On behalf of Veronika Hrůšová and Miklós Gyurkovics, the main organizers of the Third International Conference on Clement of Alexandria (Colloquium Clementinum III) and the co-editors of this volume, I would like to write a few preliminary words to give the project some historical and personal perspective.
In 2023 the Third International Conference on Clement of Alexandria was held in the Nyíregyháza (Hungary), sponsored by the Greek Catholic Theological Institute of Saint Athanasius in Nyíregyháza and the Faculty of Theology of Saints Cyril and Methodius of Palacký University in Olomouc (Czech Republic). The collaboration between these two institutions and, more generally, between Czech and Hungarian scholars, grew out of a group of researchers in both countries who had started to publish monographs, translations, and articles connected with the works of Clement of Alexandria. This collaboration resulted in a first conference in 2010 on the Seventh Book of Clement’s Stromateis and a second on Clement’s Biblical Exegesis in 2014. Both conferences were held in the charming Moravian town of Olomouc (Iuliomontium) at Palacký University.
The first conference itself was a novelty, and most specialists in the “Clementine field” had flocked to the Czech Republic, partly out of delight that a group of young and enthusiastic scholars had organized such an event, partly out of curiosity to find out who these “youngsters” were. It was only a two decades after the fall of the Berlin wall, and academic travel to Eastern Europe had just started to become more common. It was a happy reunion for the “old guard,” and an occasion for the “youngsters” to interact closely with people whom until that time they only might have known as titles of books.
The novelty of the event was also caused by the fact that in the past there had not been any full-fledged conference dedicated solely to Clement of Alexandria. Thus far, Clement had merely been a footnote of or perhaps an appendix to conferences of his more well-known Alexandrian colleague, Origen. The conference in Olomouc was labeled “international” and it certainly deserved that title by surpassing the boundaries of the two organizing countries. As it turned out, scholars from most western European countries were present, in addition to a substantial delegation from the North American continent.
At the second conference four years later in 2014, distinctions between “old” and “new” participants no longer existed—a nice blending of generations had taken place. In this conference the focus was on Clement’s biblical exegesis. It was a good choice, since it gave attention to a side of Clement that had been under-appreciated compared to the research done on his relationship to Greek literary and philosophical culture. The proceedings appeared soon after both conferences and found their appropriate place in Brill’s Supplements to Vigiliae Christianae series.1 Our colleague, Judith Kovacs, of the University of Virginia, who was an important contributor to both conferences and a diligent and helpful co-editor of the second volume regrettably passed away four years ago.
After an interruption of nine years, partly caused by the Covid epidemic, the third conference was held in the attractive town of Nyíregyháza in north-east Hungary near the famous Tokaj wine region. The conference clearly showed that its format has reached maturity and that the next generation would be able to carry the torch forward. The conference added modern technology; participants from as far away as Australia could join. As at the first conference, one particular work by Clement was selected, this time his Pedagogue. Our colleague Emanuela Prinzivalli pointed out in her introductory survey that it was a great opportunity (and I would add, a great privilege) to work closely for a few days with colleagues on one text. Though we still can look and learn from the magisterial introduction by Henri Marrou in Sources Chrétiennes over 60 years ago2 and from the more recent survey by Alain Le Boulluec of Clement and his works,3 we sincerely hope this volume will contribute to fresh perspectives and new understandings of the thoughts of Clement. His interpretation of scripture, his explorations of theological themes, and his openness to the surrounding cultural and intellectual world, make him a unique witness of the nascent Christian teachings of the late second and early third century.
Rome, March 5, 2024
Matyáš Havrda, Vít Hušek, and Jana Plátová, eds., The Seventh Book of the Stromateis. Proceedings of the Colloquium on Clement of Alexandria (Olomouc, October 21–23, 2010) (VCSup 117, Leiden: Brill, 2012). Veronika Černušková, Judith Lee Kovacs, and Jana Plátová, eds., in cooperation with Vít Hušek, Clement’s Biblical Exegesis. Proceedings of the Second Colloquium on Clement of Alexandria (Olomouc, May 29–31, 2014) (VCSup 139, Leiden: Brill, 2016).
Henri-Irénée Marrou, “Introduction générale,” in Clément d’Alexandrie, Le pédagogue, livre I (SC 70, Paris: Cerf, 1960), 7–21.
Alain Le Boulluec, “Clément d’Alexandrie,” in Gilles Dorival and Alain Le Boulluec, eds., L’Abeille et l’Acier: Clément d’Alexandrie et Origène (Paris: Les Belles Lettres, 2019), 11–163; idem, “Clément d’Alexandrie,” in Bernard Pouderon, ed., Histoire de la littérature grecque des origines à 451, vol. 3 De Clément d’Alexandrie à Eusèbe de Césarée (Paris: Les Belles Lettres, 2017), 56–168.