c. 155 – 325 AD

Irenaeus of Lyons

c. 130 – c. 202 AD

Lyons, Gaul (born in Smyrna)

Overview

A student of Polycarp who became bishop in Gaul. In Against Heresies he mounted the great early Christian case against Gnosticism.

He is the earliest writer to insist clearly on the unique authority of the fourfold Gospel: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

A comprehensive refutation of Gnosticism.

A handbook of Christian doctrine and proof from prophecy.

See what Irenaeus of Lyons wrote about Scripture. Open any book in the Bible reader and switch to the Commentary tab to find their insights.

Apologists, pastors, and theologians writing before Nicaea, often under pressure from persecution and from rival visions of Christianity.

7 Church Fathers in this era

Part of The Ante-Nicene Fathers