The so-called First Epistle of Clement has long intrigued historians of early Christianity. It responds to a crisis in the Corinthian church by enjoining an ethic of subordination especially to the presbyteroi and episkopoi, but the exact nature of that conflict has eluded scholars. L. L. Welborn sets out a clear methodology for reconstructing the historical situation behind the letter, then examines the conventions of its deliberative rhetoric, its blending of citations from the Old Testament and Paulâs letters, and its reliance on topoi from Greco-Roman civic discourse. He then presents a compelling argument for the letterâs occasion. First Clement assails a ârevoltâ among the youth against their elders, invoking epithets and characterizations that were, as Welborn demonstrates at length, common in political discourse supporting the status quo. At length, Welborn proposes two possible scenarios for the precise nature of the ârevoltâ in Corinthâ a revolt possibly inspired by memories of the apostle Paulâ and details the replacement of a Pauline ethic with a strict code of subordination.
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