In honor of the day on which Clement of Alexandria is
celebrated in the Anglican and Orthodox churches, and in recognition of Clement’s
importance in early Christianity, I share below an excerpt of my book,
Teaching through Song in Antiquity, pp. 371-381, in which I treat Clement’s “Hymn to
Christ the Savior.”
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There is no question that
Christians in the second century continued the first-century New Testament
practice of singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Clement of Alexandria
(ca.150–220 CE) reminds us of this fact in book seven of the Stromata
where he discusses the prayer and praise habits of believers who praise as they
plow and sing hymns as they sail (Strom. 7.7.35.6).
Likewise he exhorts Christians in To the Newly Baptized to make time for
prayers and hymns to God, and to take delight in divine words and hymns.
In the Paedagogus he cautions Christians to sing psalms and hymns to God
in appropriate ways – ways that contrast with the musical customs of the Greeks
and Romans (Paed. 2.4.43.1–44.5).
While we are certain that the composing, singing, and reciting of songs of
praise continued in the second century, we have very few representatives of
these songs that would allow us to say much about the nature of Christian
hymnody in this period. One hymn that has survived from the end of the second
century (dating to ca. 190 CE) is a Hymn to Christ the Savior that comes
to us in the manuscripts of Clement’s Paedagogus (3.12.101.4). In this section we will examine the hymn in light
of earlier hymnic traditions with particular regard to its form, contents and
function. A look at these aspects of the hymn will allow us to say something of
the didactic qualities of this hymn.
Clement of
Alexandria was facing
some unique challenges in
Alexandria
at the end of the second century.
Representing an earlier generation of scholarship, Henry Chadwick noted, “Alexandrian
Christianity before his time is shrouded in mist, but what evidence there is
suggests the powerful influence of gnostic thought and a tendency for the
dividing line between heresy and orthodoxy to be less clearly drawn in
Egypt than in
Italy or
Asia Minor.”
Though it is commonplace nowadays to question the appropriateness of the terms
orthodoxy and heresy in this time period, it is nevertheless clear that in
Clement’s day there were contested understandings of what the Christian life
was about. As a Christian teacher in
Alexandria,
Clement aimed to show that his vision of the Christian faith was authoritative
and authentic, while other competing versions, notably those of the Gnostics,
were not legitimate.
In Clement’s own writings we can see that he was addressing challenges from at
least two distinct groups, but probably more.
Within the Christian community were those who were “orthodox” but not highly
intelligent.
These
were perhaps resistant to philosophical reflection and education, and needed to
be spurred on toward a greater understanding of their faith as a means of
growing in the knowledge of Christ. A different challenge came from the
Gnostics: “On the other side stand educated Christians deeply influenced and
attracted by Valentinian Gnosticism with its generous fusion of Christianity,
Platonism, and almost everything else as well.”
In this context Clement aimed to show that the believer in Christ who accepted
the traditions of the apostles was the true gnostic.
Clement’s only known
hymn, the
Hymn to Christ the Savior, is found at the end of the Paedagogus, a treatise for young Christians on the subject of learning from
Christ the instructor regarding Christian faith and conduct. That the epilogue to
this work is a hymn is clear from several indicators. First, in the manuscripts
it is called a hymn in its title. Second, the hymn is carefully composed in
Greek meter. Third, its contents include several calls to Christians to join in
praising Christ. Fourth, it includes a number of series of epithets and poetic
descriptions of Christ which reflect the traditional language of earlier Greek
poems and hymns.
The
Hymn to
Christ the Savior is a sixty-six line metrical Greek hymn that addresses
Christ directly with multiple epithets and requests, and ends with a series of
exhortations to the congregation. The hymn may be analyzed as a well-balanced
collection of couplets of anapestic lines, which have a rather free character
and may reflect a semi-popular feel.
The
Hymn is thus quite different from the earliest Christian hymnody we
encountered in the New Testament where the hymnic style reflected to a large
extent the Jewish tradition of psalmody. Clement’s
Hymn reflects more
directly the influence and impact of Greek hymnody both in its form as well as
its expressions. While some scholars in the past have argued that the form and
content can be differentiated and shown to reflect two distinct worldviews,
more recent scholarship has maintained that the hymn is a witness to the
complex inter-relationship of Greek and biblical elements.
