Clement of Alexandria
Hymn to Christ the Savior is considered to be the oldest preserved Christian poem. It was composed in ancient Alexandria, Egypt, around the year 190, in an ancient and complex Greek meter, with a picturesque language using many archaic expressions referring to classical Greek authors.
The author of the hymn, a theologian and teacher of the local church community, Clement, included it at the end of his work The Instructor, in which he summarized basic teachings for Christians, a kind of necessary preparation or “preschool education,” without which, in his opinion, it is not possible to enter into a deeper understanding of Christian doctrine.
The emphasis here is primarily on spiritual childhood, into which one enters through baptismal rebirth and which means not only acceptance as God's children but also the adoption of childlike innocence, simplicity, purity, freedom, and “untamed” by evil,1 humility, generosity, teachability, and devotion. The hymn summarizes the most important elements of the whole book and gives thanks to Jesus as the only true Instructor of the believers.
In antiquity itself, this hymn was not very well known. Since the nineteenth century, its translations into various languages have been set to music several times and are a beloved part of many hymnals. A translation of the entire work The Instructor, including this concluding hymn, will be published this year by Oikúmené Publishing House.
1The bridle of untamed foals,
the wing of harmless birds,
the rudder of infallible ships,
shepherds of royal sheep,5gather your simple children,
let them sing holy,
praise purely
with innocent mouths
10Christ, the leader of children.King of saints,
Word of the Most High Father
subduing all,
ruler of wisdom,
15support in labors
ever joyful,
Jesus, Savior
of mortal kind,
shepherds, plowmen,
20rudder, bridle,
wing that lifts
the most holy flock
fisher of men
saved from the ocean of evil,
25luring innocent fish
with the bait of sweet life
out of the hostile waves.Holy shepherd
of spiritual sheep,
30rule, O King,
over innocent children:
the footsteps of Christ
are the way to heaven.35The everlasting Word,
age without end,
eternal light,
source of mercy,
creator of virtue
40in those who praise God
with a worthy life.Christ Jesus,
heavenly milk
from the sweet breasts
45of the glorious Bride,
your wisdom,
gushing forth.
The little ones,
who guard the delicacy of their mouths,
50filled
with the dew of the Spirit
from the bosom of the Word,
let us dance together
55in simple praise,
in infallible songs
to King Christ
as a sacred tribute
for the life-giving teaching;
60let us be a humble company
of the mighty Child.Procession of peace,
balanced people,
offspring of Christ,
65let us sing together
to the God of peace.
Two explanatory notes on the hymn text:
To verse 2: “the wing of harmless birds.” According to Plato's Phaedrus, the soul of man, in contact with divine beauty, wisdom, and goodness, grows wings. Clement builds on this image and says that “wings on the way to the heavenly Jerusalem” are given to the person who completely surrenders to God and strives to resemble Him (especially with mercy).
To verses 21–22: “the wing that lifts to heaven / the most holy flock.” Here Clement surprisingly used the word “flock,” even though the idea of winged sheep is somewhat bizarre. (The term used here for “flock” in Greek is used for sheep and, by extension, also for people – which by the way is also used in old texts independent of the Bible). However, in connection with the image of a winged human soul, the idea of a winged “flock” becomes more acceptable.
(Translated from Greek and introduced with notes by Veronika Černušková.)
