An Anonymous Early Christian Sermon (also called 2 Clement)

Brief description:

This anonymous writing seems to be a written record of a spoken message given to an assembly of Christians. For unknown reasons this writing has been historically connected with 1 Clement. It is generally considered to have been written some time in the early to mid second century (although possibly from the late first century). This makes it the oldest surviving recorded spoken message to a group of Christians.

The complete Greek text of 2 Clement was not rediscovered until 1873. Therefore, any translations before that date contain only part of the sermon.

Suggested first translation(s):

An easy-to-read, modern English translation that is freely available is the one by Cyril C. Richardson from 1953 listed below.

English translations:

• William Wake (translated ~1719)
  • The Genuine Epistles of the Apostolical Fathers… (published 1719) — facsimile
  • The Genuine Epistles of the Apostolical Fathers… (published 1810) — facsimile
  • The Suppressed Gospels and Epistles of the Original New Testament of Jesus the Christ, volume. 6 — text/HTML
• Temple Chevallier (translated ~1833)
  • A translation of the epistles of Clement of Rome, Polycarp, and Ignatius : and of the apologies of Justin Martyr and Tertullian (published 1833) — facsimile
    • second edition (published 1851) — facsimile
• Joseph Barber Lightfoot (translated ~1869/appendix translated ~1877, 2nd edition ~1890)
  • S. Clement of Rome. The Two Epistles to the Corinthians. (published 1869) — facsimile
    • This translation, although incomplete, has extensive notes.
  • S. Clement of Rome. An Appendix Containing The Newly Recovered Portions. (published 1877) — facsimile
  • The Apostolic Fathers. Part I. Vol I. S. Clement of Rome (2nd edition, published 1890)
  • The Apostolic Fathers. Part I. Vol II. S. Clement of Rome (2nd edition, published 1890)
• Joseph Barber Lightfoot/J.R. Harmer (translated ~1891)
  • The Apostolic Fathers (published 1912) — facsimile
  • The Apostolic Fathers (published 1891) — text/HTML
• John Keith (translated ~1897)
  • Ante-Nicene Fathers volume 9 (published 1897)
    • read online
• Kirsopp Lake (translated ~1912)
  • The Apostolic Fathers, Volume I (published 1912) — facsimile
    • read online
• Anonymous (Editorial Secretary of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge) (translated ~1922)
  • An English Translation of the So-Called Second Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians (published 1922) — text/HTML
  • An English Translation of the So-Called Second Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians (published 1922) — facsimile
• Francis X. Glimm (translated ~1947)
  • The Apostolic Fathers, Volume 1 of The Fathers of the Church: A New Translation, The Catholic University of America Press (published 1947)
• Edgar J. Goodspeed (translated ~1950)
  • The Apostolic Fathers: An American Translation, Harper & Brothers. (published 1950)
• Cyril C. Richardson (translated ~1953)
  • Early Christian Fathers (published 1953)
    • read online
• Robert M. Grant/Holt H. Graham (translated ~1965)
  • First and Second Clement Volume 2 in The Apostolic Fathers: A New Translation and Commentary, Thomas Nelson (published 1965)
• Michael W. Holmes (translated 1989-2007)
  • The Apostolic Fathers in English, Baker Academic (various editions, published 1989-2006)
  • The Apostolic Fathers: Greek Texts and English Translations of Their Writings, Baker Academic (various editions, published 1992-2007)
• Bart D. Ehrman (translated ~2003)
  • The Apostolic Fathers, Volume I, Harvard University Press (published 2003)
• Christopher Tuckett (translated ~2012)
  • 2 Clement: Introduction, Text and Commentary, Oxford University Press (published 2012) — facsimile/preview
• Rick Brannan (translated ~2017)
  • The Apostolic Fathers: A New Translation, Lexham Press (published 2017)
• William Varner (translated ~2020)
  • Second Clement: An Introductory Commentary, Cascade Books (published 2020) — facsimile/preview