What do you think?
Rate this book
Irenaeus of Lyons
During the 2nd century the Christian world was shaken by the 'Gnostics'. Irenaeus came from Asia Minor via Rome to become bishop of Lyons, clarify Christian doctrines & fight the Gnostics with a major, five-volume work. He was a living part of his contemporary culture & his approach filled early Christian thought with new life. The writings of Irenaeus exist as a whole only in Latin & Armenian. Here, Robert M. Grant offers translations of significant parts of his work, critically based on a complete reconstruction of the original Greek in the French series Sources Chretiennes. This collection will also be an invaluable resource for students of the Early Church.
214 pages, Paperback
First published December 16, 1996
56 people want to read
About the author
Irenaeus of Lyons
118 books100 followersSt. Irenaeus (2nd cenutry C.E. – c. 202) was Bishop of Lugdunum in Gaul, then a part of the Roman Empire (now Lyon, France). He was an early church father and apologist, and his writings were formative in the early development of Christian theology. Irenaeus' best-known book, Adversus Haereses or Against Heresies (c. 180) is a detailed attack on Gnosticism, which was then a serious threat to the Church, and especially on the system of the Gnostic Valentinus.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 7, 2025
Some of this is bound to historical context but much of it soars with limitless profundity.
April 2, 2016
Grant gives us a good introduction to the second century bishop of Lyons but the true contribution of this book is the abridged version of Irenaeus's Against the Heresies. Intended for an intra-church audience, Against the Heresies is a polemic that provided information on heresies, exegetical and doctrinal instruction for how to refute them, and confidence in the hope that Christ would make all things right. One of two extant works by Irenaeus, this polemic is extensive, exhaustive, and often repetitive. Grant's translation streamlines it but still gives thorough access to Irenaeus's examination of "Gnosticism," his famous doctrine of recapitulation, and his modeling of scriptural interpretation and the Rule of Truth.
Read
August 4, 2011Review of Irenaeus of Lyons (Early Church Fathers) by Robert Grant
Grant did a nice job summarizing difficult sections of St Irenaeus, and a good job in presenting them to us in a nice manner. Unfortunately, he spent most of his time summarizing the wrong sections and missed many key opportunities to explicate more helpful topics in St Irenaeus’s thought. For some reason academics think it is very important to summarize what Gnostics and ancient feminists believed about reality. Are they, too, Gnostics and feminists? Probably. Much of the book was laborious and boring—and this comes from someone who has read all five books of St Irenaeus’ Adversus Haerisis.
That is not to say the book is without merit. As noted earlier, Irenaeus’ key arguments are presented in an easy-to-find manner (this is made even easier if one reads it on the Amazon Kindle, as I did). We have Irenaeus’s very clear teaching on apostolic succession as a demonstration that the Gnostics are pale imitators of the Faith, and given their lack of AS, they cannot prove their faith. We see how to interpret Scripture—interpreting it in light of the regula fide within the context of the church. Most importantly, (if sadly too briefly) we have the Recapitulation of all things in Christ.
Excerpts from Irenaeus
Reading this in the Amazon Kindle makes it possible to bookmark, collect, and recall dozens of passages at a moment’s notice (while Kindle will never replace books, the research and cross-referencing abilities are overwhelmingly superior).
Irenaeus and the Septuagint
“Like other Patristic authors, Irenaeus fully accepted the authority of the LXX. The idea that the canon should be confined to Hebrew books never occurred to him. He therefore used 1-2 Esdras as well as 1 Enoch, Baruch (ascribed to Jeremiah) and the Greek additions to Daniel.”
Recapitulation
Irenaeus uses it as the key to at least four events in Scripture: God’s covenant with Adam, Noah, Moses, and the final covenant that renews man and recapitulates everything in itself, that which by the Gospel raises men and wings them for the celestial kingdom (3.11.8).
The structure of anakephalaiosis is this: events repeat one another, as well as the story involves not just progress, but restoration (see Joseph Farrell’s section in GHD).
The Nature of the Godhead
Irenaeus is rebutting Gnostic claims to God’s being, but he does so in a way that suggests later Eastern expressions of God. Irenaeus lists the standard attributes of God which can be found in any Western dogmatics model, but he takes it a step further and says, “But he is still above this and therefore ineffable” (1.13.4). In other words, God is hyperousia and beyond being.
Apostolic Succession
Irenaeus gives the standard defense of apostolic succession: bishops in communion with one another transmit and pass down the sacred deposit, but he goes a step further. He acts like apostolic succession is a common-sense given, but he says if it weren’t true then a great calamity would befall the church. (3.3.1)
In 3.4.1 he notes the easiest way to find out what the church believes on matters not found in Scripture is to ask those in the church. He goes on to say that the wisest thing to do when coming to sacred matters, is to ask for the most ancient form of your religion.
He makes one other interesting point: he says that many barbarians in German and elsewhere do not have a bible but are fully saved and accurately pass down the tradition. This one statement destroys a key part of Schaff’s The Principle of Protestantism.
Sin and the Curse
In either Book IV or Book V (at this point Kindle is not so helpful) Irenaeus notes that God did not curse Adam himself, but the land. He also notes this is an ancient tradition as well.
Free Will
In section 20.1 he notes that God has always preserved man’s free will.
