# 2 Clement 14.2

- Author: Anonymous
- Work: [2 Clement](https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/2-clement/) (*Clementis ad Corinthios epistula secunda*)
- Date: ca. 100–150 (disputed)
- Source: Lake, LCL 24:150; Kirsopp Lake, ed. and trans., The Apostolic Fathers, vol. 1, LCL 24 (London: Heinemann; New York: Macmillan, 1912), 128–161 (Greek text: K. Lake, The Apostolic Fathers (LCL, 1912-1913), digitized by the First Thousand Years of Greek project (Open Greek and Latin), CC BY-SA 4.0)
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-26
- Canonical URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/2-clement/14/2/

Summary: The church, Christ's body and bride, existed from the beginning.

## Greek text

οὐκ οἴομαι δὲ ὑμᾶς ἀγνοεῖν, ὅτι ἐκκλησία ζῶσα σῶμά ἐστιν Χριστοῦ· λέγει γὰρ ἡ γραφή· Ἐποίησεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν ἄνθρωπον ἅρσεν καὶ θῆλυ· τὸ ἄρσεν ἐστὶν ὁ Χριστός, τὸ θῆλυ ἡ ἐκκλησία· καὶ ἔτι τὰ βιβλία καὶ οἱ ἀπόστολοι τὴν ἐκκλησίαν οὐ νῦν εἶναι λέγουσιν ἀλλὰ ἄνωθεν. ἦν γὰρ πνευματική, ὡς καὶ ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἡμῶν, ἐφανερώθη δὲ ἐπʼ ἐσχάτων τῶν ἡμερῶν, ἵνα ἡμᾶς σώσῃ.

## English translation (Claude)

And I do not suppose that you are ignorant that the living church is the body of Christ; for the scripture says, “God made man male and female”: the male is Christ, the female is the church. And moreover the books and the apostles say that the church is not of the present but from the beginning. For it was spiritual, as was our Jesus also, but was made manifest in the last days so that he might save us.

## Scripture references

- Gen 1:27: quotation, high confidence
- Eph 1:22: allusion, medium confidence
- Eph 1:23: allusion, medium confidence
- Eph 5:23: allusion, medium confidence
- Eph 5:32: allusion, medium confidence
- 1 Pet 1:20: echo, medium confidence

## Translation notes

- “The books and the apostles”: probably the Old Testament scriptures and the apostolic writings; an early witness to the two being named together.

## Citation (SBL)

2 Clem. 14.2 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/2-clement/14/2/).