What place does religion occupy in modern life? It is quite difficult to answer this question. Unfortunately, the development of modern technologies, the division of people into several classes, public debauchery - all this makes people distant from the faith. However, there are also those who need help from higher powers, but they do not know how to get it.
Fortunately, there are organizations that help people separate from the modern world and begin to believe in something bright, kind and beautiful again. This is exactly what the center of Irenaeus of Lyons is.
Briefly about him
Irenaeus of Lyons is the Western Father of the Church. He devoted his entire life to the Christian faith and sought to defend it among other various religions. Unfortunately, at present there is only a modest amount of information about this holy man; practically no memorial chronicles have survived to our times. Even the years of life of Irenaeus of Lyons are not known; they only found out that it was approximately 130. Also, information about his ancestors, place of birth and residence has not been preserved. According to some chroniclers, it could exist in Asia Minor. As a child he was brought to Christian parents.
Teachings of Irenaeus of Lyons[ | ]
Polemics with the Gnostics[ | ]
The central point in the teaching of Irenaeus of Lyons about the action of God in the history of salvation is God's unity. Unlike the Gnostics, who taught that God manifests in the history of salvation as various aeons or divine emanations, while distinguishing between the monad and the Demiurge, Irenaeus of Lyons used the doctrine of the Son and the Holy Spirit as the “two hands of God,” thereby emphasizing the indivisibility Holy Trinity. His emphasis on the unity of God was reflected in his teaching of the unity of history and the unbroken continuity of salvation history. Using the doctrine of the Logos from John 1, Irenaeus of Lyons argued that God, having created the world, has continuously overseen it to the present time, which is part of the history of salvation. The essence of the entire history of salvation is the gradual “spiritual growth or maturation” of humanity. Irenaeus believed that humanity was originally “immature” and God creates history so that His creation will acquire God's likeness. Adam and Eve were “children” who fell due to their immaturity. God's Providence throughout the history of salvation is designed to overcome this human immaturity and achieve spiritual perfection. The world was specially designed by God as a place of suffering, so that man, making moral decisions, would grow in his perfection. Irenaeus compares death to the whale that swallowed Jonah, which symbolizes humanity so that it can turn to God and act according to the will of God.
“A perfect man... consists of three - flesh, soul and spirit: of which one, that is, spirit. saves and forms; the other, that is, the flesh, is united and formed, and the middle between these two, that is, the soul, sometimes, when it follows the spirit, is elevated by it, sometimes, pleasing the flesh, it falls into earthly lusts. So, everyone who does not have that which saves and forms life will naturally be called flesh and blood. because they do not have the Spirit of God in them.”[5].
The center of the entire history of salvation is the Nativity of Jesus Christ, in whom Irenaeus of Lyon sees the “new Adam”, who destroyed everything that the first Adam did in paradise. The first Adam transgressed the commandment of God, the second Adam was obedient until death on the cross. In the matter of redemption, Irenaeus of Lyons attaches greater importance to the Incarnation of the Word of God than to the death of Jesus Christ, because, as he believes, in the Incarnation of Christ human nature acquires divine immortality.
In polemics with the Gnostic Valentians, who believed that the material world is the result of the loss of original perfection. As the Gnostics believed, only in the possession of Sophia, which is secret wisdom, and therefore redemption is accomplished only in the possession of secret knowledge, which is achieved in the pleroma, which Achamoth lost. Irenaeus of Lyons emphasized the beauty of the created world, which is called for gradual development, the goal of which will be complete perfection[2].
Apostolic succession[ | ]
In their writings, the Gnostics claimed that the apostles possessed secret teachings that they received from Jesus Christ. Irenaeus of Lyons wrote that the bishops of various places are the successors of the apostles and their succession is an authoritative source of interpretation of the Holy Scriptures and indicates a list of bishops, explaining the episcopal succession from the apostles, denying the Gnostic idea that truth is received from various sources. A special role in apostolic succession, as Irenaeus of Lyon writes, is played by unanimous agreement among bishops, which is the criterion of truth. Irenaeus of Lyons emphasized the unique position of the Pope as the successor of the Apostle Peter[6].
