Clement of Alexandria (c. 150 – c. 215), also known as Titus Flavius Clemens, was another 'Greek Father'.
A Christian theologian who taught at the Catechetical School of Alexandria
1.
Neither Clement's birthdate or birthplace is known with any degree of certainty. It is conjectured that he was born in around 150.
[3] According to Epiphanius Scholasticus, he was born in Athens, but there is also a tradition of an Alexandrian birth.
His parents were pagans, and Clement was a convert to Christianity. In the
Protrepticus he displays an extensive knowledge of Greek mythology and mystery religions, which could only have arisen from the practice of his family's religion.
[3]
Having rejected paganism as a young man due to its perceived moral corruption, he travelled in Greece, Asia Minor, Palestine and Egypt. Clement's journeys were primarily a religious undertaking. In Greece, he encountered an Ionian theologian, who has been identified as
Athenagoras of Athens; while in the east, he was taught by an Assyrian, sometimes identified with Tatian, and a Jew, who was possibly Theophilus of Caesarea.
[4] [could Clement of Alex. have met
Theophilus of Antioch; see below ??]
In around 180, Clement reached Alexandria,
[5] where he met Pantaenus, who taught at the Catechetical School of Alexandria.
[6] Eusebius suggests that Pantaenus was the head of the school, but it is controversial whether the institutions of the school were formalized in this way before the time of Origen.
[7][8] Clement studied under Pantaenus, and was ordained to the priesthood by Pope Julian before 189. Otherwise, virtually nothing is known of Clement's life in Alexandria. He may have been married, a conjecture supported by his writings.
[9]
During the Severian persecutions of 202–203, Clement left Alexandria. In 211, Alexander of Jerusalem wrote a letter commending him to the Church of Antioch,
[10] which may imply that Clement was living in
Cappadocia or Jerusalem at that time. The date and location of his death are unknown.
In one of his works he argued that Greek philosophy had its origin among non-Greeks, claiming that both Plato and Pythagoras were taught by Egyptian scholars.
[2] Among his pupils were Origen and Alexander of Jerusalem.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clement_of_Alexandria
1 The Catechetical School of Alexandria -
According to Jerome the Alexandrian school was founded by Mark the Apostle. The earliest recorded dean was Athenagoras [which is
probably incorrect]. He was succeeded by Pantaenus 181, who was succeeded as head of the school by his student Clement of Alexandria in 190.
a
"There is another opinion that the school was founded mid-second century,
[5] around 190 AD [
mid-late 2nd century AD]".
Other notable theologians with a connection to the school include Origen, Gregory Thaumaturgus, Heraclas, Dionysius "the Great", and Didymus the Blind. Others, including Jerome and Basil, made trips to the school to interact with the scholars there.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catechetic ... Alexandria
a Cross, F.L.; Livingstone, E.A., eds. (1974). "
Clement of Alexandria, St.". The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (2 ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
2
Development of the Idea of History in Antiquity, p 83, Gerald A. Press
3 Ferguson, John (1974). Clement of Alexandria. New York: Ardent Media. ISBN 978-0-8057-2231-4. p.13
6 Eusebius,
Historia Ecclesiastica 6.13.2; 6.6.1
.
