Chapter 5
Remember the jealousy of Peter and Paul
| 1 Ἀλλ' ἵνα τῶν ἀρχαίων ὑποδειγμάτων παυσώμεθα, ἔλθωμεν ἐπὶ τοὺς ἔγγιστα γενομένους ἀθλητάς· λάβωμεν τῆς γενεᾶς ἡμῶν τὰ γενναῖα ὑποδείγματα. | But, we will cease from the examples of ancient times, let us come to those champions who lived nearest to our time. Let us take noble examples from our generation. |
| 2 διὰ ζῆλον καὶ φθόνον οἱ μέγιστοι καὶ δικαιότατοι στῦλοι ἐδιώχθησαν καὶ ἕως θανάτου ἤθλησαν. | Because of jealousy and envy the greatest and most righteous pillars of the Church were persecuted, and fought even to death. |
| 3 λάβωμεν πρὸ ὀφθαλμῶν ἡμῶν τοὺς ἀγαθοὺς ἀποστόλους· | Let us set before our eyes the good Apostles. |
| 4 Πέτρον, ὃς διὰ ζῆλον ἄδικον οὐχ ἕνα οὐδὲ δύο, ἀλλὰ πλείονας ὑπήνεγκεν πόνους καὶ οὕτω μαρτυρήσας ἐπορεύθη εἰς τὸν ὀφειλόμενον τόπον τῆς δόξης. | Peter, who because of unrighteous jealousy, endured not one or two but many sufferings and then after witnessing departed to his appointed place of glory. |
| 5 διὰ ζῆλον καὶ ἔριν Παῦλος ὑπομονῆς βραβεῖον ὑπέδειξεν, | Because of jealousy and strife Paul by his example showed the prize of endurance. |
| 6 ἑπτάκις δεσμὰ φορέσας, φυγαδευθείς, λιθασθείς, κήρυξ γενόμενος ἔν τε τῇ ἀνατολῇ καὶ ἐν τῇ δύσει, τὸ γενναῖον τῆς πίστεως αὐτοῦ κλέος ἔλαβεν. | After he had been in chains seven times, had been driven into exile, had been stoned, had preached in the East and in the West, he received the genuine glory of his faith, |
| 7 δικαιοσύνην διδάξας ὅλον τὸν κόσμον, καὶ ἐπὶ τὸ τέρμα τῆς δύσεως ἐλθὼν καὶ μαρτυρήσας ἐπὶ τῶν ἡγουμένων, οὕτως ἀπηλλάγη τοῦ κόσμου καὶ εἰς τὸν ἅγιον τόπον ἀνελήμφθη, ὑπομονῆς γενόμενος μέγιστος ὑπογραμμός. | after teaching righteousness unto the whole world and after reaching the farthest part of the West; and after witnessing before the rulers, then he departed from the world and went unto the holy place, having been found a notable pattern of endurance. |
Summary
Clement pivots from ancient Old Testament precedents to contemporary, 1st-century Christian history. He presents the recent martyrdoms of the leading apostles—Peter and Paul—as the tragic, ultimate consequences of envy (ζῆλος) and rivalry (ἔρις).
In Chapter 5, Clement transitions from Old Testament history to the apostolic age of his own generation (τῆς γενεᾶς ἡμῶν), presenting the deaths of Peter and Paul as primary historical evidence of the destructive power of zēlos. Written around 96 CE, this passage provides one of the earliest extra-biblical attestations to the martyrdoms of Peter and Paul under Nero in Rome.
Clement presents the apostles as spiritual athletes (ἀθληταί) and foundational pillars (στύλοι) who conquered suffering through patient endurance (ὑπομονή). By emphasizing that Paul reached "the boundary of the West" (τὸ τέρμα τῆς δύσεως) and bore witness before the authorities before entering "the holy place," Clement frames apostolic martyrdom not as a defeat, but as a victorious athletic competition resulting in immediate heavenly glory.
Significant Greek Expressions
τοὺς ἔγγιστα γενομένους ἀθλητάς (The champions who lived nearest to our time): Uses athlētēs (an athlete or contestant in public games), a signature early Christian metaphor that frames Christian life and martyrdom as a grueling, victorious athletic contest (cf. 2 Timothy 4:7–8; Hebrews 12:1).
οἱ μέγιστοι καὶ δικαιότατοι στύλοι (The greatest and most righteous pillars): Directly echoes Paul’s description of the Jerusalem leadership in Galatians 2:9 (οἱ δοκοῦντες στύλοι εἶναι). Clement applies stylos ("pillar") to Peter and Paul as the foundational columns of the universal Church.
μαρτυρήσας ἐπορεύθη εἰς τὸν ὀφειλόμενον τόπον τῆς δόξης (Having borne witness, he went to the due place of glory): Uses martyreō in its evolving technical sense of bearing witness unto death (martyrdom). The phrase eis ton opheilomenon topon ("to the due/owed place") reflects early sub-apostolic eschatology, affirming that martyrs immediately enter their promised heavenly reward (cf. Polycarp, Phil. 9.2).
ὑπομονῆς βραβεῖον (The prize of patient endurance): Combines brabeion (the award/victor’s wreath in Greek athletic games; cf. 1 Corinthians 9:24; Philippians 3:14) with hypomonē (steadfast endurance under trial), depicting salvation and martyrdom as a race honorably run.
τὸ τέρμα τῆς δύσεως (The boundary / limit of the West): A famous geographical phrase in patristic studies. In Roman literature of the 1st century, to terma tēs dyseōs referred to Spain (Hispania) or the Atlantic border, providing early textual support for Paul’s intended mission to Spain mentioned in Romans 15:24–28.
μέγιστος ὑπογραμμός (The greatest pattern / example): Uses hypogrammos (literally the foundational tracing line used by students learning to write; cf. 1 Peter 2:21; Polycarp, Phil. 8.2). Paul’s life and endurance serve as the exact master-copy for Christian discipleship.