St. Irenaeus

St. Irenaeus of Lyons

St. Irenaeus was one of the most important people in the early Church to the point he was called one of the fathers of the Church.

He was born circa A.D.125 in a province in Asia Minor. There he   was influenced by another saint, Saint Polycarp. Sometime later he along with many priests and missionaries went to Gaul and formed a local church which would be the foundation of the church of Lyon. He served as a priest there under the bishop St. Pothinus. He was then sent in 177 to Rome. It is because of this that he avoided the persecutions in Lyons. When he got back, the persecution ended and he was sent to be the temporary bishopric.

During this time, Gnostic teachings had spread very far in Gaul. This prompted him to reveal the errors in these heresies. In five books he contrasted these heretical teachings vs. the true message passed on to the Apostles. Originally in Greek, once the writings spread, it was converted into Latin; this ultimately created the finishing blow to the teachings of Gnostics in that Gnosticism never again would be a serious threat to the Church.

It was assumed that his death year is 202 although it is not certain. The tomb/shrine that contained his bodily relics were destroyed by the Calvinists in 1562 making the relics seem to have perished. Although not considered a Doctor of the Church, he was still a pivotal saint that was the major contributor to defeating one of the great heresies of the time making him one of the most important saints in early Church history.