c. 202 AD Lugdunum, Gallia Lugdunensis, Roman Empire
Sainthood
Feast day
June 28 (Roman Catholic Church, Anglican Communion, Orthodox Church); August 23 (Eastern Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Churches); Monday after fourth Sunday of the Exaltation of the Cross (Armenian Apostolic Church)[1]
Venerated in
Roman Catholic Church and Eastern Catholicism Assyrian Church of the East Eastern Orthodox Church Lutheran Church Oriental Orthodox Church Anglican Communion
Title as Saint
Bishop, Martyr, Bishop of Lyons, Teacher of the Faith and Doctor of the Church.
Theology career
Notable work
Against Heresies
Theological work
Era
Patristic Age
Language
Greek
Tradition or movement
Trinitarianism
Main interests
Theodicy, millennialism
Notable ideas
Irenaean theodicy Recapitulation theory of atonement
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Irenaeus
Influences
Clement, Ignatius,[2] Justin Martyr, Papias, Polycarp, The Shepherd of Hermas
Influenced
Agapius, Augustine,[3] Basil the Great, Epiphanius, Hippolytus, Tertullian
Part of a series on
Theodicy
Key concepts
Absence of good
Augustinian theodicy
Best of all possible worlds
Divine retribution
Dystheism
Epicurean paradox
Free will
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Irenaean theodicy
Misotheism
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Problem of evil
Notable figures
Saint Augustine
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Epicurus
Hick
Hume
Saint Irenaeus
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Maistre
Nietzsche
Plantinga
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Irenaeus (/ɪrɪˈneɪəs/; Greek: ΕἰρηναῖοςEirēnaios; c. 130 – c. 202 AD)[4] was a Greek bishop noted for his role in guiding and expanding Christian communities in the southern regions of present-day France and, more widely, for the development of Christian theology by combating heterodox or Gnostic interpretations of Scripture as heresy and defining proto-orthodoxy. Originating from Smyrna, he had seen and heard the preaching of Polycarp,[5] who in turn was said to have heard John the Evangelist,[6] and thus was the last-known living connection with the Apostles.
Chosen as bishop of Lugdunum, now Lyon, his best-known work is Against Heresies, often cited as Adversus Haereses, a refutation of gnosticism, in particular that of Valentinus.[7] To counter the doctrines of the gnostic sects claiming secret wisdom, he offered three pillars of orthodoxy: the scriptures, the tradition handed down from the apostles, and the teaching of the apostles' successors.[7][8][9] He is the earliest surviving witness to regard all four of the now-canonical gospels as essential.[10]
He is recognized as a saint in the Catholic Church, which celebrates his feast on 28 June,[11] and in the Eastern Orthodox Churches, which celebrates the feast on 23 August.
Irenaeus is honored in the Church of England and in the Episcopal Church on 28 June.[12][13] Pope Francis declared Irenaeus the 37th Doctor of the Church on 21 January 2022.[14]
^Domar: the calendrical and liturgical cycle of the Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Church Armenian Orthodox Theological Research Institute, 2002, p. 513-14
^Against Heresies 5.28.4
^Altaner, Bertold (1949), “Augustinus und Irenäus”. Theologische Quartalschrift, 129: 162–172.
^Jurgens 1970, p. 84.
^Eusebius 1890, Book V Chapter 5.
^Poncelet 1910.
^ abCross & Livingstone 2005, p. 852.
^Durant 1972.
^Wingren n.d.
^Brown 1997, p. 14.
^Cite error: The named reference CalRom was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference CofE was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Lesser Feasts and Fasts 2018. Church Publishing, Inc. 17 December 2019. ISBN 978-1-64065-235-4.
^"Decreto del Santo Padre per il conferimento del titolo di Dottore della Chiesa a Sant'Ireneo di Lione". Press.vatican.va. 21 January 2022. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
feast on 23 August. Irenaeus is honored in the Church of England and in the Episcopal Church on 28 June. Pope Francis declared Irenaeus the 37th Doctor of...
