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SerbianOrthodoxChurch.net
He was born in 258 in the town of Ancyra of a pagan father and a Christian mother. His devout mother, Euphrosyne, prophesied a martyr's death for her son, and left this world when Clement was twelve years old. Her friend Sophia took Clement into her own home as her son and saw that he was brought up a Christian. Cle-ment became so famed for his virtuous life that he was chosen as bishop of Ancyra at the age of twenty. He acquired a mature wis-dom in his early years, and harnessed and conquered his body by great restraint. He ate only bread and vegetables, and never any-thing slaughtered or with blood. In the reign of Diocletian, he was tortured as terribly `as anyone has ever been since the foundation of the world'. He spent twenty-eight years under torture and imprison-ment. Eleven different torturers tormented him. When, at one time, they were smiting him on the face, spitting on him and break-ing his teeth, he cried out to Domentian the torturer: `You are doing me honour, O Domentian, not torturing me, for the mouth of my Lord Jesus Christ was struck in like manner, and His cheeks slap-ped; and lo, 1, unworthy as I am, am now made worthy of this!' When he was brought before the Emperor Diocletian in Rome, the Emperor placed on one side various instruments of torture, and on the other side gifts - medals, clothing, money - whatever the Emperor was able to bestow, and then told Clement to choose. Christ's martyr, with a scornful glance at all the Emperor's gifts, chose the instruments of torture. And he was terribly tortured; piece by piece the flesh was flayed from his body until the bones showed white beneath. He was healed of these wounds, and was finally beheaded by a soldier in 312, while he was presiding at the Liturgy as bishop in the church in Ancyra. St Clement's miracles are without number.
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SerbianOrthodoxChurch.net * From "The Prologue from Ochrid", by Bishop Nikolai Velimirovic - Lazarica Press - Birmingham 1985 Four Book Edition - Translated by Mother Maria - Dates based on old church calendar. Please see our calendar for conversion between old and new calendar dates. |