Irenaeus, ( c. 130 – 202 ) in his Against Heresies ( 1: 25 ; 6 ) says scornfully of the Gnostic Carpocratians, " They also possess images, some of them painted, and others formed from different kinds of material ; while they maintain that a likeness of Christ was made by Pilate at that time when Jesus lived among them.

However, the earlier references by Eusebius and Irenaeus indicate veneration of images and reported miracles associated with them as early as the 2nd century.

Against the Gnostics, who said that they possessed a secret oral tradition from Jesus himself, Irenaeus maintained that the bishops in different cities are known as far back as the Apostles — and none of them was a Gnostic — and that the bishops provided the only safe guide to the interpretation of Scripture.

Irenaeus also writes that " The Elders witness to this, who in Asia conferred with John the Lord's disciple, to the effect that John had delivered these things unto them: for he abode with them until the times of Trajan.

In Rome there were many who claimed to be the rightful bishop though again Irenaeus stressed the validity of one line of bishops from the time of St. Peter up to his contemporary Pope Victor I and listed them.

Hippolytus says the free love doctrine was held by them in its purest form, and speaks in language similar to that of Irenaeus about the variety of magic arts practiced by the Simonians, and also of their having images of Simon and Helen under the forms of Zeus and Athena.

Their names are differently given ; Irenaeus ( c. 30 ) giving them, Ialdabaoth, the chief, Iao, Sabaoth, Adonaeus, Eloaeus, Oreus, and Astaphaeus.

The doctrines of Marcion were so similar to the Gnostics that the church father Irenaeus, a disciple of Polycarp in the 180s regarded him as one of them.

Papias of Hierapolis ( c 60-130 AD ) was an Early Christian Bishop of Hierapolis in Anatolia, whose book, " Expositions of the Oracles of the Lord ", in which he stated that " Matthew compiled the logia ( τὰ λόγια ) in the Hebrew language, and each person interpreted them as he was able ", survives only in quotations made by Irenaeus and Eusebius.

( c. 4 ), who likewise follows Hippolytus's Compendium, adds some further particulars ; that ' Abraxas ' gave birth to Mind ( nous ), the first in the series of primary powers enumerated likewise by Irenaeus and Epiphanius ; that the world, as well as the 365 heavens, was created in honour of ' Abraxas ;' and that Christ was sent not by the Maker of the world but by ' Abraxas.

He adds that the idea cannot be squeezed out of Irenaeus ' words.

Adversus Haereses ( 1: 23-28 ) gives, in what seems intended for chronological order, a list of heresies, beginning with Simon Magus and ending with Tatian, and adds in a kind of appendix a description of a variety of Gnostic sects deriving their origin, as Irenaeus maintains, from the heresy of Simon Magus.

A third ancient source, Irenaeus, also provides further information about the traditions, especially that of Papias, and possibly adds a third related tradition to the sources.

Irenaeus says nothing of the seventy weeks ; we do not know whether he placed the “ one week ” at the end of the seventy or whether he had a gap

Even earlier than this collection, it is referred to by Procopius of Gaza ( c. 465-528 ), and Methodius appeals to Justin in support of his interpretation of 1 Corinthians 15: 50 in a way which makes it natural to assume the existence of a treatise on the subject, to say nothing of other traces of a connection in thought both here, in Irenaeus ( V., ii .- xiii.

The initial translation of the Gospel of Judas was widely publicized but simply confirmed the account that was written in Irenaeus and known Gnostic beliefs, leading some scholars to simply summarize the discovery as nothing new.

Irenaeus mentions that the Apocalypse was seen " no very long time ago almost in our own age, toward the end of the reign of Domitian ".

It is in the system of Valentinus that the name Dēmiourgos is used, which occurs nowhere in Irenaeus except in connection with the Valentinian system ; we may reasonably conclude that it was Valentinus who adopted from Platonism the use of this word.

