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.
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