Miscellanies 1.1.5
Summary: Writer and reader must each examine themselves, as each communicant takes his own portion of the Eucharist after self-examination, as Paul teaches.
Greek text · Stählin 2:5
Ἀνάγκη τοίνυν ἄμφω τούτω δοκιμάζειν σφᾶς αὐτούς, τὸν μὲν εἰ ἄξιος λέγειν τε καὶ ὑπομνήματα καταλιμπάνειν, τὸν δὲ εἰ ἀκροᾶσθαί τε καὶ ἐντυγχάνειν δίκαιος· ᾗ καὶ τὴν εὐχαριστίαν τινὲς διανείμαντες, ὡς ἔθος, αὐτὸν δὴ ἕκαστον τοῦ λαοῦ λαβεῖν τὴν μοῖραν ἐπιτρέπουσιν. ἀρίστη γὰρ πρὸς τὴν ἀκριβῆ αἵρεσίν τε καὶ φυγὴν ἡ συνείδησις, θεμέλιος δὲ αὐτῆς βέβαιος ὀρθὸς βίος ἅμα μαθήσει τῇ καθηκούσῃ τό τε ἕπεσθαι ἑτέροις δοκιμασθεῖσιν ἤδη καὶ κατωρθωκόσιν ἄριστον πρός τε τῆς ἀληθείας τὴν νόησιν καὶ τὴν κατάπραξιν τῶν ἐντολῶν. ὥστε ὃς ἂν ἐσθίῃ τὸν ἄρτον καὶ πίνῃ τὸ ποτήριον τοῦ κυρίου ἀναξίως, ἔνοχος ἔσται τοῦ σώματος καὶ τοῦ αἵματος τοῦ κυρίου. δοκιμαζέτω δὲ ἄνθρωπος ἑαυτὸν καὶ οὕτως ἐκ τοῦ ἄρτου ἐσθιέτω καὶ ἐκ τοῦ ποτηρίου πινέτω.
English · Claude translation
Both of these, then, must test themselves: the one whether he is worthy to speak and to leave written records, the other whether he is fit to hear and to read. So too, when some have divided the Eucharist, as is the custom, they allow each one of the people himself to take his portion. For the best guide to exact choice and avoidance is conscience; and its firm foundation is a right life together with fitting instruction; and to follow others who have already been tested and have succeeded is best both for understanding the truth and for carrying out the commandments. So “whoever eats the bread and drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup.”
About this passage
Notes
Translation notes
- An early witness to the practice of letting each member of the congregation take the eucharistic portion after it has been divided. The quotation is 1 Cor 11:27–28.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray period in the digital text; wrong accent on the relative ὃς): διανείμαντες. ὡς ἔθος → διανείμαντες, ὡς ἔθος; ὥστε ὅς ἂν ἐσθίῃ → ὥστε ὃς ἂν ἐσθίῃ.
Cite this passage
Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 1.1.5 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-stromata/1/1/5/).
Plain text
Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 1.1.5 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-stromata/1/1/5/).
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