Clement, Ignatius, Polycarp & others · a new plain-English translation from the original language
Pick up the letter Paul, that blessed apostle, sent you. What was the very first thing he wrote to you, at the outset of his gospel preaching? In truth he addressed you under the Spirit's inspiration concerning himself and Cephas and Apollos, because even in that early time you had begun forming factions. Yet that factionalism brought upon you a lighter fault, since you were siding with apostles already of high standing and with a man they themselves approved. But now examine who has led you astray and diminished the honor of your once-celebrated love for one another as brothers. It brings disgrace — real disgrace, beloved, wholly out of step with a manner of life lived in Christ — for word to spread that the church of Corinth, so firm and so venerable, is rebelling against its elders over one or two individuals. And this report has traveled not only to us but even to those outside our fellowship who think differently, so that the Lord's name is being blasphemed on account of your folly, while you bring peril down on your own heads.
Let us then tear this evil out at once, fall prostrate before the Master, and weep as we implore him, so that in his mercy he may be reconciled to us and bring us back to the honorable and pure practice of loving one another as brothers. Here is an entryway into righteousness leading to life, just as scripture says: Swing open for me the doors that lead to righteousness, so that once inside them I may give thanks to the Lord. This door belongs to the Lord — through it the righteous will pass. Many doors, then, stand open, yet this one — the doorway of righteousness — is the one found in Christ, and everyone who enters through it and keeps a straight, undisturbed course in holiness and righteousness is blessed. Let each one be trustworthy, capable of expressing knowledge, wise in weighing words, and pure in what he does; for the more prominent a person seems, the more humble he is obliged to be, seeking the common good of all rather than his own interest.
Whoever holds love within Christ should carry out Christ's own instructions. Who could possibly explain the bond of God's love? Who is equal to describing the magnificence of its beauty? The height to which it lifts us defies description. Love unites us to God; love hides a great mass of sins; love bears with everything and is patient in everything. Nothing coarse belongs to love, nothing haughty; love knows no split, love does not rebel, love does everything in unity. Through love every one of God's chosen was brought to perfection; without love, nothing pleases God. It was in love that the Master drew us to himself: because of the love he held for us, our Lord Jesus Christ, by God's own will, poured out his blood on our behalf, giving up his own flesh to ransom ours, his own soul to ransom our souls.
See, beloved, how immense and astonishing love is — its perfection defies any full account. Who can be found worthy to possess it, except those God himself judges worthy? Let us, then, plead and request from his mercy that we may be discovered living in love, free of any human favoritism, without blemish. Every generation from Adam down to our present day has passed away, yet those brought to completion in love, through God's own grace, hold a place among the godly, who will be revealed openly when Christ's kingdom is disclosed. For scripture says: Go into your rooms for just a brief moment, until my rage and fury have passed, and I will call to mind a happy day and lift you up out of your tombs. We count ourselves fortunate, beloved, if we carry out God's commands in unity born of love, so that our offenses might be pardoned on love's account. For scripture says: Fortunate are those whose transgressions are pardoned and whose offenses are hidden from view; fortunate too is the man against whom the Lord will not hold his wrongdoing, and in whose mouth no deceit is found. This good fortune came to rest on those God selected through our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom belongs glory for all eternity. Amen.
As for whatever we have stumbled into and done because of certain assaults from the adversary, let us request that it be forgiven us. And those individuals who set themselves up as leaders of the uprising and the split ought also to weigh the shared ground of our hope. Those living in reverence and love would sooner endure mistreatment themselves than watch it fall on their neighbors; they would rather accept blame themselves than let it fall on the unity handed down to us so rightly and fairly. It is a good thing for someone to admit his wrongdoing rather than to make his heart unyielding, the way the hearts of those who rebelled against Moses, God's servant, became unyielding — men whose sentence was made obvious to everyone, since they descended into Hades still breathing, and death became their shepherd. Pharaoh too, with his army and every commander of Egypt, along with their war-chariots and riders, sank into the Red Sea and were destroyed for no reason except that their foolish hearts had grown unyielding after the signs and wonders performed in the land of Egypt through Moses, God's servant.
The Master, brothers, is in need of nothing from anyone; he asks nothing of anyone except that we make our confession to him. For David, God's chosen one, declares: I will make confession to the Lord, and this will please him more than a young bull sprouting horns and hoofs; may the poor witness it and be glad. And elsewhere he says: Offer God an offering of praise, and pay to the Most High what you have vowed; call out to me on the day trouble finds you, and I will pull you free, and you will honor me. For a crushed spirit is itself a sacrifice pleasing to God.
