More recently, scholars have acknowledged Clement's primacy and importance in various respects. He has been called “the first Christian scholar” (Shelley), “the first systematic teacher of Christian doctrine” (Patrick), “the first great teacher of philosophical Christianity” (Hatch), “the first self-conscious theologian and ethicist” (Backhouse), “the first great Christian teacher in Alexandria” (Needham), “the founder of Christian philosophical theology” (Bray), “the true creator of ecclesiastical theology” (DeFaye), “the first major commentator on the Bible” (Bray), “the founder of Christian literature” (ANF), “the great founder of the Alexandrian School” (Coxe), a “pioneer of Christian scholarship” (ACCS), “an intellectual giant in the early church” (Kruger), “that man of genius who introduced Christianity to itself, as reflected in the burnished mirror of his intellect” (Coxe), and “the most inquisitive and independent spirit that has perhaps ever appeared in the Church” (DeFaye).
More recently, scholars have acknowledged Clement's primacy and importance in various respects. He has been called “the first Christian scholar” (Shelley), “the first systematic teacher of Christian doctrine” (Patrick), “the first great teacher of philosophical Christianity” (Hatch), “the first self-conscious theologian and ethicist” (Backhouse), “the first great Christian teacher in Alexandria” (Needham), “the founder of Christian philosophical theology” (Bray), “the true creator of ecclesiastical theology” (DeFaye), “the first major commentator on the Bible” (Bray), “the founder of Christian literature” (ANF), “the great founder of the, Alexandrian School” (Coxe), a “pioneer of Christian scholarship” (ACCS), “an intellectual giant in the early church” (Kruger), “that man of genius who introduced Christianity to itself as reflected in the burnished mirror of his intellect” (Coxe), and “the most inquisitive and independent spirit that has perhaps ever appeared in the Church” (DeFaye).