Saint Irenaeus, or the peacemaker - as his name means - is the most famous father of the second century in his testimony to the apostolic faith and his defense of the Christian faith in the face of Gnostic heresies. Therefore, he deserves to be called the founder of Christian theology, and he was also called the “Father of Tradition.”

His upbringing:

It is difficult to determine the exact date of birth of Irenaeus, but patristic scholars believe that he was born between 135 and 145 AD, as Irenaeus himself tells us that in his early youth he knew Saint Polycarp, who was a disciple of John the Apostle, and that Saint John the Apostle was the one who appointed Polycarp as bishop of the Church of Smyrna or Izmir(1)Among the writings of Saint Irenaeus, the historian Eusebius recorded for us the letter that Saint Irenaeus wrote to Florinus:

[Because when I was a boy, I saw you in Lower Asia with Polycarp moving in the grandeur of the royal court, and trying to gain his approval. I remember the incidents of that time more clearly than the incidents of recent years. Because what boys learn is embedded in their minds. Likewise, I can describe the same place where the blessed Polycarp was sitting while he was giving his speeches, his comings and goings, his way of life, the appearance of his body, his speeches to the people, and the description he gave about his family to John and the others who saw the Lord, and because Polycarp remembered their words and what he heard from them about The Lord and His miracles and teachings were received from witnesses who witnessed with their own eyes the Word of Life. He narrated everything in accordance with the Holy Scriptures. As I listened to these matters, with God’s mercy, with great attention, recording them not on paper, but in my heart, I began to repeat them constantly, faithfully, by God’s grace.](2).

From these words it is completely clear that Irenaeus came into contact with the apostolic era through Saint Polycarp, and this is what prepared him to be a faithful witness to the apostolic tradition that he received through Polycarp, who was a disciple and friend of Saint John the Apostle and others who saw the Lord. Several years after the martyrdom of Saint Polycarp in the year 156 AD, he traveled to the west, heading to Gaul (currently France). He may have stayed some time in Rome on his way to France, and he may have been a student for some time with teachers such as Justin, who was in Rome in That period before his martyrdom. Then he ended up in Gaul.

In the year 177 AD, the martyrs of the churches of Lyons and Vienna, who were in prison, while he was a priest of the Church of Lyons, sent him to mediate in the conflict that arose regarding the Montanus heresy in Asia Minor. He carried a letter from the churches of Vienna and Lyon to the churches of Asia and Phrygia, which some scholars believe was from the pen of Irenaeus himself. Parts of this letter were preserved in the History of Eusebius, Book V: 1-3.

The churches of Lyon and Vienna also sent another letter to Eleftherios, Bishop of Rome (175-189), through Irenaeus, and these confessors from prison witnessed the following testimony about Irenaeus in this letter: [O Father Eleftherios, once again we always hope for peace from God. We have asked our brother and companion Irenaeus to carry this message to you, and we beg you to hold him in high esteem because he is full of zeal for Christ’s trust and covenant. If the position bestowed righteousness on anyone, we would have recommended him, as he is the first to deserve a recommendation because he is a priest of the church and this is his position.](3).

After Irenaeus returned from Rome, the elderly Bishop of Lyons, Photius, died a martyr, and Irenaeus became Bishop of Lyons as his successor.

Irenaeus and the problem of the Four Seasons (i.e. the celebration of Passover on the 14th of Hebrew Nisan):

In the year 190 AD, a dispute occurred between the churches of Asia Minor and Victor I, Bishop of Rome, regarding the date of celebrating Christian Easter. Victor held a council in Rome in which he excommunicated the bishops of Asia because they celebrated Easter on April 14. The Bishop of Rome asked all the churches of the world to follow the tradition of the Roman Church regarding Easter, which is that the Christian holiday be on the Sunday following the Jewish Passover, while the churches of Asia Minor used to celebrate Resurrection with the Jews on the fourteenth day of Nisan, on any day agreed upon. Of the days of the week. Saying that they received this tradition from Polycarp, and that he in turn received it from John the Apostle.

