04 — The Witness to Peter and Paul
One short chapter of 1 Clement carries a weight out of all proportion to its length. In chapter 5, urging the Corinthians to set before their eyes the “noble examples” of their own generation, Clement recalls the apostles Peter and Paul, who “contended unto death” — the earliest external witness in Christian literature to the martyrdoms of the two chief apostles, and a primary source, written within living memory, for the apostolic age at Rome. These files examine that passage and then the wider question of the letter’s value as a historical source.
Tradition: Pan-Orthodox (Apostolic Father)
Among the many reasons 1 Clement matters, none is more concrete than chapters 5–6. Writing about a generation after the events, from the very city in which they occurred, Clement appeals to the recent martyrs as examples of the endurance that jealousy and strife had cost — and names Peter and Paul. He says of Peter that he endured many labors and so “went to the place of glory due to him,” and of Paul that he bore witness “before the rulers” and “went to the holy place,” having reached “the farthest limits of the West.” The passage is the earliest datable testimony outside the New Testament that the two apostles died as martyrs, and is traditionally read in connection with their deaths at Rome under Nero. This section presents the passage and its careful reading, then assesses the letter’s standing as a primary source for the apostolic generation.
Files in This Section
| File | Description |
|---|---|
| The Apostles in Rome | 1 Clement 5–6 — the “noble examples” of Peter and Paul, the earliest external witness to their martyrdoms; “the farthest limits of the West”; the link to the Neronian persecution; and how much the passage does and does not establish, with cross-links to St. Apostle Peter and St. Apostle Paul. |
| The Historical Value | 1 Clement as a primary source for the apostolic age — its date and proximity to the events, what it independently attests (the Roman church’s organization, the Corinthian ministry, the apostolic foundations), and the limits of its testimony. |
See Also
- The Roman Church in the First Century — the Neronian persecution in which Peter and Paul are traditionally held to have died
- The Letter to the Corinthians — the letter within which the witness stands
- St. Apostle Peter — the apostle whose Roman martyrdom 1 Clement 5 attests
- St. Apostle Paul — the apostle whose witness “before the rulers” 1 Clement 5 records
- The Pre-Schism Church — the apostolic and sub-apostolic Church
References
- Clement of Rome. First Epistle to the Corinthians (1 Clement) 5–6. In Holmes, Michael W., The Apostolic Fathers: Greek Texts and English Translations. 3rd ed. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2007.
- Eusebius of Caesarea. The Ecclesiastical History, 2.25; 3.1. Trans. Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series II, Vol. 1.
- Lona, Horacio E. Der erste Clemensbrief. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1998.
- Lindemann, Andreas. Die Clemensbriefe. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 1992.