top1 Clement-60 prev next
Chapter 60
Prayer is continued
1 Σὺ γὰρ τὴν ἀέναον τοῦ κόσμου σύστασιν διὰ τῶν ἐνεργουμένων ἐφανεροποίησας·
σύ, κύριε, τὴν οἰκουμένην ἔκτισας, ὁ πιστὸς ἐν πάσαις ταῖς γενεαῖς, δίκαιος ἐν τοῖς κρίμασιν, θαυμαστὸς ἐν ἰσχύϊ καὶ μεγαλοπρεπείᾳ, ὁ σοφὸς ἐν τῷ κτίζειν καὶ συνετὸς ἐν τῷ τὰ γενόμενα ἑδράσαι, ὁ ἀγαθὸς ἐν τοῖς ὁρωμένοις καὶ χρηστὸς ἐν τοῖς πεποιθόσιν ἐπὶ σέ, ἐλεῆμον καὶ οἰκτίρμον,
ἄφες ἡμῖν τὰς ἀνομίας ἡμῶν καὶ τὰς ἀδικίας καὶ τὰ παραπτώματα καὶ πλημμελείας. 		Through Your works, You have revealed the everlasting structure of the world.
You, Lord, created the earth.
You are faithful throughout all generations, righteous in Your judgments, marvelous in strength and majesty, wise in creating and prudent in establishing Your works, good in the things that are seen and faithful to those who trust You, merciful and compassionate.
Forgive our law-breaking acts, our unrighteousness, our transgressions, and our negligences.
2 μὴ λογίσῃ πᾶσαν ἁμαρτίαν δούλων σου καὶ παιδισκῶν, ἀλλὰ καθάρισον ἡμᾶς τὸν καθαρισμὸν τῆς σῆς ἀληθείας, καὶ κατεύθυνον τὰ διαβήματα ἡμῶν ἐν ὁσιότητι καρδίας πορεύεσθαι καὶ ποιεῖν τὰ καλὰ καὶ εὐάρεστα ἐνώπιόν σου καὶ ἐνώπιον τῶν ἀρχόντων ἡμῶν. don’t take into account every sin of Your male servants and Your female servants, but cleanse us with the cleansing of Your truth, guide our steps to walk in godliness, righteousness, and purity of heart, and to do what is good and pleasing in Your sight and in the sight of our rulers.
3 ναί, δέσποτα, ἐπίφανον τὸ πρόσωπόν σου ἐφ' ἡμᾶς εἰς ἀγαθὰ ἐν εἰρήνῃ, εἰς τὸ σκεπασθῆναι ἡμᾶς τῇ χειρί σου τῇ κραταιᾷ καὶ ῥυσθῆναι ἀπὸ πάσης ἁμαρτίας τῷ βραχίονί σου τῷ ὑψηλῷ, καὶ ῥῦσαι ἡμᾶς ἀπὸ τῶν μισούντων ἡμᾶς ἀδίκως. Yes, Master, let Your face shine upon us in peace for our good, so that we may be sheltered by Your mighty hand and delivered from every sin by Your uplifted arm.
Deliver us from those who hate us unjustly.
4 δὸς ὁμόνοιαν καὶ εἰρήνην ἡμῖν τε καὶ πᾶσιν τοῖς κατοικοῦσιν τὴν γῆν, καθὼς ἔδωκας τοῖς πατράσιν ἡμῶν, ἐπικαλουμένων σε αὐτῶν ὁσίως ἐν πίστει καὶ ἀληθείᾳ, [ὥστε σῴζεσθαι ἡμᾶς] ὑπηκόους γινομένους τῷ παντοκράτορι καὶ ἐνδόξῳ ὀνόματί σου, τοῖς τε ἄρχουσιν καὶ ἡγουμένοις ἡμῶν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς. Give harmony and peace to us and to all who live on the earth, as You gave to our fathers when they called on You in faith and truth with holiness, [that we may be saved,] while we are obedient to Your almighty and glorious name, and to our rulers and governors upon the earth.
Summary
In Chapter 60, Clement continues the Great Liturgical Prayer, moving from the cosmic majesty of God to an earnest petition for forgiveness, spiritual guidance, and divine protection.