In this difficult situation in this era, Irenaeus emerged and played an important role in preserving the integrity of the Church. He wrote a number of letters to the bishops in Asia and to Victor, Bishop of Rome himself, in which he urged everyone to peace, or in the words of the historian Eusebius, he said: [The secret of the Lord’s Resurrection must be It is kept only on the Lord's Day]. Eusebius adds, saying: [Indeed, Irenaeus did so when he advised Victor not to cut off all of the churches of God, which preserved the tradition of an ancient custom... Thus, Irenaeus became a peacemaker, and this is the meaning of his name, as he gave advice and sent the necessary messages in this way for the peace of the churches.](4).

After this situation, Irenaeus’ apostolic role in restoring peace between the churches became evident, which made Jerome call him “the apostolic bishop and martyr” in the context of his interpretation of the Book of Isaiah. Quasten mentions(5) After this prominent role as peacemaker for the entire church, there was no mention of Irenaeus in historical sources until Gregory, Bishop of Tours (573-594), mentioned him.(6)It was mentioned that he died as a martyr in the year 202 AD. Thus, Saint Irenaeus witnessed the devastation of the city of Lyon, which occurred in the year 197 AD.

{jb_bluebox}For more about this problem and how to solve it, see: Easter problem{/jb_bluebox}

Writings of Irenaeus:

In addition to Irenaeus' pastoral work as bishop of a diocese, he devoted a large part of his time to the task of refuting Gnostic heresies through the many writings he wrote for this purpose. His ingenuity and talent in refuting deviant teachings is particularly evident in the famous and huge book written by Saint Irenaeus, known as “Against Heresies,” in five books. Irenaeus combined a broad and comprehensive knowledge of the sources of faith and tradition with a serious spirit and great religious enthusiasm. His comprehensive knowledge of the church tradition, which he owed to his relationship with Saint Polycarp and other disciples of the other apostles, this knowledge of the church tradition was a source of great strength in his struggle against heretics.

Unfortunately, his writings in Greek were lost at an early date. Of his many writings and works written in his Greek language, only two books remain:

1 - One of these two books is his book, which surpasses all other books in its importance in terms of faith. This book is what is known as “Against Heresies,” but it did not reach us in the original Greek language in which it was written, but rather in a Latin translation, which is a literal translation. This book consists of two main parts. The first part reveals the origins and details of the Gnostic heresy. It mentions the names of Gnostic heretics, and scholars consider it the best source for knowledge of Gnosticism and its history. The second part refutes the teachings of the Gnostics, especially Valentinus and Marcion, and clarifies the Church’s doctrine of the Father and the Son, and all the basic doctrines of faith handed down from the Apostles.

2 - The second important book written by Saint Irenaeus is “Explanation of the Apostolic Preaching,” and for ease of use, we will mention it under the title “The Apostolic Preaching.” This book's Greek original was lost over the past centuries. We only had his name, and his name was preserved in Eusebius’ book History of the Church (Book V, Chapter 26). In the year 1904 AD, God wanted this important book to be discovered in its entirety in a translation in the Armenian language, and what was discovered by him was Ter-Mekerttschian, who Published for the first time in 1907 AD.

(1) See Against The Heresies (=AH) 3:3:4, and also Eusebius of Caesarea, History of the Church.

(2) Eusebius of Caesarea: History of the Church, translated by Father Mark David, chapter 5, chapter 5:20-7, second edition, Library of Charity, Cairo, 1970, pp. 272-273.

(3) Eusebius of Caesarea, History of the Church, 2:4:5, p. 247.

(4) Eusebius of Caesarea, Church History 11:24:5, 18.

(5)Quasten, Patrology Vol. I, 288.

(6)See Historia Francorum,!, 27, and see Murray Dictionary of Christian Biography, Vol. 2, p. 771, London 1880.