a column of cloud, by night in a column of fire"
230
(Cf. Exod. 13:21) .

* Jacob and Esau

Since Jacob now stands for the Church, Esau, the older brother,
will represent the Jews. Origen comments on Genesis

229
230
Origen: Commentary on John 6:24.
Origen: In Exod. hom. 5:2 (Ronald E. Heine).
25:23: “How the one people (the Church) has overcome the other
(the Synagogue), and how the elder is the servant of the younger, is
231
known even to the Jews, although they do not believe it .” The
implication of the last words is that the argument is familiar to the
Jews, but that they do not realize that it works against themselves.
Again, read Jacob as a symbol for the Church, Origen finds new
232
meaning for the sheep won from Laban .

* Jesus and Joshua

Origen notes that this name appears for the first time in Exod.
17:9, when Moses sends Joshua to fight against Amalek:
We meet the name of Jesus for the first time when we see him as
head of the army. From this first acquaintance with the name of
Jesus I learn the mystery of its symbolism (sacramentum mysterii):
233
Jesus is the leader of the army .”
* Moses = The Law
This Church, therefore, coming from the Gentiles finds Moses
in the marsh lying cast off by his own people and exposed,
and gives him out to be reared. He is reared by his own
family and spends his childhood there. When, however, "he
has grown stronger" (Exod. 2:10), he is brought to her and
adopted as a son. We have already frequently argued in many
places that the Law is referred to as Moses. The Church,
therefore, coming to the waters of baptism, also took up the
Law. The Law, however, had been enclosed in "a basket" and
smeared with pitch and "bitumen" (Cf. Exod. 2:3). The

231
232
Origen: In Gen. hom. 12:3; cf. In Rom. 2:7.
Origen: Contra Celsus 4:43; St. Paul had similarly identified the Jews with Ishmael, the Church
with Isaac (Gal. 4:21-31.); N.R.M. De Lange: Origen and the Jews: Studies in Jewish-Christian
Relations in Third-Century Palestine, 1976, Cambridge, p. 80.
233
In Josh. hom. 1:3.
"basket" is a kind of covering woven together from twigs or papyrus or even formed from
the bark of trees. The infant placed within this basket was seen exposed. The Law,
therefore, was lying helpless enclosed in coverings of this kind, besmeared with pitch and
bitumen. It was dirty and enclosed in cheap and offensive meanings of the Jews until the
Church should come from the Gentiles and take it up from the muddy and marshy places
and appropriate it to itself within courts of wisdom and royal houses. This Law, however,
spends its childhood with its own people. With those who are not able to understand it
spiritually. It is little, an infant, and has milk as its food. But when Moses comes to the
Church, when he enters the house of the Church, he grows stronger and more robust. For
when the veil of the letter is removed "perfect and solid food" (Cf. Heb 5:12-14) is
discovered in its text. But let us also take up the Law of God to ourselves when we come
to the waters even if we had Pharaoh as father, even if "the prince of the world" (John
16:11) begot us in evil works. Let not its cheap and obscure cover of the letter be despised
by us. Let us give up what is small and milky. Let us take up what is perfect and robust
and let us set these up within the royal dwellings of our heart. Let us have Moses large and
strong. Let us think nothing small, nothing lowly about him, but let him be totally
magnificent, totally distinguished, totally elegant. For whatever is spiritual, whatever of
elevated understanding is great in every respect. And let us pray our Lord Jesus Christ that
he himself might reveal and show us in what manner Moses is great and elevated (Cf.
Exod. 11:3). For he himself "reveals" it to whom he wishes "by
 the Holy Spirit" (Cf. 1 Cor 2:10). "To him belong glory and sovereignty forever and ever.
234
Amen."(Cf. 1 Pet. 4:11) .

* Og
Victory over Og (crookedness), the king of Bashan "Shame." So we
destroy every distorted thought that will deter us from preoccupying
ourselves with heavenly matters, and every disgrace is removed,
consequently we enter into the inner divine glory.

* Sara = princess (royal virtue)

I think that Sara which is interpreted “princess” or having the
sovereignty is the type of virtue, because virtue is in the mind.
That is true virtue which lives with a wise and faithful
husband. That is why God said to Abraham, ‘In all that Sara
has said to you, hearken to her voice’: words which do not fit
235
a merely carnal marriage .
* Sephora and Phua
The king of Egypt called Sephora and Phua, the midwives and asked
them to kill the Hebrew males and preserve the males; but they
disobeyed him for they feared God. According to Origen "Sephora"
means a "sparrow," and "Phua" means either "blushing" or "modest."
The two midwives also refer to the Two testaments.
For one midwife is like a sparrow who teaches lofty things
and calls forth souls to fly to the heights on rational wings of
instruction. The other, who is blushing or modest, is moral.
She regulates morals, teaches modesty, and institutes
integrity. It seems to me, however, since Scripture says of
these women, "Because they feared God, they did not carry
out the command of the king of Egypt" (Exod. 1:17), that the
two midwives serve as a figure of the two Testaments.

234
235
Origen: In Exod. hom. 2:4 (Ronald E. Heine).
Origen: In Genesis hom. 6:1.
 "Sephora," which is translated as sparrow, can be applied to
the Law which "is spiritual" (Cf. Rom 7 ;14). But "Phua," who
is blushing or modest, indicates the Gospels which are red
with the blood of Christ and glow reddish through the whole
world by the blood of His passion. The souls, therefore, which
are born in the Church are attended by these Testaments as if
by midwives, because the entire antidote of instruction is
conferred on them from the reading of the Scriptures. But let
us apply these words also to ourselves. If you too fear God,
you do not carry out the command of the king of Egypt. For he
commands you to live in pleasure, to love the present world, to
desire present things (Cf. 1 John 2:15-16). If you fear God
and perform the office of midwife for your own soul, if you
desire to confer salvation on it, you do not do these things.
You keep alive the male which is in you. You attend and assist
your inner man(Cf. 2 Cor 4:16) and seek eternal life for him
236
by good actions and understandings .

* Sihon
237
According to Origen , Sihon (Num. 21:12-30) means "haughty" and
"barren." He refers to the devil, the king of the Amorites "bitterness."
He is the king of the evil world (John 14:30; 12:31), who grants
sinners a kind of bitterness. He resists God's peace, so he ends up
being defeated. As for the battle field it was called Jahaz "the
fulfillment of the commandment," where we are triumphant (Jer.
6:16), by the blade of the Spirit which is God's word (Eph. 6:17).
Hence we occupy all his land from Arnon to Jabbok (i.e. from the
curses up to the struggles, we enter into the land of curses, and we
struggle until it is superseded by blessings), and we occupy Heshbon ,
meaning "reckoning or thought"

236
237
Origen: In Exod. hom. 2:2,3 (Ronald E. Heine).
In Num. hom. 12.
moreover we recover our ideology after it had been under the
proud enemy's control.

THE EVENTS
* Adam
Just as through having Adam as the first example, the head, of
our natural mode of birth, we are all said to have in this
respect one body, even so do we register Christ as our head
through the divine regeneration of his death and resurrection
238
which has become a pattern for us .

. The coat of skin Origen states that the Fall has caused man to put
on the garments of mortality and of frailty. These are the "coats of skin"
(Gen. 3:21) made by God for Adam and Eve when they were being
239
expelled from Paradise . Following Philo and the Gnostics, who had
240
interpreted the coats of skin as bodies , Origen sees the Fall not simply as
a moral but as a metaphysical event. The Fall means that man enters a
241
world which is separate from God , and takes on a dual nature of spirit
and of flesh because he is now clothed in a physical body.

. Ark of Noah

242
Jean Daniélou says , We noted (previously) that Noah is considered
explicitly as a type of Christ... Origen cites Gen. 5:29: “he shall
comfort us concerning our work and toil.” But he adds

238
239
Origen:Commentary on John, fragment 140: based on Drewery 132.
Against Celsus 4:40.
240
Philo :Quaest in Gen. 1:53. For the Gnostics see Clement: Stromata 3:95:2 and Irenaeus : Adv.
Haer 1:5:5.
241
Comm. Rom. 3:3 Pg 14:9338C.
242
Jean Daniélou: From Shadows to Reality, Studies in the Biblical Typology of the Fathers, p.
107-8.
 that this cannot apply to Noah. “How can it be true that Noah
will give rest to Lamech or to the people then on earth, or how
was there in the time of Noah an end to the sadness, or how
was the crude upon the earth lifted (Gen 5:29), seeing that the
divine anger was revealed as very great.....But if you consider
our Lord Jesus Christ of whom it is said: ‘Behold the Lamb of
God, behold him who takes away the sin of the world’ and
‘Come to me, all you that labor, and I will refresh you’, you
will find that it is he who has truly given rest to the world and
243
freed man from that curse ”... Origen next deals with the
building of the ark: “It is to this spiritual Noah who has given
rest to man and taken away the sin of the world that the order
was given to build the ark with square columns.” These square
columns indicate firmness according to an idea which comes
from Philo, and which we have found in Clement of
Alexandria. Origen sees in this a type of the Doctors of the
Church who fight against the assaults of the heretics. This idea
is always present in the “Gnostic” point of view.

* Drawing water from a well = depth of knowledge Rebecca came

with the other women to draw water from the well and because she
came every day to the well, it was possible for her to be found by
Abraham’s servant and married to Isaac. You think that these are
myths, and that the Holy Spirit only records history in the Scriptures.
Here is an instruction for the soul and spiritual teaching which
instructs you to come daily to the wells of the Scriptures... All that has
been written, points to mysteries: Christ wishes to wed you, too, and
for that reason sends his servant to you. This servant is the word of
the prophets.

243
In Gen. 2:3.
 You cannot be wed to Christ, if you have not at first
244
received him .
Origen borrows from Philo this symbolism of the wells as
the “depths of knowledge,” and gives it quite a different
245
significance .
* The souls who descended into Egypt with Jacob (Exod. 1:5) =
The spiritual birth in Jesus Christ through the Gospel.
Those are the souls which Jacob begot. I do not think that any
man can beget a soul unless, perhaps, he be someone like that
man who said, "For although you have many thousand
teachers in Christ, you have not many fathers. For in Christ
Jesus I begot you through the Gospel."(1 Cor. 4.15.) Such are
those men who beget and give birth to souls, as he says
elsewhere, "My little children, with whom I am in labor again,
until Christ be formed in you."(Gal. 4.19.) For others either
do not wish to have the trouble of this kind of begetting or are
not able. In short, what did Adam himself say at the
beginning? "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my
flesh."(Gen. 2.23.) He does not add, however, "and soul of my
246
soul. "
* The death of Joseph (Exod. 1:6-7) = The death of Jesus
Christ.
"Joseph," the text says, "died and all his brothers and all
that generation. But the sons of Israel increased and were
multiplied and were extended into a great multitude and
became very strong, for the land multiplied them." (Exod.
1.6-7.) While Joseph was living it is not reported that the
sons of Israel were multiplied nor is anything at all
mentioned about increases and multitudes in these times...

244
245
Origen: In. Genesis 10:2; Baehrens p. 94-5.
Jean Daniélou: From Shadows to Reality, Studies in the Biblical Typology of the Fathers,
Newman Press, 1960, p. 143.
246
Origen: In Exod. hom. 1:3 (Ronald E. Heine).
 If, therefore, Joseph die in you also, that is, if you assume the
dying of Christ in your body and you make your members
dead to sin, then "the sons of Israel are multiplied" in
you.(Exod. 1.7.) The "sons of Israel" are interpreted as good
and spiritual senses. If, therefore, the senses of the flesh are
put to death, the senses of the spirit increase, and while the
vices in your are dying daily, the number of virtues is being
247
increased .
* The enslaved sons of Israel in Egypt (Exod. 1:14) = The
enslaved senses or virtues of the soul through sin.
If the Lord guides us, and our understanding, illuminated by
the Lord, always remembers Christ, as Paul writes to Timothy,
"Remember that Christ Jesus has arisen from the dead,"(2 Tim
2.8.) as long as it remembers these things in Egypt, that is in
our flesh, our spirit holds the kingdom with justice and does
not exhaust the sons of Israel, whom we said above to be the
rational senses or virtues of the soul, "by mind and
brick,"(Exod. 1.14.) nor does it weaken them with earthly
cares and troubles. Its purpose is that you, who hear these
words, who perhaps have already received the grace of
baptism and have been numbered among the sons of Israel and
received God as king in yourself and later you wish to turn
away and do the works of the world, to do deeds of the earth
and muddy services, may know and recognize that "another
king has arisen in you who knows not Joseph," (Exod. 1.8.) a
king of Egypt, and that he is compelling you to his works and
is making you labor in bricks and mud for himself. It is he who
leads you by whips and blows to worldly works with
magistrates and supervisors put over you that you may build
248
cities for him .

247
248
Origen: In Exod. hom. 1:4 (Ronald E. Heine).
Origen: In Exod. hom. 1:5 (Ronald E. Heine).
* The killing of the males and the preservation of females (Exod.
1:15-16) = The destruction of the abilities and desires of the soul
and the preservation of the lusts and desires of the flesh.

Let us inquire, therefore, why the king of Egypt, who is "the

prince of this world,"(Cf. John 16.11.) does not wish the male
children to be preserved and wishes the females preserved. If
you remember, we have often pointed out in our discussions
that the flesh and the passions of the flesh are designated by
the females, but the man is the rational sense and the
249
intellectual spirit . Pharaoh, king and prince of Egypt,
therefore, hates the rational sense which is able to understand
heavenly things, to perceive God, and "to seek the things
which are above." (Col. 3.1.) He desires this sense to be killed
and destroyed. He desires, however, that whatever things are
of the flesh live. And what pertains to bodily matter he desires
not only to live, but also to be increased and cultivated. For he
wants everyone to understand fleshly things, desire temporal
things, and seek "the things which are on the earth." (Cf. Col.
3.1-2.) He wants no one to "lift his eyes to heaven," (Cf. Luke
18.13.) no one to inquire whence he has come here, no one to
250
remember the fatherland of Paradise .

In his Homilies on Leviticus, Origen says, “It (the calf) is a male

without blemish (Lev. 1:3). It is truly a male, which does not know
251
the sin which is of female fragility .”

* Pharaoh = Satan
Origen comments on the meeting between Moses and Pharaoh,
saying that as Moses stood before Pharaoh, let us also stand
against him.

249
250
Cf. Philo L.A. 3.23.243; QE. 1.8.
Origen: In Exod. hom. 2:1 (Ronald E. Heine).
251
Origen: In Lev. hom 1:2:8.
 Let us neither bow nor bend, but let us stand "having girded
our loins with the truth and having shod our feet with the
preparation of the Gospel of peace" (Eph. 6:14-15). For thus
the Apostle exhorts us saying, "Stand, therefore, and do not
again submit to the yoke of slavery"(Gal. 5.1). For the longer
we stand firmly and staunchly the weaker and feebler Pharaoh
will be. If, however, we begin to be either feeble or doubtful,
he will become stronger and firmer against us. And truly that
of which Moses gave a figure is fulfilled in us. For when
Moses "lifted his hands" Amalec was conquered. But if "he
cast" them "down" as though weary and put down weak arms,
"Amalec would become strong" (Cf. Exod. 17:11). So,
therefore, let us also lift our arms in the power of the cross of
Christ and "let us raise holy hands" in prayer "in every place
without anger and dispute"(Cf 2 Tim. 2:8) that we might
deserve the Lord's help. For the apostle James also urges this
same thing, saying, "Resist the devil and he will flee from you"
(Jas. 4:7). Therefore, let us go in full confidence that not only
"may he flee from us," but also "Satan may be ground under
our feet," as also Pharaoh was drowned in the sea and
252
destroyed in the deep abyss .

* The Exodus
Origen explains that through love the soul ascends on the mountain of
253
Beauty , and realizes her journey. The longing of the soul for God is
like the longing of Israel for the promised land. It is a yearning for
Paradise and when purified allows the soul to pass the flaming swords
254
of the cherubim and gain access to the tree of life . Or it is the
255
pilgrim's desire for his true city, the heavenly Jerusalem .

252
253
Origen: In Exod. hom. 3:3 (Ronald E. Heine).
Origen: On Prayer, 17:2].
254
Origen: An Exhortation to Martyrdom, 36.
255
Origen: De Principiis 4:3:6.
 Moreover, when the soul sets out from Egypt of this life to go
to the promised land, she necessarily goes by certain roads..
and observes certain stages that were made ready by the
Father from the beginning... Who will be found worthy and so
understanding of the divine mysteries that he can describe the
stages of that journey and ascent of the soul and explain
either the toils or the rest of each different place? For how
will he explain that after the first and second stages Pharaoh
256
is still in pursuit?...
Therefore, we must go forth from Egypt. We must leave the
world behind if we wish "to serve the Lord." I mean, however,
that we must leave the world behind not in space, but in the
soul; not by setting out on a journey, but by advancing in faith.
Hear John saying these same things: "Little children, do not
love the world nor those things which are in the world, since
everything which is in the world is the desire of the flesh and
257
the desire of the eyes" (1 John 2:15-16) .

* The Pasch St. Clement of Alexandria describes the Passover in

Philonian fashion as “the transition from the love of things of the
258
sense to those of the intellect .”

Origen also says, “‘Pasch’ means ‘passing over.’ To celebrate the

Pasch without ceasing is to pass over unceasingly in thought, word
and deed from the things of earth to God, and to hasten on towards
259
the City of God .”

256 257 258

Origen: In Number. Hom 27:4. Origen: In Exod. hom. 3:3 (Ronald E. Heine).
Stromata 2, 11, 140, 11; Jean Daniélou: From Shadows to Reality, Studies in the Biblical

Typology of the Fathers, Newman Press, 1960, p. 217.

259
Against Celsus 8:22.
 In His homilies on the Numbers Origen gives the
260
Pasch an eschatological meaning . He believes that the feast of
the Pasch is a shadow of the heavenly Pasch:
Raising our minds to the third Pascha, which will
be celebrated among myriads of angels in the most perfect
festivity (cf. Heb. 12:22) and with the happiest exodus, is
not necessary at the same time, especially since we have
261
spoken more fully and lengthily than the text required .
* The trip in the wilderness Origen believes that the journey
included forty-two stops. This reminds us of what came in Matthew 1
that there were forty-two generations between Abraham and Christ.
This seems to symbolize the history of salvation through human race.
It is a chariot that carries us across the road of salvation which the
Lord Himself has prepared for us to elevate us from one glory to
another (Ps. 84:7), and from strength to more strength. Moreover,
most of these stops had names bearing symbolic meanings.

Origen sees in the march from Marah to Elim the passing

262
from the Law to the Gospel .
The Red Sea receives the Israelites who did not doubt and delivered
them from the perils of the Egyptians who pursed them: and so the
whole history of the Flight from Egypt is a type of salvation obtained
through Baptism. Egypt represents the world, in which we harm
ourselves if we live badly; the people are those who are now
enlightened (= baptized): the waters, which are for these people the
means of salvation, represent Baptism; Pharaoh and his soldiers are
263
the Devil and his satellites .
St. Didymus the Blind

260
261
In Num. hom. 26:4
Origen:Comm. on John 10:18:111.
262
Jean Daniélou: From Shadows to Reality, Studies in the Biblical Typology of the Fathers,
Newman Press, 1960, p. 173.
263
De Trinitate 2:14.
* Sweetening the bitterness of the water
When Moses sweetened the waters with his staff, he proclaimed
beforehand the salvation of all mankind. For he was a type of Christ;
his staff was a type of the Cross; the bitter waters were a type of the
water of the Pool of Bethsaida, of no avail to those without faith, but
264
in which those who had faith found their healing .

St. Didymus the Blind

* Manna = What is this The interpretation of the name signifies this

same thing, for manna means, "What is this?" See if the force itself of
the name does not provoke you to learning so that when you hear the
Law of God read you always inquire and ask and say to the teachers,
"What is this?" For this is what manna means. Therefore, if you wish
to eat manna, that is if you desire to receive the word of God, know
that it "is small and very subtle like the seed of the coriander." It is
partially vegetable by which it can nourish and recreate the weak, for
"he who is weak eats vegetables"(Rom. 14:2). It is also partially hard
and, therefore, is "as frost." It is also very white and sweet. For what
is whiter, what more splendid than divine instruction? What is sweeter
or what more delightful than the words of the Lord which are "beyond
honey and the honeycomb?"(Cf. Ps. 18:11.)... But if it is plain from the
divine Scriptures that on the Lord's Day God rained manna and on the
Sabbath he did not, let the Jews understand that already at that time
our Lord's Day was preferred to the Jewish Sabbath. Even then it was
revealed that on their own Sabbath no grace of God descended to
them from the sky; no bread of heaven, which is the word of God,
came to them. For a prophet also

264
De. Trinit. 2:14.
 says elsewhere: "The sons of Israel will sit for many days
without a king, without a prince, without a prophet, without a
victim, without a sacrifice, without a priest" (Hos. 3:4.) On
our Lord's Day, however, the Lord always rains manna from
the sky... But someone says, "If you say that the word of God is
manna, how does it produce worms?" The worms in us come
from no other source than from the word of God. For he
himself says, "If I had not come and spoken to them they would
not have sin" (John 15:22). If anyone, therefore, sins after the
word of God has been received, the word itself becomes a
worm in him which always pricks his conscience and gnaws at
265
the hidden things of his heart .

* Stretching the hand of Moses

The usual Christian interpretation of Moses' arms is to see in them a
symbol of the Cross. Like R. Eliezer he takes the arms to represent
men's actions: 'If our actions are elevated and do not rest on the
ground, Amalek is defeated... Thus if the people keeps the law, it
raises up Moses' arms and the adversary is defeated; if it does not
.
keep the law Amalek is strengthened '
I think that by this figure Moses also represents two peoples,
showing that one is the people of the Gentiles, which raises
Moses' arms and extends them, that is to say elevates what
Moses wrote and establishes its understanding on a high
level and thereby conquers, while the other is the people
which, because it does not raise Moses' arms or lift them off
the ground, and does not consider that there is anything deep
266
or subtle in him, is conquered by its enemies and laid low .

265
266
Origen: In Exod. hom.7:5 (Ronald E. Heine).
In Exod. hom. 11:4 ; N.R.M. De Lange: Origen and the Jews: Studies in Jewish-Christian
Relations in Third-Century Palestine, 1976, Cambridge, p. 82.
 Similarly, Moses praying with outstretched arms signifies
267
either the lifting of the mind above earthly things , or salvation
268
through Christ’s Cross , or the spiritual interpretation of the
Law269.
* Sin
Through the believer's spiritual struggle against bodily lusts he
expects temptations and he must acknowledge their advantages.
Growth is a painful process, and that temptation and struggle never
leave us until we have attained the maturity of perfection. He sees that
"Sin" (Num. 33:36) means temptation, and that there is no other way
of embarking on our journey to the Promised land except passing by
through it. For Origen temptation is as a testing of gold in the fire. It is
also a providential process by which we are fashioned into what we
should be. God is a divine goldsmith who brings us as vessels to the
fire, strikes us with His hammers into an object of beauty suitable for
270
his grandeur .
* Moses and Joshua
For Origen Moses is normally the type of the Law, not of Christ, and
in this sense Moses is contrasted with Joshua. Origen is led through
this to some curious ideas. For instance manna will be contrasted with
Joshua’s keeping of the Passover, as the Old Testament with the New:
the crossing of the Red sea with the crossing of the Jordan which is a
true type of Baptism. Moses’ death at the entrance of the promised
land which Joshua entered, is the end of the Old Testament at the
271
threshold of the New . For Origen the basket covered with pitch in
which the baby Moses lay is “the Law interpreted in a gross and
272
casual sense by the Jews .”
267
268
In Jos. hom. 11:4.
Ibid 3:3.
269
Ibid 11:4; Jean Daniélou: From Shadows to Reality, Studies in the Biblical Typology of the
Fathers, Newman Press, 1960, p. 222.
270
Ibid 27:12.
271
In Jos. hom. 1:3.
272
Jean Daniélou: From Shadows to Reality, Studies in the Biblical Typology of the Fathers,
Newman Press, 1960, p. 220.
Origen suggests that Joshua’s succession to Moses is a type of
the Gospel succeeding the Law.
We must explain the death of Moses, for if we understand how
Moses died we shall understand how Jesus reigns. If you see
Jerusalem destroyed , the altar overthrown, no sacrifices or
holocausts, nor priests nor Levites: when you see all this
finished, say that Moses the servant of the Lord is dead. If you
do not see anyone come three times before the face of the
Lord, or offering gifts in the temple, killing the Paschal lamb,
eating unleavened bread, offering first fruits, or consecrating
the first born, when you see none of these things being done,
then say that the Lord’s servant Moses is dead . But when you
see peoples embracing the faith, churches being built, altars
no longer drenched with animal’s blood, but consecrated with
the precious blood of Jesus Christ, when you see priests and
Levites no longer occupied with the blood of goats and bulls,
but with word of God through the grace of the Holy Spirit,
then say that Jesus has taken and occupies the chief place in
succession to Moses, not Jesus the son of Mary, but Jesus the
Son of God... When you see that Christ our Passover has been
immolated, and you eat the unleavened bread of sincerity,
when you see the good earth of the Church yielding fruit
thirty, sixty and a hundred fold, I mean widows, virgins and
martyrs, when you see the people of Israel increased, of those
who are born not of blood, nor of the will of man, nor of the
will of the flesh, but of God, and when you see the sons of God
who were scattered, gathered together in him: when you see
the people keeping the Sabbath not by refraining from toil but
from sin: when you see all these things, say that Moses the
servant of the Lord is dead and that Jesus, the Son of God, ,
273
has all authority .

273
In Jos. hom 2:1.
 In this passage the whole traditional typology of the
Passover, the Sabbath, the sacrifices, the priesthood are united in
274
one of the most beautiful texts ever inspired by typology .
And Joshua who succeeded Moses was a type of Jesus Christ, who
brings about the substitution of the preaching of the Gospel for
dispensation through the law. And even if those Paul speaks of were
baptized in the cloud and in the sea, there is something harsh and
bitter in their baptism. They are still in the fear of their enemies,
crying out to the Lord and to Moses. But the baptism of Joshua which
takes place in sweet and drinkable water is in many ways superior to
275
the earlier one .
The crossing of the Red Sea is for Origen a type of the dispensation
of the Law, which is bitter and harsh, because it is based on fear,
while the crossing of the Jordan is the type of true Baptism in the
spirit and water. The baptism of Joshua is in many ways superior to
that earlier one, religion having by this time grown clearer and
276
assumed a becoming order .
In the former case, they kept the Passover in Egypt and then
began their journey, but with Joshua, after crossing the
Jordan on the tenth day of the first month they pitched their
camp in Galgala; for a sheep had to be procured for the
banquet after the baptism of Joshua. Then the children of
Israel, since the children of those who came out of Egypt had
not received circumcision, were circumcised by Joshua with a
very sharp stone; the Lord declares that He takes away the
reproach of Egypt on the day of Joshua’s baptism. Then the
children of Israel kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of
the month, with much greater gladness than in Egypt, for they
ate unleavened

274
Jean Daniélou: From Shadows to Reality, Studies in the Biblical Typology of the Fathers,
Newman Press, 1960, p.241.
275
Cf. In Jos. hom 6, Jean Daniélou: From Shadows to Reality, Studies in the Biblical Typology of
the Fathers, Newman Press, 1960, p. 263.
276
Jean Daniélou: From Shadows to Reality, Studies in the Biblical Typology of the Fathers,
Newman Press, 1960, p. 263.
 bread of the corn of the Holy Land, and fresh food better than
manna. For when they received the land of promise God did
not entertain them with scantier food, nor when such a one as
Joshua was their leader did they get inferior bread. That will
be plain to anyone who thinks of the true Holy Land and of the
Jerusalem above. “Hence it is written in the same Gospel:
Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness and are dead: if
anyone eats of this bread he shall live forever. For the manna,
though it was given by God, yet was bread of travel, bread
supplied to those still under discipline, well fitted for those
under tutors and governors. But the bread Joshua managed to
get from corn cut in the country, in the land of promise, others
having labored and his disciples reaping that bread was more
full of life, distributed as it was to those who, for their
perfection, were able to receive the inheritance of their
277
fathers .

And you who have just abandoned the darkness of idolatry,

and wish to give yourself to the hearing of the Divine Law,
then it is that you begin first to leave Egypt. When you have
been included in the number of the catechumens and begin to
obey the precepts of the Church, you have passed over the Red
Sea. And if you come to the sacred font of Baptism and if in
the presence of the orders of Priests and Levites you are
initiated into those venerable and noble mysteries which are
known only by those permitted to know them, then, having
passed over the Jordan while the priests are ministering, you
278
shall enter into the land of promise .

* Crossing Jordan But the baptism to Joshua, which takes place in

quite sweet and drinkable water, is in many ways superior

277
278
In Jos. hom. 6:45.
In Jos. hom. 4:1.
 to that earlier one, religion having by this time grown clearer
and assuming a becoming order. For the ark of the covenant
of the Lord our God is carried in procession by the priests and
Levites, the people following the ministers of God, it, also,
accepting the law of holiness. For Joshua says to the people, “
Sanctify, yourselves against tomorrow; the Lord will do
wonders among you.” And he commands the priests to go
before the people with the ark of the covenant, wherein is
plainly showed forth the mystery of the Father’s economy
about the Son, which is highly exalted by Him who gave the
Son this office; “That at the name of Jesus every knee should
bow, of things in heaven and things on earth and things under
the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus
Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” This is pointed
out by what we find in the book called Joshua, “In that day I
will begin to exalt You before the children of Israel.” And we
hear our Lord Jesus saying to the children of Israel, “Come
hither and hear the words of the Lord your God. Hereby you
shall know that the living God is in (among) you;” for when
we are baptized to Jesus, we know that the living God is in us.
And, in the former case, they kept the Passover in Egypt, and
then began their journey, but with Joshua, after crossing
Jordan on the tenth day of the first month they pitched their
camp in Galgala; for a sheep had to be procured before
invitations could be issued to the banquet after Joshua’s
279
baptism .

* The feasts Now in what manner, in those heavenly things of which

the shadow was present to the Jews on earth, those will celebrate
festivals who have first been trained by tutors and governors under
the true law, until the fullness of the time should come, namely,
above, when we shall be

279
Origen: Commentary on John 6:26.
 able to receive into ourselves the perfect measure of the Son
of God, this it is the work of that wisdom to make plain that
which has been hidden in a mystery; and it also may show to
our thought how the laws about meats are symbols of those
280
things which will there nourish and strengthen our soul .

* Jericho Jericho that is, the world will collapse. The end of the
281
world, as we know, is often referred to in the Sacred Books... .

One of the presbyters, in his interpretation, said that the man

who set forth is Adam, Jerusalem is Paradise, Jericho the
world, the thieves the invisible powers, the priest the Law, the
Levites the Prophets, the Samaritan Christ, the wounds
disobedience, the beast of burden the Body of Christ, the inn,
which takes in every one, the Church, the Samaritan’s
282
promise the second coming of Christ .

* The Trumpets But each one of us must achieve these things in his
own self. By faith you have Jesus as leader in you. Make the trumpets
resound with the Holy Scriptures, if you are a priest. Draw forth from
them the meanings and instruction which merit for them the epithet of
“resounding”. Sing in them, in psalms and hymns, in prophetical
mysteries of the Law, in the doctrines of the Apostles. If you sound on
these trumpets and bear the ark of the covenant seven times round the
city, that is, if you do not separate the symbolical (mystica) precepts
of the Law from the precepts of the Gospel, if you bring forth from
yourself a joyful harmony, that is, if the whole population of your
thoughts and desires

280
281
Origen: Commentary on John 10:12.
Origen: In Jos. hom. 6:4.
282
Origen: In Luc. hom 34.
 gives a harmonious sound, give forth a joyous shout, for
283
the world in you is overcome and destroyed .

* Rahab
Origen states that Rahab was a type of the Church of the Gentiles.
The expression: “They dwell in the midst of Israel until this day,”
cannot apply to the historical Rahab. It must be a prophecy:

“If you wish to understand more clearly how Rahab was

incorporated into Israel, see how the branch of the wild olive
is grafted onto the trunk of the good olive tree, and you will
understand how those who are grafted into the faith of
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are rightly said to be incorporated
into Israel until this day. We, branches of the wild olive tree,
who were prostitutes adoring wood and stone instead of the
true God. We have been truly incorporated into this root until
284
this day .”
* The ass and the colt
Now Jesus is the word of God which goes into the soul that is
called Jerusalem, riding on the ass freed by the disciples from
its bonds. That is to say, on the simple language of the Old
Testament, interpreted by the two disciples who loose it: in the
first place him who applies what is written to the service of the
soul and shows the allegorical sense of it with reference to
her, and in the second place him who brings to light by the
things of the future. But He also rides on the young colt, the
New Testament; for in both alike we find the word of truth
which purifies us and drives away all those thoughts in us
285
which incline to selling and buying .

283
284
Origen: In Jos. hom. 7:2.
Origen: In Jos. hom 7:5.
285
Origen: Commentary on John 10:18.
 Mark and Luke say that the two disciples, acting on their
Master’s instructions, found a foal tied, on which none had
ever sat, and that they loaded it and brought it to the Lord.
Mark adds that they found the foal tied at the door, outside on
the road. But who is outside? Those of the Gentiles who were
strangers from the covenants, and aliens to the promise of
God; they are on the road, resting under a roof or a house,
bound by their own sins, and to be loosed by the twofold
knowledge spoken of above, of the friends of Jesus. And the
bonds with which the foal was tied, and the sins committed
against the wholesome law and reproved by it, for it is the fate
of life, in respect of it, I say, they were not inside but outside
the door, for perhaps inside the door there cannot be any such
286
bond of wickedness .

* The crowning of Christ

St. Clement saw the crowning of Christ with thorns prefigured in the
287
Bush , while St. Hilary saw in the Bush which was not burnt up
288
the Church surviving persecutions .

OTHER EXAMPLES
* Absence and Presence of Christ For when He allows the Church
to suffer persecution and tribulations, He seems to her to be absent;
and again when she goes forward in peace and flourishes

286
287
Origen: Commentary on John 10;18.
Paidagogos 2:8.
288
Jean Daniélou: From Shadows to Reality, Studies in the Biblical Typology of the Fathers,
Newman Press, 1960, p. 224.
 in faith and good works, He is understood as being present
289
with her .
* Apple tree The Bride, therefore, desires to sit down in the shadow
of this apple tree (Song 2:3): this is either the Church, as we said,
under the protection of the Son of God, or else the soul fleeing all
other teachings and cleaving to the Word of God alone; the Word
whose fruit, moreover, she finds sweet in her throat by continual
meditation on the Law of God, chewing as it were the cud thereof like
290
a clean animal .

* Bosom of Christ And after that, leaning on Jesus' breast he says to

Him, 'Lord, who is it?’ We are undoubtedly given to understand that
John on this occasion reposed on the ground of Jesus' heart and amid
the inward meanings of His teaching, there seeking and searching the
treasures of wisdom and knowledge that are his in Christ Jesus. And
indeed I think the term 'the bosom of Christ' is not unfitting, if it be
291
taken as denoting the place of holy teachings .

* (A bright) cloud But what might the bright cloud, which

overshadows the just, be? Is it, perhaps, the fatherly power, from
which comes the voice of the Father bearing testimony to the Son as
beloved and well pleasing, and exhorting those who were under its
shadow to hear Him and no other one? But as He speaks of old, so
also always does He speak through what He wills. And perhaps, too,
the Holy Spirit is the bright cloud which overshadows the just, and
prophesies of the things of God, who works in it,

289
290
Origen:Comm. on the Songs of Songs, book 3:11 (ACW).
Origen: Comm. on the Songs of Songs, book 3:5 (ACW).
291
Origen: Comm. on the Songs of Songs, book 1:2 (ACW).
 and says, “This is My beloved Son in whom I am
well-pleased;” but I would venture also to say that our Savior
is a bright cloud. When, therefore, Peter said, “Let us make
here three tabernacles,”...One for the Father Himself, one for
the Son, and one for the Holy Spirit. For a bright cloud of the
Father, Son and Holy Spirit overshadows the genuine
disciples of Jesus; or a cloud overshadows the Gospel and the
law and the prophets, which is bright to him who is able to see
292
the light of it in the Gospel, and the law, and the prophets .

* (Fawns of the) deer The Lord Himself, then, feeds the fawns of the
deer (Job 39:1-4) like these, that is, of those who pour out their
thoughts on the Lord, that He Himself may feed them and guard
them in the pangs of birth, when by the fear of the Lord they have
conceived in their womb, and have given birth, and have brought
293
forth the spirit of salvation .

* Dog Let others, then, who are strangers to the doctrine of the
Church, assume that souls pass from the bodies of men into the bodies
of dogs, according to their varying degree of wickedness; but we, who
do not find this at all in the divine Scripture, say that the more
rational condition changes into one more irrational, undergoing this
294
affection in consequence of great slothfulness and negligence .

* The Door But as one cannot be in the Father or with the Father
except by ascending from below upwards and coming first to the
divinity of the Son, through which one

292
293
Origen: Commentary on Matthew 12:42.
Origen: Comm. on the Songs of Songs, book 3:12 (ACW).
294
Origen: Commentary on Matthew 11: 17.
 may be led by the hand and brought to blessedness of the
Father Himself, so the Savior has the inscription “The
Door.” And as He is a lover of men, and approves the
impulse of human souls to better things, even of those who do
not hasten to reason (the Logos), but like sheep have a
weakness and gentleness apart from all accuracy and
295
reason, so He is the Shepherd .
* The dowry of the Church For, just as the Church's dowry was the
volumes of the Law and the Prophets, so let us regard natural law
296
and reason and free will as the soul's betrothal gifts .

* Dove and turtle-dove Her eyes, moreover, are compared to doves,

surely because she understands the Divine Scriptures now, not after
the letter, but after the spirit, and perceives in them spiritual
mysteries; for the dove is the emblem of the Holy Spirit. To
understand the Law and the Prophets in a spiritual sense is,
therefore, to have the eyes of a dove. So her eyes are called doves
here; but in the Psalms a soul of this sort longs to be given the wings
of a dove (Ps 67:14), that she may be able to fly in the understanding
297
of spiritual mysteries, and to rest in the courts of wisdom .

Origen believes that the turtle-dove is a symbol of purity, for the

298
male does not accept but one female, even if the female died .

* The eyes Our Lord laid his hands physically on a blind man’s eyes
and gave him back his sight; he also stretched out his

295
296
Origen: Commentary on John 1:29.
Origen: Comm. on the Songs of Songs, book 1:1 (ACW).
297
Origen:Comm. on the Songs of Songs, book 3:1 (ACW).
298
Fr. Tadros Y. Malaty: Leviticus, Alexandria 1990, p. 28 (in Arabic).
 hands spiritually over the eyes of the Law. Those eyes had
been blinded by the carnal interpretation of the scribes, but
the Lord restored their sight, for those to whom he meant to
make the Scriptures plain were to see and understand the Law
299
spiritually .
* The face (Song 2:14) It is, without a doubt, the sort of face that is
daily being renewed according to the Image of Him who created it,
not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but is holy and without
blemish, even as the Church which Christ has presented to Himself (2
Cor. 4:16; Col. 3:10; Eph. 5:27) - in other words, the souls who have
reached perfection. And all of these together make up the body of the
Church. This body truly will appear as beautiful and comely, if the
souls of which that body is constituted preserve in all the comeliness
300
of perfection .

* Field Each soul, therefore, has, as we said, her field, which she tills
and plants and sows on the lines that we have mentioned. But there is
also one common field that belongs to all the daughters of Jerusalem
together (Song 2:7; Gen. 27:27); of that Paul says: You are God's
husbandry (1 Cor. 3:9). Let us take this field as meaning the common
practice of the Church's faith and way of life, in which assuredly are
heavenly powers and forces of spiritual graces. To the cultivation of
this field every soul, who is now called daughter of Jerusalem
because she knows her mother is the heavenly Jerusalem, must of
necessity bring some contribution; and she must desire this to be
301
made worthy of being a heavenly possession .

299
300
Origen: In. Gen. 15:7
Origen:Comm. on the Songs of Songs, book 3 (4):14 (ACW).
301
Origen:Comm. on the Songs of Songs, book 3:10 (ACW).
 * Fig tree
'The fig tree,' He says, 'has put forth her buds.' The spirit of
man, of which the fig tree is a figure, does not yet bear the
fruits of the spirit - love, joy, peace, and the rest (Gal. 5:22);
302
but it is beginning now to put forth buds of them .

* Fire on the altar

Observe that there always ought to be “fire on the altar” Lev.
6:1-3. And you, if you want to be a priest of God, as it is
written, For every one of you will be priest of the Lord” Isa.
61:6... If, therefore, you want to exercise the priesthood of
your soul, let the fire never depart from your altar. This is
what the Lord also taught in the Gospels that “your loins be
girded and your lamps burning” Luke
12:35. Thus, let the “fire” of faith and the “lamp” of
303
knowledge always be lit for you .

* The flesh of sacrifice = The word of God

Origen comments on the words, “nothing will remain of the
flesh until morning” (Cf. Lev. 12:6, 10.), saying,
It commands them to eat this new and fresh meat of the same
day; it prohibits yesterday’s meat... Hear these things, all you
priests of the Lord, and understand more attentively what they
say. The flesh, which is allotted to the priests from the
sacrifices, is the word of God that they teach in the Church.
For this they are reminded by the mystical figures that when
they have begun to bring the word to the people, they do not
304
bring ‘Yesterday’s .’

* (Little) Foxes

302
303
Origen:Comm. on the Songs of Songs, book 3 (4):14 (ACW).
Origen: In Lev. Hom. 4:6:2 (G.W. Barkley).
304
In Lev. hom. 5:8. (Gary Wayne Barkley- Frs of the Church).
 This, then, is why it is said: 'Catch the little foxes.' Suitably
indeed He bids them to be caught and taken while they are
still little. For as long as a bad thought is only beginning, it is
easily driven from the heart. But if it comes again and again,
and goes on for long, it surely leads the soul to agree with it;
and, once agreed to and entrenched in the heart, it is certain
to result in the commission of sin. It must, therefore, be
caught and driven out while it is still incipient and small;
otherwise, when it has grown up and become a matter of
habit, it can no longer be driven out.
Thus, Judas too had a beginning of evil in his love of
305
money; and that was for him a 'little fox .
* The friends and companions of the Bridegroom
Now the friends and companions of the Bridegroom
-who, on the mystical interpretation, can be taken, as also we
remarked before, either as the angels or even the prophets, or
as the patriarch - appear as speaking the words quoted to the
306
Bride .

* Garments of the Word of God In Psalm 44 also it is said to the

Beloved, to whom also the Psalm itself is addressed: Myrrh and a
drop and cassia perfume Your garments. From the garments of the
Word of God, therefore, which denote the teaching of wisdom, myrrh
proceeds, a symbol surely of the death He underwent for humankind.
The drop, as we said before, denotes His self-emptying of the form of
God and His condescension in assuming the form of a servant. And
cassia likewise, because this kind of plant is said to be nourished and
to grow together where it rains incessantly,

305
OrigenComm. on the Songs of Songs, book 3 (4):15 (ACW).
306
Origen: Comm. on the Songs of Songs, book 2:8 (ACW).
 points to the redemption of mankind bestowed through the
307
waters of Baptism .
* (The left) hand of Christ This left hand (Song 2:6), then, the
Church, whose Head is Christ, desires to have beneath her head,
and she wills to have her head protected by the faith of His
308
Incarnation .

* Harts and Mountains I am moved also by a passage in the hundred

and third Psalm which reads: The high hills for the harts. We have
indeed remarked already, with reference to the harts, that that may be
taken as meaning the saints, who came into this world in order to
destroy the poison of the serpent. But let us see now what the high
mountains are which appear as being reserved for the harts alone,
and which none can scale unless he be a hart. My own opinion is that
it is knowledge of the Trinity that is called high mountains; no one can
309
achieve possession of that, unless he be made a hart .

* Key And he enters in, as a temperate man, through an opened gate

the gate of temperance by the key which opens temperance; and, as a
righteous man, by another gate- the gate of righteousness which is
opened by the key of righteousness; and so with the rest of the virtues.
For I think that for every virtue of knowledge certain mysteries of
wisdom corresponding to the species of the virtue are opened up to
him who has lived according to virtue; the Savior giving to those who
are not mastered by the gates of Hades as many keys as there are
virtues, which open gates

307
308
Origen:Comm. on the Songs of Songs, book 2:10 (ACW).
Origen: Comm. on the Songs of Songs, book 3:9 (ACW).
309
Origen: Comm. on the Songs of Songs, book 3:12 (ACW).
 equal in number, which correspond to each virtue
310
according to the revelation of the mysteries .
* The (spiritual) kiss And this is the truer, closer, holier kiss (Song
1:2), which is said to be granted by the Bridegroom - Word of God to
the Bride -that is to say, to the pure and perfect soul; it is of this
happening that the kiss, which we give one to another in church at the
311
holy mysteries, is a figure .

* Net And the kingdom of heaven is likened, unto the variegated

texture of a net, with reference to the gated texture of a net, with
reference to the Old and the New Scripture which is woven of
thoughts of all kinds and greatly varied. As in the case of the fishes
that fall into the net, some are found in one part of the net and some
in another part, and each at the part at which it was caught, so in the
case of those who have come into the net of the Scriptures you would
find some caught in the prophetic net; for example, of Isaiah,
according to this expression, or of Jeremiah or of Daniel; and others
in the net of the law, and others in the Gospel net, and some in the
apostolic net ; for when one is first captured by the word or seems to
312
be captured, he is taken from some part of the whole net .

* The rod He does not remain in Himself, but appears to go beyond

His earlier state. Going forth, then, and becoming a rod, He does not
remain a rod, but after the rod He becomes a flower that rises up, and
after being a rod He is made known as a flower to those who, by His
being a rod,

310 311
Origen: Commentary on Matthew 12: 14. Origen:
312
Comm. on the Songs of Songs, book 1:1 (ACW). Origen:
Commentary on Matthew 2:12.
 have met with visitation. For “God will visit their iniquities
313
with a rod,” that is, Christ .
* The Rod of Moses = The Cross of Christ As far as I can perceive,
I think that this Moses, who comes to Egypt and brings the rod with
which he punishes and strikes Egypt with the ten plagues, is the Law
of God which was given to this world that it might reprove and
correct it with the ten plagues, that is the commandments which are
contained in the Decalogue. But the rod by which all these things are
done, by which Egypt is subjugated and Pharaoh overcome, is the
cross of Christ by which this world is conquered and the "ruler of this
world" (Cf. John 16:11). with the principalities and powers are led in
triumph (Cf. Col. 2.15). The significance of the fact that the rod,
having been cast forth, becomes a dragon or serpent, and devours the
serpents of the Egyptian magicians who "had done likewise"(Cf.
Exod. 7:10-12), is indicated in the statement in the Gospel which
shows that the serpent represents wisdom or prudence, "The serpent
was wiser than all animals and beasts which were in paradise." (Gen.
3:1) Therefore, the cross of Christ whose preaching appeared as
"foolishness" (Cf. 1 Cor. 1:18), this cross which Moses, that is the
Law, contains, as the Lord said: "For he wrote about me,"(John
5.46.) this cross, I say, of which Moses wrote, after it was cast forth in
the earth, that is once it came to be believed in by men, was changed
into wisdom and such a great wisdom that it devoured all the wisdom
of the Egyptians, that is of this world. For consider how "God made
the wisdom of this world foolish” (Cf. 1 Cor. 1:21.) after he
manifested "Christ, who was crucified, to be the power of God and
wisdom of God" (Cf. 1 Cor. 1:23-24.) and now the whole

313
Origen: Commentary on John 1:41.
 world has been caught by him who said, "I catch the wise in
314
their own craftiness" (1 Cor. 3:19) .
* Roe
Well, we have been saying that according to the natural
scientists who study the characteristics of animals, the dorcas
- that is, the roe (Songs. 2:9)- takes its name from a power that
is inborn in it; it is called the dorcas because of its keen sight -
that is, para to oxyderkésteron. But the deer is the enemy of
the serpents, and wages war on them; with the breath of its
nostrils it drags them out of caves, it destroys the bone of their
venom and then enjoys them as food. Maybe my Savior is a roe
315
in respect of His sight, and a deer in respect of His works .

* River and Sea

Jean Daniélou says, It is well known that the Hebrews often took the
sea and the river as figures of the dragon’s dwelling-place and the
realm of evil - concrete symbols suggesting the struggle between
Christ and Satan. In Philo’s mental world the sea was still an evil
element, but it had become a figure of the “disturbance caused by the
passions,” and the river had come to represent the instability of human
things. The strange thing is that both interpretations are found in
316
Origen side by side. Thus, the sea is the “life of man, a stormy thing
everywhere in the world;” but also the “mountain of iniquity, i.e.,
Satan, is cast into the sea, i.e., into the abyss.” It is the same with the
317
river. The river of Babylon is the ”river of this world ,” and again it
is the

314
315
Origen: In Exod. hom. 4:6 (Ronald E. Heine).
Origen:Homilies on the Songs of Songs, 2:!! (ACW).
316
Comm. on Matt. 10:12.
317
In Ezek. hom. 1:5.
 318
river “where the dragon’s lair is .“ Two different ideas of
319
evil are implied in the two sets of images .
I think that St. Jerome borrowed the two meanings from Origen when
he interpreted Jonah 2:3 “ For You cast me into the deep, into the
heart of the seas, and the floods surrounded me.” He believes that it is
the words of Christ Himself, who was in the depth of the sea, the salty
and bitter water of agony, but these sufferings had been changed into
the sweet water of the river, of which it is said, There is a river whose
streams shall make glad the city of God” Ps. 46:4.

* Sachet of a myrrh-drop
Her saying, 'A sachet of a myrrh-drop is my Nephew to me,'
(Song 1:13) denotes, therefore, the mystery of His bodily
birth; for the body, with which the myrrh of the divine power
and sweetness in Christ is bound, does seem to be a 'sachet' in
320
a sense, and as it were a band on His soul .

* Soul
321
In his Homilies on the Leviticus , Origen states that sometimes the
Holy Scripture refers to the sinner by the word “soul,” for he is
natural. The Scripture does not call him a person (man) for he lost
the image of God and the likeness to Him; nor a spirit, for he does
322
not live in spirit .
* Sweetness of the soul’s voice
For thus also said the most wise prophet David: Let my
speech be sweet to Him (Ps. 103:34). And the voice of the
soul is sweet when it utters the word of God, when it

318
319
Ibid., 13:4.
Jean Daniélou: Origen, p. 184-5.
320
Origen: Comm. on the Songs of Songs, book 2:10 (ACW).
321
In. Lev. Hom. 2.
322
Cf. Fr. Malaty: Leveticus, p. 43.(in Arabic).
 expounds the faith and the doctrines of the truth, when it
323
unfolds God's dealings and His judgments .
* Sword
In Isaiah, however, He said that His mouth had been set by
His Father as a sharp sword, and that He was hidden under
the shadow of His hand, made like to a chosen shaft and kept
close in the Father’s quiver, called His servant by the God of
all things, and Israel, and Light of the Gentiles. The mouth of
the Son of God is a sharp sword, for “The word of God is
living, and active, and sharper than any two edged sword, and
piercing to the dividing of soul and spirit, of both joints and
marrow, and quick to discern the thoughts and intents of the
heart”. And indeed He came not to bring peace on the earth,
that is, to corporeal and sensible things, but a sword, and to
cut through, if I may say so, the disastrous friendship of soul
and body, so that the soul, committing herself to the spirit
which was against the flesh, may enter into friendship with

God324.

* The Tabernacle and the Temple

Origen exhorts us to refuse to build merely lifeless temples; for our
body is a temple of God, and the best of these temples is the body of
Jesus Christ. The temple which has been destroyed will be rebuilt of
living and most precious stones, with each of us becoming a precious
stone in the great temple of God. As living stones we must also be
active. For if, says Origen, I raise my hands in prayer, but leave
hanging the hands of my soul instead of raising them with good and
holy works, then the raising of my hands is not an evening sacrifice. In
a concrete application, Origen remarks that good and holy speech is an
offering to God, but bad speech is

323
324
Origen: Comm. on the Songs of Songs, book 3 (4):14 (ACW).
Origen: Commentary on John 1:36.
an offering to idols; and whoever listens to bad speech eats what
325
has been offered to idols .
Each one of us, however, can also build a tabernacle for God
in himself. For if, as some before us have said, this tabernacle
represents the whole world, and each individual also can
contain an image of the world, why can not each one also
complete a form of the tabernacle in himself? He ought,
therefore, to apply the pillars of the virtue to himself, silver
pillars, that is, rational patience. For it is possible indeed that
a man have what appears to be patience but it is not rational.
That man, therefore, has pillars, but they are not silver; but
that man who suffers because of the word of God and bears it
bravely is decorated and protected by silver pillars... It is also
possible to extend the courts in yourself when your heart
enlarges in accordance with the word of the Apostle to the
Corinthian: "You also be enlarged" (2 Cor. 6:13). One can
also defend himself with bars when he has bound himself with
the unanimity of love. One can stand on silver bases when he
stations himself upon the stability of the word of God, the
prophetic and apostolic word. It is possible to have a gilded
capital on the pillar if the golden capital on it is the faith of
Christ. "For the head of every man is Christ" (Cf. 1 Cor.
11:3). But one can stretch out ten courts in himself when he is
enlarged not only in one or two or three words of the Law, but
can extend the breadth of spiritual understanding in the whole
Decalogue of the Law, or when one produces the fruit of the
spirit: joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, moderation,
faith, temperance, when love, which is greater than all, has
been added. Let that soul which will not give "sleep to its
eyes" nor "sleep to its eyelids" nor

325
Against Celsus 8:19; Dialogue with Heraclides 20; Homilies on Numbers 20:3.
"rest to its hours," "until it find a place for the Lord, a
tabernacle for the God of Jacob" (Ps. 131:4-5). Let that soul, I
say, have further in itself also an immovable altar on which it
may offer sacrifices of prayers and victims of mercy to God,
on which it may sacrifice pride as a bull with the knife of
temperance, on which it may slay wrath as a ram and offer all
luxury and lust like he-goats and kids. But let him know how to
separate for the priests even from these "the right arm" and
"the small breast" and the jaws, that is, good works and works
of the right hand (for let him preserve nothing evil); the whole
small breast, which is an upright heart and a mind dedicated
to God and jaws for speaking the word of God. Let him also
understand that the candlestick must be placed in his own
sanctuary, that his "lamps" may be always "glowing and his
loins girded" and he himself be "as a servant who awaits his
master to return from a wedding" (Luke 12:35-36). For the
Lord also said of these lamps, "The lamp of your body is your
eye" (Matt. 6:22). But let him place that candlestick in the
south that it may look to the north. For when the light has
been lit, that is when the heart is watchful, it ought always to
look to the north and watch for "him who is from the north,"
as also the prophet says he saw "a kettle or pot kindled and its
face was from the face of the north," for "evils are kindled
from the north for the whole earth" (Jer. 1:13-14). Watchful,
therefore, apprehensive, and zealous, let him always
contemplate the slyness of the devil and always watch whence
temptation may come, whence the foe may invade, whence the
enemy may creep up. For the apostle Peter also says, "Your
adversary the devil walks around like a roaring lion seeking
whom he may devour" (1 Peter 5:8). Let the table also which
has the twelve loaves set forth be placed in the northern part
looking to the south. Let the apostolic word, in number as in
power, be those loaves on it. By using it incessantly - for it is
commanded
that they be put "before the Lord" daily - one may again look
to the south whence the Lord comes, "For the Lord will come
from Theman" (Heb. 3:3), as it is written, which is from the
south. Let him have an altar of incense in his innermost heart
also, that he too may say, "We are a good odor of Christ" (2
Cor. 2:15). And let him have an ark of the covenant in which
are the tables of the Law, that "he may meditate on the Law of
God day and night" (Ps. 1:2). And let his memory become an
ark and library of the books of God because the prophet also
says those are blessed who hold His commands in memory
that they may do them (Cf. Ps. 105:3). Let there be put back
within him also a jar of manna, a fine and sweet
understanding of the word of God; and let there be a rod of
Aaron within him, a priestly teaching and a blooming
sternness of discipline. But over and above all this splendor let
him wear the adornment of the high-priest. For that part
which is the most precious in man can hold the office of
high-priest. Some call it the overseer of the heart, others,
rational understanding, or intellectual substance, but
whatever it is called, it is that part of us in which we can have
a capacity for God. Let that part in us, therefore, as a kind of
high priest, be adorned with garments and costly jewels, with
a long linen priestly garment. This is the kind of garment
which reaches the feet, covering the whole body. This signifies
that first of all the whole man be clothed with chastity. Let him
afterwards receive also the cape adorned with jewels in which
the splendor of works is arranged, "that men seeing your
works may magnify the father who is in the heaven" (Cf. Matt.
5:16). And let him also receive on his breast the legion, which
can be called the oracular breastplate, which is adorned with
four rows of stones. But also let the golden plate which is
called petalus shine brightly on his forehead. "Truth" and
"manifestation" are
said to have been placed on both of these. In theses objects
which are said to be placed on the breast, I perceive the
message of the Gospel which, in its fourfold order, sets out to
us the truth of the faith and the manifestation of the Trinity,
referring all things to the head, that is to say, to the nature of
the one God. There is in these objects, therefore, all truth and
all manifestation of the truth. If you, therefore, wish to perform
the high priesthood properly for God let the message of the
Gospel and the faith in the Trinity always be held in your
breast. The message of the Apostle agrees with this both in its
force and estimation, so that the name of God may always be
held in the head and all things may be referred to the one God.
Let the high priest also have his coverings on his inner parts;
let him have his private parts covered "that he may be holy in
body and spirit" (Cf. 1 Cor. 7:34), and pure thoughts and
deeds. Let him also have bells around the hem of his garment
so that the Scripture says, "when he enters the sanctuary he
may give a sound and not enter with silence" (Cf. Exod.
28:35). And these bells, which ought always to sound, have
been placed on the fringe of the garment. The purpose of this, I
think, is that you might never keep silent about the last times
and the end of the world, but that you might always ring forth
and dispute and speak in accordance with him who said:
"Remember your last end and you will not sin. (Sir 7.40.) In
this manner, therefore, our inner man is adorned as a high
priest to God that he may be able to enter not only the
sanctuary, but also the Holy of Holies; that he may be able to
approach the mercy seat where the cherubim are and thence
God may appear to him. The sanctuary can be those things
which a holy way of life can have in the present world. But the
Holy of Holies, which is entered only once, is, I think, the
passage to heaven, where the mercy seat and the cherubim are
located and where God will be able to appear to the pure in
heart, or because the Lord says:
 "Behold, the kingdom of God is within you" (Luke
326
17:21) .
* (The Materials of the) Tabernacle Its faith can be compared to
gold; the word of preaching to silver; bronze to patience;
incorruptible wood to the knowledge which comes through the wood,
or to the incorruptibility of purity which never grows old, virginity to
linen; the glory of suffering to scarlet; the splendor of love to purple;
the hope of the kingdom of heaven to the blue. Let those, however, be
the materials from which the whole tabernacle is constructed, the
priests are clothed, and the high priest is adorned. The prophet speaks
in another passage about the nature and quality of their clothing: "Let
your priests be clothed with justice" (Cf. Ps. 131:9). All those
garments, therefore, are garments of justice. And again the apostle
Paul says, "Put on heartfelt mercy" (Col. 3:12). They are also,
therefore, garments of mercy. But the same apostle no less also
designates other more noble garments when he says, "Put on the Lord
Jesus Christ, and give no attention to the flesh for lusting" (Rom.
13:14). Those, therefore, are the garments with which the Church is
327
adorned .

* Treasure The treasure hidden in the field is the various meanings

devised by that wisdom which is hidden in the mystery, meanings
masked by the things that strike our sight... The things of heaven and
328
the kingdom of heaven are as it were pictured in the Scriptures .

* (Voice of the) turtle-dove

326
327
Origen: In Exod. hom.9:4 (Ronald E. Heine).
In Exod. hom.9:3 (Ronald E. Heine).
328
Origen: Comm. Matthew. 10:5.
 Then also will she hear 'the voice of the turtle-dove' (Song 2:
), which surely denotes that wisdom which the steward of the
Word speaks among the perfect, the deep wisdom of God
which is hidden in mystery. The fact is indicated by the
mention of the turtle-dove; for this bird spends its life in the
more hidden and remote localities, away from crowds; it
loves either mountainous wastes, or the secret parts of the
forests, is always found far from the multitude, and is a
stranger to crowds... The voice of the turtle-dove is heard
indeed, as we have said, not just through the various
prophets; it is the voice of God's own wisdom that is heard
329
on earth .
* Veil In the Law of Moses, the light was hidden and covered with a
veil. When Jesus came, it shone out, because the veil was then
removed and the blessings which had been only foreshadowed in the
330
letter were suddenly revealed .

* Vine and Bread It is somewhat difficult to show the difference

between the vine and bread, for He says, not only that He is the vine,
but that He is the bread of life. May it be that as bread nourishes and
makes strong, and is said to strengthen the heart of man, but wine, on
the contrary, pleases and rejoices and melts him, so ethical studies,
bringing life to him who learns them and reduces them to practice, are
the bread of life, but cannot properly be called the fruit of the vine,
while secret and mystical speculations, rejoicing the heart and
causing those to feel inspired who take them in, delighting in the Lord,
and who desire not only to be nourished but to be made happy, are

329
Origen: Comm. on the Songs of Songs, book 3(4):14 (ACW).
330
De Principiis 4:6.
 called the juice of the true vine, because they flow from
331
it .

Yes, and the vines also are said to be in flower, and to have
yielded their sweet smell. The various churches too that are
found all over the world can certainly be called flowering
vines and vineyards. For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is
the house of Israel, and the man of Juda, His pleasant plant
(Isa. 5:7). These vineyards, then, are said to flower when they
first come to faith; but when they are adorned with the
sweetness of godly works, then they are said to have yielded
332
their sweet smell .
And those holy and blessed angelic powers with whom all the
elect and blessed - who will themselves be as the angels of
God -will be associated by virtue of the resurrection, they are
the flowering vines and vineyards that impart to every soul
her fragrant odor, and the grace which she received from her
Creator at the first and now, after losing it, has again
recovered. And with the sweetness of their celestial fragrance
they drive away at last the stench of the mortality and
333
corruption, that the soul has laid aside .

* Way It behooves us, therefore, to hasten to straight ways and to

stand in the paths of virtue, lest it happen that when the Sun of Justice
comes straight over us, finding us crooked and turned aside, He look
334
askance at us and we be made black .

* The wells

331
332
Origen: Commentary on John 1:33.
Comm. on the Songs of Songs, book 3(4):15 (ACW).
333
Origen:Comm. on the Songs of Songs, book 3(4):14 (ACW).
334
Origen: Comm. on the Songs of Songs, book 2:2 (ACW).
 335
1. Origen says that we have many wells (Num. 21). One
denotes the knowledge of the Father, the other of the Son (John
8:18); and the third of the Holy Spirit (John 14:16,17). Because of
the distinction between the three Hypostaseis we have many wells, but
one spring (Prov. 5:15,16 LXX) because of the oneness of the ousia
and the nature of God.
Through these wells, many holy marriages had been realized
(Rebecca: Gen. 24:16; Rachel: Gen. 29:2; Saphora: Exod. 2:15). For
through the living divine knowledge, we are united with kindness,
wisdom and other virtues.
The noble leaders who dug the wells (Num. 21:16-20 LXX) are the
prophets who covered, by the letters, the well of the divine
knowledge through their prophesies concerning Christ.
2. He also says that the whole Holy Scriptures which consist of the
Law, prophets, evangelic and apostolic writings are but one well, and
cannot be dug or inspected except by the kings and the nobles, who
alone uncover the well and strip it of its literal concept, revealing the
336
depths of the Lord's and Savior's redeeming work .

When I take to explaining the words these men used long ago
and look for a spiritual meaning in them, when I try to lift the
veil that hides the Law, I am doing what I can to bore a well.
Yet at once the friends of the letter take up the slanderous cry
against me. They attack me and say that there can be no truth
that does not rest on the earth. But for our part, as we are
servants of Isaac, we must prefer wells of running water and
springs. We must keep far away from these men with their
untruths, We will leave them the earth, since they love it
337
so .

335
336
In Num. hom. 6.
In Num. hom. 12.
337
In Gen. hom. 13:3.
 We too must take care, for we are often beside the wells of
running water - God’s Scriptures - and yet we fail to
recognize them for what they are .... We must be always
weeping and begging the Lord to open our eyes. The blind
men sitting by the road side at Jericho (Matt. 20:30.) would
not have had their eyes opened unless they had shouted after
the Lord. And yet, why am I talking about the opening of our
eyes as if it were something still to come? Our eyes have
already been opened. Jesus came to open the eyes of the
blind, and the veil that covered the Law has already been
338
lifted .
* Windows We can take the windows (Song 2:9) as meaning the
bodily senses through which life or death gains entrance to the soul;
for that is what the prophet Jeremiah means when speaking of sinners,
he says: Death is come up through your windows (Jer. 9:21. How does
death come up through windows? If the eyes of a sinner should look
on a woman to lust after her; and because he who has thus looked
upon a woman has committed adultery with her in his heart, then
death has gained entrance to that soul through the windows And also,
when she listens to the Word of of the eyes... God and takes delight in
the reasonings of His wisdom and knowledge, to her the light of
wisdom enters through the windows of her ears. Origen

* Winter
Origen says “For winter is now past... the flowers have appeared in
our land... the voice of the turtle is heard. “ He first applies it to the
soul. “The soul is not made one with God’s Word.” he says, “Until
the winter and the storms- the passions and the vices- have been
dispelled and she has ceased to be disturbed and tossed about by
every wind of doctrine ( Eph. 4:I4) .
338
In Gen. 7:6.
When everything like that has gone from her and the storm of her
desires has left her, the flowers of virtue will blossom in her and she
will hear the voice of the dove. She will hear, that is to say, his words
of wisdom who dispenses the word to the perfect, the wisdom of the
Most High God, hidden in the mysteries. That is what is meant by the
339
word ‘dove ’.”

* Women
We have often said that women symbolize the flesh and the
passions, while man symbolizes reason and thought. That is
why Pharaoh, King of Egypt, a type of this world, orders the
males to be put to death, as he abominates reason which can
340
aspire after heavenly things .

339 340
Comm. on Song 4.
Origen: In Exod. hom. 2:1.
THE SCHOOL OF ALEXANDRIA
AND THE GNOSTICS

In the apostolic age, before the appearance of the Gnostic movement

as a school (or schools), or as separate sects, the apostles dealt with
false teachings similar to the Gnostic systems, as in 1 John and the
pastoral epistles.
The study of Gnosticism entered a new phase, however, with the
discovery of a large collection of Coptic Gnostic documents found at
341
Nag-Hammadi (Chenoboskion) in Upper-Egypt in 1945 . Before this
discovery all our information on the Gnostic sects and doctrines relied
on anti-Gnostic writings, such as those of SS. Clement of Alexandria,
Irenaeus, Hippolytus, and Epiphanius. This discovery has made
available a wealth of original documents that are being studied now
for the first time.
.

341 J.M. Robinson: The Nag Hammadi Library in English, San Francisco, 1981, the Introduction.
GNOSIS
GNOSIS AND GNOSTICISM
342
Charles W. Hedrick states, “In general, the term gnosticism is
applied to a series of widespread and rather diverse
religio-philosophical movements in late antiquity and nevertheless
are understood to have some similarities. Although a precise
definition of gnosticism and a clear dating for its emergence in the
Hellenistic world are still matters of scholarly debate, working
definitions have generally included certain elements. It is understood
to have an anti-cosmic or world-rejecting stance... The ignorant or
slumbering spiritual elements reside in the material, in humankind,
like dying embers in a cold fire-pit.”
Ever since the first international conference on the origins of
gnosticism held at Messina, Italy, in 1966, scholars have made a
distinction between gnosis and gnosticism. The term gnosticism is
reserved for the developed gnostic systems of the second century A.D,
while gnosis is used when referring to similar phenomena prior to the
second century. This distinction, however, has not generally been
343
followed .
Gnosticism is a modern term, not attested to in antiquity. Even the
term gnostic (Gr., gnostikos "knower"), as found in patristic
writings, was never used to indicate a general spiritual movement
but rather applied only to a single, particular sect.
Gnosticism designates a complex religious and philosophical
movement that started probably before Christianity and flourished
from about 100 to 700 A.D. There were many Christian, Jewish and
pagan Gnostic sects that stressed salvation through a secret
"knowledge" or "Gnosis." The term "Gnostics" was first applied by
second and third century patristic writers to a large number of
teachers, such as Valentinus, Basilides and many

342 Nag Hammadi, Gnosticism, and Early Christianity, Hendrickson Publishers, 1986, p.1.
343 Ibid. 2.
others; all of whom were regarded by the Church Fathers as Christian
heretics. Although Marcion and his community stand somewhat apart,
certain features are common to the movement as a whole.

Today gnosticism is defined as a religion in its own right, whose

myths state that the Unknown God is not the creator (Demiurge,
YHVH); that the world is an error, the consequence of a fall and split
within the deity; and that man, spiritual man, is alien to the natural
world and related to the deity, and he becomes conscious of his
deepest self when he hears the word of revelation. Unconsciousness,
344
not sin or guilt, is the cause of evil .
345
THE WORD "GNOSIS "
The Greek word gnosis is derived from the Indo-European root "gno,"
and is also preserved in English word "know," and Sankrit word
"jnana," which means "knowledge." The term has long been used in
comparative religion to indicate a current of antiquity that stressed
awareness of the divine mysteries. This was held to be obtained either
by direct experience of a revelation or by initiation into the secret,
esoteric tradition of such revelations .

PRE-CHRISTIAN GNOSI 34
S 6
The experience of gnosis was highly esteemed at the beginning of
our era in various religious and philosophical circles of Aramaic and
Greco-Roman civilization.
1. It is a key word in the scrolls of the Jewish Essene sect
found at Qumran.
2. Gnosis was used in Greek to indicate self-awareness. The
inscription on the temple in Delphi reads "gnothi seauton" (know
yourself). A saying in a recently discovered Armenian collection
attributed to Hermes Trismegistos ("thrice-greatest

344 The Encyclopedia of Religion, article Gnosticism. 345 The Coptic Encyclopedia, v.4, p.
1147-8; The Encyclopedia of Religion, article Gnosticism. 346 Ibid.
Hermes," identified with the Egyptian god Thoth) is "He who knows
himself, knows the All." The author of Poimandres expresses the same
insight: "Let spiritual man know himself, then he will know that he is
immortal and that Eros is the origin of death, and he will know the
All." And to illustrate this saying the author tells the story of a divine
being, Anthropos (Man), who becomes enamored of the world of
(lower) nature and so falls into a material body. Most Hermetic
treatises take up a short saying and expound on it in this manner. They
also preserve the impact of Egyptian mythology.

3. The Platonists interpreted gnosis as meaning that man, by

turning his attention inward, could abstract from the sense
perception and passion to uncover reason to know the being.
4. In contrast, the Stoics argued that man could only know himself by
looking outwards to the providence and harmony of the cosmos and
so discover that man is a part of a whole (the Stoa is holistic).

5. Undogmatic skeptics, who were against both schools, proved that

man could not know anything with certainty, especially about God,
and therefore he should humbly acknowledge his limitations. Under
their influence, the Platonists admitted that the One God of
Parmenides, who is Being itself, cannot possibly be known and
therefore is invisible, unutterable, and unknowable. The only gnosis
of this Agnostos Theos (Unknown God) is the awareness that He
cannot be known. In Greek, estin autou Gnosis he agnostia. As a
result, many were led to the realization that God or the gods must
reveal Himself or themselves in order to be perceived. Gnosis thus
became an intuitive knowledge of immediate revelation or of an
esoteric tradition of such revelation for the elect.

CHRISTIAN GNOSI 34
S 7
347 Ibid.
W.H.C. Frend believes that gnosis held a worthy, if limited place,
in the Jewish and the earliest Christian scales of values. "Knowing"
God to Jews meant acknowledging that Yahweh was God and
recognizing the acts of God. Indeed, the Septuagint describes God
as the "God of knowledge" (1 Sam. 2:3), and the word "gnosis" is
used to denote this. The representative and teacher of gnosis is the
pious sage and Servant of the Lord (Is. 53:11), and gnosis is denied
348
to the worldly-minded and to sinners .

According to the holy Scriptures the first man used to enjoy "the
sound (voice) of the Lord God walking in the garden" (Gen. 3:8). God
used to meet His most beloved creature, man, and granted him the true
knowledge of Himself, His mysteries, and His will. Even after the fall
of man, God started a dialogue with Adam and Eve and offered them
the knowledge of His redeeming plan. God directed creation towards
natural law, the prophets’ sayings, and towards Himself to reveal
knowledge. As sin is an obstacle for attaining knowledge, God, the
Logos Himself, came to our world to destroy its dominion over our
hearts and to establish His divine kingdom, revealing his super
knowledge through the work of his Holy Spirit in our sanctified inner
man. The New Testament concentrates on the divine revelation as the
source of our knowledge, which is realized within our inner man
through personal fellowship with Christ as members of His Holy
Body, His Church.

In other words, we can summarize our concept of Christian

knowledge as follows:
1. The Incarnate Word of God is the source of knowledge.
2. Knowledge is received through the Church, as the body of
Christ, especially by participation in the Eucharist.
3. Knowledge is revealed in our inner man, if it has been
purified and sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
4. The knowledge of God and His eternal glory can be realized
partially in this world, through our unity with the Father in His
Only-Begotten Son, by the work of the Holy Spirit, and completed
in the world to come.
348 W.H.C. Frend: The Rise of Christianity, Philadelphia, 1984, p.198.
GNOSTICISM
ORIGINS
Some German scholars, such as R. Reitzenstein, W. Bousset and R.
Bultmann, have strongly supported the concept of pre-Christian
349
Gnosticism . The sophisticated second-century religio-philosophical
systems did not get that way overnight, since it would appear that a
350
certain amount of lead time is required for their development .
Those scholars believe that gnosticism is of Iranian origin. This
hypothesis has been abandoned; the alleged Iranian mystery of the
"saved savior" has been disproved. At present, many scholars are
inclined to believe that gnosticism is built upon Hellenistic-Jewish
foundations and can be traced to centers like Alexandria, which had a
large Jewish population. Polemics in the writings of the Jewish
philosopher Philo, who himself was an opponent of local heresies,
make it clear that he knew Jewish groups that had already formulated
certain basic elements of gnosticism, though a consistent system did
351
not yet exist in pre-Christian times .

Brian E. Daley writes, "It (Gnosticism) was rather a type of elitist

religious thought, present in Jewish and philosophical pagan circles,
as well as a fairly wide range of Christian ones that claimed
privileged access to a kind of knowledge that could revolutionize the
352
believer's understanding of existence . John Ferguson states,
“Gnosticism is thus to be seen as a trend or tendency rather than as a
353
well- defined philosophical or religious stance .”

In Christianity, the movement appeared first as a school (or

schools) of thought within the Church, which posed a serious
problem both to the interpretation of the gospel, and the life and

349 Cross: Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, 1990, p. 574. 350 Nag Hammadi,
Gnosticism, and Early Christianity, Hendrickson Publishers, 1986, p. 2. 351 The
Encyclopedia of Religion, article Gnosticism. 352 Brian E. Daley: The Hope of the Early
Church, Cambridge 1991, p. 25. 353 John Ferguson : Clement of Alexandria, Twayne
Publishers, NY 1974, p. 38.
 354
the worship of believers . It soon established itself in all principal
centers of Christianity; and by the end of the second century the
355
Gnostics had mostly become separate sects .
Gnosticism in various forms persisted for several centuries. The sect
of the Manichees, founded by Mani, a Persian of the 3rd century,
spread as far as Turkestan and survived there until the 13th century;
meanwhile the possibly related sects of the Albigenses and Cathari
had appeared in France, Germany and Italy. One sect of Gnostics,
the Mandaeans, has survived in Mesopotamia until the present
356
day .
GNOSTIC TEACHINGS
Although the Gnostics shared certain basic convictions, they
disagreed with each other on practically everything else.
1. Most of the Gnostic schools were thoroughly dualistic, setting an
infinite chasm between the spiritual world and the world of matter.
They agreed in refusing to attribute the origin of the material order to
the ultimate God, the God of goodness. Their systems were based on
the inseparable division and antagonism between the Demiurge or
"creator god" and the supreme unknowable Divine Being.

This belief had its effect on the concept of “salvation.” All the Gnostic
groups were agreed that redemption was a possibility - that it was
possible for us to ‘wake up,’ free our souls (the spiritual element)
from our bodies (the material element), and negotiate successfully the
357
perilous path which leads to our spiritual home .
2. In some systems the creation of the material universe is believed to
result from the fall of Sophia (wisdom); this creation is viewed
as evil. From the Divine Being, the Demiurge was derived by a
longer or shorter series of emanations or "aeons." He,

354 Brain E. Daley: The Hope of the Early Church, Cambridge, 1991, p.
25. 355 Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, 1990, p. 573. 356
Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, 1990, p. 574. 357 Cf. David N.
Bell: A Cloud of Witnesses, Michigan 1989, p. 27.
through some mischance or fall among the higher aeons, was the
immediate source of creation and ruled the world, which was
therefore imperfect and antagonistic to what was truly spiritual.
The Samaritans, the last survivors of the ten tribes of northern Israel,
were and are heterodox Jews who keep the Law while rejecting the
rest of the Bible. They transmit a certain tradition about Wisdom as
the personal creator of the world. According to Simon, Wisdom, the
spouse of the Lord, was called the Holy Spirit and is God's first idea,
the mother of all. She descended to the lower regions and gave birth
to the angels by whom the world was created. She was overwhelmed
and detained by these world powers so that she could not return to
her abode. She was even incarnated and reincarnated in human
bodies, such as that of the Helen of Greek mythology and poetry.
Finally, she came to dwell as a whore in a brothel in Tyre, Phoenicia,
where Simon, "the great power" of God, found and redeemed her. In
the Apocryphon of John as well as in the school of Valentinus, this
Sophia model has been combined with the Anthropos model. Both
358
are pre-Christian in origin .

