Canons of Clement, which he received in a letter from S. Peter

This Synod of Clement, which Peter, the companion and head of the apostles, wrote, concerning our Lord Jesus Christ. Clement said, from Peter, the head of the apostles, the companion of our Lord Christ. He said to me, my son Clement, "Do not baptize anyone with a living nature and with a price, a price upon baptism. And he who receives upon baptism a living nature with a price, he is accursed and excommunicated from my mouth, I, Peter, the least of the apostles. And his portion shall be with Simon the Magician and the wicked Judas. And do not, my son, give the gift of priesthood and the grace of the Holy Spirit for a price, and do not seek after the priesthood, and do not receive it for money, before you bless, nor after, without the face of blessing. And he who gives and he who receives the priesthood with a living nature, his priesthood is null, and he is accursed before me, I, Peter, by the excommunication with which I excommunicated Simon the Magician. And his portion shall be with the high Judas, and his soul is far from the grace of God, like the devil from the beginning.

My son, forgive the one who has sinned against you seventy times, each time according to the command of our Lord in the holy Gospel. And accept the one who repents from his sin, and teach the one who has sinned, and raise him up with your hand, and correct him. And drive out the sick, and go to the prisoners, and feed the hungry, and clothe the naked, and give drink to the thirsty. And strengthen them in faith, and fight for her with righteousness that is fitting, and listen to the holy scriptures of God, for those who strengthen her and fight for her will inherit the kingdom of heaven. My son, forgive, that you may be forgiven, and do not judge, that you may not be judged. And if you have believed in the name of God and have judged people, judge with law and righteousness as our law has spoken. And fight with the sword of iron against the deniers and the wicked who do not believe in Christ, and dip your sword in the blood of faith to the full. And do not turn your face away, and do not take bribes in judgment, and let the poor and the stranger be as one in your presence.

Have mercy on the orphan of the deceased and the widow, and preserve the virgins and strengthen them, and do not make a path for Satan over you, and cast down his cursed dominion by fasting and by prayer, and keep vigil by night. And alms shall be your sign, and your house, and your dwelling. And preserve the children of baptism and the faith. And do not entrust the faith to a man who has not been baptized. And if you see a needy priest, help him from your alms, and do not leave him to be afflicted unto the destruction of the people. And likewise do for all the servants of God. And if you have a blessing, give it to the children of baptism. And exert your soul for the building of churches and monasteries and hospices, which are a dwelling for the strangers of the world and for the needy. Build houses of God with beautiful materials, like wood and stones. And for him who does this, God will justify his deeds, and at the end. Fast on Wednesday and Friday all the days of your life. And the day of Sunday shall be a feast; do not perform work on it except the reading of the books of the Godhead. And he who transgresses this is guilty and accursed by the three names of God, which are Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Do not drive away the poor from the threshold of your dwelling, and do not mock them, nor despise them, nor humiliate them; but let the greatness of your compassion be such that you are moved and cause them to rejoice, even as you cause the Lord to rejoice, and set them at your table with you, and give them to drink of the drink which you drink. And do not be negligent towards him, for Nebuchadnezzar the king was negligent and proud, and the wrath of the Lord overtook him. And do not exalt yourself before the king, and do not act arrogantly in his house, and do not trust in your good works over him; but when you perform all good works and fulfill all commandments, say, "I am a righteous servant," as our Lord said in the Book of Life, for you will not be saved by the multitude of your evil works. And do not amass gold and silver without that which you can distribute for the sustenance of the faithful. Give abundant peace to the children of the faithful, and be a guardian to the gentle priest who pleases the Lord and acts according to his law; for Satan caused him to err, because he caused Simon the sorcerer to err after he had become his helper for my brother Philip, and after he had performed many miracles of the kingdom through his hand, and it became the cause of his error, because he desired from me the office of priesthood and the gift of the Holy Spirit while alive, and our Lord told me that he is false and deceitful, and I expelled him from me, and he became the guide of his own pride.

And my son, honor the elders and respect them, and listen to them, speak to them, and do not mock a person because of his sin, but rather rebuke him and speak to him. And give alms to the one who fears the Lord. Command the kings with righteousness, and reprove them for their evil deeds. Do not conceal the holy things of the Lord on any day, for the nearness of the Eucharist will prevent the forgetful. Remember the dead on the third day, and on the seventh, and on the tenth, and on the twentieth, and on the thirtieth, and on the fortieth, and on the sixtieth, and on the anniversary. And my son, as on the fortieth day after the death of one who has died, his soul stands for the one who was baptized a sinner before Christ, and it is judged according to his deeds, and he is punished in measure for his deeds. And anoint with the oil of joy the one who desires baptism; before you baptize him with water, and after baptism, seal him with the oil of the kingdom which I have given you. This is the oil of Myron, in which is the completion of all things. And the faithful shall stand on the feet of those who hear the holy books of the kingdom.

