Christos Didaskalos

The study shows how Clement connects his disitnctive christology to the images of the New Song, the didaskalos, and High Priest. Clement's conception of God's logos embedded in these images permeates in a comprehensive fashion the social, ethno-cultural, and specifically religious reality of late second century Alexandria. Christian paideia is the innermost component and vehicle through which Clement's theological program fuses the New Song theme with the mystical reading of the image of Christ the High Priest. Clement's conceptions of Christian paideia and divine didaskalos are not simply figurative and interpretative categories of reality and quests for the identity of Jesus from Nazareth. They constitute a totality that calls for a change and concrete action that requires a lifetime commitment and a specific daily manner of conduct. The pedagogical approach adopts a form of persuasion through language. This theological rhetoric is augmented by the employment of pens and books, compositions, rehearsals, interpretation, and proclamation of Christian values.