3. Usually Gnostics divided men into two or three

classes:
a. The "spiritual" (pneumatics) are those who have illuminated souls.
Into the constitution of some men there had entered a seed or spark of
Divine spiritual substance, and through "gnosis" this spiritual element
might be rescued from its evil, material environment and be assured
of a return to its home in the Divine Being. They were freed by
knowledge from the constraints of ignorance, the Law, and the fears
of the coming judgment.
The leaders were teachers, both men and women, not ecclesiastics.
They were regarded as servants of Demiurge, and fit

358 The Encyclopedia of Religion, article Gnosticism..

only to exercise authority over the mass of uninitiated
359
Christians .

. The "fleshy" (hylics) or "material," are slaves of matter, and are
earthbound. To those ignorant faithful, the ordinary Christians, Christ had
appeared on earth and revealed the truths in the four gospels, but these
truths were no more than the pabulum of the nursery. To the Gnostics He
had revealed far more; and thus they could produce a large number of
non-canonical Gospels and similar treatises to prove it. This was what
Christ had really taught, this was the true Christianity; not a system which
asked only simple faith, but a system which demanded intellectual
understanding and secret knowledge, a system not for the many, but for a
few; a system not for sleep-walkers, but for spiritual athletes; a system not
360
for believers, but for knowers .

. The Gnostics add a psychic, intermediate class.

Some scholars have sharply criticized St. Clement of Alexandria,

considering that he was affected by Gnosticism in making a
distinction between classes of Christians: on the one hand, there is the
unsophisticated beginner who clings to the externalities of the faith;
on the other hand, there is the advanced gnostic Christian who
beholds the mysteries of God and abides in communion with God
through a heart full of understanding. These detect a Stoic influence
at this point, the Stoic discrimination of those who are advancing.
Other scholars believe that he distinguishes between them, but not as
two classes. On the contrary he believes that all Christians are babies
in Christ, and in need of continuous learning. He also, in opposing
Gnosticism, believes that none, except Jesus Christ is perfect. G.
Florovsky says that St. Clement does not make a distinction among
classes, but reinforces the dynamic nature of spiritual growth from
being

359 W.H.C. Frend: The Rise of Christianity, Philadelphia, 1984, p. 200.

360 David N. Bell: A Cloud of Witnesses, Michigan 1989, p. 27, 28.
"babes" in Christ to constant growth in the faith: spiritually and
361
intellectually .
St. Clement states that all Christians who receive baptism
are babies in Christ and are in need of constant growth
through the teaching and the training of the
362
Paidagogos. He says, 'Pedagogy is a training of children ' and then
raises the question who those are that the Scripture calls 'children.'
They are not, as the Gnostics claim, only those who live on a lower
level of Christian faith whereas the Gnostics alone are perfect
Christians. All those who are redeemed and reborn by baptism are
363
children of God : 'Being baptized, we are illuminated; illuminated
we become sons; being made sons, we are made perfect; being made
364
perfect, we are made immortal .'
Here I quote some sayings of St. Clement concerning
spiritual childhood:
Therefore the name "childhood" is for us a lifelong season
of spring, because the truth abiding in us is ageless and our
being made to overflow with that truth, is ageless too. For
wisdom is ever fruitful. Ever fixed unchangeable on the
365
same truths, ever constant .
You have become old in superstition; as young, enter
into the practice of piety. God regards you as
366
innocent children .
The Educator and Teacher is there naming us little ones,
meaning that we are more ready for salvation than the
worldly wise who, believing themselves wise, have blinded
367
their own eyes .

361 Georges Florovsky: Byzantine Fathers of the fifth century, 1987, p.

82. 362 Paidagogos 1:5:12:1. 363 Quasten: Patrology, vol. 2, p. 9. 364
Paidagogos 1:6:26:1. 365 Paidagogos 1:5:20. 366 Protrepticus 10. 367
Paidagogos 1:6:32 (Frs. of Church).
 We ought now to be in a position to understand that the name
'little one' is not used in the sense of lacking intelligence.
Childishness means that, but 'little one' really means 'one
newly become gentle,' just as the word 'gentle' means being
mild-mannered. So, a 'little one' means one just recently
368
become gentle and meek of disposition .
Childlikeness is the foundation for simplicity and
truthfulness. 'For upon whom shall I look,' it is said in the
369
Scripture, 'if not the meek and the peaceful?' (Isa. 66:2)
But whatever partakes of eternity assumes, by that very fact,
the qualities of the incorruptible; therefore, the name
'childhood' is for us a life-long spring time, because the truth
abiding in us is ageless and our being, made to overflow
370
with that truth, is ageless, too .
'The children,' the Scripture says, 'shall be put upon the
shoulders, and they shall be comforted on the knees, as one
whom the mother comforts, so will I comfort you' (Isa.
66:12,13). A mother draws her children near her; we seek
371
our mother, the Church .
'Now that I have become a man,' Paul continues, 'I have put
away the things of a child.' He is not referring to the growing
stature that comes with age, nor yet to any definite period of
time, nor even to any secret teaching reserved only for men
and the more mature when he claims that he left and put away
all childishness. Rather, he means to say that those who live
by the Law are childish in the sense that they are subject to
fear, like children afraid of ghosts, while those who are
obedient to the Word and are completely free are, in his
372
opinion, men .

368 Paidagogos 1:5:19 (Frs. of Church, 23).

369 Paidagogos 1:5:19 (Frs. of Church, 23).
370 Paidagogos 1:5:19 (Frs. of Church, 23).
371 Paidagogos 1:5:19 (Frs. of Church, 23).
372 Paidagogos 1:6:32 (Frs. of Church).
Concerning perfection, St. Clement believes that the Gnostics attain a
kind of perfection, even while they are living here in this world, for by
the divine grace they become Christlike. He also assures that no man
is perfect in all things at once. "I know no one of men perfect in all
things at once, while still human, though according to the mere letter
of the Law, except Him alone who for us clothed Himself with
humanity... But Gnostic perfection in the case of the legal man is the
acceptance of the Gospel, that he that after the Law may be
373
perfect ."
1. The secret knowledge that the Gnostics claimed to possess was
acquired, not by perseverance in moral rectitude, but by a sudden
illumination that enabled them to understand the ways of God, the
universe, and themselves. It was knowledge that freed them and
revealed the mysteries of truth, and rent the veil which concealed how
374
God controlled the creation .
2. Despite their reliance on the methods and attitudes of current
philosophy, they claimed to have succeeded contemptuously as not
"having the possibility" of understanding reality. "We alone know the
unutterable mysteries of the spirit," the Nassene (Snake) sect claimed
(c. 200). Only its initiates could bring order into "the disorder of the
world." Gnostics claimed that they were the "true brothers" on whom
375
the love of the Father had been poured out .
3. Many of the Nag-Hammadi writings are Christ-centered. Their
understanding of Christ, the Scriptures and man differed fundamentally
from that of members of the Church. The function of Christ was to
come as the emissary of the supreme God, bringing "gnosis." As a
Divine Being, He neither assumed a properly human body nor died, but
either temporarily inhabited a human being (Jesus) or assumed a
376
merely phantasmal human appearance .

373 Stromata 4:21. 374 W.H.C. Frend: The Rise of Christianity,

Philadelphia, 1984, p.199. 375 W.H.C. Frend: The Rise of
Christianity, Philadelphia, 1984, p.199. 376 Oxford Dictionary of the
Christian Church, 1990, p. 573.
 One form of Gnosticism was "Docetism," a heresy that
threatened the young church. The Greek word "dokein" means "to
seem," or "appear to be." Docetists believed that Jesus Christ was not
a real man but only seemed to be so; according to them, He did not
have a body, but simply passed through the Virgin without being
fashioned of her substance.
377
According to St. Irenaeus , Saturninus (c. 120) "declared that the
Savior was unborn, incorporeal and without form ... For to marry and
bear children, he says, is of Satan."
Valentinus (2nd century) also taught that Christ united himself with
378
the man Jesus who was born through Mary and not of Mary . He
passed through her as through a channel.
Marcion's doctrine was that Jesus did not have a human soul nor an
earthly body. He was not born of Mary, but appeared suddenly in
Judaea with imaginary flesh, a full grown man ready to start
379
immediately his ministry .
Appeles conceded genuine flesh to Christ, but a celestial body. It
came down from heaven into this world, and not of Mary.
7. The Gnostics and their orthodox opponents hotly debated the
relationship between the Old and New Testaments. This went to
the heart of the rival schemes of salvation. Was the Old Testament
the prefiguration or introduction to the New, as in Hebrews 10, or
was it wholly alien - the work of an inferior being or an evil
380
archon?
The great Egyptian Gnostics seem to all have been of Jewish birth.
The adherents of Basilides claimed, "We are no longer Jews and not
yet Christians." The followers of Valentinus reported, "When we
were Hebrews, we were orphans."

377 Adv. Haer. 1:24:2. PG. 7:674-5 378 Origen: In Epist. ad Galat..
PG 14:1298. 379 Origen: In Epist. ad Titum. PG 13:1304. 380 W.H.C.
Frend: The Rise of Christianity, Philadelphia, 1984, p. 208.
Nevertheless, Basilides and Valentinus both proclaimed a God
381
beyond the Old Testament God .
The teaching of the Gnostics concerning the antagonism that exists
between the Law and the Gospel called forth a vigorous reaction on
the part of ecclesiastical writers, especially the Alexandrian Fathers.

The Alexandrian Fathers emphatically stressed the fundamental

unity of both phases of revelation. St. Clement of Alexandria
expressed his views on this point in no uncertain terms: the two
Testaments form but one single saving Testament, given by one God
by means of one Lord and which, in spite of the diversity of ages and
382
generations, extends from the constitution of the world unto us .
383
Origen inculcates the unity of authorship of both revelations . One
384
is not surprised to find that St. Cyril subscribed to similar tenets ,
385
following the Alexandrian tradition .

The immediate consequence of the common origin of both Testaments

is the doctrine that the teachings of the Law and the Prophets are in
perfect agreement with that of Christ and the apostles. Ecclesiastic
writers describe it in terms of a comparison borrowed from music.
St. Clement of Alexandria speaks of the ecclesiastical symphony of
the two choirs - the Old and the New Testaments - and of the
386
choristers of which they are formed . Origen opposes heresy by
stating, "the sublimity of gospel-preaching, filled with the symphony of
the doctrines common to the Testaments that are styled Old and
387
New ." He also writes, "the whole of Scripture is but one single
instrument of God, perfect and

381 The Encyclopedia of Religion, article Gnosticism. 382 Stromata 7:17:107; 6:13:106. 383 De
Principiis praef. :4. 384 PG 70:565A: "The whole of Scripture form but one book, because it was
spoken by the one Holy Spirit." 385 Alexander Kerrgan: St. Cyril of Alexandria, Roma 1952, p. 131
ff. 386 Stromata 6:11:88. 387 In Ioan. Comm. 5:8.
harmonious, which renders one consonance that is formed of
388
different sounds ."
The early Fathers stressed the harmony of both Testaments to the
extent of claiming that they are identical. No writer of the early
period claimed that the apostles' knowledge was superior to that of
the prophets. St. Clement of Alexandria describes the charism of the
apostles by analogy to that of the prophets: the apostles, he argues,
389
were prophtai and dixaio at the same time, who "share the fragrant
390
anointing of the Holy Spirit by means of prophecy; " Nobody will
391
ever equal the prophets and the disciples of the Spirit .

Origen is much more explicit, teaching ex professo that the

knowledge possessed by the perfect in times preceding Christ's advent
392
was not less than that of the apostles who were instructed by Christ .
For according to St. Paul, the revelation of mysteries is made to the
apostles by means of the prophetic writings. The prophets, thanks to
their wisdom, must certainly have understood their own statements;
hence, they grasped what was manifested to the apostles. It is true that
the mode of knowledge is different since the prophets contemplated
the mysteries before they were realized, whereas the apostles beheld
them as already accomplished. However, this difference is only
accidental; Christians, who will witness Christ's second coming will
know nothing more than the apostles who foretold of this event;
similarly, the wisdom of the apostles could not have outstripped that
393
of the patriarchs, Moses and the prophets .

St. Cyril speaks in glowing terms about the prophets and the
394
excellence of their knowledge , but he very rarely institutes a

388 In Matt. Comm. 2. PG 13:832 C. 389 Stromata 5:6:38. 390 Paed. 2:8:61. 391 Stromata 1:9:45.
392 In Ioan. Comm. 6:4:24. 393 Ibid. 6:3-6. 394 For example, Comm. on Osee, Pusey I, 236, 16 ff.:
"Accurate knowledge of future events strikes the minds of the prophets, because the Holy Spirit
flashes the matter on them."
comparison between them and the apostles. On one occasion,
however, he confesses that he felt "inclined to crown Isaias not only
with the grace of prophecy but also with the prerogatives of the
apostles ... The views to which the older Alexandrians had committed
themselves practically deny all real development of the faith; the
patriarchs, prophets and apostles were all endowed with equal
knowledge and their predictions already contained the whole of
Christ's doctrine. On the other hand, St. Cyril, shows leanings which
can be interpreted as somewhat favoring the idea of a real
development; as we shall see, he espouses the idea that a gradual
spiritualization of religion takes place during the prophetic period.
Statements made by him with reference to the superiority of the
395
gospel to the old dispensation show that he was conscious of the
fact that further development took place in New Testament times. He
clung to the doctrine favoring the identity of both Testaments. In his
very first exegetical work St. Cyril writes, “The New Testament is
sister to and closely related to the Mosaic oracles; indeed it is
composed of the selfsame elements. We can show that the "life in
Christ" is not remote from conduct in accordance with the Law,
provided that the ancient ordinances are given a spiritual
396
interpretation ."
8. Fr. Matthias F. Wahba in his thesis, "The doctrine of Sanctification
in relation to Marriage according to St. Athanasius," dealt with the
397
Gnostics' view of marriage . He states that St. Clement explained
that the Gnostic's duelist view of creation led to two opposing
attitudes toward marriage and sexuality: the extreme of a rigorous
and negative asceticism on the one hand, and

395 "The law was an exercise leading to righteousness; it was a vestibule to the manner of life
prescribed by the gospel... It constitutes us in justice. But evangelical teaching leads to something
that is beyond this (PG 68: 521 ff.); "We shall see accordingly by means of these things that the
manner of living according to the law is unquestionably inferior to that of the gospel; it is not free
from the accusation of fleshly desires nor has it been liberated from earthly concupiscence; but
the divine and evangelical manner of living is spiritual and faultless and possesses incomparable
beauty" PG 69:462 D). 396 PG 68:137. 397 Presented to the Graduate School of the University of
Ottawa, 1933, p. 35-45.
a licentious antinomianism on the other. Both repudiate nature; the
398
one through abstention and the other through excess .
St. Clement believes that they regarded birth as evil because the
world is evil. It is the evil creator of the material universe who gave
the command, "Increase and multiply," (Gen. 1:28) to fill the world
with brutish men and women. They asserted that no spiritual, or even
psychic (ordinary), believer in the Gospel would engage in sexual
intercourse, and thereby increase the number of the brutish who are in
399
any case predetermined to damnation .

Ascetic Gnostics placed a great reliance on the Gospel according to

the Egyptians. For example, in a dialogue between Jesus and Salome,
she asks, "Until when shall men die?" He answers her, "As long as
women bear children." In another passage, Jesus says, "I come to
400
destroy the works of the female .”
At the other extreme were the licentious groups. They denounced
private property, marriage, and the repressive nature of the
Decalogue. "The followers of Carpocrates and (his son) Epiphanes,"
401
says Clement, "think that wives should be common property ."

Midway between the two extremes, the rigidly ascetic and the freely
licentious, were Basilides and Valentinus. Basilides and his son
Isidore allowed marriage on the ground that it is better to marry than
to burn (cf. 1 Cor. 7.9), but marriage was to be avoided by the man
who was ambitious to attain perfection. After his death, Basilides'
followers departed from their master's teaching and fell into licentious
ways, "by living lewder lives than the most uncontrolled heathen, they
402
brought blasphemy upon his name ."

398 Stromata, lll. 1-5. 399 Stromata, lll. 12. 400 Stromata 3:63-64. 401 Stromata, lll.5; cf.
Irenaeus, Against Heresies 1.25.5; R.M. Grant, "Gnostic Spirituality," in Christian Spirituality:
Origins to the Twelfth Century, New York, Crossroad, 1985, edited by B. McGinn and J.
Meyendorff in collaboration with J. Leclercq, p. 49. 402 Stromata, lll.3, p.41.
According to St. Irenaeus, Basilides taught that the practice of all
lusts was a matter of indifference, and said, "Marrying and bearing
403
children are from Satan ." Gnosticism, then, could not sanctify
marriage as long as it had such an attitude towards matter and body;
both, for the Gnostics, are evil. The Gnostic texts of Nag-Hammadi
agree that marriage and procreation, as instigated by archontic
404
powers, have no place in the perfect life .
Gnosticism was never interested in ethics and morality. As
pneumatics, the Gnostics believed that they would be saved, not by
means of conduct, but because they were spiritual by nature. On the
contrary, St. Clement states, "works follow knowledge, as the shadow
follows the body."
Gnostics generally regarded the world of ordinary experience and
work as having only a low grade of reality, and promised escape
from matter and union to the transcendent source of being to the
favored few who accepted the esoteric knowledge that the group
405
possessed .
Finally, we can acknowledge the Alexandrians’ struggle against
Gnosticism from Origen who debated with a certain bishop,
Heracleides, that Gnosticism was about to reappear in a new guise as a
406
rival universal religion molded by a genius Mani . Athanasius, also,
repeatedly mentions Mani together with Marcion and Valentinus as
407
schismatic groups .
GNOSTICISM AND ALEXANDRIA
The most important center of Gnosticism was Alexandria which had
became the heir of Jewish traditions, classical thought,

403 St. Irenaeus, Adv. Haer., l.24; Noonan, Contraception, p. 66; Mackin, What is Marriage?, p.
87. 404 The Testimony of Truth (IX. 3:29) affirms that marriage is an invention of the Mosiac law,
and sees the law's defilement manifested in the commands "to take a husband or a wife, and to
beget, and to multiply. " The Hypostasis of the Archons depicts the commands to marry and
procreate as deception invented by archontic powers to enslave humanity; cf. E.H. Pagels,
"Exegesis and Expositions," pp. 261-270. 405 Brian E. Daley: The Hope of the Early Church,
Cambridge 1991, p. 25. 406 H. Chadwick, Alexandrian Christianity, p. 177, 314 ff. 407 Ad Ep. Aeg.,
4, p. 24; Con. Ar., l.3, p.307; Ad Adelphium., 2, p.575
 408
and the old mysticism of oriental religions . It was in Alexandria
that the greatest doctors of Gnosticism - Basilides, Carpocrates and
Valentinus -flourished. St. Athanasius frequently refers to them, as
well as to Marcion, warning of their danger to Christian doctrine. St.
Clement of Alexandria, "the most reliable of early Christian writers on
Gnosticism," provides us with a systematic analysis of the various
sects.

1. Basilides
Basilides was a theologian of Gnostic tendencies, according to St.
409
Irenaeus , and a teacher at Alexandria. His work fell within the
reigns of Hadrian (117-138) and Antoninus Pius (138-161). He and
Isidore, his son and disciple, were prodigious workers. Basilides wrote
a gospel, of which we have only one fragment. Origen says that this
heretic had the audacity to write a gospel, and this work is mentioned
by St. Ambrose and St. Jerome. It is possible that Basilides reworked
410
the canonical Gospels to make them favorable to Gnostic doctrine .
He also wrote a biblical commentary, the Exegetica, in twenty-four
books; and some Odes.

His system is difficult to reconstruct, since only fragments of his

writings survive, and conflicting accounts are given by SS. Irenaeus,
Clement of Alexandria, and Hippolytus. According to Hippolytus,
Basilides taught a wholly transcendent God, who created an
evolving universe and planted in it an elect race. Besides biblical
material he used secret traditions supposedly

408 B. Walker, Gnosticism, p.11-12; G.W. MacRae, "Nag Hammadi and the New Testament" in
Gnosis: Festschrift fur Hans Jonas. In Verbindung mit Ugo Bianchi, Gottingin, 1978, p. 150; R.M.
Grant, Gnosticism and Early Christianity, New York, Columbia University Press, 1959, p. 13; id.,
Gnosticism: A Source Book of Heretical Writings from the Early Christian Period, New York,
Harper , 1961, p. 16. 409 Adv. Haer. 1:24:1. 410 J. Quasten: Patrology, vol. 1,p.128.
derived from St. Peter and St. Matthias, some Gnostic doctrines,
and elements of Platonic and Stoic philosophy.
According to Basilides, when the time was right, Jesus was
enlightened at His baptism in the river Jordan (a typically
Jewish-Christian notion). Jesus is considered to be the prototype of all
spiritual men who through His revealing word became conscious of
the innermost being, the Spirit, and rose up to the spiritual realm.
When the entire third sonship (the Spirit in the spiritual man) has
redeemed itself, God will take pity on the world, and he will allow the
descent of "the great unconsciousness" upon the rest of mankind.
Thereafter, no one will have even an inkling that there was ever
anything like the Spirit. Basilides foresaw a godless and classless
411
society .
Basilides seems to have been one of those many liberal Jews who had
left behind the concept of a personal Lord as a belief in the Unknown
God. He looked to Yahweh as an aggressive deity and the Jews as a
412
people who took after him, aspiring to subjugate other nations .
Basilides hated Judaism as he knew it in his own time and makes no
413
claim for his followers that they were a ''new Israel ," perhaps an
interesting comment on feelings in Alexandria during the years
between the Jewish rebellion of 115 AD and the up-rising of Bar
Kochba in A.D 132. Nevertheless, Basilides was basically Jewish in
his attitudes. His followers in St. Irenaeus' day are recorded as
asserting that ''while they were no longer Jews, they were more than
414
Christians,'' as though for them Judaism was still a norm .

Basilides' concerns, however, were moral as well as metaphysical.

He aimed at explaining the paradox of divine goodness and
human suffering - why must a Christian who had supposedly been
redeemed by Christ undergo a martyr's death?

411 The Encyclopedia of Religion, article Gnosticism. 412 St. Irenaeus:

Adv. Haer. 1:24:2; St. Epiphanius: Medicine Box 24:2. 413 W.H.C.
Frend: The Rise of Christianity, Philadelphia, 1984, p. 205. 414 St.
Irenaeus: Adv. Haer. 1:24:6.
 415 416
Basilides was quoted by St. Clement as stating that even the man
Jesus of Nazareth, had sinned, hence the crucifixion! All suffering,
Basilides asserted was the result of sin. Individual confessors might
not be grievous sinners but they possess a capacity and desire to sin.
Their sufferings might be regarded therefore as those of a child who
suffers simply because of an innate sinful quality or perhaps through
sin committed in a previous life. Suffering and death therefore, were
417
forms of atonement . In due time a heavenly light would descend
and raise up Jesus to summon the elect; they will ascend to the highest
heaven, while other beings come to rest in destinations appropriate to
their capacities. He was accused of teaching Docetism,
Metempsychosis, and other doctrines that were later condemned. His
followers soon formed a separate sect; but his own teachings may
perhaps have been typical of an ill-defined and speculative theology
418
that was prevalent in Alexandria in his day .

Basilides accepted the Platonic view of "providence," that in no sense

could providence be held responsible for evil. Evil, therefore, was
independent of God and resulted from the actions of another deity,
namely the God of the Old Testament, Yahweh, the chief of the
creator angels. True Christians would therefore reject the Old
Testament and confess Christ, but not Jesus as crucified because that
was merely material worship. They would identify themselves with
the spiritual Christ as spirit to spirit. Similarly, Scripture was to be
interpreted spiritually through the use of allegory on which the words
of Homer "the poet" as well as of Paul "the apostle" could throw light
on its true meaning. This demanded mastery of a range of Greek
philosophy and poetry as well as of existing Jewish and Christian
419
exegesis .

415 Wxegetica, 23. 416 Stromata 4:128. 417 W.H.C. Frend: The Rise of
Christianity, Philadelphia, 1984, p. 206. 418 F.L. Cross: The Oxford
Dictionary of the Christian Church, 1990, p. 141. 419 W.H.C. Frend: The
Rise of Christianity, Philadelphia, 1984, p. 206.
 420
J Quasten states that the following practical conclusions
can be drawn from the summary of Basilides’ teaching which St.
421
Irenaeus mentions :

. Knowledge (gnosis) proceeds from the principalities which
form the world.

. Only a few, one in a thousand, two in ten thousand, are able to
possess the true knowledge.

. Mysteries should be kept secret.

. Martyrdom is futile.

. Redemption affects only the souls, and not the body, which is
subject to corruption.

. Every action, even the most heinous sins of lust, is a matter of
perfect indifference.

. The Christian should not confess Christ the crucified but Jesus,
who was sent by the Father. Otherwise he remains a slave and under the
power of those who formed our bodies.

. Pagan sacrifices ought to be despised, but can be used without
any scruple because they are nothing.

2. CARPOCRATES
He was a Gnostic teacher of the 2nd century who was probably a
native of Alexandria. His disciples, the "Carpocratians," who survived
until the 4th century, preached a licentious ethic, the transmigration of
souls, and the doctrine that Jesus was born by natural generation. His
son Epiphanes wrote a treatise "On Justice," in which, under the
influence of Plato's "Republic", he advocated a community of women
and gods. However, this tradition about Carpocrates has been
disputed, and may possibly rest on a confused account of a cult of the
422
Egyptian deity Harpocrates .

420 Patrology, vol. 1, p. 247-9. 421 Adv. Haer. 1:24:3-4. 422 F.L. Cross: The
Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, 1990, p. 243.
 423
According to St. Irenaeus , Carporates and his followers
maintained that the world and the things which are there-in were
created by angels greatly inferior to the unbegotten Father. They also
held that Jesus was the son of Joseph and was just like other men with
the exception that he differed from them in that his soul was steadfast
and pure so he remembered perfectly those things which he had
witnessed within the sphere of the unbegotten God. On this account, a
power descended upon him from the Father by which he might escape
from the creators of the world; they also said that He, after passing
through them all and remaining in all points free, ascended again to
him. This position of Jesus was by no means unique because in the
same way the soul which is like that of Christ can despise those rulers
who were the creators of the world, and in like manner receives
power for accomplishing the same result. This idea appealed so much
to some of the Carpocratians that some of them arrogantly declared
themselves to be similar to Jesus, while others haughtily maintained
that they were superior to his disciples, such as Peter, Paul and the
rest of the apostles.

Images of some of them were painted or made with them having a

likeness of Christ, and portraying Jesus among them. They crowned
these images and set them up along with the images of Pythagoras,
Plato, Aristotle and others. They also had other modes of honoring
424
these images in the same manner as the gentiles .

The Carpocratians also practiced magical arts and incantations,

philters and love potions, and had recourse to spirits, dreams, demons
and other abominations, declaring that they possessed power to rule
425
over not only the princes of this world but also over the things in it .
Carpocrates was a contemporary of Valentinus because according to
St. Irenaeus one of his women

423 Adv. Haer. 1,25,1; Cf. J. Quasten, vol. 1, p.

266-7. 424 Adv. Haer. 1,25, 6, ANF vol. 1, p. 351. 425
Adv. Haer. 1, 25, 3, ANF vol. 1, p. 350.
disciples, Marcellina, went to Rome during the reign of Pope
Anicetus (154-165 AD), and seduced many.

3. Valentinus
The greatest Gnostic of all time was the poet Valentinus. Despite his
Latin name, he was born in the Nile Delta around the year 100 A.D
and educated in Alexandria. He created an academy for free research,
which in turn formed a loose network of local groups within
institutional religion. Even among his opponents Valentinus became
renowned for his eloquence and genius. He was probably the most
influential of the Gnostics and had a very large following
(frequentissimum collegium inter haereticos). Several of his disciples
founded schools of their own. They included Theodotus in the East,
426
and Ptolemaeus, Heracleon, Florinus, and Marcus in the West , all
contributed to the spread and development of Gnosticism in Italy,
Alexandria, and Gaul respectively, down to the end of the century.

According to St. Irenaeus and others he was a native of Egypt whose

disciples claimed that he had been taught by Theodas, a pupil of St.
Paul. He lived in Rome from c. A.D 136 to
c. 165 and had hopes of being elected Bishop "on account of his
intellectual force and eloquence" (quia et ingenio poterat et
427
eloquio ) St. Jerome, by no means one of the kindest critics,
wrote of him, ''No one can bring heresy into being unless he is
possessed by the nature of an outstanding intellect and has gifts
428
provided by God. Such a person was Valentinus ."
Until the discovery of the Nag-Hammadi library, Valentinus's ideas
could be guessed only from accounts given by his opponents,
429
especially St. Irenaeus . Though no work actually bears his name, a
group of four works from Nag-Hammadi - the
Gospel of Truth, the Gospel of Philip, the Exegesis on the Soul,

426 F.L. Cross: The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, 1990, p. 1423.
427 Tertullian, Adv. Valentiniaros, iv. 428 St. Jerome: Comm. on Hosea 11:10.
429 St. Irenaeus 3:1:1, 4:1; St. Epiphanius: Medical Box 31:9:1-22.
and the Treatise on Resurrection to Rheginus - appear to have close
affinities with each other and correspond to some extent with St.
Irenaeus’ account of Valentinus's ideas. Another important treatise,
The Teachings of Silvanus, seems to have been contemporary with
Valentinus and may also reflect some aspects of his thought. The
Gospel of Truth, a meditation on the true eternal gospel proclaimed by
Christ to awaken man's innermost being (the unconscious Spirit) was
probably written by Valentinus himself around A.D 150. His most
influential production was a systematic theology known to us only in
the developed and modified form given down to us by his disciples. It
appears to have been based on the Ophite system and to have
incorporated Platonic and Pythagorean elements. Valentinus, like
Basilides, saw God as a single, transcendent, and utterly unknowable
Being, but originating not from "absolutely nothing'' but from the
Primal Cause or Depth (Bythos). After countless ages Depth emanated
his spouse, called Womb or Silence (Sige) and eventually these two,
representing Male and Female principles, brought forth the Christ, or
Logos, upon whom all aeons (half ideas, half angels) depend and
through whom the All is coherent and connected. He also states that
the couple - Depth and Silence - emanate Understanding (Nous) and
Truth (Aletheia). From these follow Word and Life, and Man and
Church, and eventually thirty Aeons are produced, pair by pair, male
and female (compare Gen. 1:27), representing Christian (or Jewish)
concepts and virtues to complete the heavenly or spiritual world or
Pleroma. The last aeon was Wisdom (Sophia). She, desiring to know
the unknowable Father, fell into the darkness of despair and gave birth
to a premature and malformed infant laldabaoth (probably ''Child of
Chaos''), by whom the universe with all its imperfections was created.
Thus the visible world owes its origin to the fall of Sophia, the
youngest of these, whose ultimate offspring was the Demiurge who
was identified with the God of the Old Testament. The subsequent
struggle between laldabaoth and Wisdom was responsible for the
mixture of good and evil, virtues and passions, in the world and in
individuals. A Savior, Jesus, is sent to Wisdom. He "forms
Wisdom according to understanding" and separates her from her
passions, and thus sets in train the events that lead to similar
430
processes of salvation in the visible universe .
Redemption was effected by Christ, who united Himself with the man
Jesus (either at his conception or at His baptism) to bring man the
redeeming knowledge (gnosis) of His origin and destiny. This gnosis,
however, is given only to spiritual men or the "pneumatics," i.e. the
Valentinians who enter the pleroma through it, whereas other
Christians (called "psychics" after 1 Cor. 2.14 etc.) attain by faith and
good works only the middle realm of the Demiurge; the rest of
mankind (called "hylics", being engrossed in matter) are given over to
eternal perdition.
On the basis of this metaphysical view, Valentinus and his followers
valued both sex and marriage, at least for the pneumatics. A preserved
fragment from the school of Valentinus gives the following
interpretation of Jesus’ statement in the Gospel of John that the
Christian’s life is in the world but is not from it (John. 17:116):
"Whosoever is in the world and has not loved a woman so as to
become one with her, is not out of the Truth, and will attain the Truth;
but he who is from the world and unites with a woman, will not attain
the Truth, because he made sex out of concupiscence alone." The
Valentinians permitted intercourse only between men and women who
were able to experience it as a mystery and a sacrament, namely, those
who were pneumatics. They forbade it between those whom they
called psychics (Jews and Catholics) or hylics (materialists), because
these two lower classes knew nothing but libido. As the only early
Christian on record who spoke lovingly about sexual intercourse and
431
womanhood, Valentinus must have been a great lover .

The Jung Codex contains five Valentinian writings:

1. The Prayer of the Apostle Paul.

430 W.H.C. Frend: The Rise of Christianity, Philadelphia, 1984, p.

207. 431 The Encyclopedia of Religion, article Gnosticism.
2. The Apocryphon of James is a letter purporting to contain
revelations of the risen Jesus, written by James, his brother. In reality,
it contains Valentinian speculations grafted onto the root and fatness
of the olive tree planted beside the waters of the Nile by Hebrew
missionaries from Jerusalem (c. 160).
3. The Gospel of Truth.
4. The Epistle to Rheginos concerning the Resurrection is an
explanation of Paul's views: already, here and now, man anticipates
eternal life, and after death he will receive an ethereal body.

5. The Tripartite Treatise is a systematic and consistent exposition of

the history of the All. It describes how the Spirit evolves through the
inferno of a materialistic (pagan or "hylic") phase and the purgatory
of a moral (Jewish and Catholic or "psychic") phase to the coming of
Christ, who inaugurates the paradiso of final consummation, in which
spiritual man becomes conscious of himself and of his identity with
the Unknown God. The author, a leader of the Italic (Roman) school
of Valentinianism, was most likely Heracleon (c. 170). It was against
this shade of Valentinian gnosis that Plotinus, the Neoplatonic
432
philosopher, wrote his pamphlet Against the Gnostics (c. 250) .

4. The Manichaeans
In the second half of the third century, the great Gnostic Mani
(216-277) sent his missionaries Papos and Thomas to Egypt, where
they settled in Lycopolis, on the Nile above the Thebaid in Middle
Egypt. There they proselytized among the pupils of the Platonic
philosopher Alexander of Lycopolis, who wrote a preserved treatise
against them. They also seem to have translated, or to have had
translated, the Manichaean writings found at Madinat Madi in
1930-1931 (kephalaia, psalms, homilies, etc.)

432 The Encyclopedia of Religion, article Gnosticism.

from East Aramaic into sub-Akmimic, the Coptic dialect of
Lycopolis and the surroundings.
According to Valentinus, every man has a guardian angel or Self who
gives gnosis to his counterpart, but also needs the man or woman to
whom he belongs because he cannot enter the pleroma, the spiritual
world, without his other half. Mani taught that every Manichaean has
a twin, who inspires him and leads him to the light, but at the same
time Mani held that the eternal Jesus suffers in matter and is to be
redeemed by the Gnostic. Jacob Boehme says that God is an ocean of
light and darkness, love and ire, who wants to become conscious in
man.
433.
The God of gnosticism is Being in movement

WHY DID GNOSTICISM SPREAD IN ALEXANDRIA?

There are at least five reasons for the success of Gnosticism in
Alexandria, especially in the early centuries:
1. In contrast to other religions, Gnosticism first appeared in the city not
as a religious sect or school but as an attitude accepted by some
pagans, Jews and even Christians. The Gnostics took advantage of the
importance of Alexandria as a center of interchange of religious ideas
and as the intellectual meeting point between Jew and Greek.
2. The pseudo-Christian Gnostic sects could offer a religious system,
with a guaranteed way of salvation, and much more similar to the
434
pagan systems, from which the converts were changing .
3. The Gnostics tried to answer the following problems:

If God was Goodness, why was there evil in the world, unless the
matter from which it was created was irredeemably bad?
If God is good, who created the evil?

433 Quispel, Gilles in The Coptic Encyclopedia, p. 1149-51. 434

Cf. David N. Bell: A Cloud of Witnesses, Michigan 1989, p. 28.
If the universe was not governed by Fate, how did one
explain calamity, sickness, and sudden death?
What was the use of attempting to practice moral
excellence when one might be swept away overnight?
4. Gnosticism provided the well-educated members with the
sense of superiority, as they felt that they alone are trust-
worthy of the divine mysteries.
5. Many of the founders of the Christian Gnostics belonged to
Pre-Christian Gnosticism, who instead of surrendering their former
beliefs, they only added some Christian doctrines to their Gnostic
views. They also were very interested in literature, thus they wrote
many apocryphal gospels, epistles and apocalypses and attributed
many of it to St. Mary, the disciples, and the apostles, which had a
tremendous effect because of its popular content.

THE ALEXANDRIAN FATHERS AND GNOSTICISM

The Christian ministers and teachers of the first centuries were
forced to keep a continual eye on Gnosticism, which was a threat, a
435
rival rather than an influence .
Gnosticism was a vital part of the thought-world of St. Clement;
much of his writing was polemic against it, and at the same time it
436
influenced his categories of thought .
St. Clement's objection to Gnosticism is that it lay outside the church
and is offensive to human freedom of will and common sense. In his
own optimistic outlook, St. Clement believes that humans are
reasonable beings. Christianity had to be interpreted in terms of the
ultimate harmony between Scripture and philosophy.
Therefore, Gnostic dualism, libertinism, and fatalism could not be
437
the true Christian revelation .
W.H.C. Frend writes,

435 Cf. David N. Bell: A Cloud of Witnesses, Michigan 1989, p. 29. 436 John
Ferguson : Clement of Alexandria, Twayne Publishers, NY 1974, p. 38. 437
W.H.C. Frend: The Rise of Christianity, Philadelphia, 1984, p.370.
 Faith remained the foundation of Christianity, but the
Christian advanced from faith towards knowledge, that is, an
ever-deeper understanding of the Word of God, not achieved
in a sudden flash of illumination, but through a life dedicated
to obedience to God's will. Thus it was that the believer
became "like God" enjoying a freedom from all passions that
hindered the soul's ascent to perfection and deification. Few
could attain this state. Clement's Gnostic was as much the
member of a spiritual elite as the Gnostic's counterpart and
shared the latter's ultimate aim. The differences between
Clement and the Alexandrian Gnostics were, however, equally
important. Clement's religion was monotheist as well as being
church-oriented and he was profoundly influenced by Philo's
Platonism. For him also, God was absolutely transcendent,
438
"unity but beyond unity, transcending the monad ," and
embracing all reality and infinitely greater than all his works.
He could be known, however, through his Son, or Word
(Logos), not a Demiurge or lesser creator-god, but his image,
439
mind, and reason, inseparable from himself . As J.N.D.
Kelly pointed out, "the Word was like the Nous of
middle-Platonism and Neo-Platonism; the Word was at once
unity and plurality, comprising in Himself, His Father's ideas
and also the active forces by which He animates the world of
440
creatures ." He reflected God rather than contrasted with
God, while the Spirit was light issuing from Him, to illuminate
the faithful (through the prophets and philosophers) pervading
the world and drawing humans towards God. There was no
dualism in Clement's religion. For him, the Trinity consisted
of a hierarchy of three graded Beings, and from that concept -
derived from Platonism - depended much of the remainder of
his theological teaching.

438 Paidagogos 1:8:71. 439 Stromata

4:25:156. 440 Early Christian
Doctrines, p. 127.
 In addition, Clement had an optimistic view of human beings
and their relation to God. The world was created by God and
therefore was good. Man and woman had been made in the
image of God, and had the means within themselves to
progress toward God. There was no "natural evil" and no
impassable categories of Spiritual Men, Psychics, and Hylics
as in the Gnostic systems. Christ was Teacher (paidagogos) of
humankind rather than Illuminator of the few. Understanding -
441
itself the fruit of moral progress - was true Gnosis .

St. Clement loathed the Gnostics, not least the

442
Carpocratians, for their fatalism and libertinism .
ST. CLEMENT'S VIEW OF GNOSIS OR "KNOWLEDGE"
It is no exaggeration to praise St. Clement as the founder of
speculative theology. If we compare him to St. Irenaeus of Lyons, it
is evident that he represents an altogether different type of teacher.
St. Irenaeus was the man of tradition, who derived his doctrine from
apostolic preaching and regarded every influence from the
surrounding culture and philosophy as a danger to the faith. St.
Clement was the courageous and successful pioneer of a school that
purposed to protect faith by making use of philosophy. Together with
St. Irenaeus he fought against the false Gnosis. However, St. Clement
did not remain merely negative against the false gnosis; he set up a
443
true and Christian Gnosis .
Before St. Clement, the word "Gnostic" was identified as a heretic,
for throughout the first two centuries, some heresies appeared
under the title "Gnostics" in various forms. They believed - that
knowledge (gnosis) is the main way of salvation. The reaction of
many church leaders (such as Tertullian) was to attack
"knowledge" and "philosophy" as enemies of "faith." The

441 W.H.C. Frend: The Rise of Christianity, Philadelphia, 1984, p.370. 442 W.H.C. Frend: The
Rise of Christianity, Philadelphia, 1984, p.372. 443 Esmat Gabriel: St. Clement of Alexandria,
Coptic Church Review, Spring 1980, v.1, No. 1, p.
25.
School of Alexandria faced the Gnostic heresies, which were spread
in the East, not by attacking "knowledge" (gnosis), but by giving a
new concept of "knowledge" that helps believers even in their faith.
The Alexandrian School adopted philosophy as a way that leads to
faith, and looked to knowledge as a divine gift.
St. Clement of Alexandria emphasizes the following:
I. The title "Gnostic" does not refer to a heretic but to the orthodox
Christian who attains the divine gnosis (knowledge) from the Holy
Spirit, by illumination through Christ (the Logos) in the light of the
tradition of the church. St. Clement writes, “Here are the notes that
characterize our Gnostic: first, contemplation; then the fulfillment of
the precepts; finally the instruction of good men. When these qualities
are encountered in a man, he is a perfect Gnostic. But if one of them is
444
missing, then his Gnostic is crippled .” According to Walter Volker,
while St. Clement's gnosis is animated by a basic concern for
regulating one's life, it is above all a knowledge of the Scriptures in
which everything is illuminated through Christ (the Logos), in the
445
light of the tradition of the Church .

II. Gnosis is the principle and author of every action

446
conforming to the Logos .
III. The Gnostic is called to know God (ginoskein) or
447 448 449
epignonai , to see God , and to possess Him .

. It is to the extent that the Gnostic attains this state that he
450
becomes the equal of the angels .

. The grace of gnosis comes from the Father through the
Son451.

444 Walter Volker: Der wahre Gnostiker nach Clemns Alexandrinus, Berlin-Leipzig, 1952, Louis
Boyer: The Spirituality of the N. T and the Fathers; 1960, p. 265f. 445 Strom. 2:10:46. 446 Ibid
6; 6;2. 447 Ibid 2: 47: 4 ; 7: 47:3. 448 Ibid 7: 68: 4. 449 Protrep 106: 3; 113:3. 450 Storm 7: 57:
5.
VI. Christ is the source of knowledge (gnosis), who grants us His
knowledge through baptism, by making God known to us from the
452
fact that the eyes of our souls are purified .
VII. Christ gives us gnosis also through reading the
453
Scriptures .
VIII. The true Gnostic desires knowledge, struggles to practice
goodness not in fear but in love. He is full of love towards God and
men, fulfills the will of God, a man of prayer, witnessing to God daily
454
(as a martyr), and never fears death .
455
IX. Those who know (the Son) are called sons and gods . The Logos
of God was made man so that you might learn how man can become
456
god .

451 Ibid 5: 71: 5. 452 Paed. 1: 28: 1. 453 Stromata. 7: 103:

5. 454 See the Early Fathers of the School of Alexandria, p.
77ff. 455 Strom. 6: 16: 146. 456 Protrep. 11.

152
 THE SCHOOL OF ALEXANDRIA
AND PHILOSOPHICAL
ATTITUDES

ALEXANDRIA AND HELLENIC CULTURE

In Alexandria, Greek thought exercised its strongest influence on the
Hebrew mind. According to Jewish tradition, the Septuagint (the Greek
translation of the Old Testament) was realized in Alexandria, by 72
elder Jews, by the order of Ptolemy Philadelphus (B.C 285-246) for his
famous library. This work constitutes the beginning of
Jewish-Hellenistic literature. Philo (c. B.C 20 - c. 50 A.D), the Jewish
thinker and exegete in whom that literature flourished, also lived in
Alexandria. He belonged to a prosperous priestly family of Alexandria,
and was firmly convinced that the teaching of the Old Testament could
be combined with Greek speculation. His philosophy of religion
embodies such a synthe
sis457.

HELLENIC PHILOSOPHY
To understand the relationship between the School of Alexandria and
Hellenic philosophy we must view the role of the latter in the lives of
well-educated men in the beginning of the Christian Church. The most
important influence within the Roman empire came not from the
Romans but from the Greeks. Roman power and Roman law controlled
the military, political, social, and economic life of the empire; Greek
thinking controlled the minds

457
Esmat Gabriel: St. Clement of Alexandria, Coptic Church Review, Spring 1980, v.1, No. 1, p.
22.
 458
of men . Greek philosophy tried to build a world on the meaning of
life and the world to come, to affect the practical life of men in all
realms: in politics, law, art, social relations, knowledge, religion, etc.
Thus the Greek philosophers were not people sitting behind their desks
writing philosophical books. If they had done nothing but philosophize
459
about philosophy, we would have forgotten their names long ago .

THE SCHOOL OF ALEXANDRIA AND PHILOSOPHY

Many scholars believe that Hellenic philosophy, especially
Platonism, had its effect on the Alexandrians, and consider some
leaders of the Alexandrian Christians as Platonist or Neo-Platonist.
F. L. Cross states that beginnings of the interweaving Platonism with
460
Christian thought go back to St. Clement of Alexandria and Origen .
Origen himself states that the use of philosophy by Christian leaders
dates back to St. Pantaenus, the teacher of St. Clement. Even before St.
Pantaenus, Athenagoras was a philosopher whose strong perseverance,
in the School qualified him to become the dean of the theological
School of Alexandria without undressing the pallium of philosophers.
Athenagoras is considered the first known Christian who with his
faith, carried a tendency towards philosophy.

Now, I give answers to the following questions:

a. What is the view of the early Alexandrians, especially St. Clement
and Origen, on Greek philosophy?
b. Why did the School of Alexandria use Philosophy?
And to what extent?

a. St. Clement’s view on Greek Philosophy

In his speech on the effect of St. Clement on his disciple Origen,
Joseph Wilson Trigg says,

458
459
Harry R. Boer: A Short History of the Early Church, Michigan, 1976, p. 7.
Paul Tillich: A History of Christian Thought, NY, 1968, p. 3.
460
F. L. Cross, The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, 1990, p. 1102.
 Like Clement, Origen believed that diligent study can enable
us, with God's aid to pass from mere faith in the essential
doctrines of Christianity to an intimate knowledge of God, and
no one is more likely to have mediated this optimism to Origen
than Clement. It seems likely, as well, that it was Clement who
showed Origen the possibility of a reasoned defense of the
ecclesiastical tradition against heretical Gnostics and fired
Origen with the desire to produce the theological system he
himself hoped to achieve. Clement may have been more
systematic than he appears to have been, his baffling and
diffuse style only a subterfuge to protect profound teaching
from the vulgar and them from it, but it seems more likely that
Clement's style mirrored his mind better than he would himself
461
have cared to admit .
The writings of St. Clement prove how steeped his thought was in the
Greek classics. His works contain over 700 quotations from some 300
pagan authors, an achievement which well justifies Cayre's remark that
462
his prodigious erudition was unsurpassed even by that of Origen .

John Ferguson states,

At the time when Clement was growing up there were four
main schools of Greek philosophy, Platonist, Aristotelian or
Peripatetic, Stoic, and Epicurean; Marcus Aurelius had
established chairs of these four in Athens.
Behind all four, however, lay the tradition of Ionian natural
philosophy. This began with a group in Miletus somewhere
about 600 B.C. Mythical elements remained in their work, but
fundamentally they were asking new questions and giving a
new sort of answer. They were examining the natural world,
trying to reduce it to its simplest terms, to understand its
structure, and the process of change by which presumably
simple elements might produce the

461
462
Joseph Wilson Trigg: Origen, SCM Press, 1985, p. 65, 66.
F. Cayre: Manual of Patrology, Paaris, 1936, p. 179.
 extraordinarily varied and complex world we know. Clement
perhaps knew their work only or mainly at second hand. So do
we, and Clement remains one of our more important sources
for these early thinkers. Their answers moved from the simple
to the complex, from the isolation of a single element such as
water, to a fully fledged atomic theory, though on speculative
rather than on experimental grounds. In between had appeared
463
two towering figures, Parmenides and Heraclitus .

St. Clement's virtue is in his courage, his fearless approach into

464
dialogue with Hellenic philosophy and culture . He realized that his
missionary task would be hopeless unless he was able to interpret
Christian truth in terms which educated inquirers could accept. His
aim, however, was to convert members of the community of educated
Alexandrian Greeks, some of whom previously might have been
attracted to a Judaism of the type represented by Philo. Just as Philo
had presented Judaism as the highest form of wisdom and the means
by which humankind would come to "see God,'' so St. Clement urged
that Christianity was the end to which all current philosophy had been
465
moving. Some scholars call him a Christian Philo . He opens his
Exhortation to the Greeks with a fine, challenging passage in which he
compares the music of Amphion and Orpheus (which according to
legend charmed the animals) with the true music of heavenly
Christianity. Christianity was the new melody superior to that of
Orpheus. Christ is the incarnate God, ''becoming man in order that
such as you [Gentiles] may learn from man how it is even possible for
man to become a god [theos].'' Elsewhere (Stromata), he encourages
Christians to become missionaries themselves. ''The word of our
Teacher did not stay in Palestine as philosophy stayed in Greece, but
was poured

463
464
John Ferguson : Clement of Alexandria, Twayne Publishers, NY 1974, p. 31.
Georges Florovsky: The Byzantine Fathers of the Fifth Century, vol. 8, 1987, p. 81.
465
Fobert J. Daly: The Origins of the Christian Doctrine of Sacrifice, Fortress Press, Philadelphia,
1978, p. 113.
 466
out over all the world persuading Greeks and barbarians alike ." To
be a Christian and not to try to influence one's neighbor was to be an
unprofitable servant. Christians should become preachers and writers
467
of the word .
He sometimes affirms that the philosophers took their best ideas from
468
the Hebrews . But he also asserts that they knew truth by a direct
action of God, in a fashion similar to that by which the Jews received
469
the Law .
As many men drawing down the ship, cannot be called many
causes, but one cause consisting of many; - for each individual
by himself is not the cause of the ship being drawn, but along
with the rest; - so also philosophy, being the search for truth,
contributes to the comprehension of truth; not as being the
cause of comprehension, but a cause along with other things,
and cooperator; perhaps also a joint cause. And as the several
virtues are causes of the happiness of one individual; and as
both the sun, and the fire, and the bath, and clothing are of one
getting warm: so while truth is one, many things contribute to
470
its investigation. But its discovery is by the Son .

Therefore "the same God that furnished both Covenants that of

the Law and that of Philosophy was the giver of Greek
philosophy to the Greeks, by which the Almighty is glorified
471
among the Greeks ."
W.H.C. Frend says,
Early in the Stromata, he admits that there were coincidences
between Christian truth and the beliefs of Greek philosophers.
Even if these hit on the truth accidentally,

466
467
Stromata 6:18:167.
W.H.C. Frend: The Rise of Christianity, Philadelphia, 1984, p. 286, 370.
468
Stromata 1:25; 5:14.
469
Justo L. Gonzalez: A History of Christian Faith, vol. 1, 1979, p. 197.
470
Stromata 1:20 (ANF, 2: 323).
471
Stromata 6:5. (ANF, 2: 323).
 472
this suggested that God had revealed Himself to them also .
His wisdom was not confined to the Hebrews. No race was
deprived of the opportunity of apprehending God, and so
philosophy must be God-given. It ranked ''among the good
473
things of Providence .'' Plato, plagiarist though he may have
been, also prepared the way for the Greeks to accept the
Christian faith. Philosophy shared with the Law "in making
ready the way for him who is perfected in Christ." Its role,
however essential, was still merely preparatory. Of itself it was
"too weak to do God's commands." Its duty was ''to prepare the
way for the teaching that is royal in the highest sense of the
word, by making men self controlled, by moulding character
474 475
and making them ready to receive the truth .''

Some scholars believe that St. Clement was himself an electic in

476
philosophy , but his master St. Pantenaeus was if anything a Stoic. St.
Clement tried to pick the best from Stoicism and from the Platonic
system, and it looks very much as if he owed much of his Platonic
477
borrowings to Athenagoras .
Joseph Wilson Trigg says,
Philosophers, beginning with Aristotle, had composed "Ex
hortations" to adopt the philosophic way of life as prac
ticed in their schools...
Clement, by this choice of literary form, advertised Christianity
as a philosophy consistent with the ideals of Hellenism. The
Logos who became incarnate... spoke most clearly, he claimed,
through Moses and Isaiah, but the Logos also spoke through
Euripides and Plato.

472
473
Stromata 1:19:94:1.
Stromata 1:5:28.
474
Stromata 1:16:80:6.
475
W.H.C. Frend: The Rise of Christianity, Philadelphia, 1984, p.370.
476
Stromata 1:7:37:6.
477
Joseph Hugh Crehan: Athenagoras, Newman Press, 1956 (ACW, vol. 23), p. 6.
 Clement knew the classics of Greek literature and the Bible
equally well, and he wove them together artfully in the
Exhortation. Thus the legendary poet Orpheus became a
symbol of Jesus, whose "new song" of salvation charmed, in
Clement's presentation, even "the offspring of vipers" and
"sheep in wolves" clothing." "Imitate Odysseus," he said in
considerably more words, "ignore the siren-song of customary
pagan religious practices so that you may arrive at the safe
haven of the Logos." Especially since Clement was probably
himself a convert, the Exhortation illustrates the factors that
could lead a cultivated pagan to Christianity as well as the
478
ways a Christian could assimilate Hellenism .

J. Quasten says,
Thus Clement goes far beyond Justin Martyr, who speaks of
the seeds of the Logos to be found in the philosophy of the
Greeks. He compares it to the Old Testament in so far as it
trained mankind for the coming of Christ. On the other hand,
Clement is anxious to stress the fact that philosophy can never
take the place of divine revelation. It can only prepare for the
acceptance of the faith. Thus, in the second book, he defends
faith against the philosophers.
St. Clement places himself squarely within the tradition of Justin and
Athenagoras, and against the attitude of Tatian and Tertullian. Unlike
them, he did not use his learning to batter down the ideals of
contemporary society but used the writings of poets and philosophers
constructively to build his case for Christianity. He was inclined,
however, to parade his knowledge artlessly like a collector, and was
479
ready to draw some new, Christian significance from their works .

478 479
Joseph Wilson Trigg, Origen, SCM Press Ltd, 1985, p. 55.
W.H.C. Frend: The Rise of Christianity, Philadelphia, 1984, p.369.
 It is worthy to note that St. Clement saw, it is true, the
great danger of a Hellenization of Christianity, as did St. Irenaeus,
and, with him, fought against the false and heretical Gnosis. But St.
Clement's distinction is that he did not remain merely negative in his
attitude but over against the false gnosis set up a true and Christian
gnosis, which placed in the service of the faith the treasure of truth to
be found in the various systems of philoso
phy480.
The Hellenic philosophy does not, by its approach, make the
truth more powerful; but by rendering powerless the assault of
sophistry against it, and frustrating the treacherous plots laid
against the truth, is said to be the proper fence and wall of the
481
vineyard .

b. Origen’s view on Greek Philosophy

According to Origen, the Bible does not discourage the pursuit of
482
philosophy . Logic is of great utility in defending Christianity, though
the greatest arguments establishing the truth of the Gospel are not
natural but the supernatural guarantees of miracle, fulfilled prophecy
and the miraculous expansion of the Church in face of powerful
483
prejudice and governmental opposition . He writes that “philosophy
and the Word of God are not always at loggerheads, neither are they
always in harmony. For philosophy is neither in all things contrary to
God's law nor is it in all respects consonant.” He proceeds in this
passage to list some of the points of agreement and disagreement.
'Many philosophers say there is one God who created the world; some
have added that God both made and rules all things by his Logos.
Again, in ethics and in their account of the natural world they almost
all agree with us. But they disagree when they assert that matter is
co-eternal

480
481
Quasten: Patrology, vol. 2, p. 20.
Stromata 1:20:100.
482
Contra Celsum 6:7.
483
Ibid. 1:2 ; Henry Chadwick: History and Thought of the Early Church, London, 1982, p. 185.;
 with God, when they deny that providence extends below the moon,
when they imagine that the power of the stars determines our lives or
484
that the world will never come to an end .
Sometimes Origen praises philosophy and sciences. According to
485
him, "all wisdom is from God ," whether it be knowledge of
486
philosophy, of geometry, of medicine or music . We can use
philosophy as Moses had the advantage of the advice of Jethron, his
father-in-law.
He deals with many philosophical problems, such as man's free-will,
the divine Providence, the relationship between God and man etc... He
does not believe in a certain philosophy, but chose what is good in
every theory. He states that Platonism contained truths present in the
biblical account about reality.
According to Origen, knowledge inflames our love, grants us
perfection of the soul, its purification, and thus attains likeness to the
Son of God.
Like St. Clement, Origen attacks the Stoics for their materialism,
487
pantheism and deterministic doctrine of world-cycles . He
distinguishes the Christian doctrine of God's providential care from the
488
Stoic idea of God as a material immanent force . The Stoic doctrine
of natural law and of 'universal notions' of God and conscience he
489
accepts without the least demur .
Rowan A. Greer says,
We are left in a circle. On the one hand, Origen begins with
scripture, and his careful reading of it yields the theological
conclusions that comprise his views as a

484
In Gen. hom. 16:3; Cf. Principiis 1:3,1; Contra Celsum 4:8:47; Henry Chadwick: History and
Thought of the Early Church, London, 1982, p. 186.
485
In Num. hom 18:3.
486
In Gen. hom 11:2.
487
Contra Celsum 4:67-8; 5:20; De Principiis 2:3,4.
488
Contra Celsum 6:71.
489
Comm. on John 1:37; 8:41; Contra Celsum 3:40; 8:52; Henry Chadwick: History and Thought of
the Early Church, London, 1982, p. 186..
 whole. From this point of view he is certainly a Christian and,
indeed, a Biblical theologian. On the other hand, Origen
approaches scripture with preconceptions that are in great part
determined by his philosophical training and bent of mind. At
this level it is possible to charge him with simply importing
Greek philosophy into his interpretation of scripture. The
resulting puzzle is not easily solved...
In the first instance Origen's importance lies in bridging the
gap between Christianity and the Graeco-Roman world. He
was able to expound the Gospel in terms meaningful to his
pagan contemporaries and perhaps more important, to
Christians who retain that culture even upon conversion...

This was Origen's point of view and his conviction

was that Christianity had the power to transform the old
490
culture and make it fruitful .
In his eleventh homily on Exodus, Origen says, "If we too ever find
evidence of wisdom in a pagan writer, we should not automatically
reject his ideas just because of his name. The fact that the law we
follow was given us by God does not entitle us to swell with pride and
refuse to listen to the wise. No; as the Apostle says (I Thess. 5:21), we
491
should 'scrutinize it all carefully, retaining only what is good .'"

At the same time, Origen was not like his teacher St. Clement, a
philosopher who was converted to Christianity, therefore he was not
492
in sympathy with Greek philosophy. Jaroslav Pelikan says, "One of
the most decisive differences between a theologian and a philosopher
is that the former understands himself as, in Origen's classic phrase, 'a
493
man of the church ,' a spokesman for

490
491
Rowan A. Greer: Origen, Introduction.
Jean Daniélou: Origen, NY, 1955, p. 18.
492
Jaroslav Pelikan: The Christian Tradition, vol. 1, Chicago, 1971, p. 3.
493
Hom. on Lev. 1:1; Hom. on Jos. 9:8; Hom. on Isa. 7:3.
 the Christian community." The only master he ever acknowledges is
the Logos speaking through the Scriptures.
Origen warns us from philosophy, for the pagans abused it by mixing
there own errors with the truth, and thus it cannot teach the will of
494
God . He also declares that philosophy has no power to renew our
nature.
He concentrated on assuring its falseness and insufficiency, because
he was afraid of the beauty of philosophical expressions that may
deceive believers. In his letter to St. Gregory Thaumataurgus he states
that philosophy looks like gold which the Hebrews took from Egypt,
instead of using it in establishing the Tabernacle they made the golden
bull.
Origen condemns philosophy as he says, "Do not covert the deceptive
495
food philosophy provides, it may turn you away from the truth ," it is
because the pagans spoiled it by introducing their errors, that it
496
teaches nothing of God's will . He indicates the errors in
philosophical systems, and endeavors to preserve his disciples from
them, but above all he is anxious lest they should be led astray by a
strange master, who would lead them to forget Christ, or at least might
lessen the exclusive fidelity which they owe to him. His ideal is St.
Paul’s, and he wished to say in his turn. "Who shall separate us from
the Charity of Christ?." He added, "I can say this in all confidence:
neither the love of profane letters, nor the sophisms of philosophers,
nor the frauds of astrologers concerning the supposed courses of the
stars, nor the divination of demons, full of lies, nor any other science
of the future sought by evil artifices, will be able to separate us from
497.
the Charity of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord "

494
495
In Psalms 36:3,6.
In Lev. hom 10:2.
496
In Ps. hom 26:3, 6.
497
In Judic. hom 3:3: (5:5); See Lebreton, p.805-6.
 His system in teaching philosophy and pagan leanings can
be summarized in two points:
I. Origen used to start his teaching with "rhetoric," then some
scientific knowledge such as physics, mathematics, geometry and
498
astronomy . This was only a preparation, followed by the study of
philosophy.
II. He wished his disciples to know something about all the
philosophical theories except that of Abecareans, and not to stress on
one of them. St. Gregory the Wonder-maker gives an account of this
499
system by saying , "In every philosophy he picked out what was true
and useful and set it before us, while what was erroneous he rejected
... He advised us not to give our allegiance to any one philosopher
even though he should be universally acclaimed as perfect in wisdom,
but to cleave to God alone and His prophets."

500
Origen was a student of Ammonius Saccas , who was an unorthodox
electic Platonist... What could have persuaded Origen to follow such
an orthodox Platonism? Perhaps, because Origen did not agree with
the Stoics that the divine ousia was material, that knowledge of God
and reality rested on a materialist epistemology alone, and that
everything was determined by fate. Origen desired to use Platonism to
refute arguments made by Gnostic and Stoic Christians concerning the
relationship between deity and creation, fate, and free-will. His
criticisms of Gnosis and the Stoa on first principles and creation
precisely indicates at what point Origen found himself obliged to
follow Ammonius, Maximus, Pantaenus, and Clement. Each viewed
both Platonists and Aristo

498
499
Or. Paneg. 6:8. PG. 10:1072 a-c.
Ibid. 6:14, 15. PG. 10:1902c, 1903b.
500
J.W. Trigg says, “The Platonic philosopher Ammonius Saccas (c. 175 - 242) wrote nothing, and it
is notoriously difficult to reconstruct his doctrines, but he taught Origen and Plotinus, the two most
influential thinkers of the third century, as well as other men eminent in their time. The historical
record is confusing, but it seems that Origen could not have met Plotinus since Origen had left
Alexandria permanently before Plotinus became Ammonius' student.” (Joseph Wilson Trigg: Origen,
SCM Press, 1985, p. 66).
 telians as allies in their attempt to correct falsehoods of Gnosis and
Stoicism. Maximus, Pantaenus, and Clement concurred that Hellenic
Platonists possessed incomplete knowledge about first principles and
the world. They argued that the Christian had the duty to complete the
incomplete truths pronounced by Platonists by testing their postulates
501
on the basis of biblical knowledge .

c. Why did the School of Alexandria use Philosophy?And to what

extent?
1. The School of Alexandria did not aim to separate believers,
especially the leaders of the church, from contemporary cultures, as
long as these cultures helped them progress in all or some aspects of
life. Its interest in science and philosophy is very clear from its
encyclopedic teachings. Studying philosophy and rhetoric were
considered the two principal ways to a complete education at that time,
and studying philosophy was less likely to offend Christians than the
study of literature.
502
Philip Schaff states that the Alexandrians as well-educated persons
made much freer use of the Greek philosophy. For Origen philosophy
is the jewels which the Israelites took with them from Egypt and turned
into ornaments for their sanctuary, though they also wrought them into
the golden calf. Philosophy is not necessarily an enemy to truth, but
may and should be its handmaid, and neutralize the attacks against it.

In one of his letters, St. Dionysius encourages believers to read

philosophical books, even the unorthodox ones. He states that God
revealed Himself to him through his extensive readings, saying to
503
him : “Study anything you lay your hand on; you are competent to
examine and prove everything - this gift was from the start the cause of
your faith.” He accepted the vision and never

501
502
Berchman, p. 27ff.
Philip Schaff, History of the Christian Church, vol. 2, p. 353.
503
The third letter on baptism addressed to Philemon the Roman Presbyter. Eusebius: H. E. 7:7:1
3.
 abandoned the desire of reading. This enabled him to carry the attack
into the enemy’s country.
Origen studied philosophy not out of love, but to preach those who had
a philosophical education. He gained many students from the Museum.
504
In this he initiates St. Pantenaus, and St. Clement. W. Volker , the
German theologian, states that St. Clement is nothing if not a Christian,
who likes to present himself under the guise of a Platonic or Stoic
philosopher in order to speak the same philosophical language as the
heathens and to convert them to Christianity by showing them that a
Christian is not forbidden to express himself in terms of Greek
philosophy. Accordingly, the borrowing of elements of Greek
philosophy has only an instrumental importance: they are purely
exterior terms, covering an orthodox and genuine Christian thought,
which, however, is not substantiated by them.

2. The Platonist considered the Bible as not worthy of serious

consideration, because it was written in highly unliterary Greek and
505
none of its books conformed to accepted genres . The School of
Alexandria undertook the task of reconciling the Bible to Hellenism,
particularly the philosophy of Plato.
The Alexandrian leaders adopted philosophy, perhaps as a positive
answer against those who criticized the Christian faith as if it prevented
men from philosophical education. Celsus, in the second century says
that while indeed there are some educated Christians, the majority
commonly say, "Do not ask questions, only believe. Faith will save
506
you. Wisdom is an evil thing and foolishness good ." Galen, the
distinguished medical writer of this time, caustically remarks, "If I had
in mind people who taught their pupils in the same way as the
followers of Moses and Christ

504
505
Cf. Salvotore R.C. Lilla: St. Clement of Alexandria, p. 3.
Joseph Wilson Trigg, Origen, SCM Press Ltd, 1985, p. 52.
506
Origen, Contra Celsum, 1:9. see Henry Chadwick: Alexandrian Christianity, Philadelphia, 1954,
p. 18.
 teach theirs - for they order them to accept everything on faith - I
507
should not have given you a definition ."
3. The Alexandrians found in some philosophical statements great
usefulness as an immunization or an antidote against the heresy of
Gnosticism. The Gnostics had done what St. Paul said he was not
going to do (Gal. 1:11, 12; 1 Cor. 1:17); they adorned the faith of the
New Testament with "persuasive words of wisdom." St. Clement
undertook to set up a new Christian philosophy in opposition to that of
the Gnostics, a philosophy based at once upon what they considered
the true principles of the Greek philosophers and upon the traditional
508
beliefs of the Church . He confronted the heretical Gnostics with
Plato's belief that we must look after the needs of the body for the sake
509
of the harmony of the soul, citing Plato Republic . St. Clement also
clarified that in asceticism, the genuine Gnostic does not neglect the
body's legitimate needs since he considers the body a part of God's
good creation.

Origen aimed to refute the first principles of Christian Gnosticism and

Stoicism. Joseph Wilson Trigg concluded that, in Origen’s view, Plato
and the Bible were in profound agreement in rejecting the Gnostics, but
there was far more to their compatibility than simply agreement on the
goodness of the world and its Creator:

The Christianity of Origen’s time, even as it rejected the

Gnostics’ hatred of the world, taught its followers to despise
the fundamental cravings for comfort, sex, and the continuation
of life itself that tie us to the world. Plato’s dictum that we
should take flight from this world to become like the divine, so
far as we can, found its echo in Paul's "Set your mind on things
that are above, not on

507
See R. Walzer: Galen on Jews and Christians, 1949, p. 48-56; see Henry Chadwick: Alexandrian
Christianity, Philadelphia, 1954, p. 18.
508
Harry Austryn Wolfson: The Philosophy of the Church Fathers, Harvard University Press, 1976,
p. 14.
509
Stromata 4:5:18.
 things that are on earth" (Col. 3:2). If Plato complained that the
body was a prison house in which the soul was tightly bound
like an oyster in its shell, Paul asked who would deliver him
from this body of death (Rom. 7:24).
Ammonius may have made a particular point of the
incompatibility between Plato and the Gnostics. Certainly no
one more fully agreed with Origen in this regard than Plotinus.
Plotinus unambiguously affirmed the goodness of the created
510
order while being aware of its limitations .
1. Alexandria, with its scientific tradition and the interest generally shown
by its educated upper classes in religious and philosophical questions,
was to prove the most favorable soil for the development of a Christian
511
theology utilizing a learned intellectual basis .
2. The Alexandrians adopted philosophy, perhaps because they
acknowledged that some well-educated people who accepted philosophy
were free of pagan mythology and despised pagan worship. Plotinus'
reply to a student who invited him to a festival is famous, "It is for these
512
beings to come to me, not for me to go to them ."
3. The Alexandrians adopted some philosophers, such as Plato to their
Christian needs. They used some philosophical terms, statements and
ideas which are in harmony with the biblical concepts, but they did not
depend on their philosophical basis and concepts. They almost use
philosophical language to express their faith and Christian doctrines and
concepts, without deviating from the Christian truth.

Philip Schaff says, The Platonic philosophy offered

many points of re
semblance to Christianity. It is spiritual and idealistic,

510
511
Joseph Wilson Trigg: Origen, SCM Press, 1985, p. 72.
Karl Baus: From Apostolic Community to Constantine, NY, 1965, p. 210.
512
Joseph Wilson Trigg: Origen, SCM Press, 1985, p. 66.
 maintaining the supremacy of the spirit over matter, of eternal
ideas over all temporary phenomena, and the preexistence and
immortality of the soul; it is theistic, making the supreme God
above all the secondary deities, the beginning, middle, and end
of all things; it is ethical, looking towards present and future
rewards and punishments; it is religious, basing ethics, politics,
and physics upon the authority of the Lawgiver and Ruler of
the universe; it leads thus to the very threshold of the revelation
of God in Christ, though it knows not this blessed name nor his
saving grace, and obscures its glimpses of truth by serious er-
rors. Upon the whole the influence of Platonism, especially as
represented in the moral essays of Plutarch, has been and is to
this day elevating, stimulating, and healthy, calling the mind
away from the vanities of earth to the contemplation of eternal
513
truth, beauty, and goodness .

514
For example, Salvatore R.C. Lilla states that many modern
theologians believe that St. Clement of Alexandria, as the first
Christian philosopher and writer, was not a Platonic, a Stoic or an
Aristotelian, but an eclectic. He believes that Christianity is perfect in
itself, needs no help from profane culture; it can only deign to borrow a
few elements or terms from the philosophical systems which are not so
removed from the truth it represents, provided that this does not
contaminate its purity and causes no prejudice to its originality. St.
Clement appears, in this way, as a wise Christian philosopher who,
being already enlightened by the truth of his own religion, is able to
judge what is right and what is wrong in the heathen philosophy, and
deems it worthy to borrow from it elements which are not in
disagreement with his religious principles.

St. Gregory the Wonder-worker tells us how Origen took his disciples
through all the different systems of Greek philosophy,

513
514
Schaff: History of the Christian Church, vol. 2, p. 725.
Clement of Alexandria, p. 2f.
 omitting nothing and advising them not to devote themselves ex-
clusively to any master, even if they found one universally regarded as
515
perfect in wisdom, but to "cleave to God alone and his prophets ."
This is the view of the Alexandrians who were not Platonists nor
Neo-Platonists but they were theologians and churchmen, even when
they were in sympathy with Greek philosophy, especially Platonism.

Here we give some examples of how Christianity used the Hellenic

culture in a biblical way:
a. The Platonic dual world: Some scholars see the Alexandrian
eschatological attitude as an effect of the Platonic dual world: the
world of senses and that of "Ideas." Plato spoke of essential reality, of
"ideas" (ousia) as the true essences of things. At the same time we find
in Plato, and even stronger in later Platonism and Neo-Platonism, a
trend toward the devaluation of existence. The material world has no
516
ultimate value in comparison with the essential world . The
Alexandrians concentrated on the world to come, or heavenly life, and
517
looked to the present life as a temporary one. St. Clement states that
the earthly Church is a copy of the heavenly one, that is why we say
that God's will may be accomplished on earth as it is in heaven. He
also wrote, "If you enroll yourself as one of God's people, heaven is
518
your country, God your legislation ." It is not a Platonic view but a
biblical one. The Old Testament concentrates on God's blessing in this
world, for believers at that time were like children, in their dealing with
the heavenly God and eternal life. The heavenly Logos came to raise
up our hearts to heaven, asking us to start our prayer by addressing it to
our heavenly Father. He directed our sight to the heavenly kingdom
which He establishes within us, as a pledge of eternal life, at the same
time He presents Himself as the "Resurrec

515
516
Or Pang. 14 PG 10:1093A; cf. J. Daniélou: Origen, NY 1955, p. 73.
Paul Tillich: A History of Christian Thought, NY, 1968, p.6.
517
Stromata 4:8:66.
518
Ibid. 6:14.
 tion," and "Eternal Life." St. Paul considered himself an ambassador of
the heavenly Christ for he acknowledged that Christ raised him as from
the dead, and granted him to sit with Him in heaven (Eph. 2:6).

It is also not a Platonic view but a biblical one when St. Clement exalts
519
martyrdom as the culmination of Christian perfection , transforming a
way of death into a way of life. We depend on the words of our Lord,
"He who loses his life for my sake will find it" (Matt. 10:39). St.
Clement explained that we may lose our life when we expose it to
physical danger, but overcoming daily the soul's habitual attraction to
immoderate pleasures is also a "practice of death."

. Nevertheless, there are certain points where Origen has substantial

disagreements (with Platonism). He rejects the doctrine of the Timaeus that
the Creator God made souls but delegated the making of bodies to inferior
520
powers . He will not admit that the cosmos is divine or that the stars are
521
gods (though he believes the stars probably have souls) . He
unambiguously teaches creation ex nihilo: creation is not out of relative but
out of absolute non-being. “I cannot understand how so many eminent men
have imagined matter to be uncreated.” Origen also rejects the view that
this material world will never come to an end. Plato's doctrine that, although
the cosmos is created and so is in principle corruptible, yet by God's will it
will never in fact be destroyed. This holds good in Origen's view not of the
sensible world, but of the higher world, the heavenly realm of ideas lest
anyone suppose that it exists only in our minds as a metaphysical
522
hypothesis .

. Paul Tillich states, "Also in Plato the inner aim of human
existence is described - somewhere in the Philebus, but also

519
520
Stromata 2:20:108-9.
Contra Celsum 4:54.
521
Contra Celsum 5:6-13.
522
De Principiis 2:3:6; Henry Chadwick: History and Thought of the Early Church, London, 1982,
p. 189-90.
 practically everywhere in Plato - as becoming similar to God as much
as possible. God is the spiritual sphere. The inner telos of human
existence is participation in the spiritual, divine sphere as much as
523
possible... " Again it is a biblical trend to discover the kingdom of
God within us (Luke 17: 21), and to participate in the divine nature as
St. Peter tells us (2 Peter 1:4). The Alexandrians' view of man's
deification is based on the Old and New Testaments. St. Clement says,
"The Word of God became Man (John 1:14) just that you may learn
524
from a man how it may be that man should become god ," and "It is
possible for the Gnostic already to have become god, 'I said, you are
525
gods, and sons of the Highest' (Ps. 132:6) ". I will speak in more
detail of the Alexandrian deification as a divine grace in the next
chapter.

. It has been said, "When the church Fathers 'think' their mysticism,
526
they Platonize ." Christian mysticism has a biblical basis, as our Lord
directs our sight towards our inner man (Luke 17:12) to discover His
kingdom there. The Alexandrians always strongly emphasized that biblical
mysticism is closely related to the work of the Holy Spirit, especially the
illumination, purification and perfection of the believers' souls. St. Anthony
the Great, as the father of the monastic family, was the first saint called "the
527
bearer of the Spirit" (pneumataphoras) . St. Athanasius says, "We need the
528
Spirit's grace in our sanctification ."

