Authorship and Date
In the case of the first epistle the scholarly consensus is overwhelmingly in favour of its authenticity, whereas by contrast it is widely accepted that the second epistle is not to be attributed to Clement. Many scholars believe 1 Clement was written around the same time as the Book of Revelation, c. 95-97 AD. Neither 1 nor 2 Clement was accepted in the canonical New Testament, but they are part of the Apostolic Fathers collection.
The First Epistle does not contain Clement's name, instead being addressed by "the Church of God which sojourneth in Rome to the Church of God which sojourneth in Corinth." The traditional date for Clement's epistle, which has been elicited by the Epistle to the Hebrews's call for leadership from the church in Rome and is permeated with the earlier letter's influence, is at the end of the reign of Domitian, or c. 96 AD, by taking the phrase "sudden and repeated misfortunes and hindrances which have befallen us" (1:1) for a reference to persecutions under Domitian. An indication of the date comes from the fact that the church at Rome is called "ancient" and that the presbyters installed by the apostles have died (44:2), and a second ecclesiastical generation has also passed on (44:3).
Read more about this topic: First Epistle Of Clement
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