“Church tradition from the apostles and the preaching of the truth have reached us. And this serves as the most complete proof that the same life-giving faith has been preserved in the Church from the apostles to the present day and has been handed down in its true form.”[7]
Mariology[ | ]
Irenaeus of Lyons is one of the earliest church fathers to thoroughly develop Mariology. Irenaeus of Lyons, for the first time in the history of patristic thought, put forward a comparison between Eve and the Virgin Mary, contrasting the disobedience and unbelief of the first and the humility and trust of the second. It is assumed that in the development of Mariology he followed the teachings of Polycarp of Smyrna[8]. Irenaeus directly connects the economy of our salvation with the role of the Virgin Mary:
Eve (was) disobedient, for she did not show obedience when she was still a virgin. Like her, having a husband Adam, but being still a virgin - for “both of them were naked in paradise and were not ashamed”
[9], since they were created not long before and had no idea about the birth of children, but they had to first mature and then multiply, she showed disobedience and became the cause of death both for herself and for the entire human race; so Mary, having a destined husband, but remaining a Virgin, through obedience became the cause of salvation for herself and for the entire human race.[10]
According to Irenaeus, the birth of Jesus Christ created a new situation in the history of salvation. The “new birth” is shown through the Virgin Mary
so that through this birth a person will inherit life (Against Heresies. V.1.3).
As the Mother of the New Man
, the Virgin Mary anticipates universal renewal. According to Irenaeus, in this She leads the human race.[11]
What is taught at the center?
The Irenaeus of Lyons Center for Religious Studies was created to achieve several goals:
- The first and most basic task is to accept the religious studies that were created by the works of the great martyr.
- The center has the opportunity to obtain information at an advisory level about the teachings and activities of totalitarian and destructive cults.
- There are a huge number of lectures and practical classes that allow you to fully become familiar with religion.
- Several classes are devoted to such popular communities as sects. In classes they teach how not to get there, how to get out of them and limit yourself from their influence.
- Irenaeus of Lyons was of the opinion that man is a free being who can make choices and should not obey other people. This science will be conveyed to every student.
Basically, after attending several classes, students reconsider their views on life, become happy and free.
Prot. P. Preobrazhensky
The text is based on the edition: St. Irenaeus of Lyons. Creations. - M.: “Pilgrim”, “Blagovest”, 1996. - P. 3–16. Reprint reproduction of the publication: Works of St. Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons. - St. Petersburg, 1900.
Works of St. Justin the Martyr and other Christian writers of the 2nd century, related to him by the nature of their works, present us with the apologetic activity of the ancient church - activity turned outward, directed against the external enemies of the church: they mainly mean to defend Christianity against attacks and persecution in part on the part of unbelieving Judaism, especially on the part of paganism and the authorities of the Roman state. With the name of St. Irenaeus of Lyon, we enter another, deeper, inner area of church life. The Montanist movement that arose within Christian society as a protest, albeit one-sided, against the decline of spiritual strength and moral rigor in it, a dispute about the celebration of Easter, which completed the final separation of the Christian church from the laws and traditions of the Jewish synagogue, mainly the fight against heretical gnosis (knowledge) , who, under the banner of a supposedly higher, spiritual Christianity, tried to introduce pagan aspirations and ideas: this is what appears to our eyes in the foreground in the life and written work of St. Irenea. True, the external position of the Christian Church did not improve, the persecution against it did not stop or decrease, on the contrary, it became ubiquitous, stronger, stricter and more persistent; nevertheless, the external struggle and the apologetics that revolved around it gradually gave way to the internal tasks of the Christian church - the revelation of the revealed truth in the struggle against false teachers who encroached on its purity and completeness.
