Overview

The Clementines, which are made up of the "Recognitions of Clement" and "The Clementine Homilies", are a unique religious romance purported to be composed by Pope Clement I. The story represents his search and induction into the Christian faith by Peter. The Latin form is the "Recognitions of Clement" consists of ten books. It is a translation made from the Greek by Rufinus, who died in 410. (The Greek, from which it was translated, is no longer in existence). The Greek form is "The Clementine Homilies" consists of twenty books. It is preserved in two manuscripts. Two later epitomes of the Homilies exist also, and there is a partial Syriac translation, embracing Recognitions i-iii, and Homilies, x-xiv, preserved in two British Museum manuscripts, one of which was written in the year 411.

There is no doubt that there once existed a document that was used to construct Recognitions and Homilies. Large portions of the Homilies and Recognitions are almost word for word the same, especially at the beginning, and correspond in subject and more or less in treatment. However, other parts are contained only in one and appear to be referred to or presupposed in the other. There are different opinions about whether the Recognitions or the Homilies were first. Current opinion now favors the primacy of Recognitions, as its presentation is more scholarly and consistent. And yet it is not possible to read only one or the other as different theories are presented in each and some names of the characters are different.

The need to establish the true date of origin for the Clementines.

Being the words of Clement, who actually lived in the first century AD, it would on be logical to believe that it was written in the first century. Unfortunately, there are many apocryphal works that pretend to be the words of one or the other prophets or even Jesus, but this was just a style of exposition. In relation to the Nag Hammadi Library of 1945, some are this type, but others, like the Gospel of Thomas and the Gospel of Philip, clearly contain the actual words of the speakers.

What bothers scholars and Church leaders about the Clementines is the primacy of Simon Magus, whom the late third century Church scholar Eusebius went to great lengths to denounce as a heretic. This is not to say that the Clementines do not treat him in an unfavorable light, but it is clear that Peter thinks of him as an opponent to be reckoned with. Although Simon appears to use tricks and magic, Peter also appears not to be without these himself. What is most disturbing to Church authorities are the facts that come to light in the Clementines that Simon Magus had taken over from John the Baptist after his death and that he had influence over many of Jesus' disciples, in particular Niceta and Aquila who have a strong resemblance to James and John. His consort Helena (Luna, Justa) is also clearly the Syro-Phoenician woman as her words in H.II:19 are directly from Matthew 15:21-28; Mark 7:24-30. She was the one female of the Gospels who appeared to speak with Jesus as his equal. Rather than face dealing with a whole new version of the early Church that we know from Acts and Paul's epistles, the scholars and religious leaders have quickly hurled it back into the third or fourth century.

One of the main justifications for rejecting an early date for the Clementines is that the content appears on the surface to be of the Ebonite origin. The Ebonites, who were active in the second to the fourth century, were condemned as heresy. Though the Ebonites have a strong similarity to Jewish Christianity, but after the Destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD and the crushing of the Bar_Kokhba revolt in 135 AD, there was not much left to be called Jewish-Christian. The Ebonites really began again from the dust of Jewish-Christianity and this sect's principles are clearly not contained in the Clementines.

Now that the Dead Sea Scrolls of 1947 and 1956 have come to light, it appears that a Jewish Essene faith did actually exist at Qumran. The efforts to hurl them back to 150 BC are beginning to fail and more and more scholars are accepting that there is a similarity between that organization at Qumran and the early Christian Church. Perhaps there is an even a more striking connection with Qumran and Jewish-Christianity. Instead of a sudden flowering of Christianity with Jesus, the evolution of Christianity could actually have been a slow process from Jewish and Essene, to Jewish-Essene, to Jewish-Christian, then to Christianity. What we have in the Clementines is a middle ground between Jewish Christian and early Christian with the the Jewish Christian being represented by James the Just and the early Christian being represented by Peter. Clearly the Clementines are trying to establish a common ground between the two groups. As such this work, if dated correctly in the first century can give us a priceless insight into the formative years when Jewish Christian evolved to Christian. Thus it is extremely important to establish the true date of origin for the Clementines in order that its content can be rescued.

Another justification for rejecting an early date for the Clementines is that the mother Mattidia (Matthidia) shows up in the time of the Emperor Trajan as Matidia (68-119) who had no children and treated his niece like a daughter. Matidia's daughter married the Emperor Hadrian and another daughter was named Faustina. Thus the scholars say that the Clementines were written during the Nerva–Antonine dynasty. However, this ignores the fact that Faustina is female name and is not contained in the Clementines and that the Faustus male name was present in the first century.

