1 Clement 44.3

Clement of Rome · 1 Clement · ca. 95–97 (range ca. 70–100) · Rome · Read in context

Summary: Leaders rightly appointed and blameless should not be removed.

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Greek text · Lake, LCL 24:84

τοὺς οὖν κατασταθέντας ὑπʼ ἐκείνων ἢ μεταξὺ ὑφʼ ἑτέρων ἐλλογίμων ἀνδρῶν συνενδοκησάσης τῆς ἐκκλησίας πάσης, καὶ λειτουργήσαντας ἀμέμπτως τῷ ποιμνίῳ τοῦ Χριστοῦ μετὰ ταπεινοφροσύνης, ἡσύχως καὶ ἀβαναύσως, μεμαρτυρημένους τε πολλοῖς χρόνοις ὑπὸ πάντων, τούτους οὐ δικαίως νομίζομεν ἀποβάλλεσθαι τῆς λειτουργίας.

English · Claude translation

Those, then, who were appointed by them, or afterward by other eminent men with the consent of the whole church, and who have ministered blamelessly to the flock of Christ with humility, quietly and unselfishly, and have for a long time been well spoken of by all: these, we consider, are unjustly removed from their ministry.

About this passage

Source: Lake, LCL 24:84 · Kirsopp Lake, ed. and trans., The Apostolic Fathers, vol. 1, LCL 24 (London: Heinemann; New York: Macmillan, 1912), 8–121 · Greek text: K. Lake, The Apostolic Fathers (LCL, 1912-1913), digitized by the First Thousand Years of Greek project (Open Greek and Latin), CC BY-SA 4.0
Translation: Claude translation (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-26 · Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Lake (LCL 24, 1912); made independently of existing English translations.
Topics: Church office

Notes

Translation notes

“Unselfishly” (ἀβαναύσως): literally “without vulgarity,” not in a grasping or mercenary way.

Cite this passage

1 Clem. 44.3 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/1-clement/44/3/).

Plain text

1 Clem. 44.3 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/1-clement/44/3/).

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