The first and very important experience of this that has come down to us is represented by five books against heresies,
belonging to St. Irenaeus, whose fruitful activity manifested itself ten years after the martyrdom of St. Justina. And it is significant that from the writings of Justin, who fought against the pagans and Jews, it was precisely the polemical work that was lost: “against all heresies” (Apol. 1, 26), and from the writings of Irenaeus, the apologetic book against the Hellenes (Evs. V, 26). Being the main representative of the struggle against Gnostic false teachings, Irenaeus provides in his work very important, especially given the paucity of contemporary monuments, materials for the study of these mysterious philosophical and religious systems. Standing in the first row after the apostles (Evs. V, 20), through his teacher St. Polycarp of Smyrna, closely aligned with the time and spirit of John the Theologian, by birth and education belonging to the east, and by the place of his activity to the west, and serving as an intermediary link between the eastern and western churches, St. Irenaeus occupies a primary place among theologians and church fathers; for he, while refuting the false opinions of heretics, at the same time laid the first stones for the systematic building of Christian teaching and expressed in completeness and internal unity the fundamental principles of universal Orthodoxy not only for his age, but also for subsequent times. In his work, later fathers and teachers of the church looked for evidence of the truth [1]; In modern times, Roman Catholic and Protestant theologians have turned to his authority to resolve religious disputes and to clarify questions about the canon of the Holy Spirit. books on the history of rituals and dogmas of the church. That is why his personality and writings attract the searching attention of even Protestant scholars, amid the current pressure of unbelief and critical doubt, and constitute a sympathetic subject of study and research [2]. Moreover, they have the right to the pious curiosity of learned researchers and admirers of Orthodoxy in our Fatherland Church.
In this essay we offer information about the life and writings of St. Irenaeus, without going into a detailed exposition of those complex spiritual phenomena with which his activities came into contact.
Who does the center interact with?
The Irenaeus of Lyons Center constantly cooperates with Christian organizations existing in Russia. They exchange their experiences and develop a program that makes it possible to initiate every student into religion in the most accessible, high-quality and interesting way. There is also constant contact with some foreign centers. The most famous doctors of science pass on their experience to the new generation, dedicating them to knowledge about various sects and united groups.
There are several other points around the world where the center of Irenaeus of Lyons is based: France, Czech Republic, England, Greece and Austria. For this school there is no division into nations, paganisms and inter-regional groups. All students have one thing in common - faith in Christianity. During their studies, they can independently communicate with each other, share knowledge and gain experience.
Priestly ministry in Gaul
In what year of his life, under what particular circumstances, Irenaeus left his native land and went to Gaul (the territory of present-day France), history does not tell. One thing is certain: his goal was to spread the sermon and strengthen faith among the local population. It is believed that Polycarp of Smyrna himself blessed him for this mission. And this is not surprising. After all, there was a long-standing friendly relationship between the Smyrna and Gallic Christians.
At that time the head of the Lyons Church was Bishop Pofin. Irenaeus, ordained a priest, zealously carried the burden of pastoral service with him, was a zealous fighter for the purity of the faith, and an assistant to the ruling bishop.
The time of Irenaeus’ ministry fell during an era of severe persecution of the Church, which either died out or flared up with renewed vigor. Christians were robbed, punished for fictitious crimes, deprived of property, beaten, tortured, raped, and killed. To these external dangers were added internal ones associated with the spread of heresies and schismatic sentiments.
All this required special love, jealousy and responsibility from the clergy before God and the flock. The Lyon Christians, and Bishop Pofin among them, saw just such a presbyter in Irenaeus.
During that period, the Montanist sect gained great influence. The followers of this community claimed primacy in the possession of grace-filled gifts. When the supporters of Montanus reached Rome and began to sow their delusions among Roman Christians, the local bishop Eleutherius, well aware of the danger, announced that he was breaking off good religious relations with the adherents of this heresy.
