The Letter of Pope Clement to the Corinthians.

 Clement was the Third Pope after Peter.    We know of him because he sent a letter to the Church in Corinth which had been established by Paul.   The Corinthians had decided that they would decide for themselves who their bishop and elders should be with no regard to Rome whatsoever.

But let me quote Marcellino D'Ambrosio on a very important matter.   "Interesting though, this letter was lost to Western Christians until the year 1621 when the Patriarch of Constantinople  gave the King of England a precious gift.   It was a copy of the 5th century bound  volume of the Bible called the Codex Alexandrinus, that contained along with the Gospels and Epistles, the Letter of Clement.    That meant unfortunately Clement's letter was not available during the prior century when great arguments arose that shattered unity in the Christian West"

I think D'Ambrosio is being kind here.   For the presence of this letter would not have changed matters much, since from the very beginning there were always men who believed that they and they alone possessed the truth.  They will flee from his book.   As Jesus said "There will arise false Christs and prophets who would lead astray even the elect but let us see what else D'Ambrosio has to say about this letter.

He noted that the Apostles themselves had appointed elders and bishops who had the authority to appoint their successors in an orderly way.   He then went on to say "For we shall be guilty of no slight sin if we eject from the episcopate men who HAVE OFFERED THE SACRIFICES with innocence and holiness"

That the early Church offered in Sacrifice the 'flesh of Jesus' abounds in the writings of the Early Church Fathers.   The Apostles accepted this as a reality.   The consecrated or said the words of Jesus over the broken bread and over the wine as priest do today in the Mass.    That is why St Paul taught that '.anyone who receives unworthily is guilty of the Body and Blood of Christ'.   They crucify Christ again.   That is no small matter, and is one on which many bishops and priests of today should think very deeply about, and many who receive without devotion should ponder.

Marcellino D'Ambrosio wrote the book 'When The Church Was Young'   Although a scholarly work he makes it an easily readable one nevertheless and I am sure that young people making their Confirmation would find it informative and challenging.

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