Saint Clement I

Saint Clement I, b ?, d ca 97. Apostolic church father and pope (ca 88–97). Several important early church writings, including the Letter to the Church of Corinth and an important collection of ecclesiastical law, have been attributed to him. It is believed that Clement I died a martyr in Chersonese Taurica in the Crimea. His reputed relics were brought to Rome in 867–8 by Saint Cyril and Saint Methodius and were deposited in the Basilica of Saint Clement. According to legend, some relics that remained in Chersonese were taken to Kyiv by Volodymyr the Great and deposited in the Church of the Tithes. For this reason Clement was honored throughout Rus’-Ukraine on 8 December (25 November OS). Cardinal Yosyf Slipy named the Ukrainian Catholic University (Rome) in his honor.

[This article originally appeared in the Encyclopedia of Ukraine, vol. 4 (1993).]