CLEM'ENTI'NA, or PSEUDO-CLEMEN TINE (sii'da-klOn'en-t ) WRITINGS (Lat. nom. pl., from Gk. KXna/vrta, Kiementia, from Lat. Clemens, Clement). A collection of dis courses and stories, bearing the name of Clement of Rome (q.v.), of uncertain authorship and date, but in their present form not earlier than the beginning of the third century. The first external testimony to their existence is found in the writings of Origen (died e.254). The groundwork upon which the compilation rests may, perhaps, date from the second century. The pseudo-Clementine literature includes twenty Homilk•s, ten Recognitions, and an Epitome, which were all written in Greek. The last is relatively unimportant. In the Homilies and Recognitions we have what purports to be the story of Clement's career, in company with his teacher, the Apostle Peter. The bulk of the nar rative consists of an unsystematic and frequently interrupted account of the experiences of Peter with the arch-heretic Simon Magus, with whom he carries on doctrinal and ethical discussions, and whom he victoriously follows from place to place, founding churches on the way.
The theological position of the writer is clear ly discernible. He is a -Jewish Christian Gnostic,
perhaps of the sect. of Elkesaites (q.v.). He ig nores (some would say. opposes) Paul, and exalts the person of James. "the Lord's brother." It is for the sake of the teaching contained, rather than for the sake of any historical narration, that the Omen/it/a exist. This purpose appears most plainly in the Hon/ilk's. The Recogni tions traverse the same general ground. but with variation of treatment and with greater atten tion to the events themselves. Historical criti cism has not yet reached definite conclusions on all the problems presented by these curious writings. That there has been more or less work ing over of earlier material is generally con ceded. Recent opinion inclines toward Syria as the probable home of the work on which the writings are based (Uhlhorn). and toward Rome as a possible source for the books in their present form (Harnack). But we have thus far no means of constructing even a plausible hypothesis as to the person or persons by whom they were recast.