Dating the Clementines based on James the Just's death in 62 AD.

There is a curious section of the Clementines that begins as follows:

"R.III:75. CONTENTS OF CLEMENT'S DISPATCHES TO JAMES."

• "The first book, therefore, of those that I formerly sent to you, contains an account of the true Prophet, and of the peculiarity of the understanding of the law, according to what the tradition of Moses teacheth.
• The second contains an account of the beginning, and whether there be one beginning or many, and that the law of the Hebrews knows what immensity is.
• The third, concerning God, and those things that have been ordained by Him.
• The fourth, that though there are many that are called gods, there is but one true God, according to the testimonies of the Scriptures.
• The fifth, that there are two heavens, one of which is that visible firmament which shall pass away, but the other is eternal and invisible.
• The sixth, concerning good and evil; and that all things are subjected to good by the Father; and why, and how, and whence evil is, and that it co-operates with good, but not with a good purpose; and what are the signs of good, and what those of evil; and what is the difference between duality and conjunction.
• The seventh, what are the things which the twelve apostles treated of in the presence of the people in the temple.
• The eighth, concerting the words of the Lord which seem to be contradictory, but are not; and what is the explanation of them.
• The ninth, that the law which has been given by God is righteous and perfect, and that it alone can make pure.
• The tenth, concerning the carnal birth of men, and concerning the generation which is by baptism; and what is the succession of carnal seed in man; and what is the account of his soul, and how the freedom of the will is in it, which, seeing it is not unbegotten, but made, could not be immoveable from good.

Concerning these several subjects, therefore, whatever Peter discoursed at Caesarea, according to his command, as I have said, I have sent you written in ten volumes."

What is significant is that this above book and all other news are to be directed to James the Just. The implication is that James the Just, the brother of Jesus, was the head of the Church when this missing book was created. Given that James the Just was murdered in 62 AD, this book would need to be completed before that. Since Clement was alive after the deaths of Peter, Paul, and James this date does not restrict the Clementines from being written after 62 AD. Clearly most of the content of this book is missing from the Clementines. Perhaps this section is merely an olive branch to those Jewish-Christians who had not joined the Church of Peter and Paul.

It is possible that this book could have been the writer Clement's notes that he collected from Peter's teaching or it could have been a document that he worked on with other writers in the Church. In any case when the Clementines were written, experience had already shown that it was no longer necessary to define Christianity within a Jewish framework. The Jewish Diaspora were much more comfortable with the Christian values presented in the New Testament and they did not need to be convinced of the reasons why Jewish values needed to be modified. A nod could be given to Jewish values by tacking on the Old Testament to the New, but there did not appear to be anyone in the Diaspora who wanted to have the differences of the Old and the New explained. Circumcision could be replaced with baptism. In any case the Gentiles were far more familiar with Greek philosophers and their pantheon of gods than of the history of the Jews. The somewhat disjointed philosophical arguments in the Clementines tend to give the impression that the document is not relevant to Christianity, but the insight into early Christian thought is revealing.

There is actually a section of Recognitions (R.I:70) which shows that James the Just was already dead when the Clementines were written. Ironically this section has been used to prove that the Clementines rejects Paul, but to do this requires a substitution of Paul for Simon in the text. The heading reads: TUMULT RAISED BY SAUL. Strangely the use of Saul, Paul's name before his conversion in 40 AD, is sort of a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde remark, though Paul was clearly Paul at the time of James' death. The death of James in 62 AD ( Josephus Antiq. VI,37) was brought about under the direction of the High Priest Ananus who took power during the transfer of the procurator Festus to Albinus. However, it is possible that James contributed to the arrest of Paul in the previous year and Ananus could have been acting for him, thus the title. Clearly, a later writer who titled this section when creating the Recognitions from the original Clementines realized that it was bad form to kill off the leader and added a section: R.I:71. FLIGHT TO JERICHO where James is rescued.

Another key source material comes from "The Memoirs of Agrippina the Younger"

AGRIPPINA THE YOUNGER

"Not one of the Empresses has made more noise than Agrippina. Everything connected with her was remarkable; her birth, her beauty, her faults, her good qualities, and her misfortunes. She was daughter of Germanicus, the delight of the Roman people, and of Agrippina, grand-daughter of Augustus, who was delivered of her in a town which was afterwards called the colony of Agrippina, and now Cologne. She was observed to have a double tooth on the right side, which Pliny looked upon as a certain presage of great fortune.

