Sophia Scriptura

Miscellanies 4.8.66

Clement of Alexandria · Miscellanies · ca. 198–203 · Alexandria · Read in context

Summary: The earthly church is an image of the heavenly, as we pray; Paul's call to compassion, forgiveness, love, and thankfulness is repeated to shame Marcion, who should be grateful to the Creator who called us in the body.

Greek text · Stählin 2:278

εἰκὼν δὲ τῆς οὐρανίου ἐκκλησίας ἡ ἐπίγειος, ὅπερ εὐχόμεθα καὶ ἐπὶ γῆς γενέσθαι τὸ θέλημα τοῦ θεοῦ ὡς ἐν οὐρανῷ· ἐνδυσάμενοι σπλάγχνα οἰκτιρμοῦ, χρηστότητα, ταπεινοφροσύνην, πραότητα, μακροθυμίαν, ἀνεχόμενοι ἀλλήλων καὶ χαριζόμενοι ἑαυτοῖς, ἐάν τις πρός τινα ἔχῃ μομφήν· καθὼς καὶ ὁ Χριστὸς ἐχαρίσατο ἡμῖν, οὕτως καὶ ἡμεῖς. ἐπὶ πᾶσι δὲ τούτοις ἡ ἀγάπη, ὅ ἐστι σύνδεσμος τῆς τελειότητος. καὶ ἡ εἰρήνη τοῦ Χριστοῦ βραβευέτω ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις ὑμῶν, εἰς ἣν καὶ ἐκλήθητε ἐν ἑνὶ σώματι· καὶ εὐχάριστοι γίνεσθε. οὐδὲν γὰρ κωλύει πολλάκις τὴν αὐτὴν παρατίθεσθαι γραφὴν εἰς ἐντροπὴν Μαρκίωνος, ἤν πως μεταβάληται πεισθείς, εὐχάριστον δεῖν μαθὼν τὸν πιστὸν εἶναι τῷ δημιουργῷ θεῷ τῷ καλέσαντι ἡμᾶς καὶ εὐαγγελισαμένῳ ἐν σώματι.

English · Claude translation

The earthly church is an image of the heavenly, which is why we pray that God's will may be done on earth as in heaven. “Having put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, bearing with one another and forgiving each other, if anyone has a complaint against another; as Christ forgave us, so also we. And above all these, love, which is the bond of perfection. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which you were called in one body; and be thankful.” For nothing prevents citing the same Scripture often to shame Marcion, in case he should be persuaded and change, learning that the believer must be thankful to God the Creator, who called us and proclaimed the gospel to us in the body.

About this passage

Source
Stählin 2:278 · Otto Stählin, ed., Clemens Alexandrinus, vol. 2, Stromata Buch I–VI, GCS 15 (Leipzig: Hinrichs, 1906); vol. 3, Stromata Buch VII und VIII, GCS 17 (Leipzig: Hinrichs, 1909) · Greek text: Otto Stählin, Clemens Alexandrinus 2–3 (GCS 15, 17, 1906–1909), digitized by the Perseus Digital Library, CC BY-SA 4.0
Text
As printed in Stählin, GCS 15, 17. Manuscript variants and the editor's apparatus are not reproduced; no textual problem is noted in this passage.
Translation
Claude translation (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 · Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Stählin (1906–1909); made independently of existing English translations.
Compare
Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 2 (1885) (an older public-domain English translation, whole volume at CCEL; checked against ours only after ours was made) · Book 3 is left partly untranslated (in Latin) there.
Scripture
Topics
Heresy, Ethics

Notes

Translation notes

  • The allusions and quotations are Matt 6:10 and Col 3:12–15.

Cite this passage

Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 4.8.66 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-stromata/4/8/66/).

Plain text
Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 4.8.66 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-stromata/4/8/66/).

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