LIfe in man is the glory of God; life of man is the vision of God

Treasures of Our Faith with Deacon Richard Vehige

Today, June 28, as our Church celebrates the Memorial of Irenaeus, bishop, martyr, and doctor, our treasure is from the treatise Against Heresies by Saint Irenaeus, bishop.

Saint Ireneus was born around the year 130. Educated at Smyrna, he became the disciple of Saint Polycarp, bishop of that city. In the year, 177 he was ordained priest at Lyons in France and shortly thereafter was made bishop of that city. he compose works defending the Catholic faith against errors of the Gnostics, and it is said that he received the martyr’s crown around the year 200.

On Jan. 21, 2022, Pope Francis named a Saint Irenaeus as a Doctor of the Church. Although he has just now been named a doctor of the Church, St. Irenaeus has always been known as a brilliant and orthodox teacher of the faith. The documents of the Second Vatican Council cite 14 references to his work, and the Catechism of the Catholic Church cites him 29 times.

Pope Francis assigned St. Irenaeus the title “doctor of unity” for his efforts to unite the Church, which was competing against the heresy of Gnosticism. Gnosticism taught that the world was created and ruled by a lesser divinity, the demiurge, and that Christ was an emissary of the remote supreme divine being, esoteric knowledge (gnosis) of whom enabled the redemption of the human spirit.

St. Irenaeus might also be the first doctor of the Church to die as a martyr. St. Irenaeus is known mainly for his clear and systematic teaching of the Christian faith because he considered the role of a bishop primarily as a teacher. He was particularly interested in apostolic succession, and he produced one of the earliest lists of the first bishops, going back to the time of the Apostles.

He is most known, though, for his treatises Against All Heresies, written about the year 180. Most of these heresies, as already mentioned, were from Gnosticism. He clearly understood the need to articulate the orthodox faith taught by the Apostles and against those who promoted other ideas that threatened the Apostles’ teachings. All this was more than 100 years prior to the Council of Nicaea, which began to codify Christian dogma.

Saint Irenaeus was the last known living connection with the apostles. He is the earliest surviving witness to regard all four of the canonical gospels as essential.