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Clement of Alexandria (Latin: Titus Flavius Clemens) was a Christian philosopher best known for his attempt to unite the Greek philosophy with Christian thought. In so doing, he brought many (educated) pagans to Christianity, and subsequently further pushed the Hellenization of the Church.
Clement supposedly came from Athens, where he was born to pagan parents. Clement eventually travelled across the Mediterranean to Alexandria, Egypt, where he was taught by Pantaenus at the catechetical school.
Catechetical schools are schools dedicated to the educating of children and adults in the Christian way of life, including the sacraments. Clement ultimately succeeded Pantaenus as director of the school until it was closed by the decree of the Roman Emperor Septimius Severus in an attempt to crack down on Christians within the Empire.
During his time at the catechetical school, Clement brought many pagans to the school, converting them to Christianity and teaching them the Christian way of life. Clement also wrote a trilogy of works in which he attempted to convey the Christianity in such a way that it would be comprehensible for old, new and mature believers. Pagans could learn from the Protreptikos, new Christians from Paidagogos, and advanced believers from Stromateis.
Clement is also well-known for his effort to unite the Church-teachings with Greek philosophy. This is what makes him, until this day, an unusual figure in Church history. Because of his embracing of some non-Christian philosophies, which were especially frowned upon during the Renaissance, he was embracing a ‘creation of the Devil’.
Buell, Denise Kimber. Making Christians: Clement of Alexandria and the Rhetoric of Legitimacy (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1999).
Hägg, Henny Fiskå. Clement of Alexandria and the Beginnings of Christian Apophaticism (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006).
Osborn, Eric Francis. Clement of Alexandria (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005).