. Paul Tillich views providence as the fourth point in which the
Platonic tradition was important:

In the late ancient world the anxiety of accident and necessity,

or fate, as we would call it today, represented by the Greek
goddesses Tyche and Haimarmene, was a very

523
524
Paul Tillich: A History of Christian Thought, NY, 1968, p.6.
Protrepticus 1:8:4.
525
Stromata 4:22, 23.
526
Joseph Wilson Trigg: Origen, SCM Press, 1985, p. 67.
527
Apophthegmata Patrum, 1960, Anthony the Great.
528
Contra Arians 1:50.
 powerful thing. In Romans 8, where we have the greatest hymn
of triumph in the New Testament, we hear that it is the function
of Christ to overcome the demonic forces of fate. The fact that
Plato anticipated this situation by his doctrine of providence is
one of his greatest contributions. This providence, coming from
the highest god, gives us the courage to escape the vicissitudes
529
of fate .
J.W. Trigg adds, "Another area where Origen found Platonism and
Christianity singularly compatible was in their simultaneous
insistence on the activity of divine providence and human freedom
530
and moral responsibility ."
It was impossible for the Alexandrians to ignore the "divine
Providence" for two reasons: it was an essential Biblical teaching, and
it was one of the chief subjects of discussion among philosophers at
that time. Jean Daniélou states "The major characteristic of
philosophical speculation in the second century was that it was all
directed to the problem of the relationship between God and man" , i.e.
to the problem of Providence philosophers. They were divided into two
groups: the atheists - Epicureans and Aristotelians
- denied Providence or limited its scope; the others - Stoics, Platonists
and Pythagoreans - defended it, each in a slightly different way. The
problem of Providence was a topic that philosophers were mostly
531
interested in the second and third centuries .
According to St. Paul "in everything God works for good with those
who love him, who are called according to his purpose" (Rom. 8:28),
and according to Plato "all things that come from the gods work
532
together for the best for him that is dear to the gods ." Here I repeat
what I have written as an introduction to my book, The Divine
533
Providence .
529
530
Paul Tillich: A History of Christian Thought, NY, 1968, p.6.
Joseph Wilson Trigg: Origen, SCM Press, 1985, p. 72.
531
J. Daniélou, p. 74.
532
Plato Republic 10:612 e-613 a.
533
The Divine Providence, 1990, p. 3.
 Many of the ancient philosophers, such as Philo, Cicero,
Seneca, Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius and others, contemplated
the universe, its mighty laws, its capabilities, its beauty etc.
They believed in God's providence as a fact, but frequently,
they limited it to the creation of the universe with its laws;
believing that God left the universe after its creation, and the
control of its laws. The Alexandrian Fathers looked upon
philosophy as a divine gift that partially revealed the truth but
not with a full view. They believed in God's providence in its
biblical sense; namely it embraced all creation in general and
man in particular. It surpassed time and space, for it was
concerned with man even before his creation, i.e., before the
time when he was in the Divine Mind, and it still takes care of
him on earth and will continue acting into eternal life, or in the
world to come. Divine Providence cares for believers,
unbelievers and irrational creatures. This is revealed through
God's tender mercies, kindness and chastening; through the
pleasant events, and through the evil (sorrowful) ones.

f. Paul Tillich sees the fifth element that was added to the Platonic
tradition as coming from Aristotle:
The divine is a form without matter, perfect in itself. This is the
profoundest idea in Aristotle. This highest form, called "God,"
is moving the world, not causally by pushing it from the
outside, but by driving everything finite toward him by
means of love... He said that God,...moves everything by being
loved by everything. Everything has the desire to unite itself
with the highest form, to get rid of the lower forms in which it
534
lives, where it is in the bondage of matter .

Christianity offers The Incarnate Logos, who manifests

Himself as true love. He loved us firstly, and grants us Himself as
the source of love.

534
Paul Tillich: A History of Christian Thought, NY, 1968, p. 7.
 g. For the Stoics, logos means man's ability to recognize
reality; we could call it "theoretical reason." It is man's ability to
reason. Because man has the logos in himself, he can discover it in
nature and history. From this it follows for Stoicism that the man who
is determined by the natural law, the Logos, is the logikos, the wise
Man. Originally the Stoics were Greeks; later they were Romans. Some
of the most famous Stoics were Roman emperors, for example, Marcus
Aurelius. They conceived of the idea of a state embracing the whole
world, based on the common rationality of everybody. Some see that
this was something which Christianity could take up and develop.
There is a difference, however because the Stoics did not have the
concept of sin. They had the concept of foolishness, but not sin.
Therefore, salvation in Stoicism is a salvation through reaching
wisdom. In Christianity salvation is brought about by divine grace.
These two approaches are in conflict with each other to the present
535
day .
h. Some scholars believe that the allegorical interpretation of the
Holy Scriptures, which the Alexandrians adopted, is one of the
principal effects of the Hellenic culture on some Jews and Christians,
especially, Philo of Alexandria, and the early Alexandrian Fathers.

Joseph Wilson Trigg says,

According to Clement, the biblical authors, inspired by the
Holy Spirit, used allegory for much the same purpose he had
set himself in the composition of the Stromateis: allegory
keeps simple Christians from doctrines they are not mature
enough to handle and piques the curiosity of the more
intelligent and spiritually advanced. Finding the deeper
meaning is thus the process by which God gradually, by means
of parable and metaphor, leads those to whom God would
reveal himself from the sensible to the intelligible world. In
this way the genuine Gnostic, pondering the obscurer passages
of the Bible, takes flight from

535
Paul Tillich: A History of Christian Thought, NY, 1968, p 8, 9.
 this world to the other and becomes like God. Such an un-
derstanding of the Bible and how it is interpreted easily
enabled Clement to reconcile it to Platonism.... Frequently he
borrowed, without necessarily acknowledging them, the
536
Platonizing interpretations of Philo .
In fact the Alexandrian Fathers used the allegorical inter
pretation and were affected by Philo, but they added to him or cor
rected him, using a Christian basis.

. Athenagoras' technique in developing argument is manifestly
Platonic: there is the analogy from agriculture and the manual arts besought
to suggest lines of thought; the derivation game is played in the manner of
the Cratylus. It does not mean that he was Platonic. His firm rejection of the
537
transmigration of souls is proof enough of that .

. Paul Tillich believes that Greek philosophy and Christianity do
agree in revealing the need of a savior:

What was said about the character of the founders of these

philosophical schools was very similar to what the Christians
also said about the founder of their church. It is interesting that a
man like Epicurus - who later was so much attacked by the
Christians that only some of his fragments remain - was called
soter by his pupils. This is the Greek word which the New
Testament uses and which we translate as "savior." Epicurus the
philosopher was called a savior. What does this mean? He is
usually regarded as a man who always had a good time in his
beautiful gardens and who taught an anti-Christian hedonistic
philosophy. The ancient world thought quite differently about
Epicurus. He was called soter because he did the greatest thing
anyone could do for his followers - he liberated them from
anxiety. Epicurus, with his materialistic system of atoms,
liberated them from the fear of demons which permeated the

536
537
Joseph Wilson Trigg: Origen, SCM Press, 1985, p. 61.
J.H. Crehan: Athenagoras (ACW), vol. 23, 1956, p. 15..
 whole life of the ancient world. This shows what a serious thing
538
philosophy was at that time .
I think there is no need to explain that there is no link be
tween the Stoics' concept of the savior and that of Christians, the
only possible link is that all human beings feel in need of a Savior.
Christians recognize that the Savior can't be other than God Himself or
the Word of God, of whom the prophets foretold for many centuries
before His coming, who alone is the divine Teacher and the Creator
who grants us new life. He renews our nature, joins us with Himself,
accomplishes the divine sentence of death against us by sacrificing
Himself on our behalf as a Priest and Victim at the same time, conquers
death and grants us the risen life, conquers our enemy Satan, raises us
539
up to heaven, and grants us divine knowledge .

St. Clement explains in his writings,

The Word... has appeared as our Teacher, He by whom the
universe was created. The Word who in the beginning gave us
life when He fashioned us as Creator, has taught us the good
life as our Teacher, that He may afterwards, as God, provide
us with eternal life. Not that He now has for the first time pitied
us for our wandering; He pitied us from old, from the
beginning,. But now, when we were perishing, He has
540
appeared and has saved us .
k. Paul Tillich also sees that Greek philosophy and Christianity agree
in revealing the need for wisdom, as he says, "Another consequence
of this skeptical mood was what the Stoics called apatheia (apathy),
which means being without feelings toward the vital drives of life such
as desires, joys, pains, and instead being beyond all these in the state of
541
wisdom ." The Alexandri

538
539
Paul Tillich: A History of Christian Thought, NY, 1968, p 5.
For more details see our book: Man & Redemption, Alexandria, 1991, p. 14-23.
540
Protrept. 1:7.
541
Ibid.
 ans in a biblical concept reveal the divine Logos Himself as the
Wisdom, who offers Himself to His believers that they may receive
Him.

. Some scholars see that St. Clement and Origen distinguish between
simple believers who accept the Christian faith on authority and the tiny elite
group of spiritual Christians who seek to know the deep things of God. For
Plato, the intellectual elite is the spiritual elite because the intellect is the
542
faculty of the soul which alone can attain to the vision of true being .
543

. David N. Bell says, "Just as Platonism laid great stress on the
spiritual side of things, so too, the Christian Platonists of Alexandria were
far happier when dealing with the spiritual world than with the material one.
Thus, they tended to stress the divinity of Christ at the expense of His
humanity..."

To clarify the Alexandrian view on this matter we notice the following

points:
I. The Alexandrians faced two serious attitudes: the Gnostic and the
Arian. The former denies the body of Christ and the latter denies His
divinity. In facing the Gnostics, the Alexandrians emphasized the true
Body of Christ. For example, St. Athanasius, in his letter to Adelphius,
states:
Let them learn from your piety that this error of theirs belongs
to Valentinus and Marcion, and to Manichaeus, of whom some
substituted (the idea of) Appearance for Reality, while the
others, dividing what is indivisible, denied the truth that "the
Word was made Flesh, and dwelt among us" John 1:14. . . .

We do not worship a creature. Forbid the thought. For such an

error belongs to heathens and Arians. But we worship the Lord
of creation, Incarnate, the Word of God. For the flesh also is
in itself a part of the created world,

542
543
Plato: Phaedrus 247c; Joseph Wilson Trigg: Origen, SCM Press, 1985, p. 74.
A Cloud of Witnesses: Michigan 1989, p. 44.
yet it has become God's body. And we neither divide the body,
being such, from the Word, and worship it by itself, nor when
we wish to worship the Word do we set Him far apart from the
Flesh, but knowing, as we said above, that "the Word was
made flesh", we recognize Him as God also, after having come
in the flesh. Who, accordingly, is so senseless as to say to the
Lord: "Leave the Body that I may worship You"....?

But the leper was not one of this sort, for he worshipped God in
the Body, and recognized that He was God, saying: "Lord, if
You will, You can make me clean" (Matt. 8:2). Neither by
reason of the flesh did he think the Word of God a creature;
nor because the Word was the maker of all creation did he
despise the Flesh which He had put on. But he worshipped the
Creator of the universe as dwelling in a created temple, and
was cleansed. So also the woman with an issue of blood, who
believed, and only touched the hem of His garment, was healed
(Matt. 9:20), and the sea with its foaming waves heard the
incarnate Word, and ceased its storm (Matt. 8:26)...These
things then happened, and no one doubted, as the Arians now
venture to doubt, whether one is to believe the incarnate
Word...
In facing the Arians, the Alexandrians emphasize the divinity of Christ.
They were more interested in writing on Christ's divinity, perhaps
because the Gnostics who truly had a huge number of Apocryphal
books, but these were aimed at those who had philosophical attitudes,
while the Arians used popular songs and preaching to gain the
multitude.
II. The Alexandrians stress the divinity of Christ, but not on the
expense of His humanity, because they believe that when we belittle
our Savior, we belittle His gifts and grace to us.
III. In our traditional liturgical prayers, we usually confirm Christ's
complete humanity, saying: "He was incarnate and became man."
 IV. St. Athanasius writes a book on the "incarnation of the
Word." His purpose is to confirm Christ's divinity without ignoring
His humanity. He says:
If then He wept and was troubled, but it was proper to the
flesh, and if too He besought that the cut might pass away, it
was not the Godhead that was in terror, but this affection too
was proper to the manhood.
He knows (the day and hour), but as showing His manhood, in
that to be ignorant (Mark 13:32) is proper to man, and that He
had put on flesh that was ignorant, being in which He said
according to the flesh: "I know not."
m. Salvatore R. C. Lilla, in his book: "Clement of Alexandria," starts
Chapter 2 on "Ethics," saying, "Some scholars both of the last and of
the present century have studied Clement's views, and have attempted
either to give a general sketch of them or to stress their dependence on
Stoicism, or to point out their Christian character which according to
them, remains uncorrupted even if the language used is sometimes
borrowed from Greek philosophy." Then he deals with the problem of
the relations between Clement's ethical doctrines and those of Philo, of
middle Platonism, and of Neo-Platonism.

St. Clement tells us three definitions of happiness according to

544
Speusippus :
I. A state of perfection in things natural (this definition anticipates
largely the Stoic definition: "living in according with Nature".

II. A freedom from disturbance (Aochlesia).

III. A result of the Virtues.
Here, St. Clement accepts the Stoic and Platonic doctrines but in a
biblical concept, for to him, Christ, the Educator and Lo

544
Speusippus (B.C. 407-339), the son of Plato's sister Potone, succeeded him as head of the
Academy and presided over it until his death in B.C. 339 (cf. John Dillon: The Middle Platonists, NY
1977, p. 18).
 545
gos, is the ruler both of nature and of human morals .¨ He grants us
the freedom from inner disturbance and the only source of virtues and
goodness.

545
Lilla, p. 64.
 THE DEANS
OF THE
SCHOOL OF ALEXANDRIA

BEFORE
ATHENAGORAS

A quick glimpse of the names which headed the

Christian School of Alexandria provides self-evidence of
the history of the school and its rank among similar
institutions. Among these are Athenagoras, Pantaenus,
Clement, Origen, Heraclas, Alexander, Dionysius,
Theognostes, Peter, Macarius, Didymus the Blind, as
well as Athanasius the Apostolic, Cyril of Alexandria,
Dioscorus etc.
 YOSTIUS, EUMENIUS
AND MARCIANIUS

The western historians do not mention Yostius, Eumenius,

and Marcianius, the first three deans of the School of Alexandria,
for the following reasons:
1. Since the pastoral care of the Fathers kept them quite busy, especially
with non-Christians, they either had little opportunity to write or their
writings were lost.
2. The learned philosopher Athenagoras influenced the School greatly due
to his philosophical ability; which brightened his star over his
predecessors. Hence the beginning of the School was related to him,
especially that his writings were universally interchanged from the first
century even though his name as a writer was not mentioned as we shall
see. Many historians believe Athenagoras was the first principal of the
School.

1. YOSTIUS
1
St. Jerome mentions that St. Mark the Apostle and Evangelist is the
founder of the Christian School of Alexandria. Further more Coptic
references mention that the Apostle, in his last days, appointed Yostius
as the new dean of the School. The new dean was the contemporary of
four Patriarchs who succeeded St. Mark, until he was ordained
Patriarch for Alexandria in the year 121 A.D.
Pope Anianius, who was ordained by St. Mark himself,
took care of the School, and all who joined it renounced the world
to devote their lives to the worship and service of God, living in

De Viris Illustribus, 36.

 true love and spiritual peace; there was no rich nor poor among them,
for the rich gave their money to the poor, to be rich in God. They ate
2
once a day at sunset, both men and women alike in this respect .

We can say that the two most important characteristics of the School
were the combination of study with spiritual life, such as prayer,
fasting and almsgiving. It was open and men and women were
co-admitted to the School.

2. EUMENIUS
One of the righteous men of Alexandria, who succeeded Yostius in the
leadership of the School and Patriarchate is Eumenius.

Though we know nothing about his speeches or writings, he was

known as pure and chaste, famous for ordaining a large number of
priests for preaching. He sent them in all directions of the Egyptian
country, Nuba, and the Five Western Cities in North Africa to spread
3
the Christian faith . In his time the Adrian persecution of Christians
increased, and many Copts were martyred, such as St. Sophia from
Manf, whose body was transferred by Emperor Constantine to
Constantinople, and who built a church in her name “Agia Sophia.”

Eumenius took care of his people as an Archbishop for twelve years

and three months during the reigns of Emperors Hadrian and
Antoninus Pius. He was laid to rest on 10 Babah near the remains of St.
Mark in the Church of Buclais in Alexandria.

3
Fr. Menassa Al-Komos: The History of the Coptic Church, 1924, p. 21 (in Arabic).
Selim Soliman: The History of the Coptic Nation, 1914, p. 356 (in Arabic).
3. MARCIANIUS
Born in Alexandria, Marcianius was appointed dean of the School, and
in 144 A.D he was ordained Patriarch. He persevered at a time when
the persecution by Caesar Antony was severely stirred. Marcianus took
care of his people as an Archbishop for ten years and two months
during the reign of Emperor Antoninus Pius. He was laid to rest on 6
Toba 154 A.D, near the remains of St. Mark in the Church of Buclais
in Alexandria.
 THE DEANS
OF THE
SCHOOL OF ALEXANDRIA

ATHENAGORAS
(The Apologist)
 THE EARLY APOLOGISTS

THE FIRST APOLOGIES

As Christianity gradually separated from Judaism and came to feel its
own character as a new faith, competing with various ethnic,
philosophic, and mysterious religions in the Roman world and facing
objections and persecution, it began to be conscious of itself and its
responsibility to give answers to the criticisms and attacks that were
made against it. Moreover, educated men and scholars were converted
to Christianity in great numbers. They found that truth compelled them
1
quite naturally to enter in discussion with pagan philosophers . This
was the beginning of the Christian apologetic literature that soon took
shape in a series of apologies and dialogues in defense of the new
2
religion .
Christianity and Christians were attacked by the pagan philosophers,
the Jews and sometimes by the emperors. In the second century, pagan
philosophers began to attack Christianity. Only some of their writings
3
are known :
1. The speech of the famous rhetor Fronto of Cirta, the teacher of Marcus
4
Aurelius, against the Christians .
2. In a satire De morte Peregrini (c. 170) Lucian of Samosata, who had
5
been a member of the Christian community for some time , mocks the
6
Christians for their love of the brethren and their contempt of death .

1 2

B. Altaner: Patrology, NY , p. 114. Edgar J. Goodspeed: A History of

3 4

Early Christian Literature, 1966, p. 93. Altaner: Patrology, p. 115. Min.

5 6

Fel., Oct. 9,6; 31,2. Chs. 11-16. Chs 12f.

 3. The attack of the Platonist Celsus (c. 178), preserved for
the greater part in Origen’s work against him.
The tradition of hostility against the Christians on the part of the
philosophers was continued in the later centuries, especially among the
neo-Platonists, e.g. Prophery, Hierocles and Emperor Julian.

J.H. Crehan starts his introduction to Athenagoras, saying,

When the emperor Domitian sent for the surviving ‘brethren of
the Lord’ from Palestine, and having examined them about
their descent from David dismissed them in peace, the age of
the Apologies may be said to have begun. To all Christians it
had been made clear that if they could gain access to the
emperor, even to the most erratic and cruel of emperors, and
state their case to him, there would be a very good chance of
justice being done to them. From this episode and from the
wider activities of the emperor Hadrian, who traveled much in
the eastern part of his empire, the Christians gathered courage
to come forward with answers to the odious calumnies of...
cannibalism, of incest and atheism, which a pagan, sometimes
interested and sometimes uncomprehending, leveled against
7
them .
Some scholars state that the apologists began by presenting petitions to
Hadrian on his visit to Athens in 124 A.D. After the martyrdom of St.
Polycarp of Smyrna, St. Justin wrote to Antoninus Pius around 156
A.D. Three more addressed Marcus Aurelius in 176 A.D, after the
suppression of a revolt. This appeal failed with the bloody martyrdom
in Gaul, and Tatian delivered a violent counterattack addressed not to
the emperors but to Greeks in general. A few years later St.
Theophilus, bishop of Antioch, created an apologetic Jewish-Christian
theology which was soon modified by better theologians. Petitions to
the emperors had ceased and apologists wrote for non-Christian groups
or individuals in order to tell outsiders about Christian truth.

Joseph Hugh Crehan: Athenagoras, Newman Press, 1956 (ACW, vol. 23), p 3
 The defense of Christianity was not only undertaken by
clergy men but also by laymen. It was not part of the official preaching
of the Church.
Those writers were contemporaries of the Gnostics but took a very
different path. Instead of esoteric spiritualism the apologists
confidently used philosophical reason, and though they attacked
philosophers they used their language whenever they could. They thus
8
created the basic method of traditional Christian theology .
As Leslie W. Barnard says,
The Apologists did not hesitate to use technical philosophic
terms which were the current stock-in-trade of educated
pagans. It is however; an error to believe that in doing this they
so hellenized Christianity as to dilute central doctrines. They
were first and foremost churchmen and
their object was to christianize Hellenism, not to hellenize
Christianity... We should not, therefore, expect in their writings
a full exposition of the Christian Faith such as would be given
to Christians. Their purpose was apologetic and we cannot
therefore reconstruct from their writings, with the possible
exception of Justin Martyr, a systematic statement of their
9
beliefs .
Quite apart from the apologetic writings’ effect on the pagans to whom
it might, or might not, be delivered, it had the effect of supplying less
educated and less experienced Christians with arguments to use when
they were exposed to persecution. Thus one finds that the work of
Athenagoras carries arguments and turns of phrase which appear again
in the Acts of the martyr Appolonius who was put to death in Rome by
10
Commodus in 185 A.D .

Robert M. Grant: Greek Apologists of the Second Century, Westminster Press, Philadelphia, 1988,
9 10

p. 11. Leslie W. Barnard: Athenagoras, Paris, 1972, p.11. Joseph Hugh

Crehan: Athenagoras, Newman Press, 1956 (ACW, vol. 23), p 3.
 11
The Apologists set before themselves three objectives :
1. They challenged the widely current calumnies and were at particular
pains to answer the charge that the Church was a peril to the State.
2. They exposed the immoralities of paganism and the myths of its
divinities, at the same time demonstrating that the Christian alone has a
correct understanding of God and the universe. Hence they defended the
dogmas concerned with the unity of God, monotheism, the divinity of
Christ and the resurrection of the body.
3. Not content with merely answering the arguments of the philosophers,
they went on to show that this very philosophy, because it had only
human reason to rely upon, had either never attained truth, or that the
truth it had attained was but fragmentary and mingled with numerous
errors. Christianity offers the absolute truth, since the Logos, the Divine
Reason Himself, comes down upon earth, and Christianity is the divine
Philosophy. Their method was to exhibit Christianity to emperors and to
the public as politically harmless and morally and culturally superior to
paganism.

THE APOLOGISTS
This name was especially given to Christian writers who first
addressed themselves to the task of making a reasoned defense and
recommendation of their faith to outsiders. They belonged to the
period when Christianity appeared first in converts among the educated
classes, and was also in conflict with the State over its very right to
exist. Their object was to gain a fair hearing for Christianity, to dispel
popular slanders and misunderstandings, and to provide for this
purpose some account of Christian belief and practice. They had to
meet pagan philosophy and the general outlook which it influenced,
specifically Jewish objectors. They
11

Johannes Quasten: Patrology, vol. 1, 1992, p. 186-7.

 devoted much attention to the application of Old Testament prophecy
toward Christianity, and to the position of the divinity of Christ in
relation to monotheism, and especially in connection with the latter
doctrine elaborating the teaching on the Logos and winning its
permanent place in Christian theology.
Except for Tertullian, they were not primarily theologians, at the same
time they laid the foundation of the science of God. We find in their
works the beginnings of a formal study of theological doctrine, since
they neither aimed at scientific organization nor attempted to bring the
whole body of revelation within their
scope.12

1. THE AUTHOR OF THE PREACHING OF PETER

The Preaching of Peter is written in St. Peter’s name, probably from
13
the reign of Hadrian . It is chiefly significant as the first of the
Christian apologies. This book itself has long since disappeared but St.
14
Clement of Alexandria uses quotations of the Apostle . Origen who
had some substantial information about it, raises the question whether
15
it is genuine or not genuine or mixed between genuine and not .

It combines philosophical discussion of attributes with a biblical

emphasis on God as the Creator. It explains that God cannot be
worshipped in the manner of the Greeks, nor in that of the Jews. Its
criticism of Judaism is close to what Aristides provides. The Jewish
prophets wrote about the coming of Christ and His crucifixion.

12 13

Johannes Quasten: Patrology, vol. 1, 1992, p. 187. Robert M. Grant: Greek Apologists of the
Second Century, Westminister, Philadelphia, 1988, p.
14

39. Stromata 6:39-41, 43, 48, 58,

15
125. Commentary on John 13:17.
 2. QUADRATUS
Quadratus is the oldest apologist of Christianity. We are indebted to
Eusebius for all we know of him. Edgar J. Goodspeed says, “It was
natural that intelligent Christians should undertake to repel these
attacks (against Christianity) and defend themselves against the
hostility of the empire. A beginning in this direction was made in
Egypt, very early in the second century, in the Preaching of Peter. But
a more formal appeal to the emperor himself was soon after written by
a Greek named Quadratus and presented to the emperor Hadrian
perhaps at Athens when Hadrian visited that city in 125 A.D or later in
16
129 A.D .”
17
3. ARISTIDES (2nd cent.)
The writing of apologies for Christianity came into being by the figure
of the Christian philosopher and Apologist Aristides. Until recent times
our only knowledge of him came from brief references in Eusebius and
St. Jerome. In 1878 a part of his ‘Apology’ in an Armenian translation
was published in Venice by the Mechitarists. In the year I889 the
American scholar, Rendel Harris, discovered in the “Monastery of St.
Catherine” on Mount Sinai, a complete Syriac translation of the
Apology. This Syriac version enabled J. Armitage Robinson to prove
that a Greek text of the Apology was not only extant but had been
edited for some time in the form of a religious novel dealing with
Barlaam and Joasaph. The author of this novel, a monk of the
“Monastery of St. Saba” in Palestine in the seventh century, presents
18
the Apology as made by a pagan philosopher in favor of Christianity .

According to Eusebius, Aristides delivered his Apology to

the Emperor Hadrin at the same time as another apologist, Quadra
tus, viz. in 124 A.D. But J. R. Harris advanced strong arguments in

16

Edgar J. Goodspeed: A History of Early Christian Literature, 1966, p. 95-6.

17

F.L. Cross: The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, 1990, p. 84. Edgar J. Goodspeed: A
History of Early Christian Literature, 1966, p. 98.
18

Johannes Quasten: Patrology, vol. 1, 1992, p. 192.

favor of the view that these Apologies were in fact both addressed to
Antoninus Pius (d. 161) early in his reign.
Aristides sought to defend the existence and eternity of God, and to
show that Christians had a fuller understanding of His nature than
either the Chaldeans, the Greeks, the Egyptians or the Jews, and that
they alone loved according to His precepts. He presents the Christian
way, which he strongly commends, although he speaks of the
Christians as well as of the other four groups in the third person. The
closing chapters, 15-17, give a fine picture of early Christian practices
and morals.
The influence of the four Gospels is clearly seen in Aristides’ account
of the Christians; indeed, he probably refers to them when he invites
the emperor to examine the Christians’ books (16: 3, 5). Aristides is
also strongly influenced by the “Preaching of Peter.” He sees in the
Christians a new race, as it is shown in the book of the “Preaching.”
He seems to have known the Acts and probably Romans and I Peter.
His way of referring to the writings of the Christians as his sources
suggests the possession of a larger Christian library.

Aristides states that the Christians alone have the only true idea of God
and ‘they above all the nations of the world have found the truth. For
they acknowledge God the Creator and Maker of all things in the only
begotten Son and in the Holy Spirit; and besides him they worship no
other’ (15). That the Christians worship the one true God manifests
itself particularly in their purity of life which Aristides praises highly:

They have the commandments of the Lord Jesus Christ himself

graven upon their hearts and these they observe, looking for
the resurrection of the dead and for the life in the world to
come. They do not commit adultery nor fornication, nor do they
bear false witness, nor covet the things of others; they honor
father and mother, and love their neighbors; they give right
judgment and they never do to others what they would not wish
to happen to them
 selves. They comfort such as wrong them and make friends of
them. They are eager to do good to their enemies. They are
meek and gentle. They refrain themselves from all unlawful
intercourse and all impurity. They despise not the widow and
oppress not the orphan. He that has gives ungrudgingly to him
that has not. If they see a stranger they take him under their
roof and rejoice over him, as it were their own brother. For
they call themselves brethren not after the flesh but after the
spirit. They are ready to lay down their own lives for the sake
of Christ. They keep His commandments without swerving,
living righteous and holy lives as the Lord their God
commanded them. And they give thanks unto Him every hour
for all meat and drink and other blessings. Verily then this is
the way of truth which leads those who travel therein to the
eternal kingdom promised by Christ in the life to come (15).

The topology of Aristides is limited in scope, its style unaf

fected and its thought and disposition artless. Nevertheless for all
its simplicity, its tone is lofty.
19
4. ARISTO OF PELLA (c. 140 A.D)
Pella was a city in Perea, in which the Christians of Jerusalem were
warned to take refuge when the Roman armies gathered about
20
Jerusalem to besiege it in 66-70 A.D . It was one of the ten cities that
formed the league known as the Decapolis. Aristo may have been a
descendant of those Jerusalem refugees. His writings, probably this
very dialogue of his, supplied some material to Eusebius on the subject
21
of the Bar-Cochba rebellion against Rome

19

Edgar J. Goodspeed: A History of Early Christian Literature, 1966, p. 99 f.; J. Quasten: Patrol-
ogy, vol. 1, p. 195 f.
20

21
Eusebius: Church History 3:5:3.
Bar-Cochba in Aramaic means “son of star” cf. Num. 24:17. This name is found only in Christian
sources. By the Jews the name is given as Simeon. He was a leader of a Jewish rebellion in Palestine.
Its purpose was to resist the project of the Emperor Hadrian to rebuild Jerusalem as a Greco-Roman
city, with a temple of Jupiter on the site of the former Jewish temple. He was accepted as the Messiah.
 (132-35 A.D.), and Eusebius mentions Aristo as the source of some of
22
his information about it .
He seems to be the first Christian apologist who defends Christianity in
written tract against Judaism. The dialogue is represented as taking
place between a Judaeo-Christian named Jason and an Alexandrian
Jew named Papiscus and became the model for a whole series of such
Jewish-Christian dialogues. The discussion ends with the Jew Papiscus
acknowledging Christ as the Son of God and asking for baptism.

The first mention of it is in the famous True Discourses which Celsus,

about 178 A.D, directed against Christianity. This work has
23
disappeared for a long time, but Origen extensively quotes a good
deal of it in order to defend Christianity. Origen defends this short
treatise. He points out that the tract was intended for people at large
and hence ought not to have provoked unfavorable comment from any
open-minded person. According to Origen, this apology describes,
“how a Christian supported by Jewish writings (the Old Testament)
carries on an argument with a Jew and goes on to prove that the
prophecies pertaining to Christ find fulfillment in Jesus, while the
opponent in a plucky and not unskilled fashion takes the part of the
24
Jew in the controversy ..”
Coming between Celsus and Origen, St. Clement of Alexandria
mentions the book in the sixth book of his Outlines. St. Jerome, in his
25
Commentary on Galatians , remembers that he has read in the
Dialogue of Jason and Papiscus that he who is hanged is reproach by
God. St. Jerome also says that the Dialogue says: “In the Son God
made the heavens and the earth.”
Toward the end of the fifth century another man named
Celsus made a Latin translation of the Dialogue. This has disap
peared, but the preface he wrote for it has survived and it informs

22 23

Ibid. 4:6:3 Against

24

Celsus, 248 A.D.. Against

Celsus 4: 52.
25

3:13.
 us that Jason was a Jewish Christian and Papiscus an Alexandrian Jew
who was finally converted by Jason’s arguments.
26
5 ST. JUSTIN THE
. MARTYR
St. Justin the Martyr is the most important of the apologists of the
second century and one of the noblest personalities of early Christian
literature. He employs both the early forms of apologetic: the dialogue
and apology. He was born in Flavia Neapolis in Palestine, the ancient
Sheeted, the modern Nablus. His parents were pagans. He himself tells
27
us that he traveled into the Greek world to complete his education,
and visited various philosophical schools.
Justin tried first the school of a Stoic, then that of a Peripatetic, and
finally that of a Pythagorean. None of these schools convinced or
satisfied him. The Stoic failed because he gave him no explanation
concerning God’s being. The Peripatetic insisted that Justin pay him
the tuition immediately, which Justin answered by avoiding his
lectures. The Pythagorean demanded of him to study music, astronomy
and geometry first. Justin had no inclination to do so. Platonism, on the
other hand, appealed to him for a time, until as he walked along the
sea-shore an old man convinced him that the Platonic philosophy could
not satisfy the heart of man and called his attention to the prophets
who alone announced the truth. “When he had spoken,” St. Justin
relates, “these and many other things, which there is no time for
mentioning at present, he went away, bidding me attend to them; and I
have not seen him since. But straightway a flame was kindled in my
soul; and a love of the prophets, and of those men who were friends of
Christ, possessed me. And whilst revolving his words in my mind, I
found this philosophy alone to be safe and profitable. Thus and for this
reason I became a philosopher, and I could wish that all men were of
the

26

Johannes Quasten: Patrology, vol. 1, 1992, p. 196 f.; Edgar J. Goodspeed: A History of Early
Christian Literature, 1966, p. 101 f.; F.L. Cross: The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church,
1990, p. 770.
27

Dialog. 2-8.
 28
same mind as myself, not to turn from the doctrines of the Savior .”
The quest for truth led him to Christianity.
We also learn from him that the heroic contempt which Christians
entertained for death played no small role in his conversion: “I myself
used to rejoice in the teaching of Plato and to hear evil spoken of
Christians. But, as I saw that they showed no fear in the face of death
and of all other things which inspire horror, I reflected that they could
29
not be vicious and pleasure-loving .” The sincere quest for truth and
humble prayer brought him finally to accept the faith of Christ:

After his conversion, which occurred most likely in Ephesus, he

devoted his entire life to the defense of the Christian faith. Clothed in
the palladium, a cloak worn by Greek philosophers, he traveled about,
an itinerant teacher. He arrived in Rome during the reign of Antoninus
Pius (I38-161 A.D) and founded a school there. One of his pupils was
Tatian, destined later to become an apologist. St. Justin suffered
martyrdom in Rome between 163 and 167
A.D.
30
Justin was a prolific writer. Eusebius lists eight works of Justin - two
Apologies, Against the Greeks, the Refutation, On the Sovereignty of
God, Psaltes (perhaps a hymnbook), On the Soul, and a Dialogue
against the Jews. Eusebius also mentions a work of Justin, Against
31
Marcion , but, when he proceeds to quote from it, he quotes from what
we know as the Apology. But Justin’s contemporary Irenaeus also
mentions Against Marcion and quotes from it a sentence that is not
found in the Apology: Eusebius also mentions elsewhere, in Justin’s
own words, a work Against all Heresies, which he had probably never
seen. This work is now lost. Only three of his works have come down
to us, his two Apologies against the Greeks, written about 150 A.D and
his Dialogue with the Jew Trypho, written between 155 and 160 A.D.

28 29 30

Dial. 8. Apol. 2,I2. 31

Eusebius: H. E. 4:18.
Ibid. 4:11:8.
 He is the first Christian thinker to seek to reconcile the
claims of faith and reason. He holds that traces of the truth are to be
found in pagan thinkers, since all men share in the ‘generative’ or
‘germinative’ Word; but Christianity alone is the truly rational creed.
The reason why the Word became incarnate is to teach men the truth
and to redeem them from the power of demons.

6. TATIAN (c. 160)

A native Syrian (or Assyrian) by birth, was of pagan parents. He was
educated in Greek rhetoric and philosophy. He journeyed westward to
Athens and Rome between 150 and 165 in the pursuit of his studies. In
Rome he met St. Justin the Martyr and became a Christian, although he
was not among the group arrested at the time when Justin was
martyred. Later he returned to Syria, and it was probably there, about
172 A.D, that he became the leader, if not the founder, of the
32
Encratites (i.e., the Abstinent) sect, which belongs to the group of
Christian Gnostics, discouraging marriage as adultery, condemning the
use of meat in any form, the drinking of wine, and going so far as to
substitute water for wine in the Eucharistic service. For this reason the
adherents of this sect were called the Aquarii. They also denied the
salvation of Adam. St. Irenaeus discusses his heretical views.

He is the author of an apology, usually called “Oration Against the

Greeks.” It is a passionate defense of the divine purity of Christianity
combined with a violent attack on every aspect of Greco-Roman
culture and religion, which is represented as a mass of evil,
incompatible with the Christian Faith. While St. Justin in his defense
of Christianity paid high respect to non-Christian philosophy, his
disciple Tatian betrays a determined hatred of all that

32
Tatian stood at the head of a long line of Christians who were called “Encratites” (the “Chaste
Ones,” from the Greek word enkrateia, meaning “chastity” or “self-control”). The Encratites
interpreted the stories about Adam and Eve in the opening chapters of Genesis as an account of the
fall of humanity from a pristine, Spirit-filled existence into the sinful, mortal condition now
epitomized by human sexuality. Only by rejecting marital intercourse and procreation, the Encratites
taught, could people be restored to their original, spiritual condition intended by God the Creator.
(David G. Hunter: Marriage in the Early Church, Minneapolis, 1992, p. 13.)
 belongs to Greek civilization, art, science and language. Theses are all
in his mind foolish, deceitful and immoral. Tatian declares, and tries to
prove, that Moses is more ancient than Homer and dwells upon the
immoralities celebrated in Greek sculpture. With all this polemic he
interweaves a sketch of Christian views, especially about demons and
morals and declares himself a champion of this barbarian philosophy.
At the end of his Apology, Tatian presents himself for any criticism:
“These things, O Greeks, I, Tatian, a disciple of the barbarian
philosophy, have composed for you. I was born in the land of the
Assyrians, having been first instructed in your doctrines, and
afterwards in those which I now undertake to proclaim. Henceforward,
knowing who God is and what is His work, I present myself to you
prepared for an examination concerning my doctrines while I adhere
immovably to that mode of life which is according to God.”

He criticized poor men who sold themselves to be murdered and rich

33
men who bought the prospective victims .
As the pagans burned the corpses of some Gallican martyrs and swept
down their ashes into the river Rohne, and still others were torn by
wild beasts so that they may not remain upon earth, and had no hope of
the resurrection, Tatian said, “even if fire makes my flesh vanish, the
cosmos contains its vaporized matter, and if I am consumed on rivers
and in seas or torn apart by wild beasts, I am laid up in the treasures
34
of a rich Master .”
Tatian
35
insisted that he paid taxes and gave due honor to the
emperor .36He also urged that he did not desire wealth or military
command “
According to J. Quasten the main part of this work has the following
four sections:
I. The first section (Chs. 4,3-7,6) contains a Christian cosmology.
33

Oration, ch 23.
34 35

Ibid. 6. Ibid.
36

4. Ibid. 11.
I. A definition of the Christian concept of God (Ch. 4,3-5).
1. The relation of the Logos to the Father, the formation of matter and
the creation of the world (Ch. 5).
2. A description of the creation of man, of the resurrection, and of the
last judgment (Ch. 6-7,1).
3. The creation of the angels, the freedom of the will, the fall of the
angels, the sin of Adam and Eve, bad angels and demons (Ch. 7,
2-8).

II. A Christian demonology (Ch. 8-20).

I. Astrology is an invention of the demons (Ch. 8-1 I).
1. To overcome the power of the demons, we must endeavor to reunite
our soul with the pneuma, the heavenly spirit. Originally this pneuma
lived in the bosom of the first man, but was expelled by the first sin,
which was the work of the demons (Ch. 12-I5,1).
2. The demons are images of matter and iniquity. They are not able to
do penance, but men are images of God and are thus able to attain
immortality by self-mortification (Ch. I5,2- 16, 6).
3. Man must not fear death because he is obliged to reject all matter in
order to gain immortality (Ch. I6, 7-20).

. Greek civilization in the light of the Christian attitude toward life

(Ch. 21-30).

. The foolishness of all Greek theology forms a sharp contrast to the
sublimity of the mystery of the incarnation (Ch. 2 l).
1. The Greek theaters are schools of vice (Ch. 22-24).
2. Greek philosophy and law are contradictory and deceitful (Ch
25-28).
3. Against this dark background of Greek civilization the superiority
of the Christian religion shines forth brightly (Ch. 29-30).

IV. The age and moral value of Christianity (Ch. 3r-41).

1. The Christian religion is older than all others because Moses lived
before Homer, long before all the lawgivers of Greece (Ch. 31, 1-6,
36-41).
2. Christian philosophy and Christian conduct of life differ from the
wisdom of the Greek writers (Ch. 31,7-35).

His chief claim to fame is the “Diatessaron,” a history of the life of

Christ compiled from the four gospels which was used in the Syriac
Church until the 5th century, when Rabbula of Edessa perhaps replaced
it by the Peshitta version because its author was considered a heretic.
Among his literary opponents were St. Irenaeus, Tertullian, St. Clement
of Alexandria, St. Hippolytus and Origen. It is possible that his
memory in the Syriac Church is preserved under the name of Addai.
Eusebius tells us that Tatian left a multitude of writings, but most of
these are unknown.

7. ST. APOLLINARIS OF HIERAPOLIS

Claudius Apollinaris, was bishop of Hierapolis during the time of
37
Marcus Aurelius (161-I80). Eusebius reports about him :
Of the many writings of Apollinaris which have been widely
preserved, the following have reached us: A treatise to the
above-mentioned emperor (Marcus Aurelius), five books
Against the Pagans, two books On the Truth (peri alethias),
two books Against the Jews, and after this the treatises which
he wrote against the heretic opinion of the Phrygians
(Montanists) which had begun not long before, and was then,
as it were, beginning to sprout, while Montanus with his false
prophecies marked the beginnings of the error (heretic
38
thought) .
Another work of Apollinarius, not mentioned by Eusebius, but known
to the author of the Chronicon paschale, is called “On Easter” (peri
tou pascha). The two quotations which the author of the Chronicon
cites seem to suggest that Apollinarius was against

37

38
Johannes Quasten: Patrology, vol. 1, 1992, p. 228-9.
Hist. Eccl. 4,27.
 the quartodeciman dating of Easter. Apart from a few fragments, all
his writings are lost.
39
8
. MILTIADES
Miltiades, the rhetorician, closely resembles Apollinaris in that he
writes against Montanists, Greeks, and Jews, and addresses rulers of
this world a defense of the philosophy which he followed. He was born
in Asia Minor. A contemporary of Tatian, he was, most probably, also
a pupil of St. Justin.
40
Unfortunately, all his writings have been lost; but Tertullian and
41
Hippolytus report that he defended Christianity against pagans as well
42
as against heretics. According to Eusebius he wrote an Apology for
Christian Philosophy which he addressed to ‘temporal rulers.’
According to St. Jerome, the ‘rulers’ were the emperor Marcus Aurelius
(I61-I80) and his co-regent Lucius Commodus (I61-I69). Valesius,
cited by Salmon, supposes that he wrote to the provincial governors,
while Valesius himself suggests that Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus
43
were in view . His use of kosmikoi archontes when addressing rulers
and his allusion to 1 Corinthians 2:6-8, show that he was not as
conciliatory as Appolinaris, Melito, or Athenagoras.
Of a similar apologetic nature is his work Against the Greeks, in two
books, and another work Against the Jews, also in two books. The
treatise which he composed against the Montanists deals with the
question That a Prophet Should not Speak in Ecstasy, and explains that
the Montanistic prophets were pseudo-prophets. Another anti-heretical
treatise of Miltiades is directed against the Valentinian Gnostics.

39

J. Quasten: Patrology, vol. 1, p. 228; Robert M. Grant: Greek Apologists of the Second Century,
Westminister, Philadelphia, 1988, p. 103.
40

Adv. Valent. 5.
41

Eusebius, Hist. Eccl. 5,28,4.

42

Hist. Eccl. 5,17,5.

43

G. Salmon in Dictionary of Christian Biography, vol. III, p. 916.

 9. ST. THEOPHILUS44(later 2nd cent.)
According to Eusebius St. Theophilus was the sixth bishop of Antioch
in Syria. He was born near the Euphrates, of pagan parentage and
received a Hellenistic education. Not until he had reached maturity, and
even then only after long consideration and a study of scripture, did he
45
become a convert to Christianity .
Of his writings, only his Apology, in three books addressed to his
pagan friend Autolycus, has survived. Its purpose is to set before the
pagan world the Christian idea of God and the superiority of the
doctrine of creation over the immoral myths of the Olympian religion.

In brief J. Quasten’s account on this work is quoted below:

In the first book he speaks of the essence of God, who can be seen
only by the eyes of the soul:
God is seen by those who are enabled to see Him, when they
have the eyes of their soul opened; for all have eyes; but in
some they are overspread, and do not see the light of the sun.
Yet it does not follow because the blind do not see, that the
light of the sun does not shine; but let the blind blame
themselves and their own eyes... as a burnished mirror, so
ought man to have his soul pure. When there is rust on the
mirror, it is not possible that a man’s face be seen in the
mirror; so also when there is sin in a man, such a man can not
46
behold God .
He also deals with the absurdities of idolatry and with the difference
between the honor paid to the emperor and the worship due to God. He
treats the meaning and importance of the name Christian, which had
been mocked by his adversary. And after an explanation of the belief in
the resurrection he closes with the

44 45

Eusebius: H.E. 4:20. J. Quasten: Patrology, vol. 1, p.

46

236, Ad Autolycum 1:14. Ad Autol. 1:2.

 words: “Since you said, ‘Show me your God,’ this is my God and I
47
counsel you to fear Him and to trust Him .”
The second book contrasts the teachings of the prophets, who were
inspired by the Holy Spirit, with the foolishness of the pagan religion
and the contradictory sayings of the Greek poets concerning the gods
and the origin of the world. The account of Genesis regarding the
creation and the fall of man, is analyzed in detail and explained
allegorically. At the end the author quotes some of the instructions of
the prophets on the manner of worshipping God rightly and on the
proper conduct of life.
The third book demonstrates the superiority of Christianity from the
moral point of view. Theophilus uses the chronology of the world to
prove that Moses and the prophets preceded all philosophers.

Among his lost treatises are writings against Marcion and

Hermogenes.
St. Theophilus is the first theologian to use the word Triad (trias) for
the union of the three Persons (Hypostaseis) in the Godhead. He also
distinguishes between the Logos internal or immanent in God and the
48
Word emitted or uttered by God .

10. MELITO, BISHOP OF SARDIS

Melito, bishop of Sardis in Lydia, is one of the great lights of Asia in
the second century. He is a prolific writer on a wide variety of subjects.
About the year 170 A.D he addressed an apology for the Christians to
the emperor Marcus Aurelius, of which only fragments are preserved
by Eusebius and in the Chronicon paschale. He is the first to advocate
solidarity of Christianity with the Empire. The Empire and the
Christian religion are foster sisters; they form a pair. In addition, the
Christian religion means blessing

47 48

Ibid. 1:14. Ad
Autol. 2:10.
 49
and welfare to the empire . In his writings there is an anti-Gnostic
insistence on the true humanity of Christ, and on the unity of the Old
and New Testaments.

11. THE EPISTLE TO DIOGNETUS

The Epistle to Diognetus is an apology for Christianity composed in
the form of a letter addressed to a high-ranking pagan, Diognetus. (For
more details see our book: The Apostolic Fathers.)

50
12. MINUCIUS FELIX (2nd or 3rd century)
An author of the Octavius. Apparently an African, he wrote in Latin an
elegant defense of Christianity in the form of a conversation between
Octavius, a Christian, and Caecilius, a pagan, who was converted by
the argument. The book refutes the common charges against
Christians, argues the case for monotheism and divine providence, and
attacks pagan mythology, but says little of specifically Christian
doctrines. It is probably a 3rd century work.

13. TERTULLIAN (c. 160- c. 225)

An African Church Father, brought up in Carthage as a pagan. Quintus
Septimius Florens Tertullianus received a good education in literature
and rhetoric. It seems that he visited Athens and Rome in his youth. He
may have practised as a lawyer, though identification with the jurist
Tertullian is improbable. He was converted to Christianity before 197
A.D. According to St. Jerome he became a priest, but there are other
indications that he remained a layman. He joined the Montanist sect.
He was the author of a long list of apologetic, theological,
controversial, and ascetic works.
Among his Apologetic writings he addressed a work To the
Heathen (Ad Nations, two books), in which he protested against
the laws condemning Christians without examining their behavior.

49 50

Eusebius: H.E 4:26:7-8. F.L. Cross: The Oxford Dictionary of the

Christian Church, 1990, p.920.
 He also wrote his great Apology, addressed to the Roman governors of
provinces, and an address To the Martyrs who were in prison.

14. HERMIAS
Nothing is known about this Christian philosophical writer. He wrote
the “Irrisio” or “Mockery of the Heathen Philosophers,” or “Satire on
the Profane Philosophers,” which satirizes the conflicting opinions of
pagan writers on the human soul (Chs. 1-2), and the fundamental
principles of the universe (Chs. 3-10). The apology is clearly the work
of a writer of very mediocre attainments. Modern authors have
assigned various dates to the ‘Irrisio’ from the 2nd to the 6th century.

51
15 THE SAYINGS OF
. SEXTUS
The so-called Sayings of Sextus are a collection of pagan moral
sentences and rules of life, which were attributed to the Pythagorean
philosopher Sextus. At the end of the second century, a Christian
author (of Alexandria?) revised them. Origen is the first to mention
52
these Sayings. In his Contra Celsum he recalls a beautiful saying in
the writings of Sextus, which is known to most Christians: “The eating
of animals,” says he, “is a matter of indifference; but to abstain from
them is more agreeable to reason.” Rufinus translated 451 of these
sayings from the Greek into Latin. In the preface of this Latin version,
he identifies without grounds the Pythagorean Philosopher Sextus with
53
the Roman Bishop and martyr Sextus II (257-58). But St. Jerome
protested strongly against this blunder.

51 52 53

J. Quasten: Patrology, vol. 1, p. 170-1. Contra Celsum 8:30. Comm.

in Ez. ad I8,5ff., Comm. in Jr. ad 22,24ff., Ep. I33, ad Ctesiph., 3.
Some scholars state that Platonic ideas regarding purification,
illumination and deification, and the Platonic concept of God inspire
the majority of these sayings. Temperance in food, drink, and sleep are
counseled. Marriage is not recommended. It is possible that St.
Clement of Alexandria is the Christian author who revised them.
 ATHENAGORAS THE APOLOGIST
HIS LIFE

Athenagoras is a great philosophic personality, despite this he is

ignored by the first historians like Eusebius and St. Jerome. Even his
Plea (Embassy or Legatio) addressed to the two emperors Marcus
Aurelius Antoninus and his son co-ruler Lucius Aurelius Commodus,
spread without his name and was wrongly attributed to St. Justin
before the fourth century.
1
Athenagoras is a contemporary of Justin and Tatian . Methodius,
bishop of Olympus, who was martyred in 311, is the first and almost
the only patristic writer to quote Athenagoras’ work. In five or six
places he shows dependence upon the Embassy, though only once does
2 3 4
he refer to Athenagoras by name . Epiphanius and Photius have used
5
this passage of Methodius and recall the name of Athenagoras .

HIS LIFE
We don’t know much about his life. He is a philosopher holding an
academic position in the Museum at Alexandria, and is regarded as a
leader in paganism. He was attracted to search in Christianity for
mistakes and corruption just as other Platonic philosophers.

W.A. Jurgens: The Faith of the Early Fathers, Liturgical Press, Collegeville, Minnesota, 1970, vol.
1, p.69.
2

3
De res. 37.1
4
Adv. Haer. 64.
5
Biblioth. 234.
Joseph Hugh Crehan: Athenagoras, Newman Press, 1956 (ACW, vol. 23), p.7.
 He was anxious to write against Christianity. He read the
Holy Scriptures in order to aim his shafts of criticism more accurately,
but he was so powerfully seized by the Holy Spirit that he became a
defender of the faith he was attacking. Not only was he converted to
Christianity (c. 176), but he also became one of the most famous deans
6
of the Christian Theological School .
Philip of Side, (deacon of St. John Chrysostom), in Pampylia, who
flourished in the early part of the fifth century, gives an account of
Athenagoras’ life in a fragment preserved, according to Dodwell 12,
7
by Nicephorus Callistus or some other late Greek historian :

Athenagoras was the first head of the school at Alexandria

flourishing in the times of Hadrian and Antoninus, to whom
also he addressed his Legatio for the Christians; a man who
embraced Christianity while wearing the garb of a philosopher,
and presiding over the academic school. He, before Celsus,
was bent on writing against the Christians; and studying the
divine scriptures in order to carry on the contest with greater
accuracy, was thus himself caught by the Holy Spirit, so that,
like the great Paul, from a persecutor he became a teacher of
the faith which he persecuted. Philip says that Clement, the
writer of the Stromata, was his pupil, and Pantaenus was the
pupil of Clement. Pantaenus too was Athenian, and was a
Pythagorean in his philosophy.

Athenagoras did not address the Legatio to Hadrian and Antoninus but
to Marcus Aurelius and Commodus, as the ascription to the work
8
shows. As J. H. Crehan believes that it is just possible that Philip may
have misread the ascription in his MS. of the Legatio which read
Aurelius Antoninus and Lucian Aurelius Commodus.

6 7

William Scodel : Athenaghoras, Oxford 1972, p IX. 8

Leslie W. Barnard: Athenagoras, Paris, 1972, p.13.

Leslie W. Barnard: Athenagoras, Paris, 1972, p.14.
 The personality of Athenagoras has special importance, as
he is the first philosopher whose strong perseverance in the School
qualified him to become the dean of the theological School of Al-
exandria without undressing the palladium of philosophers, and
considered as the first known Christian who with his faith, carried a
tendency towards philosophy. Rev. B. P. Pratten says, “His work opens
the way for Clement’s elaboration of Justin’s claim, that the whole of
philosophy is embraced in Christianity. It is charming to find the
primal fountains of Christian thought uniting here, to flow on for ever
in the widening and deepening channel of Catholic orthodoxy, as it
gathers into itself all human culture, and enriches the world with
products of regenerated mind, harvested from its overflow into the
9
fields of philosophy and poetry and art and science .”

ATHENAGORAS AND ALEXANDRIA

There is an evidence which supports the connection of Athenagoras
with Egypt. This is found in a passage in his work On the Resurrection
I2: “For instance (to make use of an illustration, that our meaning may
be clear), a man makes a house for his own use; but for cattle and
camels and other animals of which he has need he makes the shelter
suitable for each of them; not for his own use, if we regard the
appearance only, though for that, if we look at the end he has in view,
but as regards the immediate object from concern for those for whom
he cares.” It seems unlikely that Athenagoras would not have
mentioned a shelter for camels in such a casual way as this, unless he
was familiar with this animal in his everyday experience. The camel
was unknown in Greece and Asia Minor but in Egypt it was used in the
10
postal service and would have been a familiar sight in the streets .

9 10

Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 2, p. 125. Leslie W.

Barnard: Athenagoras, Paris, 1972, p.15.
 HIS WRITINGS

Athenagoras writes two important works: the Pleading for Christians,

and the Resurrection of the Dead. He writes with a philosophic mind,
as he was brought up with Greek culture, with an eloquence in writing.
Leslie W. Barnard comments on his writings, saying that
“Athenagoras’ Legatio and De Resurrectione are, as he believes, the
only apologetic writings of the early period which can seriously rival,
in scope and learning Origen’s masterly work Contra Celsum. Their
fate was in fact to be the same as Origen’s masterpiece for Origen’s
enormous influence on later ages lay primarily in the field of biblical
explanation and in asceticism rather than in apologetic. The influence
of the Contra Celsum was, in contrast, not very great; and
Athenagoras, and his writings, suffered an equal eclipse: they were
1
almost unknown in Christian antiquity .”

HIS PLEA (Embassy, Presbeia, or Legatio)

In c. 177 A.D Athenagoras wrote a plea (37 Chs.) on behalf of
Christianity, addressed to the emperor and his co-ruler son. The
purpose was to show the falsity and absurdity of the calumnies against
Christians and ends in a calm entreaty for just judgment. He proved
that Christian worship and teachings were more reasonable and moral
than those of their accusers. He appealed to Greek philosophers and
poets, in support of his claims.
C.C. Richardson believes that Athenagoras did not give his apology as
a public oration in the Emperor’s presence, while L.W. Barnard states
that the account in Legatio II reads as if Athena

Leslie W. Barnard: Athenagoras, Paris, 1972, p.51.

 2
goras actually addressed the Emperor in person . According to
W.R. Schoedel the title “Embassy” is adopted by those who see in the
Plea an address intended to be delivered before the emperors in
person, and that we are driven to the conclusion that Athenagoras was
constructing an oration in the forensic style in obedience to the rules of
3
rhetoric .
As Monachino suggests, the Plea looks like an “open let
ter” to the emperors destined4 for the general public and not for
himself or certain Christians .
Leslie W. Barnard explains the historical circumstances of addressing
this apology, saying,
The known history of the decade I70--I80 throws some further
light on this question. In I72 there had been a rebellion in Egypt
against Rome engineered by the Bucoli, “herdsmen” from the
Delta region, during which the Romans had been defeated in
pitched battle and Alexandria nearly captured. This was
followed, early in I75, by the revolt of Cassius, Governor of
Syria, against Marcus Aurelius, who was soon recognized as
Emperor in most of the Eastern provinces including Egypt.
However within three months and six days Cassius was dead -
slain by a centurion named Antonius - and by 28 July Marcus
was once again recognized in Egypt as Emperor. Marcus seems
to have spent the winter of 175-6 in Alexandria and, consider-
ing the city’s fervent adherence to Cassius’ cause, he treated it
with magnanimity and moderation: “while in Egypt he
conducted himself like a private citizen and a philosopher at all
the schools and temples, in fact everywhere.” This fact is
significant and must have been known to the Christians. Is it
fanciful to suggest that Athenagoras was favorably impressed
with the Emperor’s philosophic bearing in Alexandria and felt
that, at least, he would give

2 3

Leslie W. Barnard: Athenagoras, Paris, 1972, p. 22. 4

W.R.. Schoedel: Athenagoras, Oxford, 1972, p. XII, XIII.

Ibid. XIII.
 him a hearing as a Christian philosopher? And ... why does he
refer to the Emperor as a philosopher and appeal obliquely and
subtly to Marcus’ thought in developing his argument? In any
event it would seem that we should not be too skeptical about
the historical basis of Leg. II although no doubt, Athenagoras
also intended his apology to have a wider circulation in the
5
Graeco-Roman world .
The Embassy reflects slight acquaintance with predecessors or
contemporaries, and in turn it finds no echo before Methodius in the
early fourth century. Such neglect is not unique, for the Meditations of
6
the emperor too are not mentioned before the fourth century .

Its features
1. This plea is written in a more moderate, learned and wise manner than
that of Justin. It is non-rhetorical. It aims apparently at giving a clear,
7
calm and unemotional statement of the Christian case . As a loyal
subject of the emperors Athenagoras asks them for a prescript ordering
judges (normally provincial governors) to examine the conduct of
Christians and “not pay attention to meaningless labels or to false
8
charges from the prosecution .” He states that Christians do not object to
punishment if they are found guilty, but they demand a fair trial such as
that enjoyed by equal rights like other citizens. It was a product of
having the Holy Spirit working in his life.
2. Athenagoras was contemporary to Tatian, the disciple of Justin, but
differed from both in his defense as can be seen in the following:

5 6

Leslie W. Barnard: Athenagoras, Paris, 1972, p. 24. Robert M. Grant: Greek Apologists of the
Second Century, Westminister, Philadelphia,1988, p.
7 8

101. Philip Carrington, Early Christian Church, vol 2, p 238. Embassy 2.3; Robert M. Grant:
Greek Apologists of the Second Century, Westminister, Philadel

phia, 1988, p. 101.

 a. He knows Greek philosophy and Hellenic culture more
than Tatian. He did not share Justin’s feelings of hatred to philosophy,
but used terms clarifying the wisdom of the Greeks, though at the end
proving the conflict between them, as philosophers who built their
arguments by seeking themselves; whereas prophets are inspired by the
Holy Spirit to testify all together for the divine truth. Athenagoras
spoke of Christianity as if equal to philosophy. So he compared the
Christian beliefs to the divine truth; which for the unbelievers is not
logic. Christianity is a divine Supreme Declaration, as it is shown in
The prophets’ lives; which is not a human proof. According to
Schoedel, “It is with some justification, then, that Athenagoras makes
use of the resources of Hellenism to express Christian truth. He not
only aligns himself with the best that had been thought and said by the
Greeks, but he also seeks to express himself in a form that would
9
commend his message to the cultured .”

. Athenagoras is famous for clarity of thought and strength of

negotiation. He is more eloquent than Justin in language and organization,
which made him the most preferred defender of Christianity.

. He transcends Justin in his moderation and logic, not writing in
sermons, targeting clearly to present a case for Christians quietly not
emotionally, pointing to the falseness of the accusations against Christians.
10
Athenagoras is distinguished among the apologists by his gentlemanly tone .
11
Unlike that of Tatian, Athenagoras’ pen provides light without heat . His
delicacy in writing and talking proves that the whole world - cities and per-
sons - enjoyed good treatment. Only Christians were persecuted by rumors of
heresies. “If anyone can prove any crime against us, we are ready to bear the
consequences.”

W.R.. Schoedel: Athenagoras, Oxford, 1972, p. XVIII.

10

Joseph Hugh Crehan: Athenagoras, Newman Press, 1956 (ACW, vol. 23), p.4.
11

W.A. Jurgens: The Faith of the Early Fathers, Liturgical Press, Collegeville, Minnesota, 1970, vol.
1, p.69.
 3. In his defense he overlooks justification to preach, and
declares the truth in front of the two emperors.
12
4. Athenagoras is a bookish man .
1. Athenagoras’ organization of materials is orderly. His style is
13
atticistic .
2. Athenagoras’ acquaintance with literature and mythology is somewhat
more profound. He quotes Homer eighteen times, Hesiod twice, Pindar
once, Aeschylus once, Euripides seven times, Callimachus once...

His defense
Athenagoras analyzes the three accusations against Christians at that
14
time: cannibalism, Atheism and Oedipean ideals. The pagans
misunderstood the behavior of Christians, they falsely accused them of
the following:
1. Atheism, because Christians refused to recognize the heathen gods
of the “cities,” to participate in the national traditional rites of their
feasts, or to perform honors to the emperors of a sacral nature. They
considered this conduct as disloyalty to the emperor and to the state,
and hatred of gods and mankind. Apparently Christians were suspect
not because they taught a new theology but because they rejected the
15
old ways .
In his reply to this charge, Athenagoras associates himself with the
philosophical against popular religion and seeks to show that
Christians are in harmony with the best that had been thought and said.
He confirms that Christians believed in one God only, not various
gods. This unity was not strange to Greek thinking but accepted by
many poets and philosophers. They are not accused of

12

13
W.R.. Schoedel: Athenagoras, Oxford, 1972, p. XIV.
14
Ibid. XVIII.
Oedipus whom the psychologists have appropriated in modern times, was beguiled nto committing
incest with his mother Iocasta.
15

Embassy 1:1,2; Eusebius: H.E. 7:11:6-11; W.R.. Schoedel: Athenagoras, Oxford, 1972, p. XIV.
 atheism, though their proofs were feeble and Christians proofs ac-
cepted divine declaration and prophetic teachings through the bible,
accepting God with pure hearts. Christians do not worship many gods,
and do not offer incenses, do not worship creatures but their Creator,
believing in the supreme God, who is the Father, the Son and the Holy
Spirit.
He clarifies that Christians are loyal to governors, praying
for their stability and goodness. Athenagoras presents his political
view mixed with theology.
As all things have been subordinated to you, father and son,
who have received the kingdom from above--”for the king’s
life is in God’s hand, says the prophetic Spirit-so all things
have been subjected to the one God and the Word from him,
16
known to be his inseparable Son .
Robert M. Grant states that this is not only rhetoric but theology. The
quotation from the prophetic Spirit comes from Proverbs 21:1, while
the rest of the passage echoes the New Testament. 1 Corinthians
15:25-28 teaches the eschatological subordination of everything to the
Son and the Father, while in Matthew 28:18 the risen Christ states that
“all power in heaven and on earth” has been given Him. The emperors’
power is also of divine origin, however, not only according to Romans
13 but more specifically in John 19:11, where Jesus says, “You would
have no power over me if it had not been given you from above.”
Clearly, then, Athenagoras is willing to use Christological terms in
17
reference to the imperial father and son .

2. Cannibalism (Thyestean banquets), evident in the celebration of the

Eucharist (the body and blood of Christ). This accusation was untrue,
since Christians do not murder anyone, and were terrified of witnessing
executions, and disallowed women to

16 17

Embassy 18.2. Robert M. Grant: Greek Apologists of the Second Century, Westminister,
Philadelphia, 1988, p.
102.
 abort children, because of their belief in the resurrection of the body.

3. Incest, or Oedipean intercourse, because of their close meetings in

celebrating the Church sacraments, with a strong relation between
Christians, both sexes sharing, even the study in the School of
Alexandria, led to the doubts of pagans about those meetings, so they
accused them of Oedipean cults to destroy those closed meetings.

The philosopher clarifies that Christian morals do not accept the false
accusations of Oedipean cults, as they trust that God sees their
thoughts, hearts, looks, their respect for each other and their adherence
to the sanctification of chastity and marriage. Athenagoras draws
attention to their peaceful and blameless life: “We are so far from
committing the excesses of which we are accused, that we are not
permitted to lust a woman in thought. We are so particular on this
point that we either do not marry at all, or we marry for the sake of
children, and only once in the course of our life.”

In his defense to clarify the supreme Christian life, he uses the same
proof as the learned Justin against Celsus, since Christianity alone
18
could raise the small flock to high virtues no philosopher could reach .
Justin tells of one Christian in Egypt who volunteered to be castrated
by the prefect of Egypt to show that the charge of promiscuity in
19
Christian assemblies was false . The freedom of the Christians from
20
crimes was a common ground to all the apologists, such as Tertullian
21
and Minucius Felix .
Finally, Athenagoras acknowledges
22
that the true accusation
against the Christian was the name 23, as St. Peter (1 Peter 4:15f.)
and many Christian apologists said .
18 19 20

Embassy 1. 1 Apology 29.

21

Apology 45. Minucius Felix

22 23

33:6. Embassy 1. Pliny’s

letter to Tarajan 96.
 ON THE RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD
He also wrote a treatise “On the Resurrection of the Dead.” It is
24
probably the best early Christian treatise on the subject . It shows
skillful understanding, and is regarded as the first attempt ever made by
a Christian writer to prove this dogma by means of philosophical
25
arguments and not by revelation and the biblical texts alone .

He wrote that essay as his fellow colleagues doubted about body

resurrection, and caused many people to stumble along the
understanding of the Christian faith. The persecutors knew the secret of
strength in martyrs was their hope in resurrection, so they damaged the
martyr’s possessions, thinking that they destroyed their hope in
resurrection.
Rev. B.P. Pratten says, “I think this treatise is a sort of growth from the
mind of one who has studied in the Academe, pitying yet loving poor
Socrates and his disciples. In addition, it is the outcome of meditation
on that sad history in the Acts, which expounds St. Paul’s bitter
reminiscences, when he says that his gospel was, “ to the Greeks,
26
foolishness .”
R.M. Grant believes that this work is a third or early-fourth century
production directed against Origen’s doctrine on the resurrection. W.
27
Schoedel accepts his arguments and extends them .
L.W. Barnard refuses this attitude, saying,
Grant’s view that De Resurrectione is directed primarily
against Origen’s doctrine of the resurrection is again difficult
to maintain. The treatise never mentions Origen by name,
which is significant, and, apart from the allusion to I Cor. I5:53
in De Res. I8, never directly quotes any biblical texts. This is
odd if he is confuting so great a Christian bib

24 25 26

Altaner: Patrology, p 130. Bishop Gregorius: The Coptic Church (paperback) p 4.

27

Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 2, p. 126. W. Schoedel: Athenagoras: Legatio and De

Resurrectione, Oxford, 1972, p. XXV-XXXII.
 lical expositor as Origen. It seems much more likely that the
author has in mind philosophical inquirers who were unfamiliar
with the Christian belief in the resurrection or, at least, were in
an early stage of instruction. This is, I submit, shown by
indications in the treatise itself that the work, in its present
form, was intended as a public lecture. In De Res. 23 the author
says: “we have not made it our aim to omit nothing that might
be said, but to point out in a summary way to those who have
assembled what ought to be thought concerning the
resurrection, and to adapt to the capacity of those present the
arguments bearing on this question.” And in Ch. 1 he speaks of
a plea for the truth being addressed to skeptics and doubters as
a kind of prolegomenon to an exposition of the truth to those
sufficiently advanced to receive it. This suggests the hand of
one accustomed to give lectures in rhetoric and would certainly
fit the connection with the Alexandrian Catechetical school
28
mentioned by Philip of Side .

We also cannot ignore that this work closely agrees with the style and
the thought of the Legatio, and that they were written by the same hand
and assigned to the same period. Both works have many words in
common as a cursory inspection of the index to Schwartz’s edition
shows 37. Moreover the same quotations appear in both works. Thus in
Leg. I2 Athenagoras quotes the saying “sleep and death are twin
brothers” from Iliad I6.672 and this is repeated in De Res. I6. And as
Athenagoras says, at the end of the Legatio, that he is putting aside the
argument for the resurrection for the present, the presumption is that he
29
intended to deal with the subject later .

It consists of 25 chapters, divided into two parts; the first

(Chs. 1 to 11) is the negative side, answering objections of phi
losophers to the resurrection of the bodies. The second (Chs. 11 to

28

29
Leslie W. Barnard: Athenagoras, Paris, 1972, p. 30.
Leslie W. Barnard: Athenagoras, Paris, 1972, p. 31.
 25) was the positive side, proving the truth of the resurrection. Thus,
we can say the first part discusses “God and the Resurrection,” and
the second “Man and the Resurrection.”

I. Objections refuted (Chs. 1-11)

Athenagoras opens his work with a distinction between a “plea for the
truth,” addressed to skeptics and doubters, and an “exposition of the
truth,” addressed to those who were prepared to accept the truth; he
notes that the exposition is more valuable and important. However that
pagan hostility to the Christian doctrine of the resurrection of the dead
made it necessary for him to give precedence to the plea over the
exposition. Athenagoras’ distinction justifies the effort to supply as
much as possible of the missing “exposition” in defense of which the
30
“plea was made . He repeats the same idea in chapter 11, as he
summarizes what he had written:
The discourse in defense of the truth is inferior in nature and
force, for the refutation of falsehood is less important than the
establishment of truth; and second in order, for it employs its
strength against those who hold false opinions, and false
opinions are an after growth from another sowing and from
degeneration...
But, notwithstanding all this, it is often placed first hand
sometimes as it is found more useful, because it removes and
clears away beforehand the disbelief which disquiets some
minds, and the doubt or false opinion of such as have but
recently come over. And yet each of them is referable to the
same end, for the refutation of falsehood and the establishment
of truth both have piety for their object: not indeed, that they
are absolutely one and the same, but the one is necessary, as I
have said, to all who believe and those who are concerned
about the truth and their own salvation; but the other proves to
be more

30

Jaroslav Pelikan: The Christian Tradition, vol.1, Chicago, 1971, p. 121.

 useful on some occasions, and to some persons, and in dealing
31
with some .
In the first part, Athenagoras refutes all the philosophers’
objections about the resurrection, due to lack of knowledge of
God, His power , and His will in the resurrection,
a. Regarding knowledge, God who creates bodies, knows how to raise
them.
For He from whom, antecedently to the peculiar formation of
each, has not concealed from either the nature of the elements
of which the bodies of men consist, or the parts of these from
which He was about to take what seemed to Him suitable for
the formation of the human body, will manifestly, after the
dissolution of the whole, not be ignorant whither each of the
particles has passed which He took for the construction of
32
each .
b. Regarding power, God who could create, can also raise up the dead.

Moreover, that His power is sufficient for the raising of dead

bodies, is shown by the creation of these same bodies. For if,
when they did not exist, He made at their first formation the
bodies of men, and their original elements, He will, when they
are dissolved, in whatever manner that they may take place,
raise them again with equal ease; for this, too, is equally
33
possible to Him .
c. Regarding God’s will, the resurrection realizes God’s justice and is
in harmony with His Divine power. Athenagoras states that it cannot be
shown that God does not will a resurrection, for there is no injustice in
the resurrection.

31

De Resurrectione 11 ANF.
32 33

De Ressurectione 2. ANF.
De Resurrectione 3. ANF.
 For that which is not accordant with his will is so either as
being unjust or as unworthy of Him. And again, the injustice
regards either him who is to rise again, or some other than he.
But it is evident that no one of the beings exterior to him, and
that are reckoned among the things that have existence, is
injured. Spiritual natures cannot be injured by the resurrection
of men, for the resurrection of men is no hindrance to their
existing, nor is any loss or violence inflicted on them by it; nor,
again, would the nature of irrational or inanimate beings
sustain wrong, for they will have no existence after the
34
resurrection, and no wrong can be done to that which is not .

And, besides, with creatures that have no notion of justice there

can be no complaint of injustice. Nor can it be said either that
there is any injustice done as regards the man to be raised, for
he consists of soul and body, and he suffers no wrong as to
either soul or body. No person in his senses will affirm that his
soul suffers wrong because, in speaking so, he would at the
same time be unawares reflecting on the present life also; for if
now, while dwelling in a body subject to corruption and
suffering, it has had no wrong done to it, much less will it suffer
wrong when living in conjunction with a body which is free
from corruption and suffering. The body, again, suffers no
wrong; for if no wrong is done to it now while uniting a
corruptible thing with an incorruptible, manifestly will it not be
wronged when uniting an incorruptible with an incorruptible.
No; nor can any one say that it is a work unworthy of God to
raise up and bring together again a body which has been
dissolved: for if the worse was not unworthy of him, namely, to
make the body which is subject to corruption and suffering,
much more is the better not unworthy, to make one liable to
35
corruption or suffering .

34 35

De Resurrectione 10 ANF.
De Resurrectione 10. ANF.
 He defends his position against their objections that the
bodies of men after dissolution come to form part of other bodies; and
that things broken cannot be restored to their former state. Similarly
God is not in want of the will to raise the dead - for it is neither unjust
to raise men, nor to restore other beings; nor unworthy of Him - as is
shown from the works of creation.
In chapter four Athenagoras presents the philosophical ob
jection to the fact that some human bodies have become part of
others; and then he refutes this objection.
These persons, to wit, say that many bodies of those who have
come to an unhappy death in shipwrecks and rivers have
become food for fish, and many of those who perish in war, or
who from some other sad cause or state of things are deprived
of burial, lie exposed to become the food of any animals which
may chance to light upon them. Since, then, bodies are thus
consumed, and the members and parts composing them are
broken up and distributed among a great multitude of animals,
and by means of nutrition become incorporated with the bodies
of those that are nourished by them, in the first place, they say,
their separation from these is impossible; and besides this, in
the second place, they adduce another circumstance more
difficult still. When animals of the kind suitable for human
food, which have fed on the bodies of men, pass through their
stomach, and become incorporated with the bodies of those
who have partaken of them, it is an absolute necessity, they
say, that the parts of the bodies of men which have served as
nourishment to the animals which have partaken of them
should pass into other bodies of men, since the animals which
meanwhile have been nourished by them convey the nutriment
derived from those by whom they were nourished into those
36
men of whom they become the nutriment .

36

De Resurrectione 4 ANF.
 In the following chapters, Athenagoras refutes this objec
tion, giving the following proofs:
a. In chapter five, Athenagoras refers to the processes of digestion and
nutrition.
But it appears to me that such persons, in the first place, are
ignorant of the power and skill of Him that fashioned and
regulates this universe, who has adapted to the nature and kind
of each animal the nourishment suitable and correspondent to
it, and has neither ordained that everything in nature shall
enter into union and combination with every kind of body, nor
37
is at any loss to separate what has been so united .

. The risen body is different from the present (chapter 7).

. Nothing is impossible to God.

To bestow any serious attention on such arguments would be

not undeserving of censure, for it is really foolish to reply to
superficial and trifling objections. It is surely far more
probable, yea, most absolutely true, to say that what is
38
impossible with men is possible with God .

II. Reality of it proved (Chs. I2-25)

The second part gives proofs of resurrection related to man.
According to Athenagoras the resurrection is based not only on the
judgment of men as some believe, but on two main purposes: to realize
the aim of the creation of man, and man’s nature. In other words,
without the resurrection, on one hand man who is the beloved creature
is created by God in vain, and on the other hand the resurrection
realized his nature which God granted him.

37

38
De Resurrectione 5 ANF.
De Resurrectione 9 ANF.
 a. It is necessary for man whom God created as a sane be
ing to live forever (11 -13). Man as a rational being, is destined for
eternal survival . Man was created in the image of God to know Him
and to be a perpetual beholder of the divine Wisdom.
But God can neither have made man in vain, for He
is wise, and no work of wisdom is in vain; nor for His own
use, for He is in want of nothing...
He made him for the sake of the life of those cre
ated, which is not kindled for a little while and then extin
guished...
But since this cause is seen to lie in perpetual existence, the
being so created must be preserved for ever, doing and
experiencing what is suitable to its nature, each of the two
parts of which it consists contributing what belongs to it, so
that the soul may exist and remain without change in the nature
in which it was made, and discharge its appropriate functions
(such as presiding over the impulses of the body , and judging
of and measuring that which occurs from time to time by the
proper standards and measures),and the body be moved
according to its nature towards its appropriate objects, and
undergo the changes allotted to it, and, among the rest
(relating to age, or appearance, or size), the resurrection. For
the resurrection is a species of change, and the last of all, and
a change for the better or what still remains in existence at that
39
time .
So that, from what has been said, it is quite clear
that the resurrection is plainly proved by the cause of
man’s creation, and the purpose of Him who made him...
And in our investigation the cause of their creation is followed
by the nature of the men so created, and the nature of those
created by the just judgment of their maker upon them, and all
40
these by the end of their existence .

39

40
De Resurrectione 12 ANF.
De Resurrectione 13 ANF.
 b. Man is made of body and soul, and this unity is broken
by death and raised anew by resurrection (14 -17). His dual nature
requires perpetuity of existence in order to attain the true end of
rational life. Athenagoras argued at length that the confession of God
as the Creator required a doctrine of resurrection as the completion of
the divine purpose, and that “the reason for (man’s) coming to be
guarantees his resurrection for without this he would not be permanent
41
as man .” The ultimate end of man’s being is not oblivion or pleasure.
It cannot be attained on earth, hence the necessity of a reconstitution.

