Chapter 46
The division in Corinth
| 1 Τοιούτοις οὖν ὑποδείγμασιν κολληθῆναι καὶ ἡμᾶς δεῖ, ἀδελφοί. | Therefore, brothers, we should follow these examples. |
| 2 γέγραπται γάρ· Κολλᾶσθε τοῖς ἁγίοις, ὅτι οἱ κολλώμενοι αὐτοῖς ἁγιασθήσονται. | For it is written, "Follow the saints for those who follow them will be sanctified" {unknown source}. |
| 3 καὶ πάλιν ἐν ἑτέρῳ τόπῳ λέγει· Μετὰ ἀνδρὸς ἀθῴου ἀθῷος ἔσῃ καὶ μετὰ ἐκλεκτοῦ ἐκλεκτὸς ἔσῃ, καὶ μετὰ στρεβλοῦ διαστρέψεις. | And again in another place it says, "You will be innocent with the innocent man; you will be elect with the elect; you will deal crookedly with the crooked" {Ps. 18:25-26}. |
| 4 κολληθῶμεν οὖν τοῖς ἀθῴοις καὶ δικαίοις· εἰσὶν δὲ οὗτοι ἐκλεκτοὶ τοῦ θεοῦ. | Let’s therefore join with the innocent and righteous, for these are the elect of God. |
| 5 ἱνατί ἔρεις καὶ θυμοὶ καὶ διχοστασίαι καὶ σχίσματα πόλεμός τε ἐν ὑμῖν; | Why is there strife and passionate anger and dissension and schism and conflict among you? |
| 6 ἢ οὐχὶ ἕνα θεὸν ἔχομεν καὶ ἕνα Χριστὸν καὶ ἓν πνεῦμα τῆς χάριτος τὸ ἐκχυθὲν ἐφ' ἡμᾶς; καὶ μία κλῆσις ἐν Χριστῷ; |
don’t we have one God and one Christ and one Spirit of grace that was poured upon us? And isn’t there one calling in Christ? |
| 7 ἱνατί διέλκομεν καὶ διασπῶμεν τὰ μέλη τοῦ Χριστοῦ καὶ στασιάζομεν πρὸς τὸ σῶμα τὸ ἴδιον, καὶ εἰς τοσαύτην ἀπόνοιαν ἐρχόμεθα, ὥστε ἐπιλαθέσθαι ἡμᾶς, ὅτι μέλη ἐσμὲν ἀλλήλων; μνήσθητε τῶν λόγων Ἰησοῦ. τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν |
Why do we tear and rip apart the members of Christ, and stir up rebellions against our own body, and reach such a pitch of insanity as to forget that we are members of one another? Remember the words of our Lord Jesus, |
| 8 εἶπεν γάρ· Οὐαὶ τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ ἐκείνῳ· καλὸν ἦν αὐτῷ, εἰ οὐκ ἐγεννήθη, ἢ ἕνα τῶν ἐκλεκτῶν μου σκανδαλίσαι· κρεῖττον ἦν αὐτῷ περιτεθῆναι μύλον καὶ καταποντισθῆναι εἰς τὴν θάλασσαν, ἢ ἕνα τῶν ἐκλεκτῶν μου διαστρέψαι. |
For He said, “Woe to that man! It would have been good for him if he had not been born than that he should offend one of My elect. It would be better for him if a millstone were hanged about him and he were cast into the sea, than that he should mislead one of My elect” {Matt. 26:24; Luke 17:1-2}. |
| 9 τὸ σχίσμα ὑμῶν πολλοὺς διέστρεψεν, πολλούς εἰς ἀθυμίαν ἔβαλεν, πολλοὺς εἰς δισταγμόν, τοὺς πάντας ἡμᾶς εἰς λύπην· καὶ ἐπίμονος ὑμῶν ἐστιν ἡ στάσις. | Your schism has mislead many; it has brought many to despair, many to doubting, all of us to grief, and still your rebellion continues. |
Summary
In Chapter 46, Clement transitions from his survey of Old Testament martyrs and confessors to an urgent, direct appeal for ecclesial unity. He urges the Corinthians to "cleave" (κολληθῆναι) to these holy examples and to one another, warning that our company shapes our moral state: drawing near to the innocent brings sanctification, whereas association with the crooked leads to perversion (Psalm 17:26–27 LXX / Psalm 18:25–26 MT).
