Reflection 4

St. Irenaeus was a second century bishop of Lyons, and a renowned Father of the Church. The circumstances and details about his death, like those of his birth and early life in Asia Minor, are not at all clear. We do know that he was associated with St. Polycarp, who was a disciple of St. John, and who, in a manner, belonged to the Apostolic Age. The Church is fortunate that Irenaeus was involved in many of its controversies in the second century. He was a student, well trained, no doubt, with great patience in investigating, tremendously protective of apostolic teaching, but prompted more by a desire to win over his opponents than to prove them in error. A prolific Christian writer and theologian, Irenaeus had seen and heard the Bishop Polycarp at Smyrna.

We know that he has famous writing in Latin entitled “Adversus haereses,” which was directed against Gnosticism, the heresy then spreading in Gaul and elsewhere. As bishop of Lyons he was especially concerned with the Gnostic, who took their name from the Greek word for “knowledge.” Claiming access to secret knowledge imparted by Jesus to only a few disciples, their teaching was attracting and confusing many Christians. After thoroughly investigating the various Gnostic sects and their “secret,” Irenaeus showed to what logical conclusions their tenets led. The writings of St. Irenaeus entitle him to a high place among the fathers of the Church, for they not only laid the foundations of Christian theology but, by exposing and refuting the errors of the Gnostics, they delivered the Catholic Faith from the real danger of the doctrines of those heretics.

We can see that Irenaeus was very determined to correct those people who had wrong beliefs and teachings. Though it was hard because there are really people who are hard headed and not willing to listen to the truth, but I have learned to be patient and to show compassion to people. I must be willing to love them by telling them what is right and true just like Irenaeus