Agrippina had received from nature all the advantages of body and mind, that would have rendered her a most accomplished princess, if she had not degraded them by making a very bad use of them. Her beauty yielded to none in Rome. She had a majestic air, noble manners, and a lively and enterprising intellect, capable of the greatest undertakings, which she gave proof of in the refined vigor of those curious memoirs, which she composed upon her own adventures, and which were of no small service to Tacitus, the historian, when he wrote his Annals. But, on the other hand, her avarice was insatiable, her jealousy such as made her capable of the most cruel revenge; and especially, her ambition was without bounds, which was the principal, and perhaps the only cause, of all her crimes and misfortunes. Daughter, sister, niece, wife and mother, of Emperors or Caesars, from her cradle she had so violent a desire to rule, that she could set no limits to it. This vice was so ingrained in her very nature, that it corrupted all her actions, and produced in great abundance all sorts of crimes." (The Roman Empresses, Jacques Roergas de Serviez, 1679-1727)

The Memoirs of Agrippina the Younger

• One memoir was an account of her mother's life
• a second memoir was about the fortunes of her mother's family
• and the last memoir recorded the misfortunes (casus suorum) of the family of Agrippina and Germanicus.

(Her memoirs were referred to by Tacitus quoted here: "The anecdote which is not related by historians, I have found in the memoirs of Agrippina the Younger, the mother of Nero, who left behind her a record of her own life and the fortunes of her family." (Tacitus Annals Book IV Chapter 53). Her memoirs are also mentioned in Pliny (NH 7 Chap 8)).

(These memoirs would probably be published after the death of Agrippina the Younger in March 59 AD)

The dates of Clement, the future Pope, as the author of the Clementines

For Clement to be the author, as stated in the Clementines, then it had to be written before the death of Pope Clement. Immediately it can be seen that the assumed person for Clement does not fit. Unfortunately, due to the fact that "T. Favius Sabinus" occurs from a span of four generations and crosses the Arrecinian family line and that of the Flavian line, scholars have jumped on the following information:
Both T. Flavius Clemens and his wife Flavia Domitilla were accused of "atheism by the Emperor Domitian, a charge of which many others who drifted into Jewish Ways were condemned" in AD 95. Dio Cassius Roman History Epitome 67 (He was put to death and Flavia was exiled to Ventotene Island - the same island that occurs in our study!)

Although archeological evidence found at the Basilica of St. Clement does point to: "Titus Flavius Clemens being St. Clement because the Clemens private property and at the same time was being used for Christian meetings and burials. Even more shockingly, this site was built over a house that probably belonged to the Flavians or other members of Clement's family before the fire of Rome, which Nero had blamed on the Christians.

The problem is that this T. Favius Sabinus would only be about thirty-five years old and would certainly not be born at the time of the twins Niceta and Aquila birth which will be set by this Inductive Reasoning. "The Church in Rome in the First Century", George Edmundson has suggested that the more appropriate future Pope Clement would as the brother in law of his sister (probably Plautilla or Arrecina Clementina): T. Flavius Sabinus:
"T. Flavius Sabinus was the elder son of Titus Flavius Sabinus and Vespasia Polla. After serving the State in thirty-five campaigns with distinction (Tac. ' Hist.' iii. 75) and having been Governor of Moesia for seven years, Sabinus was appointed in 57 A.D. Prefect of the City. He held this important office for twelve years continuously save for a brief interval in the short reign of Galba. As Prefect of the City he must have taken part (perhaps passively) in the persecution of the Christians in 65 A.D. and been the witness of the courage with which so many martyrs faced torture and a horrible death. Some have supposed that in his latter years he may to a greater or less extent have fallen under the influence of the Christian Faith. His whole career proclaims him to have been during the greater part of his life a man of action. Tacitus speaks of him as having' a gentle spirit that abhorred blood and violence' ('Hist.' iii. 65). When the Vitellians stormed the Capitol in 70 AD, he was murdered just two days before his brother Vespasian became emperor." He had a son T.Flavius Sabinus who married Julia Flavia (Augusta) daughter of Titus who was also mistress of Domitian. He also probably had a daughter St. Flavia Domitilla, the virgin, exiled by Domitian. Another son was one confused as Pope Clement: T.Favius Clemens who married Flavia Domitlla, the grand-daughter of Vespasian.