For many, in discussing the subject of the resurrection, have

rested the whole cause on the third argument alone, deeming
that the cause of the resurrection is the judgment. But the
fallacy of this is very clearly shown, from the fact that,
although all human beings who die rise again, yet not all who
rise again are to be judged: for if only a just judgment were the
cause of the resurrection, it would of course follow that those
who had done neither evil nor good namely, very young
children would not rise again; but seeing that all are to rise
again, those who have died in infancy as well as others, they
too justify our conclusion that the resurrection takes place not
for the sake of the judgment as the primary reason, but in
consequence of the purpose of God in forming men, and the
42
nature of the beings so formed .

c. Because of the necessity of a retribution in the next world in which

the body, too, must share, the body should share the soul in the reward
of the coming world (18 -23). The body is partner to the soul in good
and bad acts and both must be rewarded together. It is moreover unjust
to reward or punish the soul alone, hence the necessity of a divine
judgment upon the body and soul.
Man, therefore, who consists of the two parts, must continue
for ever. But it is impossible for him to continue
41

42
Emb. 13; Jaroslav Pelikan: The Christian Tradition, vol.1, Chicago, 1971, p. 51-2.
De Resurrectione 14 ANF.
 unless he rise again. For if no resurrection were to take place,
the nature of men as men would not continue. And if the nature
of men does not continue, in vain has the soul been fitted to the
need of the body and to its experiences; in vain has the body
been fettered so that it cannot obtain what it longs for obedient
to the reins of the soul, and guided by it as with a bridle...

But if vanity is utterly excluded from all the works of God, and
from all the gifts bestowed by Him, the conclusion is
unavoidable, that, along with the interminable duration of the
soul, there will be a perpetual continuance of the body
43
according to its proper nature .
I mean man, consisting of soul and body, and that such man
becomes accountable for all his actions, and receives for them
either reward or punishment. Now, if the righteous judgment
awards to both together its retribution that either the soul alone
should receive the wages of the deeds wrought in union with the
body (for this of itself has no inclination to the faults which are
committed in connection with the pleasure or food and culture
of the body), or that the body alone should (for this of itself is
incapable of distinguishing law and justice), but man,
composed of these, is subjected to trial for each of the deeds
wrought by him; and if reason does not find this happening
either in this life (for the award according to merit finds no
place in the present existence, since many atheists and persons
who practice every iniquity and wickedness live on to the last,
unvisited by calamity, whilst, on the contrary, those who have
manifestly lived an exemplary life in respect of every virtue, live
in pain, in insult, in calumny and outrage, and suffering of all
kinds) or after death (for both together no longer retaining
anything of its former structure or form, much less the
remembrance of its actions): the result of all this is very plain
to every one, namely, that, in the language

43

De Resurrectione 15 ANF.
 of the apostle, “this corruptible (and dissoluble) must put on
incorruption,” in order that those... who were dead, having
been made alive by the resurrection, and the parts that were
separated and entirely dissolved having been again united,
each one may, in accordance with justice, receive what he has
44
done by the body, whether it be good or bad .

Athenagoras states that man would be more unfavorably situated than

the beasts if there were no resurrection.
For if no judgment whatever were to be passed on the actions
of men, men would have no advantage over the irrational
creatures, but rather would fare worse than these do, inasmuch
as they keep in subjection their passions, and concern
themselves about piety, and righteousness, and the other
45
virtues .
d. Man was created to enjoy eternity which does not exist here but in
the afterlife (24-25).
It is absolutely necessary that the end of man’s being should
appear in some reconstitution of the two together, and of the
46
same living being .

44

45
De Resurrectione 18 ANF.
46
De Resurrectione 19 ANF.
De Resurrectione 25 ANF.
 HIS THEOLOGY
AND THOUGHTS

1. GOD
I. As a Christian apologist, Athenagoras’ conception of God is biblical.
He was the first to attempt to give philosophical and scientific proofs
1
about monotheism, that which the prophets witnessed for . He does this
2
by a study of the relation of the existence of God to place . As a
philosopher he wishes to show, in philosophical and scientific terms,
3
that God is accessible to the human mind . He is careful to adapt from
Middle Platonism only what he needs for his purpose and he is able to
set forth clearly the Christian concept of God as a loving Creator of the
4 5
universe and of men , and Father .

II. His idea of God is fundamentally biblical. Athenagoras is confident

6
that God’s providence guides the righteous through all difficulties .
God is for him the Creator whose providence guides and governs all
7
men’s lives in their smallest details . God, as the Father, controls the
8
world splendidly , and nothing is beyond the reach of His guardianship
9
and forethought . God works upon matter much as a potter works upon
10
his clay, fashioning it and giving it differentiation, shape, and order ,
indeed there is an analogy
1 2 3

Embassy 5-9. Quasten: Patrology, vol. 1, p. 232. 4

Leslie W. Barnard: Athenagoras, Paris, 1972, p 81.

5 6

Embassy 12. Ibid. 13, 27. W.R.. Schoedel:

7

Athenagoras, Oxford, 1972, p. XVII. De

8 9

Ressurectione 18. Embassy 16,25. De

10

Resurrectione 18. Embassy 15.

 between man’s creative activity and God’s. From His hand and mind
11
come all created beauty seen on earth .
12
W.R. Schoedel suggests the following scheme :

. There is a general providence of God connected with the “law of
reason,” extending over the whole material world and over men as physical
organisms.

. There is a restricted providence delegated to angels who have been
set over aspects of creation; some of these angels, including the prince over
matter, exercised their freedom and violated their office. The angels, with
their offspring the demons, move men to folly, the prince over matter creates
disorder in human affairs.

. There is a particular providence of God “over the worthy.” This is
not the Middle Platonic hierarchy with particular providence in the hands of
the demons.

III. The heart of his belief is the unique, creative activity of God. He
holds that the purpose of life is an inseparable companionship with the
ultimate realities, an unceasing and exultant contemplation and service
13
of the Creator as He is in Himself , and that contemplation would be
14
the Christian’s lot for all eternity .

. God, who is the Father, is also transcendent, unbegotten, possessing
goodness, separated from matter which He nevertheless shapes in His
creative purpose. He is Light inaccessible, Himself a universe of perfection
and beauty, superior to the exigencies of change and decay, uncaused by
15
anything outside of Himself .

. Goodness is inseparably connected with God’s Nature: “This
goodness is annexed to Him and co-existent with Him as surface is with
body. It is nothing without Him, and, not being a part

11 12

Embassy 34. W.R.. Schoedel: Athenagoras, Oxford, 1972,

13 14

p. XVII, XVIII. De Ressurectione 25. Barnard:

15

Athenagoras, p. 91. Barnard: Athenagoras, p. 91

 of Him, but, as it were, a necessary consequence of His being, so
united and so closely allied to Him as the color blue is to the sky or
16
golden yellow is to fire .” It is noticeable that Athenagoras does not
say that God is goodness but that God has goodness. By this he avoids
the Platonic identification of the form of the Good with the highest
soul, that is God, and since the Good must communicate itself, so
17
avoids a theory of emanations from God .
18
VI. Athenagoras argues that God is one, but unlike a human
individual who is created and corruptible, composite and divisible
(into parts), God is unbegotten, impassable and indivisible, and
therefore not composed of parts.
19
VII. Athenagoras’ belief in the resurrection of the body illustrates the
20
completeness of his reliance on God’s power .
VIII. The power of God and His will are inseparable. For all what
God wills is possible to Him, or as Athenagoras says,
For why should I speak of their correspondence each with
each, and of their connection with one another? If indeed we
ought to use the word connection, as though they were
separated by some difference of nature; and not rather say,
that what God can do he can also will, and that what God can
will it is perfectly possible for Him to do, and that it is
21
accordant with the dignity of Him who wills it .

16 17 18

Embassy 10. Barnard: Athenagoras, p. 86. Supp.

19 20

8:2. Embassy 31:4; 36:1-3. W.R.. Schoedel:

21

Athenagoras, Oxford, 1972, p. XVIII. De

Resurrectione 11 ANF.
 2. THE TRINITARIAN FAITH
22
Athenagoras’ doctrine of God culminates in Trinitarian theology . The
essential passage is as follows:
“I have given sufficient proofs that we are not atheists, but hold
God to be one, unbegotten, eternal, invisible, suffering nothing,
comprehended by none, circumscribed by none, apprehended
by mind and reasoning alone, girt about with light and beauty
and spirit and power indescribable, Creator of all things by his
Word, their embellisher and master.

We do indeed think also that God has a Son - please let no one
laugh at the idea of God having a Son! This is not a case of the
myths of the poets who make the gods out to be no better than
men; we have no such ideas about God the Father or the Son.
The Son of God is Word of the Father in thought and power.
All things were made through Him and after His fashion. The
Father and the Son are one, the Son being in the Father and
the Father in the Son by the powerful union of the Spirit - the
Son of God is Mind and Word of the Father.

Now, if in your exceeding great sagacity, you wish to

investigate what is meant by the Son, I will tell you in brief. He
is the first-begotten of the Father. He did not indeed come to
be, for God was from the beginning Being eternal Mind and
had His Word within Himself being from eternity possessed of
a Word; but He proceeded to become thought and power over
the elements of undifferentiated nature when all the material
elements were like a substrate in quiescence and the heavier
elements lay mixed with the lighter. The Spirit of prophecy
agrees with this account saying, ‘The Lord made Me in the
beginning of His works’ (Prov 8:22). Then again this same
Holy Spirit that works in those who utter prophecy, we call an
outflow from God

22

Embassy 10:2-5; 4:2; 12:3; 18:2; W.R.. Schoedel: Athenagoras, Oxford, 1972, p. XVIII.
 flowing out and returning like a ray of the sun. Who then
would not be amazed hearing those called atheists who call
God Father and Son and Holy Spirit, proclaiming their power
23
in unity and their diversity in rank (order)?
I. The Trinitarian faith is in harmony with monotheism, as he says,

...neither are we atheists who acknowledge and firmly hold that

He is God who has formed all things by the Logos, and hold
24
them by His Spirit .
25
II. God is a simple Spirit, supreme, perfect, able to do anything .
Showing that Christians were not polytheists, he became the first
26
Christian writer to treat of the Trinity in philosophical terms . He
says that the essential works of Christians is, “to see the way of the
Son with The Father,” what is the unity of the Son with the Father,
what is the unity of all three, and the distinction of the united: Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit. He spoke accurately and with perfect
understanding of the unity of God, the unity of the Trinity.

...they (the Christians) know God and His Logos, what is the
oneness of the Son with the Father, what the communion of the
Father with the Son, what is the Spirit, what is the unity of
these three, the Spirit, the Son, the Father, and their distinction
27
in unity .
II. The Son is the uncreated Mind, Word, and Wisdom of the
Father. Athenagoras states strongly the divine nature of the Logos but,
unlike Justin, he does not base the Son’s divinity upon the fact of His
divine sonship, i.e. His generation from the Father, but with greater
philosophical insight he derives the Son’s divinity

23 24 25 26

Embassy 24. PG 6:908-9. Embassy 6:3. Embassy 27. Michael O’Carrol: Trinitas, A
Theological Encyclopedia of the Holy Trinity, Michael Glazier,

27

Inc., Wilmington, Delaware, 1987, p41.

Embassy 12.
 from His being the Mind and Reason of the Father. Thus the logos
-Son exists essentially and eternally within the deity and He is
28
designated “God” together with the Father without distinction .
Athenagoras emphasizes in Johannine terminology the intimate union
of the Father and the Logos - Son: “The Father and Son are one. The
29
Son being in the Father and the Father in the Son .” In Embassy I2 he
speaks of the unity of the Son with the Father and the sharing of the
Father. This intimate, eternal, union and equality does not however
obliterate the distinction between the Father and the Logos - the Son.
This distinction becomes apparent economically, in that the Son is
30
subject to the Father’s Will and Thought .

Athenagoras warned from the philosophic way of understanding “The

Father and Son,” and ensured “The Son” is an everlasting Being
with the Father. The real danger for him was that the pagan would be
ready to accept the idea of God having a son with his memories of the
son of Zeus had by Alcmene or others. The Son of God is not like sons
of men for He is His Word in idea and actualization. He is the unity
with Him, for He is in the Father, and the Father in Him.

31
For Athenagoras , God being eternally “endowed with Reason
(Logikos), had the Logos within Himself eternally, and that, therefore,
the Son as Logos did not come into existence,” but was eternal. He
states that the unoriginate, eternal and invisible God created, adorned,
actually governs the universe by His Word, who is the Son of God.

What Athenagoras wants to say is obviously that the Son is

eternal although begotten and hence pre-existent to all creation,
and that He is in fact the one who organized the material creation

28

Barnard: Athenagoras, p. 101.

29 30

Embassy 10. Barnard:

31

Athenagoras, p. 98.
Athenagoras: Supp. 10:2.
 from an undifferentiated state into a world of order, weight, and
measure.32
Athenagoras holds that the Logos is the agent of the Father in
33
creation , closely following St. John and St. Paul, but his teaching is
peculiar in describing the logos as the “idea of all material things” and
holding that “all things were made through Him and agreeably to
34
Him “ which draws out the meaning of Col. I:I6f. The logos is, for
Athenagoras, the power or energy of the divine mind operating in
conditions of space and time. As such He not only possesses an ideal
plan of the cosmos but has the power to bring that plan into concrete
existence. He proceeds from the inner life of the Godhead and from the
creation onwards continues in perpetual relation with the cosmos as
35
God’s vice-agent, the Governor and Upholder of the Universe .

. The Holy Spirit is described as an outflow (effluence)

(‘atto’ppoidv) of the Father, coming forth and returning like a ray of light
36
from fire or beam of the sun . He says “We confirm the Holy Spirit himself
37
inspired the prophets, flowing from God and reflecting Him .” The term
“aporrsia” (outflow) to the Holy Spirit cannot imply His subordination to
38
the other two hypostaseis, for the Three are joined several times .

. Athenagoras asserts the place of the Holy Spirit as the eminent
power in creation. God has created all things by His Word and holds them
39
in being by the Spirit that is from Him .

VI. That divine Persons should have such êïéíùíéá (fellowship or

40
kinship) . Some interpreters of his work have made him say that it is
by kinship in one divine nature that the Three are
32

Joseph Hugh Crehan: Athenagoras, Newman Press, 1956 (ACW, vol. 23), p. 133.
33 34 35 36

Embassy 4, 6, 10, 18. Embassy 10 Barnard: Athenagoras, p. 100. Joseph

37
Hugh Crehan: Athenagoras, Newman Press, 1956 (ACW, vol. 23), p. 22.
38 39 40

Embassy 10, 24. Ibid. 10, 12, 24. Ibid. 6:3. Embassy 12.
 one, but that would be to make the Divine Persons no better than the
instances of a universal, like men sharing in a common humanity. He
41 42
can hardly have meant this . Crehan suggests that Plato may have
predisposed him to adopt the term. Barnard states that Plato nowhere
suggests that Persons might have such a (koinonia), it seems more
probable that Athenagoras has merely drawn on the earlier Christian
use of this term in 2 Cor. I3:I4 where it is used in connection with the
divine triad with the probable meaning of participation by Christians in
43 44
the Holy Spirit . It will be as well to cite the relevant texts :

We are guided by the Spirit alone to know the true God and
His Logos, to know what the unity of the Son with the Father is,
what the fellowship of the Father with the Son is, what the
Spirit is, and to know what is the unity and division of these
45
Three great ones thus united - Spirit, Son and Father .

For we speak of His Logos as God too and Son and

of Holy Spirit likewise, united into one by power and di
46
vided in order .
In the last passage from Embassy 24 Athenagoras distin
guishes the divine triad from a host of “powers” concerned with
material nature.
VII. The idea of considering the Spirit as the uniting power of the
Father and the Son is here set forth for the first time in Christian
theology. No doubt one can derive it from certain Johannine phrases,
47
but Athenagoras has supplied it with its first technical terms .

41 42
Joseph Hugh Crehan: Athenagoras, Newman Press, 1956 (ACW, vol. 23), p. 21.
43 44

A.C.W., vol. 23, p. 21, 137. Barnard: Athenagoras, p. 110. Barnard:

45 46 47

Athenagoras, p. 109. Ibid. 12. Ibid. 24. Joseph Hugh Crehan: Athenagoras,
Newman Press, 1956 (ACW, vol. 23), p. 132.
 3. THE CREATION
Athenagoras writes,
If He (God) was not ignorant of the nature of the elements that
are to be constituted in being - out of which man’s body is to be
formed - even before they enter severally into the composition
which is proper to them, and if He was not ignorant of the
parts of these elements from which He was to take what was
fitting for the composition of man’s body, then it is very clear
that neither, after the complete dissolution of the whole, will
He be ignorant of the place to which each part has gone that
48
He took for the completion of each individual .

Barnard states that the implication of this passage is that God originally
formed the elements of men’s bodies from preexisting matter. But
Athenagoras in these passages does not say that matter existed eternally as
an antithesis to God, as Plato believed, although equally neither does he
explicitly state that matter was the creation of God in an unformed state
which He then organized, through the agency of the Logos, to bring into
being the phenomenal world. It is noticeable that Athenagoras, unlike
Justin, does not fall into the error of trying to bring Gen. 1:1 into line with
49
the Middle Platonist teaching concerning the eternity of matter .

4. MAN
Athenagoras views the body organs as instruments per
forming actions, showing thoughts and deeds, though sharing the
same responsibility with the soul. So no complete worship is done

48 49

De Resurrectione 2. Barnard:
Athenagoras, p. 115-6
 without involving the body and soul, and the just judgment falls on
50
both of them .
The soul remains in an equable existence proper to it by nature and
undertakes its natural tasks; that is to say, it is by nature appointed to
govern the instincts of the body and to judge and estimate by suitable
51
canons and measures the stimuli that occur .
The image of God is in man’s nature and is not a static
thing like a stamp on
52
wax, but a developing or growth towards a
pattern of existence .

5. THE BODY
The body is an instrument for fulfilling the thoughts and
words, but is responsible with the soul in every action. Worship
can not be realized without the fellowship of the body and soul.
He explains that the death of human beings is not on the same level
with that of irrational animals, nor is the continuance of men like that
53
of the immortals . With the irrational animals, man must undergo
dissolution of the body, yet with the immortals he shares in
immortality through his soul. It is as a human being, not as a
54
disembodied soul, that man will and must continue forever .
Athenagoras, although arguing strongly for the reconstitution of the
body after death, nowhere refers to the resurrection of Christ and in no
way bases his belief on it. In the first chapter of De Resurrectione, he
prepares his readers for this, assuring that he is writing to the
non-Christians

50 51

Embassy 27. Joseph Hugh Crehan: Athenagoras, Newman Press, 1956 (ACW,
52

vol. 23), p. 97. Joseph Hugh Crehan: Athenagoras, Newman Press, 1956 (ACW,
53 54

vol. 23), p. 174. De Resurrectione 16. Barnard: Athenagoras, p. 129.

 6. THE SOUL
Following St. Justin, Athenagoras rejects, with Middle Platonism, the
Aristotelian belief that the soul was an attribute of the body and could
not exist without it. However he differs from Justin in his emphasis
that man is not soul alone, nor body alone, but a composite being of the
two elements united into one. The function of the soul towards the
body is that of driver or commander whose bridle rein curbs the body -
here Athenagoras is close to Plato’s view.

Athenagoras differs from Plato; the former sees that the realities in
man can’t be complete without the support of body and soul together,
55
the two are conjoined to form one composite being so that to the one
56
being is attributed all the actions of the soul and the body , but the
latter sees man as a spirit using a body. This Christian understanding of
man itself rested on the Hebrew conception that man has not a body
but is a body with no rigid distinction between physical and spiritual.
Man in his totality, for this Hebrew-Christian view, is not a discarnate
spirit but a spiritual-corporal entity.

Athenagoras reacted strongly against the Greek doctrine as he insisted

that man must have his body with him forever. If man as man is
incomplete without his body, that body is not a prison-house or tomb
of the soul (as in Pythagorean and Platonic thought) and its union with
the soul is a good thing. He was also against the Platonic theory of the
transmigration of souls.
Athenagoras held that man has been created for a purpose:
Thus since man was created neither in vain nor without cause -
nor nothing made by God lacks a cause in the mind of the
Creator nor yet for the need of the Creator nor of any of His
creatures, it is plain that God made man, in the first and most
general aspect of the matter, for Him
55 56

De Resurrectione 12. Barnard:

Athenagoras, p. 122-3.
 self and for His goodness and Wisdom’s sake, that was to
57
.◌ّ be made manifest upon the face of all His handiwork
Man, it will be noted, was not created by God for His own use, nor that
is He in need of any creature, nor can any creature contribute anything
to God. Neither was man made for the sake of other creatures, for
nothing that is endowed with reason and judgment has been or is
created for the use of another, whether greater or lesser than itself.
Reason cannot discover any use which might be a cause for the
creation of man. And the fact that man was not created to serve man
follows from the same line of argument. As far as God is concerned
man is well-ordered, both by his original nature which has one
common character for all, and by the constitution of his body, which
does not transgress the law imposed upon it, and by the termination of
58
his life, which remains equal and common to all .

Athenagoras gives no explicit teaching about the qualities of the soul,

its simplicity, unity or distinction between its faculties. His main
concern is to argue for the resurrection of the body and he introduces
his views of the soul only in so far as they assist the establishment of
59
his main thesis .

7. THE ANGELS
Athenagoras’ theological doctrine also contains “a host of angels and
ministers whom God, the Creator of the world, set in their places
through the Logos coming from Him, commanding them to be
concerned with the planets, the heavens, and the world with what is in
60
it, and with the good order of all .” Our faith in angels as heavenly
beings, serving God and caring for the creation, is an inseparable part
of the common faith. After his defense about

57 58

De Resurrectione 12. Embassy 25; Barnard:

59

Athenagoras, p. 124-5. Barnard: Athenagoras,

60

p. 126. Embassy 19:5.

 the accusation of Atheism, he adds “But our knowledge about theology
does not stop here, as we believe in a multitude of angels and servants
whom God, Maker and Artificer of the universe, set in their place by
means of His Word and appointed severally to be in charge of the
elements and the heavens and the universe and all it contains and its
61
good order .”
Athenagoras strongly emphasizes the place and function of angels
within the divine providence. While God has a general and creative
providence over everything the angels have a providence over each
part of the creation.
“While God had the general and creative providence over all,
these angels set over each part were to have providence over
that part. And just as with men who have power to choose good
or evil - for you would not honor the virtuous and punish
evildoers if vice and virtue were not within their free choice -
some are found zealous for what they are entrusted with by
you, and others remiss, so it is with these angels too: some
remained at the task for which they were created and to which
they were appointed by God (for they had received free will
from God), while others acted wantonly towards their own
nature and their charge, that is, the ruler of this realm of
matter and of the forms that are in it, and others that were in
charge of the first firmament. Pray, realize that we tell of
nothing without evidence, but expound what the prophets have
declared. Well then, these angels fell a - lusting after maidens
and yielded to fleshly desires, and he, the chief of them, became
heed less and wicked in the administration of his charge...
Earthly wisdom differs from that of the prophets as a likely tale
does from the truth; the one is earthbound and under the ruler
62
of matter, the other is from heaven .”

61 62

Embassy 10. Embassy 24; Joseph Hugh Crehan: Athenagoras, Newman Press, 1956 (ACW,
vol. 23), p. 62-63.
 Athenagoras, like St. Justin, has more to say about the exis
tence and activity of evil angels than that of the good angels. He
believes that the angels were originally created good and, like humans,
had received free-will from God. Unfortunately, some angelic
administrators included a spirit who was opposed to God, therefore
was untrustworthy. However this spirit, whom Athenagoras does not
call the devil; nor any other name, became heedless and wicked in the
administration of his charge and took to guiding and directing the
63
material world in opposition to the goodness of God . As “prince of
matter,” he operated wickedly when governing the material world,
64
while subordinates lusted after virgins and succumbed to the flesh .

Athenagoras, in support of this theory of the fall of the angels, appeals

to the witness of the prophets, no doubt by this meaning Gen. 6.2-5
which says that the sons of God came in to the daughters of men. The
LXX originally rendered “sons of God” by (angelio tou theou) and so a
tradition grew up in Greek Judaism that it was the union of angels with
men which produced giants, whose souls are “the demons who wander
65
about the world .”
He held that these fallen angels dwell about the earth and sky, and so
cannot stretch upwards into the regions above the heavens “stationed at
the first firmament.” They harass and drag men hither and thither even
66
though each man has the same rational principle within . In particular
the evil spirits are responsible for the vagaries of idol worship usurping
67
the names of men and working through images and statues .
68
Polytheism and idolatry alike are delusions .

However, in Athenagoras’ view, the activity of evil spirits is terrible

yet they are not beyond control. Man, in origin and in
63 64 65 66 67 68
Barnard: Athenagoras, p. 112. Embassy 24;5. Embassy 25:1. Embassy 25. Embassy 26.
Robert M. Grant: Greek Apologists of the Second Century, Westminister, Philadelphia, 1988, p.

109.
 himself, is a well-ordered being with a rational nature possessed of a
mental disposition (diathesis) which was not intended to transgress its
69
own law . And there remains a host of good angels who have not
70
fallen .
His approach is more philosophical and represents a rational attempt to
explain the origin of evil. Yet Athenagoras, as with the other early
Christian Fathers, really believes that the evil spirits are everywhere
actively urging men to work against nature. He speaks of the artifices
of the demons, saying:
... the demons who hover about matter, greedy of sacrificial
odours and the blood of victims, and ever ready to lead men
into error, avail themselves of these delusive movements of the
souls of the multitude; and, taking possession of their thoughts,
cause to flow into the mind empty visions as if coming from the
idols and the statues; and when, too, a soul of itself, as being
immortal, moves comfortably to reason, either predicting the
future or healing the present, the demons claim the glory of
71
themselves .
However he is even more sure that God’s providence is ul
timately in control of the universe in spite of the fact that some
72
an
gels and men have abused the freedom given to them by God .

8. THE CHURCH
Through the writings of Athenagoras, we can discover the features of
the Alexandrian Church:
a. The Alexandrian Church was in fact a community of righteousness
and sanctity:

69 70

Embassy 25. Barnard:

71

Athenagoras, p. 113. Embassy

72

27 ANF. Barnard:
Athenagoras, p. 114.
 If, indeed, any one can convict us of a crime, be it small or
great, we do not ask to be excused from punishment, but are
prepared to undergo the sharpest and most merciless
73
inflections .
b. There were Christians in the Alexandrian Church in his day who
74
were rich enough to own slaves, some few, some many , as well as
75
many Christians of very humble origin . But no slave, he says, had
ever brought a false accusation against them, possibly a reference to
denial under torture.
Not long after the time of Athenagoras there were so many rich
members of the Alexandrian Church that Clement of Alexandria
76
devoted a special sermon to the question , and Origen could mention
“not only rich men, but persons of rank and delicate and high-born
77
ladies who receive the teachers of Christianity .”

9. THE LITURGY
It is not to be expected that Athenagoras would make any formal
references to the Christian sacraments as his main purpose is simply to
refute calumnies against Christians and to defend monotheism. Any
references are a priori likely to be allusive - and, in any event, the
observance of the disciplina arcani inhibited a full description of these
rites even if Athenagoras had been minded to give such.

The Eucharist for Athenagoras as for the early Fathers, such as St.
78 79
Ignatius and St. Clement of Rome , was a real sacrifice. Athenagoras
certainly deserves the credit for introducing

73 74 75 76 77 78

Embassy 2. Embassy 35. Barnard: Athenagoras, p. 149. Quis dives salvetur. cf. Celsus 3: 9.
For St. Ignatius the Eucharistic assembly of the church is “thusiasterion” or “the place of the

79

sacrifice.” Ep. to Eph. 5:2. For St. Clement of Rome the bishop’s work is to offer
“prospheretia” the oblation. (1 Clem. 14)
 into the vocabulary of Christian theology the term ‘unbloody sacri-
fice’ where the sword is a word and where no blood is shed.
The kiss of peace, the liturgical or apostolic kiss in the Christian
liturgy is mentioned by Athenagoras. It is still exchanged in the Coptic
and the Ethiopian Orthodox Churches while it disappeared from other
churches. St. Cyril of Jerusalem says, “ Do not think that this kiss is
like that which friends are accustomed to give one another when they
meet in the agro. This kiss unites the souls together and destroys all
resentment.”
In Embassy 13 Athenagoras seems to be quoting from a public prayer
in praise of the Creator: “who stretched out the heavens and reared
them into a vault and established the earth as the center of things, who
gathered the waters into seas and separated light from darkness, who
bedecked the sky with stars and made the earth bud forth every green
thing, who made the animals and fashioned man.’ Similar prayers are
to be found in Melito’s Homily on the Passion and in the Apostolic
Constitutions.
A minor liturgical reminiscence seems to have survived at the end of
Embassy 10, where a Trinitarian phrase echoes the style of many early
church prayers to the Trinity. The words: We ‘call God Father and Son
and Holy Spirit, proclaiming their power in unity and in rank their
diversity,’ have the articulation of later Trinitarian prayers with the
balance of contrasting clauses. That Christians of the period did call upon
the Trinity is shown by the hymn which runs: ‘As we sing to Father Son
and Holy Spirit, may all the powers join with us to say Amen. To the only
80
giver of all good things be power and praise. Amen .’ This liturgical
hymn is published in Oxy. papyrus 1786, along with the music that it was
sung to, and again in Patrologia Orientalis 18:507. The papyrus has a 3rd
century mercantile account on the reverse side. The hymn must have been
in use in Egypt at least soon after the time of Athenagoras.

80

Joseph Hugh Crehan: Athenagoras, Newman Press, 1956 (ACW, vol. 23), p. 24.
 10. THE RIGHTS OF THE EMBRYO
At the time where law did not treat the embryo as a being with rights,
Athenagoras declares the church teaching, as the embryo is a being
who has the right to live, if aborted by pills, it is a crime of murder. He
says, “We call it murder and say it will be accountable to God if
81
women use instruments to procure abortion .”
82 83
Abortion is condemned by Philo , and Josephus . The Roman law did
84
not forbid it as a murder, but an offense against the husband’s right .
85
The Apocalypses Petri assign a punishment in hell to those who
procure abortion by corrupting the work of God. The epistle of
86 87
Barnabas and the Didache give a general prohibition of abortion.

11. HUMAN FREEDOM

Christians, like Athenagoras, put the Creator as a center of their
88
philosophy ensuring the importance of man and his free will . Freedom
faces us with responsibility so we are judged for every action. If man
falls into evil, he is judged, and thrown into the fire of eternity as his
spirit does not vanish, and if he follows God, he lives in the heavenly
eternity.

81 82

Embassy, 35. De spec. leg.

83 84

3:108-115. C. Ap. 2:202.

85

Dig 47:11:4; 48:19:39. The

86

Coptic (Akhmim) fr. 26.

19:5.
87 88

2:2. W.R.. Schoedel: Athenagoras, Oxford, 1972, p. XXII; Embassy

24,25.
12.
 THE 89

SCRIPTURES
Athenagoras’ references to the Old and New Testaments
are very few. His main purpose was apologetic, i.e. to defend the faith
against certain calumnies by a subtle use of contemporary philosophy
90
rather than by a detailed appeal to the sacred books of the Church .
Without this base further theological progress and the preaching of the
Gospel would have been of no benefit. The biblical tradition was, for
Athenagoras, not essential to his argument as he wished to defend the
faith.
In Embassy 9 he says, “On our side we have prophets as witnesses of
our ideas and beliefs, men who have spoken out under divine
inspiration about God and the things of God.” Thus, he states that the
prophets guarantee Christian reasoning and mentions Moses, Isaiah,
Jeremiah and the rest of the Old Testament prophets as inspired by the
Divine Spirit much as a flutist blows on his flute. He then quotes Exod.
20:2, 3; Isa. 44:6; 43:10, II and 66:1 as a buttress for his argument for
monotheism concluding with the words “I leave it to you, since you are
possessed of the books themselves, to examine more closely the
prophecies of these men, in order that you may prepare with fitting
reflection to remove this Disgrace from us.” The apologist assumes
that the LXX, which was widely known, would be consulted by those
who wished to know the basis for Christian monotheism. It is
significant that he suggests nowhere that the prophets were Jewish or
had any status independently of Christianity. Athenagoras has a few
other Old Testament quotations. In Embassy I0 he quotes Prov. 8. 22 in
connection with his doctrine of creation, and in Embassy I2 he cites
“let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die” from Isa. 22;I3 (cf. I Cor.
I5:32). There are only two other quotations in De Resurrectione, viz.
De Resurrectione I9, a further citation of Isa. 22.I3, and De Resurrec-
tione 23 from Exod. 20:I2, I3 (cf. Luke. I8:20) - two of the ten
commandments.

89 90

Leslie W. Barnard: Athenagoras, Paris, 1972, p 69 ff.

Leslie W. Barnard: Athenagoras, Paris, 1972, p.78, 79.
 Concerning the New Testament, in Embassy II he quotes Mt. 5:44,45
exactly with an addition from Luke. 6:28: “Love your enemies; bless
them that curse you; pray for them that persecute you, that you may be
the children of your Father which is in heaven, who makes His sun to
rise upon the good and bad, and rains upon the just and unjust.” The
quotation is completed in Embassy I2: “If you love them that love you
and lend to them that lend to you, what reward shall you have?”
Athenagoras’ only other direct New Testament quotations is found in
Embassy 37, the conclusion of the work, where the first half of I Tim.
2. 2 is cited. The sum total of Athenagoras’ quotations from the New
Testament is five and four of these appear, in one form or another, in
the Sermon on the Mount.

Athenagoras is considered an excellent witness for the inspired

education,
For poets and philosophers, as to other subjects so also to this,
have applied themselves in the way of conjecture, moved, by
reason of their affinity with the afflatus from God, each one by
his own soul, to try whether he could find out and apprehend
the truth; but they have not been found competent fully to
apprehend it, because they thought fit to learn, not from God
concerning God, but each one from himself; hence they came
each to his own conclusion respecting God, and matter, and
forms, and the world. But we have for witnesses of the things
we apprehend and believe, prophets, men who have
pronounced concerning God and the things of God, guided by
the spirit of God. And you too will admit, excelling all others as
you do in intelligence and in piety towards the true God, that it
would be irrational for us to cease to believe in the prophets
like musical instruments, and to give heed to mere human
91
opinions .

91

Embassy 7. ANF.
 But since the voices of the prophets confirm our arguments, I
think that you also, with your great attainments in learning,
cannot be ignorant of the writings either of Moses or of Isaiah
and Jeremiah, and the other prophets, who, lifted in ecstasy
above the natural operations of their minds by the impulses of
the Divine Spirit, uttered the things with which they were
inspired, the Spirit making use of them as a flute-player
92
breathes into a flute .
Athenagoras does not forget to call the two emperors to
read the Bible, inspired by the Holy Spirit, which declares the per
fection of truth.
But I leave it to you, when you meet with the books
themselves,
93
to examine carefully the prophecies contained
in them .

13. THE CHRISTIAN TRADITION

Athenagoras says,
Do not be surprised that I am reproducing exactly the account
customary among us. To prevent your being carried away by
the unreasonable opinion of the multitude and to give you
opportunity to know the truth, I give this exact report. By the
dogmas to which we give assent, not man-made but divine and
taught by God, we are able to persuade you that you have not
to regard us as you would atheists.

L.W. Barnard comments that Athenagoras is clearly referring to a

common stock of earlier Christian teaching handed down in the
Christian community to which he belonged. This no doubt

92

93
Embassy 9 ANF.
Embassy 9 ANF.
 included items, such as belief in the Incarnation, which are not used in
the Embassy. It is not possible however to discover, from Athenagoras’
94
works, the creed which was used in this community .

14. THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD AND

SACRIFICES
God is not in need of animal sacrifices, but He wants us to
acknowledge Him as our Creator and Father who is taking care of
us.
As to our not sacrificing; the Framer of this universe does not
need blood, nor the odour of burnt-offerings, nor the fragrance
of flowers and incense, forasmuch as He is Himself perfect
fragrance, needing nothing either within or without; but the
noblest sacrifice to Him is for us to know who stretched out
and vaulted the heavens, and fixed the earth in its place like a
center, who gathered the water into the seas and divided the
light from the darkness...

And what have I to do with holocausts, which God does not

stand in need of? - though indeed it does behoove us to offer a
95
bloodless sacrifice and “the service of our reason .”

15. CHASTITY
Athenagoras praises chastity as one of the fruits of great Christian life,
clarifying its positive target “you find amidst us

94

95
Leslie W. Barnard: Athenagoras, Paris, 1972, p.73.
Embassy 13 ANF.
 many men and women, unmarried, hoping for a life deeper with God.”

16. THE VIRGINITY

In the early Church, virginity for the sake of God, establishes a
relationship with the divine. This is stated as something taken quite for
granted in Athenagoras’ Embassy for the Christians: “To abide as a
virgin or a eunuch unites one to God, while a mere [unclean] thought
or evil desire turns one away from Him.” There are in the Christian
community, Athenagoras says, “both men and women who are
growing old in virginity in the hope of being united more closely to
96
God .”

17. THE WORLD

Athenagoras speaks of God in relation to the universe as the Framer of
97 98 99
matter , the Maker of all things , the Father and Maker of all , who
100
works on matter as a potter works on his clay . However he does not
give any clear explanation as to how this matter came into existence
although, in two passages, he appears to hold that matter pre-existed in
101
an undifferentiated form .
“The world is fair indeed, and excels in size and array all that
exists in the ecliptic and all that is about the Pole, and it excels
too in the beauty of its spherical form; yet not this but its
maker is to be adored... The world did not come to be for any
need on the part of God. God is all

96

Emb. 33; B. Ramsey: Beginning to Read the Fathers, Paulist Press, 1985, p. 142.
97 98 99 100 101

Embassy 15. Embassy 4. Embassy 13. Embassy 15. L.W. Barnard:

Athenagoras, p. 115.
 in-all to Himself, light inaccessible, a universe of perfection,
102
spirit, power, and reason .”
God’s freedom in creating was a stumbling block to the
Stoic, to whom the movement 103
of creation was a biological urge as
powerful as the sex instinct .
Athenagoras considers the world as a good divine gift, which is
bestowed upon us not to worship it but the Giver;
Beautiful without doubt is the world... Yet it is not this, but its
Artificer, that we must worship...
If, therefore the world is an instrument in tune, and moving in
well-measured time, I adore the Being who gave its harmony,
and strikes its notes, and sings the accordant strain, and not
104
the instrument .

18. PERSECUTION
As we have mentioned, Athenagoras, in a biblical thought reveals that
persecution of the believers is based on the accusation of name. They
do not deserve any penalty, but the world cannot accept the name of
Christ, to whom the believers are attributed.
Names are not deserving of hatred; it is the unjust act that
calls for penalty and punishment. And accordingly, with
admiration of your mildness and gentleness towards every man,
individuals live in the position of equal rights; and the cities,
according to their rank, share in equal honor; and the whole
empire, under your intelligent sway, enjoys profound peace.
But for us who are called Christians you have notion like
manner cared; but although we commit no wrong - nay, as will
appear in the sequel of this discourse, are of all men most
piously and righteously disposed towards the deity and towards
your government -
102 103

Joseph Hugh Crehan: Athenagoras, Newman Press, 1956 (ACW, vol. 23), p. 46. 104

Joseph Hugh Crehan: Athenagoras, Newman Press, 1956 (ACW, vol. 23), p. 140
Embassy 16 ANF.
 you allow us to be harassed, plundered, and persecuted, the
105
multitude making war upon us for our name alone .
The judges, instead of inquiring whether the person arraigned
has committed any crime, vent their insults on the name, as if
106
that were itself a crime .

19. ETERNAL LIFE

He, being Himself light, sees all things in our heart, we are
persuaded that when we are removed from the present life we
shall live another life, better than the present one, and
heavenly, not earthly (since we shall abide near God, and
with God, free from all change or suffering in the soul, not as
flesh, even though we shall have flesh, but as heavenly
spirit), or, falling with the rest, a worse one and in fire; for
God has not made us as sheep or beasts of burden, a mere
by-work, and that we should perish and be annihilated. On
these grounds it is not likely that we should wish to do evil, or
107
deliver ourselves over to the great Judge to be punished .

Therefore, having the hope of eternal life, we despise the things

of this life, even to the pleasures of the soul, each of us
reckoning her his wife whom he has married according to laws
laid down by us, and that only for the purpose of having
108
children .

105 106

Embassy 1. 107

Embassy 2. 108

Embassy 31 ANF.
Embassy 33 ANF.
 109
ATHENAGORAS AND PAGAN CULTURE
1 Proverbs: Athenagoras has studied philosophy, but he is essentially
a grammarian, proud of his erudition. Greek education began with proverbs,
and it is natural to find them in Athenagoras. One is a tale from the Iliad:
“Sleep and death are twins” (12.3); another is a “sentence”: “Those who test
the quality of honey and whey can tell if the whole is good by tasting one
small sample” (12.4). In one instance a proverb is identified as such: “The
harlot presumes to teach the chaste woman,” and in the same passage
adulterers and pederasts are said to live “like fish” because “they swallow up
whoever comes their way, the stronger possessing the weaker” (34.1, 3).
2 Poets: Most of his quotations come from Homer, seventeen from
the Iliad and only three from the Odyssey. There are also two from the
Orphic literature, three from Hesiod, and four from unidentified tragedians;
one apiece from Aeschylus, Pseudo-Sophocles, and Pindar; and eight from
the more popular moralist Euripides.
3 Literature of and on Religion: Athenagoras cites the theosophical
literature of his time for pagan ideas about the gods and the beginning of the
world. He is the first known authorto mention Hermes Trismegistus, who
like Alexander the Great “links his own family with the gods” (28.6).
4 Historians on Religion: Athenagoras’ use of Herodotus is
especially interesting. Like Tatian he cites the historian for the date of
Hesiod and Homer (17.2), but he also uses him as an authority on Egyptian
religion. Eight quotations and three references come from Herodotus’ study
of Egypt in his second book and serve chiefly to show that the Egyptian
“gods” were human. Such direct use was unusual, but Athenagoras was
relying on Herodotus because of his critical attitude toward Egyptian
religion. Perhaps

109

For more details see: Robert M. Grant: Greek Apologists of the Second Century, Westminister,
Philadelphia, 1988, p. 103 f.
 he knew that an Egyptian magician had accompanied the emperor by
the Danube.
5. Historians of Art: Tatian found Greek sculpture objectionable and
used literary sources to attack the models used by sculptors.
Athenagoras seems less hostile but when he lists the originators of
various arts he is trying to show how recent and artificial Greek ideas
about the gods are (17.3). He explains how “tracing out shadows” leads
to painting and relief modeling, which then are followed by sculpture
and molding, and he finally provides a brief list of sculptors who made
famous statues of gods and goddesses.

6. Philosophers: We have already mentioned Athenagoras’

relationship with philosophers.

WAS ATHENAGORAS PLATONIC?

With Athenagoras, we touch upon tokens of things to come; we see
110
philosophy joined to the chariot of the Messiah .
In the time of Athenagoras, Tertullian was to write that Plato was used
111
by all the heretics , and Tatian was to produce a diatribe against the
classics. It is surprising then that Athenagoras himself should show
such sympathy for Platonic ways of thought, but, if his earlier life had
been that of an exponent of Plato’s philosophy, then one can
112
understand this difference of attitude very well .

Athenagoras has a high reverence for Plato. Some scholars consider

him as a Platonist, though he abandoned some Platonic opinions in
113
later life . But he is not overawed by the authority of the great
philosopher and adapts only what he wants to serve the needs of the
Christian Faith. He is a philosopher related to the re

110

Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 2, p. 125.

111

Tertullian, De an. 23: omnium haereticorum condimentarium.

112

Joseph Hugh Crehan: Athenagoras, Newman Press, 1956 (ACW, vol. 23), p.15.
113

Michael O’Carrol: Trinitas, A Theological Encyclopedia of the Holy Trinity, Michael Glazier, Inc.,
Wilmington, Delaware, 1987, p41.
 cent Platonism, but does not fully submit to it. After becoming a
Christian, he chose the best belief and was the first caller for elitism.
This, in substance, indicates that every belief thus carrying a part of the
truth is the best, so it is better for man to request the perfect truth
willingly. Athenagoras reveals the inability of philosophers to reach
the perfect truth, so the necessity arises for the inspiration of prophets.

The fact that Athenagoras is not overwhelmed by this eclecticism but

manages instead to adapt what he wants to serve the needs of the
Christian Gospel is a measure of his ability as a philosopher. Another
factor in the complex philosophic environment of the second century
apologists was the continuing debates between the various schools of
114
Greek philosophy which went on throughout the Hellenistic period .

Athenagoras’ technique in developing argument is manifestly Platonic:

there is the analogy from agriculture and the manual arts besought to
suggest lines of thought; the derivation game is played in the manner
of the Cratylus. It does not mean that he was Platonic. His firm
115
rejection of the transmigration of souls is proof enough of that .

Athenagoras expressly states that Plato was no atheist, but he does not
want to call him a Christian before his time, and there is no sign that
the stories of Plato’s having studied the Old Testament during his visit
to Egypt were believed by Athenagoras, though they had been accepted
116
by Justin a generation earlier, and in this Clement of Alexandria
followed Justin avidly.
Plato believes in a divine providence and a judgment at the end of the
world. Athenagoras goes further in holding firmly to God’s divine
revelation which was a work of providence beyond all human
understanding and expectation. Plato’s Minos and Rhadamanthus, for
Athenagoras, will themselves have to submit to the
114 115

Leslie W. Barnard: Athenagoras, Paris, 1972, p. 39. 116

J.H. Crehan: Athenagoras (ACW, vol. 23, 1956, p. 15.

Justin, 1 Apol. 60.7: Clement, Storm. 5.14.103.1-4.
 117
judgment of God . So Plato is not a Christian before Christ but one
who hovers on the verge of the idea of revelation. It was therefore
entirely proper that a Christian apologist should use so much of his
philosophy as could be made serviceable for Christian needs. In this
way Christianity could be presented as the crowning perfection of
118
Greek thought and culture .
119
God is accessible to Nous alone, says Athenagoras in a sentence that
Plato might have written, but, when he wants a word for God’s
inaccessibility, it is to St. Paul’s vocabulary that he turns and not to the
120
language of the Platonic way of negation .
In Ch. 12 (Embassy) he makes what must be regarded as
the first Christian use of the analogy of being in a philosophical
argument.
Goodness is an inseparable accident of God’s nature for Athenagoras,
and herein he differs widely from Plato. There is always a problem for
the Platonic scholar, whether to make the highest in the hierarchy of
forms a soul or not, and those Platonists who hold that the form of the
Good was the highest soul, or God, by actual identification, find it hard
to avoid saying that God must necessarily produce emanations of
Himself, since the Good is communicative of itself by its very nature.
Athenagoras by making God’s goodness an inseparable property of His
being, as natural to Him as a skin is to a body or their ruddy color to
flames of fire, seems to be seeking to avoid having to say that God
121
must necessarily communicate His being by some kind of creation .

Athenagoras does indeed speak of God the Son as the

thought and power (éäåá êáé åíåñãåéá) of the Father and says that
all things were made through Him and after His fashion, or agree

117 118 119

Embassy 12. Leslie W. Barnard: Athenagoras, Paris, 1972, p. 47. Emb. 10.
120
áíåêéçãçôù comes from 2 Cor. 9.15 and is not Platonic. Joseph Hugh Crehan:
121

Athenagoras, Newman Press, 1956 (ACW, vol. 23), p. 16. Joseph Hugh Crehan:
Athenagoras, Newman Press, 1956 (ACW, vol. 23), p. 17.
 ably to Him. In this he is following the Prologue of St. John more
122
closely than anything that is specifically Platonic .
The devil is not the counterpart to God’s being, but to His goodness,
which goodness has been declared to belong to, but not to be identified
with, God’s being. Thus Athenagoras finds a rather primitive way of
avoiding the dualism which in his Gnostic surroundings must have
been very catching. That he should avoid it says much for his integrity
as a Christian thinker.
One notable difference between Athenagoras and his master is in the
account of the human soul. Whereas Plato has accepted the threefold
division of the soul, Athenagoras has abandoned it for a twofold
division. Even among the Stoics man was held to be made up of body,
spirit, and mind, and Jewish thought had always accepted this threefold
division. The third member, the mind was to the Stoic a participation in
the divinity. Athenagoras, in order to avoid falling into this form of
paganism, may have been content to accept as much of this account as
he could, holding man to be body and spirit and making his mind to be
independent of that of God and somehow to be identical with his spirit.
Partnership rather than opposition is the keynote of their relation, and
123
the Platonic notion of the body as a prison house has been set aside .

124
When Plato said that it was a hard task to find the Maker of this
universe and impossible to declare Him to the rest of mankind, he
seemed to a Christian to hover on the verge of the idea of a revelation.
One had only to put his premises into relation with the other idea that
God exercises a providential care over the world, to produce if not a
conclusion at least a suspicion that there would be a revelation from
God to lighten man’s task. Athenagoras is so sure of God’s revelation
from his Christian faith, that he can afford to retain much of the
125
philosophy of his former master Plato, as leading thereto .

122

Joseph Hugh Crehan: Athenagoras, Newman Press, 1956 (ACW, vol. 23), p. 18.
123

Joseph Hugh Crehan: Athenagoras, Newman Press, 1956 (ACW, vol. 23), p. 19.
124 125

Tim. 48a. Joseph Hugh Crehan: Athenagoras, Newman Press, 1956 (ACW,
vol. 23), p.21.
 L.W. Barnard explains in detail how Athenagoras does not
adopt the Platonic ideas as they were, but accepts what is in harmony
with the holy Scriptures.

WAS ATHENAGORAS A MONTANIST?

The Accusation of Montanism has been brought against
Athenagoras, not by his contemporaries, but by some scholars. Til
lemont thinks he was... depending on two things.
1- He compared the prophet to a flute, on which the Holy Spirit plays,
like Manes, but that analogy was common to the Greeks. Hippolytus,
126
Justin, Pseudo-Justin, Tertullian, and Philo, used it . St. Clement of
127
Alexandria called the prophets “the organs of the divine voice .”

2. Athenagoras who agrees with the Montanists on the subject of

second marriage, calls it a “respectable form of adultery,” or a “decent
128
adultery ,” but differs in many points to marriage.

Whereas Athenagoras regards marriage as holy, his target is
reproduction of children and to complete God’s purpose, Manes regards
marriage as adultery, not for the chosen, to nourish lust and whoever
married was not allowed to bear children.

Athenagoras considers the state of chastity as unity with God,
perfected, but voluntary, not obligatory as Manes said. His refusal of the
second marriage after the death of the first partner, is due to his eternal idea
about marriage. It is a sacrament which death cannot part.

HIS MOST IMPORTANT THEOLOGICAL MISTAKES

The church calls him philosopher not saint, due to his fall into some
theological mistakes.

126

Cf. Epiphanius, Haer. 48.4; Hippolytus, De antichr. 2; Justin, Dial. 115; Ps.-Justin, Cohort. 8;
Tertullian, Adv. Marc. 4.22; Philo, Quis rer. div. haer. 264; Plato, Phaedr. 249d.
127

Stromata 6:18:168:3.
128

J.W.C. Wand: A History of the Early Church to A.D. 500, 1974. p 61.
1. He calls Satan as the prince of materialism, God made him its
forebearer.
一. He thinks the spirit incomplete if not united to the body.
一. He calls for no punishment to children for their mistakes.
一.
4. He stated that demons practiced sexual intercourse with girls who
brought forth the Amalekites.
 THE DEANS OF THE
SCHOOL OF ALEXANDRIA

3
ST. CLEMENT
OF
ALEXANDRIA
HIS LIFE
A. Harnack states that Clement's work is perhaps the most daring
1
undertaking in the history of the Church . H.B. Swete says, "Perhaps
nothing in the whole range of early patristic literature is more
stimulating to the modern reader than (Clement's) great trilogy of
2
graduated instruction in the Christian life . J. Patrick speaks of him as
"the first systematic teacher of Christian doctrine, the formal
3
champion of liberal culture in the Church ." "I do not know," says
Maurice, "where we shall look for a purer or truer man than this
Clement of Alexandria... He seems to me to be one of the old Fathers
whom we should all have reverenced most as a teacher, and loved
4
most as a friend ."
1 A. Harnack: History of Dogma, London 1896, vol. 2, p. 324. 2 Swete: Patristic Study,
London, 1902, p. 48. 3 J. Patrick: Clement of Alexandria, London, 1914, p. 13. 4 see Simon
P. Wood: Clement of Alexandria, N. Y. 1954, p. XIII, (Frs of the Church, vol. 23).
Titus Flavius Clement was the father of the Christian philosophy of
5
Alexandria , and was well-versed in the Holy Scriptures. He was
born around the year 150 A.D. Concerning his birth-place, there
6
were already two traditions in the time of St. Epiphanius (in the
fourth century), giving Athens or Alexandria. The second, arose
from his long stay in that city, while the first agrees better with his
book "Stromata" 1:11. Because of his Roman name, some historians
7
consider him a member of the imperial family , or an offspring of a
8
slave freed by the emperor Vasianus or his son .

His parents were not Christians. Clement was a converted person, not
a birthright Christian. Nothing is known about the date, circumstances
or the motives of his conversion. He was religious-minded. He was
seeking God. But God had to satisfy him religiously, intellectually,
and morally. He found that the God of the Christians could do this.
The gods of the Greeks seemed to him empty of power,
9
philosophically inept, and morally corrupt and corrupting . So,
reluctantly, gradually, thoughtfully, he rejected them, and found
among the Christians the God he was seeking. It is known that he
made extensive travels to Southern Italy, Syria, and Palestine. His
purpose is to seek instruction from the most famous Christian
teachers. He was searching unceasingly for God. At the end of his
journey, he reached Alexandria where St. Pantaenus' lectures attracted
him to the extent that he settled there and made this city his second
10
home .
Pantaenus is a shadowy figure. He was obviously a great teacher and a
11
magnetic personality . Of his teacher, St. Pantaenus, he states, "When
I came upon the last (teacher), he was the first in power, having
pursued him out concealed in Egypt, I found rest.

5 Schaff: The History of Christian Church, vol. 2, p. 782. 6 Adv. Haer. 32:6. 7
Butcher: Story of Church of Egypt, vol. 1, p.49. 8 C. Bigg: Christian Platonists
of Alexandria, Oxford 1886, p. 45. 9 John Ferguson : Clement of Alexandria,
Twayne Publishers, NY 1974, p. 13. 10 Quasten: Patrology, vol. 2, p. 5. 11
John Ferguson : Clement of Alexandria, Twayne Publishers, NY 1974, p. 14.
 His Life

He, the true, the Sicilian bee gathering the spoil of the flowers of
the prophetic and apostolic meadow, engendered in the souls of
hearers a deathless element of knowledge."
He became the disciple, and assistant of St. Pantaenus. He was
ordained a priest in Alexandria, discharged his catechetical duties with
great distinction, and followed St. Pantaenus as head of the School
before 190 A.D. Among his disciples were Origen and Alexander,
bishop of Jerusalem. It is clear, alike from his general attitude and
from specific references, that he was a shepherd of souls as well as a
12
formal teacher, a minister to the needs of others .

Only a few years after the death of St. Pantaenus, in the time of severe
persecution by Septimus Severus about 202 or 203 A.D, he was
forced to leave Alexandria to take refuge (probably in Palestine and
Syria).
Why did he escape from the persecution? St. Clement, St. Peter of
Alexandria, and St. Athanasius give us a biblical answer, as we will
see hereafter. However, his flight was for the benefit of the Church in
Jerusalem. Its bishop Alexander wrote a letter to the Church in
Antioch in c. 211, in which he mentioned that the letter was carried
by the blessed priest Clement, a pious and blessed man, of whom he
had heard and who had known him. He added that the coming of this
priest to Jerusalem was through the divine providence, for the Church
of the Lord was sustained and progressed by him. The letter
concludes with the words: "I am sending this, my dear brethren, by
the hand of the blessed elder Clement, a man whose quality has been
amply proved. You have heard of him already and will come to know
him better. His presence here, through the providential direction of
the Master, strengthened and spread the church of the Lord."

Eusebius of Caesarea (260-340) notes that St. Clement was a priest

and that he was regarded as a holy man of great learning

12 John Ferguson : Clement of Alexandria, Twayne Publishers, NY 1974, p. 16.

 13
by his contemporaries . He also describes him as "practiced in
14
Scripture ." St. Cyril of Alexandria describes him as "fond of
15
learning" and "exceptionally expert in Greek History ;" and St.
Jerome as producing "notable volume full of learning and eloquence,
16
using both Scripture and secular literature ." Also in his letter to
Magnus, an orator of Rome St. Jerome writes, "Clement, a presbyter
17
of Alexandria, in my judgment the most learned of men ." He
mentions him as producing "notable volumes full of learning and
eloquence using both Scripture and secular literature." Socrates also
describes him together with Origen, as "men eminent for their
18
information in every department of literature and science ."
The persecution had ceased, but it seems that St. Clement did not
return to Alexandria. In 215 A.D he died. By 216 A.D. Alexander
of Antioch refers to him in such a way that he must have been
19
dead ; he is one of "those blessed men who have trodden the
road before us."
St. Clement never indicates that he was married or that he had a
family. He does, however, devote considerable attention to the
20
Christian standard of sexual morality within marriage and cites the
21
death of children as one of life's great tragedies . Still, this does no
more than "prove" that he was a student of human nature. J.
Ferguson believes that he was married, as he says, “He writes with
22
sympathetic insight of married men rather than bachelors . The
23
man without a home, he says, is missing a lot , and he writes, as if
at first hand, of the wife’s concern in time of
13 Rev. James E. Furman: St. Clement of Alexandria: Making Gnosis Serve Ecclesia, Coptic Church
Review, Fall 1987, v. 8, No. 3, p. 67-68. 14 Eusebius: H.E. 5:11. 15 In Jul. 7:231; 6:205. 16 Vir
Illus.38. 17 Epistle 70:5. 18 Socrates: H.E. 2 : 35. 19 Eusebius H E 6,14,8.cf. 6, 19, 16 20
Paidagogos 2:10 ANF. 21 Stromata 2:23 ANF. 22 Paidagogos 3:11. 23 Stromata 7:12.
 His Life

24 25
illness , of home-life on a winter night , of the quiet fellowship of
26 27
the home . But we are only guessing .”
In the West, St. Clement is regarded as a saint in many localities, but
he has been excluded from the Roman Martyrology by Popes
Clement VIII and Benedict XIV.

WHY HAS ST. CLEMENT BEEN OBSCURED FOR A

LONG TIME?
Perhaps for the following reasons:
1. His close relationship with his disciple Origen, who was considered a
heretic, and almost all Origen’s Greek writings have been lost.
2. The confusion between him and his namesake St. Clement of Rome.
3. The obscurity of the theological system of St. Clement of
Alexandria.

24 Stromata 2:23. 25 Paidagogos 2,9-10 26 Stromata 3,9-10. 27 John

Ferguson : Clement of Alexandria, Twayne Publishers, NY 1974, p. 16.
HIS WRITINGS
CHARACTERISTICS OF HIS WRITINGS
J. Quasten says, "Although we know very little of Clement's life, we
get a clear picture of his personality from his writings, which show
the hand of a master planner and for the first time he brought Christian
1
doctrine face to face with the ideas and achievements of the time ."

We can summarize the characteristics of his writings in the

following:
1. The writings of St. Clement reveal that he was sincere in studying
contemporary culture, while his heart was inflamed with divine love.
In other words he mixed philosophy and science with faith, or as
Quasten says, "He must be called the pioneer of Christian
scholarship. His literary work proves that he was a man of
comprehensive education extending to philosophy, poetry,
archaeology, mythology and literature. He did not, it is true, always
go back to the original sources but in many instances used
anthologies and florilegia. But his knowledge of early Christian
literature, of the Bible as well as of all post-apostolic and heretical
2
works, is complete ."

St. Clement's style is not always easy. He writes from a full heart and
rich culture, in accordance with his character: peaceful,
non-controversial, and gentle. He was contemplative and preferred to
speak of the beauty of truth rather than argue for its existence; he
3
preferred to win the heart rather than crush all opposition .
2. St. Clement's writings explain that not only are study and faith
inseparable, but also that study and pastoral work are integral

1J. Quasten: Patrology, vol. 2, p.6. 2Ibid. 3Simon P. Wood: Clement of Alexandria, N. Y.
1954, p. XII, XIII (Frs of the Church, vol. 23).
and inseparable. Truly he devoted his life for research and study but
with an open heart and a broad-mind, inflamed with the desire for the
salvation of all men, whatever their culture or education was.
4
According to Farrar , St. Clement correlated science together with
preaching and ministry. Compenhausen Hans Von states that his
research and thoughts were endless. He was the teacher of guiding
dialogues, and at the same time he was a minister, whose aim was to
introduce men to Christ. He had a missionary character, was a
5
preacher and an educated shepherd of souls .
1. As he loved the true gnosis (knowledge) he desired every Christian to
be a true Gnostic. His Christology, therefore, concentrates on the
6
redeeming work of Christ as the Light , Who shines upon our minds,
that they might be illuminated, and he calls baptism "illumination." In
the Protrepticus he calls men to accept our Lord Jesus, saying, "The
Logos is not hidden from any one. He is the general Light, who shines
upon all. Therefore there is no darkness in the world. May we hurry to
7
attain our salvation. May we hurry to attain our renewal ."
8
2. St. Clement and his disciple Origen were optimistic . His optimistic
attitude is very clear in his writings which concentrate on the following
points:

I. The first and greatest lesson for the Gnostic or the true believer is
to know himself, for thus not only he knows God whose joyful
kingdom is within him, but also he will be in His likeness.

II. His theology concentrates on the unceasingly inner renewal

realized by the Holy Spirit who deified the believers.
III. In his writings he calls the Gnostics to attain the exceedingly
spiritual joy under all circumstances, even while they are sleeping.

4F.W. Farrar: Lives of the Fathers, London, 1907, vol. 1, p. 365-6.

5Cf. The Fathers of the Greek Church, London, 1963, p.25. 6Robert
Rainy: The Ancient Catholic Church, Ednburgh, 1926, p. 168.
7Protrepticus 9. 8H.W.C. Frend: The Rise of Christianity, 1989, p.
338.
1. St. Clement's writings reveal him as a Christian writer who is more
attractive when viewed at a distance... He has a comprehensive
outlook, and an ardent mind. He attracts us by his warm sympathy,
9
his sincerity, and his zeal for the study of God , and of man.
2. St. Clement often complained of the opposition he encountered
10
around him , perhaps from the false Gnostics (the heretics).

Should there be no writing at all, or are there some to whom

this right should be restricted? In the former case, of what use
are letters? In the second alternative, should the right to write
be given to those who are in earnest or to those who are not?...
Are we, for instance, to allow Theopompus, Timaeus the
author of impure fables, Epicurus the advocate of atheism,
Hipponax or Archilochus, to write their shameful works, and
forbid one who reveals the truth to leave to posterity writings
11
which will do good?

I am not unaware that certain ignorant people, who take

fright at the least noise, would have us confine ourselves to
essential things and those related to the faith, and think we
ought to neglect those things which come from without and
12
are superfluous .
Some people, who think themselves to be spiritual, believe
that one ought to have nothing to do either with philosophy or
with dialectic or even to apply oneself to the study of the
universe. They advocate faith pure and simple, as if they were
to refuse to labor on a vine and wanted immediately to pick
13
the grapes .

9J. Lebreton and J. Zeiller: The History of the Primitive Church, N.Y, 1947, p.
894-5. 10Lebreton, p. 907 f. 11Stromata 1:1:1-2. 12Stromata 1:1:18:2. 13Stromata
1:9:43:1.
7. St. Clement uses the mystical meanings of the numbers.
Here are some examples:
I. He writes, "'Confess to the Lord on the harp; play to Him on the
psaltery of ten strings. Sing to Him a new song.' And does not the
ten-stringed psaltery indicate the Lord Jesus, who is manifested by
14
the element of the decade? " The word Jesus in Greek starts with
the letter iota which resembles number 10.
II. The servants of Abraham by whom he defeated a very great
number of the enemy were 318 (Gen. 14:14). This number in Greek
consists of two letters: the iota (i), and the eta (T). The iota is the first
letter for the name of the Savior (Isos), and the letter iota, is the type
of the Lord's sign, i.e. the cross. Therefore, victory is realized by
15
those who fellow the Crucified Jesus .
8. St. Clement is a biblical writer. John Ferguson states, The Bible was
of course there, though his citations are interestingly free. There is no
part of the Bible which he neglects, but he naturally has his favorite
passages. These are Genesis 1(the creation-story), the Decalogue, the
Sermon on the Mount, John 1 (the coming of the Logos), the hymn to
love in the letter to Corinth, Ephesians 4. All these are texts which
illustrate his theological position. He loves the Psalms and the
epigrammatic wisdom of Proverbs... He is not greatly interested in the
historical books. He walks uneasily among the minor prophets, but
Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel are much in his mind - though,
curiously, he never cites the valley of dry bones (Ezek. 37). He
neglects Mark by comparison with the other evangelists, but speaks in
a letter of a longer, secret version of Mark circulating in Alexandria.
Besides the canonical gospels, The Gospel according to the Hebrews
and The Gospel according to the Egyptians were familiar in
Alexandria, but Clement accords them a very different

14Stromata 2:4.
15Stromata 6:11.
 16
status from the others . He also cites works like The
Shepherd of Hermas or The Epistle of Barnabas which were
outside the eventual canon of scripture, but for a long while
17
on the fringe of it .
DATE OF HIS WRITINGS
John Ferguson states, “We can not be certain of the dates of his
writings, but Mehat has suggested a reasonable timetable of the main
works as follows: c. 195 Exhortation; c. 197 The Tutor; c.198
Miscellanies 1; c. 199-201 Miscellanies 2-5; c.203 (after he left
Alexandria) Miscellanies 6-7;c. 203 Salvation for the Rich?; c.204
18
Extracts from the Prophetic Scriptures; c. 204 -10 Outlines .”
ST. CLEMENT'S TRILOGY OF HIS WRITINGS
The chief work of St. Clement is the trilogy, which consists of the
following books: 1 - The Exhortation of the Greeks (Protrepticus). 2 -
The Educator or the Tutor (Paidagogos). 3 - The Stromata, Carpets or
Miscellaneous studies. In the last fifty years the problem of the
19
relationship between this trilogy attracted the attention of scholars .
This trilogy, in fact, gives reliable information regarding St. Clement’s
theological system. St. Clement believes that God's plan for our
salvation takes three steps; first, the Word of God, or the Logos invites
mankind to abandon paganism through faith, then reforms their lives
by moral precepts. Finally, He elevates those who have undergone this
moral purification to the perfect knowledge of divine things, which he
calls "gnosis" (Knowledge). In other words the work of Christ is
considered an invitation to abandon idolatry, for the redemption from
sin, and finally redemption from error which left mankind blind and
helpless.

16Stromata 2,9,45; 3,9,63. 17John Ferguson : Clement of Alexandria, Twayne

Publishers, NY 1974, p. 19. 18John Ferguson : Clement of Alexandria, Twayne
Publishers, NY 1974, p. 16-7. 19F.F. Osborn: The Philosophy of Clement of
Alexandria, Cambridge 1957, p. 3.
This divine program for our salvation had its reflection in the
Alexandrian School at the time of St. Clement. The school
focused its program on the same three steps:

. Conversion of pagans to Christianity.

. Practicing the moral precepts.

. Instructing Christians to attain perfect knowledge of
doctrine.

1. The Exhortation to the Heathen (Protrepticus):

The title Protrepticus was familiar: it is a well-known literary genre.
St. Clement is suggesting that Christ, the Logos of God, calls us to the
true philosophy. We expect an exhortation to the study of philosophy.
Is he calling the Greeks to philosophy, seeing philosophy as a
forerunner of Christ, leading men to Christ? Or is he arguing that the
20
Christian religion is the true heir of Greek philosophy?

In fact this work stands in the tradition of apologetic writing, with a

vehement note criticizing the superstition, crudity and eroticism of
pagan cults and myths, and observing that the great philosophers,
despite their realization of the corruption of paganism, had failed to
21
break with it . St. Clement shows appreciation for the values of
Hellenistic culture, and affirms that truth is also to be found in the
22
ancient philosophers and poets. William A. Jurgens says that this
work is closely related to earlier Christian apologies; but still,
Clement has found a new approach. He no longer finds it necessary
to rescue Christianity from the onslaughts of slander and calumny;
rather, he is deeply concerned with the educative function of the
Logos, the Divine Logos, throughout the history of mankind. This
being his concern, the work bears some claim to being a theology of
history.

20John Ferguson : Clement of Alexandria, Twayne Publishers, NY 1974, p. 44.

21H. Chadwick: The Early Church, 1969, p. 94. 22W.A. Jurgens: The Faith of
the Early Fathers, vo. 1, p 176.
 It was probably written about 190 A.D. It is a warm
exhortation, addressed to the pagans, aiming at their conversion by
listening to the Logos, who is called "Protrepticus," i.e. the
Converter; for He is not only the sole Master who invites us to
abandon paganism, but also through Him alone we seek total
conversion. The purpose of this work is to convince the worshippers
of the gods of the folly and worthlessness of pagan beliefs, to point
out the shameless features of obscure mysteries and to induce the
pagans to accept the only true religion, the teaching of the Logos, who
after being announced by the prophets, has appeared as Christ. He
promises a life which leads to the fulfillment of the deepest human
23
longing because it gives redemption and immortality .

Eusebius states that it was suitable for Clement to declare the

foolishness of paganism, for he passed through it and escaped from its
plague. He shows considerable knowledge of the Mysteries which he
attacks. But much ancient religion had its roots in fertility ritual:
Aphrodite did have her sacred prostitutes, and there was much to
shock the puritan. There is much of the student of Greek religion.
Initiates of Aphrodite receive the gift of a cake of salt and a model
phallus and give a coin in return. Initiates in the Mysteries of the
Corybantes proclaim: "I ate from the drum; I drank from the cymbal; I
carried the holy plate; I crept into the bridal bed." The ritual includes a
taboo on wild celery. The priests are called "Celebrates of the
Sovereigns." Initiates of Sabazios have a snake tattooed on their
24
chest .
In chapter three, St. Clement states that the Greeks called the
Christians godless, because they did not recognize the gods of the
Greeks. St. Clement flings the epithet back in their teeth. It is the
Greeks who are godless in not recognizing the true God, and in giving
the name of gods to beings who do not exist. An interesting
parenthesis lists some of those rationalists who had attracted the

23Quasten: Patrology, vol. 2, p. 7. 24John Ferguson : Clement of Alexandria,

Twayne Publishers, NY 1974, p. 48.
title of godless, Euhemerus, Nicanor, Diagoras, Hippo, Theodorus,
and others. Clement comments that they may not have understood the
truth but they at least suspected the error, and that was enough to
kindle a seed of wisdom. He now turns to identify seven causes of
25
idolatry. These are :
1. The deification of the heavenly bodies,
2. The deification of the fruits of the earth,
3. The invention of gods to explain disaster in terms of
punishment,
4. The representation of emotions as gods,
5. The derivation of gods from the texture of human life,
6. The twelve gods of Hesiod and Homer,
7. The invention of savior-gods to explain the blessings
received from the true God.

In chapter four, St. Clement lists some cult-statues by known artists,

and gives his sources. He begins to sketch a theory of art. First,
technique may be praised in its own right. Second, art can create
illusion, but it can never create life, and cannot take in a rational
26
being . He clarifies that by worshipping idols, and through lusts they
play the tyrant over beauty. He says, “Beauty becomes ugly when it is
consumed by outrage. Mortal, do not play the tyrant over beauty. Do
not commit outrage against the bloom of youth.” St. Clement ends
this chapter with a passage of real eloquence:

Let none of you worship the sun; but set your hearts
on the sun's Maker.
Do not any of you deify the universe; search for the
Creator of the universe.
The only refuge, then, for the man who purposes to
reach the gates of salvation is divine wisdom.
In chapters five and six, St. Clement regards the philosophers as
atheists in their exaltation of matter. They failed to

25Ibid., 49-50. 26John Ferguson : Clement of Alexandria, Twayne Publishers,

NY 1974, p. 53.
discern the Creator of the elements. At the same time he considers
the views of all these thinkers worth recording. Epicures alone he
banishes from memory. The philosophers, says Clement, are scaring
us with ghosties and ghoulies, with their flux, locomotion, and
unplanned vortices. It is idolatry to worship winds, air, fire, earth,
stones, stocks, iron, the very world. Their astronomy is astrology.
Clement's language echoes the words used of Socrates by his
27
critics . He goes on: “It is the Lord of the spirits, the Lord of the fire,
the Maker of the universe, Him who lighted up the sun, that I long
for. I seek after God, not the works of God."
In chapter seven he explains that poets bear to the truth, while in
chapters eight and nine he turns to what is for him the real thing, the
prophetic scriptures, whose oracular utterances hold before us in the
clearest possible light the direction towards piety, and so lay the
foundation-stone of truth. He quotes Isaiah freely and accurately, but
in the middle attributes to him a catena of passages taken from
Jeremiah. He quotes Amos, but he in fact attributes the passage to
Hosea. Such errors are easy to make; they show that St. Clement is
quoting from a well-stored memory. He turns next to the New
Testament and can still startle us by throwing in a phrase from Homer
in the middle of his scriptural citations. God shows supreme love of
mankind. He does not behave like a teacher to students, a master to
slaves, a god to humans, but admonishes his children "like a gentle
28
father ." God's instrument in teaching is the collection of the
29
Scriptures .
In chapter ten he gives an answer to the objection of the heathen,
that it was not right to abandon the customs of their fathers. They
must not be enslaved to this evil customs, but say good-bye to
fancies, opinion and false tradition.
In the last two chapters, St. Clement explains how great are the
benefits conferred on the believer through the advent of Christ:

27John Ferguson : Clement of Alexandria, Twayne Publishers, NY 1974, p. 55.

28Homer Od. 2,47. 29John Ferguson : Clement of Alexandria, Twayne
Publishers, NY 1974, p.57 f.
 1. He grants man freedom which he had lost. Man was
originally the child of God, playing in innocent freedom. He was led
astray through the serpent pleasure. The Lord wanted to free him
again, bound himself in flesh to worst the serpent and enslave death
the dictator. The Lord died and man rose. The Logos, which, we must
30
always remember, means Reason, has come to us from heaven .

O mystic wonder! The Lord was laid low, and man rose up;
and he that fell from Paradise receives as the reward of
obedience something greater [than Paradise] - namely,
31
heaven itself .

1. As we have our Divine Teacher, so we ought not to bother our

heads with education from Athens, the rest of Greece, or Ionia.
Our Teacher has filled the whole world with His holy energies
so that the whole world has become an Athens, a Greece.
Athens itself has already become the domain of the Logos.
2. We receive our Savior as the Divine Light.

Sweet is the Logos who gives us light... He has

changed sunset into sunrise, and through the cross
brought death to life; and having wrenched man
32
from destruction .
4. We attain the heavenly love, which is kindled by the
Logos:
The heavenly and truly divine love comes to men thus,
when in the soul itself the spark of true goodness, kindled
in the soul by the Divine Logos, is able to burst forth into
33
flame .
5. We attain the adoption to God:

30John Ferguson : Clement of Alexandria, Twayne Publishers, NY 1974, p. 63.

31Protrepticus 11. 32Ibid. 33Ibid.
 For us, yea us, He has adopted , and wished to be
34
called the Father of us alone, not of the unbelieving .
6. He grants the saintly life, in our thoughts, words and
conduct:
Such is our position who are attendants of Christ.
As are men’s wishes, so are their words;
As are their words, so are their deeds;
And as their works, such is their life.
Good is the whole life of those who have known
35
Christ .
The Exhortation begins with an attractive borrowing from Classic
heritage: the Greek myth that pictures Orpheus singing and
composing music, a young and beautiful creator filling the mountain
forests with new songs, gathering wood and creatures together as
happy concert-goers. This story is used to introduce Jesus, moving
from a Greek "alpha" to a scriptural "omega."
St. Clement, turns to Homer for the phrase "soother of pain, calmer of
36
wrath, producing forgetfulness of all ills ." Building on this text, St.
Clement teaches that "a beautiful, breathing instrument of music the
37
Lord made man, after His own image ." In turn, this leads to a plea
grounded in both the Classics and the Scriptures: "You have, then,
God's promise; you have His love: become partaker of his grace. And
do not suppose the song of salvation to be new, as a vessel or a house
is new. For "before the morning star it was;" and "in the beginning
was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."
38
Error seems old, but truth seems a new thing ."

The immorality of Greek mythology, the prostitution of Greek art,

and the vagaries of the philosophers, were unsparingly

34Ibid 12. 35Ibid. 36Odyssey 6:299. 37Protrep. 1:1. 38Rev. James E. Furman: St. Clement of
Alexandria: Making Gnosis Serve Ecclesia, Coptic Church Review, Fall 1987, v. 8, No. 3, p. 68.
set forth with an extraordinary amount of direct quotation, often of
Greek classics now lost. Yet these philosophers, St. Clement went on
to say, sometimes did find the truth in part and spoke by divine
inspiration, Plato, Socrates, and Pythagoras. This truth, however, is
mixed with error and must be refined. It contrasted the purity and
mobility of the teachings of the prophets and to those of Christ. The
result was taken to be conversion.
St. Clement assures that the Logos is not hidden from anyone, for
He is the Light of the world, the Sun of Justice, who shines now on
all the world, which is no longer in darkness, therefore let all hurry
to their salvation and renewal (Ch. 9).
Hail, O light! For buried in darkness and shut up in the
shadow of death, light has shone forth in us from heaven,
purer than the sun, sweeter than life here below. That light
is eternal life; and whoever partakes of it lives. But night
fears the light, and hiding itself in terror, gives place to the
day of the Lord. Sleepless light is now over all, and the west
has given credence to the east. For this was the meaning of
the new creation. For 'the Sun of Righteousness' who
drives His chariot over all, pervades equally all humanity,
like His Father, who makes His sun rise on all men and
distills on them the dew of the truth. He has changed sunset
into sunrise, and through the cross turned death to life; and
having wrenched man from destruction, He has raised him
to the skies, transplanting mortality into immortality and
translating earth to heaven, - He, the husbandman of God,
having bestowed on us the truly great, divine, and
inalienable inheritance of the Father, deifying man by
heavenly teaching, putting His laws into our minds and
39
writing on our hearts .

