St. Clement of Alexandria

St. Clement of Alexandria was born around 150, probably at Athens, and died around 215. A convert who traveled widely in search of Christian teachers, he settled at Alexandria in Egypt, then a great center of learning, where he led the renowned catechetical school and taught the young Origen. He wrote during a period when the faith was engaging the wider intellectual world of the Greco-Roman East.

In works such as the Protrepticus, the Paedagogus, and the Stromata, he sought to show that the best of Greek philosophy could serve as a preparation for the Gospel and that faith and reason are allies, presenting Christ as the true Teacher who leads the soul to God. One of the earliest Christian scholars to attempt this synthesis, he is regarded as a Father of the Church and is venerated as a saint, especially in the Eastern Christian tradition.