This future Pope Clement would also have a brother M. Arrecinus Clemens and a sister Arrecina Terulla, wife of Vespasian. His father would be the distinguished M. Arrecinus Tertullus Clemens who may have been married to Plautia, the sister of Aulus Plautius, the conqueror of Britain, and Pomponia Graecina, who was accused of practicing a "foreign superstition" (Tacitus, Annals, xiii. 32) (Christianity) and wore black as a nun pretending to be in mourning for the murder of Julia, Drusus's daughter, by Messalina, the wife of Claudius.

This future Pope Clement's father M. Arrecinus Tertullus Clemens:
M. Arrecinus Tertullus Clemens was "Prefect of the Praetorian Guard in 41 A.D. (Josephus, ‘Ant.’ xix. 1. 6, 7, and Tac. ‘Hist.’ iv. 68.) It is from Josephus that we learn that Clemens was privy to the conspiracy of Chaerea and others against Caligula and connived at his assassination. It appears from Josephus that Herod Agrippa came to the Praetorian camp, where troops had acknowledged Claudius as emperor, and successfully acted as mediator between them and that portion of the army that obeyed the Senate (Josephus, ‘Ant.’ xix. 3. 1, 3; 4. 1, 2, ff.). This information exclusively reported by Josephus may be taken to imply that Clemens had some connect, possibly as a ‘God-fearer,’ with the Jewish community at Rome, and that he was a friend of Herod Agrippa." From Tac. ‘Hist.’ iv. 68 it appears that this Prefect was so much beloved by his troops that his son’s appointment as Prefect in 70 A.D. was hailed with joy in the camp, because the father’s memory after so long an interval of time was still held in regard. Suetonius (‘Titus’ 4) tells us that his name was Tertullus, that he belonged to the Equestrian order, and that his daughter Arrecina Tertulla was the first wife of the Emperor Titus. An inscription ‘CIL.’ vi. 12355 gives his praenomen as Marcus."

Since the dates for Pope Clement are unknown,we will assume the date 95 since this for the death of his nephew-in-law, T. Flavius Clemens. His other nephew-in-law T. Flavius Sabinus had also been killed the year before. Therefore it is safe to assume that Domitian was cleaning house. It was in fact this last attack on T. Flavius Clemens that brought his own death closer as Clemens' servant Stephanus avenged his master's death by assassinating the Emperor Domitian on 18 September 96 with the help of the members of the Senate.

Other significant dates

• The canonizing or the Four Gospels completed in 50 AD.
• King Herod Agrippa was in Rome in AD 40/41 and was in a position to rescue Julia Livilla and Agrippina the Younger (the memoir writer) in AD 41 (more on this later).

Summary of possible dates for the writing of the Clementines

By analyzing all these dates, the Clementines that evolved into "The Recognitions of Clement" and "The Clementine Homilies" would need to have been written between 59 AD (the death of Agrippina the Younger) and 95 AD (the death of Pope Clement). In the Inductive Reasoning that follows, all the pieces of the Clementines can be put together.

The Key to the Creation of the Clementines is found in
the Island of Ventotene
(ancient name: Pandateria, one of the Pontine Islands)

Now let us see how all the facts can be tied together. At this point you may have observed the occurrence here of Flavia Domitilla and Julia the Elder in relation to this Island, but there are many more. Here are all the exiles to Ventotene Island by every Roman Emperor from Augustus to Nero except Titus in chronological order:

2 BC - 4AD Julia the Elder, the only natural child of Octavius, banished for 5 years by her father Augustus Caesar (Octavius), accusing her of adultery.
Her lover: Iullus Antonio (son of Mark Antony and Fulvia) was executed. Scribonia, Julia's biological mother, accompanied her into exile.

29 AD Agrippina the Elder, Tiberius' grandniece, banished by Tiberius for undermining his authority. She insisted publicly that he had poisoned her popular husband Germanicus, the grandson-in-law and great-nephew of the Emperor Augustus. She perished, probably of malnutrition on October 18, 33 AD.

39 AD Julia Livilla (Livilla) and Agrippina the Younger, his sisters, banished by Caligula to the Pontine Islands for conspiring to replace him. (they were most likely separated in their exile with Livilla on Ventotene Island and Agrippina on Santo Stefano island). (Dio Cassius Roman History Book 59

62 AD Claudia Octavia, his first wife, banished by Nero and executed. The initial grounds for putting Octavia aside was the charge that she was barren because she had had no children. With the connivance of Poppaea whom he then married, charges of adultery were added. Her severed head was sent to Rome.

