Clement’s Stromata and the Birth of Christ

A brief exploration of Clement of Alexandria's late 2nd century "Stromata" apparently dating the birth of Christ to late May.
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SOURCES:

[0:32] — Francesco Antonio Zaccaria, "Dissertazioni Lettere ed Altre Operette del Chiarissimo Padre Antonmaria Lupi," (Faenza, 1785), dissertazione IV, p. 220

[1:12] — Clement, "Stromata," book I, chapter xxi, in Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson, "The Ante-Nicene Fathers," (New York : Charles Scribner's Sons, 1913), vol. II, p. 333.

[2:12] — Cyril Martindale, "Christmas," in The Catholic Encyclopedia (New York: Encyclopedia Press, 1913), vol. III, p. 724

[2:44] — Ludwig Ideler, "Handbuch der Mathematischen und Technischen Chronologie," (Berlin: August Rücker, 1826), vol. II, p. 387, no. 1.

[4:23] — Apostolic Constitutions, book V, chapter XIII, in Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson, "The Ante-Nicene Christian Library," (Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1870), vol. XVII, p. 130.

[schiller]

The German pronunciation of the words "hörten" and "sei" could be better. With the word "hörten" you mispronounced the umlaut "ö". The rest of the text was error-free.

[PrinceMalaak]

However, other Sun-worshipping groups were included too, because of the general importance and popularity of Sol Invictus, the Invincible Sun-deity. Mario Righetti, a renowned Catholic liturgist, writes, "the Church of Rome, to facilitate the acceptance of the faith by the pagan masses, found it convenient to institute the 25th December as the feast of the temporal birth of Christ, to divert them from the pagan feast, celebrated on the same day in honour of the 'Invincible Sun', Mithras. Sir James Frazer wrote, "If the Mithraic mysteries were indeed a Satanic copy of a divine original,

[PrinceMalaak]

Franz Cumont, perhaps the greatest scholar of Mithraism, wrote, quoting Minucius Felix, "The Mithraists also observed Sun-day and kept sacred the 25th of December as the birthday of the Sun. Many scholars have pointed out how the Sun- worshipping Mithraists, the Sun-worshipping Manicheans and the Christians were all syncretised and reconciled when Constantine led the take-over by Christianity, even if it meant the latter's surrender of most vital Scriptural truths, especially its Hebrew roots.

[PrinceMalaak]

The Catholic Encyclopedia says, "Christmas was not among the earliest festivals of the Church. Irenaeus and Tertullian omit it from their lists of feasts." Wherefrom does this Christmas on 25 December originate? Sir James Frazer says, "The largest pagan religious cult which fostered the celebration of December 25 as a holiday . . . was the pagan sun- worship, Mithraism . . . This winter festival was called . . . 'the Nativity of the SUN.' Mithraism was the fastest growing cult just prior to the year 321 and was the major rival of Christianity.

[PrinceMalaak]

The mixing of pagan Sun-worship and Christianity is exemplified by the testimony of a Syrian scholiast on Bar Salibi, who said, "It was a custom of the heathen to celebrate on the same 25th of December the birthday of the Sun, at which they kindled lights in token of festivity. In these solemnities and festivities the Christians also took part." Practically all the known Sun-deities were born on the 25th December. I

[PrinceMalaak]

We not falling for the banana 🍌 in the tell pipe