Stuart Thomson - The Apostolic Succession: Priests and Teachers in Clement of Alexandria

‘The Alexandrian School’ forms a key part of the narrative of any history of the early Church, but there is a great deal of debate as to the nature and even existence of the ‘school’ itself as an institution. Rather than attempting a traditional historical reconstruction, however, this paper will look at the internal evidence from Clement of Alexandria to uncover his vision of what the role of the Christian teacher was, and how he constructed and presented authority as exercised within the Church.

     It will be argued that even if a formal position of ‘head of the catechetical school’ is invented for Origen, it is by no means a new creation, but a reworked edition of a familiar element in Alexandria’s ecclesial life: a succession of particularly noted teachers which was most conspicious for an elite intellectual level of instruction. The idea of an authoritative tradition, paradosis, is key to Clement’s conception of authentic Christianity; unlike Irenaeus’ account of paradosis, however, it is not dependent on a particular office or status within the Church. Rather, it is the demonstrable level of paideia, the literary and intellectual presention of the tradition, that guarantees the preservation of the apostolic truth. True succession is demonstrated not through ordination, but through evidence of intellectual sophistication, in an agonistic educational environment. 

     This is not to underplay the significance of an ordained clergy in Clement’s writing; Clement’s own claims to authority are often expressed in metaphors dependent on the authority of the clergy in the liturgy. A parallel and separate authority, however, is claimed for the teacher. There is no sense in which, according to Clement, his model Christian teacher (even if a layman) could be subordinate to an ordained presbyter. Clement sees himself as the guardian of the Apostolic tradition; the priesthood is present as an authoritative liturgical and social institution, but not authoritative in a teaching or doctrinal capacity. The succession of intellectual Christian teachers, educated above and beyond most ordinary Christians, claimed and maintained its authority through its ability to teach, interpret, and therefore exercise control most effectively over the fundamental textual, biblical basis of the Christian faith.