95 AD Flavia Domitilla exiled by Domitian. Her husband Titus Flavius Clemens (as discussed earlier was killed). Her family name is attached to the catacombs in Rome where many saints or recovered remains after being martyred were placed. She had not been deprived of her property. She was the granddaughter of Emperor Vespasian. She died there mourning the lost of her husband, her cousin, Titus Flavius Clemens, consul. She would also remember the death of her brother-in-law and the banishment of her sister-in-law Flavia who chose the purity of virginity over marriage. However, she would on the basis of this Inductive Reasoning take joy in her uncle's Clementine Story and the compassion of God that chose for her to be spared and to live on the same island of the story.

The island of Ventotene (Pandateria) would be a good substitution for the island of Aradus, mentioned in the Clementines where Matthidia Clement's mother is found. (This would be in keeping with the New Testament method of disguising people and places.) The circumstances fit an amalgam of exiles from Agrippina the Younger's dairy: her grandmother Julia the Elder's exile in 2 BC, her mother Agrippina the Elder's in 29 AD and her own exile with her sister Julia Livilla in 39 AD.

• Both islands are off the east coast and are well-known. The island of Aradus was an ancient Phoenicia town (known today as Arwad or Arvad, 31 miles north of Tripoli off the Syrian coast) and its inhabitants are mentioned in Genesis 10:18, and Ezekiel 27:8,11.
  The geography matches well
  
  
• In the Clementines, we find suspicious circumstances for Peter's visit. Apparently it is for a "pleasure trip to see some impressive columns made of vine-wood." This is totally out of character for Peter who carefully follows a strict regime. He also had just previously divided his disciples into two bands before reaching Antaradus which is the mainland section of Aradus. The reason for this is said to be not to arouse suspicions with his "immense crowds of brethren" so that "the wicked one shall not stir up envy against us on account of any display." For his goal to convert and baptize new followers or to refute Simon Magus, crowds of the public are always useful
  Peter's visit is clearly covert.
  
  
• "...and how the whole island rejoiced at his recognition of her(his mother); and also concerning her sojourn with her most chaste hostess, and the cure that he (Peter) had wrought upon her,(R.IX:36)
  
  Julia the Elder was forbidden to have visitors and was treated poorly by Augustus Caesar and was accompanied by her biological mother, Scribonia, who being older was probably sick. In the Clementines, on the island is a pitiful beggar women who also has a hostess who cared for her whose sickness is cured by Peter.



• In the Clementines, the beggar woman's name is Mattidia and her reasons for being have many versions:
  "How his brother had fallen in love with Matthidia, and how she, being very modest, had been unwilling to inform her husband of his brother's lawless love, lest she should stir up hostility between the brothers, and bring disgrace upon the family; and how she had wisely pretended a dream, by which she was ordered to depart from the city with her twin sons, leaving the younger one with his father." R.IX:36
  "Being born of noble parents, and having become the wife of a suitably powerful man, I had two twin sons, and after them one other. But my husband's brother was vehemently enflamed with unlawful love towards me; and as I valued chastity above all things, and would neither consent to so great wickedness, nor wished to disclose to my husband the baseness of his brother, I considered whether in any way I could escape unpolluted, and yet not set brother against brother, and so bring the whole race of a noble family into disgrace. I made up my mind, therefore, to leave my country with my two twins, until the incestuous love should subside, which the sight of me was fostering and inflaming; and I thought that our other son should remain to comfort his father to some extent. Now in order to carry out this plan, I pretended that I had had a dream, in which some deity stood by me in a vision, and told me that I should immediately depart from the city with my twins, and should be absent until he should command me to return; and that, if I did not do so, I should perish with all my children". R.VII:15,16 (repeated in H.XII:15,16)
  
  The significant term of "deity" clearly points to the Emperor who is a deity and thus she leaves by his order. (The issue of the avoidance of incest is will be discussed later with a review of the exilees. Needless to say, with the royal marriage practices, incestuous relationships were practically impossible to avoid as each partner has at least two relationships. A good example is Agrippina the Younger who was a great-granddaughter of the Emperor Augustus, great-niece and adoptive granddaughter of the Emperor Tiberius, sister of the Emperor Caligula, niece, fourth wife of the Emperor Claudius and mother of the Emperor Nero. This blurring of lines led to clear situations of incest which were still frowned upon and gossiped about by the public.)
  