The Lyon martyrs, having shown the most lively interest in those events, sent a message to Eleutherius, and they entrusted Presbyter Irenaeus with delivering it, about which several lines were said in the same message. In these lines, the martyrs expressed complete confidence in Irenaeus, calling him brother and accomplice. There they also pointed out that if the place of presbyter was determined solely by righteousness, Irenaeus would be the first among them.
The message played a positive role. The Roman bishop took into account the wishes of the Lyon believers and granted peace to the erring.
History of the center
The organization was first registered in Russia in early 1993. Its creator was A.L. Dvorkin. For a long time he went to churches in order to receive a blessing for such an act and eventually received it from His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Alexei II. At first it was a small organization, which included only qualified specialists in the field of religion. All classes were held in a friendly, informational and advisory manner. All members of the association shared their experiences, collected information about the great martyr and created a plan on how to transfer their skills to other people new to this field.
The center was created on a charitable basis. Everything that exists now was created by its founders with the help of the church and the common people. In 2003, the first intake of students took place, to whom the most important religious experience was transferred. Three years later, the center had already acquired an official character and became part of the Russian parent organization for the study of religions. And four years later he received his first grant, the amount of which amounted to more than 2.5 million rubles.
Chapter XXXI. The preservation of our bodies is confirmed by the resurrection and ascension of Christ; the souls of the saints are awaiting the time when they will receive full glory Chapter XXXII. The saints in that flesh, who suffered much here, will receive the fruits of their exploits
Chapter XXXIII. Confirmation of the same from the promises of Christ the Savior and from the blessing of James, according to the interpretation of Papias and the elders
Chapter XXXIV. Confirmation of the opinion about the earthly kingdom of the saints by the testimonies of Isaiah, Ezekiel, Jeremiah and Daniel, as well as the parable of the watchful servants
Chapter XXXV. Continuation of the same
Chapter XXXVI. People will truly be resurrected; the world will not be destroyed, but there will be various abodes for the saints according to the dignity of each; everything will submit to God the Father and He will be all in all.
Irenaeus of Lyon. Texts about the Millennial Kingdom.
Chapter XXXI. The preservation of our bodies is confirmed by the resurrection and ascension of Christ; the souls of the saints are awaiting the time when they will receive full glory.
1. But some of the rightful believers transgress the established order of exaltation of the righteous and do not know the methods of preparation for incorruption, containing heretical opinions; for the heretics, disparaging the creation of God and not recognizing the salvation of their flesh, despising the promise of God and exalting themselves above God in their thoughts, say that immediately after their death they will ascend above the heavens and the Demiurge and will go to the Mother or to the Father they have invented. Those who reject the complete resurrection and, as much as they can, completely eliminate it, what is surprising if they do not know the order of the resurrection?
They do not want to understand that if this were so, then the Lord Himself, in whom, according to them, they believe, would not have risen on the third day, but having died on the cross would have immediately ascended, leaving the body to the earth.
But He stayed for three days in the place where the dead were, as the prophet says about Him:
“The Lord remembered His saints who had died, who had previously fallen asleep in the burial ground, and He came down to them to bring them out and save them.”
And the Lord Himself says:
“As Jonah remained in the belly of the whale three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth” (Matthew 11:40).
And the Apostle says:
“And He ascended - what does it mean, if not that He also descended into the depths of the earth” (Eph. 4:9).
David, too, prophesying about Him, says:
“And You delivered My soul from the grave of hell” (Ps. 75:13).
Having risen on the third day, He said to Mary, who was the first to see Him and bowed:
“Do not touch Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father, but go to the disciples and say to them, “I am ascending to My Father and your Father” (Gal. 20:17).
2. So, if the Lord kept the law of the dead, in order to be the firstborn from the dead, and remained until the third day in the underworld of the earth, and then, rising in the flesh, so that He even showed the disciples the marks of the nails, and so ascended to the Father: then how will they not be ashamed? those who say that “the underworld of the earth” is the world around us, and that their inner man, leaving his body here, ascends to a heavenly place? For when the Lord “walked among the darkness of death” (Ps. 22:4), where the souls of the dead were, and then rose bodily and after the resurrection ascended: it is obvious that the souls of His disciples, for whose sake the Lord did this, will go to an invisible place assigned to them by God, and there they will remain until the resurrection, waiting for Him, then receiving bodies and being fully resurrected, i.e. bodily, just as the Lord rose again, so they will go into the presence of God.
