IRENAEUS, SAINT

born c. 120, /140, Asia Minor died c. 200, /203, probably Lyon; Western feast day June 28; Eastern feast day August 23 bishop of Lugdunum (Lyon) and leading Christian theologian of the 2nd century. His work Adversus haereses (Against Heresies), written in about 180, was a refutation of Gnosticism. In the course of his writings Irenaeus advanced the development of an authoritative canon of Scriptures, the creed, and the authority of the episcopal office. Additional reading A good biography is F.R.M. Hitchcock, Irenaeus of Lugdunum (1914). The best edition of Adversus haereses is that of W.W. Harvey (1857; Eng. trans. in the Ante-Nicene Christian Library, 186869). See also the English translation of his Demonstration by J.P. Smith (1952). A very detailed and readable article may be found in the reference work Catholicisme, hier, aujourd'hui, demain, pt. 6, Irne de Lyon (196367). For Irenaeus' theology, see J. Lawson, The Biblical Theology of St. Irenaeus (1948); G. Wingren, Man and the Incarnation: A Study in the Biblical Theology of Irenaeus (Eng. trans. 1959); A. Benoit, Saint Irne, introduction l'tude de sa thologie (1960).