  
• Clement's version of the story in Recognitions and then Homilies:
  "There are indeed many powerful men, coming of the stock of Caesar; for Caesar himself gave a wife to my father, as being his relative, and educated along with him, and of a suitably noble family. By her my father had twin sons, born before me, not very like one another, as my father told me; for I never knew them. But indeed I have not a distinct recollection even of my mother; but I cherish the remembrance of her face, as if I had seen it in a dream. My mother's name was Matthidia, my father's Faustinianus; my brothers', Faustinus and Faustus. Now, when I was barely five years old, my mother saw a vision so I learned from my father by which she was warned that, unless she speedily left the city with her twin sons, and was absent for ten years, she and her children should perish by a miserable fate." R.VII:8.
  There are indeed many and great men, being of the kindred of Caesar. Wherefore Caesar himself gave a wife of his own family to my father, who was his foster-brother; and of her three sons of us were born, two before me, who were twins and very like each other, as my father told me. But I scarcely know either them or our mother, but bear about with me an obscure image of them, as through dreams. My mother's name was Mattidia, and my father's, Faustus; and of my brothers one was called Faustinus, and the other Faustinianus.' Then after I, their third son, was born, my mother saw a vision so my father told me which told her, that unless she immediately took away her twin sons, and left the city of Rome for exile for twelve years, she and they must die by an all-destructive fate. H.XII:8
  
  Julia the Elder's exile was for five years. Recognitions has Mattidia leaving when Clement was five and Homilies at the birth of Clement, both mention a fixed term of ten and twelve years. The concept of a fixed term of exile and the appearance of five years could be a five year exile in the source that was garbled by Recognitions and Homilies.

As shown above, Julia the Elder's situation matches
Mattidia's shipwreck to the island.

Her real story is as follows:

Julia the Elder (30 October 39 BC - AD 14),
only natural child of Augustus Caesar.

• 25 BC, September 23 - First Marriage at Age 14 to cousin Marcus Claudius Marcellus. Died.
• 21 BC , March 12 BC - Second Marriage at Age 16 to Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa. He was Augustus' foremost general, much older than she. Died.
• Her children were:
  • Gaius Caesar 20 BC - AD 4
  • Vipsania Julia (also known as Julia the Younger) 19 BC - c. AD 29
  • Lucius Caesar 17 BC-2
  • Vipsania Agrippina or Agrippina the Elder 14 B.C. - 18 October 33 A.D
  • Agrippa Postumus (a posthumous son) 12 BC-14 AD
• Her Affairs:
  • Sempronius Gracchus
  • Tiberius?
• 11 BC Married to Tiberius Separated 6 BC
  
  Augustus Caesar having made Tiberius his adopted son so as to give him Emperorship after his death immediately thrust Julia into marriage with Tiberius although still in mourning for Agrippa and bearing his last child. Though he may have felt justified in doing this since that had probably had an affair previously, for Tiberius it was total despair. He was now commanded to give up his wife Vipsania Julia Agrippina whom he loved deeply and blamed Julia for this. When Julia the Elder had returned to the mainland and Tiberius was Emperor he starved her to death. (Suetonius Life of Tiberius) Julia and Tiberius separated in 6 BC, however, Augustus who was passing laws on family values did not agree to this. In 2 BC she was arrested for adultery and treason. the part about treason is from the fact that with her status as daughter of Augustus would undermine his wish to make Tiberius emperor if her husband were to higher importance. This was in fact true for her lover, Iullus Antonius who was the son of Mark Antony and . He was tricked into being sent for schooling abroad, but was poisoned by Augustus. Sempronius Gracchus with whom she had a lasting liaison was also exiled. (Dio Cassius Roman History Book 55). Julia The Elder was exiled to Ventotene.
  