Accordingly, it is not merely the case that Clement expresses biblical ideas in
Greek hymnic form. Rather, as part of Clement’s larger theological program, the
hymn is representative of the ways that biblical truth is reflected in the
manner of expression of the Greek poets and philosophers.
Further, the hymn points to Clement’s social setting as it reflects some of the
characteristics of second-century Gnostic hymns.
In view of this complexity we will see that the form of the early Christian
hymn has developed to serve a different function in Clement than in the New
Testament, and that its contents also reflect that new purpose.
The opening lines of the hymn reveal just how
different this is compared with the Johannine prologue or other New Testament
Christological hymns:
Bridle-bit of foals unschooled in worldly
ways
Wing of birds that do not go astray
Sure rudder-handle of ships
Shepherd of royal lambs
Gather together
Your simple children
To sing praise in a holy way
To hymn – in a guileless way
With innocent mouths –
Christ, guide of children. (lines 1–10)
While one of the
latest New Testament hymns, the Johannine prologue, begins in the beginning
(John 1:1), Clement begins with poetic imagery reflecting the present moment
where Christians may be gathering for worship. While John focused primarily on
the work of the Logos in the past, Clement’s descriptive epithets for Christ
have their focus on the present aspect of the relationship between Christ and
the believer. Christ actively guides, shepherds, and directs his children. The
remainder of the hymn develops in a similar manner as these initial epithets
are developed further and as new epithets and images are introduced.
Though scholars agree that Clement (or some other
early Christian) has written this metrical hymn in a Greek style, there is no
agreement as to the precise structure of the hymn.
Part of the difficulty lies in the way that imagery introduced earlier in the
hymn is taken up and expanded on later in the hymn, so that it is possible to
show that each of the distinct sections are still closely connected. Thus
Wolbergs, for example, divides the hymn into two main sections (lines 1–32 and
33–66). The outline I provide here is based primarily on the implicit functions
and the explicit themes that change in some way from one section to the next,
resulting in seven distinct but inter-connected strophes:
First Strophe (1–10): Invocation
Second Strophe (11–18): Epithets in praise of
Christ
Third Strophe (19–28): Epithets and
descriptive interlude
Fourth Strophe (29–34): Prayer to the Holy
Shepherd
Fifth Strophe (35–41): Epithets in praise of
Christ
Sixth Strophe (42–53): Epithet and
descriptive interlude
Seventh Strophe (54–66): Triple exhortation
Even if Clement did not compose this with seven distinct
strophes in mind, it is still clear that each of these divisions represents a
shift in subject matter, emphasis, or addressee. For our purposes, in addition
to seeing how the hymn develops over these strophes, it is also significant to
note what is absent from this hymn: there is no reference to any aspect of the
narrative about Christ that is so prominent in the New Testament christological
hymns. One looks in vain for references to the incarnation, the cross, or the
resurrection. Instead, the focus is on expressing praise to Christ through
imagery and metaphors that capture the current relationship of Christ to his
people. It will be useful here to examine the strophes in a little more detail
to note the kinds of imagery that Clement utilizes as this hymn unfolds.
As we have seen, the first strophe begins with a
series of epithets in praise of Christ (lines 1–4), followed by a request that
he gather his children that they may sing praise to him (lines 5–10). The
epithets in 1–4 are varied and can each be traced to Clement’s discussion about
Christians as the children needing to be educated in chapter five of book one
of the
Paedagogus. There Clement discusses the notion that Christians
are referred to in Scripture by a number of images including colts, birds,
lambs, and children.
Each of these images can also be traced to philosophical writings.
Taken together the epithets point to the supremacy of the Logos on earth, in
heaven, and in the deep.
Christ is not identified, however, until line 10 where he is hailed as “Christ,
the guide of children.” In this epithet we see a striking instance of Clement’s
use of pagan motifs for his own Christian purposes. Marrou notes that this
epithet is used by Homer and also applied as an epithet to Zeus, Apollo, and
Aphrodite. At the same time the expression is a poetic equivalent of the term
paidagogos,
thus connecting the hymn closely to the work that precedes it.
