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Irenaeus (; Greek: ) (early 2nd century – c. AD 202), also referred to as Saint Irenaeus, was Bishop of Lugdunum in Gaul, then a part of the Roman Empire (now Lyon, France). He was an early Church Father and apologist, and his writings were formative in the early development of Christian theology. He was a hearer of Polycarp,〔Eusebius of Caesarea, ''Ecclesiastical History'' Book v. Chapter v.〕 who in turn was traditionally a disciple of John the Evangelist. Irenaeus' best-known book, ''Adversus Haereses'' or ''Against Heresies'' (c. 180), is a detailed attack on Gnosticism, which was then a serious threat to the Church, and especially on the system of the Gnostic Valentinus.〔 As one of the first great Christian theologians, he emphasized the traditional elements in the Church, especially the episcopate, Scripture, and tradition.〔"Caesar and Christ"(New York: Simon and Schuster, 1972)〕 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 that the bishops provided the only safe guide to the interpretation of Scripture.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Encyclopaedia Britannica: Saint Irenaeus )〕 His writings, with those of Clement and Ignatius, are taken as among the earliest signs of the developing doctrine of the primacy of the Roman see.〔Cross, F. L., ed. ''The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church'' (New York: Oxford University Press, 2005)〕 Irenaeus is the earliest witness to recognition of the canonical character of all four gospels.〔Brown, Raymond E. ''(An Introduction to the New Testament )'', p. 14. Anchor Bible; 1st edition (October 13, 1997). ISBN 978-0-385-24767-2.〕 Irenaeus is recognized as a saint in both Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy. His feast day is on June 28 in the General Roman Calendar, where it was inserted for the first time in 1920; in 1960 the Catholic Church transferred it to July 3, leaving June 28 for the Vigil of the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul, but in 1969 it was returned to June 28, the day of his death.〔''Calendarium Romanum'' (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 1969), p. 96〕 The Lutheran Church〔() 〕〔Evangelical Lutheran Church in America: ''Lesser Festivals and Commemorations'', ''Evangelical Lutheran Worship'', page 16. Augsburg Fortress.〕 commemorates〔() 〕 Irenaeus on that same date for his life of exemplary Christian witness. In the Orthodox Church his feast day is 23 August. ==Biography== Irenaeus was born during the first half of the 2nd century (the exact date is disputed: between the years 115 and 125 according to some, or 130 and 142 according to others), and he is thought to have been a Greek from Polycarp's hometown of Smyrna in Asia Minor, now İzmir, Turkey.〔Irenaeus himself tells us (''Against Heresies'' 3.3.4, cf Eusebius ''Historia Ecclesiastica'' 5.20.5ff) that in his 'youth' he saw Polycarp, the Bishop of Smyrna who was martyred c156. This is the evidence used to assume that Irenaeus was born in Smyrna during the 130s–140s.〕 Unlike many of his contemporaries, he was brought up in a Christian family rather than converting as an adult. During the persecution of Marcus Aurelius, the Roman Emperor from 161–180, Irenaeus was a priest of the Church of Lyon. The clergy of that city, many of whom were suffering imprisonment for the faith, sent him in 177 to Rome with a letter to Pope Eleuterus concerning the heresy Montanism, and that occasion bore emphatic testimony to his merits. While Irenaeus was in Rome, a massacre took place in Lyon. Returning to Gaul, Irenaeus succeeded the martyr Saint Pothinus and became the second Bishop of Lyon.〔Eusebius, ''Historia Ecclesiastica'' 5.4.1〕 During the religious peace which followed the persecution of Marcus Aurelius, the new bishop divided his activities between the duties of a pastor and of a missionary (as to which we have but brief data, late and not very certain). Almost all his writings were directed against Gnosticism. The most famous of these writings is ''Adversus haereses'' (''Against Heresies''). Irenaeus alludes to coming across Gnostic writings, and holding conversations with Gnostics, and this may have taken place in Asia Minor or in Rome.〔Irenaeus, ''Against Heresies'', 1.pr.2, 4.pr.2〕 However, it also appears that Gnosticism was present near Lyon: he writes that there were followers of 'Magus the Magician' living and teaching in the Rhone valley.〔Against Heresies 1.13.7〕 Little is known about the career of Irenaeus after he became bishop. The last action reported of him (by Eusebius, 150 years later) is that in 190 or 191, he exerted influence on Pope Victor I not to excommunicate the Christian communities of Asia Minor which persevered in the practice of the Quartodeciman celebration of Easter.〔Eusebius, ''Historia Ecclesiastica'' 5.24.1ff〕 Nothing is known of the date of his death, which must have occurred at the end of the 2nd or the beginning of the 3rd century. A few within the Roman Catholic Church and Orthodox Church celebrate him as a martyr.〔Gregory of Tours is the first to mention a tradition which held Irenaeus to be a martyr〕 He was buried under the Church of Saint John in Lyon, which was later renamed St Irenaeus in his honour. The tomb and his remains were utterly destroyed in 1562 by the Huguenots. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Irenaeus」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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