39Protrepticus 11:88,144.
 If the Sun did not exist, night would be everywhere...
Similarly, if we did not know the Logos and He did not
enlighten us, we would be no better than chickens fattened
in darkness and destined for the spit. Let us receive the
40
Light, in order to receive God...
He urges the Gentiles to taste the sweetness of the Logos
and to receive Him, as the Heavenly treasure.
Sweet is the Word that gives us the light, precious
above gold and gems; it is to be desired above honey
41
and the honey-comb (Ps. 19:10) .

At the end of this work St. Clement defines it as follows:

What then is the address I give you? I urge you to be saved.
This Christ desires. In one word, He freely bestows life on you.
And who is He? Briefly learn, the Word of incorruption that
generates man by bringing him back to the truth - the good
One that urges to salvation - He who expels destruction and
pursues death - He who builds up the temple of God in men
42
that He may cause God to take up His abode in men .

It is worthy to note that St. Clement believes that turning to God, or

achieving true wisdom, is impossible without a divine help. This
teaching connects St. Clement with St. Paul, and sets him apart from
the Gnostics outside the Church. He offers a brief statement of the
doctrine of grace, an interpretation of the work of God's love in
action. "The heavenly and truly divine love comes to men thus, when
in the soul itself the spark of true goodness, kindled in the soul by the
Divine Word, is able to burst forth into flame; and, what is of the
highest importance, salvation runs paralleled with sincere
willingness - choice and life, being, so to

40Prot. 11:113:3, 4.
41Prot. 11 ANF, p. 203.
42Protrept. 11, 117, 3-4.
 43
speak, yoked together ." The "turning around" of conversion is
accepted: one is not trapped in "unredeemable" categories based on
44
intellect or matter. This point is also discussed in his Miscellanies .

2. The Educator or the Tutor (Paidagogos)

The Paidagogos, the Educator or the Instructor was written after the
Protrepticus, of which it is a sort of sequel, before the year 202 A. D.
It presents the continuation of the "Protrepticus," with practical
instruction dealing with social and personal conduct of those who
followed the advice given in his first treatise and accepted the
Christian faith. In other words, it continues the development of the
idea of the educational function of the Logos, who is presented as the
Educator or Tutor, who converts their daily conduct. St. Clement calls
for enjoining the Christian life under the guidance of its Educator
(Christ), to practice the new life and to be in the likeness of Christ.

Simon P. Wood says of the Paidagogos that it holds the central place
in Clement's trilogy, not only in position, but also, I believe, in
content. It is longer than the Protrepticus but less unwidely than the
Stromateis; it contains more doctrine than the first, yet does not
evidence the exaggerations of doctrine, at least not to the same
degree, as the third; it does not have the unity and the beauty of the
earlier work, yet avoids the random, scattered style of the later one.
For all these reasons, it is the most practical work for our purposes. It
represents the thought of Clement and of the whole Alexandrian
Church very well and so will give the reader an adequate introduction
45
to Clement's teachings .
He adds, "It is difficult to translate the word Paidagogos into
English, for there is no one word that conveys all that the Greek
expresses. Etymologically, Paidagogos means 'leader of

43Paidag. 2:1. 44Rev. James E. Furman: St. Clement of Alexandria: Making Gnosis Serve Ecclesia,
Coptic Church Review, Fall 1987, v. 8, No. 3, p. 69-70. 45Fathers of the Church, vol. 23, p. XiV.
children,' and this is the sense Clement sometimes confined himself to.
However, in its ordinary usage, it means first the slave who conducts
the children of the household back and forth from school, and later,
the slave, usually an educated one, who supervises their training and
the formation of their characters. St. Clement makes use of all these
senses of the word, but is careful to confine it to one who supervises
only moral training, for he reserves the treatment of Christ the Teacher
to a later work. I have settled upon 'Educator' as the best English
equivalent, but the reader must keep in mind that it refers only to an
46
education of character ." John Ferguson says, “The Paidagogos, here
translated “tutor,” is a tutor in the exact and literal sense of the word.
He was not in the intellectual sense a teacher. He looks after the
child’s security and well-being. He is a slave, a family retainer, who
accompanies the boy wherever he goes. In one sense he is a menial.
He would be responsible for carrying a torch in the dark, for carrying
the boy’s writing- things or other equipment, sometimes (as we see
depicted on terra-cotta statuettes) for carrying the boy himself. But he
is also responsible for the boy’s behavior; he is in this sense a moral
instructor; and this includes functions complementary to those of the
academic teacher in that he is responsible for keeping the boy up to
47
scratch and ensuring that he applies himself to his academic work .”

The Paidagogos was a title especially dear to the theologians of the

Alexandrian tradition, who often conceived of the whole course of
human life as a period of instruction, by Christ's words and redeeming
deeds. St. Clement of Alexandria composed this work entitled
Paidagogos in which our Lord Jesus Christ appears as the Educator
for every detail of human conduct, even including such things as table
manners. On an infinitely more exalted level, he is the Educator who
reveals the Father, offering to humankind the knowledge without
which it cannot be saved. This

46Ibid. 47John Ferguson : Clement of Alexandria, Twayne Publishers, NY

1974, p.68.
 48
is how he is depicted, for instance, in Athanasius . The role of
teacher-revealer is fit to Christ, since he is the Logos and hence the
49
"articulation" of the Father .
Who is the Educator? He is the Son of God, the Immaculate
Image of the Father, who became close to us through His
human form. He is without sin, the ideal Model whom we must
50
strive to resemble . Being baptized, we are illuminated; being
illuminated, we become sons; being made sons, we are made
perfect; being made perfect, we are made immortal. "I," says
He, "have said that you are gods, and all sons of the Highest."
This work is variously called grace, and illumination, and
perfection, and washing: washing, by which we cleanse away
our sins; grace, by which the penalties accruing to
transgressions are remitted; and illumination, by which that
holy light of salvation is beheld, that is, by which we see God
51
clearly .

Such teaching is balanced by clear insistence that:

... the end is reserved till the resurrection of those who
believe; and it is not the reception of some other thing, but the
obtaining of the promise previously made. For we do not say
that both take place together at the same time, both the arrival
at the end, and the anticipation of that arrival. For eternity
and time are not the same, neither is the attempt and the final
result; but both have reference to the same thing, and one and
the same person is concerned in both. Faith, so to speak, is the
attempt generated in time;

48Cf. De incarnatione Verbi 15. 49Boniface Ramsey: Beginning to Read the

Fathers, Paulist Press, 1985, p. 92. 50Paid. 1:2:2:1,2. 51Paid. 1:6.
 the final result is the attainment of the promise, secured for
52
eternity .
The Paidagogos reveals that the doctrine of the Trinity was taking
shape in the Church: God the Father, the Creator, who endows human
being by nature with His first impulses toward the truth. God the Son,
is our Savior and Educator. The Educator is a slave, and this is
precisely what St. Paul says of Jesus, that he took upon Himself the
53
form of a slave (Phil. 2:7) . God the Spirit, the continuing living
presence of God, leads human beings into all truth. This work also
consists of many moral commandments, but its aim is to be in the
likeness of Christ, being children of God, who must be holy and
heavenly citizens. He asks us to complete in our souls the beauty of
the Church, for we are young children with a good mother (the
Church).
This work consists of three books:
The first book reveals the personality and the work of the Paidagogos
(the Educator) who satisfies the needs of men. Human life is divided
into three aspects: habits, actions, and passions. The Logos has taken
charge of the first. He also directs our actions, and cures our passions.
He educates all our lives, forgives our sins (Ch. 1), reveals His great
mercies (Ch. 2), and teaches women as well as men (Chs. 3,4). Finally
it explains the methods of education and their basis (Chs. 7-13).

In chapter one, St. Clement has identified the three functions of the
Logos, and set this work within the context of a serial exposition. He
has made clear his openness to Greek culture in Pindar and Homer,
and in particular the integration of his thought and expression with
54
Stoic ethical philosophy .
The Educator being practical, not theoretical, His
aim is thus to improve the soul, not to teach, and to train it

52Paid. 1:6, Rev. James E. Furman: St. Clement of Alexandria: Making Gnosis Serve
Ecclesia, Coptic Church Review, Fall 1987, v. 8, No. 3, p. 71. 53John Ferguson : Clement of
Alexandria, Twayne Publishers, NY 1974, p.69. 54John Ferguson : Clement of Alexandria,
Twayne Publishers, NY 1974, p.70.
 up to a virtuous, not to an intellectual life. Although this
same word is didactic, but not in the present instance. For
the word which, in matters of doctrine, explains and
reveals, is that whose province it is to teach. But our
Educator being practical,
first exhorts to the attainment of right dispositions
and character,
and then persuades us to the energetic practice of
our duties, enjoining on us pure commandment,
and exhibiting to such as come after
55
representations of those who formally wandered in error .
The Paidagogue strengthens our souls, and by His
benign commands, as by gentle medicines, guides the sick
to the perfect knowledge of the truth.
St. Clement states that "Pedagogy is a training of
56
children ."
Chapter two: Our Educator’s treatment of our sins. Our Educator
resembles His Father God: sinless, spotless, passionless; so St.
Clement gives the Stoic concept of passionlessness (apatheia) a
Christian place. We are not, and we should strive to be, like Him. This
is the first appearance in this work of the idea of the imitation of
Christ, a potent way of life at all times in the history of Christianity.
He said that it is the best to live without sin. This belongs to God. He
does not say that it is impossible for men; he implies that it is
improbable. There is an ambiguity here in the Christian tradition.
Jesus commands His disciples to be as the Father in heaven (Matt.
5,48); yet the Christian is also witness that all have fallen short; and
every movement for renewal of Christianity has been in tension
between the claims of perfection and the fact of sin. Clement offers a
57
second best; namely, to avoid deliberate wrong doing .

55Paid. I, 1,1,4. 56Paid. 1,5,12,1. 57John Ferguson : Clement of Alexandria,

Twayne Publishers, NY 1974, p. 70.
 He is to us a spotless image; to Him we are to try with all our
might to assimilate our souls. He is wholly free from human
passions; wherefore also He alone is judge, because He alone
is sinless. As far, however, as we can, let us try to sin as little
as possible. For nothing is so urgent in the first place as
deliverance from passions and disorders, and then the
checking of our liability to fall into sins that have become
habitual. It is best, therefore, not to sin at all in any way,
which we assert to be the prerogative of God alone; next to
keep clear of voluntary transgressions, which is characteristic
of the wise man; thirdly, not to fall into many involuntary
offenses, which is peculiar to those who have been excellently
trained. Not to continue long in sins, let that be ranked last.
But this also is salutary to those who are called back to
repentance, to renew the contest.

In chapters three and four he explains that it was in love of mankind

(Philanthropia) that the Logos became man. God is love (agape), and
His love is shown in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us
and gave Himself for us. If we guide one another it is the blind
leading the blind, but the Logos is keen eyed and sees the innermost
heart; for it is the nature of good to do good. The Logos is Educator to
women and men alike.
Man is therefore justly dear to God, since he is His
workmanship. The other works of creation He made by the
word of command alone, but man He framed by Himself, by
His own hand, and breathed into him what was peculiar to
58
Himself .
Man, then, whom God made, is desirable for himself... And
man has been proven to be lovable; consequently man is
loved by God. For how shall be he not

58Pidagogos 1:3.
 be loved for whose sake the only begotten son is sent from
59
the Father’s bosom .
The virtue of man and woman is the same. For if the God of
both is one, the master of both is also one; one church, one
temperance, one modesty; their food is common, marriage an
equal yoke; respiration, sight, hearing, knowledge, hope,
obedience, love all alike. And those whose life is common,
have common graces and a common salvation; common to
them are love and training. “For in this world,” he says,
“they marry, and are given in marriage,” in which alone the
female is distinguished from the male; “but in that world it is
60
so no more .”
In chapter five he spoke of the dependence of man (child). He states
that if human beings need an Educator, they must be children. We
must not be shy that we are called children, for not only the disciples
of Christ were called children, but our Lord Himself, who was
incarnate, was called “Child” (Isa. 9:6). As children of God, we
should know that Christian education continues throughout life. Thus
he opposes the Gnostics, who claim to have arrived to perfect
knowledge. By calling Christians children and simple, and by
emphasizing the need of unceasing education, he refutes their belief
that believers are composed of two ranks: the perfect and the simple.

We are the children. In many ways scripture celebrates us,

and describes us in manifold figures of speech, giving variety
to the simplicity of the faith by diverse names... For if they
call us who follow after childhood foolish, see how they utter
blasphemy against the Lord, in regarding those as foolish
who have betaken themselves to God...

59Ibid.
60Ibid 1:4.
 In contradistinction, therefore, to the older people, the new
people are called young, having learned the new blessings;
and we have the exuberance of life’s morning prime in this
youth which knows no old age, in which we are always
growing to maturity in intelligence, are always young, always
mild, always new: for those must necessarily be new, who
have become partakers of the new Word...
The Spirit calls the Lord Himself a child, thus prophesying by
Esaias: ”Lo, to us a child has been born, to us a son has been
given, on whose own shoulder the government shall be; and
His name has been called the Angel of great Counsel.” Who,
then, is this infant child? He according to whose image we are
made little children. By the same prophet is declared His
greatness: ”Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting
Father, Prince of Peace; that He might fulfill His discipline:
and of His peace there shall be no end.” O the great God! O
the perfect child!

In chapter six he speaks of our Lord as the “Nourisher,” who offers

His body and blood to His children through His Church. His breasts
of love of mankind furnish the children with spiritual milk. He
offers Himself to His children, who receive baptism as the
illumination, the adoption to the Father, the forgiveness of sins etc.
St. Clement as a church man calls the Church the mother, who
nourishes her children with Christ Himself, the heavenly manna,
bread and milk.
But she is once virgin and mother pure as a virgin loving as a
mother. And calling her children to her, she nurses them with
holy milk, viz., with the Word for childhood. Therefore she
had not milk; for the milk was this child fair and comely, the
body of Christ, which nourishes by the Word the young brood,
which the Lord Himself brought forth in throes of the flesh,
which the Lord Himself swathed in His precious blood. O
amazing birth! O holy swaddling bands! The word is all to the
child, both
 father and mother, and tutor and nurse. “Eat you my flesh,”
He says “ and drink my blood.” Such is the suitable food
which the Lord ministers, and He offers His flesh and pours
forth His blood, and nothing is wanting for the children’s
growth. O amazing mystery! Thus in many ways the word is
figuratively described, as meat, and flesh, and food, and
bread, and blood, and milk. The lord is all these, to give
enjoyment to us who have believed in Him.

Chapter seven deals with “The Educator and His work.” He teaches us
how to honor God, directs us to the knowledge of truth, an escort to
heaven. His work is to set us straight on the road of truth which leads
to the vision of God. “ Our Educator”, he goes on, ”is the holy God
Jesus, the Logos who guides all humanity the very God who loves
mankind is our Educator.” He calls him “Mystic Messenger” or
“Mystic Angel.” He means that Jesus proclaims and reveals the hidden
61
truths about God .
Chapters eight to thirteen deals with “Divine Love, Rebuke,
Justice and Goodness.” St. Clement emphasizes the following
ideas:

. There is nothing that God hates.

. All that God does is for man’s good. He says, “And to
do good purposely, is nothing else than to take care of
man. God therefore cares for man. God therefore takes
care of him. In another way the useful is called good not
on account of its pleasing, but of its doing good.”

. The good which God offers man is beneficial, not
necessarily enjoyable.

. As opposing Gnostic dualism, he assures that the
Creator and the good Father are one and the same.

. The divine rebuke and chastisement are a part of God’s
love for mankind. Fear can be used as a source of
salvation. We are diseased and need a spiritual doctor;
we are lost and need a

61John Ferguson : Clement of Alexandria, Twayne Publishers, NY 1974, p. 77.

guide; we are blind and need to be enlightened; we are thirsty and
need the spring of life; we are dead and need life; we are sheep and
need a shepherd; we are children and need a tutor; all humanity needs
Jesus. He says, “See how God, through His love of goodness, seeks
repentance; and by means of the plan He pursues of threatening
silently, shows His own love for man.”
* Christ fully realizes the statement that man is made in God’s
image; the rest of mankind can only reflect it. We are to follow His
steps, and we shall in the end put on His divinity; we shall be in
62
true tune .
The second book together with the third books of the Paidagogos
turn to the problems of Christian behavior, especially
household affairs of Christians in a pagan society. The second one
deals with many practical questions for the newly converted. St.
Clement shows how the Christian is to eat, drink (Chs. 1,2), dress
(including jewelry and cosmetics), sleep (Ch. 9), walk, talk, look,
even laugh, also the Christian's attitude towards amusement and
public spectacles.
J. Quasten says that with the beginning of the second book the
treatise turns to the problems of daily life. Whereas the first deals
with the general principles of ethics, the second and third present a
kind of casuistry for all spheres of life: eating, drinking, homes and
furniture, music and dancing, recreation and amusements, bathing
and anointing, behavior and marital life. These chapters give an
interesting description of daily life in the city of Alexandria with its
luxury, debauchery and vices. Clement speaks here with a frankness
which is surprising and at times repulsive. The author warns his
Christians against indulging in such a life and gives a moral code of
Christian behavior in such surroundings. However, Clement does not
demand that the Christian should abstain from all refinements of
culture nor does he wish him to renounce the world and take the vow
of poverty.

62Paidagogos 1:9:83; John Ferguson : Clement of Alexandria, Twayne Publishers, NY 1974, p. 78

9.
The decisive point is the attitude of the soul. As long as the Christian
keeps his heart independent and free from attachment to the goods of
this world there is no reason why he should withdraw from his peers.
It is more important that the cultural life of the city be imbued with
63
the Christian spirit .
The third book deals with the elements of real beauty (Ch. 1),
warning against luxury and other dangers (Chs. 4-6), admonishing us
towards simplicity of living (Chs. 7,8) and practical Christianity (Chs.
9-12), and concludes by explaining the aim of these moral
commandments.
The Paidagogos ends with a hymn to Christ the Savior. There
have been doubts about the authenticity of this hymn. However,
there is every reason to believe that Clement himself is the author of
it. The imagery corresponds exactly to that of the Tutor. Perhaps it
64
represents the official prayer of praise of the School of Alexandria

3. The Miscellanies (Stromateis or Stromata)

Eusebius gives us an account of the Stromata: In the Stromata he has
composed a patchwork, not only from holy Scripture, but from the
writings of the Greeks, recording anything that seems useful in their
views, expounding generally held opinions alike from Greek and
non-Greek sources, and correcting the false doctrines of the leaders
of heresy. He unfolds a wide area of research, and provides a project
of considerable erudition. With all this he includes the theories of
philosophers, so that he has made the title Stromata appropriate to
the contents. He uses in this work evidence from the disputed
Scriptures, the so called Wisdom of Solomon, the Wisdom of Jesus
son of Sirach, the Epistle to the Hebrews, the letters of Barnabas,
Clement, and Jude.

63Quasten: Patrology, vol. 2, p. 10,11.

64Quasten: Patrology, vol. 2, p. 11.
 He mentions Tatian’s Oratio ad Graecos, Cassian, the author
of a chronological history, and the Jewish writers Philo,
Aristobulus, Josephus, Demetrius, and Eupolemus, all of
whom may show in their works that Moses and the Jewish
people antedate Greek antiquity. This writer’s works
mentioned here are packed with a great deal of useful learning.
In the first volume he speaks of himself as very close in
succession to the apostles, and promises in the work a
65
commentary on Genesis .”
E. de Fayé, a critic who is one of the greatest admirers of the
Stromata, says about it, "This work is perhaps the most important of
all Christian writing of the second and third centuries, and at the same
66
time there is not one that is more difficult ."
At the end of the introduction to his Paidagogos St. Clement
remarks: "The all-loving Logos, eagerly desiring to perfect us by a
gradation conducive to salvation, suited for efficacious discipline, a
beautiful arrangement is observed by the all-benignant Logos who
67
first exhorts, then trains, and finally teaches ." Since the
Protrepticus was a work of exhortation and the Paidagogos a work
of training, some have concluded that Clement intended to write a
68
trilogy, of which the final installment would be a work of teaching .

In other words, St. Clement looks to the Logos as:

I. The Protrepticus, or the Converter, who calls men to
deny the false gods and accept faith in the true Savior.
II. The Paidagogos, or the Educator, who heals men from
their sins.
III. The Didaskalos, or the Teacher, who teaches believers,
granting them the true gnosis, revealing to them the allegorical

65Eusebius: H.E. 6:13:4-8. 66E. de Fayé: Clement, p. 45;

Leberton, p. 895. 67Ibid 1,1,3,3 . 68Stromata ; Jurgens:
The Faith of the Early Fathers, vo. 1.
interpretation of His words, and proclaiming to them His own
heavenly mysteries, for they are His own bride.
J. Quasten believes that Clement intended to compose as the third part
of his trilogy a volume entitled the Teacher... In Clement's mind, after
all, the difference between a trainer and a teacher is in the age of the
one under discipline: children are trained, while teaching is for adults.
The Paidagogos actually deals with the latter, but under the figure of
69
the former: we being the children of a divine Father .

The Stromata does not fulfill the promise that its author had made of
completing his trilogy with a work on the function of the Word as the
Teacher. It is impossible to know the reason for this. The most
common explanation is that Clement decided that he was unable to
write the systematic work that he had promised, and that the Stromata
is only a series of notes that he was preparing in order to write his
third work, which he was unable to do before his death. In any case, it
is quite clear that this work is not a systematic study of any kind, but is
rather a series of miscellaneous notes, or perhaps something like a
tapestry, where the threads of thought come to the surface only to be
lost later on without giving the reader any clue as to what happened to
them. It is in this fashion, and with an almost total lack of order or
70
system, that Clement expounds the highest aspects of his doctrine .

J. Quasten and W.A. Jurgens believe that St. Clement abandoned his
plan and chose the literary form of the Stromata or "Carpets." It was
more suited to his genius, allowing him, as it did, to bring in splendid
and extensive discussions of details in a light, entertaining style. The
name, Carpets, is similar to others used at the time, like The Meadow,
The Banquets, The Honeycomb. Such titles indicated a genre favored
by philosophers of the day, in which they could discuss most varied
questions without strict order or plan and pass from one problem to
another without systematic treatment, the

69Stromata ; Jurgens: The Faith of the Early Fathers, vo. 1. 70Justo L.

Gonzalez: A History of Christian Faith, vol. 1, 1979, p. 196,197.
different topics being woven together like colors in a carpet. The title
Stromateis was not uncommonly used in the age of St. Clement for
writings without any strict order and containing varied
71.
John Ferguson says, subject-matter The word translated
”miscellanies” is stromateis. The full title is Miscellanies of Notes of
Reveled Knowledge in Accordance with the True Philosophy. The
word translated “notes” is hypomnemata, ‘memory aids.’ It can be
used of any memorandum, the minutes of a committee, a note in a
banker’s ledger, a doctor’s clinical notes a historical sourcebook...
The word translated “notes” is hypomnemata, ‘memory aids.’ It can
be used of any memorandum, the minutes of a committee, a note in a
banker’s ledger, a doctor’s clinical notes, a historical sourcebook. But
it has a special philosophical use: Arius uses the word for his
reminiscences of the Stoic Epictetus. He means that they are
unelaborated, but a serious contribution to philosophy and factually
accurate. Further Plato uses the word of his view that knowledge is a
recollection of things apprehended before birth, and Clement, a
72
devout Platonist, will not have been averse to those overtones .

This work consists of eight books, in its rough copy, therefore the
topics of varied characters are not well-ordered. He himself says that
this work looks like a field full of all kinds of plants, the person who
seeks will find what he desires. It has been well described as "a
heterogeneous mixture of science, philosophy, poetry and theology,"
controlled by the conviction that Christianity can satisfy man's highest
intellectual yearnings. It aims at presenting a scientific account of the
revealed truths of Christianity. He himself says that a book of this kind
is like a field full of all sorts of plants; a man who is diligent, can find
there,

71Henry Chadwick: Alexandrian Christianity, Philadelphia, 1954, p. 17. 72John

Ferguson: Clement of Alexandria, Stromaties, (Frs. of the Church), vol 85, p. 10.
what he is seeking for but he must look for it (6:2:4-8). The
mysteries of knowledge cannot be made too plain to readers who
are unfit for it (5:8,9).
His discussions are most interesting as they make known to us the
master of the School of Alexandria and also the Christians who
were around him.
73
The contents of the 8 books are as follows :
Book 1: The relationship between philosophy and Christian truth:
God is the origin of all good things, including philosophy, which is a
divine gift. The true philosophy is found in Jesus Christ; the Greeks
offer a propaedeutic, a ‘preparatory exercise.’ St. Clement fears from
using it too much, considering philosophers as children if they are
compared with the believers. A long historical analysis argues for the
priority of the Jews to the Greeks.

Accordingly, before the advent of the Lord, philosophy was

necessary to the Greeks for righteousness. And now it
becomes conducive to piety; being a kind of preparatory
74
training to those who attain to faith through demonstration .

Book 2: The nature of faith by which man became in the likeness

of God. Faith is the way to truth. It is an assent in the field of religion.
St. Clement sets the true Gnostic in firm contrast to the heretics
Basilides and Valentinus. Fear has its place in leading to repentance,
hope, and love. St. Clement discusses moral responsibility. Our aim is
restoration to sonship. The book ends with a preview of the next.

Book 3: The Christian marriage. Ought we to marry? Yes.

Fornication and adultery are condemned in the law and in the gospel.
He attacks the permissiveness of some heretics and the

73Cf. John Ferguson: Clement of Alexandria, Stromaties, (Frs. of the Church), vol 85, p. 13-5.
74Stromata 1:5.
asceticism of others. His own treatment is not wholly consistent, and
he finds some texts difficult, but has a beautiful exposition of “two or
three gathered together” as husband, wife, child. Birth is not evil;
celibacy may, but need not, be chosen; Christian marriage is a
partnership.
Book 4: The true Gnostic (the perfect and spiritual Christian) who
has knowledge in his conduct. The true Gnostic is not afraid of death.
The martyr is a witness to the sincerity of his faith. To deny the lord
from fear of death is to deny oneself. God was suffering to change the
world. Christian perfection lies in love of human kind. It may be
approached by different paths, but the one full instance is Jesus . The
true Gnostic is one with Christ.
Book 5: Faith and hope; the knowledge of God and symbolism.
There is no knowledge without faith or faith without knowledge.
Clement treats hope briefly and passes to the reasons for veiling the
truth in symbols. God cannot be expressed in words.
Book 6: Philosophy, revelation, and human knowledge as a
preparation for the true Gnostic. The Greeks are indebted to the Jews.
True philosophy is not sectarian; it is solid knowledge. St. Clement
gives a comparison between the Christian philosophy which attains
the glory of the gospel, acknowledges mysteries, and passionlessness,
and the Greek philosophy which has a very superficial knowledge,
although it is a divine gift. The true Gnostic must be something of a
polymath, and takes his knowledge into realms which others find
intractable. St. Clement discusses number mysticism, and different
approaches to knowledge.
75
Eusebius in his Praeparatio evangelica quotes at some length from
Book Six to demonstrate the borrowings of the Greeks from the Jews.

Book 7: The Christian Gnostic: It is a defense and glorification

of the Gnostic Christian .He alone is the true worshipper and the
real philosopher, who grows up to become in

75Praeparatio evangelica 10:1.

the likeness of God. The pagans made their gods in their likeness..
.He attacks the anthropomorphic gods of the Greeks and defends the
true Gnostic against charges of atheism and impiety. He then passes
to a positive evaluation of the true Gnostic, a laborer in god’s
vineyard, who gives help to all in need. He attacks various heretics as
foolish, and ends with an account of the Stromata.
Book 8: Investigation: This book is missing. The eighth book
does not appear to be a continuation of the seventh but a collection
of sketches and studies used in other sections of the work. It seems
that they were not intended for publication, but rather that they were
issued after his death against his intention. Truth is attained by
seeking; the search should be peaceable. Define your terms clearly;
examine your propositions in the light of your definitions.
Everything is not demonstrable; we need first principles. St.
Clement attacks the skeptics, and discusses the methodology of
investigation, the subject matter of speech, and causality. These are
unorganized jottings, based on Plato and Aristotle.

In this work he attacks the Gnostics (heretics), for they place a

wide gulf between God and the world and a narrow gulf between
God and the soul.
76
4. Excerpta ex Theodoto and Eclogae propheticae
Quasten says that these two works follow the Stromata in the tradition
of the manuscripts. They are not excerpts made by someone else of
the lost parts of the Stromata, as Zahn thought, but excerpts from
Gnostic writings like those of the Valentinian Gnostic Theodotus and
preliminary studies of Clement. It is very difficult to separate the
excerpts of Gnostic sources from the words of Clement himself.

We know nothing of the Theodotus from whom St. Clement uses

excerpts. He was a Gnostic with a typically complex

76Quasten: Patrology, vol. 2, p. 15.

system. Mostly St. Clement merely transmits. Occasionally he is
critical, as he would have been in a fully worked out response.
In the first work, St. Clement explains what kind of
knowledge (gnosis) we are in need,
"who we were, what we have become (or been born
as); where we were, or where we had been thrown (or
made to fall); where we are hurrying to, from where
77
we are being redeemed; what is birth and rebirth ."

Much of this can be summed up, in the deepest sense, self-knowledge.

78
It is the old Delphic commandment "Know Yourself ."
The second work Eclogae propheticae has four
79
well-marked sections .
OTHER WORKS
Besides the trilogy, St. Clement composed many other works. St.
Clement of Alexandria wrote several significant theological
treatises and is called "the first Christian scholar" by Berthold
80
Altaner , but only one sermon has survived. This is his well-known
address, Who Is the Rich Man that is Saved?
1. Who is the Rich Man that is saved ? (Quis dives salvetur ?)
A delightful tract or sermon on Mark 10:17-31, possibly the last
from his pen, greatly appreciated in antiquity. Some rich
Alexandrian merchants were in despair for they thought that
richness makes salvation impossible.
It indicates that a growing number of wealthy persons were
being attracted to the faith, and they were disturbed by the

77Excerpta ex Theod. 78. 78John Ferguson : Clement of Alexandria, Twayne

Publishers, NY 1974, p. 39. 79John Ferguson: Clement of Alexandria, Stromaties, (Frs.
of the Church), vol 85, p. 15 80Altaner: Patrology, p. 215.
warnings against riches in Christian literature. St. Clement answered
that wealth in itself is neutral; one's attitude toward wealth is what
matters: Wealth in itself is not evil, for sin, but not wealth, deprives
man of salvation. Wealth is a divine gift, we can use it for our
benefit and for others advantage, if we are not enslaved to it. The
rich men support the needy! He tells rich believers that it would be
irresponsible of them to think of throwing away their possessions
when so much good can be accomplished with them. St. Clement
assures that Christ condemned only the wrong attitude to wealth, not
wealth as such.
He responds to this understanding by making a point about
the interpretation of Biblical texts.
... we are clearly aware that the Savior teaches His people
nothing in a merely human way, but everything by divine and
mystical wisdom. We must not understand His words
literally, but with due inquiry and intelligence we must
search out and master their hidden meaning. For the sayings
which appear to have been simplified by the Lord Himself to
his disciples are found even now, on account of the
extraordinary degree of wisdom in them, to need not less but
81
more attention than his dark and suggestive utterances .

For he who holds possessions and houses as the gifts of God;

and ministers from them to the God who gives them for the
salvation of men; and knows that he possesses them more for
the sake of the brethren than his own; and is superior to the
possession of them, not the slave of the things he possesses;
and does not carry them about in his soul, nor bind and
circumscribe his life with them, but is ever laboring at some
good and divine work, should he be necessarily some time or
other deprived of them, is able with a cheerful mind to bear
removal equally with their

81The Rich Man's Salvation (translated by G.W. Butlerworth, Cambridge, 1960, p. 281; Rev. James
E. Furman: St. Clement of Alexandria: Making Gnosis Serve Ecclesia, Coptic Church
Review, Fall 1987, v. 8, No. 3, p. 78.
 blessed by the Lord, and abundance. This is he who is called
82
poor in spirit . Let no man destroy wealth, rather the
passions of the soul which are incompatible with the better
use of wealth. So that becoming virtuous and good, he may be
able to make good use of these riches. The renunciation and
selling of all possessions, then, is to be understood as
speaking of the passions of the soul. I would then say this.
Since some things are from within and some from without the
soul, and if the soul makes a good use of them, they also are
reputed good, but if a bad, bad; - whether does He who
commands us to alienate our possessions repudiate those
things, after the removal of which the passions still remain,
or those rather, on the removal of which wealth even
becomes beneficial? If therefore he who casts away worldly
wealth can still be rich in the passions, even though the
material (for their gratification) is absent, - for the
disposition produces its own effects, and strangles the reason,
and presses it down and inflames it with its inbred lusts,-it is
then of no advantage to him to be poor in purse while he is
rich in passions. For it is not what ought to be cast away that
he has deprived himself of what is serviceable, but set on fire
the innate fuel of evil through want of the external means (of
83
gratification) .

In a sense, it is the task of this book to state that Christians

can be "good" without entering into either ascetic life or
monasticism.

82Who Is the Rich Man Who Can Be Saved? 6:3; Carl A. Volz: Life and Practice in the Early
Church, Minneapolis, 1990, p. 112. 83Chs. 14, 15.
 Now the reason why salvation seems to be more difficult for
the rich than for men without wealth is probably not a simple
one but complex. For some, after merely listening in an
offhand way to the Lord's saying that a camel shall more
easily creep through a needle's eye than a rich man into the
kingdom of heaven, despair of themselves, feeling that they are
not destined to obtain life. So, complying with the world in
everything and clinging to this present life as the only one left
84
to them, they depart further from the heavenward way...

Here the contrast with Tertullian is obvious. For the North African,
85
wealth is bad of itself and a gross hindrance to Christian progress .
To Clement, however, wealth is a matter of stewardship and the
church is a school (didaskaleion) for the imperfect where the soul is
86
trained for the ladder of ascent towards God .
At the end St. Clement tells the story of St. John and the young
who had fallen among the robbers, to prove that even the greatest
sinner can be saved if he just repents.

2. Outlines or Sketches (Hypotyposeis)

His most important lost work is his allegorical interpretations and
sketches of the writings of both the Old and New Testament,
including even all the disputed books. Photius was still able to read a
complete text of Clement's Hypotyposeis, written between the years
190 and 210 A. D. The work was in eight books, but has survived
87
only in a few short Greek excerpts, preserved mostly by Eusebius .
Other excerpts exist in the Pratum spiritual of John Moschus and in a
Latin translation which goes back to the time of Cassiodorus (c. 540).
88
Photius passed very

84The Rich Man's Salvation (translated by G.W. Butlerworth, Cambridge, 1960, p. 273; Rev. James
E. Furman: St. Clement of Alexandria: Making Gnosis Serve Ecclesia, Coptic Church
Review, Fall 1987, v. 8, No. 3, p. 77. 85 Tertullian. De patientia, 7. 86 Paid. 3:98:1.
87Eusebius: H. E. 6:13,14. 88Bibl. Cod. 109.
severe judgment on the work, citing its many rank heresies: "Correct
doctrine is held firmly in some places but in other places he is carried
away by odd and impious notions. He maintains the eternity of
matter, produces a theory of ideas from the words of Holy Scripture,
and reduces the Son to a mere creature. He relates incredible stories
of metempsychosis and of many worlds before Adam. His teaching
on the formation of Eve from Adam is blasphemous and scurrilous -
and anti-Scriptural. He imagines that the angels had intercourse with
women and begot children with them. He also writes that the Logos
did not become man in reality but only in appearance. He has, it
would appear, a fantastic idea of two Logoi of the Father, of which
the inferior one appeared to men." Clement of Alexandria had a
good reputation in Byzantium and for that reason St. Photius'
89
conclusion is that the work is not authentically that of Clement .

Since we have only a few fragments, and since there is no

reason to doubt their authenticity, no judgment can safely be
90
rendered on Photius' remarks .
3. On the Passover (On the Pascha)
91
Eusebius states that St. Clement wrote this book at the request of
his contemporaries to record the traditions which he had heard from
the early Fathers, for the benefit of future generations. He mentions in
it Melito and Irenaeus and some others, whose accounts of the matter
are also set down. Only a few short quotations are preserved.

In the celebrations of previous years, the Lord ate the paschal

victim sacrificed by the Jews. But after he preached, being
himself the Pascha, the Lamb of God (John 1:29), led like a
sheep to the slaughter (Isaiah 53:7), he immediately taught
His disciples the mystery of the type,

89 Georges Florovsky: The Byzantine Fathers of the Fifth Century, vol. 8, 1987, p.
80. 90W. Jurgens: The Faith of the Fathers, vol. 1. 91Ibid 6:13:9.
 on the thirteenth, the day on which they asked Him, "Where do
You wish us to prepare for You to eat the Pascha?" (Matt.
26:17). On this day, you must know, occurred both the
sanctification of the unleavened bread and the preparation of
the feast. Wherefore John records that suitably on this day the
disciples had their feet washed by the Lord as a preparation
(cf. John 13:4-5). The passion of our Savior took place on the
following day, himself being the paschal victim offered in
pleasing sacrifice by the Jews...

All the Scriptures harmonize and the Gospels concord with

this precise reckoning of the days. The resurrection too
testifies: He rose on the third day, which was the first of the
weeks of the harvest and (the day) on which the priest was
commanded by the Law to offer the sheaf (Lev.
92
23:10-11) .
Here St. Clement defends the Johannine chronology of the passion,
but seeks to bring that of the Synoptics into harmony with it by
explaining that the Last Supper they report was a pre-paschal meal
without the ritual lamb. His thesis is taken up by Eusebius, On the
93
Solemnity of Easter 9-10 .
4, 5. On Fasting and On evil-speaking.
Nothing is preserved nor otherwise known of these two
94
writings which Eusebius attributes to St. Clement.
6. On Patience or "A discourse to the newly baptized."
Eusebius knows of this work. It is possible that a fragment in a
manuscript of the Escorial entitled Exhortations of Clement is from
this lost work.

92Fragment 28; Raniero Cantalamessa: Easter in the Early Church, The Liturgical Press,
Minnesota, 1993, p. 52-3. 93Raniero Cantalamessa: Easter in the Early Church, The Liturgical
Press, Minnesota, 1993, p.
150. 94Eusebius: H.E.
6:13:3.
7. Against the Judaizers or Ecclesiastical Canon.
This work (On the rules of the Church), of which we possess but
one fragment, he had dedicated to Alexander, the bishop of
95
Jerusalem .
8. On Providence ( 2 books ).
Anastasius Sinaites reproduces a passage from the first part of this
work. Several other fragments are extant which indicate that it gave
philosophical definitions. It is not mentioned by Eusebius nor any of
the other early ecclesiastical authors. Authenticity, therefore, remains
96
doubtful .
9. On the Prophet Amos.
97
St. Palladius is the only source which mentions St.
Clement as the author of a work On the Prophet Amos.
10. Letters
We do not have any letters of St. Clement. But the Sacra
Parallela 311, 3I2 and 3I3 contains three sentences ascribed to
letters of St. Clement, two of them from his Letter 2I .

95Eusebius: H.E. 6:13:3.

96Quasten: Patrology, vol. 2, p. 18.
97Hist, Lausa. 139.
 PHILOSOPHY, KNOWLEDGE
AND THE SCRIPTURES

Justo L. Gonzalez states that the writings of St. Clement and Origen
are very different from those of St. Irenaeus and Tertullian. Their
theology is much wider in scope than an apology or a refutation of
heresies, but rather is free to rise in high speculative flights, and this is
what makes their works the beginning of a new type of theological
1
activity, with its values and its dangers .

1. PHILOSOPHY
I have already mentioned St. Clement's view of philosophy when I
spoke of "The School of Alexandria and Philosophical Attitudes."

Henry Chadwick says,

He (Clement) has conventional complaints against Aristotle
that he disallows providence in the sublunary sphere, and
against the Stoics that their principles are materialist, pantheist
2
and determinist . But much use is made of Aristotelian logic in
Clement's discussion of the nature of assent, and on the ethical
side he owes a large debt to the Stoics. The philosopher for
whom he consistently reserves the highest praise is Plato. Even
here he has his critical reservations. He rejects the Platonic
notion that the stars are

1 Cf. Justo L. Gonzalez: A History of Christian Faith, vol. 1, 1979, p. 194.

2 Protrepticus 66; Stromata 5: 89-90.

304
 Philosophy, Knowledge, and Scriptures

ensouled with divine souls that cause their orderly motion. In

Clement's view the heavenly bodies primarily exist to indicate
the passage of time; in so far as they control things on earth it
3
is in obedience to their Creator, not with any independence .

2. KNOWLEDGE (GNOSIS)
I have already mentioned St. Clement's view of gnosis when I spoke of
"The School of Alexandrian and Gnosticism." We see how instead of
rejecting Gnosticism in totality, St. Clement attempted to create a true,
an authentic Christian "gnosis." This allowed Christianity to utilize
truth wherever it was found.

KNOWLEDGE (GNOSIS) IS THE LIFE OF THE SOUL

The Alexandrians were interested in the "gnosis," not merely for the
delight of their minds, but rather for the satisfaction of the soul. The
"knowledge" for them is an experience of the unity with the Father in
the Only-begotten Son by the Holy Spirit. Through the true knowledge
of the Holy Trinity we attain the new risen life in Christ, by the work of
the Holy Spirit, instead of spiritual death which we had suffered..

Just as death is the separation of the soul from the body, so is

the knowledge as it were the rational death urging the spirit
away, and separating it from the passions, and leading it on to
the life of well-doing, that it may then say with confidence to
God, "I live as You wish." For he who makes it his purpose to
please men cannot please God, since the multitude choose not
what is profitable, but what is pleasant. But in pleasing God,
one in consequence gets the favor of the good ones among men.
How, then, can

3 Stromata 6:148; Protrepticus 63; 102; Henry Chadwick: History and Thought of the Early Church,
London, 1982, p. 171.
 what relates to meat, and drink, and amorous pleasure, be
agreeable to such an one? such he views with suspicion even a
word that produces pleasure, and a pleasant movement and act
4
of the mind ."

KNOWLEDGE AND MAN'S REDEMPTION

The early church offers no better example of an intellectual Christian
than St. Clement, who distinguishes between "simple believers" and
the more advanced "Gnostics" (Christians), but not as two classes, for
all believers must struggle unceasingly to grow through grace to be
advanced Gnostics. He, however, insists that the goal of Christian
education is "practical, not theoretical. Its aim is to improve the soul,
5
not to teach, and to train it up to a virtuous, not an intellectual, life ."

A man of understanding and perspicacity [he wrote] is then a

Gnostic. And his business is not abstinence from what is evil
(for this is a step to the highest perfection), nor the doing of
good out of fear . . . nor is he to do so out of hope of a promised
reward . . . but only the doing of good out of love and for the
6
sake of its own excellence is to be the Gnostic’s choice .

The Alexandrians, especially St. Clement, did not separate knowledge

(gnosis) from redemption, because they considered ignorance the first
cause of evil. The person who enjoys the redeeming action of God is
called "Gnostic" by St. Clement, which means a person who has
spiritual knowledge. More than any other Father, and quite differently
from St. Irenaeus, St. Clement uses the noun gnosis to refer to the true,
spiritual meaning of Scripture, and its adjectival and adverbial forms to
7
describe the Christian life .

4 Stromata 7:12.
5 See Carl A. Volz: Life and Practice in the Early Church, Minneapolis, 1990, p. 103, 222; Paida-
gogos, 1:1..
6 Stromata 4:22:135.
7 Fobert J. Daly: The Origins of the Christian Doctrine of Sacrifice, Fortress Press, Philadelphia,
1978, p.113.
 Philosophy, Knowledge, and Scriptures

The Gnostic (believer) who has spiritual knowledge or (gnosis)

is consequently divine, and already holy. God bearing, and
God-borne...
He who, therefore, has God resting in him will not desire to seek
elsewhere. At once leaving all hindrances, and despising all
matter which distracts him, he cleaves to heaven by knowledge,
and passing through the spiritual essences, and all rule and
authority, he touches the highest thrones, hasting to that alone
for the sake of which he alone knows... For works follow
8
knowledge, as the shadow follows the body .

The succession of virtues is found in the Gnostic, who morally,

physically and logically occupies himself with God.
9
The Gnostic must, as far as possible, imitate God .
It appears to me that there are three effects of Gnostic power:
first the knowledge of things;
second, the performance of whatever the Word suggests;

and the third, the capability of delivering, in a way suitable to

10
God, the secrets veiled in the truth .
St. Clement speaks of our Lord as the Physician of the souls and as the
Divine Teacher. He considers healing our souls as a way to attain
divine knowledge, at the same time divine knowledge grants the
believer spiritual healing.
Health and knowledge are not the same; one is a result of
study, the other of healing. In fact, if a person is sick, he cannot
master any of the things taught him until he is first completely
cured. We give instruction to someone who is sick for an
entirely different reason than we do to someone who is
learning; the latter, we instruct that he

8 Stromata 7:13.
9 Ibid. 4:26. 10
Ibid. 7:1.

307
 may acquire knowledge, the first, that he may regain health.
Just as our body needs a physician when it is sick, so, too, when
we are weak, our soul needs the Educator to cure its ills. Only
then does it need the Teacher to guide it and develop its
capacity to know, once it is made pure and capable of retaining
the revelation of the Word. Therefore, the all-loving Word,
anxious to perfect us in a way that leads progressively to
salvation, makes effective use of an order well adapted to our
development; at first, He persuades, then He educates, and
11
after all this He teaches .
Darkness is ignorance, for it makes us fall into sin and lose the
ability to see the truth clearly. But knowledge is light, for it
dispels the darkness of ignorance and endows us with keenness
12
of vision .

CHRISTIAN EDUCATION
His theology concentrates on Christian education. He assures that the
Logos is the Educator who practices his educational work throughout
the history of mankind. He worked through the prophets, and the
philosophers, until finally He descended to our world, to renew it.

He not only offers commandments but renews the life of the Gnostic
by Himself in its entirety. He educates man enabling him to discover
the divine truth, and creating a zeal and desire to know, love, and
possess the Truth.
According to St. Clement, the Gnostic, illuminated through knowledge
of the true Light, becomes a new being equipped to answer the basic
questions that troubled humanity then as now: "Whence is man and
what is his destiny?" The Gnostics sought to know "who we were and
what we have become, where we were,

11 Paidadogos 1:1:3 (Frs. of Church, 23).

12 Paidagogos 1:6:28 (Frs. of Church).

308
 Philosophy, Knowledge, and Scriptures

and where we were placed [in time] and whither we are hastening,
13
and from what we are redeemed and what is birth and re-birth .
For St. Clement, the Church is the place or the divine school where
Christ teaches and educates His believers.

KNOWLEDGE AND GOOD WORKS

The truth that is revealed in Christ is not theoretical nor philosophical
ideas, but a power to follow our Educator, to practice goodness, virtue,
and to love.
14
Works follow knowledge, as shadow the body .

WHO IS THE GNOSTIC?

In his second book of the Stromata, St. Clement indicated three
conditions for the Gnostic life which the philosopher (true Christian)
practices; i.e., Contemplation, fulfilling the commandment, and
having the form of good men. If a believer looses one of these
15
conditions his Gnosticism is being revoked. In other words, the
Gnostic must have a divine knowledge (gnosis); which he called
contemplation or speculation, and he must practice it by performing the
commandments, and live by the spirit of the church" for the formation
of good men."
Walther Volker states that Gnosticism, according to St. Clement, is
nourished by men's self-control, and the acknowledgment of the Holy
Scriptures and is attained by illumination by the work of Christ, which
16
is in harmony with the work of the church .

THE PURPOSE OF GNOSIS

As we have already said true Gnosticism is enjoying the knowledge of
God, His vision and possessing Him. This knowl

13 Clement: Excerpta ex Theodoto; W.H.C. Frend: The Rise of Christianity, 1989, p.198. 14
Stromata 7:13 ANF. 15 Stromata 2: 10; Louis Bouyer: The Spirituality of the N.T . and the
Fathers, 1960, P. 265f. 16 Walther Volker: Der Wahre Grostiker nach Clemens
Alexandrinus, Berlin - Leipzig, 1952

309
 edge in fact is practicing the heavenly life, through which we become equal to the heavenly hosts
17
and in the likeness of God .

The true Gnostic knows that spiritual insight is granted to those who
are humble and pure in heart, who deal with God as children with their
own father. Through this knowledge they are raised up from faith to
the blessed vision of the divine life, by union with God. "The Gnostic
is consequently divine, and already holy, God-bearing, and
18
God-borne ."

SOURCES OF GNOSIS
a. St. Clement believes that Gnosticism is a divine gift, granted by God
the Father through the Logos; it is the gift of Christ Himself. Christ,
who is true Wisdom reveals to us knowledge of matters of past,
present and future, as trustworthy rhinos.
If, then, we assert that Christ Himself is Wisdom, and that it
was His working which showed itself in the prophets, by which
the Gnostic tradition may be learned, as Himself taught the
apostles during His presence; then it follows that the gnosis,
which is the knowledge and apprehension of things present,
future, and past, which is sure and reliable, as being imparted
19
and revealed by the Son of God, is wisdom .

. He grants us gnosis through the habit of contemplation

on the Holy Bible, with the Church's spirit, so that we
(the believers) do not misunderstand the biblical texts, as
20
the heretics do .

. He also assures that through baptism gnosis become
possible to us, by illuminating our inner eyes.

17 Stromata 7:13. 18
Stromata 7:13. 19
Stromata 6:7 ANF. 20
Ibid.

310
 Philosophy, Knowledge, and Scriptures

d. Our Lord Jesus Christ who is Love, is the source of gnosis, for Love
is the foundation of true gnosis. We know God, who is Love, by
practicing love, i.e. practicing the divine life.
Finally, St. Clement warns us from self-dependence in attaining
knowledge.
The Gnostic is therefore fixed by faith; but the man who thinks
himself wise touches not what pertains to the truth, moved as
he is by unstable and wavering impulses. It is therefore
reasonably written, "Cain went forth from the face of God,
and dwelt in the land of Naid, over against Eden." Now Naid
is interpreted commotion, and Eden delight; and Faith, and
Knowledge, and Peace are delight, from which he that has
disobeyed is cast out. But he that is wise in his own eyes will
not so much as listen to the beginning of the divine
21
commandments .

THE GNOSTIC AND PERFECTION

St. Clement believes that the Gnostics attain a kind of perfection, even
while they are living here in this world, for by divine grace they
become Christlike. He also assures that no man is perfect in all things
at once. "I know no one of men perfect in all things at once, while still
human, though according to the mere letter of the Law, except Him
alone who for us clothed Himself with humanity... But Gnostic
perfection in the case of the legal man is the acceptance of the Gospel,
22
that he that after the Law may be perfect ."

Gnosticism is not theoretical, but it is a participation in the perfection

of Christ, by struggling to ascend from the Law to Christ Himself, the
23
fulfiller of the Law .

21 Stromata 2:11 ANF.

22 Stromata 4:21. 23
Stromata 4:21.

311
 This perfection is realized in the life of the believer as a whole, in his
body, soul and mind. Consequently, the Gnostic is perfect morally,
physically, and logically.
Those, then, who run down created existence and vilify the
body are wrong not considering that the frame of man was
formed erect for the contemplation of heaven, and that the
organization of the senses tends to knowledge; and that the
members and parts are arranged for good, not for pleasure.
Whence this abode becomes receptive of the soul which is most
precious to God; and is dignified with the Holy Spirit through
the sanctification of soul and body, perfected with the
perfection of the Savior. And the succession of the three virtues
is found in the Gnostic, who morally, physically, and logically
occupies himself with God. For wisdom is the knowledge of
things divine and human; and righteousness is the concord of
the parts of the soul; and holiness is the service of God...

Now the soul of the wise man and Gnostic, as sojourning in the
body, conducts itself towards it gravely and respectfully, not
with inordinate affections, as about to leave the tabernacle if
the time of departure summon. "I am a stranger in the earth,
24
and a sojourner with you," it is said (Gen. 23:4; Ps. 39:12) .

Thus the Gnostic, by occupying himself with God through his behavior
and thoughts, he succeeds to be glorified in his soul as in his body. He
becomes like Moses, whose face was glorified through his inner
righteousness. Thus gnostic's body has the seal of righteousness on his
25
soul .

VARIOUS KINDS OF KNOWLEDGE

As, then, knowledge is an intellectual state, from which results
the act of knowing, and becomes apprehension irrefragable by
reason; so also ignorance is a reced

24 Stromata 4:26.
25 Ibid.

312
 Philosophy, Knowledge, and Scriptures

ing impression, which can be dislodged by reason. And that

which is overthrown as well as that which is elaborated by
reason, is in our power. Akin to knowledge is experience,
cognition, comprehension, perception, and Science.
Cognition is the knowledge of universals by species;

and Experience is comprehensive knowledge, which investigates

the nature of each thing.
Perception is the knowledge of intellectual objects;
and Comprehension is the knowledge of what is compared, or
a comparison that cannot be annulled, or the faculty of
comparing the objects with which Judgment and Knowledge
are occupied, both of one and each and all that goes to make
up one reason.
And Science is the knowledge of the thing in itself, or the
knowledge which harmonizes with what takes place.
Truth is the knowledge of the true; and the mental habit of
26
truth is the knowledge of the things which are true .

26 Stromata 2:17.
 3. THE HOLY SCRIPTURE
Although many scholars see that Clement is directly or indirectly, the
27
cause of Hellenism in Christianity , they state that he is not another
Minucius Felix or Boethius, whose writings give more evidence of
pagan rather than Christian humanism. Commentators may call him
Platonist or Neo-Platonic, Stoic or Aristotelian, but they must also call
him an exegete of the Scriptures. Mondésert does not hesitate to say
that his style is above all else Scriptural. There are copious quotations
from Old and New Testaments, constant allusions and turns of thought
too numerous to be noted. And for Clement, Scripture is the final
appeal; when he says, as he often does: graphetai ('it is written'), he is
invoking an authority from which he feels there is no appeal. The
Alexandrian school may have stressed Christian philosophy, but it is a
28
philosophy drawn from the pages of the Scriptures .

St. Clement states that the Holy Scripture is the voice of God who
works for man's goodness. It also, as interpreted by the Church, is the
29
source of Christian teaching . St. Clement loved the Holy Scriptures,
especially the book of Psalms, Proverbs, Wisdom, Isaiah, Jeremiah,
Ezekiel, the sermon on the mount, Gospel of St. John, etc.

I could adduce for you a myriad of Scriptures, of which not one

letter shall pass away without being fulfilled; for the Mouth of
30
the Lord, the Holy Spirit, has spoken these things .

St. Clement also offers solid endorsement of the Jewish Scriptures as

part of Christian revelation. "Now the law is ancient grace given
through Moses by the Word. Wherefore also the Scripture says, "The
law was given through Moses," not by Moses, but

27 Simon P. Wood: Clement of Alexandria, 1954, p. X (Frs. of the Church, vol. 23).
28 Ibid., X, XI.
29 Stromata 7:16:39.
30 St. Clement of Alexandria: Protrepticus 9:82:1; W.A. Jurgens: The Faith of the Early Fathers, vol.
1, article 404.
 Philosophy, Knowledge, and Scriptures

by the Word and through Moses His servant. Wherefore it was only
temporary; but eternal grace and truth were by Jesus Christ. Mark the
expressions of Scripture: of the law only is it said "was given"; but
truth being the grace of the Father, is the eternal work of the Word; and
it is not said to be given, but to be by Jesus, without whom nothing
31
was ." In other words, the link between the Christian era and that
32
which preceded it in Israel is absolute and without contradiction .

St. Clement blames the mistakes of heretics their habit of “resisting the
33
divine tradition ,” by which he means their incorrect interpretation of
Scripture; the true interpretation, he believes, is an apostolic and
34
ecclesiastical inheritance . The heretics quoted and warped the
meaning of some verses, so as to render them fruitless.
And if those also who follow heresies venture to avail
themselves of the prophetic Scriptures, in the first place they
will not make use of all the Scriptures, and then they will not
quote them entire, nor as the body and texture of prophecy
prescribe. But selecting ambiguous expressions, they wrest
them to their own opinions, gathering a few expressions here
and there, not looking to the sense, but making use in the mere
words. For in almost all the quotations they make, you will find
that they attend to the names alone while they alter the
meanings, neither knowing as they affirm, nor using the
quotations they adduce, according to their true nature. But the
truth is not found by changing the meanings, for so people
subvert all true teaching, but in the consideration of what
perfectly belongs to and becomes the Sovereign God, and
establishing each one of the points demonstrated in the
Scriptures again from similar Scriptures. Neither then do they
want to turn to the truth being ashamed to abandon the claims
of self-love;

31 Paid. 1:7. 32 Rev. James E. Furman: St. Clement of Alexandria: Making Gnosis Serve Ecclesia,
Coptic Church
Review, Fall 1987, v. 8, No. 3, p. 72.
33 Stromata 7:16:103. 34 Kelly, p. 47.
 nor are they able to manage their opinions by doing violence
35
to the Scriptures .
He uses the allegorical interpretation of the Bible which hides the truth
and at the same time reveals it. It hides the truth from the ignorant,
whose eyes are blinded by sin and pride, hence they are prevented from
knowledge of the truth. At the same time it always reveals what is new
to the renewed eyes of the believers.
He is considered as the first Christian theologian who used the
allegorical interpretation, giving a cause of using it in a practical way.
He says that the Bible has hidden meanings to incite us to search and
discover the words of salvation, and to be hidden from those who
despise them. The truth is in the pearls which must not be offered to
the swines.
The Bible looks like St. Mary the virgin who brought forth Jesus Christ
and her virginity was preserved. Thus we discover spiritual meanings
of the Bible, but its meaning is still virgin, as it has many hidden
spiritual meanings.
The genuine Gnostic has "grown old in the holy Scriptures" and "lives
and breathes" from them. His study is the search for the mystical sense
concealed beneath the letter of the Bible. According to Clement, the
biblical authors, inspired by the Holy Spirit, use allegory for much the
same purpose he had set himself in the composition of the Stromata:
allegory keeps simple Christians from doctrines they are not mature
enough to handle and piques the curiosity of the more intelligent and
spiritually advanced. Finding the deeper meaning is thus the process by
36
which God would guide the more mature in spirit .

37
St. Clement states that the understanding of the Holy Scriptures
belongs not to all, but to the Gnostics who are guided by the Holy
Spirit, the Giver of knowledge.

35 Stromata 7:16:96 ANF. 36 Joseph Wilson Trigg, Origen,

SCM Press Ltd, 1985, p. 55. 37 Stromata 5:16.

316
 Philosophy, Knowledge, and Scriptures

38
THE ALLEGORICAL INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE

St. Clement believes that the allegorical interpretation of Scripture is

one of the main instruments of hermeneutics.
For many reasons, then, the Scriptures hide the sense. First,
that we may become inquisitive, and be ever on the watch for
the discovery of the words of salvation. Then it was not suitable
for all to understand, so that they might not receive harm in
consequence of taking in another sense the things declared for
salvation by the Holy Spirit. Wherefore the holy mysteries of
the prophecies are veiled in the parables -preserved for chosen
men, selected to knowledge in consequence of their faith; for
39
the style of the Scriptures is parabolic .

However, one must be careful not to exaggerate Clement's proneness

to allegorism, for he tries not to abandon the historical sense of
Scripture, as has often been done by many an allegorical interpreter.
St. Clement says once and again that the Scriptures do have a literal
40
historical sense . This is why, referring to Clement, Claude Mondésert
can say that "the Bible is for him . . . the narration of a revelation
which has been experienced in history; it is the story, in concrete facts
and in personal actions, of the acts of God towards men, and of
41
repeated divine interventions in world history ."

Every text has at least two meanings: a literal and a spiritual one. This
is the basic rule of Clement's exegesis, although sometimes he finds
several levels within the spiritual sense.
The literal sense is that which is found directly in the text itself,
without attempting to discover any hidden meaning. This

38 Justo L. Gonzalez: A History of Christian Faith, vol. 1, 1979, p. 200

ff. 39 Stromata 6:15. 40 Stromata 1:21; 2:19; 3:6; 6:3,8; 7:3. 41
Mondésert: Clement, p. 87.

317
does not mean that the literal sense is always that which follows from a literalistic or naive
interpretation of the text, and for this reason it may be more accurate to call this the "first meaning," in
contrast with the "further meanings" that may be discovered through allegorical interpretation. There
are cases in which this first meaning coincides with the literal sense of the words found in the text.
Such is the case in the historical texts of the Old Testament. But there are also instances in which the
first meaning is not strictly the literal or naive one, for such an interpretation would be completely
false. This is the case of the many parables, metaphors, and allegories that can be found in Scripture,
and whose first meaning is not their literalistic interpretation, but their figurative sense.

This primary meaning of a biblical text is certainly not the highest, and
the Christian who hopes to achieve a profound understanding of his
faith must not be content with it; but this does not imply that the "first
meaning" is unimportant, or that it can be left aside without forsaking
biblical truth. On the contrary, the "first meaning" is the point of
departure of every other meaning of the text. Especially in the case of
historical and prophetic texts, to deny this first and literal sense of
Scripture would imply a denial of God's action and promises. There is
only one reason that can be adduced in order to deny the literal
meaning of a particular text: that it says something that is unworthy of
God. Thus, for example, the texts that refer to God in anthropomorphic
terms must be interpreted in such a way that it is clearly seen that their
42
anthropomorphism is an allegory that points to profound truths .

The exegetical principles are:

The allegorical interpretation must not discard the primary meaning
of the text, except when this meaning is such that it contradicts what is
already known of God's character and dignity.
 Each text must be interpreted in the light of the rest of Scripture. This
means primarily that every text must be understood within its proper
43
and immediate context .
42 Stromata 2:16.
 Philosophy, Knowledge, and Scriptures

c. Mondésert states that meditating on the text of the Scrip

ture Clement discovers at least five senses: a
historical sense; a doctrinal sense; a
prophetic signification; a philosophical
44
sense; and a mystical sense .

43 Stromata 3:11.
44 Clement d' Alexandrie, Paris 1944, p. 154; Alexander Kerrigan: St. Cyril of Alexandria, Roma
1952, p. 29.
HIS THEOLOGY
1. FAITH
St. Clement explains the importance of faith, which the
philosophers despise as useless.
Happy is he who speaks in the ears of the hearing. Now faith
is the ear of the soul. And such the Lord intimates faith to be,
when He says, "He that has ears to hear, let him hear;" so that
1
by believing he may comprehend what He says, as He says it .
But faith, which the Greeks disparage and regard as useless
and barbarous, is a voluntary preconception, the assent of
2
piety; "the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of
those things which are not seen" (Heb. 11:1), according to the
3
divine Apostle . "For by it most especially did the men of old
have testimony borne to them; and without faith it is
impossible to be pleasing to God" (Heb. 11:2,6). Others,
however have defined faith as an intellectual assent to a thing
unseen, since certainly the proof of a thing unknown is
manifest assent... He, then, that believes in the Divine
Scriptures with firm judgment, receives, in the voice of God,
who gave the Scriptures, an unquestionable proof. Nor by
proof does faith become more firm. Blessed, therefore, are
4
those who have not seen and yet have believed (John 20:29) .

1 Stromata 5:1. 2 The terms prolhyiv = preconception, and sugkataJesiv = assent, are borrowed
from Stoic philosophy, in which the preconception is an instinctive or implanted notion, and the
assent is of the mind to such a conception. 3 St. Clement attributes Hebrews to St. Paul. 4
Stromata 2:2:8:4 ; 2:2:9,6(Jurgens).
 Faith is the way... Faith is discovered to be the
5
beginning of action .
Faith is the power of God, and the power of the
6
Truth (Matt. 17:20; 9:29) .
For knowledge is a state of mind that results from
demonstration; but faith is a gift which leads on from what is
undemonstrable to what is universal and simple, to what is
neither concomitant to matter itself, nor subject to matter...
Aristotle, however, says that faith is that decision, which
follows upon knowledge, as to whether this or that be true.
7
Faith, then, is superior to knowledge, and is its criterion .

Such a change as this, by which someone comes from

unbelief to belief, and, while hoping and fearing, yet believes,
is of divine origin. Indeed, faith appears to us to be the first
inclination toward salvation; after which hope and
repentance and even fear, advancing in company with
moderation and patience, lead us on to love and to
8
knowledge .
9
Instruction is given to engender faith, but faith
10
comes by the Holy Spirit and by baptism .
St. Clement does not deny the role of sensation as a ladder of
knowledge; but through faith the believer is raised up by the Holy
Spirit to attain the heavenly mysteries and to find rest in the Truth.

5 Stromata 2:2. 6 Stromata 3:11. 7 Stromata 2:4:14:3; 2:4:15:5 (Jurgens). 8 Stromata 2:6:31:1
(Jurgens). There follows a quotation from the so-called Letter of Barnabas, which Clement
expressly attributes to the Apostle Barnabas. 9 katechesis, the term used to designate
elementary instruction of catechumens. 10 Paidagogos 1:6:30 (Frs. of Church).
 "Well, Sensation is the ladder of knowledge; while
Faith, advancing over the pathway of the objects of sense,
leaves Opinion behind, and speeds to things free of
11
deception, and reposes in the truth .
I. FAITH AND KNOWLEDGE
The fact that "knowledge is to be believed" is the core of Clement's
answer to those who try to develop an autonomous philosophy. The
parallel fact that "faith is to be known" is the core of his opposition to
the heretics. These latter are like men who cannot distinguish between
a true and a false coin, for they do not have the knowledge necessary
to make a judgment. If faith is not an arbitrary decision, but makes use
of the help that knowledge gives it, the heretics do not have true faith,
for their "faith" is based on their own thoughts and not on the
12
knowledge of Scripture .
St. Clement believes that the beginning of philosophy is faith. To
confront philosophy from a Christian perspective is to realize that all
13
philosophy without Christ is vain and without foundation . At the
same time, faith (Pastis) is not the point of departure of knowledge
(gnosis); but knowledge is necessary for faith. For faith is not a mere
guessing or an arbitrary decision as to what principles are true. That
decision is made on the basis of knowledge. "Knowledge, accordingly,
is characterized by faith; and faith, by a kind of divine mutual and
14
reciprocal correspondence, becomes characterized by knowledge ."

St. Clement believes that faith and knowledge are inseparable

and harmonious and that the proper combination produces the
perfect Christian and the true Gnostic.

11 Stromata 2:4 ANF. 12 Justo L. Gonzalez: A History of Christian Faith, vol. 1, 1979, p. 199. 13
Stromata 1:20. 14 Stromata 2:4 (ANF, 2:350). E. F. Osborn The Philosophy of Clement of
Alexandria (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 1957), pp. 113-74.
 Knowledge is characterized by faith; and faith, by a
kind of divine mutual and reciprocal correspondence,
15
becomes characterized by knowledge .
But it has escaped their notice that, in order to believe truly in
the Son, we must believe that He is the Son, and that He
came, and how, and for what, and respecting His passion;
and we must know who is the Son of God. Now neither is
16
knowledge without faith, nor faith without knowledge .

He expresses most appositely the relation between faith and

knowledge. At times, it is true, he goes too far by attributing to Greek
philosophy an almost supernatural and justifying role, but he regards
faith as fundamentally more important than knowledge: 'Faith is
17
something superior to knowledge and is its criterion .' He also can
write that philosophy possesses a pedagogical significance for every
Christian who can rise above mere faith to gnosis. But at the same
time this must be done "in accordance with the canon of the
18
Church ."
Faith, then, is a comprehensive knowledge, so to speak, of the
essentials; but knowledge is the strong and firm proof of what
is accepted through faith, and which is built upon faith by the
Lord's teaching, and which leads to infallibility and
understanding and to sudden comprehension. And it seems to
me that the first saving change is from paganism to faith, as I
said before; and the second is that from faith to knowledge.
This latter develops into love, and afterwards presents the one
loving to Him that is loved, and the one knowing to Him that
is known.

15 Stromata 2:4 ANF. 16 Stromata 5:1 17 Stromata 2:4:15; Quasten, p. 20-1. 18 Stromata
7:7:6,15; G. Florovosky: Byzantine Fathers of the Fifth Century, 1987, p.81, 82.
 And such a one, perhaps, has already attained the
19
condition of being like to an angel (Luke 20:36) .
20
The perfection of knowledge is faith .
Nothing is lacking to faith, for of its nature it is perfect and
entirely complete. If there is anything lacking to it, it is not
21
wholly perfect, nor is it truly faith, if defective in any way .

St. Clement writes precisely about false Gnostics while

concentrating on central aspects of Christology.
Of the Gnostic so much has been cursorily, as it were,
written... There are some who draw the distinction that faith
has reference to the Son and knowledge to the Spirit. But it has
escaped their attention that, in order to believe truly in the
Son, we must believe that he is the Son, and that he came, and
how, and for what, and respecting his Passion. And we must
know who is the Son of God. Now neither is knowledge without
faith nor faith without knowledge. Nor is the Father without
the Son, for the Son is with the Father. And the Son is the true
teacher about the Father... In order that we may know the
Father, we must believe in the Son, that it is the Son of God
who teaches, for the Father brings us from faith to knowledge
22
by means of the Son ." "Believe, O man, him who is man and
God. Believe, O man, the living God who suffered and is
23
adored .

For knowledge is a state of mind that results from

demonstration; but faith is a grace which from what is
indemonstrable conducts to what is universal and simple,
24
what is neither with matter, nor matter, nor under matter .
19 Stromata 7:10:57:3-5 (Jurgens). 20 Paidagogos 1:6:28 (Frs. of Church). 21
Paidagogos 1:6:28 (Frs. of Church). 22 Stromata 5:1. 23 Protreptikos 10; G.
Florovosky: Byzantine Fathers of the Fifth Century, 1987, p. 84. 24 Stromata 2:4.
St. Clement who concentrate on the close relation between
faith and human knowledge also says,
But as we say that a man can be a believer without
learning, so also we assert that it is impossible for a man
without learning to comprehend the things which are
25
declared in the faith .
For the prophets and disciples of the Spirit knew infallibly
their mind. For they knew it by faith, in a way which others
could not easily, as the Spirit has said. But it is not possible
for those who have not learned to receive it thus... For if we
act not for the Word, we shall act against reason. But a
rational work is accomplished through God . “And nothing,”
26
it is said,” was made without Him” the Word of God .

II. FAITH AND REPENTANCE

27
Faith is the beginning of the spiritual way , but it is the way itself,
in which the Gnostic walks all his life. Through this faith in God as
the Redeemer and the Judge he attains repentance as the royal way
that leads him to the kingdom of God.
Repentance is an effect of faith. For unless a man believes
that to which he was addicted to be sin, he will not abandon
it, and if he does not believe punishment to be impending over
the transgressor, and salvation to be the portion of him who
28
lives according to the commandments, he will not reform .

Without faith everything is useless, even repentance itself,

for without it we cannot attain the forgiveness of sins.

25 Stromata 1:6 ANF.

26 Stromata 1:9. 27
Stromata 2:2. 28
Stromata 2 6 ANF.
 And what place is there any longer for the repentance of
him who was once an unbeliever, through which comes
29
forgiveness of sins ?
III. FAITH AND HOPE
Faith is the beginning of the spiritual ladder that leads us to
heaven; it opens the gates of hope in eternal life and heavenly
glorification; therefore St. Clement say, "Hope, too, is based on
faith... Hope is the expectation of the possession of good.
30
Necessarily, then, is expectation founded on faith ."
IV. FAITH AND LOVE
St. Clement explains the two integral sides of faith, i.e. love
and fear. I will refer to the love and fear of God afterwards.
Fear is the beginning of love, becoming by development of
faith and then love. But it is not as I fear and hate a wild
beast (since fear is twofold) that I fear the father, whom I
fear and love at once. Again, fearing lest I be punished, I love
myself in assuming fear. He who fears to offend his father,
loves himself. Blessed then is he who is found possessed of
faith, being, as he is, composed of love and fear. And faith is
power in order to attain salvation, and strength to eternal
31
life .

V. FAITH AND WORKS

The Alexandrian Fathers explain "good works" as our response to
God's love towards us which we have to practise by God's help. St.
Clement says: "For each of us He laid down His life ... and He
requires in return that we should do the same for

29 Stromata 2:3 ANF.

30 Stromata 2:6 ANF.
31 Stromata 2:12. ANF.
 32
each other ." But we can not do this without God, because "He is for
us the source of all good. From Him we learn the good life and are
33
brought to eternal life ."
34
When we hear, "Your faith saved you," we do not
understand [the Lord] to say simply that they will be saved
who have believed in whatever manner, even if works have
not followed. To begin with, it was to the Jews alone that He
spoke this phrase, who had lived in accord with the law and
35
blamelessly, and who had lacked only faith in the Lord .

We ought to have works that cry aloud, as becoming "those

who walk in the day" (Rom. 13:13). "Let your works shine"
(Matt. 5:16), and behold a man and his works before his
face. "For behold God and His works" (Isa. 62:11). For the
36
Gnostic must, as far as is possible, imitate God .

As, then, the virtues follow one another, why need I say what
has been demonstrated already, that faith hopes through
repentance, and fear through faith; and patience and practice
in these along with learning terminate in love, which is
37
perfected by knowledge?
VI. FAITH AND FREE-WILL
38
Faith, which is a divine gift , is attained through free-will, and is the
work of the free soul, which has the choice to believe or not to
39
believe . St. Clement presents an example, a person has the choice to
seize a ball or ignore it, but he cannot seize it unless it is thrown
towards him.

32 Quis Dives Salveture 37. 33

Protrepticus 1:7. 34 Matt. 9:22;
Mark 5:34; Luke 8:48. 35 Stromata
6:14:108:4, 5 (Jurgens). 36 Stromata
4:26 ANF. 37 Stromata 2:9. ANF. 38
Stromata 2:4; 3:7. 39 Stromata 3:9.
Free-will, according to St. Clement is superior, and all the
powers of the mind submit to it.
2. GOD
I. THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD
St. Clement speaks of the knowledge of God which can be
attained even through our natural law:
For into all men in general, and indeed, most particularly
into those who are engaged in intellectual pursuits, a certain
divine emanation has been instilled, by reason of which they
confess, if somewhat reluctantly, that God is one,
indestructible and unbegotten, and that somewhere above in
the heavenly regions, in His power and familiar vantage
40
point, He truly and eternally exists .
Henry Chadwick says, St. Clement loves to write of the natural
41
knowledge of God found in all men . There is no known race that has
42 43
not the idea of God . It was breathed into Adam at the creation . The
beneficence of God is universal and has no beginning at some special
point in history - as if he had first begun to be interested in nations
44
other than the Hebrews only after the coming of Christ . There was
primitive monotheism among the earliest races of men long before
45
religion was corrupted into demonic polytheism .

To attain the knowledge of God we need to pass through

three stages:
a. The purification from sin, for sin prevents us from
acknowledging the divine secrets.
If, then, abstracting from all that pertains to bodies and to
such as we call corporeal, we cast ourselves into the

40 St. Clement of Alexandria: Protreptikos 6:68:2, 3 ; W.A. Jurgens: The Faith of the Early
Fathers, vo. 1, article 403. 41 Protrepticus 25f.; Stromata 5:87f. 42 Stromata 5:133. 43 Paidagogos
1:7-8; Stromata 5:87; 94. 44 Stromata 5:133-4; 141. 45 Stromata 1:68; 71; 6:57,3. Henry
Chadwick: History and Thought of the Early Church, London, 1982, p. 176.
 greatness of Christ, and then advance into His immensity by
holiness, we may reach somehow to the conception of the
Almighty, knowing not what He is, but what He is not.
Neither form nor motion, however, nor standing, nor sitting,
nor place, nor right, nor left are to be conceived of as
belonging to the Father of the universe, although these
things are written of Him. What each of these means will be
shown in its proper place. The First Cause, therefore, is not
located in a place, but is above place and time and name and
conception. On this account did Moses also say, "Show
yourself to me," (Exod. 33:13), indicating most clearly that
God cannot be taught to men nor expressed in words, but
46
can be known only by an ability which He Himself gives .

b. We must see beyond the literal meanings of the text, and the naive
materialistic interpretations. For God is beyond any name or shape. He
is called the One, the Good One, the Mind, the Eternal One, God, the
Creator or the Lord. All these names or titles are not accurate, for they
cannot describe Him as He is, but these are used for us that we may
47
acknowledge Him . God is revealed to us by our human language
which is unable to express Him as He is.

For the Divine Being can not be declared as it exists: but as

we who are fettered in the flesh were able to listen, so the
prophets spoke to us; the Lord savingly accommodating
48
Himself to the weakness of men .
c. Vision of God: The knowledge of God is a divine gift. Christ
Himself is our knowledge, whoever attains Him embraces
knowledge.

II. THE TRANSCENDENCE OF GOD

46 Stromata 5:11:71:3-5 (Jurgens).

47 Stromata 5:11; 5:12; 4:18; 2:2.
48 Stromata 2:15.
St. Clement of Alexandria repeatedly emphasized the transcendence
of God, perhaps to clarify the gap between the essence and the nature
49
of God and those of the universe. For him God is absolutely
transcendent, ineffable and incomprehensible; "God is one, and
50
beyond one, and above the Monad itself ."
God of the universe who is above all speech, all conception,
all thought, can never be committed to writing, being
51
inexpressible even by His own power .
God is invisible and beyond expression by words.., what
is divine is unutterable by human power ( 2 Cor. 12:4;
Rom. 11:33)... The discourse concerning God is most
52
difficult to deal with .

