Neither Clement's birthdate or birthplace is known with any degree of certainty. It is conjectured that he was born in around 150.[3] According to Epiphanius Scholasticus, he was born in Athens, but there is also a tradition of an Alexandrian birth.
His parents were pagans, and Clement was a convert to Christianity. In the Protrepticus he displays an extensive knowledge of Greek mythology and mystery religions, which could only have arisen from the practise of his family's religion.[3]
Having rejected paganism as a young man due to its perceived moral corruption, he travelled in Greece,Asia Minor, Palestine and Egypt. Clement's journeys were primarily a religious undertaking. In Greece, he encountered an Ionian theologian, who has been identified as Athenagoras of Athens; while in the east, he was taught by an Assyrian, sometimes identified with Tatian, and a Jew, who was possiblyTheophilus of Caesarea.[4]
In around 180, Clement reached Alexandria,[5] where he met Pantaenus, who taught at the Catechetical School of Alexandria.[6] Eusebius suggests that Pantaenus was the head of the school, but it is controversial whether the institutions of the school were formalized in this way before the time ofOrigen.[7][8] Clement studied under Pantaenus, and was ordained to the priesthood by Pope Julianbefore 189. Otherwise, virtually nothing is known of Clement's life in Alexandria. He may have been married, a conjecture supported by his writings.[9]
Clement's diet is unknown, and the subject of some dispute, but despite his frequent characterization as a vegetarian, Clement writes against only the excessive consumption of meat.[10]
During the Severian persecutions of 202–203, Clement left Alexandria. In 211, Alexander of Jerusalemwrote a letter commending him to the Church of Antioch,[11] which may imply that Clement was living in Cappadocia or Jerusalem at that time. The date and location of his death are unknown.
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