The Life of Saint Irenaeus

Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History, book 5, chapter 19.

Book 2, chapters 56 and 17, and book 4, cited in Eusebius, book 5, chapter 7.

The life of Irenaeus depended entirely on the words of Polycarp, as if he were receiving heavenly doctrine from an Apostle or Christ himself dictating to him. Throughout his entire life, he never neglected anything he had heard. This is confirmed by what Irenaeus himself relates in his "Letter to Florinus," who had been his companion in the school of Polycarp but had since fallen into heresy.

Book 5, chapter 6, and cited in Eusebius, book 5, chapter 7.

Irenaeus writes: "I can still describe the place where the blessed Polycarp sat when he spoke, his coming and going, his manner of life, his physical appearance, and the discourses he gave to the multitude. I remember how he told of his familiarity and life with John John the Apostle and the others who had seen the Lord himself. He would recount their words and what he had heard from them concerning the Lord: his miracles, his teachings, and how he had heard them from those who were eyewitnesses of the Verbum vitae Word of Life. All these things were in complete agreement with the Scriptures. Through the mercy of God shown toward me at that time, I listened to these things with great care and attention. I recorded them not on paper or in letters, but in the thoughts of my inner mind. By the constant help of God’s grace, I renew these memories with integrity and exquisite detail." Thus far Irenaeus speaks.

Epiphanius, Against Heresies, 24. Jerome on Ezekiel, chapter 36. The Priest is sent to Gaul by Saint Polycarp. Book 1, chapter 9. Book 1, chapter 29.

He was not only a disciple of Polycarp, but also of Papias, Bishop of Hierapolis, John of Ephesus, Aristion, and other similar Apostolic men and coworkers. Furthermore, whenever he encountered anyone who had heard the Apostles or who was distinguished by those singular gifts for which the Church was famous until his own age, he joined himself to them. He did this to make a greater addition to his faith and piety, so that he might later oppose those who contradicted the truth with more confidence. He himself is a most abundant witness that this happened to his great satisfaction and for the benefit of the whole Church, saying: "The heretics are far from being able to raise the dead as the Lord did, or as his Apostles did through the aid of their preaching, or as many others among the brethren have done. Often, when a necessary cause required it, the entire local Church would pray with fasting and much intercession, and the spirit of the dead returned to the body, and the life of the man was granted to the prayers of the brethren." And again: "Those who are truly disciples of Christ perform such deeds in his name, through the grace received from him, to benefit other men according to the gift each has received. Some truly and certainly cast out demons, so that frequently those who have been purged of evil spirits receive the faith and remain constantly in the Church and the society of faithful men. Some are imbued with the foreknowledge of future things, divine visions, and prophetic speech. Others heal those afflicted with heavy diseases by the laying on of hands and restore them to their former health. Now indeed, as we have said, the dead have been raised and have remained among us for many years. What more? The gifts cannot even be numbered which God has granted throughout the whole world, and which the Church, in the name of Jesus Christ crucified under Pontius Pilate, performs daily for the benefit of the Nations." Elsewhere he says more clearly: "We ourselves have heard many brothers in the Church who possess prophetic gifts and speak in various tongues through the grace of the Holy Spirit, bringing the hidden things of men into the open for their benefit and explaining the mysteries of God clearly." From this it followed that he was called by Epiphanius, Jerome, and others a "man of Apostolic times" and a "successor of the Apostles." These things regarding his origin, youth, and education are told partly from the certain words of the Fathers and partly from conjecture: now let us explain his duties.

Jerome, Letter to Heliodorus. Clement of Rome, book 6, Constitutions, chapter 23. Book 4, chapter 34.

In the Church of Lyon, a famous city in Gaul, whose people have shown themselves to be most loving of Christian piety since the time of the Apostles and most fierce defenders against the heresies of our age, Irenaeus held the office of the presbyterium priesthood. He indicates this himself in the preface to Book 1, when he says he dwells among the Celtas Celts; and elsewhere, that he inhabits the Rhone region. Gregory of Tours testifies that he was sent as a legate to this part of Gaul by the blessed Polycarp. From this appears the most vehement zeal of the pastors of that age, who all devoted themselves to the glory of Christ and the salvation of men. In contrast to our own times, where against all law and right, many seek only to accumulate many priesthoods while neglecting Christ and the safety of their flock, gaping after the courts of the wicked. With what faith and diligence he performed all parts of his priestly office is easy to show. The first part of this office is to prepare the body of Christ with a sacred mouth original: "sacro ore" (to use Jerome’s words); and to offer the same as a rational and unbloody sacrifice to God, distributing it to the people entrusted to him. He affirms that he performed this with great diligence and religion, discussing the Eucharistia Eucharist in this manner: "It is necessary for us to make an offering to God and to be found grateful in all things to God the Creator, with a pure

