Titus Flavius Clemens
The Christian philosopher of Alexandria
c. AD 150 – c. AD 215
Titus Flavius Clemens, known as Clement of Alexandria, was born around 150 AD, probably in Athens. He converted to Christianity and travelled widely before settling in Alexandria, where he studied under Pantaenus and eventually headed the catechetical school — the premier institution of Christian intellectual life in the second century.
Clement's great project was the reconciliation of Greek philosophy with Christian faith. He argued that philosophy was God's gift to the Greeks, just as the Law was God's gift to the Jews — both were preparations for the gospel. The Protrepticus (Exhortation to the Greeks) urges pagans to abandon their gods for Christ; the Paedagogus (The Instructor) offers moral guidance for Christian converts; the Stromata (Miscellanies) explores the relationship between faith and knowledge in a deliberately unsystematic form that mirrors the complexity of the subject.
Clement fled Alexandria during the persecution of Septimius Severus around 202 AD and probably died around 215. His synthesis of Christianity and classical culture — bold, generous, and intellectually ambitious — laid the foundations for the entire tradition of Christian humanism.
A fragment of exhortation to the newly baptised.
An exhortation to the Greeks to abandon paganism for Christianity. Clement argues that Greek philosophy prepared the way for the Gospel.
Can a rich man be saved? Clement argues yes — wealth is not evil in itself, but the love of wealth is. A sermon on Mark 10:17-31.