Adversus Haereses, Adversus Alexandrinos: Analyzing Clement and Irenaeus Part 3

In this continuation of our exploration into the textual parallels between Clement of Alexandria and Irenaeus, we delve into another striking example that further challenges traditional assumptions about the relationship between these early Christian writings. Our focus this time is on passages from Clement’s Protrepticus and Irenaeus’s Adversus Haereses.

Clement Protrepticus 12.120.2-5 and Irenaeus Adversus Haereses 1.13.3

In his Protrepticus, Clement of Alexandria writes:

This Jesus, who is eternal, the one great High Priest of the one God, and of His Father, prays for and exhorts men. "Hear, ye myriad tribes, rather whoever among men are endowed with reason, both barbarians and Greeks. I call on the whole race of men, whose Creator I am, by the will of the Father. Come to Me, that you may be put in your due rank under the one God and the one Word of God; and do not only have the advantage of the irrational creatures in the possession of reason; for to you of all mortals I grant the enjoyment of immortality. For I want, I want to impart to you this grace (Ἐθέλω γάρ, ἐθέλω καὶ ταύτης ὑμῖν μεταδοῦναι τῆς χάριτος), bestowing on you the perfect boon of immortality; and I confer on you both the Word and the knowledge of God, My complete self. This am I, this God wills, this is symphony, this the harmony of the Father, this is the Son, this is Christ, this the Word of God, the arm of the Lord, the power of the universe, the will of the Father.

Irenaeus, in Adversus Haereses, presents a similar passage:

[Mark] devotes himself especially to women and those such as are well-bred, and elegantly attired, and of great wealth, whom he frequently seeks to draw after him, by addressing them in such seductive words as these: "I am eager to make thee a partaker of my Charis, since the Father of all doth continually behold thy angel before His face (μεταδοῦναί σοι θέλω τῆς ἐμῆς Χάριτος, ἐπειδὴ ὁ πατὴρ τῶν ὅλων τὸν ἄγγελόν σου διὰ παντὸς βλέπει πρὸ προσώπου αὐτοῦ). Now the place of thy angel is among us: it behooves us to become one.

Identifying the Parallels

The first scholar to notice a parallel between these texts was Bogdan Bucur, who observed the similarity in the use of Matt 18:10 in the Ps.-Clementine Homilies. Bucur argues that Clement’s exegesis of this passage is strikingly similar to that of Irenaeus’s Marcosians. Despite the different theological frameworks—one dualistic and the other rejecting dualism—the commonality lies in how both authors interpret the "Face of God" in Matt 18:10 as the enthroned "form" or "body" of God, identified with Christ.

Bucur's Argument and the Overlooked Citation

Bucur appeals to the discovery of a fragment of Irenaeus’s Adversus Haereses among the Oxyrhynchus Papyri to support the idea that Clement could have read Irenaeus. However, Bucur overlooks a crucial part of the sentence from Irenaeus, which is a verbatim citation of Clement’s Protrepticus. The relevant sentence in Protrepticus reads, "ἐθέλω καὶ ταύτης ὑμῖν μεταδοῦναι τῆς χάριτος," and is preserved in Adversus Haereses as "μεταδοῦναί σοι θέλω τῆς ἐμῆς χάριτος."

The Concept of "Partaking in Grace"

The concept of "partaking in grace" appears elsewhere in Protrepticus and constitutes a crucial element of Clement’s original appeal to non-believers. A prior mention of "τῆς χάριτος μεταλάμβανε" introduces the "New Song" motif, in which a same-sex pairing of believers is depicted dancing and reveling among the "chorus of prophets." It is plausible to suggest that Irenaeus drew his portrayal of a nefarious "plot" by Marcus to deflower virgins with the "false promise" of granting them prophecy from this source.

Additionally, it might be relevant that the Markan tradition, as identified by Eusebius’s use of De Vita Contemplativa, attributes the establishment of women among the chorus of prophets in the monasteries in Egypt to Mark. Irenaeus is again paraphrasing Clement, rather than Clement borrowing from Irenaeus.

Conclusion

This third examination of verbatim parallels between Clement and Irenaeus strengthens the argument that Adversus Haereses was composed after Clement's Protrepticus. It highlights the need to reevaluate traditional assumptions about the origins and influences of early Christian texts. By recognizing Irenaeus's reliance on Clement, we gain deeper insights into the development of early Christian thought and the intricate web of influences that shaped it. As we continue to uncover these connections, it becomes increasingly clear that the textual landscape of early Christianity is more complex and interconnected than previously thought.