For human speech is by nature feeble and incapable of

declaring God. I do not mean His name,...nor do I mean His
Essence, for this is impossible, but the power and the work of
53
God .
The First Cause is not then in space, but above both
54
space and time, and name and conception .
The Deity is without form and nameless. Though we ascribe
names, they are not to be taken in their strict meaning: when
we call Him One, Good, Mind, Existence, Father, God,
Creator, Lord, we are not conferring a name on Him. Being
unable to do more, we use these appellations of honor, in
order that our thought may have something to rest on and not
wander at random. He cannot be comprehended by
knowledge, which is based on previously known truths,
whereas nothing can precede what is self-existent. It remains
that the Unknown be

49 Paidagogos 1:71; Stromata 2:6:1; 5:65:2; 5:78:3; 5:81:3.

50 Paidagogos 1:8:71. 51 Stromata 5:10:65. 52 Ibid. 5: 12.
53 Ibid. 6: 18: 166. 54 Ibid. 5: 11: 71.
 apprehended by divine grace and the Word proceeding
55
from Him .
Nor is it possible to predicate any parts of [God]. For what is
one is indivisible, and thereby infinite - not in regard to its
being clearly inconceivable, but in regard to its being without
dimensions and not having limits, for which reason it is
without form and name. And if we somehow name Him, we do
not do so properly, when we supply such names as the One,
or the Good, or Mind, or That Which Is, or Father, or God,
or Creator, or Lord. We so speak not as supplying His name;
but in our need we use beautiful names so that the mind may
have these as a support against erring in other respects. For
each one by itself does not express God, but all together they
are indicative of the power of the Omnipotent. Predicates are
expressed either from what belongs to things themselves, or
from their relationship to each other; but nothing of this is
applicable in reference to God. Neither is He apprehended by
the science of demonstration; for it depends upon primary
and better known principles, while there is nothing
56
antecedent to the Unbegotten .

III. GOD'S IMMANENCE TO THE UNIVERSE

St. Clement, who describes this gap between God and the creation,
declares that God is not far from the world, particularly from His
noblest creature in this world, namely man. For He created the
universe out of His gracious love for man, and for the same reason
He still cares for all the universe. We can say that He is involved in
our world out of His infinite love and heavenly

55 Stromata 5:12:82. 56 Stromata 5:12:81:6;

5:12:82:1-3 (Jurgens).
 57
fatherhood to us . St. Clement of Alexandria calls God, "the
Father and the Creator of the entire cosmos."
IV. GOD' GOODNESS
God' goodness is revealed through His love for us, at a time when
we are strangers and far from Him. He embraces the whole world,
desiring their own salvation. His goodness is revealed by changing
even the evil things to our edification and goodness. No man is
perfect in his goodness, therefore he is in need of the Logos, the
source of salvation, who grants us the likeness of God.

Human art fashions houses and ships and cities and pictures;
but how should I tell what God makes? Behold, the whole
world - that is His work; and the heavens and the sun and
angels and men, the works of His fingers. How great, indeed,
is the power of God! His mere willing it is the creation of the
world; and God alone created it, because He is God in fact.
By a mere exercise of His will He creates, and His simple
58
volition is followed by its coming to be .

St. Clement speaks of the goodness of the Father and the Son,
who are one in the Godhead. They love their creation and know
no hate.
Nothing exists except that which God causes to be. There is
nothing, therefore, which is hated by God; nor is there
anything hated by the Word. Both are one, both are God; for
he says: "In the beginning the Word was in God, and the
59 60
Word was God ."
V. GOD'S FATHERHOOD

57 Fr. Tadros Y. Malaty: The Divine Providence, Alexandria, 1990, p. 4. 58 St. Clement of
Alexandria: Protreptikos 4:63:2, 3 ; W.A. Jurgens: The Faith of the Early Fathers, vo. 1, article
403. 59 John 1:1. 60 Paidagogos 1:8:62:3, 4 ; W.A. Jurgens: The Faith of the Early Fathers, vo. 1.
The Alexandrian Fathers explain in a biblical thought that God
reveals His providence in its greatest depth through His Fatherhood
to men. God is not in need of men's worship or offerings but of their
hearts to lift them up to His glories, to enjoy His eternal love, and
practice their sonship to Him.
a. St. Clement of Alexandria states that we are by nature entirely
strangers, having no natural relation to God; nevertheless He loves
us and cares for us as a true Father for His beloved children.

God in everything is greater than man... This is the greatest

proof of the goodness of God: that such being our relation to
Him, and being by nature wholly estranged, He nevertheless
cares for us. For the affection in animals to their progeny is
natural, and the friendship of kindred minds is the result of
intimacy. But the mercy of God is rich towards us, who are in
no respect related to Him; I say either in our essence or
nature, or in the peculiar energy of our essence, but only in
our being the work of His will. And Him who willingly, with
discipline and teaching, accepts the knowledge of the truth, He
61
calls to adoption, which is the greatest advancement of all .

O surpassing love for men! Not as a teacher to his

scholars, not as a master to his domestics, nor as God to
62
men, but as a father the Lord admonishes His children .
In St. Clement's time, many heretics welcomed the "loving Father" of
the New Testament as a merciful alternative to the "fierce tyrant" that
they perceived in the Old Testament. St. Clement assures them that
there is but one God shown in the entire Bible, a Lord of grace and
redemption. His response is in the form of dialogue: "How then," they
say, "if the Lord loves man, and is

61 Stromata 2:16.
62 Protrop 9:82.
 63
good, is He angry and punishes? " St. Clement's answer affirms
moral use of drastic measures:
For reproof is, as it were, the surgery of the passions of the
soul; and the passions are, as it were, an abscess of the truth,
which must be cut open by an incision of the lancet of
64
reproof .
Each one of us, who sins, with his own free will chooses
punishment, and the blame lies with him who chooses.
65
God is without blame .
For as the mirror is not evil to an ugly man because it shows
him what likeness he has; and as the physician is not evil to
the sick man because he tells him of his fever -for the
physician is not the cause of the fever, but only points out the
fever; - so neither is He, that reproves, ill-disposed towards
him who is diseased in soul. For He does not put the
transgressions on him, but only shows the sins which are
66
there; in order to turn him away from similar practices .

b. God - in His infinite love - declared Himself in the Old Testament

as the Father of the believers but nobody, even the patriarchs and the
prophets, dared to call Him: "Father". In the New Testament, the
Father sent His only Begotten Son to call the believers to abide in Him
by the Holy Spirit, and thus they attain adoption to the Father. This is
the gift of the New Testament, which Isaiah the prophet foretold,
saying: "For the Lord God will... call His servants by another (a new)
name," Is. 65:15. What is the new name except "The children of
God"?!
And my servants shall be called by a new name, He says,
fresh and eternal, pure and simple, and childlike and true,
which shall be blessed on earth...

63 Paid. 1:8. 64 Ibid. 65 Ibid. 66 Ibid. 1:9; Rev. James E. Furman: St. Clement of Alexandria:
Making Gnosis Serve Ecclesia, Coptic Church Review, Fall 1987, v. 8, No. 3, p. 71, 72.
 Rightly, then, are those called children who know
Him as their Father, who are simple, and infants and
guileless...
The Father of the universe cherishes affection
towards those who have fled to Him; and having begotten
them again by His Spirit to the adoption of children, knows
them as gentle, and loves those alone, helps and fights for
them; and therefore He bestows on them the name
67
children .
The Gnostic (the believer who has true spiritual knowledge) in
virtue of being a lover of the one true God, is the really perfect
68
man and friend of God, and is placed in the rank of sons .

VI THE DIVINE 6
. PROVIDENCE 9 as Philo, Cicero, Seneca,
Many of the ancient philosophers, such
Epictetus, Marcus Aureoles and others, contemplated the universe, its
mighty laws, its capabilities, its beauty etc. They believed in God's
providence as a fact, but frequently, they limited it to the creation of
the universe with its laws; believing that God left the universe after its
creation, and no longer controlled its laws. The Alexandrian Fathers
looked upon philosophy as a divine gift that reveals the truth partially.
They believed in God's providence in its biblical sense; namely it
embraced all creation in general and man in particular. It surpassed
time and space, for it was concerned with man even before his
creation, i.e., before the time when he was in the Divine Mind, and it
still takes care of him on earth and will continue embracing him into
eternal life, or in the world to come. Divine Providence cares for
believers, unbelievers and irrational creatures. This is revealed through
God's tender mercies, kindness and chastening; through the pleasant
events, and through the evil, sorrowful ones.

67 Paedagogos 1:5. 68 Strom 7:11. 69 Fr. Tadros Y. Malaty: The

Divine Providence, Alexandria, 1990, p. 3.
Divine providence is one aspect of the grace of God, for the
depth of the latter is revealed through the Incarnation, the
crucifixion and the resurrection of the Incarnate Son of God.
St. Clement believes that the universe is a clear proof of God's
providence. W.E.G. Floyd says: "Clement's proof for the existence
of divine providence, if proof is needed, is a theological argument
based on order and design in the universe. This is evident, he argues,
even from the most superficial glance at the world. To deny that is an
70
attack on the true doctrine ."
St. Clement expresses the close relation between God and the
universe, saying: "He who is far off has come very near; oh ineffable
marvel! 'I am a God who is near at hand,' says the Lord (Jer. 23:23)...
He is very near by virtue of His power ( providence ) which holds all
things in its embrace. 'Can anyone hide himself in secret places, so I
shall not see him?!' ( Jer. 23: 24 ). For the power of God is always
present, in contact with us, in the exercise of inspection, of
71
beneficence and of instruction ."
John Patrick says: "Thus the transcendence of God, in the thought of
Clement, is consistent with God's immanence, rather the immanence is
72
an essential factor in His conception "
VII GOD'S UNIVERSAL 7
. PROVIDENCE
God, who is immanent to His creation created it3through His grace or
74
good will , for "nothing at all exists unless He had willed it to
75
exist .'' This active and gracious will of God or this Divine providence
is still at work, caring for the creation. Plato and other philosophers
thought that the divine providence was constrained to the creation of
the universe with its mighty laws, but

70 W.E.G. Floyd: Clement of Alexandria's treatment of the problem of evil, Oxford University
Press, 1971, p.36. 71 Stromata 2:2. 72 J. Patrick: Clement of Alexandria, London 1914, p.73. 73
Fr. Tadros Y. Malaty: The Divine Providence, Alexandria, 1990, p. 6,7. 74 St. Clement:
Protroptecius 4:63. 75 St. Clement Alex: Paedagogos 1:8:62.
St. Clement of Alexandria clarified that God never ceases to do good.
76
Otherwise, He would cease to be a gracious God . He says that the
universe, like an axe, has no power in itself, but is in need of the
hand of God to use it in the proper work and to fulfill its purpose.
"Just as the ax does not cut unless someone uses it, or a saw without
someone sawing with it, for they do not work by themselves, but have
certain physical qualities which accomplish their proper work by the
exertion of the artisan; so also by the universal providence of God,
through the medium of secondary causes, the operative power is
77
propagated in succession to individual objects ".

Here, I refer to the words of St. Clement who said that God's rest
(Sabbath) does not consist of ceasing to act, for this means to cease to
be God, but is rather realized by His work in the universe attaining its
aim. May our gracious God act in us as His beloved Creatures that by
His providence we may become perfect in Him and He might find
His rest in us.
St. Clement states that God's goodness is ever at work, like the care
of a shepherd for his sheep, a king for his subjects, and a father for
78
his children .
VIII. PROVIDENCE FOR MANKIND, CHURCH AND EVERY
PERSON
God as the Omniscient One, sees the whole as well as the part at a
79
glance , and in His love for men "His providence is in private, in
80
public... He cares for all ." God's goodness is not mechanical, but
81
the goodness of a loving personality ; He takes care of all
mankind, of His Church and of everybody personally. He is not the
82
adversary of anyone nor the enemy of anyone .
76 Strom. 5:14:141, 6:12, 6:16.
77 Ibid. 6:16. 78 Stromata
6:17:157,158. 79 Stromata
6:17. 80 Ibid. 7:2 81 Ibid. 1;27,
1:11. 82 Ibid. 7:12
 83
Floyd states that Clement was unashamed of his theology of
providence (paranoia) because of its almost universal popularity
among serious and well-educated persons in the Greco-Roman world
of his day, but there was an essential difference between Clement and
the philosophers. The latter often equated to the natural laws, for God
established the unalterable laws of the universe as one might wind a
clock; the pattern once set runs of its own accord. God is a monarch
who reigns but not rules. St. Clement declares that God's care is for
the universe, mankind, the Church and at the same time for
everybody personally. He is the Lover of every man.

Floyd says: "When Clement teaches providential concern for the

individual, his comments are profuse. Since man is God's most noble
creation, but nonetheless a finite creature, God, out of pity for this
weakness, sympathizes with the nature of each man. By His
omniscience and omnipotence, He knows the needs of every person
and like a king for his people or a shepherd for his flock, dispenses
his beneficence accordingly. Nothing that matters to man is too petty
for God's concern, for "even the very hairs of his head are numbered
84
and the most minute movements are surveyed ."

83 Floyd: Clement of Alexandria's treatment of the problem of evil, Oxford University Press 1971, p.
35. 84 Ibid.
36.
3. THE TRINITARIAN FAITH
G. Florovosky says, Throughout his extant works Clement speaks of,
refers to, and underpins his thought with the unity and oneness of the
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. "The all-loving, beneficent Father
rained down his Logos and straightway did he become the spiritual
nourishment for the good. O, the marvelous mystery! For one is the
Father of all, one the Logos of all, and one is the Holy Spirit, one and
85
the same everywhere .""Be gracious, O Educator, to us your
children, O Father, Charioteer of Israel, Son and Father, both one, O
Lord. Grant to us who obey your precepts that we may perfect the
likeness of the image, and with all our power know the goodness of
God and the kindness of his judgment. . . That we may give praise and
thanksgiving to the only Father, and to the only Son, to Son and
Father, Son our Educator and Teacher, together with the Holy Spirit,
all in One, in whom are all things, through whom all things are one,
through whom is eternity, of whom all men are members... all praise
to the All-Good, the All-Lovely, the All-Wise, the All-Just One, to
86
whom be glory both now and ever. Amen ." The Trinitarian praise
ends Clement's Who Is the Rich Man Who Is Saved? "To whom, by
his Son Jesus Christ, the Lord of the living and the dead, and by the
Holy Spirit, be glory, honor, power, eternal majesty, both now and
ever, from generation to generation, and from eternity to eternity.
87
Amen ."

This triune God is the Creator. The world is the result of an action of
God. It has not simply emanated from the divinity nor is it a mere
88
ordering of preexistent matter . Creation took place outside time - a
doctrine that Clement believes he can find support

85 Paidagogos 1:6. 86 Paidagogos 3:12. 87 Ch. 42; G. Florovosky: Byzantine

Fathers of the Fifth Century, 1987, p. 84,85. 88 Stromata 5:14.
 89
for in the philosophers as well as in Scripture . Furthermore, creation
is not to be confused with the mere preservation of the universe.
Clement believes that God, who made all things in the beginning, no
longer creates, but has rather left the preservation and multiplication
90
of things to the natural order that he established at the beginning .

89 Stromata 6:16. 90 In a fragment preserved by Anastasius Sinaita (q. 96). English trans.:
ANF, 2:584; Justo L. Gonzalez: A History of Christian Faith, vol. 1, 1979, p. 207.
4.
 9
CHRIST
The Logos is the Creator
1 of the universe. He is the one who
manifested God the Father in the Law of the Old Testament, in the
philosophy of the Greeks and finally in the fullness of time, in His
incarnation. He forms with the Father and the Holy Ghost the Divine
Trinity. It is through the Logos that we can recognize God because
the Father cannot be named.
The Logos, as Divine Reason, is essentially the Teacher of the world
and the Lawgiver of mankind. St. Clement knew Him also as the
Savior of the human race and the founder of a new life which begins
with faith, proceeds to knowledge and, through love and charity
leads to immortality. Christ as the incarnate Logos is God-man, and
it is through Him that we have been elevated to divine life.

The Son is eternal, His generation from the Father is without

beginning. St. Clement says, “The Father is not without His Son, for
92
along with being Father, He is Father of the Son .”
The Son is essentially one with the Father, since the Father is in
93
Him and He is the Father .
St. Clement assures the humanity and divinity of our Lord
Jesus Christ. Henry Chadwick says,
We are not to think, like the Gnostics, that the
incarnation was not a real taking of human flesh or an
optical illusion, though Clement admits that Christ ate and
drank, not because he really needed to do so, but to
94
forestall the heretics . He also insists that in the Passion
95
there was no inner conflict . Christ was without sin and
96
suffered not for Himself but for us . Nor, on the other

91 see Esmat Gabriel: St. Clement of Alexandria, Coptic Church Review, Spring 1980, v.1, No. 1,
p. 25; Quasten, p. 21 f. 92 Strom. 4:162:5; 5:1:3; 7:5:5. 93 Paidag. 1:24:3; 1:53:1; 1:62:4;
1:71:3; 3:101:1. 94 Stromata 6:71; 3:91; 102. 95 Stromata 3:69. 96 Stromata 4:81f.
 hand, are we to think that Christ was so good a man that he
97
was 'adopted' as Son of God ...
He took our passible flesh and trained it up to
98
impassibility .
The incarnation was an incognito, only penetrated
99
by those to whom God's grace revealed it .
I. CHRIST AS A TEACHER
The Alexandrians considered "ignorance" as the cause of sin. St.
Clement has shown that the knowledge of God has to be taught to us.
But who is to do this? Mankind cannot do it, and even the angels
cannot reveal God to human beings. The Savior is the Teacher who
practiced His educational work throughout the whole history of
mankind, through the prophets and the Greek philosophers and at last
He was incarnate.
The Divine Teacher, not only offers the divine Law and renewing
human nature, commandments, but He has the power of bestowing
upon man a new life in Him. He has the power to and of educate the
soul and illuminate the mind to attain "knowledge." He also sends the
Holy Spirit into His Church to reveal the divine mysteries. St. Paul
says, "But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the
Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man
knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in
him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of
God" 1 Cor. 2:10,11.
The Word ... has appeared as our teacher, He by
whom the Universe was created. The Word who in the
beginning gave us life when He fashioned us as Creator,
has taught us the good life as our teacher, that He may
afterwards, as God, provide us with eternal life. Not that

97 Paidagogos 1:25; Henry Chadwick: History and Thought of the Early Church, London, 1982, p.
176. 98 Stromata 7:6-7. 99 Stromata 6:132; Henry Chadwick: History and Thought of the Early
Church, London, 1982, p.

177.
 He now has for the first time pitied us for our wandering;
He pitied us from old, from the beginning. But now, when
100
we were perishing, He has appeared and has saved us .
Who could teach with greater love for men than
He?101
Let us call Him, then, by the one title: Educator of little ones,
an Educator who does not simply follow behind, but who
leads the way, for His aim is to improve the soul, not just to
instruct it; to guide to a life of virtue, not merely to one of
knowledge. Yet, that same Word does teach. It is simply that in
this work we are not considering Him in that light. As
Teacher, He explains and reveals through instruction, but as
Educator He is practical. First He persuades men to form
habits of life, then He encourages them to fulfill their duties by
laying down clear-cut counsels and by holding up, for us who
follow, examples of those who have erred in the past. Both are
most useful: the advice, that it may be obeyed; the other, given
in the form of example, has a twofold object - either that we
may choose the good and imitate it or condemn and avoid the
102
bad .

For he (the Apostle) recognizes the spiritual man and the

Gnostic (a spiritual believer who has true gnosis of
knowledge) as the disciples of the Holy Spirit dispensed by
God, which is the mind of Christ. "But the natural man
receives not the things of the Spirit, for they are foolishness to
103
him" 1 Cor. 2:14 .
For the Spirit searches all things, yes the deep
104
things of God (1 Cor 2:10) .

100 Protrep. 1:7. 101 Paidagogos 1:7:59 (Fathers

of the Church). 102 Paidadogos 1:1:1,2 (Fathers of
the Church, 23). 103 Stromata 5:4. 104 Ibid. 2:2.
 Even those who claim God as their Teacher, with difficulty
attain to a conception of God, grace aiding them to the
attainment of their modicum of knowledge; accustomed as
they are to contemplate the will [of God] by the will, and the
Holy Spirit by the Holy Spirit. "For the Spirit searches the
deep things of God. But the natural man does not receive the
105
things of the Spirit of God" 1 Cor. 2:10,14 .

The Word that was with God, the Word by whom all things
were made, has appeared as our Teacher; and He, who
bestowed life upon us in the beginning, when, as our
Creator, He formed us, now that He has appeared as our
Teacher, has taught us to live well so that, afterwards, as
106
God, He might furnish us abundantly with eternal life .
Just as night would be over everything in spite of the other
stars, if the sun did not exist, so also, had we not known the
Word and been illuminated by Him, we would have been no
different from fowls that are being fed, fattened in darkness
107
and nourished for death .
Our divine Educator is trustworthy, for He is endowed with
three excellent qualities: intelligence, good will and
authority to speak. With intelligence, because He is the
Wisdom of the Father: 'All wisdom is from the Lord and has
been always with Him' (Eccl. 1 1:1). With authority to speak,
because He is God and Creator: 'All things were made
through Him, and without Him was made nothing' (John
1:3). With good will, because He is the only one who has
given Himself as a sacrifice for us: 'The Good Shepherd lays
down His life for His sheep' (John 10:11), and in fact

105 Ibid. 6:18. 106 St. Clement of Alexandria:

Protreptikos 1:7:3. 107 St. Clement of Alexandria:
Protreptikos: 11, 113, 3.
 He did lay it down. Surely, good will is nothing else than
108
willing what is good for the neighbor for his own sake .
Our tutor, oh children, resembles God his Father, He is the
Son of God, without sin and without defect; his soul is
impassible; the immaculate God under a human form, the
minister of the will of the Father, God the Word, who is in the
Father, who comes from the right hand of the Father, God in
human form. He is for us the immaculate image, to which
with all our might, we are to endeavor to assimilate our soul.
But He is wholly free from all human passions; the only
judge, because He alone is without sin; but we must, as much
as lies within our power, strive to keep ourselves as free as
109
possible from sin .
Since the unproduced Being is unique, the all-powerful God,
his firstborn is also unique,... and is the one whom all the
prophets call Wisdom, He is the Master of all created beings,
the Counselor of God who has governed all things by his
Providence. He it is who, from the beginning, from the first
creation of the world, has instructed (us) in many ways and in
many forms, and He also completes his teaching. That is why
He rightly says: "Call no man your master on earth." You see
110
the prizes of true philosophy .
This Master is in men's hearts as a seed of truth; he is symbolized by
the grain of mustard seed, by the seed of the sower, and by the
111
leaven . It is He who, as we have seen, has given to mankind the
partial intuitions of philosophy; He is also the revealer of the two
112
Testaments .
Joseph C. McLelland states that his theology is a Christian
'paideia' (educating). Christ is the Paidagogos (Educator) who
educates the believers, granting them true gnosis (knowledge).

108 Paidagogos 1:11:97 (Fathers of Church, vol. 23). 109

Paidagogos 1:2:4:1-2. 110 Stromata 6:7:58:1-2. 111 Paidagogos
1:11:96:2; Stromata 4:6:31:5; Stromata 5:12:80:8. 112 Stromata
2:6:29:2.
According to St. Clement, ...'there is no faith without knowledge,
113
nor knowledge without faith... and the Son is the true Teacher . He
114
educates the believer by training his soul to discover truth .
Paidagogos is the training of children... we are the children... To
speak briefly, the Lord acts toward us as we do toward our
115
children .''
This divine Paidagogos teaches us about the Father. "In order that
we may come to know the Father, we must believe in the Son,
because the Son of the Father is our teacher, for the Father brings
116
us from faith to knowledge by means of the Son .
The Son, as our divine Paidagogos, not only grants us His grace of
true knowledge, but also offers Himself as the model we have to
117
imitate to become like Him .
The divine Teacher - in His infinite love to the believer - is involved
in all aspects of his life, taking care of even the smallest actions.

"As the sun illumines not only the heaven and the whole
world, shining on both land and sea, it also sends its rays
through windows and small chinks into the furthest recesses
of a house, so the Word, poured out everywhere, beholds the
118
smallest actions of man's life ."
The Word, then, the Christ, is the cause both of our ancient
beginning - for He was in God - and of our wellbeing. And
now this same Word has appeared as man. He alone is both
God and man, and the source of all our good things. It is by
Him that we are taught to live well and then are sent along to
life eternal...

113 Strom. 5:1:11. 114 Strom. 4:6:35;

6:15:121; 7:16:95. 115 Paid. 1:5:12;
1:9:75. 116 Strom. 5:1:1. 117 Protop.
12:120:4; Strom. 2:19:100. 118 Strom.
7:3:21.
 He is the New Song, the manifestation which has now been
made among us, of the Word which existed in the beginning
and before the beginning. The Savior, who existed before, has
only lately appeared. He that has appeared is in Him that is;
for the Word that was with God (1), the Word by whom all
things were made, has appeared as our Teacher; and He, who
bestowed life upon us in the beginning, when, as our Creator,
He formed us, now that He has appeared as our Teacher, has
taught us to live well so that, afterwards, as God, He might
119
furnish us abundantly with eternal life .

Here are some quotes of St. Clement of Alexandria, which declare

that Christianity elevates man's mind and does not abolish it by faith
or by God's revelation, but makes it wise: ..."the soul is raised to
God: trained in the true philosophy, it speeds to its kindred above,
turning away from the lusts of the body, and besides these, from toil
120
and fear... "
"A noble hymn of God is an immortal man, established in
righteousness, in whom the oracles of truth are engraved! For
121
where, but in a soul that is wise, can you write truth? "
St. Clement explains that human knowledge is necessary for the
122
understanding of the scriptures, but not without God's help .

St. Clement of Alexandria introduced our Lord as Jesus who

123
heals both our body and our soul ." He is the divine
Educator and Physician who alone can deliver us from the
consequences of sin.
As a churchman, St. Clement sees the church as the place of
education and the divine pasture.

119 St. Clement of Alexandria: Protreptikos, 1:7:1, 3.

120 Strom. 4:3. 121 Protrop. 10. 122 Strom. 1:9. 123
Paidagogos 3:12.
 Feed us, the children, as sheep. Yea, Master, fill us with
righteousness, Your own pasture; yea, O Educator, feed us
on Your holy mountain the Church, which towers aloft, which
is above the clouds,
which touches heaven. 124.

II. CHRIST REVEALS HIS FATHER IN THE OLD AND

NEW TESTAMENTS
Our Lord Jesus Christ is appropriately called the Educator "Our
Educator is the Holy God Jesus, the Logos, who is the guide of all
humanity. The loving God himself is our Educator." In the Old
Testament the "Lord God was unnamed because he had not yet
become man." "The face of God is the Logos by whom God is
125
manifested and made known ."
God can only be known through his Word or Son. The Son is the
image of the Father, His mind or rationality. He is the Mediator
between the utterly transcendent God, the One, and the world which
126
He contains .
Since the first principle of everything is difficult to find out,
the absolutely first and oldest principle, which is the cause of
all other things being and having been, is difficult to exhibit.
For how can that be expressed which is neither genus, nor
difference, nor species, nor individual, nor number; nay more,
is neither an event, nor that to which an event happens? No
one can rightly express Him wholly. For on account of His
greatness He is ranked as the All, and is the Father of the
universe. Nor are any parts to be predicated of Him. For the
One is indivisible; wherefore also it is infinite, not considered
with reference to its being without dimensions, and not having
a limit. And therefore it is without form and name. And if we
name it,

124 Paidagogos 1:9. 125 G. Florovosky: Byzantine Fathers of the Fifth Century, 1987, p.83. 126
Protrepticus 98:3; Stromata 5:16:3; W.G. Rusch: The Trinitarian Controversy, Fortress Press,
Philadelphia, 1980, p. 12.
 we do not do so properly, terming it either the One, or the
Good, or Mind, or Absolute Being, or Father, or God, or
Creator, or Lord. We speak not as supplying His name; but
for want we use good names, in order that the mind may have
these as points of support, so as not to err in other respects.
For each one by itself does not express God; but all together
are indicative of the power of the Omnipotent. For predicative
are expressed either from what belongs to things themselves
or from their mutual relation. But none of these are
admissible in reference to God. Nor any more is He
apprehended by the science of demonstration. For it depends
on primary and better known principles. But there is nothing
antecedent to the Unbegotten. It remains that we understand
then the Unknown by divine Grace and by the Word alone that
127
proceeds from Him .
"Receive Christ, receive sight, receive your light; in order
that you may know well both God and man. 'Sweet is the
Word that gives us light, precious above gold and gems; it is
128
to be desired above honey and the honeycomb' Ps. 19:10 ."

"For each one (of His titles) by itself does not express God;
but altogether are indicative of the power of the Omnipotent.
It remains that we understand, then, the Unknown, by divine
grace, and by the Word alone that proceeds from

Him129."
130
Joseph C. McLelland writes : "Moreover, since 'like knows like' in
131
the Alexandrian world-view... (St. Clement states ) 'the way to the
Immutable is immutability.'"

127 Stromata 5:12:82 ANF. 128 St. Clement: Exhortation to the Heathen, Ch. 9. “The Ante-Nicene
Fathers." 129 St. Clement: Stromata, Book 5, Ch. 12. 130 J.C. McLelland: God the Anonymous, A
study in Alexandrian Philosophical Theology", 1976, P

64. 131 St. Clement: Stromata, Book 2, Ch. 11,

Section 6.
St. Clement does not ignore the role of natural law for
acknowledging God.
That which in other ages was not known has now been clearly
shown and has now been revealed to the sons of men (Eph.
3:5). Indeed, there was always a natural manifestation of the
one Almighty God, among all right thinking men; and the
majority, who had not entirely divested themselves of shame in
the presence of the truth, apprehended the eternal beneficence
through divine providence... The Father and Creator of all
things, therefore, is apprehended by all by means of an innate
power and without instruction, in a manner suitable to all...
Nor is it possible for any race to live anywhere, whether they
be tillers of the soil or nomads, or even city-dwellers, without
132
being imbued with faith in a Higher Being .

III. CHRIST’S SAVING WORK

The Lord, the Educator, is "most good." He "sympathizes from the
exceeding greatness of his love with the nature of each man...
Nothing exists, the cause of whose existence is not supplied by God.
133
Nothing, then, is hated by God, nor by the Logos .
What is the door by which the Lord makes Himself
134
manifest? It is His flesh by which He becomes visible .
J.N.D. Kelly says: In expounding Christ’s saving work Clement
carries on the tradition we have already studied... Thus he
135
ïñôõëspeaks of Christ’s laying down his life as a ransom ( ) on our
behalf, redeeming us by His blood, offering í Himself as a sacrifice,
conquering the Devil, and

132 Stromata 5:13:87:1,2; 5:14:133:7,8 (Jurgens). 133 G. Florovosky:

Byzantine Fathers of the Fifth Century, 1987, p. 84. 134 Paidagogos
1:5:22 (Frs. of Church, 23). 135 Quis div, 37:4; Paid. 1:5:23; 1:11:97;
3:12:98; Protr. 11:111; 12:120.
 interceding for us with the Father. These are, however,
conventional phrases as used by him, and this is not the aspect
of Christ’s achievement which makes the chief appeal to him.
His most frequent and characteristic thought is that Christ is
the teacher Who endows men with true knowledge, leading
them to a love exempt from desires and a righteousness whose
prime fruit is contemplation. He is their guide at the different
levels of life, “instructing the Gnostic by mysteries, the
believer by good hopes, and the hard-hearted by corrective
136
chastisement .” It is as teacher that He is “the all-healing
137
physician of mankind ,” Who bestows immortality as well as
138 139
knowledge . “God’s will,” he remarks , “is the knowledge
of God, and this is participation in immortality.” So man is
deified: “the Word... became man so that you might learn from
140
man how man may become God ” As God, Christ forgives
us our sins, while the function of His humanity is to serve as a
141 142
model so as to prevent us from sinning further .
According to Clement, the principal activities of the Logos are,
successively, to exhort people to believe and be baptized, to train
them in morals and piety, and to initiate them into the knowledge
of God. That means that the Logos is, in his terms, successively an
Exhorter, a Pedagogue and a Teacher.
Whence He was and who He Himself was, was demonstrated
by what He taught and did. He showed Himself as the Herald
of a truce, our Mediator and Savior, the Word, the Font of
Life and Peace poured out over the face of the earth; and
through Him, so to speak, the universe has already become
an ocean of good things...

136 Strom. 7:2:6. 137 Paid. 1:2:6. 138 Protr. 12:120:3. 139
Strom. 4:6:27. 140 Protr. 1:8:4. 141 Paid. 1:3:7. 142 J.N.D.
Kelly: Early Christian Doctrines, 1977, p. 183-4.
 The first man, when He was in Paradise, played in childlike
abandon, because he was a child of God; but when he gave
himself over to pleasure... he was seduced by lust, and in
disobedience the child became a man. Because he did not
obey his Father, he was ashamed before God... The Lord then
wished to release the serpent and enslaved the tyrant death;
and most wonderful of all, man, who had been deceived by
pleasure and bound by corruption, had his hands unbound
and was set free. O mystic wonder! The Lord was laid low,
and man rose up! He that fell from Paradise receives even
143
better as the reward for obedience: heaven itself .

Just as night would be over everything in spite of the other

stars, if the sun did not exist, so also, had we not known the
Word and been illuminated by Him, we would have been no
different from fowls that are being fed, fattened in darkness
144
and nourished for death .
The Lord then wished to release him ( man ) from his bonds,
and clothing Himself with flesh - O divine mystery . -
vanquished the serpent, and enslaved the tyrant; and, most
marvelous of all, man that had been deceived by pleasure, and
bound fast to corruption, had his hands unloosed, and was set
free... He has changed sunset into sunrise, and through the
cross turned death into life; and having wrenched man from
destruction, He has raised him to heaven, transplanting
145
mortality into immortality and translating earth to heaven .

St. Clement of Alexandria states that the Savior is the Lord not
of the Jews only but of all men, therefore He came to save

143 St. Clement of Alexandria: Protreptikos 10:110:1-3; 11: 111:1-3 ; W.A. Jurgens: The Faith of
the Early Fathers, vo. 1, article 405. 144 St. Clement of Alexandria: Protreptikos 11:111:3 ; W.A.
Jurgens: The Faith of the Early Fathers, vo. 1, article 405a. 145 Paidagogos 11 (see Stromata
2:10:47; 4:7:51).
everyone that turns to Him; His sacrifice has its effect in all places
and at all times.

IV. CHRIST AS A SACRIFICE

The Sacrifice of Christ is mentioned in a variety of ways: in speaking
of Christ as a whole burnt offering for us, as the Passover, as the
146
Suffering Servant and as Lamb of God . Further, Clement's
Isaac-Christ typology highlights the theological importance of his
147
understanding of the sacrifice of Christ :
Where, then, was the door by which the Lord showed himself?
The flesh by which he was manifested. He is Isaac (for the
narrative may be interpreted otherwise), who is a type of the
Lord, a child as a son. For he was the son of Abraham, as
Christ was the Son of God; and a sacrifice like the Lord, only
he was not immolated as the Lord was. Isaac only bore the
wood of the cross. And he laughed mystically, prophesying
that the Lord would fill us with joy, who have been redeemed
from corruption by the blood of the Lord. Isaac did
everything but suffer, as was right, yielding the precedence in
suffering to the Word. Furthermore, there is an intimation of
the divinity of the Lord in his not being slain. For Jesus rose
again after his burial, having suffered no harm, like Isaac
148
released from sacrifice .

The incarnation provides the background and foundation of

St. Clement's understanding of Christ’s sacrifice.
For this also He came down. For this He clothed himself with
man. For this He voluntarily subjected Himself to the
experiences of men, that by bringing Himself to the measure of
our weakness whom He loved, He might correspondingly
bring us to the measure of His own strength. And about to be
offered up and giving Himself as

146 Stromata 5: 10-11; Paidagogos 2:8 and elsewhere. 147 Fobert J. Daly: The Origins of the
Christian Doctrine of Sacrifice, Fortress Press, Philadelphia, 1978, p. 114f. 148 Paidagogos 1:5; cf.
also Stromata 2:5.
 ransom, he left for us a new covenant - testament: My love I
149
give unto you. "
V. ISAAC AS A TYPE OF CHRIST THE RISEN VICTIM
Again, there is Isaac ... who is a type of the Lord. He was a child, just
as the Son; for he was the son of Abraham, as Christ is the Son of
God. He was a sacrificial victim, as was the Lord. Yet, he was not
immolated as the Lord was. Isaac did, however, at least carry the
wood for a sacrifice, as the Lord carried the cross... But he did not
suffer. Not only did Isaac suddenly yield the first place in suffering to
the Word, but there is even a hint of the divinity of the Lord, in Isaac's
150
not being slain .
VI CHRIST AS THE HIGH 15
. PRIEST
"High priest" can have three meanings for 1Clement: First, the Old
Testament high priest who offered the sacrifices; Second, Jesus
Christ who offered Himself as a Sacrifice, and Third, the true
Gnostic or Christian. The true Gnostic is "the truly kingly man; he is
152
the sacred high priest of God ." He offers the spiritual sacrifices.
"Does he not also know the other kind of sacrifice which consists in
153
the giving both of doctrine and of money to those who need? "

The second meaning is, of course, the central one for St. Clement; but
in his thought the Christological meaning not only flows naturally
from the Old Testament type, it also seems to merge, at times, into the
third meaning where the true Gnostic also becomes a "high priest."
The Christian believer shares in Christ's

149 Quis dives salvetur 37; See Stromata 1:22; 5:6; Paidagogos 1:6. 150 St. Clement of Alexandria:
Paidagogos (The Instructor) 1:5:23:1, 2; W.A. Jurgens: The Faith of the Early Fathers, vo. 1, article
406. 151 Fobert J. Daly: The Origins of the Christian Doctrine of Sacrifice, Fortress Press,
Philadelphia, 1978, p. 115-6. 152 Stromata 4:25. 153 Stromata 7:7.
high-priestly dignity. In Him the Christian believer or true Gnostic
becomes the true archetype of the Old Testament high priests. This is
most clearly seen at the end of a long passage in which he is making
use of the Philonic allegory of the high priest's robe in the context of
the Day of Atonement liturgy.
And he shall take off the linen robe, which he had put on
when he entered into the holy place; and shall lay it aside
there, and wash his body in water in the holy place, and put
on his robe (Lev 16:23-24). One way, I think, of taking off
and putting on the robe takes place when the Lord descends
into the region of sense. Another way takes place when he
who through him has believed, takes off and puts on, as the
apostle intimated, the consecrated stole (cf. Eph 6:117).
Thence, after the image of the Lord, the worthiest were
154
chosen from the sacred tribes to be high priests....

Protrepticus 12 singles out two high-priestly functions of Jesus:

the one, directed toward us, is the sanctifying activity of preparing
us for the Eucharistic meal; the other, directed toward the Father is
Christ's mediating or intercessory activity for us. Elsewhere
Clement speaks more directly about the specifically sacrificial
aspects of Jesus' high-priestly activity:
If then, we say that the Lord the great high priest offers to
God the incense of sweet fragrance, let us not imagine that
this is a sacrifice and sweet fragrance of incense but let us
understand it to mean that the Lord lays the acceptable
155
offering of love, the spiritual fragrance, on the altar .

VII. CHRIST AS OUR PHYSICIAN

Therefore, the Word is our Educator who heals the unnatural
passions of our soul with His counsel. The art of healing,
strictly speaking, is the relief of the ills of the

154 Stromata 5:6.

155 Paidagogos 2:8.
 body, an art learned by man's wisdom. Yet, the only true divine
Healer of human sickness, the holy Comforter of the soul when
it is ill, is the Word of the Father. Scripture says: "Save Your
servant, O my God, who puts his trust in You. Have mercy on
me, O Lord, because I have cried to You the whole day
through." Ps. 85:2,3. In the words of Democritus, "The healer,
by his art, cures the body of its diseases, but it is wisdom that
156
rids the spirit of its ills ." The good Educator of little ones,
however, Wisdom Himself, the Word of the Father, who
created man, concerns Himself with the whole creature, and
157
as the Physician of the whole man heals both body and soul .

VIII. CHRIST AS OUR SPIRITUAL NOURISHMENT AND

SATISFACTION
According to St. Clement of Alexandria, the church is a loving
mother and virgin who at the same time offers her beloved children
the Father's Gift: His Logos, our Lord Jesus Christ as our spiritual
food, so that we may grow up in His likeness.
The loving and kind Father has rained down the Word,
it is He Himself who has become the spiritual
158
nourishment of the saints .
O mystic wonder! The Father of all is indeed one, one also is
the universal Word, and the Holy Spirit is one and the same
everywhere; and one only is the Virgin Mother. I love to call
her the Church. This Mother alone was without milk, because
she alone did not become a wife. She is at once both Virgin
and Mother: as a Virgin, undefiled; as a Mother, full of love.
Calling her children about her, she nourishes them with holy
milk, that is, with the Infant Word...

156 Fragment 50, N. 31. H. Diels, Die Fragmente der Vorsakratiker griechisch und deutsch (Berlin
1903). 157 Paidagogos 1:2:6 (Frs. of Church, 23). 158 Paidagogos 1:6:41 (Fathers of Church, vol.
23).
 The Word is everything to a child: both Father and Mother,
both Educator and Nurse. "Eat My Flesh," He says, "and
159
drink My Blood." The Lord supplies us with these intimate
nutriments. He delivers over His Flesh, and pours out His
Blood; and nothing is lacking for the growth of His children.
160
O incredible mystery !
Our Savior and Teacher, as the spiritual Food, nourishes us, the
children of God, by Himself as the source of true virtues. Thus we
attain His peace and love, and become in the likeness of God.
Indeed we are educated not for war but for peace. In war
161
there is need for much equipment, and provisions are
required in abundance. Peace and love, however, are plain
and simple sisters, and need neither arms nor abundant
supplies. Their nourishment is the Word; and the Word is He
by whose leadership we are enlightened and instructed, and
from whom we learn frugality and humility, and all that
pertains to the love of truth, the love of man, To say it in and
the love of beauty and goodness. but a word: through the
Word we become like God by a close union in virtue... And as
for these who have been reared under this influence - their
manner of walking and reclining at table, their eating and
sleeping, their marital relations and manner of life, and the
rest of their upbringing, acquires a greater dignity. For such
a training as is imparted by the Word is not overly severe, but
162
well-tempered .

St. Clement states that our Lord grants us His precious Eucharistic
blood and His Spirit (the spiritual blood) to share His immortality.

The Blood of the Lord, indeed, is twofold. There is His

corporeal Blood, by which we are redeemed from

159 John 6:55. 160 Paidagogos 1:6: 41: 3; 1:6:42:1,3; W.A. Jurgens: The Faith of the
Early Frs., v. 1. 161 Read trojh, instead of trujh. 162 Paidagogos 1:12:99:1,2;
Jurgens: The Faith of the Early Fathers, vo. 1.
 corruption; and His spiritual Blood, that with which we are
anointed. That is to say, to drink the Blood of Jesus is to share
163
in His immortality. The strength of the Word is the Spirit,
just as the blood is the strength of the body. Similarly, as wine
164
is blended with water, so is the Spirit with man. The one, the
Watered Wine, nourishes in faith, while the other, the Spirit,
leads us on to immortality. The union of both, however, - of
the drink and of the Work, - is called the Eucharist, a
praiseworthy and excellent gift. Those who partake of it in
faith are sanctified in body and in soul. By the will of the
Father, the divine mixture, man, is mystically united to the
165
Spirit and to the Word .
On the other hand, hear the Savior: "...I am He that feeds you.
I give Myself as Bread, of which he that has tasted experiences
death no more; and I supply daily the Drink of immortality. I
am the Teacher of lessons concerning the highest heavens. On
behalf of you I contended with death, and I paid the death
which you owed for your former sins and for your unbelief
166
towards God ."

Our Savior Jesus Christ grants us an inner satisfaction. He is the

source of all blessings, “By Him the universe becomes an ocean of
167
blessings .”

163 Jarsiav, rightly understood, may often be translated immortality rather than incorruption.
Neither body nor soul individually constitutes a man; and the Greek Fathers often term the
separation of body and soul corruption. Hence, corruption is often synonymous with death; and in
view of the resurrection and reunion of body and soul, salvation is termed incorruption, which may
be better understood as immortality. Moreover, while some few earlier writers may have been
uncertain as to the resurrection of the unjustified, by the time of Clement the term incorruption has
already a special and technical meaning, referring to the resurrection and reunion of body and
soul in the case of the just; and it carries with it the unexpressed but superimposed notion of
salvation, but without denying in any way a resurrection to damnation for the unjustified. 164
This, with what follows, may be taken as an indication of a rather keen theological insight in
Clement, a rather forceful expression of the fact that in receiving the Eucharist with worthy
dispositions, we receive not only the Body and Blood of Christ, but receive also an increase of the
indwelling Holy Spirit. 165 Paidagogos 2:2:19:4; Jurgens: The Faith of the Early Fathers, vo. 1.
166 Who is the Rich Man that is saved? 23:2,4-5 (Jurgens). 167 Protrepticus 10.

359
IX. CHRIST AS OUR NEW HYMN
St. Clement offers his hearers a new hymn, the hymn of the
Logos, the Creator, the Teacher, the Savior and the Medicine
against grief.
This is the New Hymn, the manifestation of the Logos that
was in the beginning, and before the beginning. The Savior,
who existed before, has in recent days appeared... The
Logos, who was with God has appeared as our Teacher.
The Logos, who in the beginning bestowed on us life as
Creator when he formed us, taught us to live well when He
appeared as our teacher; that as God He might afterwards
conduct us to the life which never ends... He accomplished
our salvation... (The seducer is one and the same) that at
the beginning brought Eve down to death, now brings
thither the rest of mankind. Our ally and helper, too is one
and the same - the Lord, who from the beginning gave
revelations by prophecy, but now plainly calls to salvation...
The Savior has many tones of voice and many methods for
the salvation of men; by threatening He admonishes, by
upbraiding He converts, by bewailing He pities, by the voice
of song He cheers... And now the Logos Himself speaks to
you, shaming your unbelief; yea, I say, the Logos of God
became man, that you may learn from man how man may
become god...

“For I am,” He says, “the Door,” which we who desire to

understand God must discover, that He may throw heaven’s
gates wide open to us.
 For the gates of the Logos being intellectual, are
168
opened by the key of faith .
The Logos has accomplished those things claimed for other singers.
He has tamed the least manageable of all wild animals - man. He has
tamed birds in flighty men, reptiles in crooked men, lions in men of
strong passions, pigs in pleasure-seekers, wolves in men of rapacity,
stocks and stones in men of folly. Yes, and it was this new hymn
which made a melodious composition out of the universe, with the
Holy Spirit providing instrumental accompaniment.

Here St. Clement, starting from the Jewish philosopher, Philo,

anticipates the writers of odes or hymns to St. Cecilia, who later
became the patron saint of music, and borrows his account of the
order and harmony of the universe from a philosophical tradition
going back at least to Socrates and especially strong among the
Stoics.
And now St. Clement comes to one of the great words of Christian
affirmation as he speaks of God's philanthropy, his love for mankind.
The Word (Logos) was in the beginning (John 1,1). But He only
recently manifested himself to explicit statement of a dogma which
was later to split the church. He is our Teacher; so St. Clement
anticipates the final revelation of how to live well (the thought is from
Aristotle), and so are brought on our way to eternal life. He is our
Savior; He exhorts us to salvation. Like a good doctor he offers
different treatment for different patients; from poulticing to
amputation, from lamentation to threatening. In the prophets the
Divine Reason appeals through reason (a slightly odd evaluation of
169
those often obscure poets, but St. Clement cannot resist the pun) .

Christ who presents Himself as our eternal and new Hymn, who
changes our life into a constant feast, grants us to be a hymn of God,
as we become His pleasure in Jesus Christ.

168 Protrepticus 1. 169 Cf. John Ferguson : Clement of Alexandria, Twayne

Publishers, NY 1974, p. 46-7.
 The noblest hymn to God is an immortal man, who is built
up by righteousness, a man on whom are stamped the
170
oracles of truth .
X. CHRIST IS OUR INNER BEAUTY
That man with whom the Logos dwells does not alter himself,
does not get himself up: He has the form of the Logos; he is
made like to God; he is beautiful; he does not ornament
171
himself; his is beauty, the true beauty...
XI. THE BODY OF JESUS CHRIST
Some see that St. Clement, in his Christology, allows a certain
attenuated Docetism to intrude; he affirms that Christ, in His body,
is exempt from natural needs (eating and drinking) and that his soul
is free from the movements of the passions.
172
The one who has deeper wisdom is such that he is subject
only to the affections which exist for the maintenance of the
body, such as hunger, thirst, and the like. In regard to the
Savior, however, it were ridiculous to suppose that the body
demanded, as a body, the necessary aids for its maintenance.
For He ate, not for the sake of the body, which had its
continuance from a holy power, but lest those in His company
might happen to think otherwise of Him, just as afterwards
some did certainly suppose that He had appeared as a mere
phantasm. He was in general dispassionate; and no movement
of feeling penetrated Him, whether pleasure or pain (Matt.
173
9:22; Mark 5:34; Luke 8:48) .

170 Prorepticus 10. 171 Paidagogos 3:1. 172 ognwstikoV, literally, the gnostic. Clement uses the
term in reference to those who practice the true faith, and without the odious overtones which the
term generally has. Clement's gnostic, then, is the true gnostic, as distinguished from the gnostic
falsely so-called. Unfortunately for our language, it is the latter who finally came into sole
possession of the name. 173 Stromata 6:9:71:1,2 (Jurgens).
5. THE HOLY SPIRIT
St. Clement speaks of the Spirit as the light from the Word who
enlightens the faith. The Spirit is also the power of the Word, which
174
pervades creation and attracts individuals to God .
I. THE SPIRIT OF SANCTIFICATION
St. Clement of Alexandria declares the unceasing divine work in our
life, saying, [the Educator created man from dust, renews him by
water and nurses him by the Spirit]. What does St. Clement mean by
the words. "The Educator nurses man by the Spirit"? The Divine
Educator, Jesus Christ, sent His spirit in the Church not only to grant
us adoption to God, but to nurse us continuously by the divine life,
or by "holiness in Jesus Christ" that we might become holy as our
God is Holy [Lev. 11:44, 45, 1 Pet. 1:16].

II. THE HOLY SPIRIT GRANTS US TO BE CHRISTLIKE

The essential work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of the Church is to
prepare her as a heavenly bride to be united with her Heavenly
Groom. It is His work in the life of every member to renew him,
granting him to be Christ-like.
Haste to the ascent of the Spirit, being not only justified by
abstinence from what is evil, but in addition also
175
perfected, by Christ-like beneficence .

III. THE HOLY SPIRIT AND DAILY LIFE

The Alexandrian Fathers, through their Biblical thoughts and
practice, looked to Christian life as a "life in Christ" or a "new life"
realized by the Holy Spirit who dwells in their hearts. This life cannot
be separated into parts, but it is one life that Christians practise in
their church, houses, at their jobs, in their social

174 Strom. 6:138:1 f..;

7:9:4. 175 Stromata 4:6
ANF.
activities and so on. It is one life granted by the Holy Spirit that
embraces a Christian's relationship with God, Church, family
members, friends, all mankind, heavenly creatures, earthly creatures
and even with his own body. The Holy Spirit guides believers to
attain closer relationship with God through their spiritual worship,
and to examine the communitarian life through practical love not
only towards their brothers in the faith, but also towards all mankind
if possible.
176
H.B. Swete says : Of the Holy Spirit Clement speaks freely, and
with much beauty, but with reference either to some passage of the
Holy Scripture or to the experienced life of a Christian. Thus from the
statement that Bezalel was filled with the Spirit of God (Exod. 31 :2)
177
he infers that artistic taste and skill are a gift from God . Those who
have been brought to believe in the Holy Spirit are called by St. Paul
178
'spiritual men .' But spiritual men differ in their gifts, because
according to the Apostle; the Spirit divides to every man as He will.
Yet He is not Himself divided, as if a portion of God were given to
179
each . Clement frequently refers to the gift of the Spirit as a fact of
Christian experience. Though he is not Montanist, he recognizes fully
the place of the Holy Spirit in the life of man, especially within the
Church.

The Lord, of His love to mankind, invites all men to

come to the knowledge of the truth, and has sent the
180
Paraclete for that end .
We who are baptized have the eye of the Spirit, by
which alone we can see God, free from obstruction and
181
bright, the Holy Spirit flowing in upon us from heaven .

176 H.B. Swete: The Holy Spirit in the Ancient Church, London 1912,p.
124-6. 177 Stromata 4:25. 178 Paidagogos l:6:36. 179 Stromata 4:21:134;
5:l3:89. 180 Protrept. 9:85. 181 Paidagogos l :6:28.
 The Spirit blends and unites itself (Himself) mysteriously with
the human spirit, as wine with water; and the true Gnostic,
who earnestly strives to be spiritual, "is united to the Spirit
182
through the love that knows no bounds ."

The Spirit is the Holy Anointing Oil compounded of

heavenly spices and is prepared by Christ for His
183
friends .
It is the soul's jewelry, which decks it with the radiant colors
of righteousness, practical wisdom, courage, self-control, love
184
for all that is good, and modesty .
The more truly "Gnostic" a man becomes through righteous
185
living, the nearer the bright Spirit of God draws to him .

As the magnet attracts iron, so the Holy Spirit attracts the

soul to higher or lower mansions, according to personal
186
character; only the evil falls to the ground .
The Spirit is the royal gold which, mingling with the other
elements of our nature, makes Christians such as they are187.

182 Ibid. 2:2:20; Stromata 7:7:44 .

183 Paidagogos 2:8:65. 184 Ibid.
3:l:64. 185 Stromata 4:17:109.
186 Ibid. 7:2:9. 187 Ibid. 5:14:99.
6. DIVINE GRACE
I. DIVINE GRACE AS GOD'S SELF-GIVING
He grants us His own dwelling within us and His own life to enjoy.
“Generous is He who gives for us the greatest of all gifts, His own
life!”

II. THE DIVINE GRACE AS GOD'S SELF-REVELATION

188
God reveals Himself through His creation (Ps. 19:1) . It is clear that
our Trinitarian Faith is correlated to God's Grace or God's
Self-Revelation. From the beginning God our heavenly Father
planned to reveal Himself to us through the incarnation of His Only
Begotten Son, Who dwelt among us, uniting us with His Father in
Him. He spoke to us about the Father not only by words, but through
unity with Him and participating in the divine life, and by granting us
His mind and understanding (1 Cor. 2:16).
The Word... has appeared as our Teacher, He by Whom the
universe was created. The Word Who in the beginning gave
us life when He fashioned us as Creator, has taught us the
good life as our Teacher, that He may afterwards, as God,
provide us with eternal life. Not that He now has for the first
time pitied us for our wandering; He pitied us from old,
from the beginning. But now, when we were perishing, He
189
has appeared and has saved us .
"For I am," He says, "the door", John 10:9, which we who
desire to understand God must discover, that He may throw
heaven's gates wide open to us. For the gates of the Word
being intellectual, are opened by the key of faith. No one
knows God but the Son, and the one to whom the Son has
190
revealed Him (Matt. 11:27) .
III. GRACE OF RENEWAL (DEIFICATION)

188 St. Athanathius: Contra Gentes 27,35; De Incarnatione Verbi Dei 11-15.
189 Protrepticus 1:7. 190 Prot. 1.
 By deification the Alexandrians mean the renewal of
human nature as a whole, to attain the characteristics of our Lord
Jesus Christ in place of the corrupt human nature, so that the believer
may enjoy "partaking in the divine nature" (2 Peter 1:4), or the new
man in the image of His Creator (Col. 3:10). This theological mind
drew the heart of the Alexandrians away from the arguments about the
term "grace" to concentrate on attaining it as being an enjoyment of
Christ Himself Who renewed our nature in Him.

For this He came down, for this He assumed human nature,

for this He willingly endured the sufferings of man, that by
being reduced to the measure of our weakness He might raise
191
us to the measure of His power .
The Word of God, became man just that you may
learn from a man how it may be that man should become
god192.
The Alexandrians, in all their theological views, concentrate on the
grace of God as a grace of the continuous or dynamic renewal of our
nature by the Holy Spirit, who grants us the close unity with the
Father in the Son, or the communion with God. In Jesus Christ, not
only do we receive forgiveness of sins by the Holy Spirit, but we also
attain the "new life" which is free of sin by divine grace. St. Paul
speaks of "putting off the old man" or "the old corruptible nature" and
putting on "the inner man" or the renewed nature in the Spirit, created
after the likeness of God in justice and holiness (2 Cor. 5:21' Rom
8:1). By divine grace, we become members of the Body of Christ,
children of the Father, have the power to practice true life, for we are
sanctified in Christ, consecrated to the Father. The believer as a
whole, his soul, body, senses, emotions, mind etc. is sanctified as a
tool for righteousness (Rom. 6:13).

191 Quis Dives Salvetur 37.

192 Protrepticus 1:8:4.
St. Clement of Alexandria was the first to use the term
193
"theopoiein", i.e. "to divinize ." He believed that sin has
introduced an internal conflict in the nature of man, and it is not
part of his nature, though it infects all mankind. We sin without
194
knowing how we do it; it comes from lack of knowledge . The
Word of God comes as a teacher, granting us true knowledge
195
(gnosis). It is through His teaching that He divinizes , granting
the Gnostics to share in the divine life.
He repeats the idea of the renewal of our nature in the
196
Incarnate Son of God, as follows :
He had taken upon Him our flesh... He scorned not the
weakness of human flesh, but having clothed Himself with it,
has come into the world for the salvation of all men. O mystic
wonder! The Lord was laid low, and man was raised up!
"Know you not" says the Apostle, "that you are the temples of
God?" (1 Cor. 3:16). The Gnostic (a believer who has true
spiritual knowledge) is consequently divine, and already holy,
God- bearing, and God-borne. The Word of God became man,
that you may learn how man may become god! He, the
Husbandman of God,...having bestowed on us the truly great,
divine, and inalienable inheritance of the Father, deifying man
by heavenly teaching, putting His laws into our minds and
writing them on our hearts. But that man in whom reason
(ëïãïò) dwells is not shifty, not pretentious, but has the form
dictated by reason (ëïãïò) and is like God. He is beautiful, and
does not feign beauty. That which is true is beautiful; for it,
too, is God. Such a man becomes god because God wills it.

193 Henri. Rondet: The Grace of Christ (tran. by W. Guzie), Westminster, Md, 1967, p.73 n.
38. 194 Strom 2:15; Earnest Jauncey: The doctrine of Grace, SPCK 1925, p.133. 195 Protr. 1,
12. PG 8:64D, 368 A-B. 196 Strom 7:2:7, 8; Protr 11:3; Strom 7:13; Paidag 1, protr. 11.
 Rightly, indeed, did Heraclitus say: "Men are gods, and gods
197
are men; for the same reason (ëïãïò) is in both." That this
is a mystery is clear: God is in a man, and a man is God, the
Mediator fulfilling the will of the Father. The Mediator is the
Word (Ëïãïò) who is common to both, being the Son of God
198
and the Savior of men .
In a word, through Him we become like God by a likeness of
virtue. Labor, then, and do not grow weary; you will become
199
what you dare not hope or cannot imagine (1 Cor. 2:9) .

It is God's grace that renews man's life; but God gives His grace to
those who show an earnest desire for it. St. Clement says:
While a man strives and labors by himself to subdue his
vicious affections, he can do nothing; but if he manifest an
earnest vehement desire to do so, he is enabled by the divine
power to accomplish his purpose; for God favors and
200
co-operates with the willing minds .
He, who has first moderated his passions and trained himself
for impassability and developed to the beneficence of Gnostic
perfection, is here equal to the angels. Already luminous and
shining like the sun in the exercise of beneficence, he speeds
by righteous knowledge through the love of God to the sacred
abode, just like the apostles. Now the apostles did not
become such by being chosen for some distinguished quality
of nature, since Judas also was chosen along with them. But
they were capable of becoming apostles on being chosen by
him who foresees even ultimate issues. Matthias,
accordingly, who was not chosen along with them, on
showing himself worthy of becoming an apostle, is
substituted for Judas...

197 Heraclitus, fragment 62, in H. Diels, Die Fragmente der Vorsokratiker, Berlin
1903. 198 Paidagogos 3:1:1:5;3:1:2:2; Jurgens: The Faith of the Early Fathers, vo. 1.
199 Paidagogos 1:12:99 (Frs. of Church). 200 Quis div. salv. 21 {df. Strom 7:7);
Jauncey, p. 134.
 And the chosen of the chosen are those who by reason of
perfect knowledge are called [as the best] from the church
itself and honored with the most august glory -the judges and
rulers - twenty-four (the grace being doubled) equally from
Jews and Greeks. For it is my opinion that the grades here in
the church: bishops, presbyters, and deacons, are imitations of
the angelic glory and of that economy which, the Scriptures
say, awaits those who, following the footsteps of the apostles,
have lived in perfection and righteousness according to the
gospel. For they, when taken up in the clouds, as the apostle
writes ( 1 Thess 4:17), will first minister, and then be classed
in the presbyterate by promotion in glory (for glory differs
from glory - 1 Cor 15:41) till they grow into "a perfect man"
201
Eph 4:13 .

Through our fellowship with Christ we attain His likeness,

even in His incorruptibility.
We have in the conduct of the Lord an unmistakable model of
202
incorruptibility, and are following in the footsteps of God .

IV. GRACE OF ADOPTION TO THE FATHER

He grants us the adoption to the Father in His Only-Begotten Son by
the Holy Spirit, so that we may receive Him our own Father, and
203
dare settle in His bosom eternally. St. Clement of Alexandria says ,

O surpassing love for man! Not as a teacher speaking to his

students, not as a master to his domestics, nor as God to
men, but as a Father, does the Lord gently admonish His
children... And how the more benevolent God is, the more
impious men are; for He desires us to become sons not

201 Stromata 7:13. 202 Paidagogos 1:12:98:3 ; W.A. Jurgens: The Faith of the
Early Fathers, vo. 1. 203 Protrep; 9 Paid. 1:5.
 slaves, while they scorn to become sons. O the prodigious folly
of being ashamed of the Lord! The Father of the universe
cherishes affection towards those who have fled to Him, and
having begotten them, again by His Spirit to the adoption of
children, knows them as gentle ones, loves them, aids and
fights for them; and therefore He bestows on them the name of
child.
V. GRACE AND THE PLEDGE OF ETERNITY
St. Clement calls the true believer who practices the divine grace a
"Gnostic." One of the essential characteristics of the Gnostic is
204
perfect "love," through which he enjoys the pledge of "eternity ."

VI. FREE GRACE

This free gift is not granted to men by force, or to careless souls, but
it is offered freely to all men, to act in those who seriously desire it.
Man has the choice to accept or reject this free grace. J. Patrick
205
clarified St. Clement's opinion in this regard, saying :

If faith was only an advantage of nature, as Basilides

maintained, there could be no room for praise or censure in
the case of belief or disbelief, for man would be the creature
of a natural, or divine, necessity. If men were moved like
lifeless puppets by natural forces, the distinction between
voluntary and involuntary is superfluous; and the same is true
206
of the impulse which leads to choice . From this conception
of freedom as absolute, important conclusions in the matter
of salvation are drawn. God wished us to be saved from
207
ourselves . Because man is not a lifeless instrument, he
must hasten to

204 Louis Bouyer: Spirituality of the N.T. and the Fathers, 1960, p. 274; Stromata 6:15.
205 Clement of Alexandria, 1914, 0.145-6. 206 Stromata 2:3. 207 Ibid. 4; 12:96; Ec.
Pr. 22.
 208
salvation willingly and of set purpose . Readiness of mind is
209
our contribution to salvation . Faith as well as obedience
210 211
depend on freedom . Choice and life are yoked together .
212
He who sins of his own will makes choice of punishment .
213
That which is involuntary is not judged . God only requires
214
of us the things that are in our power . By instruction we are
215
taught to choose what is best . God Himself has a respect for
this freedom, and exercises no compulsion in the matter of
salvation. No one will be saved against his will, for force is
216 217
hateful to God . Man must cooperate with God . Those
who are foreordained were foreordained because God knew
before the creation of the world that they would be
218
righteous . Even, as has already been noted, the argument
from the miraculous must not be such as to compel the assent
of the spirit of man; for such compulsion were out of harmony
219
with the nature of God and man . But though God will not
compel man, there is a sense in which man may exercise
compulsion upon God. The kingdom of God is not for the
slack or the sleepers; the "violent takes it by force," and
snatches life from God; for in such conflicts He rejoices to be
220
defeated .

208 Strom 7:7;42. 209 Ec. Pr. 22.

210 Strom 2;3:11; 2:6:26; 2:20:113.
211 Protr. 11:117. 212 Paid. 1:8:69.
213 Strom 2:14. 214 Strom
2:6:26:7:7:48. 215 Strom 1:6:35;
2:16:75. 216 Quis div. salv. 10. 217
Strom 5:4:157. 218 Strom 7:7:107.
219 Stah vol. 3, p. 217. 220 Quis
div. salv. 21.
 VII. UNIVERSAL GRACE
God is the Lord not only of the Jews but of all men, though He
is more intimately the Father of those who know Him221.

For "I become all things to all men, that I might gain all men"
1 Cor. 9:22. Since also "the rain" of the divine grace is sent
down "on the just and the unjust" Matt.
5:45. "Is He the God of the Jews only, and not also of the
Gentiles? Yes, also of the Gentiles: if indeed He is one God"
222
Rom. 3:29,30, exclaims the noble Apostle .
VIII. GRACE AND THE BELIEVER'S ROLE
A man by himself, working and toiling at freedom from
passion, achieves nothing. But if he plainly shows his great
desire and complete sincerity in this, he will attain it by the
addition of the power of God. Indeed, God conspires with
willing souls. But if they abandon their eagerness, the spirit
which is bestowed by God is also restrained. To save the
unwilling is to exercise compulsion; but to save the willing
belongs to Him who bestows grace. Nor does the kingdom of
heaven belong to the sleeping and the lazy; rather, the violent
223
take it by force (Matt. 11:12)... On hearing these words,
the blessed Peter, the chosen..., paid the tribute (Matt.
17:27), quickly grasped and understood their meaning.

221 Stromata 6:6:47. 222 Ibid. 5:3 223 Our Savior had said that it was easier for a camel to pass
through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter heaven. His disciples met His statement with
the question, "Who, then, can be saved?" Clement is now referring to our Savior's reply to that
question, with which words the present chapter opens: "With men this is impossible, but with God
all things are possible."
 And what does he say? "Behold, we have left all and have
224
followed you!" (Matt. 19:27; Mark 10:28) .

224 Who is the Rich Man that is saved? 21:1-5 (Jurgens).

7. PROVIDENCE AND DIVINE
CHASTISEMENT
W. Floyd says: [Besides the rosy picture of providence which depicts
God as the merciful provider, Clement is not blind of its shadow.
Providence is also a disciplinary art which chastens man both for his
own benefit and as an example to others. Censure is the mark of
fatherhood, of God, and of goodwill; not ill will. Therefore God is
225
good despite the rod, threatening and fear. ]
John Patrick says: [The controversy raised by Marcion led
Divine justice to Clement to touch specially on the relation of
226
Divine goodness ].
Marcion attributes justice to the God of the Old Testament,
describing Him as violent in His punishment of men, while he
attributes goodness to the God of the New Testament, describing
Him as kind and pitiful to men. St. Clement clarifies that the God of
the Old Testament is the same of the New Testament, and God is
merciful and good in His justice and just in His goodness.
Punishment by God does not arise from anger; He is truly just and
good at the same time. His punishment of men is not for vengeance,
but always disciplinary and remedial. He chastises for three reasons:

1. For the sake of the person who is chastised that he rises

superior to his former self. His goal is the salvation of the
reproved.
2. By being an example to others, that by admonition they may
be driven back from sin before committing it.
3. God chastises the wrong-doer that the wronged person may
not become an object of contempt and a fit subject for being
wronged.
"Do not any longer", he says, "my son, despise the
chastening of the Lord, nor faint when you are rebuked of

225 W. Floyd, p. 40.

226 John Patrick, p. 90.
 Him," Prov. 3: 11. O surpassing love for man! Not as a
teacher speaking to his scholars, not as a master to his
domestics, nor as God to men, but as a Father the Lord
227
admonishes His children .
For there is nothing which the Lord hates", Wisd. 11:24... Nor
He wishes anything not to exist ... If then He hates none of the
things which He has made, it follows that He loves them.
Much more than the rest, and with reason, will He love man,
the noblest of all objects created by Him, and a God-loving
being... But he who loves anything wishes to do it good... God
therefore cares for man and takes care of man... "How then",
they say, "If the Lord loves man, and is good, is He angry and
punishes?"... Many of the passions are cured by punishment ...
For reproof is, as it were, the surgery of the passions of the
soul... Reproach is like application of medicines, dissolving
the callousness of the passions, and purging the impurities of
the lewdness of life; and in addition, reducing the
excrescences of pride, restoring the patient to the healthy and
228
true state of humanity .

See how God, through His love of goodness, seeks

repentance; and by means of the plan he pursues of
threatening silently, shows His own love for man. " I will
avert," He says; "My face from them, and show what shall
happen to them," Deut. 32:20. For where the face of the
Lord looks, there is peace and rejoicing; but where it is
229
averted, there is introduction of evil .
He uses the bitter and biting language of reproof in His
consolations by Solomon, tacitly alluding to the love for
children that characterizes His instruction, "My son, do not
despite the chastening of the Lord, Nor detest His

227 St. Clement of Alex.: Protrep.

9 228 Paidagogos 1:8. 229 Ibid.
 correction; For whom the Lord loves he corrects, just as a
230
father the son in whom he receives," Prov. 3:11,12 .
Such is the disciple of wisdom ("for whom the Lord loves
He chastens"), causing pain in order to produce
231
understanding, and restoring to peace immortality .
The name that He has tells us by divine inspiration that the
Educator will save. It is for this reason that the Scripture
associates Him with a rod that suggests correction,
government and sovereignty. Scripture seems to be suggesting
that those whom the Word does not heal through persuasion
He will heal with threats; and those whom threats do not heal
the rod will; and those whom the rod does not heal fire will
consume. 'And there shall come forth,' it is said, 'a rod out of
232
the root of Jesse' (Isa. 11:1) .

Therefore, it is not from hatred that the Lord reproves men, for
instead of destroying him because of his personal faults, He
has suffered for us. Because He is the good Educator, He
wisely assumes the task of correcting by means of reproach, as
though to arouse by the whip of sharp words minds become
233
sluggish, and then He attempts to encourage the same men .

234
Correction is also called in Greek 'nouthetein ,' whose
etymology means placing something in the mind;
therefore, correction is really transformation of the
235
mind .
It is clear that He who threatens desires to do nothing that will
harm us, or to execute none of His threats. Yet, by giving us
cause for fear, He takes away any

230 Ibid. 1:9. 231 Stromata 2:2. 232 Paidagogos 1:7:61 (Frs.
of Church). 233 Paidagogos 1:7:66 (Frs. of Church). 234
noutheyein is derived from nous (mind) and tithemi (place).
235 Paidagogos 1:10:94 (Frs. of Church).
 inclination to sin, and at the same time reveals His love for
men by delaying over and over, and repeatedly manifesting to
them, what they will suffer if they continue in their sins, unlike
the serpent that bites without delay. Therefore, God is
236
good .
It is not inconsistent that the Word who saves should make use
of reproof in His care for us. As a matter of fact, reproof is
simply the antidote supplied by the divine love for man,
because it awakens the blush of confusion and shame for sins
committed. And if there is need for reproach and for harsh
words, then there is also occasion to wound, not to death, but
to its salvation, a soul grown callous; in such a way He
237
inflicts a little pain, but spares it eternal death .

Truly, the Educator of mankind, the divine Word of ours, has

devoted Himself with all His strength to save His little ones
by all the means at the disposal of His wisdom: warning,
blaming, rebuking, correcting, threatening, healing,
promising, bestowing favors--in a word, 'binding as if with
238
many bits " the unreasonable impulses of human nature. In
fact, the Lord acts toward us just as we do toward our
children: 'Have you children? Chastise them,' Wisdom
advises, 'and have you daughters? Have a care of their body
239
and show not your countenance gay toward them .' Yet we
have a great love for our children, sons or daughters, more
240
than that we have for anything else .

Generally speaking, His use of fear is a device for saving

us, but to save proves that a person is good. 'The mercy of
God is upon all flesh. He corrects and chastises

236 Paidagogos 1:8:68 (Fathers of Church, vol. 23).

237 Paidagogos 1:8:74 (Fathers of Church, vol. 23).
238 Plato: Laws 7:808D. 239 Eccli. 7:25. 240
Paidagogos 1:9:75 (Fathers of Church, vol. 23).
 and teaches as a shepherd does his flock. He has mercy on
those that receive chastisement and that eagerly seek His
241
friendship.' Eccli. 18:12,13 (Septuagint) .
Correction and chastisement, as their very name implies,
are blows inflicted upon the soul, restraining sin, warding
off death, leading those enslaved by vice back to
242
self-control .
There are two sorts of fear, one of which is accompanied by
reverence. This sort citizens feel toward their rulers if they are
good, and we toward God, as well-trained children do toward
their father. 'A horse not broken,' Scripture says, 'becomes
stubborn, and a child left to himself will become headstrong'
(Eccli 30:8). The other kind of fear is mixed with hate: this is
the way slaves feel toward harsh masters, and the Hebrews
when they looked on God as their Master and not their Father.
It seems to me that what is done willingly and of one's own
accord is far more excellent from every point of view than that
243
which is done under duress in the service of God .

As the mirror is not unjust to an ugly man for showing him

exactly as he is, and as the doctor is not unjust to the sick man
for diagnosing his fever (for he is not responsible for the fever,
but simply states it is present), so he who corrects is not ill
disposed toward one sick of soul. He does not put the sins
there, but only shows that they are present, so that similar sins
244
may be avoided in the future .
THE DIVINE ANGER Revenge is returning evil for evil,
imposed for the satisfaction of the one taking vengeance, but He
would

241 Paidagogos 1:9:81 (Fathers of Church, vol. 23).

242 Paidagogos 1:9:81 (Fathers of Church, vol. 23).
243 Paidagogos 1:9:87 (Fathers of Church, vol. 23).
244 Paidagogos 1:9:88 (Fathers of Church, vol. 23).
 never desire revenge who has taught us to pray for those
245
who calumniate us (Matt. 5:44; Luke 6:28) .
Really, then, the Divinity is not angry, as some suppose, but
when He makes so many threats He is only making an appeal
and showing mankind the things that are to be accomplished.
Such a procedure is surely good, for it instills fear to keep us
away from sin. 'The fear of the Lord drives out sin: for he that
is without fear cannot be justified.' The punishment that God
imposes is due not to anger, but to justice, for the neglect of
246
justice contributes nothing to our improvement .

245 Paidagogos 1:8:71 (Frs. of Church, 23). 246

Paidagogos 1:8:68 (Fathers of Church, vol. 23).
 HIS ECCLESIOLOGY

1. THE CHURCH
The Alexandrians who enjoyed the membership of an apostolic and
well organized church adopted this spiritual concept. According to
them, the Church is not a human organization, but a divine fellowship
of repented sinners who trust in the Savior and enjoy unity with Him
and also unity with each other in Him, through the Holy Spirit.
Moreover, the Alexandrians' view of knowledge (gnosis) as a divine
gift constantly granted by the Father through His Son to the spiritual
believers, that they may enjoy His divine mysteries, attracted even the
clergymen towards practising contemplation, studying the Holy Bible,
worshipping etc. and not towards involvement in church
1
administration .
J.N.D. Kelly says: [Meanwhile at Alexandria, as we might expect,
while the visible Church received its need of recognition, the real focus
of interest tended to be the invisible Church of the true Gnostic; the
2
treatment accorded to the early hierarchy was generally perfunctory .]

As a Churchman he loved the church, her tradition and laws. The sign
of our membership of the Church is our spiritual knowledge of God. Its
unity is based on the oneness of faith. Her (the Church) motherhood is
correlated to the fatherhood of God.

