Irenaeus - Writings

Saint Irenaeus (ca. 130-202) was bishop of Lugdunum in Gaul, which is now Lyons, France. He is recognized as a saint by both the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church, and his writings were formative in the early development of Christian theology. His feast day is June 28. The Catholic Church considers him a Father of the Church. He was a disciple of Polycarp, who himself was a disciple of John the Evangelist. Irenaeus - Biography. Irenaeus is thought to have been a Greek from Polycarp's hometown ...

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• Irenaeus - Biography
• Irenaeus - Writings
• Irenaeus - Irenaeus' Theology
• Irenaeus - References and Links

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Irenaeus wrote a number of books, but the most important that survives is the five-volume On the Detection and Overthrow of the So-Called Gnosis, normally referred to as Adversus Haereses (English: Against Heresies). Only fragments in its original Greek exist, but a complete copy exists in a wooden Latin translation, made shortly after its publication in Greek, and Books IV and V are present in a literal Armenian translation. The purpose of Against Heresies is to refute the teachings of various gnostic groups. Until the discovery of the Library of Nag Hammadi in 1945, Against Heresies was the best ...

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Irenaeus, Irenaeus - Biography, Irenaeus - Writings, Irenaeus - Irenaeus' Theology

Read more here: » Irenaeus: Encyclopedia II - Irenaeus - Writings

Irenaeus is thought to have been a Greek from Polycarp's hometown of Smyrna in Asia Minor, now Izmir, Turkey. He was raised in a Christian family, rather than converting as an adult, and this may help explain his strong sense of orthodoxy. Irenaeus was one of the first Christian writers to use the principle of apostolic succession to refute his opponents. Irenaeus is remembered as the second bishop of Lyons, although there is no clear evidence that he ever officially assumed the episcopal duties. The first bishop, Pothinus, was martyred around 177 during persecutions under Marcus Aure ...

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Irenaeus, Irenaeus - Biography, Irenaeus - Writings, Irenaeus - Irenaeus' Theology

Read more here: » Irenaeus: Encyclopedia II - Irenaeus - Biography

The central point of Irenaeus' theology is the unity of God, in opposition to the Gnostics' division of God into a number of divine "Aeons", and their distinction between the "High God" and the wicked "Demiurge" who created the world. Irenaeus uses the Logos theology he inherited from Justin Martyr, but prefers to speak of the Son and the Spirit as the "hands of God". Christ, for him, is the invisible Father made visible. His emphasis on the unity of God is reflected in his corresponding emphasis on the unity of salvation history. Ire ...

See also:

Irenaeus, Irenaeus - Biography, Irenaeus - Writings, Irenaeus - Irenaeus' Theology, Irenaeus - References and Links

Read more here: » Irenaeus: Encyclopedia II - Irenaeus - Irenaeus' Theology

Irenaeus is thought to have been a Greek from Polycarp's hometown of Smyrna in Asia Minor, now Izmir, Turkey. He was brought up in a Christian family, rather than converting as an adult, and this may help explain his strong sense of orthodoxy. Irenaeus was one of the first Christian writers to use the principle of apostolic succession to refute his opponents. Irenaeus is remembered as the second bishop of Lyons, although there is no clear evidence that he ever officially assumed the episcopal duties. The first bishop, Pothinus, was martyred around 177 during persecutions under Marcus Aure ...

See also:

Irenaeus, Irenaeus - Biography, Irenaeus - Writings, Irenaeus - Irenaeus' Theology

Read more here: » Irenaeus: Encyclopedia II - Irenaeus - Biography