Saint Irenaeus of Lyons

[Saint Irenaeus of Lyons]
Memorial
28 June (Western Church)
23 August (Eastern Church)
Profile
Disciple of Saint Polycarp of Smyrna. Priest in 177. Bishop of Lyons. Worked and wrote against Gnosticism, basing his arguments on the works of Saint John, whose Gospel is often cited by Gnostics. Considered the first great Western ecclesiastical writer, he emphasized the unity of the Old and New Testaments, and of Christ's simultaneous human and divine nature. Father of the Church. Martyr.
Born
c.130 in Asia Minor
Died
martyred in 202 in Lyons, France; tomb and relics were destroyed by Calvinists in 1562; head in Saint John's church, Lyons, France
Name Meaning
lover of peace; peaceful (greek)
Canonized
Pre-Congregation
Patronage
Mobile, Alabama, archdiocese of
Prayers
Prayer for Various Types of Christians
Storefront
Commercial Links related to Saint Irenaeus
Additional Information
New Catholic Dictionary
Catholic Encyclopedia, by Albert Poncelet
Catholic Online
Columbia Encyclopedia
Ecole Glossary, by Theresa A Winters
Encyclopedia Britannica
Google Directory
Lives of the Saints, by John J Crawley
Vietnamese Eucharistic Youth Society
Vikipedio esperanto
The Book of Saints, by the Monks of Ramsgate
Our Sunday Visitor's Encyclopedia of Saints, by Matthew Brunson
Translate
español | français | deutsch | italiano | português
Readings
For this is why the Word became man, and the Son of God became the Son of man: so that man, by entering into communion with the Word and thus receiving divine sonship, might become a son of God,

Saint Irenaeus
The glory of God gives life; those who see God receive life. Men will therefore see God if they are to live; through the vision of God they become immortal and attain to God himself.

God is the source of all activity throughout creation. He cannot be seen or described in his own nature and in all his greatness by any of his creatures. Yet he is certainly not unknown. Through his Word the whole creation learns that there is one God the Father, who holds all things together and gives them their being. As it is written in the Gospel, "No man has ever seen God, except the only-begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father; he has revealed him."

From the beginning the Son is the one who teacher us about the Father; he is with the Father from the beginning.

The Word revealed God to men and presented men to God. Life in man is the glory of God; the life of man is the vision of God. If the revelation of God through creation gives life to all who live upon the earth, much more does the manifestation of the Father through the Word give life to those who see God.

from Against the Heresies by Saint Irenaeus
Saints Index SQPN Contact Author