Saint of the Day: St Irenaeus of Lyons, Bishop, Defender of the Faith and Martyr

St. Irenaeus was born about the year 125 in Asia Minor, probably at Smyrna. He was well educated and was influenced by men who knew the Apostles, especially St. Polycarp, who had been a pupil of St. John the evangelist. According to Gregory of Tours, Polycarp sent Irenaeus as a missionary to Gaul, where he was a priest under St. Pothinus at Lyons. Irenaeus was sent to Rome in 177 with a letter from his fellow Christians to Pope St. Eleutherius pleading for leniency to the Montanists in Phrygia. In Irenaeus' absence a violent persecution of Christians broke out at Lyons, claiming Pothinus as one of its martyrs. Irenaeus was named Bishop of Lyons on his return in 178. He was the first great Catholic theologian. Irenaeus wrote in Greek and two of his profound works survived in tact. His five-book treatise against the heresy of Gnosticism constitutes an invaluable source of information on Church Christ established from its beginnings to the end of the second century. His work also conveys the apostolic tradition in it and is a powerful testimony to the primacy of the Pope.

The date of the death of Irenaeus is usually given as about the year 203. According to a late and dubious tradition he suffered martyrdom under Septimius Severus.

"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."

~ St. Irenaeus

Prayer for Various Types of Christians

Father, give perfection to beginners,understanding to the little ones, and help to those who are running their course.Give sorrow to the negligent, fervor to the lukewarm,and a good consummation to the perfect.

~St Irenaeus of Lyons, Bishop, Defender of the Faith and Martyr