Life and significance
A peacemaker and guardian of apostolic faith
Irenaeus was raised in Smyrna and learned the Christian faith from Polycarp, who had known the apostle John. He later served in Gaul and became bishop of Lyons after the martyrdom of Pothinus during persecution.
His writings answer Gnostic teachers by appealing to Scripture, the public teaching of the apostles, and the faith handed down in the churches. He presented creation and redemption as one divine economy brought to fulfillment in Christ, who recapitulates and heals human life.
Biography source:
Hieromartyr Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons
· Orthodox Church in America