You are acquainted, beloved — thoroughly acquainted — with the sacred writings, and you have pored over God's sayings. We set these things down, then, simply as a reminder. When Moses had climbed the mountain and kept a fast of forty days and forty nights, humbling himself, God said to him: Go down from here quickly, because your people, the ones you led out of the land of Egypt, have broken the law; they have quickly strayed from the path I commanded them, making molten images for themselves. And the Lord said to him: Twice now, not merely once, I have told you this: this people, as I observe them, are a stubborn, stiff-necked lot; allow me to destroy them completely, and I will blot out their very name from beneath the heavens, raising up from you instead a nation far greater and more astonishing than this one. But Moses said: Never, Lord! Forgive this people their transgression, or else erase me too from the book of the living. What tremendous love, what unmatched perfection — a servant speaks freely to his own Master, asking pardon for the whole multitude, or else asking to be erased right along with them.
Who then among you is noble, who compassionate, who filled with love? Let him say: If this rivalry and conflict and division exist because of me, I will step aside, I will leave for wherever you wish, and do whatever the assembly instructs — only let Christ's flock live peaceably with the elders set over it. Anyone who does this will earn for himself tremendous honor in Christ, and he will be welcomed everywhere, since the earth and all it holds belong to the Lord. This is exactly what those living out God's unregrettable pattern of life have already done, and will keep doing.
Let us also bring forward examples drawn from the nations. Many kings and rulers, when a plague swept over their realm, acting on an oracle's instruction, gave themselves up to death so that they could save their citizens by their own bloodshed; many others left their own home cities so that unrest would spread no further. We are aware of many among us who have given themselves into chains so as to buy freedom for others; many have sold themselves into slavery and, taking the money paid for themselves, used it to feed still others. Many women too, made strong through God's grace, carried out numerous acts of courage. Blessed Judith, while her city lay under siege, requested that the elders permit her to go out to the enemy camp. She thus exposed herself to danger and went out because of her love for her homeland and for the besieged people, and the Lord handed Holofernes over into a woman's grasp. Esther, likewise made perfect through faith, risked herself no less, so as to save the nation of Israel that stood on the brink of destruction; through her fasting and her self-abasement she pleaded with the Master who watches over every age, and he, seeing the humility in her heart, rescued the people for whose sake she had risked her own life.
Let us also, then, intercede for those caught up in some wrongdoing, that gentleness and humility of mind be granted them, so that they yield not to us but to God's will; for this way their remembrance before God and his holy ones, offered in a spirit of compassion, will bear fruit and be complete. Let us accept correction, beloved — something no one should resent. The rebuke we give each other is good, exceedingly beneficial even, for it binds us fast to God's will. So says the sacred word: The Lord has corrected me firmly, yet has not given me over to death; for the Lord corrects the one he loves, and takes a whip to every son he receives as his own. Let the righteous man discipline me, it says, in kindness, and set me right, but do not let the oil of the wicked anoint my head. And elsewhere it says: Fortunate is the man the Lord has set right; do not reject the Almighty's correction, for it is he who wounds and then heals again; he struck, and his own hands brought healing. Six times he will pull you free from hardship, and in the seventh no harm will reach you. In famine he will save you from dying, and in war he will free you from the sword's edge; he will keep you hidden from a slandering tongue, and you will have no fear of the troubles coming your way. You will laugh at those who are unjust and lawless, and will not fear wild animals, for wild animals will keep peace with you. Then you will know that peace rests on your household, and your tent's dwelling will never fail. You will also know that your descendants will be numerous, your children like the grass across the field. You will go down to the tomb the way ripe wheat is harvested at the proper time, or the way sheaves are gathered onto the threshing floor when their hour comes. See, beloved, how great a refuge exists for those the Master disciplines — since, being a good father, he corrects us so that we might obtain mercy through his sacred discipline.
You, then, the ones responsible for laying this rebellion's foundation, submit yourselves to the elders and accept correction leading to repentance, bending the knees of your hearts. Learn submission, setting aside the boastful, arrogant insolence of your speech; it is far better for you to be counted small yet valued within Christ's flock than to appear outstanding yet be cast out of the hope he offers. For thus speaks Wisdom, perfect in every virtue: Behold, I will pour out to you an utterance drawn from my own breath, and I will instruct you in my word. Since I called out and you refused to listen, and I extended my words and you paid no attention, but instead made my counsel void and disregarded my rebukes — therefore I in turn will laugh at your ruin, and I will take pleasure when destruction comes upon you, when confusion arrives without warning, when catastrophe descends like a storm, or when hardship and siege overtake you. For it will come about that when you call on me, I will refuse to listen to you; the wicked will search for me and come up empty. Because they despised wisdom and refused to choose reverence for the Lord, nor were they willing to attend to my counsel, but instead mocked my rebukes — therefore they will feed on the fruits of the path they chose, and be gorged with their own godlessness. Because they wronged the innocent they will be put to death, and scrutiny will destroy the godless; but whoever pays heed to me will settle down secure, resting on hope, and will live undisturbed, without dread of any harm.