Clement then directly confronts the Corinthian assembly regarding their internal strife, unleashing a passionate series of rhetorical questions aimed at exposing the madness (ἀπόνοια) of their rebellion:
Trinitarian and Ecclesial Unity: Reminding them of the foundational oneness of the faith (Ephesians 4:4–6)—one God, one Christ, one Spirit of grace poured out upon us, and one calling in Christ—he asks why they are tearing apart (διέλκομεν καὶ διασπῶμεν) the very body of Christ of which they are individual members.
Warning of Judgment: He invokes the solemn words of the Lord Jesus regarding offenses (Matthew 26:24, 18:6 / Mark 9:42 / Luke 17:1–2), declaring that it would be better for a man to have a millstone tied around his neck and be drowned in the sea than to cause one of God’s elect to stumble or fall away.
Corporate Damage: Clement lays out the devastating pastoral fallout of their persistent factionalism (στάσις): it has subverted many, cast many into despair, sown doubt in others, and brought grief to the entire church.
Significant Greek Expressions
κολληθῆναι / κολλᾶσθε (To cleave / bind oneself to): Infinitive and imperative forms of kollaō (literally to glue together, cement, or bind closely; cf. 1 Clement 30.3, 31.1). Clement stresses that believers must deliberately adhere to holy paradigms and innocent brothers rather than schismatic ringleaders.
ἱνατί ἔρεις καὶ θυμοὶ καὶ διχοστασίαι καὶ σχίσματα (Why are there strifes, outbursts of rage, dissensions, and schisms?): A dense catalog of conflict terminology:
Ereis: contention, strife, rivalry.
Thymoi: outbursts of anger/rage.
Dichostasiai: dissensions, divisions, standing apart.
Schismata: schisms, tears, clefts in the body.
Clement uses this accumulation of terms to highlight the total breakdown of Christian love (agapē) in Corinth.
ἓν πνεῦμα τῆς χάριτος τὸ ἐκχυθὲν (One Spirit of grace poured out): A vibrant early trinitarian formulation closely echoing Ephesians 4:4–6. Uses ekcheō (to pour out/lavish; cf. Titus 3:6), emphasizing that the Holy Spirit given at conversion is an agent of binding unity, making schism a direct offense against the Spirit’s unifying work.
διέλκομεν καὶ διασπῶμεν τὰ μέλη (We drag apart and tear to pieces the members):
Dielkō: to drag apart, pull in opposite directions.
Diaspaō: to tear asunder, rend, rip apart.
A gruesome anatomical image: factionalism is not merely a difference of opinion, but the violent dismemberment of Christ’s physical/mystical body.
ἀπόνοιαν (Madness / insanity / folly): Aponoia denotes a state of being out of one’s mind, senseless folly, or reckless insanity. Clement characterizes the rebellion against presbyters as spiritual madness that blinds believers to their mutual membership in one another (μέλη ἐσμὲν ἀλλήλων).
μύλον (Millstone / upper millstone): Refers to a heavy stone used in a donkey-driven mill (mulos onikos). Quotation of Jesus' warning regarding scandal (skandalizō / diastrephō), accentuating the severe eschatological condemnation awaiting those who cause others to lose faith.
ἐπίμονος... ἡ στάσις (Persistent / stubborn is the rebellion): Adjective epimonos means long-lasting, stubborn, chronic, or persistent. Clement laments that this rebellion (stasis) is not a temporary lapse, but an ongoing, intractable disease paralyzing the Corinthian community.