Conclusion
Is the book worth getting? I'm not sure. Kindle makes the purchasing easier (if going by the paperback price the answer is a definite no). I'm beginning to suspect this Early Church Fathers Series by Routledge is not as superior as many wannabe scholars say it is. You get the same text you will find in Schaff or CCEL.org, although the text is admittedly organized better. The introductory sections are varying. Brian Daley's section on Gregory is good, as is Anatolios's on St Athanasius. Neither, however, is remarkable to justify the purchasing price. Neither section really alters one's perception of the Father (since the people who take the time and money to read these books are already reasonably familiar with said fathers).
As noted earlier, Grant's intro to Irenaeus does not stand out one way or another. He covered the basic ground, but did not say anything too different from what you would find in a theological or church history dictionary. He spent too much time incredulating (forgive the neologism) on Irenaeus's belief that Christ was 50 years old, and too little time on the actual recapitulatory hermeneutic itself.
Grant did a nice job summarizing difficult sections of St Irenaeus, and a good job in presenting them to us in a nice manner. Unfortunately, he spent most of his time summarizing the wrong sections and missed many key opportunities to explicate more helpful topics in St Irenaeus’s thought. For some reason academics think it is very important to summarize what Gnostics and ancient feminists believed about reality. Are they, too, Gnostics and feminists? Probably. Much of the book was laborious and boring—and this comes from someone who has read all five books of St Irenaeus’ Adversus Haerisis.
That is not to say the book is without merit. As noted earlier, Irenaeus’ key arguments are presented in an easy-to-find manner (this is made even easier if one reads it on the Amazon Kindle, as I did). We have Irenaeus’s very clear teaching on apostolic succession as a demonstration that the Gnostics are pale imitators of the Faith, and given their lack of AS, they cannot prove their faith. We see how to interpret Scripture—interpreting it in light of the regula fide within the context of the church. Most importantly, (if sadly too briefly) we have the Recapitulation of all things in Christ.
Excerpts from Irenaeus
Reading this in the Amazon Kindle makes it possible to bookmark, collect, and recall dozens of passages at a moment’s notice (while Kindle will never replace books, the research and cross-referencing abilities are overwhelmingly superior).
Irenaeus and the Septuagint
“Like other Patristic authors, Irenaeus fully accepted the authority of the LXX. The idea that the canon should be confined to Hebrew books never occurred to him. He therefore used 1-2 Esdras as well as 1 Enoch, Baruch (ascribed to Jeremiah) and the Greek additions to Daniel.”
Recapitulation
Irenaeus uses it as the key to at least four events in Scripture: God’s covenant with Adam, Noah, Moses, and the final covenant that renews man and recapitulates everything in itself, that which by the Gospel raises men and wings them for the celestial kingdom (3.11.8).
The structure of anakephalaiosis is this: events repeat one another, as well as the story involves not just progress, but restoration (see Joseph Farrell’s section in GHD).
The Nature of the Godhead
Irenaeus is rebutting Gnostic claims to God’s being, but he does so in a way that suggests later Eastern expressions of God. Irenaeus lists the standard attributes of God which can be found in any Western dogmatics model, but he takes it a step further and says, “But he is still above this and therefore ineffable” (1.13.4). In other words, God is hyperousia and beyond being.
Apostolic Succession
Irenaeus gives the standard defense of apostolic succession: bishops in communion with one another transmit and pass down the sacred deposit, but he goes a step further. He acts like apostolic succession is a common-sense given, but he says if it weren’t true then a great calamity would befall the church. (3.3.1)
In 3.4.1 he notes the easiest way to find out what the church believes on matters not found in Scripture is to ask those in the church. He goes on to say that the wisest thing to do when coming to sacred matters, is to ask for the most ancient form of your religion.
He makes one other interesting point: he says that many barbarians in German and elsewhere do not have a bible but are fully saved and accurately pass down the tradition. This one statement destroys a key part of Schaff’s The Principle of Protestantism.
Sin and the Curse
In either Book IV or Book V (at this point Kindle is not so helpful) Irenaeus notes that God did not curse Adam himself, but the land. He also notes this is an ancient tradition as well.
Free Will
In section 20.1 he notes that God has always preserved man’s free will.
Conclusion
Is the book worth getting? I'm not sure. Kindle makes the purchasing easier (if going by the paperback price the answer is a definite no). I'm beginning to suspect this Early Church Fathers Series by Routledge is not as superior as many wannabe scholars say it is. You get the same text you will find in Schaff or CCEL.org, although the text is admittedly organized better. The introductory sections are varying. Brian Daley's section on Gregory is good, as is Anatolios's on St Athanasius. Neither, however, is remarkable to justify the purchasing price. Neither section really alters one's perception of the Father (since the people who take the time and money to read these books are already reasonably familiar with said fathers).
As noted earlier, Grant's intro to Irenaeus does not stand out one way or another. He covered the basic ground, but did not say anything too different from what you would find in a theological or church history dictionary. He spent too much time incredulating (forgive the neologism) on Irenaeus's belief that Christ was 50 years old, and too little time on the actual recapitulatory hermeneutic itself.
September 13, 2014
I did some intensive study of Irenaeus while at seminary in New York many years ago and picked this up as a kind of review and with some interest in the critical apparatus.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews