Adversus Valentini, & similium gnosticorum haereses, libri quinque

Tertullian; Justin in his Apology.

Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History, book 5, chapter 5.

Irenaeus, book 1, chapters 8 and 9; Jerome, Letter to the widow Theodora.

Tertullian, On the Prescription of Heretics; Eusebius, book 5, chapter 19.

Jerome in his Catalog; Preface to books 1, 3, and 5.

Preface to book 1 and chapter 35 of book 1.

By persisting in season and out of season, he established this man and taught him of God; he rebuked another, besought another, and urged and corrected another with all patience and doctrine. He sought out what was lost from the flock; he brought back what was strayed and cast aside; he bound up what was broken; he strengthened and encouraged the weak; and he guarded those who were firm and solid. He presided over the gathered flock with such integrity of life and sincerity of doctrine that he was loved by his own people and deservedly respected by outsiders.

The affairs of the Church, which were then almost in decline, were greatly aided by the tranquility that came to all Christians toward the end of the reign of Emperor Marcus Antoninus Verus Also known as Marcus Aurelius. The Emperor was moved by the apologies of Melito, Apollinaris, Athenagoras, and Justin, as well as by the mercy of God and the constant weeping and prayers of the Christians. Finally, during the Marcomannic War, he was overcome by the miracle of the rain obtained through the prayers of Christian soldiers. He published edicts allowing Christians to hold their assemblies with all confidence and security, to have councils throughout the provinces, to travel freely through the entire empire, and to teach anyone openly. He even imposed heavy punishments on their accusers. Commodus, succeeding Antoninus, although he was troublesome in other matters he conducted, moved no persecution against the Christians, but allowed them to enjoy happily what had been granted by his father.

Yet the most hostile enemy of human salvation, that sower of weeds The Devil, attempted by other arts to disturb the peace of the Church and undermine its doctrine. He introduced the Valentinians and other Gnostics even as far as Gaul. Like serpents, they crept in gradually, infecting many with the poison of their heresies. They especially fascinated and corrupted the noble, illustrious, and wealthy matrons of the Rhone region through the works of a certain Marcus, a magician and most impure seducer. As has been common and familiar to all heretics since the foundation of the world, they always set snares for every kind of person, either for the sake of luxury, greed, or both at once.

Here, there was a need for strength and a firm heart. Therefore, Irenaeus, the ever-watchful pastor, placed as if on a watchtower for all of Gaul, stood guard with all his soul. He watched for everyone, taking hardly any rest, so that he might discover from where the enemies came, where they were traveling, whom they might rush upon, and with what weapons and arts they were equipped. By giving the signal, he warned and encouraged first the sheep near him, then others, and finally all of them to be diligently on their guard. Thus, by both his doctrine and his courage, he excellently vindicated the souls redeemed by the blood of Christ from this most pestilential contagion. His works testify to the labors he endured in this matter, the methods he followed for drawing out, teaching, and handing down discipline, and those whom he recalled to a better life. The public confessions original: "exomologeſes" of those who repented and the flocks of martyrs bear witness to this; we shall soon hear how they, along with him, met death for the sake of piety without delay.

Having left behind sufficiently strong defenses and having fortified the place, with the enemies of the faith either put to flight or repressed, he considered it worthwhile to bring help to the pastors of other churches through his vigils and writings. And since many types of heretics had now flocked to Rome—namely Blastus, who under the pretext of the Paschal rite intended to introduce Judaism into the Church, and Florinus, who preached along with the fables of Valentinus that God was the author of evil, and many other meddlers who were gradually drawing many away from the embrace of the Church to their own opinion—Irenaeus was therefore compelled to write and send various letters against them. One was to Blastus, which he titled On Schism, and he wrote a book On the Ogdoad The group of eight primary divine emanations in Gnostic systems, which Jerome calls an excellent commentary. He convicted the doctrine of Florinus of blasphemy and impiety in the book On the Monarchy, or, That God is Not the Author of Evils.

Then, moved by the requests or instructions of certain people, or by mutual love, he decided to detect and refute all heretics together in five most learned books. To approach this more easily, he first thought he must read through their writings with diligent study; then, he engaged in frequent disputes with them. Once their strength was known and explored, he could later repel or destroy their pestiferous writings and dogmas with no difficulty. This succeeded according to his desire, with great benefit to the Church. For in the first book, he leads them all out from their dens like destructive monsters and cruel wild beasts (to use his own examples and words), to be destroyed by everyone. Having stripped off the sheep’s skins, he reveals the heavy wolves to be pursued. He offers the crafty little foxes and impure dogs, hidden in royal robes—that is, in certain distorted passages of the Scriptures—to be openly mocked and driven out with a club. In the next four books, he refutes and damns them most sharply and fully in various serious encounters.

At that time also, that most well-known disagreement concerning the day of Passover Easter became so inflamed that it broke out into

Eusebius, book 5, chapter 22 and 23.

Eusebius, book 5, chapter 22.

Eusebius, book 5, chapter 24.

Eusebius, book 5, chapter 25.

Surius, volume 2, April 23.

Eusebius, book 5, chapter 25.

Eusebius in his Chronicle.

Ado of Vienne, chapter 6, section 19.

Gregory of Tours, book 1, chapter 25; Usuard.

an open schism, and it seemed that a great contention between the Asians and Europeans was about to erupt. The Asians, whose primary leader was Polycrates of Ephesus, stubbornly judged from the ancient tradition of their fathers that the Pascha Passover/Easter should be celebrated according to the custom of the Jews on the fourteenth day of the moon, on whatever day of the week it might fall. Opposite them stood Victor, the Bishop of Rome, teaching from the principles of the Apostolic tradition and the determination of a council gathered at Rome, that the fast should not be broken and the feast celebrated except on the Lord’s day, on which the Savior had risen from the dead.

The bishops of Gaul, over whom Irenaeus presided, gathered in a synod for this matter and followed the side of Victor with one mind. Several other councils were also gathered in the East, Asia, and Palestine by the most holy bishops, in which the custom of the Roman Church was approved as truly Apostolic and to be imitated. The churches of Pontus, with Palma, an apostolic man, presiding, and Achaia, with Bachylus, the leader of the Corinthians, presiding, all judged that the successor of Blessed Peter should be followed. Moved by these things, Victor, intending to put an end to this strife once and for all (as it seemed to him), thought to cut off many churches of Asia Minor along with other neighboring ones from the common unity of the Church as if they were of another faith. Having attacked them severely in letters, he declared that all brothers following that region were to be entirely secluded from communion.

But Irenaeus did not wish to be held as an idle spectator of such a deadly war. Beautifully responding to the call of his own name The name Irenaeus is derived from the Greek word for "peace", and thinking that concord among the churches should be embraced, retained, and propagated with all zeal, he directed letters now to these, now to many other bishops. He restrained the disagreements and reconciled the alienated minds. He urged, asked, and beseeched that diverse observations of external rites should not dissolve the bond of peace and love. Hence, the headlong counsel of the Roman Bishop did not please all others, even if they agreed with him on the controversy, but was instead disapproved. Among them, Irenaeus, writing in his own name and that of the brothers over whom he presided, rebuked the man gravely and sharply with direct letters. He scolded him with holy Gallic liberty and greatly exhorted him to have a more diligent and circumspect care for peace, concord, and charity toward neighbors. By setting forth the example of Anicetus and Polycarp, and by many other serious arguments, he entirely deterred and recalled the man from cutting off such illustrious churches from the body of Christ. Thus, after the turbulent storm that had tossed the Christian churches, a great tranquility and serenity followed.

Then this most pious man, striving with all his might to retain the souls already acquired for Christ so that they would not henceforth be carried about by every wind of doctrine but would persevere constantly in that which the Apostles had handed down, published a book in which he explained the manner and reason of the Apostolic preaching. He dedicated it to a certain brother named Marcianus The text says Matidae, likely a transcription error for Marcianus. He also wrote another book on discipline, and a book titled Dialexin diaphoron A Discourse on Various Matters, in which he mentions both the Epistle to the Hebrews and the Book of Wisdom, and cites certain testimonies taken from them for the instruction of the Church.

It was not enough for him to have consecrated and devoted a great flock to Christ at Lugdunum Lyon; but so that he might also make the neighboring nations, still entangled in the errors of many gods, participants in Evangelical grace, he delegated holy men to them. He sent Ferreolus the Priest and Ferrutio the Deacon, whom he had previously informed and instructed with healthy precepts and examples, to initiate the people of the city of Vesontio Besançon into Christ. Then he sent Felix the Priest, Achilles the Deacon, and Fortunatus to the city of Valentia Valence to introduce the true God through the preaching of our piety. To ensure that the knowledge of the true God might penetrate more quickly to more people, he published a book against the errors of the Gentiles, which he titled On Knowledge. Eusebius says it was brief but extremely necessary.

Having performed such holy labors for several years under the emperor Antoninus, then through the entire time of Commodus’s empire, and finally under Severus, when he had already fought the good fight over a long enough course and kept the faith, it remained for him to receive the crown. Therefore, Severus Pertinax, cruel toward all and most cruel toward Christians, in the ninth year of his empire and the two hundred and sixth year of the Christian era, vexed the Christians in the fifth persecution since Nero. He crowned very many throughout various provinces with martyrdom. Gregory of Tours reports that at Lyon the cruelty was greatest of all, and that the devil exercised such wars there through tyrants, and such a multitude of Christians were slaughtered for the confession of the Lord’s name, that rivers of Christian blood ran through the streets. Their number and names could not be collected, but the Lord wrote them in the book of life. Then also the executioner dedicated the Blessed Irenaeus, having been affected by various punishments, along with almost the entire population of his city, to Christ the Lord through martyrdom. Trithemius recorded that this happened on the 28th of June original: "4. Calen. Julij", when he was about sixty years of age.