'''Clement of [[Rome]]''' (active AD 90-100) is regarded as "The first Christian scholar" and became a [[saint]]. As a Bishop or Elder of the Church in Rome, he wrote a letter in about AD 96 to settle a dispute in the Corinthian church. The church had replaced its leaders with new, more youthful men. Clement argued that there was a 'chain of command' in the church: God the Father sent [[Christ]], [[Christ]] appointed [[the apostles]] and the apostles commissioned the [[bishop]]s. Though at his time there was clearly some truth in this, those who came after him developed this argument into the Roman [[Catholic]] doctrine of succession. | '''Clement of [[Rome]]''' (active AD 90-100) is regarded as "The first Christian scholar" and became a [[saint]]. As a Bishop or Elder of the Church in Rome, he wrote a letter in about AD 96 to settle a dispute in the Corinthian church. The church had replaced its leaders with new, more youthful men. Clement argued that there was a 'chain of command' in the church: God the Father sent [[Christ]], [[Christ]] appointed [[the apostles]] and the apostles commissioned the [[bishop]]s. Though at his time there was clearly some truth in this, those who came after him developed this argument into the Roman [[Catholic]] doctrine of succession. |