3,880
edits
Irenaeus: Difference between revisions
no edit summary
No edit summary |
No edit summary |
||
| Line 4: | Line 4: | ||
=Biography= | |||
Surprisingly little is known about Irenaeus, compared to what is known of his teachings, as he did not disclose much of his personal story or testimonies in his own writings. The exact date of Irenaeus' birth is unknown (dates between 115 - 142 have been suggested), and he is thought to have been a Greek from Polycarp's hometown of Smyrna in Asia Minor, now Izmir, Turkey, raised in a Christian family rather than converting as an adult. | Surprisingly little is known about Irenaeus, compared to what is known of his teachings, as he did not disclose much of his personal story or testimonies in his own writings. The exact date of Irenaeus' birth is unknown (dates between 115 - 142 have been suggested), and he is thought to have been a Greek from Polycarp's hometown of Smyrna in Asia Minor, now Izmir, Turkey, raised in a Christian family rather than converting as an adult. | ||
| Line 24: | Line 24: | ||
=Against Heresies= | |||
Irenaeus wrote the following about John and Polycarp's approach to heretics, which explains his own zeal: | Irenaeus wrote the following about John and Polycarp's approach to heretics, which explains his own zeal: | ||
| Line 41: | Line 41: | ||
:''For they can neither confer sight on the blind, nor hearing on the deaf, nor chase away all sorts of demons--[none, indeed,] except those that are sent into others by themselves, if they can even do so much as this. Nor can they cure the weak, or the lame, or the paralytic, or those who are distressed in any other part of the body, as has often been done in regard to bodily infinity. Nor can they furnish effective remedies for those external accidents which may occur. And so far are they from being able to raise the dead, as the Lord raised them, and the apostles did by means of prayer, and as has been frequently done in the brotherhood on account of some necessity--the entire Church in that particular locality entreating [the boon] with much fasting and prayer, the spirit of the dead man has returned, and he has been bestowed in answer to the prayers of the saints--that they do not even believe this can be possibly be done, [and hold] that the resurrection from the dead(3) is simply an acquaintance with that truth which they proclaim.''(Vol. I Ante-Nicene Fathers 407) | :''For they can neither confer sight on the blind, nor hearing on the deaf, nor chase away all sorts of demons--[none, indeed,] except those that are sent into others by themselves, if they can even do so much as this. Nor can they cure the weak, or the lame, or the paralytic, or those who are distressed in any other part of the body, as has often been done in regard to bodily infinity. Nor can they furnish effective remedies for those external accidents which may occur. And so far are they from being able to raise the dead, as the Lord raised them, and the apostles did by means of prayer, and as has been frequently done in the brotherhood on account of some necessity--the entire Church in that particular locality entreating [the boon] with much fasting and prayer, the spirit of the dead man has returned, and he has been bestowed in answer to the prayers of the saints--that they do not even believe this can be possibly be done, [and hold] that the resurrection from the dead(3) is simply an acquaintance with that truth which they proclaim.''(Vol. I Ante-Nicene Fathers 407) | ||
=Irenaeus' Theology= | |||
{| style="width:118px; padding: 0.3em; float:right; margin-left:15px;border: 1px solid #B8C7D9;" | {| style="width:118px; padding: 0.3em; float:right; margin-left:15px;border: 1px solid #B8C7D9;" | ||
|- | |- | ||
| Line 71: | Line 71: | ||
=Irenaeus and Rome= | |||
One method Irenaeus used to attack the heretics who had left the established Churches to form their own theology is the argument of Apostolic succession, or the continuence of Bishops in the Churches, with the purpose that this succession most accurately represents the apostolic truth. Irenaeus wrote: | One method Irenaeus used to attack the heretics who had left the established Churches to form their own theology is the argument of Apostolic succession, or the continuence of Bishops in the Churches, with the purpose that this succession most accurately represents the apostolic truth. Irenaeus wrote: | ||
| Line 89: | Line 89: | ||
=References= | |||
*The following are taken from the collection of works entitled '''The Anti-Nicene Fathers''' | *The following are taken from the collection of works entitled '''The Anti-Nicene Fathers''' | ||
**[[Irenaeus Introduction|Introduction]] | **[[Irenaeus Introduction|Introduction]] | ||