The Catechetical School of
Alexandria
The Catechetical School of Alexandria was founded about the year 180 by
Pantaenus, of whom little is known. What is known of him is given by
Eusebius in his History of the Church (5, 10-11): he was a Hebrew of
Palestine who traveled to Egypt and there studied Stoic philosophy.
Afterwards, he impressed his knowledge of the Greek philosophers into the
service of Christianity. During his twenty years at the helm of his school he
also traveled to the East, reaching southern Arabia or even India. There, he
found Christians possessing the Gospel of St. Matthew in Hebrew, given
them by the Apostle Bartholomew. Pantaenus died around the year 200 and
was succeeded by his earnest disciple, St. Clement of Alexandria. St.
Clement would later refer to his mentor as “a Hebrew of Palestine, greater
than all the others in ability, whom having hunted out in his concealment in
Egypt, I found rest.”
St. Clement of Alexandria was born of pagan parents in Athens around the
year 150 AD. The circumstances concerning his conversion are unknown,
but it is supposed that he was attracted to Christianity by the nobility and
purity of its teachings. After his conversion, he traveled throughout
southern Italy, Rome and then the Middle East seeking teachers to advance
his Christian knowledge. It was in Alexandria that he met up with the
celebrated Pantaenus and became a pupil in his catechetical school (c. 180).
Eventually, St. Clement was ordained a presbyter and rose to succeed
Pantaenus around the year 200.
After only a brief number of years (c. 203), St. Clement was forced to flee
Egypt in the face of the persecution of Septimus Severus, making his way
to Cappadocia. There, he met up with a former disciple, Bishop Alexander,
and together they rendered faithful service to the people of the region. In
216, Bishop Alexander writes to Origen and speaks of St. Clement as
having gone to his rest.
St. Clement possessed a broad and noble mind coupled with a sympathetic
and noble character. He was very widely read and remembered much of
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