In the first strophe then, Christ is hailed using a variety of epithets which
resonate with Greek hymnic traditions as well as with book one of the
Paedagogus,
culminating in his being named as the guide of children. The request in this
first strophe is that Christ would gather his children to offer pure and
sincere praise to Christ.
The second strophe develops the kingly imagery
that was hinted at in line 4 where Christ was hailed as “shepherd of royal
lambs.” In line 11 Christ is called the “King of saints,” an expression not
found in the New Testament but certainly derived from the New Testament use of
kingly imagery for Christ.
The kingship of Christ will be a recurring motif of the hymn (cf. lines 31 and
55). The second strophe also introduces new concepts into the hymn. The term
pandamator
in line 12 (“all-taming word”) is one of several expressions that reflect
Clement’s intentional use of Greek poetic style.
The term is used by Homer, though not in the Homeric Hymns.
The expression also introduces the idea of Christ as the Logos, which will be
reflected later in lines 30 and 51. In line 14 Christ is “ruler of wisdom,” an
expression in line with Clement’s earlier discussions about Christ as the
Wisdom of the Father (
Paed. 1.2.6.2;
1.11.97.3; 3.12.98.1) and expressing the development of a Pauline idea (cf. Col
2:3). Wisdom likewise figures later in the hymn (line 47).
As was the
case with the second strophe, the third strophe also returns to imagery
introduced in the first strophe mentioning helm, bridle, heavenly wing in
sequence before moving on to a new image: Christ as fisher of men (line 24). Though
not a prominent image for Clement, he does use this metaphor in
Paed. 3.12.99.2 where man is caught as
though he were a fish, and it is the Logos who fashions the rod. The unique
feature of this strophe is that it moves from a list of epithets to a
description of one of the deeds of Christ. He saves the fish from the sea of
evil and lures them with the promise of life (lines 24–28). It is here that we
find a glimpse of the teaching of the hymn as this image of fisher of men is
unpacked to a small extent. May suggests that Clement applies the image of
fisher of men directly to the Logos, noting that he leads men to the truth in
many ways (cf.
Strom. 7.95.3).
Wolbergs points to the use of the concept in Greek philosophers and poets as
well as in the Hebrew Bible (cf. Hab 1:14).
Regardless of the ways it may have resonated with Greek readers, the image
strongly suggests two clear teachings: 1) that the world is hostile and evil,
and 2) that Christ saves his children from that environment offering them
something better, namely, life. The concept of “life” is referenced twice more
in the later strophes of the hymn (lines 40 and 59). As we have observed, the
life-giving work of Christ has been a repeated theme in second-century
christological hymns.
It is interesting to note the wide range of
imagery and epithets that are used thus far in the hymn. At the same time it is
fascinating to see how Clement introduces key concepts and expressions that he
will allude to later in the hymn: shepherd, king, Logos, wisdom, and life. Though
he developed the fisher of men imagery more than others, this is one image that
is not reiterated later in the hymn. However, the “life” which Christ offers
these fish is referred to again in line 59 as the “teaching of life.”
The fourth strophe returns to the shepherd
imagery introduced in the first strophe. In direct address the singer asks the
shepherd and king to lead the children on the path marked out by Christ, which
is the path to heaven.
Holy shepherd
of sheep of the Logos,
lead, O king,
the unharmed children;
the footprints of Christ,
are the path to heaven. (lines 29–34)
May suggests that this prayer is the central aspect of the
hymn, as the guiding of the Logos is the central teaching of the
Paedagogus as
a whole.
In
spite of textual difficulties and proposed emendations,
the prayer calls for the king, Christ, to lead his children on the path to
heaven, and metaphorically, to lead the sheep of the Logos (or the rational
sheep), as a shepherd leads his sheep. Here Clement connects the imagery of
children and sheep earlier in the hymn (lines 3–5), and also earlier in the
Paedagogus
(cf.
Paed. 1.5.14.1–2). We can note
here in particular
Paed. 1.4.11.2
where Clement cites Plato (
Laws VII 808D) on the need of sheep for a shepherd and
children for a
paidagogos. As the central strophe of the hymn, this
prayer encapsulates the desire of Clement that Christians be led in the
education that only Christ offers, an education leading to heaven.
