Church Fathers & Church History

  What did Pope St. Clement I think of papal supremacy and papal infallibility? Pope St. Clement I taught papal supremacy. This is evidenced not only when he stated that it is "abominable and unholy sedition" to act in a manner contrary to the Church in Rome, but also when he stated that the Corinthians must accept the "counsel and you will have nothing to regret", this shows that he sees it as perfectly within his right as Bishop of Rome to demand that actions contrary to the Church in Rome be reversed. He goes on to state, "If anyone disobey the things which have been said by him [God] through us [i.e., that you must reinstate your leaders], let them know that they will involve themselves in transgression and in no small danger". This shows clear consequences for disobeying the Church in Rome. This all points towards papal supremacy, that the bishop of Rome has the supreme power over the whole church of which he is the representative of. His teaching on ...

 Saint Clement taught the mono-episcopate.   The Epistle of Saint Clement explicitly teaches that each area is ruled by a single bishop, surrounded by priests and his deacons.   Here we find Clement describing the structure of the Church. We have a archiereus (Greek term for bishop) to whom Christ’s “own peculiar services are assigned.” We have a plurality of priests. We have the deacons, who are often called “Levites” in the early church. Last of all, we have the laymen. We called it the “threefold order” of the bishop, priests, and deacons. Archiereus: A Greek word for bishop | Church Fathers & Church History |        Organization for Christian Faith and Understanding