I. THE VIRGIN MOTHER

St. Clement of Alexandria speaks of the Church as the Virgin Mother
of the Christians, her motherhood is correlated to God's

1 Fr. Tadros Y. Malaty: The Church, Alexandria, 1991, p. 4 f.

2 Early Christian Doctrines, 1978, p. 201
 fatherhood, through her loving kindness she feeds her children on the
Logos as holy milk . She asserts Him as the Educator (Paidagogue)
and as the "Subject of teaching." He says:
"Their children," it is said, "shall be borne upon their
shoulders, and fondled on their knees; as one whom his mother
comforts, so also shall I comfort you" Isa. 66: 12, 13. The
mother draws the children to herself; and we seek our mother
the Church . Whatever is feeble and tender, as needing help on
account of its feebleness, is kindly look on, and is sweet and
pleasant, anger changing into help in the case of such ... Thus
also the Father of the Universe cherishes affections towards
those who have fled to Him, and having begotten them again by
His Spirit to the
adoption of children, knows them as gentle, and loves those
alone, aids and fights for them; and therefore He bestows on
3
them the name of child .
O wondrous mystery! One is the Father of all, one also the
Logos of all, and the Holy Spirit is one and the same
everywhere and there in only one Virgin Mother; I love to call
her the Church. This mother alone had no milk, because she
alone did not become woman, but she is both virgin and
mother, being undefiled as a virgin and loving as a mother;
and calling her children to her she nurses them with holy milk,
4
the Logos for the children .
J. Lebreton comments on this text, saying, "This fine passage brings to
us echoes of a teaching we have heard more than once in the course of
the second century, the motherhood of the Church which the old
5
Hermas already revered with such touching tenderness . That the Word
became by His incarnation the milk of children had likewise been said
6
by Irenaeus . All these symbols

3 Paidagogos 1:5.
4 Paidagogos 1:6:42:1.
5 Shepherd 2.
6 Adv. Haer. 4:38:1. "He, the perfect bread of the Father, has given himself to us as to little children
under the form of milk; that is, his presence as man. He desires that nourished by his flesh and
 flow together here into one and the same mystical current, which
carries the soul towards the Church. And the Church which Clement
envisages is not at all the Church imagined by the Gnostics in the
far-off shadow of the Pleroma, it is the one visible Church, which
carries within itself all Christians, and feeds them all with the one
7
Word ."
One must be careful not to interpret Clement's doctrine of salvation in
excessively individualistic terms, for the church has an important part
8
in the process of salvation. The church is the Mother of Believers , and
it is within her that the process of illumination and divinization takes
place which leads the Christian to the life of the "true Gnostic." One
enters this church through baptism, and is nourished within it by means
9
of the Eucharist .
She is also the virgin mother of Christians, feeding them on the Logos
10 11
as holy milk . It becomes the gathering of the elect , an impregnable
12
city ruled by the Logos . It is an icon of the heavenly Church, that is
why we pray that God’s will may be accomplished on earth as it is in
13
heaven .
The Mother draws the children to herself and we seek our
14
Mother, the Church .
Feed us, Your little ones, for we are Your sheep! Yes, O
Master, fill us with Your food, Your justice. Yes O Educator,
shepherd us to Your holy mountain, the Church, which is lifted
15
up above the clouds, touching the heavens .

accustomed by this food to ear and drink the Word of God, we may be able to assimilate to our
selves the bread of immortality which is the spirit of the Father."
7 Lebreton, p. 904.
8 Paid. 1:5.
9 Justo L. Gonzalez: A History of Christian Faith, vol. 1, 1979, p. 208.
10 Paaedagogus 1:6:42; 1:5:21.
11 Stromata 7:5:29.
12 Stromata 4:26:172.
13 Stromata 4:8:66; J.N.D. Kelly: Early Christian Docrines, 1977, p. 202.
14 Paidagogos 1:5:21:1.
15 Paidagogas 1:9:84 (Frs. of Church, 23).
 As a mother consoles her little children, so will I
console you. The mother leads her little children, and we
16
seek for our mother, the Church .
St. Clement assures the salvation of men as the purpose of the church,
"Just as the will of God is an action, and is called the world, so its
17
intention is the salvation of men, and this is called the Church ."

In the final chapter of the Paidagogos Clement calls the

Church the spouse and mother of the Tutor. She is the school in
18
which her spouse Jesus is the Teacher . He then continues:
O graduates of His blessed tutorship! Let us [by our presence]
make complete the fair countenance of the Church, and let us as
children run to our good Mother. And when we have become
hearers of the Word, let us extol the blessed dispensation by
which man is brought up and sanctified as a child of God, and
being trained on earth attains to citizenship in heaven and there
19
receives his Father, whom he learns to know on earth .

He mentions how the believer must prepare himself or herself before

entering the Church. He also mentions that the Church in his days did
not use musical instruments. Jesus Christ Himself is the lyre of the
20
Church .

II. A COMMUNITY OF JOY

The Alexandrians often look to the Church as the "Com
munity of Joy." According to St. Clement, the Church was symbol
ized by Rebecca which - in his opinion - means "laughter." He

16 Paidagogos.1:5:21:1. 17 Paidagogos
1:6:27:2 18 Paidagogos 3:12:98:1;
Quasten, p. 24 19 Ibid 3:12:99:1. 20
Paid. 2:4.
 says: “The Spirit of those that are children in Christ, whose lives are
21
ordered in endurance, rejoice .”

III. THE BODY OF CHRIST

St. Clement of Alexandria clearly teaches that the Church is the body
22
of Christ, nourished on His Body and Blood .

IV. A NEW CREATION

St. Clement of Alexandria states that the Church is the holy vine, or the
holy tree, where the saints, who became a new creation in Christ,
together with the heavenly creatures, dwell on its branches. He
comments on the parable of the mustard seed (Matt.
13: 31,32), saying: “To such increased size did the growth of the Word
come, that the tree which sprung from it (that is the Church of Christ,
established over the whole earth) filled the world so that the fowls of
the air, that is, the divine angels and lofty souls, dwelt in its
23
branches .”

V. THE FIRST-BORN CHURCH

For this is the first-born Church (Heb. 12: 23), composed of
many good children; these are the first born enrolled in
Heaven, and hold high festival with so many myriads of angels.
We too are first-born sons, who are reared by God, who are
genuine friends of the first-born, who first and foremost
24
attained to the knowledge of God .
VI. THE CHURCH, OLD AND NEW
St. Clement of Alexandria who proclaims the Church as a continuation
of the old one, confirms that she is new in Christ. He asserts that she
never become old, for the Holy Spirit always renews her youthfulness.

21 Paidagogos 1:5. 22 Paidagogos 1:6: 42. 23 St. Clement Die

Griechescher Christlichen Schrifsteller, 3:226. 24 Protrepticus
9:82.
 The new people, in contrast to the older people, are young,
25
because they have heard the new good things .
We are always young, always new: for those must
necessarily be new, who become partakers of the new
26
Word .

VII. THE HEAVENLY CHURCH

The earthly Church is usually described as the image of the heavenly
one, and that it is this ideal Church, "the church on high," which is
27
more often the subject of Clement's thought in the Stromata .

28
St. Clement of Alexandria states that the earthly Church is a copy of
the heavenly one, that is why we pray that God's will may be
accomplished on earth as it is in heaven . He also says that the perfect
Gnostic, i.e., the spiritual believer practises heavenly life while he is on
earth, for he “will rest on God's holy mountain, the Church on high, in
which are assembled the philosophers of God, the authentic Israelites
who are pure in heart ... giving themselves over to the pure intuition of
unending contemplation.” He also says: “If you enroll yourself as one
29
of God's people, heaven is your country, God your legislation .”

VIII. ONE CHURCH AND ONE FAITH

St. Clement, as a churchman, looks at "unity as a natural characteristic
of the Church, who is united with one God, has one Bible and one
Faith. He stresses on the Church unity based on the "One Faith," asking
30
us to avoid the heretics for they cause schism .

25 Paed.1:5:20 26 Paidagogos 1:5. 27 Stromata 4:8:66:1; 4:26:172:2; 6:14;108:1; 7:2:29:3;

7:6:32:4; 7:11:68:5; Lebreton, p. 917. 28 Stromata 4:8:66. 29 Stromata 6:14. 30 Stromata 7:17;
Paidagogos 1:4.
 31
Like God Himself the Church is one . St. Clement is firmly
convinced that there is only one universal Church as there is only one
32
God the Father, one divine Word and one Holy Spirit. J. Lebreton
states that the insistence with which Clement affirms this unity of God
and of the Church marks a reaction against Marcionism. We often find
in this work the same controversial preoccupation "Our Pedagogue is
the holy God Jesus, the Word who teaches the whole human race, the
God who is the friend of mankind"; He it was who made His people
come out of Egypt, who gradually formed it in the desert; it was He
33
who appeared to Abraham, Jacob and Moses . This controversy
becomes more direct in Paidagogos (Chs. 7-12), in which St. Clement
proves, against those who deny it, that the same God is just and good.

St. Clement too believes in the deposit, in the oneness of the teaching
of the Christian faith from the very beginning.
For just as the teaching is one, so also the tradition of the apostles
34
was one .
It is my view that the true Church, that which is really ancient,
is one. . . For from the very reason that God is one, and the
Lord is one, that which is in the highest degree honorable is
praised as a result of its oneness, for it is an imitation of the
one first principle. In the nature of the One, then, the one
Church is one . . . Therefore in substance and idea, in origin, in
preeminence, we say that the ancient and Catholic Church is
alone, gathering as it does into the unity of the one faith . . . in
its oneness the preeminence of the Church, as the principle of
union, surpasses all other things and has nothing like or equal
to itself. Those who "pervert" the "divine words" have not the
key

31 Paidagogus 1:4:10. 32 The History of the

Primitive Church, p. 904, n. 36. 33 Paidagogos
1:7:55:2 -58:3. 34 Stromata 7, 17.
 but a counter key "by which they do not enter in as we enter
35
in, through the tradition of the Lord .
St. Clement discusses at length the relationship between
this tradition and Scripture. The Church has, as "the source of
36
teaching," both the Lord and the Scriptures .
From what has been said, then, it seems clear to me that the
true Church, that which is really ancient, is one; and in it are
37
enrolled those who, in accord with a design, are just. ... We
say, therefore, that in substance, in concept, in origin and in
eminence, the ancient and Catholic Church is alone, gathering
as it does into the unity of the one faith which results from the
familiar covenants, - or rather, from the one covenant in
different times, by the will of the one God and through the one
Lord, - those already chosen, those predestined by God who
knew before the foundation of the world that they would be
38
just .

IX THE CHURCH AND THE 3

. HERETICS 9 from the heresies:
This Church differs in its unity and in its antiquity

Such being the case, it is evident, from the high antiquity and
perfect truth of the Church, that these later heresies, and those
yet subsequent to them in time, were new inventions falsified
[from the truth]. From what has

35 Ibid. 7:17.
36 Ibid. 7:16; Georges Florovsky: The Byzantine Fathers of the Fifth Century, vol. 8, 1987, p. 81.
37 One might ordinarily translate kata proJesin as purposely or of set purpose. In view of what
follows, however, it would appear that Clement is stressing the fact that these just or righteous men
are what they are because God has so providentially ordained it. They are just, then, in keeping with
God's plan, i.e., in accord with a disign. Taking the passage in its entirety it is clear that Clement
extends membership in the Church to all those who have been predestined to salvation even those
who lived in the centuries before redemption was accomplished by Christ. It is not clear, however,
that he restricts membership in the Chuch to only the predestined. If Clement errs, his error is not so
evident as that in the condemned propositions of Hus and Quesnel, which implied that membership in
the Church belongs to all and only the predestined.
38 Stromata 7:17:107:3 (Jurgens).
39 Quasten, p. 24-5.

388
 been said, then, it is my opinion, that the true Church, that
which is really ancient, is one, and that in it those who ac-
cording to God's purpose are just, are enrolled. For from the
very reason that God is one, and the Lord one,, that which is in
the highest degree honorable is lauded in consequence of its
singleness, being an imitation of the on first principle. In the
nature of the One, then, is associated in a joint heritage the one
Church, which they strive to cut asunder into many sects.

Therefore, in substance and idea, in origin, in preeminence, we

say that the ancient and Catholic Church is alone collecting as
it does into the unity of the one faith those already ordained,
whom God predestined knowing before the foundation of the
world that they would be righteous. But the pre-eminence of the
Church, as the principle of union, is in its oneness, in this
surpassing all things else and having nothing like or equal to
40
itself .
Clement knows that the great obstacle for the conversion of
pagans and Jews to the Christian religion is the fact that Christian
ity is divided by heretical sects:
First then they make this objection to us saying that they ought
not to believe on account of the discord of the sects. For the
truth is warped when some teach one set of dogmas, others
another.
To whom we say that among you Jews and among the most
famous of the philosophers among the Greeks very many sects
have sprung up. And yet you do not say that one ought to
hesitate to philosophize or to be a follower of the Jews because
of the want of agreement of the sects among you between
themselves. And then, that heresies should be sown among the
truth as 'tares among the wheat' was foretold by the Lord; and
what was predicted to take place could not but happen. And the
cause of this is that everything that is beautiful is always
shadowed by its caricature.

40 Stromata 1:17:107 ANF.

 If one then violate his engagements and go aside from the
confession which he makes before us, are we not to stick to the
truth because he has belied his profession? But as the good
man must not prove false or fail to ratify what he has promised
although others violate their engagements, so also are we
bound in no way to transgress the rule of the Church. And
especially the confession, which deals with the essential
articles of the faith, is observed by us, but disregarded by the
41
heretics .

X THE CHURCH’S 4
. DEMOCRACY 2 early Alexandrian Church
One of the important characteristics of the
was its democracy, that appeared clearly in its famous school.
Admittance to this school was open for all people regardless of their
religion, culture, age, sex, etc.
St. Clement clarifies the democracy of Christianity, saying,
So the Church is full of those chaste women as well as men,
who all their life have contemplated the death of Christ. For the
individual, whose life is framed as ours is, may philosophize
without learning, whether barbarian, whether Greek, whether
slave - whether old man, or a boy or a woman. For self -
control is common to all human beings who have chosen it. And
we admit that the same nature exists in every race, and the
same virtue.
Respecting human nature, the woman does not possess one
nature, and the man exhibit another, but the same: so also with
virtue ... Accordingly a woman is to practise self - restraint and
righteousness, and every other virtue, as well as man, both
bond and free; since it is a fit consequence that the same
nature possesses one and the same virtue.

41 Stromata 7:15:89 ANF. 42 Fr. T. Y. Malaty:

The Church, 1991, p.23, 24.
 We do not say that a woman's nature is the same as a man's, as
she is a woman. For, undoubtedly, it stands to reason that some
difference should exist between them, in virtue of which one is
male and the other female. Pregnancy and parturition,
accordingly, we say belong to a woman, as she is a woman, and
not as she is a human being ... As then there is sameness, as a
far in respect to the soul, she will attain to the same virtue; but
as there is difference in respect to the peculiar construction of
the body, she is destined for childbearing and housekeeping. "
For I would have you know," says the apostle, " that the head of
every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man: for
the man is not the woman, but the woman of the man. For
neither is the woman without the man, nor the man without the
woman, in the Lord" 1 Cor. 11: 3, 8, 11...

But as it is noble for a man to die for virtue, and for liberty,
and for himself, so also it is for a woman. For this is not
peculiar to the nature of males, but to the nature of the good.
Accordingly, both the old man, the young and the servant will
live faithfully, and if need be die, which will be to be made
alive by death. So we know that both children, and women, and
servants have often, against their fathers' and masters', and
43
husbands' will, reached the highest degree of excellence...

Now we can summarize the Christian democracy, according to St.

Clement in the following points:

. All human beings are equal for they have the same na-
ture, all have sinned, are in need of the same Savior, and
can attain the same virtues.

. This equality that depends on the same human nature
does not cancel the differences between them, for man
has his own role that fits his manhood and woman has
her own role. This dif

43 Stromata 4:8.
ference creates a kind of integrity in human beings, the male is in need
of the female and vice versa.
c. All kinds of obedience that the wife, or the children, or the servants
show, do not weaken the personality of the person, for he or she
practises it in the Lord, for the edification of mankind, through his or
her breadth of heart and broad-mindedness. If it is misused and the
person is obliged to deny his faith or to commit sin he has the right to
disobey, suffering even death, as a sign of his love for God.
2.
 THE CHURCH 4
Eusebius comments,
TRADITION "In the first of Stromaties, Clement shows us that
4
he himself was very close to the tradition of the Apostles... He
promises that he would write traditions that he had heard from the
45
presbyters of the olden times ."
According to St. Clement "the true Gnostic, having grown old in the
Scriptures, and maintaining apostolic and ecclesiastical orthodoxy in
his doctrines, lives most correctly in accordance with the gospel and
drives from the Law and the prophets the proofs for which he has
made search...For the life of the Gnostic, in my view, consists simply
46
in deeds and words which correspond to the tradition of our Lord .

He states that he who spurns the Church tradition ceases to be a man of

47
God , and that gnosis came down from the apostles through their
48
successors to a few (of us) being handed on orally .
Jean Daniélou says, “With the two Alexandrian Fathers, Clement and
Origen, we find both elements of early Christian tradition,
eschatological and liturgical, and certain minor details utilized by
49
tradition in their development .

44 Fr. Tadros Y. Malaty: Tradition & Orthodoxy, Alexandria, 1979, p. 29.

45 Eusebius H.E 6:13:8,9.
46 Stromata 7:16.
47 Ibid.
48 Stromata 6:7:61.
49 Jean Danielou : From Shadows to Reality, Studies in the Biblical Typology of the Fathers,
Newman Press, 1960, p. 103.
 3. BAPTISM
Although the teaching of the Logos occupies the center of Clement's
theological doctrine, he does not fail to pay attention to the mysterion,
to the sacrament. In fact, Logos and mysterion are the two poles around
which his Christology and ecclesiology move. Baptism to him is a
rebirth and a regeneration. Adoption as children of God takes place in
the sacrament of regeneration. Clement also uses the terms seal,
50
illumination, bath, perfection and mystery for baptism .

St. Clement was interested in the Church sacraments, especially

Baptism, as a new birth by which we receive Christ Himself in our
lives and attain His knowledge. Baptism is called illumination,
perfection, washing from our sins, and forgiveness of sins, etc. He
speaks of baptism as a spiritual regeneration, enlightenment, adoption
51
to the Father, immortality, remission of sins . Baptism imprints a seal,
or stamp, which is in fact the Holy Spirit.
This is the one grace of illumination, that our char
acters are not the same as before our washing. When we are
baptized, we are enlightened Being enlightened, we are
adopted as sons. Adopted as sons, we are made perfect. Made
perfect, we are become immortal. "I say," he declares, "you
are gods and sons all of
52
the Most High ."
This work is variously called grace, illumination, perfection,
53
and washing . It is washing by which we are cleansed of sins;
a gift of grace by which the punishments due our sins are
remitted; an illumination by which we behold that holy light of
salvation - that is, by which we see
50 Esmat Gabriel: St. Clement of Alexandria, Coptic Church Review, Spring 1980, v.1, No. 1, p. 26.
51 Paidagogus 1:6:26.
52 Ps. 81 [82]:6.
53 carisma kai jwtisma kai teleion kai loutron. A knowledge that such are the various names given to
Baptism will be of assistance in arriving at a better understanding of numerous Scripture passages,
where these or related terms are used, notably: Rom. 5:2; 5:15; 7:25; Eph. 5:26; Titus 3:5; Heb.
6:4; 7:11; 10:32; and James 1:17.
 God clearly; and we call that perfection which leaves noth-
ing lacking.
Indeed, if a man knows God, what more does he need?
Certainly it were out of place to call that which is not complete
a true gift of God's grace. Because God is perfect, the gifts He
54
bestows are perfect .
St. Clement states, "Baptism is the blessed seal.". This seal, (Sphragis)
makes us become God's, His own, for it was the custom, that a person
seals his own precious possession by his seal. Also, it declares that we
55
are God's sheep and soldiers, and are under His protection .

We, who are baptized, have wiped off the sins which obscure
the light of the Divine Spirit, and have owned the eye of the
Spirit: free, unimpeded, and full of light, by which, alone, we
contemplated the Divine, the Holy Spirit, flowing down to us
from above. This is the eternal adjustment of the vision, which
is to be able to see the eternal light. Since things alike love
each other, also that which is holy loves that from which
holiness proceeds, which has appropriately been termed
"light." "Once you were darkness, now you are light in the
Lord," Eph. 5: 8... But he has not yet received, they say, the
perfect gift ...
In baptism, by the divine Spirit, we get rid of sins which dim
our eyes like a mist, and leave the eye of the spirit free and
unhindered and enlightened. By this eye alone, we behold God,
56
when the Holy Spirit pours into us from heaven .

In Baptism, the Holy Spirit grants believers spiritual rebirth

and transforms them into members of the sacramental Body of
Christ. Through this divine grace, the Spirit grants us "new life" in

54 Paid. 1:6:26;1-3.
55 For more details see my book: "The Holy Spirit ..."Alexandria 1981, p62-68 ( in Arabic); Kay's
writings of Clement of Alexandria, London, 1835, p. 439.
56 Fr. Malaty: The Gift of the Holy Spirit, Alexandria, 1991, p. 34-.5
 Christ, the resurrected life, the illumination of the soul and partici-
pation in the divine life.
We are washed from all our sins, and are no longer entangled
in evil. This is the one grace of illumination, as our characters
are not the same as before our washing... "For you are all sons
of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as
were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither
Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither
male nor female: for you are all one in Christ Jesus" Gal.
57
3:26-28 .
Even though a man receives nothing more than this rebirth,
still, because he is by that fact enlightened, he is straightway
58
rid of darkness .
According to the early Coptic rite of Baptism, the newly baptized
person drank milk mixed with honey. St. Clement of Alexandria says
that "honey" in this rite refers to attaining our Lord Jesus Christ who is
59
sweet food to believers . Truly, in Baptism, the believer attains Christ
by the Holy Spirit, Who fills our life with His heavenly joy.

57 Fr. Malaty: The Gift of the Holy Spirit, Alexandria, 1991, p. 71-2.
58 Paidagogos 1:6:27 (Frs. of Church). 59 Paidagogos 1:6.
 4. THE EUCHARIST
St. Clement
a saw the Eucharist as instrumental in the ac-
complishment
. of the task undertaken by the Logos of God to be-
stow on men immortality6
0
There is a passage in Stromata. 7,3, which indicates that Clement did
not believe in sacrifices:
"We rightly do not sacrifice to God, who, needing nothing,
supplies all men with all things, but we glorify Him who gave
Himself in sacrifice for us, we also sacrificing ourselves... for
in our salvation alone God delights."
However, it would be incorrect to draw the conclusion from these
words that St. Clement does not know the Eucharist as the sacrifice of
61
the Church . Michael O' Carroll said that his writing on sacrifices,
which he appears to reject, must be read in the context of his thinking
62
on pagan and Jewish sacrifices . He knows such a ceremony very
well. He mentions in Stromata 1,19, that there are heretical sects which
substitute bread and water. He invokes a canon of the Church and of a
celebration of the Eucharist. He condemns the use of water as being
against this canon of the Church, which demands bread and wine, and
he speaks of "Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the most high God,
who gave bread and wine, furnishing consecrated food for a type of the
Eucharist." Thus he recognizes in the Eucharist a sacrifice, but he sees
63
it also as the food for believers .
"Eat you of my flesh, and drink my blood" (John 5:53). Such is
the suitable food which the Lord ministers, and He offers His
flesh and pours forth His blood, and nothing is wanting for the
children's' growth. O amazing mystery! We are enjoined to cast
off the old and carnal

60 Michael O'Carroll: Corpus Christi, An Encyclopedia of the Eucharist, article: Clement of

Alexandria, p. 48.
61 Quasten, p. 29.
62 Michael O'Carroll: Corpus Christi, An Encyclopedia of the Eucharist, article: Clement of
Alexandria, p. 48.
63 Esmat Gabriel: St. Clement of Alexandria, Coptic Church Review, Spring 1980, v.1, No. 1, p. 25.
 corruption, as also the old nutriment, receiving in exchange
another regimen, that of Christ, receiving Him if possible, to
hide Him within; and that, enshrining the Savior in our souls,
we may correct the affections of our flesh.
St. Clement goes on then to speak allegorically:
But you are not inclined to understand it thus, but perchance
more generally. Hear it also in the following way. The flesh
figuratively represents to us the Holy Spirit, for it was created
by Him. The blood points out to us the Word, for as rich blood
the Word has been infused into life; and the union of both is the
Lord, the food of babes - the Lord who is Spirit and Word.

St. Clement distinguishes between the human and Eucharistic blood

of Christ:
The blood of the Lord is twofold. For there is the blood of His
flesh, by which we are redeemed from corruption; and the
spiritual, by which we are anointed. And to drink the blood of
Jesus, is to become partaker of the Lord's immortality; the
Spirit being the energetic principle of the Word, as the blood
is of the flesh. Accordingly, as wine is blended with water, so
is the Spirit with man. And the one, the mixture of wine and
water, nourishes to faith; while the other, the Spirit, conducts
to immortality. And the mixture of both - of the drink and of
the Word - is called Eucharist, renowned and glorious grace;
and they who by faith partake of it are sanctified both in body
and soul.
64
As wine is blended with water, so is the Spirit with man .

The union of both, that is, of the potion and the Word, is called
the Eucharist, a gift worthy of praise and surprisingly fair;
those who partake of it are sanctified in body and soul, for it is
the will of the Father that man, a

64 Paidagogos 2:2.
 composite made by God, be united to the Spirit and to the
Word. In fact, the Spirit is closely joined to the soul depending
upon Him, and the flesh to the Word, because it was for it that
65
'the Word was made flesh' (John 1:4) .
b. It seems that in the second century, the liturgy of the Eucharist
started at the sunset of Saturday, or at the eve of the Sunday,
celebrating the Vespers. The congregation spent all night singing
hymns and celebrated the Eucharistic liturgy at dawn
(1 Thess. 5:6-8), not for fear of the rulers or the pagan popular, but
rather as a chance to meditate on the withdrawal of the soul from the
body, or its departure from the night of this world to settle in the light
of the Paradise.
But the variety of disposition arises from inordinate affection
to material things. And for this reason, as they appear to me, to
66
have called night Euphrone ; since then the soul, released
from the perceptions of sense, turns in on itself, and has a truer
hold of intelligence (phronesis). Wherefore the mysteries are
for the most part celebrated by night, indicating the
withdrawal of the soul from the body, which takes place by
night. "Let us not then sleep, as do others; but let us watch and
be sober. For they that sleep, sleep in the night; and they that
are drunken, are drunken in the night. But let us... be sober,
putting on the breastplate of faith and love as the helmet of the
67
hope of salvation" (1 Thess. 5:6-8) .

c. St. Clement mentions the tradition of praying towards the East, as

a symbol of our new birth, and our illumination by the sun of the
righteousness.
Since the dawn is an image of the day of birth, and from that
point the light which has shone forth at first from the darkness
increases, there has also dawned on those involved in darkness
a day of the knowledge of truth. In cor

65 Paidagogos 22:19 (Fathers of Church, vol. 23).

66 Euphrone is plainly "kindly, cheerful" (ANF).
67 Stromata 4:22.
 respondence with the manner of the sun's rising, prayers are
68
made looking towards the sunrise in the east .
d. According to St. Clement the Liturgy of the Eucharist is correlated
with the sanctification of the Lord's day (Sunday), not only through
worship but also through the pure spiritual conduct and the continuos
contemplation on the heavens, hoping in participating in the glories of
the resurrection.
He, in fulfillment of the precept, according to the Gospel, keeps
the Lord's day, when he abandons an evil disposition, and
assumes that of the Gnostic, glorifying the Lord's resurrection
in himself. Further, also, when he has received the
comprehension of scientific speculation, he deems that he sees
the Lord, directing his eyes towards things invisible, although
he seems to look on what he does not wish to look on;
chastising the faculty of vision, when he perceives himself
pleasurably by the application of his eyes; since he wishes to
69
see and hear that alone which concerns him .

e. For participation in the celebration of the liturgy of the Eucharist,

there are inner preparations together with that which touches the body.
These inner preparations are attaining love and purity. He asks the
believers to behave in their daily life in harmony with that inside the
church.
So it is said that we ought to go washed to sacrifices and
prayers, clean and bright; and that this external adornment
and purification are practised for a sign. Now purity is to think
holy thoughts. Further, there is the image of baptism, which
also was handed down to the poets from Moses as follows:
"And she having drawn water, and wearing on her body clean
clothes"... It was a custom of the Jews to wash frequently after
being in bed. It was then well said, "Be pure, not by washing of
water, but in the mind." For sanctity, as I conceive it, is perfect
pureness of mind,

68 Stromata 7:7 ANF.

69 Stramata 7:12 ANF.
 and deeds, and thoughts, and words too, and in its last degree
sinlessness in dreams. And sufficient purification to a man, I
70
reckon, is thorough and sure repentance .

. The liturgy of the Eucharist is a participation with the heavenly
creatures and the saints in giving hymns to God.

. St. Clement allegorically interprets Ps. 150 which is used in the
liturgy of the Eucharist, during receiving the Communion. He speaks of the
risen Church as a musical instrument, on which the spirit play the symphony
of love.

The Spirit, distinguishing from such revelry the di

vine service, sings, "Praise Him with the sound of trum
pet; "for with the sound of trumpet He shall raise the dead.
"Praise Him on the psaltery;" for the tongue is the
psaltery of the Lord. "And praise Him on the lyre." By the lyre
is meant
the mouth struck by the Spirit, as it were by a plectrum.
"Praise with the timbrel and the dance," refers to
the Church meditating on the resurrection of the dead in
the resounding skin.
"Praise Him on the chords and organ." Our body He calls an
organ, and its nerves are the strings, by which it has received
harmonious tension, and when struck by the Spirit, it gives
forth human voices.
"Praise Him on the clashing cymbals." He calls
the tongue the cymbal of the mouth, which resounds with
the pulsation of the lips. Therefore He cried to humanity,
"Let every breath praise the Lord," because He cares for
71
every breathing thing which He has made .
h. St. Clement adds that the church does not use the musical
instruments in his age, giving a reason, that these instruments were
used by the nations in wars to incite hatred and in parties. He

70 Stromata 4:22 ANF.

71 Paidagogos 2:5.
sees that our Lord Himself is the Instrument of our hymns, not only
through the church worship but even through our daily life.
For man is truly a pacific instrument; while other instruments;
if you investigate, you will find to be warlike, inflaming to
lusts, or kindling up amours, or rousing wrath.
In their wars, therefore, the Etruscans use the trumpet, the
Arcadians the pipe, the Sicilians the pectides, the Cretans the
lyre, the Lacedaemonians the flute, the Thracians the horn, the
Egyptians the drum, and the Arabians the cymbal.

The one instrument of peace, the Word alone by which we

honor God, is what we employ.
We no longer employ the ancient psaltery, and trumpet, and
timbrel and flute, which those expert in war and contemners of
the fear of God were wont to make use of also in the choruses
at their festive assemblies; that by such strains they might raise
their dejected minds...
In the present instance He is a guest with us. For the apostle
adds again, "Teaching and admonishing one another in all
wisdom, in psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs, singing
with grace in your heart to God" (Col 3:16 ).And again, "What
soever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord
Jesus, giving thanks to God and His Father" (Col. 3:17)· This
is our thankful revelry. And even if you wish to sing and play to
the harp or Lyre, there is no blame. You shall imitate the
righteous Hebrew king in his thanksgiving to God. "Rejoice in
the Lord, you righteous; praise is comely to the upright," says
the prophecy (Ps 33:1-3). "Confess to the Lord on the harp;
play to Him on the psaltery of ten strings. Sing to Him a new
song." And does not the ten-stringed psaltery indicate the
Lord Jesus, who is manifested by the element of the decade?
[the word Jesus in Greek starts with the letter iota which
resembles number 10.] And as it is befitting, before partaking
of food, that we should bless the Creator of all; so also in
drinking it is suitable to praise Him on partaking of His
creatures.
 For the psalm is a melodious and sober blessing. The apostle
72
calls the psalm "a spiritual song" (Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16) .

72 Stromata 2:4.
 5. PRIESTHOOD
St. Clement composed a book of the bishops, priests, dea
cons and widows, beside his book the "Church order," which are lost.
Undoubtedly these two works give an account of the church service,
the liturgical prayers and the role of the clergymen and laymen in the
church service. For this reason perhaps he does not write in details
about these topics in his other works.
The hierarchy of the Church, consisting of the three grades, the
episcopacy, the priesthood and the deaconate, is according to St.
73
Clement an imitation of the hierarchy of the angels . . This order of
the Priesthood (Bishops, Priests and Deacons) is not based only on
distributing the responsibilities, but also on participating in serving the
Lord Himself through which they attain heavenly glories.

Even here in the Church the gradations of bishops, presbyters,

and deacons happen to be imitations, in my opinion, of the
angelic glory and of that arrangement which, the Scriptures
say, awaits those who have followed in the footsteps of the
Apostles, and who have lived in perfect righteousness
according to the Gospel. For these taken up in the clouds, the
apostle writes, will first minister [as deacons], then be classed
in the presbyterate, by promotion in glory (for glory differs
74
from glory) till they grow into a "perfect man" Eph. 4:23 .

The Priest must grow in spiritual knowledge to be equal with the

angels. He should acknowledge that he has to learn while he is
teaching others. All believers, clergymen and laymen, need to learn for
their own progress. St. Clement says, "A multitude of other pieces of
advice to particular persons is written in the holy books: some for
presbyters, some for bishops and deacons; and

73 Strom. 6:13, ANF; Esmat Gabriel: St. Clement of Alexandria, Coptic Church Review, Spring
1980, v.1, No. 1, p. 25, 26.
74 Stromata 6:13:107:2.
 others for widows, of whom we shall have opportunity to speak
75
elsewhere ."
As a priest, St. Clement was very cautious about his own salvation,
reminding himself that he must not be proud of the glory of his
priesthood, asserting that the real glory of the priest is realized through
his illuminated life, and his behavior as an angel of God.

He, then, who has first moderated his passions and trained
himself for impassability, and developed to the beneficence of
Gnostic perfection, is here equal to the angels. Luminous
already, and like the sun shining in the exercise of beneficence,
he speeds by righteous knowledge through the love of God to
the sacred abode, like the apostles. Not that they became
apostles through being chosen for some distinguished
peculiarity of nature, since also Judas as chosen along with
them. But they were capable of becoming apostles on being
chosen by Him who foresees even ultimate issues. Matthias,
accordingly, who was not chosen along with them, on showing
himself worthy of becoming an apostle, is substituted for Judas.

Those, then, also now, who have exercised themselves in the

Lord's commandments, and lived perfectly and Gnostically
according to the Gospel, may be enrolled in the chosen body of
the apostles. Such an one is in reality a presbyter of the
Church, and a true minister (deacon) of the will of God, if he
do and teach what is the Lord's; not as being ordained by men,
nor regarded righteous because he is a presbyter, but enrolled
in the presyterate because he is righteous. And although here
upon earth he be not honored with the chief seat (Mark 12:39;
Luke 20:46), he will sit down on the four and twenty thrones,
judging the people, as John says in the Apocalypse (Rev. 4:4;
76
11:6) .
GENERAL PRIESTHOOD

75 Paidagogos 3:12:97:2; Jurgens: The Faith of the Early Fathers, vo. 1.

76 Paidagogos 2:4.
 St. Clement distinguishes between the priesthood of the
gnostic priesthood and the priesthood based on ordination. He states
that the pious and righteous Gnostics who teach and do God’s will are
its true priests and deacons, even if they have never been promoted to
77
such office on earth . The gnostic is a priest not by reason of
ordination but by reason of virtue.
But now, those who have exercised themselves in the Lord's
commandments, and lived perfectly and Gnostically according
to the gospel, may also be enrolled in the chosen body of the
apostles. For what actually makes such a person a presbyter is
not that he does and teaches the Lord's work because of being
ordained by men, nor is it that he is considered to be righteous
because he is a presbyter; but rather, such a person is enrolled
in the presbyterate because he is righteous. And even though
here on earth he should not be honored with the chief seat (cf.
Mark 12:39), he will sit down on the twenty-four thrones (Rev
4:4 11:16; cf. Matt 19:28 par), judging the people, as John
78
says in the Apocalypse...

77 J.N.D. Kelly: Early Christian Docrines, 1977, p. 202.

78 Stromata 7:13.
6.
 St. Clement of Alexandria
7
defended Christian marriage, as a type of
MARRIAGE
the church. He considered the marital lodging9as the place where the
80
Lord is in the midst , and defended the equality between husband and
81
wife. St. Clement of Alexandria states that the domestic church is
constituted by the same Spirit Who constitutes the Universal Church.
He grants power to the members of the family to witness to evangelic
life through their love and unity in Christ.

His teaching on marriage is found mainly in Paidagogos and the

Stromata. At the end of the second book of his Stromata, he gives a
short survey of what pagan philosophers thought of marriage. The bulk
of St. Clement's discussion of marriage is found in the third book of
Stromata, which is devoted to refuting the Gnostic and Encratite
rejection of marriage, partly on the basis of Genesis 1:28, and partly on
more secular and philosophical grounds, namely the maintenance of
82
one's country and the perfection of one's self and the world .

Tatian, a former pupil of the apologist Justin, stood at the head of a

long line of Christians who were called "Encratites" (the "Chaste
Ones," from the Greek word enkrateia, meaning "chastity" or
"self-control"). The Encratites interpreted the stories about Adam and
Eve in the opening chapters of Genesis as an account of the fall of
humanity from a pristine, Spirit-filled existence into the sinful, mortal
condition now epitomized by human sexuality. Only by rejecting
marital intercourse and procreation, the Encratites taught, could people
be restored to their original, spiritual condition intended by God the
83
Creator .

79 See Fr. Metthias F. Wahba: The Doctrine of Sanctification in relation to marriage according to
St. Athanasius, Ottawa, 1993, ch. II; David G. Hunter: Marriage in the Early Church, Minneapolis,
1992.
80 Stromata, 111.68, p. 71.
81 Stromata 3: 10; David Coffey: Grace, the Gift of the Holy Spirit, 1979, p. l62.
82 Stromata 3:25-26, 34-37, 100-101.
83 David G. Hunter: Marriage in the Early Church, Minneapolis, 1992, p13.
 St. Clement's defense is based on the following points
a. His theological starting point is the doctrine of creation.
Those who reject marriage, he argues, "blaspheme both the
84
creation and the holy Creator, the Almighty and Only God ."
Encratites, who claim to be already living the resurrected life
by repudiating marriage, ought logically to stop eating and
drinking as well, St. Clement maintains, since these bodily
85
functions will also be obsolete in the next life . Marriage is
good for it is the invention of the one good God, the Creator.
He said, "If marriage according to the law is sin, I do not know
how anyone can say he knows God when he asserts that the
command of God is sin. If the law is holy, marriage is holy."
For Clement, those who consider the lower parts of man's body
as indicating inferior workmanship that cause sexual impulses

"fail to observe that the upper parts also want food and in
86
some men are lustful ."

. St. Clement believes that the best text blessing marriage is the
saying of the Lord, "Where two or three are gathered together for my sake,
there I am in the midst of them" (Matt. 18:20). St. Clement believes in the
church home, saying, "Who are the two or three gathered in the name of
Christ in whose midst the Lord is (Matt. 18:20)? Does He not by the "three"
87
mean husband, wife, and child? "

. St. Clement declares clearly that "marriage is cooperation with the
88
work of God's creation ." He insists that marriage and procreation are an
intrinsic and positive part of God's plan for the human race. He frequently
cites Gen. 1:28 "Increase and multiply" and regards human procreation as an
act of co-creation with God: "In this way the human being becomes the
image of God, by

84 Stromata 3.6.45.
85 Ibid 3:6:47. 86
Ibid 3:84. 87 Ibid
3:68. 88 Ibid 3:66.
 89
cooperating in the creation of another human being ." Echoing
Musonius Rufus, St. Clement also maintains that marriage serves a
civic function:
By all means, then, we must marry, both for the sake of our
country and for the succession of children and for the
completion of the world... For if people do not marry and
produce children, they contribute to the scarcity of human
beings and destroy both the cities and the world that is
90
composed of them .
The purpose of intercourse is to produce children and the
ultimate aim is to produce good children. In a similar manner,
the farmer sows seed with the aim of producing food, intending
ultimately to harvest the fruit. But far superior is the farmer
who sows in living soil. The one farms with the aim of
producing temporary sustenance, the other does so to provide
for the continuance of the entire universe. The one plants solely
for himself; the other does so for God, since God himself said,
Multiply [Gen. 1:28], and we must obey. In this way the human
being becomes the image of God, by cooperating in the
91
creation of another human being .

Nature treats legitimate marriages as it does eating and

drinking: it allows whatever is appropriate, useful, and
dignified, and it urges us to desire to produce children. But
those who indulge in excess violate the laws of nature and
harm themselves in illegitimate unions. Above all, it is never
right to have intercourse with young boys as if they were girls.
That is why the philosopher, following Moses' lead, said: "Do
not sow seed on rocks and stones because it will never take
92 93
root and achieve the fruitfulness that is its nature ."

89 Paidagogos 2:10:83. 90
Miscellanies 2.23.140-41. 91
Paidagogos 2:10:83. 92
Plato, Laws 8.838E. 93
Paidagogos 2:10:90.
 Appealing to the married saints of the Old Testament and
to the married apostles of the New Testament, St. Clement argues that
there is no incompatibility between the practice of the self-controlled
marriage and a life of service in the church. Both celibacy and
marriage offer distinctive forms of service (leitourgia) and ministry
(diakonia) to the Lord. Indeed, Clement is even capable of regarding
marriage as, in some respects, superior to celibacy. The celibate who is
concerned only for his salvation is "in most respects untried." By
contrast, the married man who must devote himself to the
administration of his household is a more faithful reflection of God's
94
own providential care .
"Children are a man's glory after his death, just as corks hold
up the net, saving the fishing lines from the deep," according to
95
the tragic poet Sophocles cf. Aeschylus . Lawmakers do not
entrust the highest offices to unmarried men. For example, a
Spartan lawmaker established a penalty not only for failure to
marry, but also for unlawful marriages, late marriages, and
the single life. The noble Plato orders the unmarried man to
pay into the public treasury the cost of a wife's maintenance
96
and to give to the magistrates the appropriate expenses . For
if people do not marry and produce children, they contribute to
the scarcity of human beings and destroy both the cities and
97
the world that is composed of them .

He gives the title of Antichrist to those who "under a pious cloak

blaspheme by their continence both the creation and the holy Creator...
and teach that one must reject marriage and begetting of children, and
98
should not bring others in their place to live in this wretched world ."
He assaults the sexual permissiveness of Carpocrates (and Epiphanes)
who taught that wives should be

94 Miscellanies 7.12.70; David G. Hunter: Marriage in the Early Church, Minneapolis, 1992, p. 15.
95 Choephori 505-7. 96 cf. Laws 6.774. 97 Stromata 2:23:47; David G. Hunter: Marriage in the
Early Church, Minneapolis, 1992, p. 48. 98 Stromata, 3:45.
 99
"common property ." About the Carpocratians he cries, "these thrice
wretched men treat carnal and sexual intercourse as a sacred religious
100
mystery, and think that it will bring them to the kingdom of God ."
Thus he confirms the Christian tradition that marriage is good, and the
101
physical relationship is to be kept within marriage .
Some openly declare that marriage is fornication and teach
that is was introduced by the devil. They boast that they are
imitating the Lord himself who neither married nor possessed
anything in the world, and they claim to understand the gospel
better than anyone else. To them Scripture says: God resists the
proud, but gives grace to the humble (Jas. 4:6; 1 Pet. 5:5).
Moreover, they do not know the reason why the Lord did not
marry. First, he had his own bride, the church; second, he was
no ordinary man who had need of a helpmate after the flesh (cf.
Gen. 2:18). Nor did he need to beget children, since he lives
eternally and was born the only Son of God. The Lord himself
says: What God has joined together, man must not separate
(Matt. 19:6). And again: As it was in the days of Noah, they
were marrying and giving in marriage, building and planting,
and as it was in the days of Lot, so will be the coming of the
102
Son of Man (Matt. 24:37-39) .

If, however, marriage, though commanded by the Law, were

yet sinful - really, I do not see how anyone could say that he
knows God and yet say that sin has been commanded by God.
103
If the Law is sacred, then marriage is a holy estate .

99 Stromata, 3:8. 100 Stromata, 3:27. 101 Strom. 3:27. 102 Stromata 3:6; David G. Hunter:
Marriage in the Early Church, Minneapolis, 1992, p. 52. 103 Stromata 3, 12, 84, 2 (Jurgens).
 I. MARRIAGE AND CO-OPERATION
The loving care of a wife and the depth of her faithfulness
exceed the endurance of all other relatives and friends, just as
she surpasses them in sympathy. Above all, she prefers to be
always at his side and truly she is, as Scripture says, a
104
necessary help (Gen. 2:18) .
Now marriage is a help, especially to those who are
advanced in years, when it provides a caring spouse and
105
produces children by her to nourish one's old age .
The marriage of some people is an agreement to indulge in
pleasure, but the marriage of philosophers leads to a harmony
that is in accordance with reason. In such a marriage wives are
ordered to adorn themselves not in outward appearance, but in
character; husbands are commanded not to use their wives like
mistresses, with the aim of indulging bodily wantonness, but
rather to preserve marriage as a help for their whole life and
106
as an occasion for the highest form of self-restraint .

II. MARRIAGE AND PLEASURES OF LOVE

Wise, then, was the person who, when asked his opinion of the
pleasures of love, replied: "Silence, man, I am very glad to
107
have fled from them as from a fierce and raging tyrant ."
Nevertheless, marriage should be accepted and given its
proper place. Our Lord wanted humanity to multiply [Gen.
1:28], but he did not say that people should engage in
licentious behavior, nor did he intend for them to give
themselves over to pleasure as if they were born for rutting.
Rather, let the Pedagogue put us to shame with the words of
Ezekiel: Put away your fornication [cf.

104 Stromata 2:23 ; David G. Hunter: Marriage in the Early Church, Minneapolis, 1992, p. 47.
105 Stromata 2:23 ; David G. Hunter: Marriage in the Early Church, Minneapolis, 1992, p. 48.
106 David G. Hunter: Marriage in the Early Church, Minneapolis, 1992, p. 48. 107 Plato,
Republic 1.329C.
 Ezek. 43:9]. Even irrational animals have a proper time for
sowing seed.
But to have intercourse without intending children is to violate
nature, which we must take as our teacher. We should observe
the wise precepts that her pedagogy has established concerning
the proper time, by which I mean old age and childhood; the
young are not permitted to marry, the old are no longer
permitted to do so. Otherwise, one may marry at any time. So
marriage is the desire (orexis) for procreation, but it is not the
108
random, illicit, or irrational scattering of seed .

We must, then keep marriage pure and free of all defilement, as

if it were a sacred offering, as we rise from our sleep with the
Lord and go to sleep with thanksgiving and prayer, "both when
109
we lay down to sleep and when the holy light comes ." Let us
bear witness to the Lord with the whole of our lives, preserving
piety in our soul and exercising control over the body. It truly
pleases God when we extend good conduct from our lips to our
actions, for shameful speech leads to shamefulness, and both
end up in shameful behavior. Scripture recommends marriage
and does not allow release from the union; this is evident from
the precept: You shall not put away your wife, except because
of fornication (Matt. 5:32). It is regarded as adultery if either
110
of the separated partners marries, while the other is alive .

The human ideal of self-control (enkrateia), I mean the one

found among the Greek philosophers, consists in struggling
against lust (epithymia), and in not yielding to it so as to
manifest its deeds. But among us self-control means not to
experience lust at all. Our aim is not merely

108 Paidagogos 2:10:95; David G. Hunter: Marriage in the Early Church, Minneapolis, 1992, p.
44-45.
109 Hesiod, Works and Days 339.
110 Stromata 2:23:145; David G. Hunter: Marriage in the Early Church, Minneapolis, 1992, p 49.
 to be self-controlled while still experiencing lust in the heart,
but rather to be self-controlled even over lust itself. But this
kind of self-control is attained only by the grace of God. That is
why he said: Ask and it will be given to you [Matt. 7:7]. Moses
received this grace, even though he was clothed in the needy
body, so that for forty days he felt neither thirst nor hunger [cf.
Exod 24:18]...
In general, then, let this be our position regarding marriage,
food, and other matters: to do nothing out of lust, but to wish
only for those things that are necessary. For we are children
not of lust, but of the will [cf. John 1:13]. The married man
must exercise self-control in procreation, so that he does not
feel lust for his wife, whom he must love, while he produces
111
children by a holy and chaste will .

III. SEXUAL RELATIONS

St. Clement held the belief that sexual relations are to be avoided. He
held that the Apostles lived with their wives as "sisters;" so living with
one's wife as with a sister is a realization of the resurrection state on
112
earth . In Clement's view, the difference between the pagan ideal of
self-control and the Christian ideal is that, while the pagan ascetic feels
desire and does not give in to it, the Christian does not feel any desire
113
at all . St. Clement sees that the uncleanness of marital intercourse
needed every time the ceremonial washing such as that prescribed in
Leviticus (15:18), but the Christians are cleansed once and for all by
114
their baptism for every such occasion .

In fact, he does not completely condemn sex but he restricts it to the

purpose of reproduction. He warns of the danger of allow

111 Stromata 3:7:57, 58; David G. Hunter: Marriage in the Early Church, Minneapolis, 1992, p.
54. 112 Ibid 3:53.
113 Ibid 3:57, 58.
114 Ibid 3:82.
 ing family ties to override the duties connected with the Christian
115
profession . Thus marriage is holy because "the seed of the sanctified
116
is holy ."
He also says,
But those who are permitted to marry have need of the
Pedagogue, so that they might not fulfill the mystic rites of
nature during the day, nor have intercourse after coming home
from church or from the marketplace or early in the morning
like a rooster, for these are the proper times for prayer and
reading and the other deeds done during the day. But the
evening is the proper time to take one's rest, after dinner and
117
after giving thanks for the benefits one has enjoyed .

It is absolutely impossible for a man to be considered dignified

by his wife, if he does not show any sign of dignity during the
pleasures of intercourse. The good feeling that admittedly
accompanies intercourse blossoms only for a short time and
grows old along with the body. But sometimes it happens that it
grows old even before the body, and desire is extinguished; this
occurs when marital chastity has been violated by pleasure
taken with prostitutes. The hearts of lovers have wings, and
charms are quenched by a change of mind. Love frequently
changes into hate if there are too many reasons for condemna-
118
tion .

Now even though this is the case, they should still consider it
shameful if the human person, created by God, should show
less restraint than the irrational beasts who do not mate with
many partners indiscriminately, but with

115 Stromata 4:8:12; 7:11:12; C.J. Cadoux, The Early Church and the World, T. & T. Clark, 1955,
p. 466; P. Brown, The Body and Society, p. 136. 116 Ibid 3:46. 117 Paidagogos 2:10:96. 118
Paidagogos 2:10:97; David G. Hunter: Marriage in the Early Church, Minneapolis, 1992, p.

45-6.
 one of the same species, as do pigeons, ring-doves, and tur-
119
tledoves, and animals such as these .
St. Clement rejects marital intercourse during pregnancy or the
menstrual period because it involves the illegitimate wasting of seed.
Like contemporary medical writers (e.g., Galen), St. Clement seems to
have regarded the loss of semen during ejaculation as a drain of the
120
body's vital energy .
St. Clement condemned homosexuality, saying,
The Logos has proclaimed this loudly and clearly through
Moses: Do not lie with a male as with a female, for it is an
abomination (Lev. 18:22). When the noble Plato recommended
that "you shall abstain from every female field that is not your
121
own ," he derived this from his reading of the biblical
injunction: You must not lie with your neighbor's wife and
defile yourself with her (Lev. 18:20). "There should be no
122
sowing of sterile, bastard seed with concubines ." Do not sow
123
"where you do not wish the seed to grow ." "Do not touch
124
anyone except your own wedded wife ." Only with a wife are
you permitted to enjoy physical pleasure for the purpose of
producing descendants, for this is all that the Logos allows. We
who have a share in the divine work of creation must not
scatter seed randomly, nor should we act disrespectfully or sow
125
what cannot grow .

IV. NO DIVORCE EXCEPT FOR REASON OF ADULTERY

That Scripture counsels marriage, however, and never allows
any release from the union, is expressly con

119 Stromata 2:23:139. 120 The Instructor 2.94. 121 Laws 8.839A.. 122 Laws 8.841D. 123 Laws
8.839A.. 124 Laws 8.841D. 125 Paidagogos 2:10:91; David G. Hunter: Marriage in the Early
Church, Minneapolis, 1992, p.

42.
 tained in the law: "You shall not divorce a wife, except for
reason of immorality" (Matt. 5:32; 19:9). And it regards as
adultery the marriage of a spouse, while the one from whom a
separation was made is still alive...
"Whoever takes a divorced woman as wife commits adultery"
(Ibid., also Luke 16:18, it says; for "if anyone divorce his wife,
he debauches her" (Mark 10:11), that is, he compels her to
commit adultery. And not only does he that divorces her
become the cause of this, but also he that takes the woman and
gives her the opportunity of sinning; for if he did not take her,
126
she would return to her husband .

To that woman marriage was a misfortune. To fall under the

sway of the passions, then, and to yield to them is the ultimate
slavery; similarly, to keep the passions under control is the only
true freedom. The divine Scripture, therefore, says that those
who have violated the commandments are sold to strangers,
that is, to sins that are alien to nature, until they turn around
127
and repent [cf. Judge. 2:14] .

Most people know nothing of continence and live for the body,
not for the spirit. But the body without the spirit is earth and
ashes [Gen. 18:27]. Now the Lord condemns adultery even in
thought [cf. Matt. 5:28].
It is proper that not only our spirit be made holy, but also our
128
behavior, our way of life, and our body .

V. MARRIAGE AND CELIBACY

129
Parenthood, St. Clement writes, is co-operation with the Creator , and
(according to some passages) it is wrong to regard

126 Stromata 2:23:145:3; 2:23:146:2,3 (Jurgens). 127 David G. Hunter:

Marriage in the Early Church, Minneapolis, 1992, p. 49. 128 David G. Hunter:
Marriage in the Early Church, Minneapolis, 1992, p. 51. 129 Paidagogos
3:83; Stromata 3:66.
 130
celibacy as inherently more spiritual than the married state .
131
Sometimes St. Clement regards virginity is better than marriage , and
in other texts he regards the married state as superior to virginity, as he
said, "The children of this world marry and are given in marriage' (Cf.
Matt. 24:38), but if we renounce the deeds of the flesh and clothe this
pure flesh with incorruption, we are living a life like that of the
132
angels .
Although virginity ordered toward salvation, still, one who bears up
well under the superior trials and temptations of the married state may
yet surpass one who leads the more or less carefree life of a celibate.

And one is not really shown to be a man in the choice of a

single life; but he surpasses men, who, without pleasure or
pain, has disciplined himself by marriage, by the begetting of
children, and by care for the household; who, in his solicitude
for the household, has been inseparable from God's love; and
who has withstood every temptation arising through children
and wife or through domestics and possessions.

He, however, who is without a family, for the most part

escapes temptation. Caring, then, for himself alone, he is
surpassed by one who is inferior to him in what pertains to his
133
own salvation, but is superior to him in the conduct of life .

Believing that the married and unmarried states are alike gifts of God
"Both celibacy and marriage have their own different forms of service
134
and ministry to the Lord ," he puts his concept as such: "Our views is
that we welcome as blessed the state of abstinence from marriage in
those to whom this has been granted by

130 Stromata 3:105; 7:70; Henry Chadwick: History and Thought of the Early Church, London,
1982, p. 175-6.
131 Stromata 4:147-9.
132 Paidagogos 2:10:100 (Fathers of Church, vol. 23).
133 Stromata 7:12:70:4,5 (Jurgens).
134 Ibid 3:79.
 God; and admire monogamy and the high standing of single mar-
135
riage ."
Whether one chooses to be celibate or to marry for the sake of
procreation, one must remain unyielding to what is inferior. If
a person can endure such a life, he will acquire for himself
greater merit with God, since he practices self-control in a
manner that is both pure and rational. But if he has gone too
far in choosing the rule for the greater glory, he may fall short
of his hope. Just like celibacy, marriage has its own distinctive
services and ministries for the Lord; I refer to the care of one's
children and wife. The special characteristic of the marital
union, it seems, is that it gives the person who is committed to a
perfect marriage the opportunity to show concern for every-
136
thing that pertains to the household he shares with his wife .

St. Clement said that the unmarried man is inferior to the married
because he has fewer opportunities of self-denial, while the married
man "shows himself inseparable from the love of God, and rises
superior to every temptation which assails him through children and
137
wife and servants and possessions ." He also said that men who
chose to marry must acknowledge the suitable time and suitable wife.

For it is not necessary that everyone should marry, nor at all

times, but there is a time when it is appropriate, and a person
with whom it is appropriate, and a time up to which it is
appropriate to marry. It is not suitable for just anyone to
marry just anyone else at any time, nor in some utterly random
way. But a person must be in a certain condition, and he must
marry an appropriate person at an appropriate time for the
sake of children. The partner should

135 Ibid 3:4. 136 Stromata 3:12:79; David G. Hunter: Marriage in the Early Church, Minneapolis,
1992, p. 55
56. 137 Ibid
7:70.
 be similar in all respects, and she should not be compelled by
138
force to submit to the man who loves her .

VI. MUTUAL RESPECT AND LOVE IN THE CHURCH HOME

The crown of the woman must be considered the husband'

(Prov. 12:4), and the crown of the husband is his marriage; for
both, the flower of their union is the child who is indeed the
flower that the divine Cultivator culls from the meadow of the
flesh. 'The crown of old men is their children's children and the
glory of children is their father' (Prov. 17:6), it is said. Our
glory is the Father of all, and the crown of the whole Church is
139
Christ .
The hearts of lovers have wings, affection can be quenched by
a change of heart, and love can turn into hate if there creep in
140
too many grounds for loss of respect .

138 Stromata 2:23:137; David G. Hunter: Marriage in the Early Church, Minneapolis, 1992, p. 46.
139 Paidagogos 2:8:71 (Fathers of Church, vol. 23). 140 Paidagogos 2:10:97 (Fathers of Church,
vol. 23).
OTHER THOUGHTS
1. WOMEN
St. Clement explains St. Paul's statement in 1 Cor. 9:5 "Have we not
the right to take a woman around with us as a sister, like all the other
apostles?" to say that women were helping the apostles.

That is why he says in one letter: Do we not have the right to

take with us a wife who is a sister, as the other apostles do (1
Cor. 9:5)? These apostles, in order to devote themselves to
preaching without distraction, as befitted their ministry, took
their wives with them, not as married women but as sisters, to
be their fellow ministers to women in the households. Through
these women the teaching of the Lord penetrated even into the
women's quarters without any scandal. We also know what
sort of regulations were given regarding women deacons by
the noble Paul in his second (first) letter to Timothy (cf. 1 Tim.
1
3:11) .
His disciple Origen, in commenting on the role of Phoebe, writes that
"even women are instituted deacons in the church," and that "women
who have given assistance to so many people and who by their good
works deserve to be praised by the Apostle, ought to be accepted in
2
the diaconate ." Gryson, in an extensive commentary on these texts,
insists that Clement and Origen are dealing only with theoretical
considerations and not with concrete situations and a living practice
in third-century Alexandria. Both Fathers use the past tense to explain
biblical texts that refer to women associates of the apostles, but there
is no evidence of deaconess who are contemporary with the
Alexandrians.

1 Stromata 3:6:53; David G. Hunter: Marriage in the Early Church, Minneapolis, 1992, p. 53. 2
Comm. on Rom. 10:17; Carl A. Volz: Life and Practice in the Early Church, Minneapolis, 1990, p.
194.
 Let us recognize, too, that both men and women practice the
same sort of virtue. Surely, if there is but one God for both,
then there is but one Educator for both. One Church, one
virtue, one modesty, a common food, wedlock in common,
breath, sight, hearing, knowledge, hope, obedience, love, all
are alike [in man and woman]. They who possess life in
common, grace in common, and salvation in common have
also virtue in common and, therefore, education too. The
Scripture says: 'For in this world, they marry and are given in
marriage,' for this world is the only place in which the female
is distinguished from the male, 'but in that other world, no
longer' (Cf. Luke 20:34). There, the rewards of this life, lived
in the holy union of wedlock, await not man or woman as
such, but the human person, freed from the lust that in this life
3
had made it either male or female .

The Logos is Educator to women and men alike. This was an attitude
not found in traditional Judaism: the Jew gave thanks that he was not
born a woman. It was not found in Greece, least of all in the Athens
where Pericles declared that the greatest glory of a woman was not to
be spoken of by men for good or bad. It was not found in Rome,
where despite the freedom of some aristocrats the woman was under
the authority of first the father and then of husband. It is authentically
the spirit of Jesus, whose freedom in speaking with the woman of
Samaria startled his disciples, who denied a twofold standard of
morality over the woman taken in adultery, and whose attitude to
Mary and Martha speaks of a new type of relationship. It is true to the
early church, where Mary, mother of John Mark, played a prominent
role, Nympha presided over a house church, Phoebe was deaconess
of Cenchreae, and Priscilla was named before her husband Aquila.
This partnership between men and women was part of the Christian
revolution, the

3 Paidagogos 1:4:10 (Frs. of Church, 23).

Christian transvaluation, and Clement is in the true tradition in
4
offering it .

2. WIDOWS
Carl A. Volz states that St. Clement of Alexandria writes:
"Innumerable commands such as these are written in the Holy Bible
and directed to chosen persons, some to presbyters, some to bishops,
5
some to deacons, others to widows ." Origen also speaks of special
obligations required of widows, priests, and the bishop, and he writes
that second marriages prevent aspirants from assuming ecclesiastical
6
dignities - namely, that of bishop, presbyter, deacon, and widow . A
special vocation of widows was to prayer, fasting, and chastity.
Origen adds others - to teach younger women to be sober, to love
their husbands, to raise their children, to be modest, chaste, to be
good housekeepers, to be submissive to their husbands, to be kind, to
practice hospitality, to wash the feet of the saints, and to fulfill in all
chastity all the other duties which are ascribed to women in
7
Scripture . Thus we find that widows are also given the task of
teaching younger women and serving them as examples of virtue and
8
charity .
Tertullian and St. Clement of Alexandria referred to the widows’
participation with the clergy in the healing of sinners and the
9
comforting of those in distress .

3. SERVANTS

4 John Ferguson : Clement of Alexandria, Twayne Publishers, NY 1974, p. 72. 5 Paid. 3:12. 6 On
Prayer 28:3; Hom. on Luke 17. 7 Comm. on Rom. 10:20 8 Carl A. Volz: Life and Practice in the
Early Church, Minneapolis, 1990, p. 187. 9 Who is the Rich...34; Tert. on Monagomy 11; on
Penitence 9-10; Carl A. Volz: Life and Practice in the Early Church, Minneapolis, 1990, p. 188.
 We must treat servants as we do ourselves, for they are
men even as we are. God is the same to all, free or slave,
if you consider. We ought not to inflict torture on
servants who do wrong, but only chastise them: 'He who
10
spares his rod hates his son’ (Cf. Prov. 13:24) .

4 1
St. Clement speaks of the virginity in party thus: "For certain people
. MARIOLOGY 1
say that Mary examined by the midwife after she had given birth was
12
found to be a virgin. " The source is evidently the Protoevangelium of
James.
St. Clement speaks of the Scriptures, like Mary, bringing
forth truth.
He points to the Mary-Church parallel in the following words: "O
mysterious wonder! There is only one Father of all, only one Word of
all, and the Holy Spirit is also one and he is everywhere. There is but
one Virgin Mother. I like to call her the Church. Alone this mother has
not had milk, for she alone is not a woman but a virgin and a mother,
immaculate as a virgin, loving as a mother; and she calls her children
13
and feeds them with holy milk: the Word a child. "

St. Clement taught the virginal conception. He attributed the

14
making of Christ's human body to the Holy Spirit . Some of the
early Fathers thought of the Word himself. "But the Lord Christ,
fruit of the Virgin, did not seek the sweet breast of a woman, did
not ask her for his food. When the Father, full of

10 Paidagogos 3:12:81,82 (Frs. of Church). 11 Michael O'Carroll: Theotokos, A Theological

Encyclopedia of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Delware, 1988, p. 103. 122 Stromata 7: 16. PG, 9, 529,
30. 133 Paidag. 1:6: 21. PG, 8, 300-301. 14 Excerpt from Theodotus 60. PG, 9, 688B.
kindness, rained down his Word, the latter became for men a
spiritual food."

5. 1
In Alexandria
MARTYRDOM there was a tradition, going back at least to Clement,
that a martyr is not one who dies,5 but one who is perfected16: "We call
martyrdom perfection, not because the man comes to the end of his
life as others, but because he has exhibited the perfect work of
17
love ." He also says, "If the confession to God is martyrdom, each
soul which has lived purely in the knowledge of God, which has
obeyed the commandments, is a witness both by life and word, in
whatever way it may by released from the body, -shedding faith as
18
blood along its whole life till its departure ."
St. Clement sees in martyrdom the perfect work of love. But with the
cool eye of reason he also rejects all reckless enthusiasm for it and
any desire for it which stems from any motive but the love of God.
He prefers, it seems, to emphasize the Gnostic martyrdom of a life
lived according to the Gospel:
The Lord says in the Gospel, "Whoever shall leave father or
mother or brethren," etc., "for the sake of the gospel and my
name" (Matt 19:29), he is blessed; not indicating simple
martyrdom, but the Gnostic martyrdom [cf. also Stromata IV
14], as of the man who has conducted himself according to the
19
rule of the gospel, in love to the Lord....

St. Clement thus sees both blood martyrdom and Gnostic

martyrdom as sacrificial, but without making much of the point.
He prefers, it seems, the latter, but sees the virtue of love as
towering over both.

15 Cf. Fobert J. Daly: The Origins of the Christian Doctrine of Sacrifice, Fortress Press,
Philadelphia, 1978, p. 120. 16 Stromata 4:4. 17 Stromata 4:4 ANF. 18 Ibid. 19 Stromata
4:4; cf. also 4:18.
 St. Clement of Alexandria, Origen, St. Cyprian and St.
Dionysius all defend flight from persecution - their own, and that of
the brethren. St. Clement of Alexandria says that those who provoke
20
martyrdom are accomplices in the crime of the persecutor . St.
21
Athanasius gives the imprimatur to flight . Canon 60 of Elvira, held
in Spain at the dawn of the fourth century, says that those who destroy
idols and are consequently killed are not to be considered martyrs. "If
anyone breaks idols and is killed on the spot, since this is not written
in the Gospel nor will it be found that it ever happened in the days of
the apostles, he shall not be received into the number of the
22
martyrs ." It was for this reason that a person like Cyprian would flee
from the authorities until he felt sure that his time for witness had
23
come . Alone, therefore, the Lord, for the purification of the men who
plotted against Him and disbelieved Him, " drank the Cup," in
imitation of whom the apostles, that they might be in reality
Gnostics, and perfect, suffered for the Churches which they
founded. So, then, also the Gnostics who tread in the footsteps
of the apostles ought to be sinless, and, out of love to the Lord,
to love also their brother; so that, if occasion call, enduring
without stumbling afflictions for the Church, "they may drink
the cup." Those who witness in their life by deed, and at the
tribunal by word, whether entertaining hope or surmising fear,
are better than those who confess salvation by their mouth
alone. But if one ascend also to love, he is a really blessed and
true martyr, having confessed perfectly both to the
commandments and to God, by the Lord; whom having, loved,
he acknowledged a brother, giving himself up wholly for God,
resigning pleasantly and lovingly the man when asked, like a
24
deposit .

20 Stromata 4:10 211 De fuga 22. 22 Canon 60 23 Cf. epistle 81; Boniface Ramsey: Beginning to
Read the Fathers, Paulist Press, 1985, p. 126-7. 24 Stromata 4:9.
 Although we do not wrong, yet the judge looks on us as doing
wrong, for he neither knows nor wishes to know about us, but
is influenced by unwarranted prejudice; wherefore also he is
judged. Accordingly they persecute us, not from the
supposition that we are wrong-doers, but imagining that by the
very fact of our being Christians we sin against life in so
conducting, ourselves, and exhorting others to adopt the like
life. But why are you not helped when persecuted? say they.
What wrong is done us, as far as we are concerned, in being
released by death to go to the Lord, and so undergoing a
change of life, as if a change from one time of life to another?
Did we think rightly, we should feel obliged to those who have
afforded the means for speedy departure, if it is for love that
we bear witness; and if not, we should appear to the multitude
to be base men. Had they also known the truth, all would have
bounded on to the way, and there would have been no choice.
But our faith, being the light of the world, reproves unbelief.
“Should Anytus and Melitus kill me, they will not hurt me in
the least; for I do not think it right for the better to be hurt by
the worse,” [says Socrates]. So that each one of us may with
confidence say, "The Lord is my helper; I will not fear: what
shall man do to me?” (Ps. 118:6). "For the souls of the
righteous are in the hand of the Lord, and no plague shall
25
touch them” (Wisd. 3:1) .

When, again, He says, "When they persecute you in this city,

flee you to the other,” He does not advise flight, as if
persecution were an evil thing; nor does He enjoin them by
flight to avoid death, as if in dread of it, but wishes us neither
to be the authors nor abettors of any evil to any one, either to
ourselves or the persecutor and murderer. For He, in a way,
bids us take care of ourselves. But he who disobeys is rash
and foolhardy. If he who kills a man

25 Stromata 4:11.
 of God sins against God, he also who presents himself before
the judgment-seat becomes guilty of his death. And such is
also the case with him who does not avoid persecution, but out
of daring presents himself for capture. Such a one, as far as in
him lies, becomes an accomplice in the crime of the
persecutor. And if he also uses provocation, he is wholly
guilty, challenging the wild beast. And similarly, if he afford
any cause for conflict or punishment, or retribution or enmity,
26
he gives occasion for persecution .

I THE SACRIFICE OF THE 2

. CHURCH 7
According to St. Clement the sacrifice of the church is
considered something intensely communal:
Breathing together is properly said of the church. For the
sacrifice of the church is the word breathing as incense from
holy souls, the sacrifice and the whole mind being at the same
time unveiled to God.... Thus we should offer God not costly
sacrifices but such as he loves. The mixture of incense
mentioned in the law is something that consists of many
tongues and voices in prayer, or rather of different nations
and natures, prepared by the gift bestowed in the
dispensation for "the unity of the faith" (Eph 4:13) and
brought together in praises, with a pure mind, and just and
28
right conduct, from holy works and righteous prayer .

II THE SACRIFICE OF THE 2

. CHRISTIAN 9
Through the fellowship with Christ who offered Himself as a
sacrifice for us, we also become sacrifices for His sake. St.

26 Stromata 4:10. 27 Fobert J. Daly: The Origins of the Christian Doctrine of Sacrifice, Fortress
Press, Philadelphia, 1978, p. 117-8. 28 Stromata 7 :6. 29 Fobert J. Daly: The Origins of the
Christian Doctrine of Sacrifice, Fortress Press, Philadelphia, 1978, p. 116 f.
Clement said, "We glorify Him who gave Himself in sacrifice for us,
30
we also sacrificing ourselves ." The Christian becomes, like Christ,
the offering itself: 'We have become a consecrated offering to God
31
for Christ's sake ."
The sacrifice acceptable to God is unswerving abstraction
from the body and its passions. This is the really true piety. Is
not, then, Socrates correct in calling philosophy the practice
of Death?... It was from Moses that the chief of the Greeks
drew these philosophical tenets. For Moses commands
holocausts to be skinned and divided into parts [cf. Lev. 1:6].
For the Gnostic soul must be consecrated to the light, stripped
of the coverings of matter, separated from the frivolousness of
the body and of all the passions which are acquired through
32
vain and lying opinions, and divested of the lusts of the flesh .

St. Clement not only follows Philo in seeing Old Testament sacrifices
as symbols of the soul's progress toward God, and Barnabas in
rejecting the validity of a literal interpretation of these sacrifices; he
also goes beyond this by using at some length the cult criticism of the
pagan philosophers and poets and not continually referring to the
33
authority of Scripture .

6. GOOD AND EVIL ANGELS

St. Clement of Alexandria and also Origen explain that the demonic
order attempts to make man fall, lead him into slavery and make him
an ally with themselves. The divine providence does not leave us
helpless before the demons, for it supports us with the angels for our
protection if we accept their actions for our sakes

30 Stromata 7:3. 31 Protrepticus 4. 32 Stromata 5:11. 33 Fobert J. Daly: The Origins of the
Christian Doctrine of Sacrifice, Fortress Press, Philadelphia, 1978, p. 113-4; Stromata 7:6.
(Heb. 1:14); and to lead the believers to the heavenly wedding
room if the believers wish.
For regiments of angels are distributed over the nations and
cities (Deut. 32:8 LXX), and, perchance, some are assigned
34
to individuals .
For by angels, whether seen or unseen, the divine power
bestows good things. This method of operation is manifest in
the covenants of the Jews, the legislations of the Greeks, and
35
the teachings of philosophy .
The angels of God serve the priests and deacons in
36
the ministering of earthly affairs .
So is he (the Gnostic) always pure for prayer. He also prays
in the society of angels as being already of angelic rank, and
he is never out of their holy keeping; and though he prays
37
alone, he has the choir of saints standing with him .

The priest, upon entering the second veil, would take off his
mitre beside the altar of incense. He himself would enter
further in silence, with the Name engraved upon his heart.
Thus he shows that the setting aside of the golden mitre which
had become purified and light by the cleansing, as it were, of
the body, was really a setting aside of the weight of the soul...
He puts aside this light mitre when he has come with it inside
the second veil, in the world of the intellectuals, that is, the
second veil, alongside the altar of incense, beside the
ministers of the prayers that are being offered, the angels.
Then the naked soul, having become in reality a high-priest, is
thereafter moved directly by the Word... Passing beyond the
teaching of the angels, she goes on to the knowledge and
understanding of things,

34 Stromata 6:17. [See Strom 7:2]. 35 Ibid. 6:17. 36 Stromata 7:1; In Lev. hom. 9:8 [Jean
Daniélou: the Angels and their missions according to the Fathers of the Church, translat. by D.
Heimann, Westminster MD, 1982, p. 63]. 37 Stromata 7:12.
 no longer merely betrothed but dwelling with the
38
Bridegroom .
Now the devil, being possessed of free will, was able both to
repent and to seal; and it was he who was the author of the
39
theft, not the Lord, who did not prevent him .

7. THE DOCTRINE OF MAN

40
Henry Chadwick says, The soul is not a portion of God , but is
created by God's goodness and as such is the proper object of divine
41
love . But this love is not automatic, as the heretics assume. It is one
of the fundamental grounds for complaint against the Gnostics that
their doctrine of the divine spark in the elect obliterates the gulf
42
between Creator and creature .

The Word of God became man, so that He might live among men as
one of them (John 1:14). The Alexandrian churchmen looked at the
incarnation as a sign of God's honorable concept of man . St.
Clement of Alexandria says, "He had taken upon Him our flesh ...
He scorned not the weakness of human flesh, but having clothed
Himself with it, has come into the world for the common salvation of
43
men ." He also says: "O divine mystery!... O wondrous mystery!...
44
The Lord was laid low, and man was raised up! "

We are indebted to the Gracious God not only for the existence of the
universe for our sake and caring for it continuously on our behalf, and
for our coming into existence from

38 Excerpt., 27; see also Stromata 7:3 [Daniélou, p. 92, 93]. 39 Stromata 1:17. 40 Stromata 5:88.
41 Paidagogos 1:17. 42 Stromata 2:74; 77; Henry Chadwick: History and Thought of the Early
Church, London, 1982, p.

172. 43 Stromata
7:2:7,8. 44 Protrep.
2:3:3.
nothing, but also for the special love of God for us even before our
creation. St. Clement of Alexandria states that man, the noblest of the
45 46
created objects , the dearest creature to God, the Hymn of God ,
was in the Divine Mind before the creation. In His infinite love, God
created the universe for man's sake, then He created man in His image
and likeness to enjoy communion with Him. Man is chosen for
47
himself and thus belongs to the Choosier .
Man is justly dear to God, since he is His workmanship. The
other works of creation, He made by the word of command
alone, but man He formed by Himself, by His own hand, and
breathed into him what was particular to Himself. What, then,
was fashioned by Him, and after His likeness, either was
created by God Himself as being desirable on its own account,
or was formed as being desirable on account of something
48
else .
St. Clement, who discovers the redeeming work of the
Creator acknowledges how man is the beloved creature.
Therefore, man, the creation of God, is desirable in himself...
49
Man is, then, an object of love; yes, man is loved by God .

A noble hymn of God is an immortal man..., in

whom the oracles of truth are engraved. For where
but in a soul that is wise can you write truth? where
50
love? Where reverence? Where meekness?...

For Clement, as for Irenaeus, Adam was created with childish

innocence, and he was to achieve the purpose of his

45 Paidagogos 1:3; l:8:63. 46 Protrpticus

10. 47 Paidagogos 1: 3,4. 48 Paidagogos
1:3; l:8:63. 49 Paidagogos 1:3:8 (Frs. of
Church, 23). 50 Protrpticus 10.
 51
creation through further growth unto perfection . This was delayed
by the fall, which took place because man made use of his sexual
52
capabilities before God had intended it .
53
J.N.D. Kelly says: In his primitive state, according to Clement , man
was childlike and innocent, destined to advance by stages towards
54
perfection. Adam, he states , “was not created perfect in constitution,
but suitable for acquiring virtue... For God desires us to be saved by
our own efforts.” Progress therefore depends upon free-will, on which
Clement places great emphasis. The fault of Adam and Eve consisted
in the fact that, using their volition wrongly, they indulged in the
55
pleasures of sexual intercourse before God gave them leave . Not
56
that sex was wrong in itself (Clement strongly repudiates the
Gnostic suggestion that it is), but the violation of God’s ordinance
was. As a result they lost the immortal life of Paradise, their will and
rationality were weakened, and they became a prey to sinful
57
passions . But while Clement accepts the historicity of Adam, he also
regards him as symbolizing mankind as a whole. All men, he
58
teaches , have a spark of the divine in them and are free to obey or
59
disobey God’s law, but all except the incarnate Logos are sinners .
They are, as it were, sick, blind and gone astray; they are enslaved to
the elements and the Devil; and their condition can be described as
60
death . He nowhere hints, however, that they are involved in Adam’s
61
guilt and in one passage

51 Stromata 2:22. 52 Stromata 3:17. Justo L. Gonzalez: A History of Christian

Faith, vol. 1, 1979. 53 Prot. 11:111; Strom. 2:22. 131. 54 Strom. 6:12:96. 55
Prot. 11:111; Strom. 3:17:103. 56 E.g. Strom. 3:12:88f.;3:17:102. 57 Strom.
2:19:98; Paid 1:13, 101; Protr. 11:111. 58 Protr. 6:68; Strom. 2:15:62;
3:9:63ff.; 4:24:153. 59 Paid. 1:2:4; 3:12,93. 60 Protr. 1:6 f.; 11:114; Paid.
1:9; Strom. 1:11:53; etc. 61 Strom. 3:16:100.
 vehemently denies that a new-born baby which has not
performed any act of its own can have “fallen under the curse
62
of Adam.” In another he explains Job 1, 21 (“Naked I came
from my mother’s womb”) as implying that a child enters the
world exempt from sin. On the whole, his insistence against
the Gnostics that only the personal misdeeds that men have
committed are imputable to them leaves no room for original
sin in the full sense. On the other hand, although certain
63
contexts might seem to suggest that the connection between
the general human sinfulness and Adam’s transgression
amounts to no more than imitation, he in fact envisages it as
64
much more intimate. His teaching seems to be that, through
our physical descent from Adam and Eve, we inherit, not
indeed their guilt and curse, but a disordered sensuality which
65
entails the dominance of the irrational element in our nature .