The fifth strophe returns to the style of praise
through epithets. Marrou points out the subtle play between nominative and
vocative, as the hymn opens with the vocative and continues in this manner
through line 28. After the prayer in the fourth strophe, the fifth strophe
switches to the nominative case.
Ever-flowing word,
unlimited age,
everlasting light,
source of mercy,
artisan of virtue
of those who praise God
with their holy life. (lines 35–41)
After this the sixth strophe will return to the vocative
with Christ Jesus in line 42.
While lines 35–36 continue the theme of eternal life referenced in lines 26 and
34, Marrou suggests they may also represent a philosophical explication of the
first verse of the Logos hymn, John 1:1. May sees these lines as a statement
that responds to Gnostic thought regarding the Aeon. Here Clement claims not
only that the Logos is eternal but also that the Logos himself is the Aeon
(line 36).
Further,
in this strophe the Logos is also divine light (cf.
Paed. 1.28.2).
The strophe ends, however, with a focus on what the children of the Logos do,
hymning God with their lives. This picks up the image from strophe one (lines 7–10),
an idea which will be the focus of the exhortations in strophe seven.
The sixth strophe (lines 42–53) introduces
another new image into the hymn: the idea that Christ Jesus is heavenly milk
that nurtures the infants.
Christ Jesus,
heavenly milk
pressed from the sweet breasts
of the bride,
gracious gifts
of your wisdom.
The tiny infants
with tender mouths,
suckled
at the nipple of the logos
and filled
with the dewy Spirit. (lines 42–53)
While new to the hymn that concludes the
Paedagogus,
the concept is hardly new to the larger composition. Chapter six of book one (
Paed. 1.6.34.3–52.3) contains an
extended discussion of the milk of the Word drawing extensively on passages
such as 1 Cor 3:1–2, Exod 3:8, 17, John 6:57, and 1 Peter 2:1–3. Similar
imagery is found in the
Odes of Solomon as well.
Buell explores Clement’s use of lactation imagery in light of other ancient
discussions of the practice, noting its use as a metaphor for both salvation
and character formation. She claims, “In developing this metaphor of nursing to
depict the activity of the divine toward Christians, Clement resonates with
traditions known to virtually everyone in his audience, whether through
religious iconography, literature, or discussions of
paideia.”
Though the imagery was widely known, Buell’s study shows that Clement’s specific
application of the metaphor to the Logos and the process of Christian
instruction is unique to his context and is in implicit competition with other
understandings of the Christian life.
This metaphor is a complex one and, as May points out, the milk is understood
by Clement as the Logos himself in some of his discussions or the teaching and
proclamation of the Church in other places.
In fact, Clement can use lactation imagery for a number of different purposes
within his larger project. Though a full discussion of this motif goes beyond
the scope of the present study, for our purposes here it is important to note
two points. First, the imagery was widespread in the second century and so
would have been appreciated by Clement’s audience. Second, the inclusion of
this kind of language in the hymn in condensed form relates to an extensive
discussion of the topic elsewhere in the
Paedagogus.
The final strophe (lines 54–66) consists of three
exhortations directed to the Christian audience using a variety of images. They
are called to sing together to Christ the king (lines 54–55), to escort the son
as a mighty chorus (lines 60–63), and to “sing songs together to the God of
peace” (lines 65–66). As Clement suggests in the Paedagogus and
elsewhere, this simple and pure praise of God and Christ are the obligation of
those who have been instructed by the Logos.
Having sketched the contents we can now consider
the purpose of this fascinating hymn. The original function of the hymn is debated,
as there is no witness to the hymn’s use in Clement’s day. In this regard, our
discussion of function is similar to the discussion about the function of Cleanthes’
Hymn to Zeus, a composition that, in the form of praise, presented key precepts of
the philosophical program and at the same time made requests of the deity
culminating in the call to praise. As we saw with the
Hymn to Zeus one
can imagine some of the ways these hymns may have been used in their
communities, but the results must necessarily be hypothetical. Still, in the
case of Clement’s
Hymn to Christ the
Savior it is most likely that the hymn was used in some kind of a communal
setting. Its contents, which very directly refer to the act of singing and
praising on behalf of the followers of Christ, suggest that the hymn was not
merely literary ornamentation for Clement’s
Paedagogus.
