Biography
Memorial Day: August 23 (September 5)
The path to Pastoral care
Little is known about the details of the life and pastoral ministry of Saint Irenaeus of Lyon. Even the place and date of birth of this great saint are hidden from us behind the veil of history. It is believed that Irenaeus ' parents were Christians.
With a high degree of confidence, we can say that he was born in the second quarter of the second century. Based on a number of indirect facts, this event dates back to approximately the 130th year.
According to the memoirs of Irenaeus himself, in his youth he had communion with Saint Polycarp of Smyrna, a friend of the outstanding pastor of the Church, Ignatius the God-Bearer, and a disciple of the Evangelist John the Theologian. Irenaeus ' circle of acquaintances included other men who had witnessed apostolic preaching and miracles.
The Greek name, close connection with the bishop of Smyrna, good knowledge of Greek literature, philosophy and poetry, familiarity with the methods of dialectic, give reason to believe that Irenaeus was of Greek origin (however, some researchers of his life and work admit that he had Syriac roots).
In all likelihood, the small homeland of Irenaeus is Smyrna or one of the adjacent geographical areas.
The spiritual atmosphere in which Irenaeus was brought up influenced his upbringing in the most beneficial way.
The Smyrna Church, despite its poverty (Revelation 2: 9), was well organized. His preaching and missionary activities were characterized by strict conformity to the spirit of the Gospel and Apostolic Tradition. The zeal of Saint Polycarp of Smyrna to preserve and spread the faith in purity and purity was eventually transmitted to his disciple, Irenaeus.
Priestly service in Gaul
In what year of his life, under what particular circumstances, Irenaeus left his native land and went to Gaul (the territory of present-day France), history does not tell. One thing is certain: his goal was to spread the message and strengthen the faith among the local population. It is believed that this mission was blessed by Polycarp of Smyrna himself. And this is not surprising. After all, there was a long-standing friendly communion between the Christians of Smyrna and Gaul.
At that time, the head of the Lyons Church was Bishop Pofin. Irenaeus, who was ordained a priest, zealously bore the burden of pastoral ministry with him, was a zealous fighter for the purity of the faith, and an assistant to the ruling bishop.
The time of Irenaeus ' ministry fell during an era of severe persecution of the Church, which alternately faded and flared up with renewed vigor. Christians were robbed, punished for far-fetched crimes, deprived of their property, beaten, tortured, raped, and killed. To these external dangers were added the internal ones associated with the spread of heresies and schismatic sentiments.
All this required from the clergy special love, zeal and responsibility before God and His flock. The Christians of Lyons, and among them Bishop Pofin, saw in Irenaeus just such a presbyter.
At that time, the Montanist sect gained great influence. The followers of this community claimed primacy in the possession of the blessed gifts. When the followers of Montanus reached Rome and began to spread their errors among the Roman Christians, Bishop Eleutherius, well aware of the danger, announced that he was breaking off good religious relations with the adherents of this heresy.
The Lyons martyrs, showing the most lively interest in these events, sent a message to Eleutherius, and entrusted it to Prester Irenaeus to deliver it, about which a few lines were said in the same message. In these lines, the martyrs expressed their full confidence in Irenaeus, calling him a brother and accomplice. They also pointed out that if the position of a presbyter was determined solely by righteousness, Irenaeus would be the first among them.
The message played a positive role. The bishop of Rome took into account the wishes of the Lyons faithful and granted peace to the erring.
Episcopal ministry
After the death of the ninety-year-old Bishop of Pofin, who died in prison in 177 or 178, Saint Irenaeus, with the support of the people, was awarded the elevation to the episcopal see of Lyons.
One of his current tasks was to restore the activity of the Lyon Church after the recent persecution. The task was not easy: many members of the Church were tortured or killed, and the discontent of the pagans still made itself felt.
Bishop Irenaeus did not stop doing everything in his power to establish the faith. He preached a great deal himself and sent priests to preach in remote Gallic regions, particularly in Valencia and Besancon.
Another important field of the new bishop was the struggle against Gnosticism. In this respect, Saint Irenaeus is recognized as the most outstanding figure of his time.
In general, the Gnostic false teachings were an explosive mixture of perverted Christian ideas, pagan myths, philosophical teachings, and private fantasies. Because of this, all of them were characterized by ambiguity and confusion of content. The associated incomprehensibility of views was articulated as mystery. In some sects, false miracles were practiced to increase the atmosphere of mystery or mysticism. The followers of each Gnostic sect believed that it was their "faith" that was perfect. This often attracted the religiously illiterate and vain to join their ranks.
Irenaeus of Lyons was bothered and disturbed by all this situation. At every opportunity, he explained to his flock the danger of deviating from the faith of Christ and obedience to the Church, and exposed the absurdity of Gnostic teachings.
While advocating for the purity of the faith, he did not limit himself to the area of his diocese. So, he sent a message to the priest Florinus and pointed out to him his heretical deviations, and when the latter refused to listen to sound advice, Irenaeus wrote to the bishop of Rome, asking him to react, take urgent measures of influence and extinguish the heretical hearth.
During several years of his pastoral ministry, he thoroughly researched, described and exposed a number of Gnostic trends. Subsequently, his works were collected into a single work, which became the property of the Universal Church. The level of orientation in the field of Gnostic ideas demonstrated by Irenaeus of Lyons is still very exciting. Now this work is known to the reader by the title: Denunciation and refutation of false-named knowledge (Against heresies)
Participation in the Easter controversy
In addition to the listed cases, Saint Irenaeus was also noted in the memory of believers as a supporter of settling disputes related to the day of Easter celebration.
The question of the time of celebrating Easter was raised as early as in 154. Then it became the subject of discussion between Polycarp of Smyrna and the Roman Bishop Anikita. As a result of this discussion, the parties remained of the same opinion, but this did not lead them to a conflict.
The difference in approaches was due to the fact that the Asian communities, referring to the authority of John the Theologian and the Apostle Philip, were guided by the tradition of celebrating Easter on the 14th day of the month of Nisan (according to the lunar calendar), that is, on the day of the annual cycle on which Israel celebrated the Old Testament Passover (the same day The Roman Church, although it linked Easter with 14 Nisan, however, did not celebrate it on any day of the week, but strictly on Sunday.
Under Irenaeus, around 190, another dispute broke out over this issue: this time between Bishop Victor of Rome and Polycrates of Ephesus. The situation led to tension in relations between bishops and threatened to break relations between the Churches led by them. By intervening, Irenaeus persuaded the bishop of Rome to reconcile with Polycrates, and peace was restored.
In 202, Irenaeus of Lyons was martyred.
Creative heritage
Only a few works have come down to us from Saint Irenaeus: A denunciation and refutation of false-named knowledge (Against heresies), a proof of the apostolic preaching, about the tyrannical kingdom of the Antichrist. Meanwhile, the knowledge taught in these works is difficult to overestimate.
First of all, here is a positive presentation of the Christian faith. On the pages of these works, Irenaeus deals with such important sections of dogma as the doctrine of God, the Atonement, the creation of the world, the fall, the Church, the Sacraments, Tradition, etc.
On the other hand, he gives a coherent picture and a clear description of the most dangerous misconceptions of his time. Each exposure is accompanied by irrefutable arguments and can serve as a relevant tool in the struggle for the purity of faith even today.