Irenaeus of Lyons
Also: Irenaeus, Eirenaios
Born perhaps between 120 and 140, probably in Smyrna (now İzmir, Turkey). Died perhaps between 195 and 203, probably in Lugdunum (now Lyon, France).
A man from Asia Minor who became bishop of Lyon in Gaul. His great work Against Heresies answers the Gnostic teachers.
Wrote in Greek. A major author.
Places lived
- 135 to 155Smyrna (now İzmir, Turkey)youthyears not sure, place probable
- 177 to 200Lugdunum (now Lyon, France)priest, then bishopyears probableIn 177 he carried a letter from Lyon to Rome.
Works
3 works, in the order they were written. 3 works can be read here.
- Fragments from the Lost WritingsPieces of lost letters and treatises of Irenaeus, among them his letters to Florinus and to Victor of Rome.10,165 words
- Against HeresiesFive books that describe the Gnostic systems and answer them from Scripture and the faith of the churches.243,308 words
- Demonstration of the Apostolic PreachingA short summary of the Christian faith and of the Old Testament proofs for it.31,960 words
How we know the dates and places
- Born not sure
- No ancient source. Scholars say about 130. See Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, 3rd ed. rev. (2005), 'Irenaeus'.
- Place of birth probable
- Irenaeus, Letter to Florinus, in Eusebius, Church History 5.20 (as a boy he heard Polycarp)
- Died not sure
- His last known act is a letter to Victor of Rome, about 190 (Eusebius, Church History 5.24). The year 202 is a late tradition.
That he died a martyr is first said by Jerome (Commentary on Isaiah 64) and Gregory of Tours. - Place of death probable
- Gregory of Tours, Histories 1.29 (1.27 in the old Latin edition of Migne); no early source
- Smyrna, years not sure
- Irenaeus, Letter to Florinus, in Eusebius, Church History 5.20; Against Heresies 3.3.4
- Smyrna, place probable
- Irenaeus, Letter to Florinus, in Eusebius, Church History 5.20; Against Heresies 3.3.4
- Lugdunum, years probable
- Eusebius, Church History 5.4 and 5.5 (priest in 177, then bishop after Pothinus) and 5.24
- Lugdunum, place sure
- Eusebius, Church History 5.4 and 5.5 (priest in 177, then bishop after Pothinus) and 5.24