The Ante-Nicene Church · AD 180–313
Irenaeus of Lyon
c. 130 – c. 202 · Bishop of Lyon · Theologian of the apostolic tradition · Smyrna → Lugdunum, Gaul
The Ante-Nicene Church
Who Irenaeus of Lyon was
Irenaeus heard Polycarp preach as a boy in Smyrna — “I can describe the very place in which he sat,” he wrote in old age — and so stood two handshakes from the apostle John. A missionary presbyter among the Celts of the Rhône, he was away carrying the confessors’ letter to Rome when the pogrom of 177 killed bishop Pothinus, and returned to the widowed see. Against the Gnostic systems he raised the first great work of Christian theology, Against Heresies: five books arguing that the public tradition of the apostles, guarded by the open succession of bishops and the fourfold Gospel, tells one story — creation, incarnation, and the “recapitulation” of all things in Christ. He likely died around 202, by later report a martyr.
Also listed in bishops beyond the great sees.
Common questions
When did Irenaeus live?
Irenaeus of Lyon is dated c. 130 – c. 202 in the archive, which places Irenaeus in the Ante-Nicene Church (AD 180–313). The dating is traditional and approximate; the archive marks it as uncertain rather than fixing a year the sources do not give.
What did Irenaeus write?
Irenaeus of Lyon has 2 catalogued writings in the archive: Against Heresies and Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching.
Which early sources mention Irenaeus?
Irenaeus of Lyon is named in 4 primary-source passages catalogued here, drawn from The confessors of Lyon, Tertullian of Carthage, Basil of Caesarea and Jerome. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Irenaeus from?
The archive associates Irenaeus of Lyon with Smyrna, Lugdunum, Gaul. The sources record more than one location, so the places are listed in the order the record moves through them.
Writings (2)
Against Heresies
c. 180For the glory of God is a living man; and the life of man consists in beholding God.Read the interlinear source text →
Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching
c. 190Lost for centuries and recovered in an Armenian manuscript in 1904 — a compact handbook of the faith, proving the gospel from the Old Testament for a friend named Marcianus.Read the interlinear source text →
Primary-source mentions (4)
Every passage below is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Letter of Lyon & Vienne, via HE V.4 (the martyrs' commendation)
c. AD 177We have asked our brother and comrade Irenaeus to carry this letter to you, and we entreat you to hold him in esteem, as zealous for the covenant of Christ.The confessors of Lyon · via Ecclesiastical History V.4 · source text
Against the Valentinians 5 ('that very exact inquirer into all doctrines')
c. AD 207Irenaeus, that very exact inquirer into all doctrines.Tertullian of Carthage · Against the Valentinians 5
Tertullian's Adversus Valentinianos, written c. AD 207–208 and drawn largely from the first book of Irenaeus, whom chapter 5 calls omnium doctrinarum curiosissimus explorator. Critical text: Jean-Claude Fredouille, Sources Chrétiennes 280–281 (1980–81). English translation in Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 3 (1885), public domain.
On the Holy Spirit 29.72 (cited as 'near to the apostles')
c. AD 375On Illustrious Men 35
c. AD 393It is certain too that he was a disciple of Polycarp, the priest and martyr, whom we mentioned above. He wrote five books Against heresies.Jerome · 35 · source text
Connected in the archive
Disciple of Polycarp, and through him heir of John; Hippolytus was reckoned his pupil; succeeded the martyred Pothinus of Lyon
People
- Polycarp of Smyrna
- John the Apostle
- Hippolytus of Rome
- Blandina of Lyon
- Saturninus of Antioch
- Hermas of Rome
- Ptolemy the Valentinian
- Valentinus
- Pothinus of Lyon
- Marcus the Magician
- Eleutherus of Rome
- Blastus of Rome
- Florinus of Rome
- Victor I of Rome
Events in this lifetime
- AD 135 · Bar Kokhba crushed; Aelia Capitolina, AD 135
- AD 144 · Marcion expelled at Rome, AD 144
- AD 156 · The New Prophecy erupts, AD 156
- AD 177 · Persecution at Lyon and Vienne, AD 177
- AD 180 · The Scillitan martyrs, AD 180
- AD 190 · The Quartodeciman controversy, AD 190
- AD 202 · Perpetua and Felicity martyred, AD 202
Place
Places served
The 3 places the sources put Irenaeus, in the order the record moves through them. This is what the sources attest, not a reconstructed route.