“For no disciple is greater than his teacher; but when everyone is perfected, everyone will become his teacher” (Luke 6:40).
Therefore, just as our Teacher did not immediately fly away and depart (to heaven), but waiting for the time of His resurrection determined by the Father, which was also indicated through Jonah, after three days he rose and ascended, so we must wait for the time appointed by God for our resurrection, foretold by the prophets, and, having thus risen, ascend as many as the Lord finds worthy of this.
Chapter XXXII. The saints in that flesh, in which they suffered much here, will receive the fruits of their exploits
1. Because the thoughts of some are carried away by heretical speeches, and they do not know the orders of God and the mystery of the resurrection of the righteous and the Kingdom, which is the beginning of incorruptibility and through which the worthy gradually become accustomed to containing God; then it must be said that the righteous must first, having risen to see God, in a renewed creation, receive the promised inheritance that God promised to the fathers, and reign in it, and then judgment will come.
For it is fair that in the same creation in which they labored or were subjected to tribulations, having experienced suffering in every way, they should receive the fruits of their suffering, and in the creation in which they were put to death for love of God, in the same they should be quickened, and in the creation, in which they suffered slavery, in the same they reigned.
For God is rich in everything, and everything belongs to Him.
It is also necessary that the creation itself, restored to its primitive state, should serve the righteous without hindrance; and this the Apostle showed in his letter to the Romans, saying thus:
“For the creation waits with hope for the revelation of the sons of God; because the creation was subjected to futility, not voluntarily, but for the sake of him who subjected it, in the hope that the creation itself would be freed from the bondage of corruption into the freedom of the glory of the sons of God” (Rom. 8:19-21).
2. So the promise of God given to Abraham remains firm.
For He said:
“Lift up your eyes and look from this place where you are, north and south and east and west, for all the land that you see I will give to you and to your seed forever.”
And he also says:
“Rise up and walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I will give it to you” (Gen. 13:14,15,17); however, (Abraham) did not receive even a single step of inheritance in it, but was always a stranger and stranger in it.
And after the death of his wife Sarah, when the Hittites wanted to give him a place for her burial for free, he did not want to accept, but bought a place for burial, paying four hundred didrachms of silver, from the Hittite Ephron Saar, expecting the promise of God, and not wanting it to seem that he receives from people what God promised to give him, also saying this:
“To your seed I will give this land from the river of Egypt to the great river Euphrates” (Gen. 15:18).
So, if God promised him the inheritance of the earth, but he did not receive it throughout his entire existence, then it is due to him with his seed, i.e. those who fear God and believe in Him will receive it at the resurrection of the righteous. For his seed is the church, which receives sonship to God through the Lord, as John the Baptist says:
“God is able to raise up children for Abraham from these stones” (Luke 3:8).
And the Apostle says in the letter to the Galatians:
“You, brethren, are the children of promise according to Isaac” (Gal. 4:28). And he also clearly says in the same epistle that those who believe in Christ receive Christ, the promise to Abraham, in the following words:
“The promises were given to Abraham and to his seed.”
It is not said:
“And to your descendants, as if they were many, but as one, and to your seed, which is Christ.”
And, again confirming what has been said, he says:
“So Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness. Know then that those who believe are the sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God justifies the Gentiles by faith, foretold to Abraham: in you all nations will be blessed. Therefore those who believe will be blessed with faithful Abraham” (Gal. 3:6-9,16).
Thus the believers will be blessed with faithful Abraham, and they are the sons of Abraham.
