The Notion of ‘Heresy’ in Stromateis VII and its Use in Clement of Alexandria’s Polemic

Abstract

This chapter states that Clement of Alexandria's fundamental disagreement with various Christian adversaries emerged from two sources: first, his theory of scriptural exegesis and second, his ecclesiology. Clement's exegesis and ecclesiology led to a coherent ethical, didactic, and theological outlook. The seventh book of the Stromateis provides us with the enormous richness of Clement's rhetorical tools used to undermine and even ridicule the religious deviation of heresy. Clement of Alexandria produces one of the earliest coherent Christian notions of the church, which refers to: unity as a mark of the truth versus diversity as a mark of errors; and antiquity as a mark of authenticity versus novelty as a mark of recent diversions. Clement is sure that the truth can be discerned with human reason and critically and rationally verified, while error, like delusion or false perception, comes from sense perception and self-deception. Keywords:Alexandria; Christian; Clement; ecclesiology; exegesis; heresy; Stromateis