Rise up for the holy liturgy without negligence or delay, and pray in the morning, at the third hour of the day, and in the evening, for these three prayers are incumbent upon all. Priests and laypeople pray in the morning and evening. And those who are able and diligent, multiplying the grace of the kingdom, pray as we have prescribed in the book of the Canon, for my Lord Christ taught me, and I instruct you, my son Clement, that prayer is due at the first hour of the day, at the third hour, at the sixth hour, at the ninth hour, in the evening, at the time of sleep, and at midnight. And I, Peter, command the faithful to abstain from their works and labors during the feasts of the martyrs. And I forbid them from evil drunkenness and from sitting with dancers and with singers on the road, and they shall not eat what has been strangled or what has not been baptized, for the Lord rejected the sacrifices of the Jews and the pagan Gentiles.

We command: do not eat the sacrifice of the Jews, nor any of their offerings, nor associate with them, nor take anything from them. And one of them who believes and is baptized shall stand at the gate of the church for forty days, and shall not eat except dry bread only. And if a servant of this [order] approaches the sanctuary of the Lord after his faith has been examined, they shall listen to him and give him the sacrifice of the faithful, and especially the flesh of a holy animal which appeared to me in bright clothing, which descended upon me in the city of Uyopē, for it is holy among all animals. And when you wish, O faithful one, to sleep, wash your face and all your body. And if you wish to go on a journey, be blessed by the bones of a martyr before you go. O priest, do not offer upon the altar incense and flesh, and do not place upon the altar anything except pure unleavened bread, for it is my body, for the Lord has named it heavenly bread; and not from anything except water of the vine, for the Lord has named it water of life; and a mixture from barley and honey when it is ripe; and moreover, bring your offering in abundance. And the priest shall not offer wine upon the altar without it being mixed with water, for our Lord Christ said, "I am the water of life.

Concerning the Observance of Feasts: Observe the feast of the Passion of Christ, his sorrow, and his crucifixion, and mourn during that time. Sorrow and joy together: sorrow shall be on account of his suffering in torment, and joy because your salvation is through the passion of Christ. And the feast of Passover shall be exalted and honored above all feasts, and there shall be no sorrow in it, but only joy. And remember your dead in the liturgy at all times, for it benefits them individually and brings them near to our Lord Christ. And observe the feast of Passover at its conclusion on the Lord's Day, which occurs after the Passover, and it is the day of the resurrection of our Lord Christ from the tomb. And observe the feast from his resurrection for a week of days, which is the new Lord's Day, for on that day the assembly of the twelve and the two came to us after his resurrection from the dead, while we were gathered in the upper room in Zion, with the doors locked, because on that day Thomas found, he who is called Didymus, with his hand the place of the wound from the side of our Lord Christ, and the place of the nail prints up to the tips of his fingers, and he renewed them, our God, and healed them, and said to him: "Cease, Thomas, and be faithful.

Observe the feast of his Ascension into heaven, and the feast of the Descent of the Holy Spirit upon us, the apostles, for he descended upon us from heaven like tongues of fire and taught us things which we did not know and had not heard before him, and which we did not understand. And it was after the Ascension of Christ into heaven that he descended from her in a chariot of light from the Mount of Olives, which is after his Resurrection on the fortieth day. And observe the feast of the day of their [the pagans'] festival, for the pagans celebrated the feast of their gods before you; and you, for your part, receive it for the Light, as the chosen man of God, Paul, commanded. And observe all the feasts which we have commanded you in the book of ordinance. And know, my son, that incense is with frankincense, for frankincense is a great incense which they burn before God, for our Lady of Light told me and gave me some of it. And it is that which the men of the Magi brought to her. And let it be for the preparation of their bodies for the priests, so that they may not be corrupted nor be buried in the earth, but in a hollow above the earth.

