Redemption through Divine Harmony: Clement of Alexandria’s True ‘Gnostic’ as Editor of Early Christian Writings

Creedy, Edward

Abstract

Famous for his diverse literary borrowings, Clement of Alexandria quoted freely from a range of early Christian writings – including many penned by or popular with his direct opponents. This paper proposes a re-examination of Clement’s non-canonical Christian borrowings through an appreciation of his hermeneutic of the divine Logos. This framework encouraged a form of reading, modeled by Clement himself, where reading became editing. All texts could be reworked to display at least a fragment of divine truth, even disputed or controversial “Christian” texts. This new perspective allows a rethinking of Clement’s use, reuse and relationship with several texts – including influential works such as the Shepherd of Hermas, Epistle of Barnabas, and Apocalypse of Peter.

Citation

Creedy, E. (2024). Redemption through Divine Harmony: Clement of Alexandria’s True ‘Gnostic’ as Editor of Early Christian Writings. Gnosis (Leiden. Print), 9(1), 1-34. https://doi.org/10.1163/2451859X-00901001

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Dec 3, 2023
• Online Publication Date: May 3, 2024
• Publication Date: May 3, 2024
• Deposit Date: Oct 3, 2024
• Journal: Gnosis: Journal of Gnostic Studies
• Print ISSN: 2451-8581
• Electronic ISSN: 2451-859X
• Publisher: Brill Academic Publishers
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 9
• Issue: 1
• Article Number: 1
• Pages: 1-34
• ISBN: 2451-8581
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/2451859X-00901001
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/2943552