Irenaeus

ca. 120-203 CE

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Leading theologian and polemicist whose
arguments against gnostic sects helped
establish the doctrinal standards of Catholic Christianity: creed, canon
of scripture & apostolic succession of bishops. A native Greek from
Smyrna (Asia Minor), Irenaeus came to prominence after migrating to the
Latin west. In 177 CE he was appointed bishop of Lugdunum, Gaul (Lyons,
France) where he soon published his five volume Refutation &
Overthrow of what is wrongly called 'Knowledge' (commonly referred
to simply as Against Heresies). His defense of four canonical
gospels became the standard orthodox view of their authorship, sequence
& circumstances of composition:

Matthew also published a gospel in
writing among the Hebrews in their own language, while Peter
& Paul were preaching the gospel and founding the church in Rome.
But after their death, Mark, the disciple & interpreter of
Peter, also transmitted to us in writing what Peter used to
preach. And Luke, Paul's associate, also set down in a book the
gospel that Paul used to preach. Later, John, the Lord's disciple ---
the one who lay on his lap --- also set out the gospel while living at
Ephesus in Asia Minor. (Against Heresies
3.1.1)

Irenaeus follows the canonical sequence. He
did not, however, suggest any literary relationship between these
gospels. Note also that he did not explicitly mention the order of
composition of the synoptics. While he claims John wrote "later," he
lists Matthew, Mark & Luke with parallel grammatical
conjunctions ("also...also...also").

The only thing in Irenaeus' statement that
would lead someone to infer the chronological priority of Matthew is his
attempt to link the canonical gospels with the activity of Peter &
Paul. He claims that a Hebrew edition of this gospel was in
circulation during the lifetime of the leading apostles, while
Mark & Luke were composed "after their death." The source from which
Irenaeus derived this dating is not clear. While he knew & valued
the now lost commentaries of Papias, he does not credit
this chronological data to that source. Nor do the excerpts from Papias
cited by Eusebius
support this sequence.

It is possible---even probable---that
Irenaeus' dating of the gospels is based on nothing more than an
educated guess. Irenaeus was, after all, eager to draw direct links
between the doctrinal authorities of Catholic Christianity and the
apostolic generation. The gospels list Matthew with Peter & other
apostles (Mark 3:16-19 & parallels), a role that Paul claimed for
himself (1 Cor 9:1 & Gal. 2:8). So Irenaeus would naturally infer
that a gospel with an apostolic name must come from the era that
apostles were still active. Mark & Luke, on the other hand, were
names only associated with companions of the apostles (1 Pet. 5:13; Col.
3:14). So Irenaeus could safely assign works attributed to them to the
post-apostolic era.

In any case, Irenaeus claims historical
priority only for a Hebrew version of Matthew which is no longer
in existence. Unlike Papias, he does not mention the translation of this
work. Thus, Irenaeus does not support the opinion of those who
claim that the current Greek edition of Matthew was composed
prior to the other gospels. Nor does his claim that Mark transcribed
Peter's preaching support the view of Augustine, Griesbach & other western Christians that Mark condensed
Matthew.

Other On-line
Resources:

External
Evidence: Irenaeus - Latin, Greek & English versions of
Against Heresies 3.1 (from Stephen C. Carlson's Synoptic
Problem Home Page).

The text of Against
Heresies 3.1 (from the Ante-Nicene Fathers vol. 1; posted
by New Advent).

Against
Heresies 3.3 presents Irenaeus' theory of the transmission of
traditions from the apostles.

St.
Irenaeus - biographical essay by Albert Poncelet (Catholic
Encyclopedia; posted by New Advent).

A brief biographical
sketch of Irenaeus (posted by The École Initiative).

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last revised 19
December 2003

Copyright © 1997- 2004 by Mahlon H.
Smith
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