One should not seek among others the truth that can be easily gotten from the Church. For in her, as in a rich treasury, the apostles have placed all that pertains to truth, so that everyone can drink this beverage of life. She is the door of life.
By Kimberly Bruce
Saint Irenaeus of Lyons, a second-century bishop (feast day: June 28) became the 37th Doctor of the Church by Pope Francis in 2022.
Referred to as the “Doctor of Unity,” he was “a spiritual and theological bridge between Eastern and Western Christians,” said Pope Francis, and easily considered “the father of Catholic theology.” Called a “champion in the fight against heresy,” by Pope Benedict XVI, he is also one of the most-often referenced theologians cited in the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
Student of St. Polycarp
A great defender of the faith, St. Irenaeus was a student of St. Polycarp, who was a direct disciple of St. John, the apostle. Even St. Augustine cited Irenaeus as among the “famous and brilliant holy teachers of the Catholic truth.”
Born in 125 A.D. in Smyrna of Asia Minor (present day Izmir, Turkey), Irenaeus eventually moved to Gaul (modern-day France) where the first Christian community was being formed in Lyons. He became a Catholic priest and, in 177, was sent to Rome on behalf of the church in Lyons. His mission was to bring a letter to Pope Eleutherius concerning the Montanist heresy spreading in Phrygia, proclaiming new prophets.
During his absence, St. Irenaeus escaped martyrdom. The pagan emperor, Marcus Aurelius, had 48 Christians killed. Among them, was their 90-year-old bishop who died from ill-treatment in prison.
Upon returning to Lyons, Irenaeus was immediately appointed the new bishop.
Gnosticism
Gnosticism was gaining popularity in the Church. This heresy, explained Pope Benedict XVI, taught that the faith the Church professed “was merely a symbolism for the simple who were unable to grasp difficult concepts.” Gnostics, he continued, “claimed to understand what was behind these symbols and thus formed an elitist and intellectualist Christianity.” They also believed matter to be evil, in opposition to God who made all things and declared them “good.”
To defend the faith, St. Irenaeus pointed out “the key” of the Catholic Church’s one, uninterrupted line of succession from the Apostles to its current bishops. “Thus, Irenaeus tells us, there is no secret doctrine concealed in the Church’s common Creed,” said Pope Benedict. “There is no superior Christianity for intellectuals. The faith publicly confessed by the Church is the common faith of all."
In St. Irenaeus’ words:
One should not seek among others the truth that can be easily gotten from the Church. For in her, as in a rich treasury, the apostles have placed all that pertains to truth, so that everyone can drink this beverage of life. She is the door of life … Christ came not only for those who believed from the time of Tiberius Caesar, nor did the Father provide only for those who are now, but for absolutely all men from the beginning, who, according to their ability, feared and loved God and lived justly. . . and desired to see Christ and to hear His voice.
Against the Heresies
Many of St. Irenaeus’ writings have been lost; others exist in fragments; but two of his works stand supreme. The first is his treatise Against the Heresies. Consisting of five books, it contrasts heresies against truths contained in Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition (the oral teaching passed down to us through the Apostles).
An Armenian translation of his Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching was discovered in 1904. In it, St. Irenaeus explains the fundamental tenets of Christianity by demonstrating how Old Testament prophecy is fulfilled in Christ.
Saint Irenaeus was also a peacemaker. He is specifically remembered for intervening when Pope Victor I wanted to cut off churches in Asia Minor because they had a tradition of celebrating Easter on Passover, instead of Resurrection Sunday. Eusebius (c.260-340 A.D.), a Church historian and Bishop, said that Irenaeus admonished the Pope by reminding him that early Christians lived “in peace with one another” despite this practice.
Spirit of God
Saint Irenaeus died around the year 203, possibly through martyrdom. We would do well to remember a quote of his from Against the Heresies: “For where the Church is, there is the Spirit of God; and where the Spirit of God is, there is the Church and every kind of grace.”
Saint Irenaeus of Lyons, Doctor of the Church, pray for us!
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