God as Creator and Preserver: Clement praises God as the Creator (κτίστης) who revealed the eternal structure of the cosmos (τὴν ἀέναον τοῦ κόσμου σύστασιν). He highlights God’s unwavering faithfulness across all generations, His justice in judgment, His wisdom in creation, and His loving-kindness toward those who trust in Him.

Petition for Cleansing and Guidance: Acknowledging human frailty, Clement pleads for total pardon for all sins, transgressions, and shortcomings (ἀνομίας, ἀδικίας, παραπτώματα, πλημμελείας). He petitions God to purify the community with His truth and direct their steps to walk in holiness of heart, doing what is good and pleasing in His sight and before earthly rulers.

Prayer for Concord and Protection: Clement begs the Sovereign Lord (δέσποτης) to make His face shine upon them in peace, shielding them with His mighty hand (χείρ κραταιά) and delivering them from unjust enemies. Finally, he asks God to grant concord (ὁμόνοια) and peace to all inhabitants of the earth, enabling them to be obedient to His almighty name and to their earthly leaders (τοῖς ἄρχουσιν καὶ ἡγουμένοις).
Significant Greek Expressions
τὴν ἀέναον τοῦ κόσμου σύστασιν (The everlasting constitution / order of the world):

 Aenaos: ever-flowing, perpetual, eternal (from aei "always" + naō "to flow").

 Systasis: constitution, arrangement, order, cohesion (cf. Colossians 1:17: "in him all things hold together" / synestēken). Refers to the fixed, perpetual harmony of the physical creation, which Clement repeatedly invokes as a cosmological model for church order and harmony (homonoia).

ὁ σοφὸς ἐν τῷ κτίζειν καὶ συνετὸς ἐν τῷ τὰ γενόμενα ἑδράσαι (The wise in creating and understanding in establishing what has come to be):

 Hedrazō: to make stable, establish, fix firmly on a foundation (from hedra, "seat" or "base"). Emphasizes that creation is not chaotic, but anchored by divine wisdom—a foundational stability that God also intends for His ecclesial community.

πλημμελείας (Trespasses / faults / errors): Noun plēmmeleia (from plēmmelēs, out of tune, discordant, off-key). Originally a musical term describing a false or discordant note; in the LXX and early Christian literature, it denotes a breach of covenant or a moral deviation. Highly fitting in a context opposing factional dissonance.

κατεύθυνον τὰ διαβήματα ἡμῶν (Direct our steps):

 Kateuthynō: to make straight, guide, direct straight toward a goal (cf. 1 Thessalonians 3:11, 2 Thessalonians 3:5).

 Diabēma: step, pace, stride (frequent LXX idiom; e.g., Psalm 36:23 LXX / Psalm 37:23 MT). A metaphor depicting Christian morality as a straight, ordered walk along a divinely designated path.

ἐνώπιον τῶν ἀρχόντων ἡμῶν (In the presence of / before our rulers): Uses archōn (ruler, magistrate, leader). Shows that Christian conduct must be blameless not only before God, but also in the eyes of secular Roman authorities, ensuring that the church gives no cause for public reproach.

τῇ χειρί σου τῇ κραταιᾷ... τῷ βραχίονί σου τῷ ὑψηλῷ (By Your mighty hand... Your uplifted arm): Traditional LXX covenantal and exodus formulas (cheir krataia, brachiōn hypsēlos; cf. Deuteronomy 4:34, 5:15, Psalm 135:12 LXX). Invokes God’s redemptive power in salvation history to shield the Church from spiritual and physical enemies.

ὑπηκόους γινομένους τῷ παντοκράτορι... ὀνόματί σου, τοῖς τε ἄρχουσιν (Becoming obedient to Your almighty name, and to our rulers):

 Pantokratōr: Almighty, All-ruling, Sovereign over all.

 Hypēkoos: submissive, obedient. Parallel structure linking obedience to God’s supreme authority with proper submission to civil rulers (archontes and hēgoumenoi), prefiguring the formal prayer for civil authorities that immediately follows in Chapter 61.