mind, a faith without hypocrisy, a firm hope, and a fervent love. And afterward: For we offer to him what is his, consistently proclaiming the fellowship and unity of the flesh and the spirit. For just as the bread from the earth, receiving the invocation of God This is the consecration, is no longer common bread but the Eucharist, consisting of two things, the earthly and the heavenly, so we, giving thanks to his lordship..." and so on. And again: "The Word himself gave the people the precept of making offerings, although he did not need them, so that they might learn to serve God. Thus we also frequently and without intermission offer our gift at the altar." He repeats the same in book 5, chapter 2. How much zeal and diligence he applied to the preaching of the Gospel and the preservation of discipline and ecclesiastical peace (which includes the other parts of the priesthood) must now be heard from the ancient writers regarding the time of the venerable man of piety, Pothinus, who was later a Martyr.

Book 1, chapter 29, History of the Franks.

Eusebius, book 5, chapters 1, 2, 3.

Having been taken into a share of the responsibility by this venerable old man, he shone in Lyon with such admirable virtue in life and doctrine, says Gregory of Tours, that in a short space of time, his preaching made almost the entire city Christian.

But the enemy, envying such prosperous success, sought to disturb this happiness by raising a double calamity. He harassed the most famous Churches of Gaul, Vienne and Lyon, with a massive and cruel persecution by the Pagans. At the same time, he tried to defile and scatter the churches of Asia and Phrygia, which were most closely joined to them in pious doctrine and agreement of faith, with the false prophets and filthy heresies of Montanus, Alcibiades, Theodotus, and Maximilla. Therefore, the Gauls, being solicitous for the safety of their brethren, decided to transmit to Asia very full letters from the Martyrs about the things happening among them, along with their own judgment, which Eusebius calls prudent and exceptionally right, regarding the opinions of the Montanists. Not only that, but they also wrote to Eleutherus, Bishop of Rome, whom they vehemently asked that peace and concord be established in the Church, and they added these to the same letters destined for the brethren in Asia and Phrygia. Who indeed would be more worthy to fulfill such a holy, grave, and double embassy than Irenaeus alone? They knew him to be most prompt to undergo every labor and every danger for Christ and his Church. Thus, requested by Pothinus and other leaders of the Gallic churches, and by the Martyrs still held in prison, he was sent as a legate to Rome regarding certain questions of the Church, as Jerome says. He carried honorable letters concerning his name to Eleutherus, consulted the Pontiff on doubtful matters, and shared the judgment of the Gauls concerning the Montanists for his approval and confirmation. Having thus settled matters in Rome to his satisfaction, he set out eagerly for Asia, his homeland, to console the afflicted and disturbed Churches there with both his presence and his doctrine. He went to confirm their judgment by the sentence of the Western Apostolic See and to protect them in the once-received Catholic faith against the marks and assertions of new heresies.

In the Catalogue of Ecclesiastical Writers.

Book 11, Historical Mirror, chapter 124, in the Chronicles.

Book 5, chapter 4.

This was not only performed with great praise by a man entirely dedicated to God, for the benefit of the Eastern churches, but he also attended the Council of Caesarea in Palestine regarding these and other matters of faith, as Nauclerus, Vincent of Beauvais, and Hugh of Fleury have handed down to memory from earlier monuments.

From these things, it is concluded that the argument of Baronius is not strong enough to prevent the mission of our Irenaeus to the Asians, simply because no mention of it is made in Eusebius, Jerome, or any other ancient writer. For Eusebius himself writes that the Martyrs gave their letters to Eleutherus, along with the letters to the Asians, to be carried by the same Irenaeus, and he mentions no other legate. Therefore, either this legate set out for Asia, or none did, which no one would say. Consequently, that journey of Irenaeus to Asia should not be called into question, nor should Feuardentius be criticized for asserting it. How much time he spent in completing this double embassy, or how many years passed before he returned to Lyon, we cannot definitely affirm from the ancient writers. Nevertheless, it is certain that when Pothinus, a man of ninety years, departed this life along with other Martyrs in Gaul, Irenaeus, returning from his embassy, took up the Bishopric of the Church of Lyon.

The beginning of his administration was grave, restless, and turbulent, because the rage of persecution had either widely scattered, consumed, or certainly cast down a part of the Church. Fierce and monstrous enemies still threatened from every side. The Emperor Marcus Aurelius, a Stoic man educated from his early years in the college of the Salii sacrifices, and therefore harsher toward Christians, had not yet fully revoked the fourth persecution decreed by Nero. In the midst of such a shipwreck of the Church, all the words, deeds, and counsels of Irenaeus were directed toward gathering and restoring the common safety and returning the Church to its former state and increased discipline. He was by no means of the number of those whom we see as deer in battle and lions in peace. For by praying and preaching...