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Jonathan L. Zecher, Clement of Alexandria: A Project of Christian Perfection. By Piotr Ashwin-Siejkowski., The Journal of Theological Studies, Volume 61, Issue 1, April 2010, Pages 328–330, https://doi.org/10.1093/jts/flp183
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Scholars have generally regarded Clement of Alexandria as fundamentally a ‘Greek’ thinker—his Platonic debts and eclecticism standing out in sharp relief to other Fathers. In recent years, however, with van den Hoek’s monograph on Clement’s use of Philo, scholars have begun to look elsewhere, particularly to Judaism, for Clement’s background. Piotr Ashwin-Siejkowski advances this trend dramatically, looking first and primarily to Clement’s Judaic sources and background, then, in the light of those findings, reappraising his use of Greek sources as well as his debates with gnostic opponents. Of course, such advances carry the danger of simply turning Clementine literature into a more efficiently run mine of quotations, while ignoring the wealth at hand in Clement’s original thought. Ashwin-Siejkowski, however, treats Clement’s sources, opponents, and milieu as the introductory material for an examination of what he sees as Clement’s central concern—τϵλϵιώσις, the process of perfection.
Siejkowski’s book thus fills an important niche in Clementine studies. His introduction and lengthy first chapter focus on Clement’s Jewish background. Not satisfied with Philonic sources, which could still be regarded as fundamentally Hellenistic, Ashwin-Siejkowski demonstrates convincingly that Clement had a particular interest in Jewish sapiential literature. For example, while Philo heavily influences Clement’s portrayal of the ‘gnostic Moses’, sapiential literature inspired his thematic emphasis on ‘fear’ and ‘reverence’ for God. Nevertheless, Ashwin-Siejkowski asserts, Clement fitted these motifs and concepts into a new, specifically Christian framework.