Metropolitan Ireney (Patron Saint St. Irenaeus of Lyons, secular name John Bekish, born Ivan Dmitriyevich Bekish, Russian: Иван Дмитриевич Бекиш, Polish:...
Church, Oriental Orthodox Churches, Lutheranism, and Anglicanism. Both Irenaeus and Tertullian say that Polycarp had been a disciple of John the Apostle...
67. Irenaeus, Adversus Haereses, i. 23, 1. Irenaeus, Adversus Haereses, i. 23, 5. Irenaeus, i. 24, 1. Irenaeus, Adversus Haereses, i. 25. Irenaeus, Adversus...
St. Peter. As with all the early popes, he was canonized. According to Irenaeus, Linus is the same person as the one mentioned in the New Testament. Linus...
followers comes from Irenaeus (died 202) in his Against Heresies including an account of the theology and practice of the sect. Irenaeus wrote that the Carpocratians...
Vorträge. 67: 655. Heinrich Irenaeus Quincke at Who Named It? Minagar, Alireza; Lowis, George W. (2001). "Dr Heinrich Irenaeus Quincke (1842–1922): Clinical...
churches have been named after Saint Irenaeus, including: Saint Irenaeus Church, Lyon, a church in Lyon, France St. Irenaeus Catholic Church (Clinton, Iowa)...
Saint Irenaeus of Sirmium (died 304 AD) was an Illyrian bishop of Sirmium in Pannonia, which is now Sremska Mitrovica, Serbia. He was bishop during the...
Abundius and Irenaeus (died 258) were Roman martyrs during the reign of Roman Emperor Valerian (253-260). Their feast in the Roman Martyrology is celebrated...
Swoon hypothesis). Basilides, in his gospel of Basilides, is reported by Irenaeus as having taught a docetic doctrine of Christ's passion. He states the...
Metropolitan Iriney (Irenaeus, secular name Igor Vladimirovich Susemihl, Russian: Игорь Владимирович Зуземиль; July 10, 1919 in Chernigov, Russian Empire...
choice. As Irenaeus said, "there is no coercion with God, but a good will [towards us] is present with Him continually". Because Irenaeus saw the purpose...
the truth. Cunningham states that two points in Irenaeus' writing deserve attention. First, that Irenaeus distinguished the Church singular from "the churches"...
side, and vivifying men afresh. — Irenaeus of Lyon (emphasis added) The books considered to be authoritative by Irenaeus included the four gospels and many...
context is Irenaeus of Lyons, himself a pupil of Polycarp of Smyrna. In his book Adversus Haereses, which survives in a Latin version, Irenaeus mentions...
Cerinthus is that in Irenæus' refutation of Gnosticism, Adversus haereses, which was written about 170 AD. According to Irenæus, Cerinthus, a man educated...
Gospel of Judas. The oldest source is to be found in Irenaeus, Against Heresies. i. 31. Irenaeus states that the Cainites regarded Cain as derived from...
which is also the number of a man, the number comes to 666. Although Irenaeus (2nd century AD) affirmed the number to be 666 and reported several scribal...
relation to heresy originates with interpreters of Irenaeus. Some scholars consider that Irenaeus sometimes uses gnostikos to simply mean "intellectual"...
Mount Carmel. He is also a martyr according to the ancient testimony of Irenaeus. Telesphorus is traditionally considered as the eighth Bishop of Rome in...
42: Irenaeus wrote that these Ebionites used the Gospel of Matthew, which explains Theodoret's remark. Unlike Eusebius, he did not link Irenaeus' reference...
Scribner's Sons, 1916), p. 100 n. 4 Irenaeus, Against Heresies 3.18.1 in A. Roberts and J. Donaldson (eds), The Writings of Irenaeus Vol. 1 (Edinburgh: T & T Clark...