Saint of the Week – St Irenaeus




Name: Irenaeus of Lyons, Bishop and Doctor
Born: c. 115 AD; Smyrna, Asia Minor (Turkey).
Died: c. 202 AD; Lugdunum, Gaul (Lyons, France).
Feast Day: 28^th June
Patron Saint of:  Apologists and catechists

As Christians living in the 21^st century, how can we be sure that what we believe is the same as what the Christians of the early Church believed? Is the Church’s doctrine just an ever-changing kaleidoscope of beliefs? This week’s saint can provide us with a comprehensive answer to these questions. We know that what the Church professes in her teaching is consonant with the faith of the early Church because we happen to have a very good record of early Christian Doctrine. The Church owes a great debt to St Irenaeus whose writings flesh out in considerable detail the fundamental doctrines of Christianity that had already crystalised by the second century. The Patristic period of the Church encompasses the Fathers from the post-apostolic period through to about the 6^th century. Irenaeus is one of these early Fathers of the Church who is a direct link in the chain of apostolic succession.

Born in about 115 AD, as a young man Irenaeus was personally acquainted with the bishop of his home-town of Smyrna, St Polycarp who in turn was a pupil of St John the Apostle. So Irenaeus is very close in the apostolic tradition, representing the second generation of the Johannine tradition. Naturally gifted, Irenaeus received an exceptional education in both scripture and classical literature; he was ordained a priest and eventually appointed bishop of Lugdunum (modern-day Lyons) which at the time was the largest city in Gaul. As a bishop he began to encounter widespread doctrinal confusion caused by a proliferation of false beliefs which are commonly grouped together under the banner of Gnosticism. Gnosis (in Greek) means ‘secret knowledge’ – the Gnostics used the allure of this secret knowledge to entice gullible Christians into their secretive cults. Irenaeus made a comprehensive study of Gnostic belief in order to refute it and explain the authentic Apostolic teaching of the Church. The result was his five-volume magnum opus Adversus Haereses (‘Against the Heresies’) in which Irenaeus systematically exposed the errors of Gnosticism and then went on to explain the orthodox Catholic doctrine. In doing so Irenaeus left behind a high-resolution record of both the heresies he examined and the orthodox Catholic doctrine, affirming a catalogue of important theological principles. For example, Irenaeus explained the authentic teaching authority of bishops as successors to the divinely appointed apostles (against the Gnostics who were simply self-appointed ‘experts’ with no authority). At a time when the organisational structures of the Church were necessarily loose (on account of the continual threat of persecution) Irenaeus’ writings demonstrate a robust understanding of the Church as a hierarchically ordered institution united by obedience to the authority of bishops, who in turn conform to the ‘Rule of Faith’ by their fidelity to the tradition that was handed on to them. Irenaeus also presents us with one of the earliest lists of books in the biblical canon. Although he omits some of the smaller ‘catholic’ letters Irenaeus affirms the principle of the authority of Scripture as a reliable expression of the tradition of the apostles: “For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you…” (1Cor 11:23).

‘Against the Heresies’ defends a number of traditional Catholic doctrines that have been called into question in more recent centuries. For example, against the claim that Mary was not a virgin, and that Joseph was the father of Jesus, Irenaeus has this to say: “Therefore, those who say that [Christ] was begotten of Joseph…do cause themselves to be disinherited from the kingdom.” (A.H. p.375). Irenaeus is a strident defender of the virginity of Mary as much as he is of the true maternity of Mary, with both being absolutely necessary for Christ’s double claim to be both Son of God and Son of Man. Irenaeus’ writings also demonstrate an elaborate use of biblical typology, which would become an established feature of all Patristic biblical commentary and theology. To the Pauline typology of Christ as the ‘New Adam’ Irenaeus elaborated that Mary was the ‘New Eve’ in Salvation history. He concluded with the aphorism: “the knot tied by Eve’s disobedience was loosened by the obedience of Mary. For what the virgin Eve had bound fast through unbelief, this did the virgin Mary set free through faith.” (A.H. p.379)   

Among the most exciting revivals in recent decades have been both the explosion of Catholic apologetics and the rediscovery of the Patristic sources. The abstruse novelties and experimental theologies that were popularised in the 1960’s and 70’s (like so many fashions from that era) now look very outdated, if not doctrinally suspect. By contrast the writings of the Church Fathers like Saint Irenaeus have a timeless freshness, crystal-clarity and vitality that makes them ever-new. Growing in familiarity with the writing of the Church Fathers enables us to drink deeply from the purest sources of Catholic doctrine that flowed from the apostles and their successors, and thereby enables us to better know and defend our Faith from the errors of our own times. In a world of doctrinal confusion, we can take solace and harbour in the unshakeable foundations of our faith so clearly articulated by these great saints and doctors of the Church. In Irenaeus’ own words:

“But the path of those who belong to the Church, dwelling throughout the world and holding firm to the sure tradition from the Apostles, enables us to see that the faith of all is one and the same, since all receive one and the same Father, and believe in the same dispensation regarding the incarnation of the Son of God, and are cognizant of the same gift of the Spirit, and are conversant with the same commandments, and preserve the same form of ecclesiastical constitution…and undoubtedly the preaching of the Church is true and steadfast!” (p.606)

St Irenaeus, Pray for us!

(Quotations from: St Irenaeus of Lyons, Against Heresies, Ex Fontibus Co. 2010)