Irenaeus

Life

Irenaeus (c. 130 – c. 202) was a Church Father active in the late second century. The term "Church Father" refers to the leading theologians of the early church. He is believed to have come from Smyrna in Asia Minor (modern İzmir, Turkey). He himself recalled hearing in his youth the teaching of Polycarp, who according to tradition was a disciple of the apostle John.

He later became a presbyter of the church at Lyon in Gaul (modern France). Around 177, while he was away in Rome delivering a letter on behalf of the church, persecution broke out in Lyon, and Bishop Pothinus was martyred. Irenaeus succeeded him as bishop of Lyon. Around 190, when Bishop Victor of Rome sought to exclude the churches of Asia Minor over the dating of Easter, Irenaeus reportedly urged reconciliation. The circumstances of his death are uncertain; the tradition that he died a martyr appears in later sources.

Ministry and Contributions

His principal work is the five-book treatise commonly known as Against Heresies. In it he refuted Gnosticism, which taught that salvation comes through special secret knowledge, and he traced the roots of various sects to Simon Magus in Acts 8. Another work, The Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching, was discovered in an Armenian translation in the early twentieth century.

• Rule of faith: He treated the church's common summary of the faith, handed down from the apostles, as the standard for interpreting Scripture. This concept has been cited as part of the background to creeds such as the Apostles' Creed.
• Apostolic succession: He argued that the succession of bishops in the churches founded by the apostles guaranteed the orthodoxy of their teaching.
• The four Gospels: He stated that the church receives only four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. This statement is regarded as an important witness in the history of the formation of the canon.
• Recapitulation: In his understanding of salvation, Christ retraces the course of humanity in which Adam failed and so restores it. Through this idea he emphasized the significance of the Incarnation.
• Eschatology: He held that an earthly millennial kingdom would follow the second coming of Christ.

Influence on the Korean Church

Courses in church history and patristics at Korean Protestant seminaries present Irenaeus as a leading Church Father who opposed Gnosticism. When Korean churches address questions of heresy, they sometimes cite him as an early example of using Scripture and the faith of the catholic church as the standard. Proponents of premillennialism point to him as evidence that this view existed in the early church.

Assessment

The Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church venerate him as a saint. In 2022 Pope Francis proclaimed him a Doctor of the Church. Protestants likewise regard him as a Church Father who contributed to the formation of the canon and of basic doctrine.

Some aspects of his thought are interpreted differently.

• Authority of the Roman church: The Catholic Church interprets his teaching on apostolic succession, particularly a passage concerning the Roman church, as support for the authority of the Roman church. Protestant scholars often read this passage differently.
• "New Eve": He presented Mary as the "new Eve" in contrast to Eve, and assessments of this expression also vary among traditions.
• Portrayal of Gnosticism: Comparison with Gnostic writings discovered in the twentieth century has led some to argue that his descriptions contain polemical exaggeration.