  The conjecture of this Inductive Reasoning that there were in fact two twins born from Julia the Elder's relationship with Iullus Antonius, thus prompting Augustus' action of exiling her. These sons would be a real threat to Augustus' plans for Tiberius. They would then be sent off as slaves. (Being of royal blood they would be have not been killed, but rather have their names and identities changed.) They would be named Niceta and Aquila according to the Clementines. There is a good chance that the Jewish connection to Rome knew the truth and that Helena (Luna, Justa) did not happen to find them! Taking into account the facts of the Clementines with their relationship with Helena, "the Syro-Phoenician woman" and Simon Magus as "the sons of Zebedee", there is no doubt that they are James and John. (See section of the Clementine Books by Dr. Thiering Their birth dates would be 2 BC rather than her 3 AD)

Julia Livilla situation matches the timeframe for Peter's rescue
of Mattidia's from the island

Her real story is as follows:

Julia Livilla (18 - 42)

the youngest child of Germanicus and Agrippina the Elder, the great-granddaughter of the Emperor Augustus, great-niece of the Emperor Tiberius, the youngest sister of the Emperor Caligula, and the sister of Julia Drusilla and Agrippina the Younger.

• Married 33 AD Marcus Vinicius (5 BC - 46 AD) killed by Claudius at his wife Messalina's instigation.
  Marcus Vinicius is described by Tacitus as "mild in character and an elaborate orator." Tacitus, Annales 6, 15, 1
  Her husband thus matches the Clementines Faustus, the father who engages in many eloquent discussions.
• As a married woman when Caligula was Emperor she and her sisters Julia Drusilla and Agrippina the Younger were accused of having incestuous relationships with Caligula. 'They were given the rights of the Vestal Virgins like the freedom to view public games from the upper seats in the stadium. Coins were issued depicting images of Caligula and his sisters. Roman coins like these were never issued beforehand. The coins depicted Caligula on one side and his sisters on the opposite. Caligula added his sister's names in to motions. In loyalty oaths, it was, "I will not value my life or that of my children less highly than I do the safety of the Emperor and his sisters," or, if in consular motions: "Good fortune attend to the Emperor and his sisters."' (ref: Wikipedia)
  Drusilla was his favorite and when she died on June 10, 38, Agrippina and Livilla were slighted and his insanity increased. When they were caught plotting against him by favoring Drusilla's widower Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, Caligula exiled them to the Pontine Islands Livilla to Ventotene Island and Agrippina to Santo Stefan island. Marcus Families Lipids was killed.

• Her rescue in 41 AD could be as follows:
  King Agrippa was in Rome in 40 AD having just persuaded Emperor Caligula not to place an image of himself in the Temple at Jerusalem (Josephus Antiquities of the Jews 18:8). He was a childhood friend of the Caligula who adored his three sisters Julia Drusilla, Julia Livilla, and Agrippina the Younger (and reputedly had incestuous relations with them). When Caligula was assassinated on January 24, 41 AD; Agrippa was instrumental in arbitrating the conflict between the senate and the soldiers who were protecting Claudius thus gaining his favor having helped him become Emperor. (Josephus Antiquities of the Jews 19:4). Given that the sisters of Caligula Julia Livilla and Agrippina the Younger had been banished to the Pontine Islands (which includes Ventotene Island), it would be very likely that King Agrippa would be the one rescue them with the permission of Claudius.
  It would be an easy match to make Peter the rescuer as he was Agrippa's associate at the time, even though later he assisted in the poisoning plot against him because he had turned against the Christians.

Searching the Faustus name

The Faustus name goes back to Faustus Cornelius Sulla (81 BC-46 BC) by his wife Pompeia Magna daughter of Pompey the Great
Faustus Cornelius Sulla (49 BC-9) was his eldest son and had four sons with the the Faustus name. From his youth, he was a close friend to the imperial stepson Tiberius. His elder son, born Faustus, had been adopted out to his uncle Barbatus. He was also known for fathering a child on his illegitimate half-brother's daughter Ulpia, in return for giving his poor relation money. He lived in exile in Gades for seven years. He tried to overthrow Octavian (future Roman Emperor Augustus) in 9. He was forced to commit suicide, and his estate was taken by Octavian.
Whether he had an affair with Julia the Elder and thus would have been part of Agrippina's memoirs is not known.

There is another possibility to do with his descendent:
Faustus Cornelius Sulla Felix (22–62) whose mother's second marriage was to Domitia Lepida the Younger (c. 10 BC-54) was married three times thus he was a Faustus For her first marriage he was half brother of the empress Valeria Messalina who married Claudius. The emperor Claudius arranged for Faustus to marry his daughter, Claudia Antonia. They had a son, reportedly a weak child of little strength who died before his second birthday.
His uncle was Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus (consul_32) husband of Agrippina the Younger and father of Nero. Given the connection to Agrippina the Younger, it seems probable that she was aware of an affair of Claudia Antonia that resulted in twins which were sent away. She might have given them names such as Faustus and Faustinus to convince the father that they were his.

