Clement (Qalementos)
Chapter 1 of 74
1In the name of the Father. Saint Clement said: After the ascension of our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ into heaven, the disciples scattered to the ends of the earth to preach the tidings of the holy Gospel, to turn the nations to faith and knowledge, and to baptize them with the holy baptism of new birth. For this reason they set out to seek through the lands. Then Simon Peter took me and made me his disciple, because I believed in him and in the one who sent him. They were sure that he was the head of the apostles because of the word our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ spoke to his disciple Peter: "You are a rock, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Sheol will not be able to destroy it or overpower it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven." After a long time he took two brothers and made them his disciples. Then, when I had been with him ten years, he took me and brought me to my father and my mother, whose name was Mitroria, and he revealed to me the mystery that our Lord Jesus Christ had taught him on the Mount of Olives. At that time the apostles and all the faithful were in great distress and persecution from the heretics and the unbelieving Jews, for the Jews were killing every believer they found. Then the good Peter went and entered a certain city, and I went with him. There great distress came on me from the disputes of the unbelieving Jews and their questioning about the birth of holy Mary, for they kept asking about her, claiming she was not of the tribe of Judah, in order to make void the coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ into the world. They were giving much money to the Greeks and the Romans to help them destroy the faithful, and they kept the apostles from reading the Torah, so that they would not learn about the first creation of the world. When I saw all this suffering and distress that came on us from the unbelieving Jews, I went to my teacher Simon Peter and asked him to give me understanding and tell me how the first creation of the world came about. For he knew all the mysteries from our Lord Jesus Christ, while I knew the Greek language, their books, and all their mysteries and wisdom. I told my teacher all the spite and envy that had come on me, because the Jews hated me and argued with me about holy Mary, since I had no knowledge of the Torah and the Prophets. Many insulted me about the creation of Adam our father, and above all they blasphemed our Lady, holy Mary, and I found no argument by which to silence their wickedness and their foul words. When I told my teacher all this, he was deeply grieved and zeal came over him, and he said to me, "My son, I will reveal to you everything you have asked me. I will give you understanding of the first creation of the world, and I will make you certain about holy Mary, the mother of the Light, that she is truly, beyond doubt, of the tribe of Judah son of Jacob. I will also tell you how Satan fell from heaven." ‹
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Clement (Qalementos) · Chapter 1 of 74