Let us, then, obey his most holy and glorious name, fleeing the threats spoken beforehand through Wisdom against the disobedient, so that we may dwell in confidence, trusting in his most holy and majestic name. Accept our counsel, and you will have nothing to regret. For God lives, and the Lord Jesus Christ lives, and the Holy Spirit lives, as does the faith and hope of the elect, that whoever carries out, in humility and with earnest gentleness and without regret, the just requirements and commands given by God — that person will be enrolled and honored among the number of those who are being saved through Jesus Christ, through whom is glory to him forever and ever. Amen.
But should any refuse obedience to what he has declared through our mouths, they must recognize the fact: they are binding themselves up in transgression, and in danger that is far from trivial. We, for our part, will remain innocent of this offense, and we will petition, offering fervent supplication and entreaty, that the one who fashioned all things may keep unbroken the full tally of his chosen ones across the entire world, through his beloved child Jesus Christ, through whom he summoned us out of darkness into light, out of ignorance into complete awareness of his name's glory — [that we might] set our hope on your name, first among all creation, having opened the eyes of our hearts to know you, the only one who is Most High among the highest, resting among the holy. You bring low the arrogance of the proud, you scatter the calculations of nations, you raise up the lowly and bring down the exalted, you make rich and make poor, you kill and you give life, sole discoverer of spirits and God over all flesh; you look into the depths, you watch human deeds, helper of those in peril, savior of those without hope, maker and guardian of every spirit; you multiply the nations across the earth and have singled out from among them all those who love you through Jesus Christ, your beloved child, through whom you trained us, made us holy, gave us honor — we ask you, Master, to become our helper and our champion. Rescue those of us who are afflicted, show mercy to the humble, lift up the fallen, appear to those in need, heal the sick, turn back your people's wandering; feed the hungry, buy back our captives, raise up the weak, console the fainthearted; let every nation come to know you, that you alone are God, and that Jesus Christ is your child, and that we are your people and the flock you shepherd.
For you have revealed the everlasting order of the world through the things you have brought about. You, Lord, built the inhabited world, faithful across every generation, righteous in your judgments, astonishing in strength and majesty, wise in fashioning things and understanding in establishing what has come to be, good among things visible and kind to those who put their trust in you, merciful and full of compassion — forgive us our lawless deeds, our injustices, our failures, and our offenses. Do not count against us every sin of your servants, both men and women, but cleanse us with the cleansing that belongs to your truth, and guide our footsteps to walk in purity of heart and to do what is good and pleasing before you and before those who govern us. Yes, Master, let your face shine upon us for our good, in peace, so that we may be sheltered under your powerful hand and freed from every sin by your outstretched arm; and free us from those who hate us without cause. Grant harmony and peace to us and to everyone who inhabits the earth, just as you granted it to our ancestors when they called on you in holiness, with faith and truth, becoming obedient to your almighty and glorious name, and to those who rule and lead over the earth.
You, Master, granted them their royal authority through your magnificent and indescribable might, so that we, recognizing the glory and honor you have bestowed on them, might submit to them, opposing your will in nothing. Grant them, Lord, health, peace, harmony, and stability, so that they may wield without stumbling the leadership you have entrusted to them. For you, heavenly Master, King throughout the ages, give humankind glory, honor, and authority over what exists on the earth; direct their counsel, Lord, toward what is good and pleasing in your sight, so that by wielding in peace and gentleness, with reverence, the authority you have granted them, they may find favor with you. You alone are able to accomplish these things and even greater good for us; to you we offer thanks through Jesus Christ, the high priest who watches over our souls, through whom be glory and majesty to you, both now and from generation to generation, forever and ever. Amen.
Regarding everything that pertains to our worship and everything most helpful for living a virtuous life, for those wishing to conduct themselves in reverence and righteousness, we believe we have written to you sufficiently, brothers. We have touched on every aspect concerning trust, turning back from wrong, authentic love, self-mastery, sound judgment, and steadfast endurance, reminding you that you ought, in righteousness, truth, and patience, to please almighty God in holiness, being of a single mind, bearing no grudge, in love and peace joined with earnest gentleness — just as our forefathers, mentioned earlier, were pleasing to God by being humble-minded toward the Father and Creator, God, and toward everyone. And we have called these things to your remembrance all the more gladly, since we were well aware that we were addressing men of faith, held in high regard, who have pored over the oracles of God's own instruction.
← All of Clement, Ignatius, Polycarp & others: The Apostolic Fathers