Miscellanies 3.18.108

Summary: Paul, citing the Lord, forbids divorce, requiring a separated wife to remain unmarried or be reconciled; he also makes good household management a qualification for bishops; this refutes those who say marriage belongs only to the old law.

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Greek text · Stählin 2:246

μεθʼ ἣν ἔκτισιν κατὰ τὴν οἰκουρίαν καὶ τὴν ἐν Χριστῷ πίστιν βοηθός, καὶ ἔτι σαφέστερον εἰπών· τοῖς γεγαμηκόσι παραγγέλλω, οὐκ ἐγώ, ἀλλʼ ὁ κύριος, γυναῖκα ἀπὸ ἀνδρὸς μὴ χωρισθῆναι (ἐὰν δὲ καὶ χωρισθῇ, μενέτω ἄγαμος ἢ τῷ ἀνδρὶ καταλλαγήτω) καὶ ἄνδρα γυναῖκα μὴ ἀφιέναι. τοῖς δὲ λοιποῖς λέγω ἐγώ, οὐχ ὁ κύριος· εἴ τις ἀδελφὸς ἕως νῦν δὲ ἅγιά ἐστι. τί δὲ λέγουσι πρὸς ταῦτα οἱ τοῦ νόμου κατατρέχοντες καὶ τοῦ γάμου ὡς κατὰ νόμον συγκεχωρημένου μόνον, οὐχὶ δὲ καὶ κατὰ τὴν διαθήκην τὴν καινήν; τί πρὸς ταύτας εἰπεῖν ἔχουσι τὰς νομοθεσίας οἱ τὴν σπορὰν καὶ τὴν γένεσιν μυσαττόμενοι; ἐπεὶ καὶ τὸν ἐπίσκοπον τοῦ οἴκου καλῶς προϊστάμενον νομοθετεῖ τῆς ἐκκλησίας ἀφηγεῖσθαι, οἶκον δὲ κυριακὸν μιᾶς γυναικὸς συνίστησι συζυγία.

English · Claude translation

after which payment she is a helper in the management of the home and in faith in Christ; and still more clearly, saying: “To the married I command, not I but the Lord, that a wife should not be separated from her husband (but if she is separated, let her remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband), and that a husband should not put away his wife. To the rest I say, not the Lord: If any brother,” as far as “but now they are holy.” What do those who run down the law and marriage, as though it were permitted only under the law and not also under the new covenant, say to this? What can those who loathe seed and birth say to these laws? For he also lays down that the bishop who manages his own house well should preside over the church; and the union with one wife establishes a house of the Lord.

About this passage

Source
Stählin 2:246 · Otto Stählin, ed., Clemens Alexandrinus, vol. 2, Stromata Buch I–VI, GCS 15 (Leipzig: Hinrichs, 1906); vol. 3, Stromata Buch VII und VIII, GCS 17 (Leipzig: Hinrichs, 1909) · Greek text: Otto Stählin, Clemens Alexandrinus 2–3 (GCS 15, 17, 1906–1909), digitized by the Perseus Digital Library, CC BY-SA 4.0
Translation
Claude translation (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 · Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Stählin (1906–1909); made independently of existing English translations.
Scripture
Topics
Marriage, Divorce, Remarriage, Church office

Notes

Translation notes

  • The quotations and allusions are 1 Cor 7:10–14 and 1 Tim 3:2, 4–5.

Cite this passage

Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 3.18.108 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-stromata/3/18/108/).

Plain text
Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 3.18.108 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-stromata/3/18/108/).

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