My children, keep my commandment as Joshua son of Nun kept the commandment of my brother Moses. Concerning the consecration of the Ark, and sanctify every Ark of the Law, and seal it with the seal of the Lord, which is the Myron, the oil of gladness. And let the seven priests be with you when you consecrate it, for they are our equals after us. And seal the arks and the altars with the seal of the Lord, so that the counsel of the Lord may be found upon what they consecrate. And seal with this holy oil everything that is baptized, and therein shall be found priesthood and kingship, and prophecy shall increase through the oil of Myron and its glory. And if there is a man who seals himself with this holy oil which I, Peter, the first of the apostles, give to you, without a priest sealing him who has authority over him, I have condemned him; let them kill him. And if a man drinks of it for the sake of his healing, he shall be expelled to where he cannot enter; and he who divulged it to the people without knowledge shall be expelled from the church of the Lord for seven years.

If he fasts, they shall anoint him with the oil of understanding one hundred fifty-three times, and he shall stand at the door of the church for ten years. And if there is a priest who has been anointed with this anointing that was erroneously performed, he shall be deprived of his office. And if there is a priest who has taken this anointing to one who is not a priest, he shall be deprived of his office. And if there is a priest who has fasted, he shall read the Psalms of David the prophet, who prophesied concerning this anointing, until he has read them from his hand. And if there is a man who has received the priesthood without receiving it from the chief of priests, he shall be expelled from the church of God. Concerning the ordinance of the altar: And they shall consecrate the offering upon the altar, which is sealed with myron, at the first time when the chief priests, priests, and all the deacons are gathered together, so that there may be honor and joy. And likewise on Sabbaths and feast days, they shall read upon the altar the Gospel of John, for he is the proclaimer of the kingdom.

And it shall be in every sanctuary: two altars. One which they shall make from the midst, in the midst, like the stone of the children of Israel which was in the desert; they shall make it from the midst, in the midst. And the other, which they shall not make from the midst. And if the altar which they shall not make is broken, or if a man overturns the midst which was consecrated, know that its sanctity has departed from it, like the sanctity departed from the children of Israel from their children. And they shall consecrate it again. And if a man from among the faithful falls from his baptism, or enters and mingles with the pagans, and eats their food, and approaches them, and they approach him, and there is impurity in them, and he enters into his country from his baptism, they shall baptize him again. And if there is a layman who enters the altar of the Lord, the holy, at the time when they consecrate the offering, they shall rebuke him with honor from his face, and he shall stand at the door of the church for seven years, and he shall show his repentance to the people.

If there is a layperson who has struck a priest or cursed him, he shall be expelled from the city of the Lord and from the churches to a land of the lowly. And if he has been wounded at the altar of the Lord and has begun to put on [garments], the priest shall impose on him a fast of twelve years, and the priest shall perform upon him the anointing of remission of sins. If there is a man or a woman from among the faithful who has eaten from what they offer, he shall be expelled from the church of the Lord until his death. If he did it through ignorance, he shall fast a full twelve years, and they shall give to the church two hands of his property, while he does not command that they not do so. If there is a man from among the faithful who has entered into the curtain of the altar and has spread his hand over the priest, and who has struck him, they shall cut off his hand because of his audacity against the priesthood of the Lord. If there is a man from among the faithful whose sins are many and he wishes to be cleansed from them, he shall confess to the priests and to the learned of the books of the Lord.

And he shall not be anointed for the altar of the Lord, for the one who is defiled has no oil, for there is no defilement after he has received baptism, except as one who does not know the priesthood of the Lord. And likewise the matter for the layman, for he does not prepare the message of the house of the Lord. Concerning the vestments of the priesthood. And the vestments of the priesthood shall be different from the vestments of the laity. And his vestment shall be long, without girdle, and its hem wide at the bottom. And his vestment shall be likewise, and the upper part thick, for this is the image of the rope of the neck of our Lord Christ, and his hands were bound with a rope. And the priest shall wear a stole like a yoke upon his shoulders, for it is the image of the rope which was placed around the neck of our Lord Christ, and they dragged him to the court of Pilate. And his belt shall be of fine linen, wide. And the priest shall read by day the Psalms of David, and by night the praises of the prophets, for these two swords shall be in this consecration.

I say to you, my son Clement, and to those like you in rank, that you may open the midst of the faithful and command them concerning those who are worthy, according to what the Holy Spirit has shown you, which completes the offering, and what is superfluous and has been added has become accursed until the day of judgment that will stand before Christ. And know, my son, that everything I have commanded you, I have commanded you by the command of the Lord. And by his hand he wrote for me this command, and he gave it to me on the Mount of Olives on the day of his ascension into his glory. Amen.