Considering that in the medieval period the most distinguishing feature in public life was the practical application of the Christian faith, the fixation of individual articles of the faith in the shape of the law is comprehensible. This law when formulated by ecclesiastical authority was called canon law. Three points deserve to be stressed in connection with canon law. First, there is the already mentioned legal complexion of the Bible. This is conspicuously true of the Old Testament, but it is also true of the Pauline exposition of the Christian way of life, instanced in the letter to the Romans. Linked with this is the second point which indeed has already been the subject of comment, that is, the explanation of the Christian faith in terms of the (Roman) law by apologists who were jurists of considerable calibre. From its infancy the Christian theme was indissolubly associated with the idea of the law, and Roman law provided the juristic mechanics and the technical equipment for all canon law. One, if not the earliest, example of a source demonstrating the combination of faith and law was the statement made by Pope Clement I which reveals the Roman predilection for law as a means of government, organization and administration. The significance of this letter (written ca. 94 A.D.) lies in its exposition of the theme of subordination and the hierarchical ordering of society and herewith of authority. This source established the link between the principles underlying the order of the Roman army and the Pauline arsenal of ideas and resulted in the corporational thesis according to which all Christians formed a body corporate—this was to become the all-pervading medieval theme.