St Irenaeus (c. 135-202) bishop and theologian
From Asia Minor to bishop of Lyons in Gaul
Irenaeus
(means "peaceful" in Greek) was probably born in Smyrna (now Izmir in
Turkey) where he attended the school of Bishop Polycarp, who in turn had
been a disciple of the Apostle John.
Irenaeus's move from Asia Minor to Gaul coincided with the beginnings
of the Christian community at Lugdunum (Lyons), where in 177 he is
listed in the college of presbyters.
In that year he was sent to Rome
with a letter from the community in Lyons to Pope Eleutherius. This
mission to Rome actually saved him from the persecution of Marcus
Aurelius, during which the 90-year old Bishop Pothinus died from
ill-treatment in prison.
Irenaeus succeeded him as bishop and spent the
next twenty years building up the Church in the Rhône valley and
surrounding areas.
His writings against heresies
Little is known about his life, but from his writings Against heresies and The Presentation of the Apostolic Preaching it
is clear he was a zealous pastor. They have a twofold aim: to explain
the truth of the faith clearly and to defend the true doctrine from the
attacks of heretics.
Gnosticism
What Irenaeus confronted was the so-called Gnosis, a theory which
held that the faith taught by the Church was merely a symbolism for the
simple, who were unable to grasp difficult concepts; but behind the
faith proclaimed, the initiates, that is, the intellectuals or Gnostics, could
discover an elitist knowledge.
One element of this elitism was
"dualism": besides the positive or good principle which was identified
with God, they said there was the negative or evil principle, which
produced material things, matter.
Against splitting
Irenaeus argued vigorously
against this splitting and insisted there is only one faith, one
apostolic tradition, that comes through the Church established at Rome,
which is public to all and guided by the Holy Spirit. To maintain there
is a "secret part", he said, leads only to confusion and the devaluing
of created things and our own bodily reality.
Pleading for peace and unity
Besides his writings
Irenaeus is known to have pleaded to two different popes for patience
with heretics. This shows a broad and sympathetic personality along with
a great desire for unity in the Church.
The first pleading was with Pope Eleutherius when
he brought a letter urging leniency towards the Montanist enthusiasts
of Asia Minor with whom personally he probably didn't have much
sympathy.
The second was in 190 when he urged Pope Victor to
be patient with the Quartodecimans of Asia Minor whom he had
excommunicated for celebrating Easter on the day of the Jewish Passover
instead on the following Sunday with all other Christians.
Death: a martyr?
Irenaeus died at the start of
the third century AD and his body was buried at Lyons in the Church of
St John (later, the Church of St Irenaeus), but the shrine was destroyed
by Calvinists in 1562.
Although he is venerated as a martyr, the
evidence supporting this is not decisive.