The womb of a holy virgin carried our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God; and the body which our Lord wore, and in which He carried on the conflict in this world, He put on from a holy virgin. From this, therefore, understand the greatness and dignity of virginity. Do you wish to be a Christian? Imitate Christ in everything. John, the ambassador, he who came before our Lord, he than whom there was not a greater among those born of women, the holy messenger of our Lord, was a virgin. Imitate, therefore, the ambassador of our Lord, and be his follower in every thing. That John, again, who reclined on the bosom of our Lord, and whom He greatly loved, — he, too, was a holy person.
For it was not without reason that our Lord loved him. Paul, also, and Barnabas, and Timothy, with all the others, whose names are written in the book of life, — these, I say, all cherished and loved sanctity, and ran in the contest, and finished their course without blemish, as imitators of Christ, and as sons of the living God. Moreover, also, Elijah and Elisha, and many other holy men, we find to have lived a holy and spotless life. If, therefore, you desire to be like these, imitate them with all your power.
For the Scripture has said, The elders who are among you, honour; and, seeing their manner of life and conduct, imitate their faith. And again it says, Imitate me, my brethren, as I imitate Christ.
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St. Clement of Rome ( - )
St. Clement was the bishop of Rome and third in succession from St. Peter. Around the year 95 AD, a letter was written by the Church of Rome to the Church at Corinth that is attributed to Saint Clement. This document is the earliest Christian writing besides the New Testament documents. In fact, the Gospel of John is likely written around the same time as this document. This "first letter of Clement" (a second letter was falsely attributed to him) was copied by the Corinthian Church and circulated all over the empire, rendering the very first papal "encyclical." It was so highly regarded by the universal church that for several centuries the Church in Egypt and elsewhere regarded it as one of the New Testatment scriptures.The Church of St. Clement is one of the most fascinating places in Rome. Excavations revealed that the medieval Church, built in the 12th century, actually was built on top of a 4th century Church which was in turn built over a house church going back to the first century. It is very possible that this was the house of St. Clement himself.