As far as the strategy of the hymn and the way it
conveys its teaching, a few more comments can be made. First, as the conclusion
to the Paedagogus we have seen that the Hymn to Christ the Savior expresses many of the central ideas of
the larger work, particularly as it uses specific phrases and images that were
critical to the larger composition. In light of the larger composition the
didactic and instructional aspects of the hymn can be much more clearly seen. Second,
in light of this, the hymn can be seen as a hymnic summary of the teaching of
the Paedagogus. Though it does not capture every aspect of the larger
composition, it strikes the central chords of the work as it praises Christ,
asking him to lead his children, and as it exhorts the children to bring
sincere and pure praise to the one who has saved and nourished them. Third,
since the hymn is marked by the piling up of descriptive epithets rather than
narrative or even expository sections, the teaching of the hymn is somewhat
unique. Rather than focusing on the deeds of Christ in the past, the hymn
focuses on the relationship of the individual child or collective group of
children to the Instructor in the present. The imagery suggests the ways that
Christ relates to his children, and also the appropriate response of his
children to Christ. Christ leads, rescues, guides, tames, shepherds, and so
forth. His children are marked by simplicity, holiness, artlessness, and wisdom
with the result that they sing hymns and psalms of praise to Christ. The Hymn to Christ the Savior also teaches
the value of appropriate songs of praise, even as Clement discussed these in Paed. 2.4.43.1–44.4. But as the
hymn moves beyond the model of early Jewish psalms and the model of the New
Testament, it shows how the educated Greek believer can offer up songs of
praise in a fitting way that draws on the best of Greek, Jewish, and Christian
thought.
We are unaware of whether or not Clement wrote
other hymns or songs. Having other hymns with which to compare this one would
enable many more fruitful conclusions about the development of early Christian
hymnody in
Alexandria.
Nevertheless, in this one passage we see a vivid testimony to one early
Christian’s quest to express his teaching in light of the best of Greek
culture. Along these lines Robert Wilken wrote, “Among early Christian writers
Clement is the most Greek, the most literary, a savant so immersed in the high
culture of the Hellenistic world that he effortlessly cited hundreds of
passages from poets, philosophers, playwrights, and historians in his
writings.”
In
these few verses of the
Hymn to Christ the Savior we can see evidence of
the creativity and breadth of Clement, who could draw on such a wide range of
ideas and styles to compose a simple yet profound hymn in praise of Christ.
Conclusions
Though our evidence is limited, it is clear that the
Christian hymnody of the second century indicates an increasing level of
sophistication among the poets and teachers who composed and used this medium
of instruction and reflection. This claim is suggested first of all by the
greater instances of the use philosophical terminology together with Hellenistic
philosophical styles of expression (e.g., the paradoxes of Ign. Eph. 7:2
and the negative theology of Ign. Pol. 3:2). Second, it is suggested by
the move to compose poems in Greek meter (as seen in the Gnostic hymns and in
Clement of Alexandria’s Hymn to Christ the Savior). Third, it is seen in
a move beyond the simpler contents of the christological hymns of the New
Testament, while at the same time continuing to develop further the kinds of
specific issues they raised (e.g., cosmology, the incarnation, the effects of
the redemptive work of Christ, etc.). Along with the increasing sophistication
of second-century Christian hymnody and its didactic emphases, the practice of
singing hymns of praise continued in full force among Christian communities of
diverse beliefs. The preservation of one particular hymnbook, the Odes of
Solomon, illustrates both the devout and joyous nature of hymnic praise, as
well as the development of christological and theological thought that occurred
in the second century CE.
The second-century
Christian didactic hymns we have examined confirm once again the perceived
effectiveness of hymnic praise to convey truth to human audiences. Particularly
in the context of the developing christologies of the second century, hymnic
reflection about Christ and hymnic description of his redemptive work was a
fruitful means of theological expression as well as a useful tool for passing
on one’s teaching.
It was also a useful tool for assessing and evaluating the teaching of others,
as the citations and comments in the third-century writings of Hippolytus make
clear.
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