Clement of Alexandria
Clement of Alexandria
Titus Flavius Clemens (c. 150 - c. 215), he is called
Clement of Alexandria to distinguish him from
Clement of Rome. A Greek
theologian, he was born in Athens, traveled widely and was
converted to Christianity. He studied and taught at the
catechetical school in Alexandria until the persecution of 202.
Origen was his pupil there. He probably died in
Caesarea, Cappadocia. Clement was one of the first to attempt a
synthesis of Platonic and Christian thought; in this his successors
in the Alexandrian school were more successful. Only a few works
survive. The Address to the Greeks sets forth the inferiority of
Greek thought to Christianity. Appended to the Tutor are two
hymns, among the earliest Christian poems. His homily,
Who Is the Rich Man? Who Is Saved? is a well-written fragment.
The Miscellanies is a collection of notes on
Gnosticism. He attacked Gnosticism, but
he himself has been called a Christian Gnostic. Although Clement
remained entirely orthodox, in his writing he strove to state the
faith in terms of contemporary thought.
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