Pope Clement I was a desciple of Saint Paul and was
ordained a bishop by Saint
Peter
Pope Clement I’s famous letter to the Corinthians
is credited as the first great non-inspired Christian document. His
epistle rebuked the Corinthians for a schism and reminded the Corinthians of
the necessity to obey the traditional authorities of the Church.
Pope Clement I had the strongest personality among
the first popes, second only to Saint Peter's
When Emperor Nerva exiled Pope Clement I to Crimea on the
Black Sea, Pope Clement I carried out his apostolate among the two
thousand Christians forced to labor in the marble quarries. During Pope
Clement I's forced abdication from the See of Peter, there were many
conversions, thereby angering the new Emperor Trajan. When Pope Clement
I refused to offer sacrifice to false gods, Emperor Trajan ordered Pope
Clement I thrown into the Black Sea with an anchor around his neck.
About 868, on behalf of Pope Nicholas I, Saint Cyril
unearthed bones and an anchor in Crimea which are believed to be Saint Clement
I’s relics. Saint Cyril carried Pope Clement I’s relics to Rome where in
869 Pope Hadrian II deposited them in the high altar of the Basilica of Saint
Clement in Rome.
