This volume presents five essays on the ancient rhetorical background of the First Letter of Clement. It contains reprints of classical studies by Harnack, Jaeger and van Unnik, furthermore two new essays presented by the editors C. Breytenbach and L. Welborn.

Cilliers Breytenbach, Dr.theol. (1983), Dr.theol. habil. (1986), Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Munich, is Professor of Literature and Religion of Early Christianity at the Humboldt University, Berlin and Visiting Professor for New Testament at the University of Stellenbosch (South Africa). He has published extensively on a wide range of topics concerning New Testament theology and the history and literature of Early Christianity.
Laurence L. Welborn, Ph.D. (1993), Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee (USA), is Professor of New Testament and Early Christian Literature at United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio (USA). His publications focus mainly on Paul's Corinthian correspondence and the First Epistle of Clement in relationship to the Roman literary tradition.