St. Irenaeus: Bishop and Father of the Church
The saint of the day for June 28th is St. Irenaeus (c.130 - c.200), Bishop of Lyons (France) and Father of the Church. Irenaeus was born in Smyrna (modern-day Turkey), although he later settled in Rome. He was well -educated and was influenced by men who knew the Apostles, especially St. Polycarp, who had been a student of St. John the evangelist. Irenaeus served as a priest of the Church of Lyons during the Christian persecution under the reign of Marcus Aurelius, the pagan Roman emperor (161–180). Many of the clergy from Lyons were imprisoned for their faith. In 177, he journeyed to Rome carrying a letter to Pope Eleuterus, urging him to deal with the heresy of Montanism , which was now flourishing in the East. While Irenaeus was in Rome, a massacre occurred in Lyons. A persecution broke out, and some of the leaders of the Lyons church were imprisoned, while others suffered martyrdom. Thus, he did not share in the martyrdom of his fellow Christians. When he r...