November 23, Clement of Rome


Almighty God, who chose your servant Clement of Rome to recall the Church in Corinth to obedience and stability: Grant that your Church may be grounded and settled in your truth by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and may evermore be kept blameless in your service; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.



One of the blessings of praying within the Church's calendar is that the Holy Spirit, using such "timings," gives us near daily opportunities to appreciate more deeply how the Body of Christ--both anciently and currently--practices the Faith. On November 23, many in the Church will briefly focus their attention on Clement of Rome. Clement was an early Roman Pope, and many Protestants (with their Catholic and Orthodox friends in Christ) thank God for the life and witness of this remarkable Christian.


When I was in seminary, we read The Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians and found it to be like other New Testament letters, especially those written by Paul. Usually dated around 96 A. D., this letter was read, studied, and shared by Christians in the early church because it helped them live more fully evangelical lives. You might wish to take a look at too! As one introductory note to the First Epistle remarks, "the high tone of evangelical truth which pervades it, the simple and earnest appeals which it makes to the heart and conscience, and the anxiety which its writer so constantly shows to promote the best interests of the Church of Christ, still impart an undying charm to this precious relic of later apostolic times."