100 AD or before ), as well as the various witnesses to canonicity extant among the writings of Ignatius, Polycarp, Irenaeus, etc., the four gospels and letters of Paul were universally held as scriptural, and only ~ 200 years were needed to finalize the canon ; from the beginning of the 2nd Century to the mid-4th Century, no book in the final canon was ever declared spurious or heretical, except for the Revelation of John which the Council of Laodicea in 363-364 AD rejected ( although it accepted all of the other 26 books in the New Testament ).

This leads Irenaeus to the somewhat startling notion that Adam and Eve died on the same day that they disobeyed, namely, on a Friday, as a parallel to the death of Christ on Good Friday ; ;

Before Irenaeus, Christians differed as to which gospel they preferred.

Irenaeus believed that Christ would always have been sent, even if humanity had never sinned ; but the fact that they did sin determines his role as a savior.

Irenaeus ' argument is that they would not weaken their own argument by adding years to Jesus ' age.

A four gospel canon ( the Tetramorph ) was asserted by Irenaeus, who refers to it directly in his polemic Against the Heresies, " It is not possible that the gospels can be either more or fewer in number than they are.

Cletus is given as Linus's successor by Irenaeus and the others cited above who present Linus either as the first bishop of Rome or, if they give Peter as the first, as the second.

Irenaeus tells us: " the holy Hebdomad is the seven stars which they call planets " ( i. 30 ).

Justin, Athenagoras, Irenaeus, Clemens Alexandrinus, Lactantius, and others borrowed an opinion out of this book of Enoch, that the angels had connection with the daughters of men, of whom they had offspring (' the giants of the past ').

Irenaeus says that they practised various magical arts as well as leading a licentious life.

In giving the name Ophite, however, he appears to have brought into greater prominence than Irenaeus the characteristics of the sect indicated by the word, their honour of the serpent, whom they even preferred to Christ, their venerating him because he taught our first parents the knowledge of good and evil, their use of the references to the brazen serpent in the Old and New Testament, and their introduction of the serpent into their Eucharistic celebration.

The descriptions of the Basilidian system given by our chief informants, St. Irenaeus ( Adversus Haereses ) and St. Hippolytus ( Philosophumena ), are so strongly divergent that they seem to many quite irreconcilable.

Irenaeus wrote that they used only Matthew's Gospel ( Against Heresies, 1. 26. 2 ) and, Eusebius wrote that the Ebionites used only the Gospel of the Hebrews ( Church History, 3. 27. 4 ) Epiphanius stated that the Ebionites used a Gospel of the Hebrews which he considered was a corrupted version of Greek Matthew ( Panarion, 30 ).

But, Irenaeus noted, Anicetus could not persuade Polycarp to forgo the observance inasmuch as these things had been always observed by John the disciple of the Lord, and by other apostles with whom he had been conversant ; nor did Polycarp persuade Anicetus to keep it: Anicetus said that he must hold to the way of the elders before him. Neither Polycarp nor Anicetus was able to persuade the other to his position, but neither did they consider the matter of sufficient importance to justify a schism.

So far, it was revealed eight early Christian churches, of which they are dedicated to St. Irenaeus, St. Demetrius.

Against this view, Irenaeus of Lyons's Against Heresies 3. 12 section 12 ridiculed those who think they are wiser than the Apostles because they were still under Jewish influence.

A book called the Apocryphon of John was referred to by Irenaeus in Adversus Haereses, written about 185 CE, among the writings that teachers in 2nd-century Christian communities were producing, " an indescribable number of secret and illegitimate writings, which they themselves have forged, to bewilder the minds of foolish people, who are ignorant of the true scriptures " — scriptures which Irenaeus himself was establishing as no more and no less than four, the " Fourfold gospel " that his authority helped make the canonical four.

The descriptions of the Basilidian system given by our chief informants, Irenaeus ( Adversus Haereses ) and Hippolytus ( Philosophumena ), are so strongly divergent that they seem to many quite irreconcilable.

