The Heavens as a Servant of God

By his order the heavens moving in the world obey him day and night, they perform the movement determined for them…. The sun and the stars shine following in harmony the ways determined by Him without deviation… The unlimited sea, by his will united in great water masses, does not go beyond the limits established by him…. The ocean impenetrable for man, the worlds behind it, are administered by the same orders of God. The seasons — spring, summer, autumn and winter   — peacefully replace each other. The winds determined for each season, perform their ministry without obstacles. The inexhaustible sources created for delight and health, provide water necessary for human life.

~ Letter to the Corinthians 1:20, translation: Early Fathers of the Church series, Brussels, 1987, pp. 55-56.

The Good and the Transgressors

It is just and holy, then, brethren, that we should be obedient to God rather than follow those who in vaunting and disorder are leaders in abominable jealousy. For we shall incur no ordinary harm, but rather great danger, if we wantonly entrust ourselves to the wills of men who aim at strife and sedition, to alienate us from what is good. Let us be kindly to them according to the compassion and sweetness of him who created us. For it is written, “The kindly shall be inhabitors of the land, and the innocent shall be left in it: but the transgressors shall be destroyed from off it.” … “Keep innocency and regard uprightness; for there is a remnant for the peaceable man.”

~ 1 Clement 14:1-4. In The Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. X, Ed. Allan Menzies, Eerdmans, 1990, p. 233.

Christ, the Creator of the world

For thou did make manifest the everlasting constitution of the world through the forces set in operation. Thou, Lord, did create the world.

 ~ I Clement 60:1. In The Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. X, Ed. Allan Menzies, Eerdmans, 1990, p. 247.

Bio

The third bishop of Rome and successor to St. Peter, Clement of Rome is the author of Clement’s Epistle to the Corinthians which was considered part of the canon of Scripture in Egypt and Syria for several centuries. His emphasis regarding creation is that there is no separation in the law of God: the law which governs the heavens is the same law which governs the oceans and winds and all parts of creation. He provides artistic descriptions of a world in harmony with itself and the Creator. The legacy of Clement is that he demonstrates that teachings about creation have been part of Christianity from its beginning in the first century.