Traditionally known as Pope Clement I, Clement of Rome is among the earliest Christian authors writing under their own name whose writings survive in the form of a single authentic text: the First Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians. Active at the end of the 1st century, Clement’s letter was written at the same time as the gospels and most of other texts that were included in the New Testament. Indeed, had he written pseudonymously under the name of an apostle, like the two different authors who wrote epistles of Peter, his writing might have been canonized. Instead, Clement is considered the first “Apostolic Father” — the earliest known Christian writer living after the age of the apostles. Clement’s letter gives us an important glimpse into the development of Christianity, including the church in Rome. Was Clement bishop of Rome? He doesn’t claim to be. Had Peter been the first bishop of Rome? Clement makes no such claim. Was the church in Rome governed by a single bishop in Clement’s day? John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will explore what we can know about Clement of Rome, and what his writings tell us about early Christian history.