Rather than looking for a specific person, it is much more illuminating to assume an allegorical one such as "Faustulus (Faustus), the servant of Amulius who was ordered to expose the twins Romulus and Remus, but together with his wife Acca took care of them. Otherwise he is said to be the shepherd who found the exposed twins." [DH.1.87.2; Ov.Fast.5.453ff.; Plu.PS.36; Plu.Rom.3.4, 10.2; Strab.5.3.2].

As Romulus and Remus were the founders of Rome, the twins Faustinus (Niceta), and Faustinianus (Aquila) had the strongest claim to the ascension to the throne of Augustus Caesar being sons on their mother's side and step-sons on their father's side. Their mother, Julia the Elder,was the only natural child of Augustus. Their father, her illicit lover Iullus Antonius, was the son of Mark Antony and Fulvia and because of Mark Antony's subsequent marriage with Augustus' sister, Octavia, (before Antony left her for Cleopatra), the step-son of Augustus.

The allegory now becomes clear, two abandoned twins, who could be the the rulers of Rome, being cared for by Faust. And lo and behold, in Clementines there is Simon Magus who with a magic potion turns the face of their father Faust into Simon's:
"And while he was speaking my father (Faust) came in, and found Peter speaking to us about him. And when he had saluted he began to apologize, and to explain the reason why he had remained abroad. But we, looking at him, were horrified; for we saw on him the face of Simon, yet we heard the voice of our father." (R.X:53)
"And just as he was saying this, our father came in and caught Peter talking to us of him; and seeing him displeased, he accosted him, and rendered an apology for having slept outside. But we were amazed when we looked at him : for we saw the form of Simon, but heard the voice of our father Faustus."(H.XX:12)

Simon Magus is really the Faust! (In recent literature and opera, Faust, who is based on Simon Magus, makes a tragic pact with the devil.)

The Clementines even goes so far as to say:
in Recollections: "Simon's father was Antonius and Rachel" (R.II:7) and
repeated in Homilies: "This Simon is the son of Antonius and Rachel"(H.II:22).
There is the admission of the father being Iullus Antonius, the real son of Mark Antony!
The symbolic Hebrew Rachel, mother of Joseph of the twelve tribes, is there to show that Simon is Hebrew, though as it goes on to say Samaritan, and is as important as Joseph.

As to the mother Mattidia (Matthidia), she is a composite of Julia the Elder and Julia Livilla so it is made up.

Aligning the twins Niceta and Aquila as brothers to Clement

Align the in-law relationships between them requires understanding the intrigue.
Here is the relationship:

Summary

Having reached our Inductive Reasoning conclusion that the Clementines Story belongs in the first century, it is now possible to declare its information as more than a made-up story, containing many valid facts. It gives insight on John the Baptist, James and John, Simon Magus, Helena (the Syro-Phoenician woman), Mary Magdalene, Bernice, Clement, Ananus the Younger (Zacchaeus), James (the brother of Jesus), Peter, and the early missionary journeys, structure, and practices of the Christian Church.

The most interesting insight obtained from this research is the intertwining of Christianity with Roman aristocracy. There were many documented martyrs among them. Inroads were made with Pomponia Graecina who influenced her sister Plautia who influenced her husband M. Arreinus Tertullus Clemens, Prefect of the Praetorian Guard, to get rid of Caligua who was threatening Jews and Christians which set the stage for King Agrippa of Judea to persuade the Senate to approve Claudius. The Emperor Vespasian was brought up by the same grandmother as M. Arrecinus Tertullus Clemens, the father of Pope Clement. This grandmother was Tertulla (Junia Tertia, mistress of Julius Caesar with blood connections to Brutus and Cassius his killers). Queen of Judea, Bernice, had an affair with Titus the son of Vespasian and almost married him. This is the Titus who destroyed the temple of Jerusalem! Niceta and Aquila are James and John of the lineage of Augustus Caesar and Mark Antony. It is any surprise that Roman Christianity succeeded in influencing the world!

(A study of the Clementines and this information will be added later in a side by side version divided into categories in the near future. Also it will be shown if it is not already obvious that the twins Niceta an Aquila are James and John. The name Aquila even occurs in Acts 18:2,18,26; Romans 16:3; 1 Cor 16:19 & 2 Timothy 4:19)