the work is attributed to clement i, the bishop of rome. in corinth, the letter was read aloud from time to time. this practice spread to other churches, and christians translated the greek work into latin, syriac, and other languages. some early christians even treated the work like scripture. the work was lost for centuries, but since the 1600s various copies or fragments have been found and studied. it has provided valuable evidence about the structure of the early church.