In fact, the inspired word reserves the name ‘man’ to what is

complete and consummate; David, for example says of the
Devil: ‘The Lord abominates the man of blood,’ man in the
sense that he is consummate in wickedness. Scripture calls the
Lord man, too, in the sense that He is consummate in
goodness. The Apostle, for example, writing to the
Corinthians, says: 'For I have betrothed you to one man, that I
might present you a chaste virgin to Christ,' or as little ones
and saints, but, at any rate, only to the Lord. And in writing to
the Ephesians he expresses clearly just what we are saying:
Until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the deep
knowledge of God, to perfect manhood, to the mature measure
66
of the fullness of Christ .

62 Strom. 4:25:160. 63 Esp. adumbr. in

Jud. 11. 64 Strom. 3:16:100 f.; 3:9:63-5.
65 Kelly, p. 179-180. 66 Paidagogos
1:5:18 (Frs. of Church, 23).
 67
The soul consists of three parts . The intelligence, which is
also called the reason, is the inner man, the ruler of the
external man. But it is led by someone else, that is, by God.
The part in which anger resides is akin to the beasts and
68
lives close to madness .
We are subject to the Devil, and thus become slaves of sin and death.
This does not mean that human freedom is utterly destroyed. On the
contrary, when God, by means of His Word, offers faith, it is man
who must decide whether to accept it or not, thus exercising his
69
freedom .

8. FREE-WILL
Man’s freedom is the most important divine gift that God bestows
on man. According to St. Cyril of Alexandria, the image of God in
which man was created (Gen 1: 26) was his own freewill, and the
spoilage of his human nature, that occurred by his disobedience to
God, was the loss of his free-will.
According to Athenagoras, the dean of the Alexandrian School in
the second century, man has the choice to do good or evil. Man has
the freedom to sin or not to sin; otherwise he could not be
condemned, rebuked, exhorted, or summoned.
St. Clement of Alexandria interprets the goodness of the first man not
as being perfect but as having free-will to be advanced towards
perfection . He said that Adam was childlike and innocent; "He was
not created perfect in constitution, but suitable for acquiring virtue ...
70
For God desires us to be saved by our own efforts ."

Therefore the Alexandrians looked at Adam's life in Paradise as if it

were a kind of divine life, because of Adam's free -

67 Cf. Plato: Republic 4 passim, esp. 435-441. 68 Paidagogos 3:1:1 (Fathers of Church, vol. 23).
69 Cf. Osborn: Clement, p. 51;Justo L. Gonzalez: A History of Christian Faith, vol. 1, 1979, p.
208. 70 Protr. 11:11; Stromata 2:2:131.
will that grants him the ability to be in close contact with God. In this
atmosphere, Adam and Eve received God's commandment not as a
restriction that they had to suffer, but on the contrary, as a chance to
express their love through obedience to God by there own free-will.
In other words, without this commandment our first parents would
find no way to accept God's love by practicing love, and had no way
to have the experience of free-will.
According to St. Clement of Alexandria, the fault of Adam and Eve
consisted in the fact that, using their volition wrongly, they indulged
71
in the pleasures of sexual intercourse before God gave them leave .
Not that sex was wrong in itself, but the violation of God's
ordinance was. As a result, their will and rationality were weakened,
and they became a prey to sinful passions. He says: "The first man
played in Paradise, at liberty, since he was the child of God. Then
he fell, through pleasure ... and was led astray through his desires...
How great the power of pleasure! Man was free, in his innocence,
72
and then found himself bound by his sins ."

73
His teaching seems to be, that through our physical descent from
Adam and Eve, we inherit, not indeed their own guilt and curse, but a
disordered sensuality which entails the dominance of the irrational
element in our nature, and a lack of knowledge, for sin is due to
74
"ignorance ."
J. Pelikan says: As a spokesman for the Christian faith, in response to
the heathen and the heretics, Clement of Alexandria delivered just
such an exhortation; " As far as we can, let us try to sin as little as
possible." Only God could avoid sin altogether; but wisemen were
able to avoid voluntary transgressions, and those who were properly
trained in

71 J.N.D. Kelly: Early Christian Doctrines, 1978, p. 179-180; Portr. 11:lll, Stromata
3:17:103. 72 Protr. 11: 111. 73 Kelly, p. 180; Stromata 3: 6: 100f; 3:9:63-5. 74 Stromata
3:16:100.
 Christianity could at least see to it that they fell into very
75
few .
St. Clement asserts free-will to all rational beings: good
and bad angels and man.
Now the devil, being possessed of free-will, was able both to
repent and to steal; and it was he who was the author of the
76
theft, not the Lord, who did not prevent him .
Above all, this ought to be known, that by nature we
are adapted for virtue; not so as to be possessed of it from
77
our birth, but so as to be adapted for acquiring it .
FREE WILL AND GOD'S PROVIDENCE
Someone may ask: How can we interpret God's providence through
the free will of men, for if God takes care of everyone, even of the
number of hairs of the head (Matt. 10: 30) how will we accept the free
will of others who would harm me or even kill me through their free
will ?
Our God who in His goodness grants us free will, through His infinite
wisdom uses this human freedom for the edification of His children,
for He changes even the evil deeds to the salvation of others. St.
Clement of Alexandria gives a biblical example. Jacob's sons sold
Joseph as a slave, but God used this evil action for Joseph's glory.
Joseph said to his brothers: "But now, do not therefore be grieved or
angry with yourselves because you sold me here; for God sent me
before you to preserve life... so now it was not you who sent me here,
but God, and He has made me a father of Pharaoh, and lord of all, Gen
45:5-9; 'Do not be afraid, for am I in the place of God? But as for you,
you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, in order to
bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive' (Exod. 50:
19, 20).

75 J. Pelikan: The Christian Tradition, vol. 1, The Emergence of the Catholic Tradition
(100-600), 1961, p. 284; Clem. Alex. Paidagogos 1:2:4:1-3. 76 Stromata 1:17 ANF. 77 Stromata
6:11 ANF.
9. SALVATION IN THE
LIFE OF BELIEVERS
The perfect believers or "Gnostics" who have true spiritual
knowledge and practise fellowship with Christ attain the righteous
life. St. Clement of Alexandria could have devoted a treatise to
spiritual perfection in which the implication is that a life without sin
is possible at least for a few in this world. The "Gnostic," or perfect
Christian, Clement writes, has gained mastery over himself and is
never tempted, except by divine permission, and then only for the
benefit of others. His whole life is one of prayer and communion with
God; he "lives in the spirit with those who are like him in the choirs of
78
the holy ones, even though he is still detained on the earth ."

The Gnostic becomes the image of Christ and in His likeness. Some
scholars ask if there is a difference between the image and the likeness
of Christ. Some of the Fathers, such as St. Clement of Alexandria and
Origen, make a distinction between image and likeness. The image of
God is what is received at birth, while his likeness is something
achieved by the effort of a lifetime. "The human person was given the
dignity of the image in his first creation," Origen writes, "but the
79
perfection of likeness is reserved for the consummation ." Other
Fathers, however, make no distinction whatsoever between the two
words (likeness and image), and St. Cyril of Alexandria says rather
bluntly that, if there is a difference, no one has been able to prove it to
80
him .

78 Stromata 7:12:80; Boniface Ramsey: Beginning to Read the Fathers, Paulist Press, 1985, p. 64.
79 De. Principiis 3:6:1; Boniface Ramsey: Beginning to Read the Fathers, Paulist Press, 1985, p.
67. 80 De dogm. solutione; Boniface Ramsey: Beginning to Read the Fathers, Paulist Press, 1985,
p. 68.
10. THE CHARACTERISTICS OF
BELIEVERS (GNOSTICS)
a. The true believer searches for every knowledge.
The Gnostic must be erudite... The Gnostic of whom I speak,
himself comprehends what seems to be incomprehensible to
others; believing that nothing is incomprehensible to the Son
of God, whence nothing incapable of being taught. For He
who suffered out of His love for us, would have suppressed no
81
element of knowledge requisite for our instruction .

If the love of knowledge produces immortality, and leads

the kingly man near to God the King, knowledge ought to
82
be sought till it is found .
b. The Gnostic is a true pious worshipper: It is our purpose to
prove that the Gnostic is holy and pious, and worships the true God
in a manner worthy of Him, and that worship meet for God is
followed by loving and being loved by God... The service of God,
then, in the case of the Gnostic, is his soul's continual study and
occupation, bestowed on the Deity in ceaseless love. For of the
service bestowed on men, one kind is that whose aim is improvement,
the other ministerial. The improvement of the body is the object of
the medical art, of the soul of philosophy. Ministerial service is
rendered to parents by children, to rulers by subjects. Similarly,
also, in the Church, the elders attend to the department which has
improvement for its object; and the deacons to the ministerial. In
both these ministries the angels serve God, in the management of
earthly affairs; and the Gnostic himself ministers to God, and
exhibits to

81 Stromata 6:8. 82
Stromata 6:15 ANF.
 men the scheme of improvement, in the way in which he has
been appointed to discipline men for their amendment. For he
is alone pious that serves God rightly and unblamably in
human affairs... And as Godliness is the habit which preserves
what is becoming to God, the godly man is the only lover of
God, and such will he be who knows what is becoming, both in
respect of knowledge and of the life which must be lived by
him who is destined to be divine, and is already being
assimilated to God. So then he is in the first place a lover of
God. For as he who honors his father is a lover of his father,
so he who honors God is a lover of God. Thus also it appears
to me that there are three effects of Gnostic power: the
knowledge of things; second, the performance of whatever the
Word suggests; and the third, the capability of delivering, in a
83
way suitable to God, the secrets veiled in the truth .

The Gnostic is a man of prayer. Prayer is essential in his life, he

practises the "Canonical Hours," at the same time that his prayers are
not limited by a certain time or place, but all his life is changed into a
prayer. He always thanks God for His providence.
Now, if some assign definite hours for prayer - as for
example, the third, the sixth, and ninth - yet the Gnostic prays
throughout his whole life, endeavoring by prayer to have
fellowship with God. And briefly, having reached to this, he
leaves behind him all that is of no service, as having now
received the perfection of the man that acts by love. By the
distribution of the hours into a threefold division, honored
with as many prayers, those are acquainted with... the blessed
84
triad of the holy abodes .

83 Stromata 7:1.
84 Stromata 7:7.
 His whole life is prayer and converse with God... So he is
always pure for prayer. He also prays in the society of angels,
as being already of angelic rank, and he is never out of their
holy keeping; and though he prays alone, he has the choir of
85
the saints standing with him .
The form of his prayer is thanksgiving for the past, for the
present, and for the future as already through faith present.

The Gnostic prays by his body and his soul, he prays

through gestures and even by his silence.
Prayer is, then, to speak more boldly, converse with God.
Though whispering, consequently, and not opening the lips,
we speak in silence, yet we cry inwardly (1 Sam. 1:13). For
God hears continually all the inward converse. So also we
raise the head and lift the hands to heaven, and set the feet in
motion at the closing utterance of the prayer, following the
eagerness of the spirit directed towards the intellectual
essence; and endeavoring to abstract the body from the earth,
along with the discourse, raising the soul aloft, winged with
longing for better things, we compel it to advance to the
region of holiness, magnanimously despising the chain of the
flesh. For we know right well, that the Gnostic willingly
passes over the whole world, as the Jews certainly did over
Egypt, showing clearly, above all, that he will be as near as
possible to God. Prayer, then, may be uttered without the
voice, by concentrating the whole spiritual nature within on
expression by the mind, in undistracted turning towards
86
God .

c. For the Gnostic, earth is changed into heaven. St. Clement who
asserts the sanctification of the body together with

85 Stromata 7:12. 86
Stromata 7:7 ANF.
the soul, says that the sanctified soul changes its body into heaven, by
the work of the Holy Spirit.
The soul is not then sent down from heaven to what is worse. For
God works all things up to what is better. But the soul which has
chosen the best life - the life that is from God and righteousness -
87
exchanges earth for heaven .
The Gnostics' aim is to put their treasures in heaven, not on
earth:
At any rate, we should repeat on every occasion that most
inspiring of all our doctrines, that the good man, in his
prudence and uprightness, 'lays up treasure in heaven' (Cf.
88
Matt. 6:20) .
Such is the Gnostic laborer, who has the mastery of worldly
desires even while still in flesh; and who, in regard to things
future and still invisible, which he knows, has a sure
persuasion, so that he regards them as more present than the
89
things within reach .
The Gnostics examine the pledge of heaven itself.
O wondrous mystery... Man was cast out of Paradise; and
now he receives a reward greater than that of obedience, the
90
reward of Heaven .
d. The believers attain a kind of perfection through the work of
the Holy Trinity, as a pledge of the eternal perfection. They
imitate God.
But, they object, man has not yet received the gift of
perfection. I agree with them, except that I insist he is
already in the light and that darkness does not overtake him
(John 1:5). There is nothing at all in between light and
darkness. Perfection lies ahead, in the resurrection of

87 Stromata 4:26. 88 Paidagogos 3:6:34 (Fathers

of Church, vol. 23). 89 Stromata 7:12 ANF. 90
Protr. 11:3.
 the faithful, but it consists in obtaining the promise which
91
has already been given to us .
The Gnostic is divine, and already holy,
92
God-bearing, and God-borne .
The Gnostic, as we already mentioned, struggles to be in
the likeness of Christ, by divine grace.
He is the Gnostic, who is after the image and likeness of
God, who imitates God as far as possible, deficient in none
of the things which contribute to the likeness as far as
compatible, practising self restraint and endurance, living
righteously, reigning over the passions, bestowing of what
he has as far as possible, and doing good both by word and
deed. “He is the greatest.” it is said, “in the kingdom who
shall do and teach;” imitating God in conferring like
93
benefits .
But "it is enough for the disciple to become as the Master"
(Matt. 25:10), says the Master. To the likeness of God, then,
he that is introduced into adoption and the friendship of
God, to the just inheritance of the lords and gods is brought;
if he be perfected, according to the Gospel, as the Lord
94
Himself taught .
The members of the church must be sanctified in their
thoughts and dreams.
So it is said that we ought to go washed to sacrifices and
prayers, clean and bright; and that these external
adornments and purification are practised for a sign . Now
purity is to think holy thoughts... Sanctity, as I conceive it,
is perfect pureness of mind, and deeds, and thoughts, and
95
words too, and in its last degree, sinlessness in dreams .

91 Paidagogos 1:6:28 (Frs. of Church).

92 Stromata 7:13. 93 Stromata 2:19. 94
Stromata 6:14 ANF. 95 Stromata 4:22.
e. The believer attains the heavenly peace, therefore he is
never anxious about tomorrow:
‘Do not be anxious about tomorrow’ (Matt. 6:34). He means
to say that he who has dedicated himself to Christ ought to
be self-sufficient and His own servant and, besides, live his
96
life from day to day .
f. The believer, full of joy in Christ, is always smiling:
Now, the proper relaxation of the features within due
limits--as though the face were a musical instrument -is
called a smile ( that is the way joy is reflected on the face); it
is the good humor of the self-contained... It is well that even
97
the smile be kept under the influence of the Educator .

g. The Christian is gentle and quiet:

The Christian avoids obscenity with ears, mouth, and eyes. It is
common, pagan, uneducated, and shameless. One could wish that all
Christians had shown such balance and sanity. He also avoids jeering
at anyone; it’s a small step to insulting behavior and violence. If he
has to sneeze or belch, he does so quietly. He does not pick his teeth
so that the gums bleed. The Christian’s society is calm, tranquil,
98
serene, and peaceful .
Let the gaze be composed, and the movement of the head
and the gestures be steady, as well as the motion of the
hands in conversation. In general, the Christian is, by
nature, a man of gentleness and quiet, of serenity and
99
peace .
The beauty of anything, whether plant or animal, is
admittedly in its perfection. But man's perfection is justice
100
and temperance and courage and piety .

96 Paidagogos 1:12:98 (Fathers of Church, vol. 23).

97 Paidagogos 2:5:46 (Fathers of Church, vol. 23). 98
Paidagogos 2. 99 Paidagogos 2:7:60 (Fathers of
Church, vol. 23). 100 Paidagogos 2:12:121 (Fathers of
Church, vol. 23).
 101
h. The Gnostic is the Temple and the Altar of God :
The Christian or true Gnostic is now not just the offering and the
offered but also the place of worship. St. Clement not only takes up
the traditions which saw both the church and the believer as the true
102
temple, and the soul(s) of the Christian(s) as the true altar ; he also
develops this theme still further:. . . he who builds up the temple of
God in men, that he may cause God to take up his abode in men.
Cleanse the temple, and pleasures and amusements abandon to the
winds and the fire, as a fading flower; but wisely cultivate the fruits
of self-command, and present yourself to God as an offering of first
103
fruits .
St. Clement believes that the reception of the Eucharist is
enshrining Christ within us as in a temple:
Such is the suitable food which the Lord ministers, and He
offers His flesh and pours forth His blood, and nothing is
wanting for the children's growth. O amazing mystery! We
are enjoined to cast off the old and carnal corruption, as
also the old nutriment, receiving in exchange another new
regimen, that of Christ, receiving Him if we can, to hide
Him within and to enshrine the Savior in our hearts so that
104
we may correct the affections of our flesh .

105
St. Clement also speaks of the heavenly temple , and of the whole
106
church - in heaven as well as on earth - as a temple ; but it was the
temple here below, the temple of the Christian community and the
Gnostic as a member of the Church, which particularly captivated
his attention.
How can He, to whom belongs everything that is, need
anything? If God had a human form, he would, like

101 Cf. Fobert J. Daly: The Origins of the Christian Doctrine of Sacrifice, Fortress Press,
Philadelphia, 1978, p. 120 f. 102 Stromata II 20; IV 21; Paidagogos II 10: Quis dives
salvetur 18 2. 103 Protrepticus 11. 104 Paidagogos I 6. 105 Stromata 5:1. 106 Stromata
6:14.
 man, have need of food, shelter, housing and what goes with
these. Those who are similar in form and affections will
require similar sustenance. And if the temple has two
meanings, both God Himself and the structure raised to His
honor, is it not proper for us to apply the name of temple to the
church which by holy knowledge came into being in God's
honor? For it is of great value to God, not having been
constructed by mechanical art nor embellished by an
impostor's hand, but by the will of God fashioned into a
temple. For it is not now the place but the assemblage of the
elect that I call the church. This temple is better for the
reception of the greatness of the dignity of God. For the living
creature, which is of high value, is made sacred by that which
is worth all, or rather which has no equivalent in virtue of the
exceeding sanctity of the latter. Now this is the Gnostic, who is
of great value and who is honored by God. For in him God is
enshrined, that is, the knowledge respecting God is
107
consecrated .
The altar, then, that is with us here, the terrestrial one, is the
congregation of those who devote themselves to prayers,
having as it were one common voice and one mind.... Now
breathing together is properly said of the church. For the
sacrifice of the church is the word breathing as incense from
holy souls, the sacrifice and the whole mind being at the same
time unveiled to God.... And will they not believe us when we
say that the righteous soul is the truly sacred altar, and that
108
incense arising from it is holy prayer?

At another time, He speaks of us under the figure of a colt.

He means by that that we are unyoked to evil, unsubdued
by wickedness, unaffected, high-spirited only

107 Stromata 7:5.

108 Stromata 7:6
 with Him our Father. We are colts, not stallions 'who whinny
lustfully for their neighbor's wife, beasts of burden
unrestrained in their lust' (Cf. Jer. 5:8). Rather, we are free
and newly born, joyous in our faith, holding fast to the course
of truth, swift in seeking salvation, spurning and trampling
upon worldliness. ‘Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion. Shout
for joy, O daughter of Jerusalem. Behold, your King comes to
you, the just and Savior, and He is poor and riding upon an
109
ass and upon a young colt’ (Zach. 9:9) .

i. The true Gnostic attains the new life in Christ as

Festival:
The true believer practices the pledge of the joyful
heavenly life.
Then, since we shall already be living the life of heaven
which makes us divine, let us anoint ourselves with the
never-failing oil of gladness, the incorruptible oil of good
odor. We possess an unmistakable model of incorruptibility
in the life of the Lord and are following in the footsteps of
110
God .
"Joy" is one of the essential characteristics of the Church who is
guided by the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:22). Truly we are called to
participate in the Lord's crucifixion, but He grants us His Spirit, the
Paraclete, or the Comforter (John 14:16;16:1) who dwells within us
even during tribulations and makes our hearts flow with unceasing
joy (Phil. 4:4). Through grace we acknowledge the continuous
presence of God within our soul that grants us unceasing joy. Our
whole life changes into endless feast. St. Clement says:
111
The (Gnostic's) whole life is a holy festival .

109 Paidagogos 1:5:14 (Frs. of Church, 23). 110

Paidagogos 1:12:98 (Fathers of Church, vol. 23). 111
Strom. 8:7.
 Holding festival, and that in our whole life, since we are
persuaded that God is altogether on every side present. We
cultivate our fields, praising; we sail the sea... The Gnostic,
then is very closely allied to God, being at once graceful and
cheerful in all things, graceful on account of the bent of his
soul towards the divinity, and cheerful on account of his
consideration of the blessing of humanity which God has
112
given us .
I appeal to Isaac as an illustration of this sort of childhood.
Isaac means ‘rejoicing.’ The inquisitive king saw him playing
with his wife and help-mate, Rebecca (Gen. 26:8). The king
(his name was Abimelec) represents, I believe, a wisdom
above this world, looking down upon the mystery signified by
such child-like playing. Rebecca means 'submission.' Oh,
what prudent playing! Rejoicing joined to submission, with
the king as audience. The Spirit exults in such merry-making
in Christ, attended with submissiveness. This is in truth godly
113
child-likeness .
Isaac rejoiced for a mystical reason, to prefigure the joy with
which the Lord has filled us, in saving us from destruction
through His blood. Isaac did not actually suffer, not only to
concede the primacy of suffering to the Word, but also to
suggest, by not being slain, the divinity of the Lord; Jesus rose
again after His burial, as if He had not suffered, like Isaac
114
delivered from the altar of sacrifice .

There is peace and joy in the hearts of those upon whom the
face of the Lord looks, but for those from whom He turns
115
away there is an accumulation of evils .

112 Strom 7:7. 113 Paidagogos 1:5:21 (Frs.

of Church, 23). 114 Paidagogos 1:5:22 (Frs.
of Church, 23). 115 Paidagogos 1:8:70 (Frs.
of Church, 23).
 He (the Gnostic), all day and night, speaking and doing the
Lord's commands, rejoices exceedingly, not only on rising in
the morning and at noon, but also when walking about, when
116
asleep, when dressing and undressing .

St. Clement looks to the Christian life as an unceasing

117
feast, asking us: "holding festival... in our whole life ."
j. The Gnostic practices goodness not through his fear of punishment,
nor waiting for recompense, but through his love to goodness itself.
He has Christ-like desires and goodness naturally through the work
of the Holy Spirit.
We must then, according to my view, have recourse to the
word of salvation neither from fear of punishment nor
118
promise of a gift, but on account of the good itself .

. The Gnostic is a spiritual king. And in truth, the kingly man and
Christian ought to be ruler and leader. For we are commanded to be
lords over not only the wild beasts without us, but also over the wild
119
passions within ourselves .

. The Gnostic who is Christ-like cannot hate any man; for he has
no enmity to men, but to the Devil, sin and heresy.

And who could with any reason become the enemy of a man
who gives no cause for enmity in any way? And is it not just
as in the case of God? We say that God is the adversary of no
one, and the enemy of no one (for He is the Creator of all, and
nothing that exists is what He wills it not to be; but we assert
that the disobedient, and those who walk not according to His
commandments, are enemies to Him, as being those who are
hostile to His covenant).

116 Stromata 7:12. 117

Stromata 7:7. 118
Stromata 4:6 ANF. 119
Stromata 6:15 ANF.
 We shall find the very same to be the case with the Gnostic,
for he can never in any way become an enemy to any one;
but those may be regarded enemies to him who turn to the
120
contrary path .
He never remembers those who sinned against him, but
forgives them. Wherefore also he righteously prays, saying,
"Forgive us; for we also forgive" (Matt. 6:12; Luke 11:4). For
this also is one of the things which God wishes, to covet
nothing, to hate no one. For all men are the work of one
121
will .
m. The Gnostic is satisfied by his Savior. He who has God resting
in him will not desire naught else. At once leaving all hindrances,
and despising all matter which distracts him, he cleaves to heaven by
122
knowledge .

11. THE MORAL 1

J. Lebreton states, "About the same date, Tertullian was given at
TENDENCIES 2
Carthage the same moral teaching. But there was a great difference
between them: Tertullian adopted a more vigorous treatment; 3 he
found, not in books, but in life itself the faults and follies he opposed,
and he condemned them with such harshness that he often ran the risk
of wounding those he wished to heal. The priests of Alexandria did
not display the passionate ardor of the priests at Carthage, nor did he
speak with the same tragic accent. He denounced with a polite smile
the follies of the worldly life; he had a very just sense of decency and
of what was fitting in Christians; and in him the noble human ideal, set
forth by the best of the pagans, and traced out once more after them,
has been transformed by the ideal model, the Christ, who projects His
divine light upon all our life. These characteristics, so plainly brought
out

120 Stromata 7:12. 121 Stromata 7:13 ANF. 122 Stromata

7:13. 123 J. Lebreton: The History of the Primitive Church, p.
904 f.
in the whole of the first book (of the Paidagogos), appear once
more at the end of the work, where they are set forth in full light:
O let us foster a blessed discipline of teaching! Let us complete in ourselves
the beauty of the Church, and as little children let us run to our good
Mother. Even when we have become the hearers of the Word, let us glorify
the blessed dispensation by which man has been brought up; he is sanctified
as a child of God, and the education he receives on earth makes him a citizen
of the heavens; there he finds the Father whom he has learnt to know upon
earth; and all this formation, this teaching, this education, comes to us from
the Word... To complete this praise of the Word, it remains for us to pray to
Him. Be propitious to your children, O pedagogue, Father, Horseman of
Israel, Father and Son, both one single thing, and Lord! Grant to us that by
following your commandments we may complete the likeness of the image,
and to realize as much as we can that God is good, and not a severe judge.
Grant us to live in your peace, to be transported to your city, crossing
without shipwreck the ocean of sin, and wafted on by the sweet breeze of the
Holy Spirit, who is ineffable wisdom, night and day, until the dawn of the
eternal day, singing a song of thanksgiving to the one Father and Son, Son
and Father, to the Son our tutor and master, with the Holy Spirit. All to the
One, in whom are all things and by whom all are one, by whom is eternity, of
whom we are all members, to whom is glory and the ages. All to Him who is
good all to Him who is wise, to Him who is just, all to Him! To Him be glory
124
now and forever, Amen !

12. CHARITY AND LOVE

When St. Clement speaks of love, especially towards our enemies, he
knows that its cost is very expensive, but we practise it for the sake of
our Christ to be in His likeness, and through this sacrifice we are
considered as martyrs.

124 Paidagogos 3:12:90:1; 101:1-2.

 You have got a compendious account of the Gnostic
125
martyr .
For the Gnostic, love is his fortress, in which he is protected from
sinning, and even if he falls in sin, through love he has hope in His
Savior to attain forgiveness of his sins.
Love permits not to sin; but if it fall into any such case, by
reason of the interference of the adversary, in imitation of
David, it will sing: " I will confess unto the Lord, and it will
please Him above a young bullock that has horns and hoofs.
Let the poor see it, and be glad." For he says, " Sacrifice to
God a sacrifice of praise, and pay to the Lord your vows; and
call upon Me in the day of trouble, and I will deliver you, and
you shall glorify Me" (Ps. 50:14, 15). "For the sacrifice of
God is a broken spirit" (Ps. 51:17). "God," then, being good,
"is love” (1 John 4:8,16)... Whose “love works no ill to his
neighbor,” neither injuring nor revenging ever, but, in a word,
doing good to all according to the image of God becomes like
Christ. "Love is the fulfilling of the law" (Rom. 13:10)... By
love, then, the commands not to commit adultery, and not to
covet one's neighbor's wife, are fulfilled, [these sins being]
formerly prohibited by fear. It is God Himself who has brought
our race to possession in common, by sharing Himself, first of
all, and by sending His Word to all men alike, and by making
all things for all. Therefore, everything is common, and the
rich should not grasp a greater share. The expression, then, 'I
own something, and have more than enough; why should I not
enjoy it?' is not worthy of man nor does it indicate any
community feeling. The other expression does, however: 'I
have something, why should I not share it with those in need?'
Such a one is perfect, and fulfills the

125 Stromata 4:14. ANF.

 command: 'You shall love your neighbor as thyself' (Matt.
126
19:19) . It is unbecoming that one man live in luxury when
there are so many who labor in poverty. How much more
honorable it is to serve many than to live in wealth! How
much more reasonable it is to spend money on men than on
stones and gold! How much more useful to have friends as our
ornamentation than lifeless decorations! Who can derive more
127
benefit from lands than from practising kindness?

An Agape is in reality heavenly food, a banquet of

128
the Word .
But there is another sort of beauty for men:
129
charity .
Lavishness is not capable of being enjoyed alone; it must be
bestowed upon others. That is why we should shy away from
foods that arouse the appetite and lead us to eat when we are
not hungry. Even in moderate frugality, is there not a rich
130
and wholesome variety?

If anyone object that the great High Priest, the Lord, offers
up to God incense of sweet odor(Eph. 5:2), let this not be
understood as the sacrifice and good odor of incense, but as
the acceptable gift of love, a spiritual fragrance on the altar,
131
that the Lord offers up .

13. CONTEMPLATIVE LIVE

126 Paidagogos 2:12. 127 Paidagogos 2:12:120

(Fathers of Church, vol. 23). 128 Paidagogos 2:1:5
(Fathers of Church, vol. 23). 129 Paidagogos 3:1:3
(Fathers of Church, vol. 23). 130 Paidagogos 2:1:14,15
(Fathers of Church, vol. 23). 131 Paidagogos 2:8:67
(Fathers of Church, vol. 23).
AND ACTIVE
LIFE
St. Clement believes that the greatest lesson is to contemplate on one's
self by the work of the Holy Spirit who reveals the kingdom of God
within the believer, and illuminates his sight to acknowledge the
divine love. Thus the believer can attain the likeness of Christ.

It is then, as appears, the greatest of all lessons to know one's

self. For if one knows himself, he will know God; and
132
knowing God, he will be made like God .
"In contemplative life, one in worshipping God attends to
himself, and through his own spotless purification beholds
the holy God reverently, for self-control, being present,
surveying and contemplating itself uninterruptedly, is as far
as possible assimilated to
God133."

14. WISDOM
St. Clement asks us to be wise through attaining the
knowledge of God, of our nature and of oneself.
Wisdom, in its perfection, is the understanding of things
human and divine, and includes all things; therefore, it is the
art of living in that it presides over the human race. In that
way, it is everywhere present wherever we live, ever
134
accomplishing its work, which is living well .
Wisdom creates an unceasing desire for learning, as it is
written in the Book of Wisdom (6:12-20).
For he (Solomon) teaches, as I think, that true
instruction is desire for knowledge, and the practical

132 Paidagogos 3:1 ANF. 133 Stromata 4:23 ANF.

134 Paidagogos 2:2:28 (Fathers of Church, vol. 23).
 exercise of instruction produces love of knowledge. And love
is the keeping of the commandments which lead to knowledge.
And the keeping of them is the establishment of the
commandments, from which immortality results. "And
135
immortality brings us near to God ."
St. Clement states that the teaching of Christ is the source of
wisdom and truth.
The proof of the truth being with us, is the fact of the Son of
God Himself having taught us... For the Son of God is the
person of the truth which is exhibited; and the subject is the
power of faith, which prevails over the opposition of
136
everyone whatever, and the assault of the whole world .

15. EXTRAVAGANCE OR LUXURY

St. Clement believes that moderate life in Jesus Christ is the royal way
that leads us to heaven. He exhorts us not to live in luxury, nor to
indulge in extravagance. At the same time, food, clothes, furniture
should be appropriate to the individual, his age, his work, and the
particular occasion. The best wealth is poverty of desires.
Extravagance is unreasonable, contrary to the Logos.
A middle course is good in all things, and no less so in
serving a banquet. Extremes, in fact, are dangerous, but the
137
mean is good , and all that avoids dire need is a mean.
138
Natural desires have a limit set to them by selfsufficiency .

a. Concerning food: St. Clement deals with “Food and Drink” in

Paidagogos 2:1,2. Concerning food, he says that we are to eat to live,
not to live to eat. Our diet should be simple, directed to growth,
health, and controlled energy. Avoid elaboration; avoid

135 Stromata 6:15 ANF. 136 Stromata

6:15 ANF. 137 Cf. Seneca, Ep. 5,
passim. 138 Paidagogos 2:1:16 (Frs. of
Church).
excess. We should not forget how much the love (agape)-feast, the
taking of a common meal together, meant to the early church at least
till the third century. Don’t eat and drink at the same time; they don’t
go together. Concerning drink, “A little wine for your stomach’s sake”
(1 Tim. 5,23). All right, but it is a small dose for strictly medicinal
purposes. Otherwise, water is best, and the young should certainly
abstain from wine; they’re hotheaded enough already! Besides wine
swells the sex organs and encourages sexual curiosity. For the 18-30
age-group, he advocates moderation. The older are permitted freer
refreshment, provided they keep the mind clear, the memory active,
and the body under control. Wine is dangerous, and Clement cites
Aristotle and a doctor named Artorius as authorities for his statement.
He also says that women should not reveal too much of their bodies:
it’s a risky business for the men who are attracted by the sight, and for
the women who are aiming to attract them. And drunkenness, to return
139
to the point, is out .

You will never be able to become wise' if you indulge in such

extravagance, burying your mind deep in your belly; you will
resemble the so-called ass-fish which Aristotle claims is the
140
only living thing which has its heart in its stomach , and
141
which the comic poet Epicharmis entitles 'the huge-bellied .'
Such are the men who trust in their belly, 'whose god is their
belly, whose glory is their shame, who mind the things of
earth.'' For such men the Apostle makes a prediction
foreboding nothing good, for he concludes: 'whose end is ruin'
142
(Phil. 3:19) .
God has provided food and drink for His creature, I mean
man, not for his dissipation, but for his welfare. It is a
natural law that the body is not benefited by excessively rich
food; quite the contrary, those who live on simpler

139 John Ferguson : Clement of Alexandria, Twayne Publishers, NY 1974, p. 80-1.

140 Aristotle, Frag. 326, in V. Rose, Arislotelis Fragmenta (Leipzig 1886). 141
Epicharmis. Frag 67, in G. Kaibel Fragmenta poetarum graeeorum VI:1 (1899).
142 Paidagogos 2:1:18 (Fathers of Church, vol. 23).
 foods are stronger and healthier and more alert, as
servants are, for example, in comparison with their
masters, or farmer-tenants in comparison with their
143
landlords .
We have been created, not to eat and drink, but to come to
the knowledge of God. 'The just man,' Scripture says, 'eats
and fills his soul; but the belly of the wicked is ever in want'
(Prov. 13:25), ever hungry with a greed that cannot be
144
quenched .
Other men, indeed, live that they may eat, just like
unreasoning beasts; for them life is only their belly (Cf.
Phil. 3:19). But as for us, our Educator has given the
command that we eat only to live. Eating is not our main
occupation, nor is pleasure our chief ambition. Food is
permitted us simply because of our stay in this world, which
the Word is shaping for immortality by His education. Our
food should be plain and ungarnished, in keeping with the
truth, suitable to children who are plain and unpretentious,
145
adapted to maintaining life, not selfindulgence .

b. Concerning clothes: We should not seek for expensive clothes,

either, any more than for elaborate dishes. In fact, the Lord Himself
set Himself to give special counsel for the soul, for the body and for a
third class, external things, all separately. He advises that external
things were to be provided for the body, the body to be governed by
the soul, and then instructs the soul: 'Be not solicitous for your life,
what you shall eat nor for your body, what you shall put on. The life
146
is more than the meat, and the body is more than the raiment .

143 Paidagogos 2:1:5 (Fathers of Church, vol. 23).

144 Paidagogos 2:1:14 (Fathers of Church, vol. 23).
145 Paidagogos 2:1:1,2 (Frs. of Church). 146
Paidagogos 2:10:102 (Fathers of Church, vol. 23).
 I maintain that man needs clothing only for bodily covering,
as a protection against excessive cold or intense heat, so that
the inclemency of the weather may not harm him in any way.
If that is the purpose of clothes, then one kind of garment
surely should not be provided for men and another for
147
women ...
If someone should remind us of the full-length robe of the
Lord, [we reply that] His multicolored tunic really represents
the brilliance of wisdom, the manifold and unfading value of
Scripture, words of the Lord that glow with rays of truth. For
this reason, the Spirit clothed the Lord with another similar
garment when it said in the psalm of David: 'I will put on
praise and beauty, clothed with light as with a garment' (Ps.
103:1.) Therefore, we must avoid any irregularity in the type
of garment we choose. We must also guard against all way
wardness in our use of them. For instance, it is not right for a
woman to wear her dress up over her knees, as the Laconian
maidens are said to do, because a woman should not expose
148
any part of her body .

Dignity in dress comes not from adding to what is worn, but

from eliminating all that is superfluous. The unnecessary
luxuries that women wear, in fact, like tail-feathers, must be
clipped off, because they give rise only to shifting vanity and
senseless pleasure. Because of such vanity and pleasure,
women become flighty and vain as peacocks, and even desert
their husbands. Therefore, we should take care that the
women are attired properly, and clothed abundantly in the
modesty of self-restraint, so that they will not break away
149
from the truth through vanity .

147 Paidagogos 2:10:106 (Fathers of Church, vol. 23). 148

Paidagogos 2:10:113, 114 (Fathers of Church, vol. 23). 149
Paidagogos 3:11:57,58 (Frs. of Church).
 Let the clothes be in keeping with the person's age,
with the individual himself, the place, his character, and
occupation. The Apostle well advises us: 'Put on Christ
Jesus, and as for the flesh, take no thought of its lusts'
150
(Rom. 13:14) .
c. Concerning perfumes and adornment with crowns of
flowers:
This matter includes a long and rambling section, which occupies
rather more than an eighth of the whole second book of the
Paidagogos, and makes one realize that this way of living, is an
existential issue among the Christians of Alexandria. St. Clement
begins with a direct pellucid assertion: “There is no necessity for us to
151
use garlands and perfumes. .” The rest of the chapter works this out,
starting, with a good deal of symbolism, allusion, and wordplay, from
the sinner who poured the ointment over Jesus. Christmas symbolizes
the Christ. Precious stones allude to the Logos, and gold, the symbol
of royalty, to him in his changelessness. Christian men need only the
odor of goodness, women the royal unctions of Christ. In the literal
sense, unguents have their uses. In moderation they can please without
overwhelming the senses; they can keep off insects; they have their
use in athletics. To use flowers for garlands is to exploit them; the
flower and its beauty wither. It is a fine passage for any concerned
with defense of the environment. Symbolism breaks through again.
The husband is the wife’s garland, marriage is the husband’s garland,
children are for both the flowers of marriage, God is the gardener of
the fields of the flesh, Christ is the garland of the church. The wreath
symbolizes freedom from care; hence its use for the dead. Further, to
make wreaths of flowers for our living is to mock the Savior’s crown
152
of thorns .
Besides, it is inconsistent for us who celebrate the holy
suffering of the Lord, who know that He was crowned

150 Paidagogos 3:11:56 (Frs. of Church). 151 Ibid., 2:8:61. 152 John Ferguson :
Clement of Alexandria, Twayne Publishers, NY 1974, p. 84-5.
 with thorns, to crown ourselves with flowers. The crown the
Lord wore is a figure of ourselves who were once barren, but
now encircle Him as a garland through His Church, of which
He is the head. That crown is also a type of our faith: it is a
type of life, through the substance of wood; of joy, because it is
a crown; of trial, because it is a crown of thorns, and no one
can approach the Word without shedding blood. But the other
crown, the one intertwined [with flowers], withers away; a
wreathe of wickedness, it falls apart and its flowers fade, just
as the beauty of those who do not believe in the Lord withers
153
away .
d. Concerning adornment with precious stones and
gems:
Tradition assures us that the heavenly Jerusalem that is above
is built up of holy gems and we know that the twelve gates of
the heavenly city, which signify the wonderful beauty of
apostolic teaching, are compared to precious jewels. These
priceless stones are described as possessing certain colors
which are themselves precious, while the rest is left of an
earthy substance. To say that the city of the saints is built of
such jewels, even though it is a spiritual edifice, is a cogent
symbol indeed. By the incomparable brilliance of the gems is
understood the spotless and holy brilliance of the substance of
154
the spirit .
e. Concerning women's earrings: The ears of women should not be
pierced, either, to enable them to suspend earrings and ear pendants
from them. It is contrary to nature. It is wrong to do violence to nature
in a way nature does not intend. Surely, there is no better ornament
for the ears than learning the truth, nor is there any that enters the
ears in as natural a way. Eyes anointed by the Word and ears pierced
to hear are ready to

153 Paidagogos 2:8:73 (Fathers of Church, vol. 23).

154 Paidagogos 2:11:119 (Fathers of Church, vol. 23).
 contemplate holy things and to hear divine things. It is only
the Word who reveals true beauty which eye has never seen
155
before, nor has ear heard .

. Concerning the beauty of the body:

. Lebreton says, "We find even here the moderation of the
moralist: he allows women to adorn themselves to please their husbands,
but they ought "gradually to lead them to simplicity, by accustoming them
156
little by little to greater moderation ".
The Spirit gives witness through Isaiah that even the Lord
became an unsightly spectacle: 'And we saw Him, and there
was no beauty or comeliness in Him, but His form was
despised, and abject among men' (Isa. 53:2 Septuagint). Yet,
who is better than the Lord? He displayed not beauty of the
flesh, which is only outward appearance, but the true beauty
of body and soul: for the soul, the beauty of good deeds; for
157
the body, that of immortality .
It is not the appearance of the outer man that should be made
beautiful, but his soul, with the ornament of true virtue. It
should be possible, too, to speak of an ornament for his body,
158
the ornament of self-control . But women, busy in making
their appearances beautiful, allowing the interior to lie
uncultivated, are in reality decorating themselves, without
realizing it, like Egyptian temples. The entrances and
vestibules of these temples are elaborately ornamented, the
sacred groves and meadows are cultivated, the halls are
adorned with huge columns, and the walls, each covered with
some highly finished painting, glitter with rare jewels. The
temples themselves are studded over with gold and silver and
electrum, and sparkled with gems from India and Ethiopia
which cover them, while the inner sanctuary is curtained

155 Paidagogos 2:12:127 (Fathers of Church, vol. 23).

156 Paidagogos 3:11:57, Lebreton, p. 905, n. 39. 157
Paidagogos 3:1:3 (Fathers of Church, vol. 23). 158
Paidagogos 3:2:4 (Fathers of Church, vol. 23).
 off by an overhanging gold-embroidered veil. But if, anxious
to see the lord of such a temple, you pass beyond into the
interior of the sacred precincts, seeking the god that dwells in
the temple, a pastophore or some other hierophant will look
sharply about the sacred shrine, chant a hymn in the Egyptian
tongue, and then draw back a bit of the veil that you might see
his god, but he reveals an object of veneration that is utterly
absurd. There is no god within, whom we were so anxiously
looking for; there is only a cat, or a crocodile, or a snake
native to the land, or some other similar animal suited for life
in a cave or den or in the mud, but certainly not in a temple.
The god of the Egyptians, then, turns out to be only a beast
curled up on a rich purple pillow. Women who are loaded
down with gold seem to me much like that temple. They
carefully curl their locks, paint their cheeks, stencil under
their eyes, anxiously dye their hair, and practise perversely all
the other senseless arts; true imitators of the Egyptians, they
adorn the enclosure of the flesh to lure lovers who stand in
superstitious dread of the goddess. But, if anyone draw back
the veil of this temple, I mean the hairnet and the dye and the
159
garments and gold and rouge and cosmetics - or the cloth
woven of all these things, which is a veil-- if he draws back
this veil to discover the true beauty that is within, I am sure he
will be disgusted. He will not find dwelling within any worthy
image of God, but, instead, a harlot and adulteress who has
usurped the inner sanctuary of the soul. The beauty within will
turn out to be nothing more than a beast, 'an ape painted up
160
with powder; ' as a deceitful serpent, it will devour man's
intellect with love of ornaments and make the soul its den.
Filling the whole soul with its deadly drug and vomiting out
the poison of its deception, this

159 The Scholion says this is a scarlet sea weed. 160 Adesp.
517, CAF 3:503; cf. Aristophanes. Ecclcs. 1072.
 serpent-seducer has transformed women into harlots (for
gaudy vanity bespeaks not the woman, but the harlot ) .
Such women have little care for managing household
expenses for their husbands. Rather, they unloose the strings
of their husbands' purses and waste their fortunes on their
own desires, that they might win for themselves a host of
161
admirers charmed by their cultivated appearances .

In his moderation, St. Clement advises women to take care of

their beauty by practising works.
Beauty is the natural flower of health; the latter works within
the body, while the former manifests the state of the
flourishing organism which is unfolding itself. Accordingly,
the best and most healthy activities, by exercising the body,
162
produce healthy and lasting beauty .
Work gives true beauty to women, it exercises their bodies,
and embellishes them naturally, not indeed with the vesture
which comes from the labor of others, a vesture without charm
and good for slaves and courtesans, but with the vesture
which a good woman weaves for herself by the labor of her
163
hands .
g. Concerning sleeping and the softness of the bed:
Practicing moderation needs a largely vegetarian diet, and
164
early to bed without waiting for the others .
But we must specially keep the softness of the bed within
limits, for sleep is meant to relax the body, not to debilitate
it. For that reason, I say that sleep should be taken not as
165
self-indulgence, but as rest from activity .
h. Concerning laughing:

161 Paidagogos 3:2:4,5 (Fathers of Church, vol. 23).

162 Paidagogos 3:11:64:3 - 65:1. 163 Paidagogos
3:11:67:1. 164 Paidagogos 2:7. 165 Paidagogos
2:9: 78 (Fathers of Church, vol. 23).
St. Clement wants his laughter under control; he is afraid of
degeneration into obscenity; he doesn’t mind mild pleasantries, and
prefers the smile to the belly-laugh. In this section (Paidagogos 2:2)
he quotes Homer more than the Bible. The overall result is to make
us wonder how much we, who inevitably rely on written sources,
166
really know about ancient humor .

16. POVERTY OF HEART

Poverty of heart is the true wealth (Matt. 5:3), and the true
nobility is not that founded on riches, but that which comes
167
from a contempt for it . It is disgraceful to boast about
one's possessions; not to be concerned about them any
longer very clearly proves the just man. Anyone who wishes
can buy such things from the market; but wisdom is bought,
not with any earthly coin, nor in any market, but is acquired
in heaven, at a good price: the incorruptible Word, the gold
168
of kings .

17. AWAKENESS
He who has the most respect for life and for reason will stay
awake as long as he can, reserving only as much time for
sleep as his health demands; much sleep is not required, if
169
the habit of moderation be once rightly formed .

The care of discipline begets a constant alertness in our

labors. Therefore, food ought not to make us heavy but
enliven us so that sleep will harm us as little as possible.
Incidentally, how capable a winless meal is of lifting one

166 John Ferguson: Clement of Alexandria, Twayne Publishers, NY 1974, p. 83. 167 A play on
words: 'true nobility' he calls megalo-phronein, ('to think great things'), identifying it with
kata-phronein ('to think down upon'). 168 Paidagogos 2:3:39 (Fathers of Church, vol. 23). 169
Plato, Laws 7:808BC.
 from the very depths to the peak of wakefulness ! Falling
asleep, indeed, is like dying, because it renders our minds and
our senses inactive, and, when we close our eyes, shuts out the
light of day. So, let us who are the sons of the true light not
shut out that light, but, turning within into ourselves casting
light upon the vision of the inner man, let us contemplate truth
itself, welcome its rays and discover with clarity and insight
170
what is the truth of dreams .
When we do manage to keep awake the greater part of
the night, we should not allow ourselves, for any
171
consideration, to take a nap during the day .
It is not the soul that needs sleep ( for it is ever-active ); the
body becomes relaxed when it takes its rest, and the soul
ceases to operate in any bodily way, but continues to
operate mentally in keeping with its nature...
The soul, then, ever keeping its thoughts on God and
attributing those thoughts to the body by its constant
association with it, makes man equal to the angels in their
loveliness. So, from its practise of wakefulness, it obtains
172
eternal life .

18. LOVE AND FEAR OF GOD

The Gnostics, true members of the Church, accept the divine call of
sanctity not in fear of punishment nor for enjoyment of earthly
recompense but because they love goodness for itself as they become
gods (in image of God).
But he who obeys the mere call, as he is called, neither for
fear, nor for enjoyments, is on his way to knowledge
(gnosis)... It is possible for the Gnostic already

170 Paidagogos 2:9:80 (Fathers of Church, vol. 23).

171 Paidagogos 2:9:81 (Fathers of Church, vol. 23).
172 Paidagogos 2:9:82 (Fathers of Church, vol. 23).
 to have become god. "I said, you are gods, and sons of the
173
highest" (Ps. 132:6) .
174
Faith is the outward acceptance of God out of fear and respect ,
which leads us to His love. St. Clement claims that faith must be
followed by fear and hope, which lead to love and finally to a "true
175
gnosis ."
176
The Christian's calling is to love the Creator in His creatures . Love
is the basic principal by which the Logos educates His children,
unlike the education of the Old Dispensation which is based on fear.
However, the Savior administers not only mild but also stringent
medicines because God is at the same time good and just and as a
successful tutor balances goodness with punishment. God’s
righteousness and love do not contradict each other. St. Clement
refers here to the heretical doctrine of the Marcionites that the God of
the Old Testament is not the same as that of the New. Fear is good if
177
it protects against sin :

Such a fear, accordingly, leads to repentance and hope.

Now hope is the expectation of good things, or an
expectation sanguine of absent good; and favorable
circumstances are assumed in order to good hope, which
178
we have learned leads on to love .
The bitter roots of fear arrest the eating sores of our sins.
Wherefore also fear is salutary, if bitter. Sick, we truly stand
in the need of the Savior; having wandered, of one to guide
us; blind, of one to lead us to light; thirsty, of the fountain of
life of which whosoever partakes shall no longer thirst (John
4,13-14); dead, we need life; sheep, we need a shepherd; we
who are children need a tutor while

173 Stromata 4:22,23. 174 Stromata 2:12; 5:1; 7:12; G. Florovosky: Byzantine Fathers of the
Fifth Century, 1987, p. 82. 175 Justo L. Gonzalez: A History of Christian Faith, vol. 1, 1979, p.
208. 176 Stromata 6:71,5. 177 Quasten: Patrology, vol. 2, p. 10. 178 Stromata 2:9 ANF.
 universal humanity stands in need of Jesus... You may learn if
you will the crowning wisdom of the all-holy Shepherd and
Tutor, of the omnipotent and paternal Word, when He
figuratively represents Himself as the Shepherd of the sheep.
And He is the Tutor of the children. He says therefore by
Ezechiel directing His discourse to the elders and setting
before them a salutary description of His wise solicitude: "And
that which is lame I will bind up, and that which is sick I will
heal, and that which has wandered I will turn back; and I will
feed them on my holy mountain" (Ez. 34,14,16). Such are the
promises of the good Shepherd. Feed us, the children, as
sheep. Yea, Master, fill us with righteousness. Your own
pasture; yea, O Tutor, feed us on Your holy mountain the
Church, which towers aloft, which is above the clouds, which
touches heaven179.

Notice how the justice of the Educator is manifest in His

chastisements and the goodness of God in His mercies. That
is why David, or rather, the Spirit through him, includes both
when he says, in the psalm, of the same God: 'Justice and
judgment are the preparation of Your throne. Mercy and truth
180
shall go before Your face' (Ps. 88:15) .
In another place St. Clement mentions the fear and love as
essential in our spiritual progress.
Righteous conduct also is twofold: that which is done for love, and
that which is done through fear. For indeed, it is said, "The fear of
the Lord is pure, remaining forever and ever" (Ps. 18 [19]:10).
Those who, because of fear, turn to faith and righteousness, remain
forever. Fear does, in fact, motivate to abstaining from

179 Paid. 1,9,83,2-84,3 ANF. 180 Paidagogos

1:9:87 (Fathers of Church, vol. 23).
 evil; but love, building up to free action, exhorts to the
181
doing of good .
The material He educates us in is fear of God, for this fear
instructs us in the service of God, educates to the knowledge
of truth, and guides by a path leading straight up to
182
heaven .
How can we gain true love? The answer is: By receiving
the Logos Himself, the divine flame of love!
The heavenly and true love comes to men thus, when in the
soul itself the spark of true goodness, kindled in the soul by
the Divine Word, is able to burst forth into flame; and what
is of the highest importance, salvation runs parallel with
sincere willingness - choice and life being, so to speak,
183
yoked together .

19. ABORTION
But women who resort to some sort of deadly abortion drug
kill not only the embryo but, along with it, all human
184
kindness .

20. SINS AND 1

According to St. Clement, the sin of Adam was his refusal to be
PENANCE 8
educated by God and has been inherited by all human beings not
through procreation but through the bad example
5 given by the first
186
man . Clement is convinced that only a personal act can stain the
soul. He agrees with Hermas that there should be only one

181 Stromata 7:12:78:7; 7:12:79:1. (Jurgens). 182 Paidagogos 1:7:53 (Frs. of Church). 183
Paidagogos 11. ANF, p. 204. 184 Paidagogos 2:10:96 (Fathers of Church, vol. 23). 185 Esmat
Gabriel: St. Clement of Alexandria, Coptic Church Review, Spring 1980, v.1, No. 1, p. 25;
Quasten, p. 31.. 186 Stromata 3:16.
penance in the life of a Christian, that preceding baptism, but that
God, out of mercy for human weakness, has granted a second, which
can be obtained only once. He distinguishes between voluntary and
involuntary sins which can be forgiven. Those who commit voluntary
sins after baptism must fear the judgment of God. A complete break
with God after baptism cannot be forgiven. However, in reality St.
Clement does not exclude any sin for its greatness from the second
repentance.
He who has received the forgiveness of sins ought to sin no
more. For in addition to the first and only repentance from sins
(that is from the previous sins in the first and heathen life - I
mean that in ignorance), there is forth-with proposed to those
who have been called, the repentance which cleanses the seat
of the soul from transgressions, that faith may be established.
And the Lord, knowing the heart, and foreknowing the future,
foresaw both the fickleness of man and the craft and subtlety
of the devil from the first, from the beginning; how that,
envying man for the forgiveness of sins, he would present to
the servants of God certain causes of sins, skillfully working
mischief, that they might all together align with himself.
Accordingly, being very merciful, He has vouchsafed, in the
case of those who, though in faith, fall into any transgression,
a second repentance, so that should any one be tempted after
his calling, overcome by force and fraud, he may receive still a
repentance not to be repented of. 'For if we sin willfully after
that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there
remains no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful
looking-for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall
devour the adversaries' (Hebr. 10,26-27). But continual and
successive repentings for sins differ nothing from the case of
those who have not believed at all, except only in their
consciousness that they do sin. And I know not which of the
two is worst, whether the case
 of a man who sins knowingly, or of one who, after having
187
repented of his sins, transgresses again .
He then who from among the Gentiles and from that old life
has betaken himself to faith, has obtained forgiveness of sins
once. But he who has sinned after this, on his repentance,
though he obtains pardon, ought to fear, as one no longer
washed to the forgiveness of sins. For not only must he
abandon the idols which he formerly held as gods, but the
works also of his former life must be abandoned by him who
has been 'born again, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh'
(John I:I3) but in the Spirit; which consists in repenting by not
giving way to the same fault. For frequent repentance and
readiness to change easily from want of training, is the
practice of sin again. The frequent asking of forgiveness then
for those things in which we often transgress is the semblance
188
of repentance, not repentance itself .

St. Clement distinguishes in these passages between voluntary and

involuntary sins. He is of the opinion that of sins committed after
baptism only those that are involuntary sins can be forgiven. Those
who commit voluntary sins after baptism must fear the judgment of
God.
21. THE HOLY KISS
If we have been called to the kingdom of God, let us live
worthy of that kingdom by loving God and our neighbor. Love
is judged not by a kiss, but by good will. There are some who
make the assembly resound with nothing but their kisses while
there is no love in their hearts. We should realize that the
unrestrained use of the kiss has brought it under grave
suspicion and slander. It should be thought of in a mystical
sense (the Apostle speaks

187 Stromata 2:13:56-57 ANF.

188 Stromata 2:13:58-9 ANF.
 of it as holy [Cf. Rom 16:16; 1 Cor. 16 :20) . Let us, instead,
taste the kingdom with a mouth that is chaste and
self-controlled, and practise good will in heart, for this is the
way a chaste character is developed. There is another kiss that
is unholy and full of poison, under the guise of holiness. Do you
not realize that just as a poisonous spider touches a man only
with its mouth, yet inflicts pain, so the kiss often injects the
poison of lust? It is clear to us that the kiss is not charity, 'for
189
charity is of God' (1 John 4:7) .

22. RICHES
Therefore, it is not he who possesses and retains his wealth
who is wealthy, but he who gives; it is giving, not receiving
that reveals the happy man. Generosity is a product of the
190
soul; so, true wealth is in the soul .
Generally speaking, riches that are not under complete
control are the citadel of evil. If the ordinary people look
on them covetously, they will never enter the kingdom of
heaven, because they are letting themselves become
contaminated by the things of this world and are living
191
above themselves in self-indulgence .
Holiness and that kind of reason which is more precious than
any treasure are the true wealth, and are not increased by
cattle or lands but are given by God. It cannot be taken away (
for the soul alone is the treasure of such a man), and is a
possession that is supreme for him who owns it, making him
192
blessed in possessing the truth .

189 Paidagogos 3:12:81,82 (Frs. of Church). 190

Paidagogos 3:6:35 (Frs. of Church). 191
Paidagogos 2:3:38 (Fathers of Church, vol. 23). 192
Paidagogos 3:6:36 (Frs. of Church).
23. THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE AND
EVIL
The Alexandrian Fathers in their controversy with the heretical
Gnostics dealt with Divine Providence and its relation to evil. They
had to answer the following question:
1. Are materials, bodies, birth, marriage, the world etc. evil things ?
2. How do we explain the temptations to which Christians are
exposed and the triumph of unrighteousness in persecuting them?
3. How do we explain the existence of evil in a world governed by
Divine Providence ?

I. THE WORLD AND EVIL

The Gnostics regarded the world as intrinsically evil, but the
Alexandrian Fathers, especially St. Clement considered the world a
divine gift to man, governed by the providence of God. It is the best of
all possible worlds. God loves everything He created and hates
nothing. Truly it is just a bridge for man to pass over into eternity and
enjoy heavenly glories, but it is formed by the gracious God who
creates no evil.
Floyd says: [Like the Gnostics, Clement conceded a gap between the
Supreme Being and the visible world, but unlike them he saw it
bridged by God Himself instead of by intermediary beings or demons.
By the incarnation, on one hand, God entered the world as a human
being, and on the other hand, by His example, passion, and death, He
"pointed the path" towards unity with Him through grace. According
to the Gnostics there is no solution at all for the relation between God
193
and the world .
This is the highest excellence which orders all
things in accordance with the Father's will and holds the
helm of the universe in the best way, with unwearied and

193 W.E.G. Floyd: Clement of Alexandria's treatment of the problem of evil, Oxford 1971, p.74.
 tireless power, working all things in which it operates,
194
keeping in view its hidden designs .
II. MATTER AND EVIL
St. Clement of Alexandria opposes the Marconites who said that
matter is evil; on the contrary, he declares that it is under the control
of God; everything created by the Good God is good, even riches...

Wealth is like a tool which may be used skillfully or the reverse; it

may be a servant of righteousness or unrighteousness. The words of
Christ to the rich young man in Mark 10:17-31 are not to be
understood in a carnal sense, but we must seek to penetrate their
innermost meaning.
It is not the outward act, but something else indicated by it,
greater, more godlike, more perfect, the stripping off of the
passions from the soul itself and from the disposition, and the
cutting up by the roots and casting out of what is alien to the
mind... Riches which also benefit our neighbors, are not to be
thrown away... If you use (wealth) skillfully, it is skillful; if
you are deficient in skill, it is affected by your want of skill,
being itself destitute of blame, such an instrument is wealth.
Are you able to make the right use of it ? It is subservient to
righteousness. Does one make a wrong use of it ? It is, then, a
minister of wrong. For its nature is to be subservient not to
rule. That then, which of itself has neither good nor evil, being
blameless, ought not to be blamed; but that which has the
power of using it well or ill, by reason of its possessing
voluntary choice. And this is the mind and judgment of man
which has freedom in himself and self-determination in the
treatment of what is assigned to it.

194 Stromata 7:2:8.

 So, let no man destroy wealth, rather the passions of the
soul, which are incompatible with the better use of wealth.
So that, becoming virtuous and good, he may be able to
195
make good use of these riches .
III. MAN'S BODY AND EVIL
Marcion considered the body of man, being formed of matter, as evil
by nature; it is an enemy of the soul. Plato looked upon it as the grave
of the soul. On the contrary, the Alexandrian Fathers-perhaps except
Origen - had a sanctified view of the body, for the following reasons:

. It is created by God, who is Good, and created no evil. He hates

196
nothing, even the body, but loves all which He created .

. The body is the instrument, the seat and the possession of the
197
soul .

. As a dwelling-place of the soul, it shares with her the sanctification
198
wrought by the Holy Spirit , and man as a whole - body and soul - will be
glorified in the world to come.

. The harmony of the body contributes to the goodly disposition of
199
the soul and of the mind .

. The Word of God assumed our humanity in its true meaning and
received a real body to declare the sanctification of our bodies. He became
200
Man that He might speak with the mouth of a man . He did not despise
our body which He took for Himself, assumed it to Himself as a proof of
the essential worth of mankind (the whole human nature), matter and the
world.
Those, then, who look upon created matter and vilify the body
are wrong; not considering that the frame of man was formed
erect for the contemplation of heaven, and that the
organization of the senses tends to knowledge; and

195 Quis Dives Salvetur 12,14.

196 Strom. 3:3:16. 197 Paed.
1:8. 198 Strom. 4:26:163. 199
Ibid. 4:4:18. 200 Ibid.
7:11:112.
 that the members and parts are arranged for good, not for
pleasure. This abode becomes receptive of the soul which is
most precious to God; and is dignified with the Holy Spirit
through the sanctification of soul and body, perfected with the
perfection of the Savior. And the succession of the three
virtues is found in the Gnostic (a believer who has spiritual
gnosis or knowledge), who morally, physically and logically
201
occupies himself with God... The soul is not good by nature,
nor on the other hand, is the body bad by nature... God
improves all things to the good, but the soul which has chosen
the best life, the life that is from God and righteousness -
changes earth to heaven. The harmonious mechanism of the
body contributes to understanding, which leads to goodness of
nature... He who in the body has devoted himself to a good
202
life, is being sent on to the state of immortality .

IV AFFLICTION AND 20
. EVIL 3
According to the Gnostics, the problem of evil was insoluble. There
was no explanation for the existence of evil in the world and
afflictions which the believers suffer unjustly by persecutors in a
world governed by the Almighty and Good God, where nothing takes
place without His Good will. St. Clement of Alexandria and other
Alexandrian Fathers offer the solution, in the following points:

a. The existence of evil does not contradict the divine providence or

the goodness of God, for through this providence man attains free
will, one of the best divine gifts. Therefore God does not prevent
evil, but he does not cause it. The responsibility lies with him who
204
makes a choice; God is not responsible .

201 Ibid. 4:26. 202 Ibid. 4:4. 203 See W.E.G. Floyd: Clement of Alexandria... E.F. Osborn:
The Philosophy of Clement of Alexandria, Cambridge 1957, Chs 6-8. 204 Stromata 8:9:27,
28.
 Osborn says:
Clement states the problem and gives his answer. God did not
will that our Lord and the martyrs should suffer. Yet nothing
ever happens which is not God's will. "The only possible
solution left, expressed concisely, is that such things happen
without the prevention of God. Only this preserves the
providence and the goodness of God. We must not think that
God actively causes our affliction. That is quite unthinkable;
but we should be of the conviction that He does not prevent
205
those who cause them . A distinction is here made between
what God causes and what happens without God's prevention.
It would be inconsistent with God's providence and goodness
for Him to cause evil. But it is not inconsistent with the
providence and goodness of God for evil things to happen
without his prevention. Good things are caused by God. Evil
things happen without his prevention... Therefore what
prevents is a cause, while what does not prevent judges the
soul's choice justly; so that God is never in any way
206
responsible for the evil in our lives . The causes of sins are
207
choice and desire . Not that any one voluntarily chooses evil,
but, pleasure deludes one into thinking that something bad is
good and desirable. It is in our own power to avoid ignorance.
The choice of what is base and pleasant and the deceptions of
the devil.

Despite the activity of the devil, God orders all things from
above for good. Nothing can oppose God, nothing can stand
against Him, for He is the Almighty Lord. The thoughts and
deeds of the rebellious are partial and spring from a bad
disposition. Though they originate in

205 Ibid. 4:86; 2:286:11. 206 Ibid. 1:84; 11:54. 207

Stoicorum Veterum Fragmenta, Von Arim, 3:236.
 a diseased condition the universal providence steers them to
208
a healthy conclusion...
A modern thinker has said, "Without freedom to choose evil, or the
lower good, a man might be a well-behaved puppet or a sentient
automaton, but not a moral agent. But the best possible world implies
the existence of moral agents; its crown cannot be the puppet or the
209 210
automaton .
b. God does not prevent those who cause afflictions, for He
bestows upon men free will, but He transforms their evil choice
into good. He did not prevent the folly of the Cross, but brought
211
good out of it .
Osborn says: God does not prevent his adversaries from doing evil but
"He uses up for good the wrongs which his adversaries have dared
against Him". Clement quotes Isaiah 5:5: "I shall destroy the wall and
it shall become a trampling-ground". This verse refers to the vineyard
which produced brambles instead of grapes. God did not destroy it but
removed the wall which had protected it. Animals were no longer
prevented from trampling the vines under foot. Their trampling,
though an act of aggression and destruction, was to have benificial
results. The brambles would be destroyed and the vineyard would be
cleared of its wrong contents. God uses the crimes of the enemies of
his vineyard for the benefit of the vineyard. For providence, as
Clement goes on to say, is a form of correction, which benefits those
who experience it. There are other ways in which God turns evil into
good. Philosophy is the result of a crime, wisdom was stolen from
God, but God turned theft to good account.

208 Stromata 1:86; 2:55:19. 209 Temmant: Philosophical Theology,

Cambridge 1925-30, vol. 2, p. 188. 210 E.F. Osborn, p. 71-3. 211 Strom.
4:12:87.
 It is the chief work of divine providence not to allow the evil
which results from willful revolt to remain useless and
unprofitable and to become altogether harmful. For it is the
function of the Divine wisdom and virtue and power not only to
do good (for this is the nature of God, so to speak, as that of fire
is to heat and that to light is to give light), but also and above all
to a good and useful end what has happened through the evils
contrived by any, and to use to good account things which
appear to be bad, as is the testimony which proceeds from
212
temptation .

24. THE GOODNESS OF THE WORLD

Henry Chadwick says, On the question of the creation Clement firmly
213
rejects the idea that the world is eternal or that it is created in time .
He does not deny the existence of a qualityless matter as raw material
and (like Philo and Justin) speaks with an ambiguous voice on
creation ex nihilo... It is enough to say that nothing exists in being
which is not caused by God, and that there is no part of His creation
214
which falls outside His care . Once he declares that 'God was God
before becoming Creator,’ i.e. that the world is not necessary to
215
God .

St. Clement of Alexandria believed that God created everything good,

therefore He loved everything and hated nothing. By grace we also
have God's view of everything, to find that everything in the world is
good and beautiful. Evil and sin are strange to the world that God
created, therefore we can truly have the same feelings of St. Clement
216
that our world is the most beautiful world that can ever exist .

212 Strom. 1:86, 2:55:22. 213 Stromata 6:142; 145. 214 Paidagogos 1:62. 215 Henry
Chadwick: History and Thought of the Early Church, London, 1982, p. 172. 216 See
our book: God's Providence, Ottawa 1987, section 7.
We praise God for creating the world for our sake, but we
must not be enslaved to the love of the world.
Divine Scripture, addressing itself to those who love themselves
and to the boastful, somewhere says most excellently: "Where are
the princes of the nations, and those who rule over the beasts
which are upon the earth; they that take their diversion among
the birds of the air; they that hoard up silver, and the gold in
which men trust -and there is no end to their acquiring it; they
that work in silver and in gold and are solicitous? There is no
searching of their works; they have vanished and have gone
217 218
down into Hades ."

25. WEALTH
The pagan author Celsus accuses Christians of being credulous and
illiterate and gives the impression that they all come from the lowest
stratum of society: they are woolworkers, shoemakers, washer-women,
he says, who succeed in attracting to their absurd beliefs only those who
219
are equally ignorant and lowborn . It was towards the end of the second
century that St. Clement of Alexandria produced his "Who is the Rich
Man that shall be Saved?" perhaps at the behest of a rather large number
of wealthy Alexandrian Christians who were worrying that they would
220
have to divest themselves of their material goods in order to be saved .
We have already seen St. Clement's view of wealth, when dealing with
this work.

26. MUSIC

217 Baruch 3:16-19. While our chief interest in this passage is in Clement's use of the term Divine
Scripture, - h Jeia - - - grajh, - we include his full citation, since it is from a seldom-quoted and
deuterocanonical book. 218 Paidagogos 2:3:36:3; Jurgens: The Faith of the Early Fathers, vo. 1.
219 Origen: Against Celsus, 3:44and 55. 220 Boniface Ramsey: Beginning to read the Fathers, p.
182.
 Early Christian attitudes toward music were at first
ambivalent. St. Clement of Alexandria was opposed to the use of
instruments, though St. Basil of Caesarea believed music had an
educational value, "that through the softness of the sound we might
unaware receive what is useful in the words." Jerome speaks of the
221
office of a cantor who was to lead in song .
The Spirit, to purify the divine liturgy from any such
unrestrained revelry, chants: ‘Praise Him with sound of
trumpet” (Ps. 150:3-6), for, in fact, at the sound of the
trumpet the dead will rise again; 'praise Him with harp,' for
the tongue is a harp of the Lord; 'and with the lute, praise
Him,' understanding the mouth as a lute moved by the Spirit
as the lute is by the plectrum; 'praise Him with timbal and
choir,' that is, the Church awaiting the resurrection of the
body in the flesh which is its echo; 'praise Him with strings
and organ,' calling our bodies an organ and its sinews
strings, for from them the body derives its co-ordinated
movement, and when touched by the Spirit, gives forth human
222
sounds; 'praise Him on highsounding cymbals,' which
mean the tongue of the mouth, which, with the movement of
the lips, produces words. Then, to all mankind He calls out:
'Let every spirit praise the Lord,' because He rules over every
spirit He has made. In reality, man is an instrument made for
peace, but these other things, if anyone concerns himself
overmuch with them, become instruments of conflict, for they
223
either enkindle desires or inflame the passions .

But as for us, we make use of one instrument alone: only the
Word of peace, by whom we pay homage to God, no longer
with ancient harp or trumpet or drum or flute which those
trained for war employ. They give little

221 Carl A. Volz: Life and Practice in the Early Church, Minneapolis, 1990, p. 73. 222 The
Scholion says: 'This word (alalagmou) means a shout of victory. To those who have
conquered sensual uncleanness, a shout of victory is very appropriately assigned.' 223
Paidagogos 2:3:41, 42 (Fathers of Church, vol. 23).
 thought to fear of God in their festive dances, but seek to
224
arouse their failing courage by such rhythmic measures .
Imitate the holy Hebrew king in his thanksgiving to God:
'Rejoice in the Lord, O you just; praise becomes the upright,
“as the inspired psalm says: “Give praise to the Lord on the
harp, sing to Him with the lyre” - an instrument with ten
strings - “Sing to Him a new canticle” (Ps. 32:1-3). There
can be little doubt that the lyre with its ten strings is a figure
of Jesus the Word, for that is the significance of the number
225 226
ten .

27. CONDEMNING OTHERS

You, however, shall not judge who is worthy and who is
unworthy. For it is possible that you might err in your
opinion. When in doubt and ignorance it is better to do good
to the unworthy for the sake of the worthy, than to guard
against the less good and thereby fail to fall in with the
sincere. For by being too cautious, and by aiming to test who
you will or will not find worthy to be received, it is possible
for you to neglect some that are dear to God; and for this the
227
penalty is punishment in eternal fire .

28. THE PASCHA (THE FEAST

OF THE EASTER)
In his work "Stromata" he wrote, Wherefore the tithes, both of the
ephah and of the sacrifices, were presented to God; and with the
tenth day

224 Paidagogos 2:3:42 (Fathers of Church, vol. 23). 225

The Greek 'i' (iota) of lesous represents the numeral ten.
226 Paidagogos 2:3:43 (Fathers of Church, vol. 23). 227
Who is the Rich Man that is saved? 23:2,3 (Jurgens).
 began the paschal feast, the transition (diabasis) from all
228
trouble and from all objects of sense .
This is the first instance of a Christian writer interpreting
229
the Pascha as humanity's passing over .

29. THE ESCHATOLOGICAL HOPE

For St. Clement, the Gnostic has the experience of heaven, even
while he is in this world. He is waiting for the eternal life to partake
of Christ's inheritance. He attains the pledge of the above Jerusalem
in his inner man.
I shall pray the Spirit of Christ to wing me to my
230
Jerusalem .
Such, according to David, "rest in the holy hill of God," in
the church far on high, in which are gathered the
philosophers of God, "who are Israelites indeed, who are
pure in heart, in whom there is no guile;" who do not remain
in the seventh seat, the place of rest, but are promoted,
through the active beneficence of divine likeness, to the
heritage of beneficence which is the eighth grade; devoting
231
themselves to the pure vision of insatiable contemplation .

St. Clement believes that there will be different degrees in

heaven.
Conformably, therefore, there are various abodes, according
to the worth of those who have believed. To the point Solomon
says, "For there shall be given to him the choice grace of
faith, and a more pleasant lot in the temple of the Lord." For
the comparative shows that there are

228 Stromata 2:11:51:2. 229 Raniero Cantalamessa: Easter in the Early Church, The Liturgical
Press, Minnesota, 1993, p.
149. 230 Stromata
4:26. 231 Stromata
6:14.
 lower parts in the temple of God, which is the whole church.
And the superlative remains to be conceived, where the Lord
is. These chosen abodes, which are three, are indicated by the
numbers in the Gospel the thirty , the sixty, the hundred. And
the perfect inheritance belongs to those who attain to "a
perfect man," according to the image of the Lord.

30. TRUE AND FALSE BEAUTY

St. Clement deals with “Beauty” in his Protrepticus 4, and
Paidagogos 3:1. The artists do their efforts to make beautiful statues
for worshipping them, but beauty is realized through purity, chastity,
inner freedom and dominion, and attaining the likeness of God. Also
men and women want to be beautiful by wearing gold and precious
stones, but it is the likeness to God, especially in practising love, that
makes them thus. The dwelling of the Logos in man’s heart makes
him beautiful.
Beauty becomes ugly when it is consumed by outrage. Mortal,
do not play the tyrant over beauty. Do not commit outrage
against the bloom of youth... If you want beauty to be
beautiful, keep it pure. Be a king over beauty, not its tyrant.
Let it remain free. When you have kept its likeness pure, then
and only then will I acknowledge your beauty. When beauty is
the true archetype of all that is beauty, then and only then will
232
I accord it worship . If one knows himself, he will know
God; and knowing God, he will be made like God, not by
wearing gold or long robes, but by well-doing, and by
requiring as few things as possible... That man with whom the
Logos dwells does not alter himself, does not get himself up:
He has the form of

232 Protrepticus 4.
the Logos
 ; he is made like to God; he is beautiful; he does not
ornament himself; his is beauty, the true beauty... 23
Our Savior, the Logos, is the source of the true beauty of 3
our bodies and souls, for He grants us immortality.
But it is not the beauty of the flesh visible to the eye, but the
true beauty of both soul and body, which He exhibited, which
in the former is beneficence; in the latter -that is, the flesh -
234
immortality .

31. YMNS
F. Forrester Church and Terrence J. Mulry published the
235
following Hymns written by St. Clement of Alexandria :
Bridle of colts untamed, Over our wills
presiding; Wing of unwandering birds,
Our flight securely guiding. Rudder of
youth unbending, Firm against adverse
shock; Shepherd, with wisdom tending
Lambs of royal flock: Your simple
children bring In one, that they may sing
In solemn lays Theirs hymns of praise
With guileless lips to Christ their King.
King of saints, almighty Word Of the
Father highest Lord; Wisdom's head and
chief; Assuagement of all grief;

233 Paidagogos 3:1. 234 Ibid. 235 F. Forrester Church and Terrence J. Mulry: Earliest Christian
Hymns, Macmillan Publishing Co., New York, 1988, p. 83-5.
Lord of all time and space,
Jesus, Savior of our race;
Shepherd, who does us keep;
Husbandman, who tillest, We,
the people of his love, Let us
sing, nor ever cease, To the
God of peace above.

Let us receive the light and we will receive God! Let

us receive the light and become disciples of the
Lord! For he promised the Father: "I will reveal
your name to my brothers. In the midst of the
congregation I will sing to you."

Sing, O Word, His praises and reveal God, your

Father, to me! Your words will save me and your
song will teach me. Until now I was going astray
in search of God. But ever since you enlightened
me, Lord, you have taught me to find him who is
my God as well, and I receive your own Father
from you. I became his heir with you, for you
have not been ashamed of your brother.