The supreme power and source of being above all principalities and powers and angels ( such is evidently the reference of Epiphanius's αὐτῶν: Irenaeus substitutes " heavens ," which in this connexion comes to much the same thing ) is Abrasax, the Greek letters of whose name added together as numerals make up 365, the number of the heavens ; whence, they apparently said, the year has 365 days, and the human body 365 members.

of Irenaeus has added the further statement that they used " images "; and this single word is often cited in corroboration of the popular belief that the numerous ancient gems on which grotesque mythological combinations are accompanied by the mystic name ΑΒΡΑΣΑΞ were of Basilidian origin.

For the same faith is held and handed down by the churches established in the German states, the Spains, among the Celtic tribes, in the East, in Libya, and in the central portions of the world …" In Book 3, Irenaeus continues his defense of the unity of the church around the bishop, writing, " By pointing out the apostolic tradition and faith announced to mankind, which has been brought down to our time by successions of bishops, in the greatest, most ancient, and well known church, founded and established by the two most glorious apostles, Peter and Paul, at Rome, we can confound all who in any other way … gather more than they ought.

" Irenaeus argues against the Gnostics by using scripture to show that Jesus lives at least several years after his baptism by referencing 3 distinctly separate visits to Jerusalem.

Perhaps no church father saw this concurrence of the unique and the universal as clearly, or formulated it as precisely, as Irenaeus.

As Origen interprets the end of history on the basis of its beginning, so Irenaeus portrays the story of Adam on the basis of the story of Christ.

Irenaeus does not regard Adam and Eve merely as private individuals, but as universal human beings, who were and are all of humanity.

Recent research on Irenaeus, however, makes it evident that he does not consistently maintain this distinction.

There is no justification for systematizing the random statements of Irenaeus about the image of God beyond this, nor for reading into his imprecise usage the later theological distinction between the image of God ( humanity ) and the similitude of God ( immortality ).

He was, in the words of Irenaeus, `` beguiled by another under the pretext of immortality ''.

Because he interprets the primitive state of man as one of mere potentiality or capacity and believes that Adam and Eve were created as children, Irenaeus often seems inclined to extenuate their disobedience as being `` due, no doubt, to carelessness, but still wicked ''.

It is probably fair to say that the idea of death is more profound in Irenaeus than the idea of sin is.

This emphasis upon death rather than sin as man's fundamental problem Irenaeus shares with many early theologians, especially the Greek-speaking ones.

In the system described by Irenaeus, " the Unbegotten Father " is the progenitor of Nous, and from Nous Logos, from Logos Phronesis, from Phronesis Sophia and Dynamis, from Sophia and Dynamis principalities, powers, and angels, the last of whom create " the first heaven.

69, 73 f .) appears to follow partly Irenaeus, partly the lost Compendium of Hippolytus.

By a probably euphonic inversion the translator of Irenaeus and the other Latin authors have Abraxas, which is found in the magical papyri, and even, though most sparingly, on engraved stones.

It was first used by Irenaeus late in the 2nd century.

) and Irenaeus ( 180 ) introduce explicitly the idea of the bishop's succession in office as a guarantee of the truth of what he preached in that it could be traced back to the apostles.

Irenaeus ( c. 115 – 202 ) assumes it as a conceded point.

Those who favour the later date appeal to the earliest external testimony, that of the Christian father Irenaeus ( c. 150-202 ), who wrote that he received his information from people who knew John personally.

The earlier date, first proposed in modern times by John Robinson in a closely argued chapter of " Redating the New Testament " ( 1976 ), relies on the book's internal evidence, given that no external testimony exists earlier than that of Irenaeus, noted above, and the earliest extant manuscript evidence of Revelation ( P98 ) is likewise dated no earlier than the late 2nd century.

In the 2nd century, with his theory of " recapitulation ", Saint Irenaeus connected " Christ the Creator " with " Christ the Savior ", relying on (" when the times reach their fulfillment – to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ ") to gather together and wrap up the cycle of the Nativity and Resurrection of Christ.

For Irenaeus the imitation of Christ is based on God's plan of salvation, which involved Christ as the second Adam.

For Irenaeus, salvation was achieved by Christ restoring humanity to the image of God, and he saw the Christian imitation of Christ as a key component on the path to salvation.