God promised Abraham and his seed the inheritance of the land, but neither Abraham nor his seed, i.e. Those who are justified by faith do not now receive the inheritance thereafter, but they will receive it at the resurrection of the righteous. For God is true and faithful; and therefore He called the meek “blessed, because they will inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5).
Chapter XXXIII. The same is confirmed from the promises of Christ the Savior and from the blessing of James, according to the interpretation of Papias and the elders.
1. Therefore, going to suffer in order to preach the gospel to Abraham and to those who are with him the revelation of the inheritance, (Christ) gave thanks, holding the cup and drinking from it and giving it to the disciples, he said to them:
“Drink from it all; For this is My blood of the new testament, which will be shed for many for the remission of sins. But I tell you that from now on I will not drink of this vine until that day when I drink new wine with you in the kingdom of My Father” (Matthew 26:27-29).
Thus He Himself will renew the inheritance of the earth and restore the mystery of the glory of His sons, as David says: “He has renewed the face of the earth” (Ps. 103:30).
He promised to drink from the vine with His disciples, showing both the inheritance of the land on which the new vine is drunk, and the carnal resurrection of His disciples. For the new flesh is resurrected, and it also receives a new cup. And He cannot be imagined drinking from the vine when He, together with His own, is in a heavenly place; Those who have Him again cannot be without the flesh, for the drink obtained from grapes belongs to the flesh, and not to the spirit.
2. And therefore the Lord said:
“When you make lunch or dinner, do not invite the rich, nor friends, nor neighbors and relatives, so that they in turn do not invite you and you do not receive reward from them, but invite the lame, the blind, the poor, and you will be blessed that they “They cannot repay you, for you will be rewarded at the resurrection of the righteous” (Luke 14:12-14).
And He also says:
“And whoever leaves his land or home or parents or brothers or children for My sake will receive a hundredfold in this age and will inherit eternal life in the future” (Matthew 19:20).
For what is a hundredfold reward in this century for lunches and dinners given to the poor?
This takes place during the Kingdom, i.e. on the sanctified seventh day, on which God rested from all His works, which is the true Sabbath of the righteous, when they will not do anything earthly, but will have a meal prepared by God, providing them with all kinds of food.
3. The same meaning is contained in the blessing of Isaac, with which he blessed his youngest son, saying:
“This is the smell of my son, like the smell of a full field that the Lord has blessed.”
The field is the world, and therefore he added:
“God will give you plenty of wheat and wine from the dew of heaven and from the fatness of the earth. And the nations will serve you, and princes will worship you, and you will be the master of your brother, and the sons of your father will worship you. Whoever curses you will be cursed, and whoever blesses you will be blessed” (Gen. 27.27-29).
If anyone does not understand this in relation to the predetermined kingdom, he will fall into great contradiction and inconsistency, as happened with the Jews, who were entangled in every incongruity. For not only in this life did the nations not serve this Jacob, but even after the blessing, he departed (from his home) and served his Syrian uncle Laban for twenty years, and not only did not become his brother’s master, but also bowed down to his brother Esau, when he returned from Mesopotamia to his father, and brought him many gifts. Moreover, how did he inherit an abundance of wheat and wine, who, due to famine in the land in which he lived, moved to Egypt and submitted to the Pharaoh who then reigned in Egypt?
So the above blessing undoubtedly refers to the times of the Kingdom, when the righteous will reign, having risen from the dead, when the renewed and liberated creation will bear fruit in abundance of all kinds of food from the dew of heaven and from the fatness of the earth.
So the elders, who saw John the disciple of the Lord, said that they heard from him how the Lord taught about those times and said:
“The days will come when grape trees will grow, and on each vine there will be ten thousand vines, on each vine there will be 10 thousand branches, on each branch there will be 10 thousand twigs, on each twig there will be 10 thousand clusters and on each cluster there will be 10 thousand berries.” and each squeezed berry will yield twenty-five meters of wine. And when one of the saints takes up a brush, the other (brush) will cry out: “I am the best brush, take me; bless the Lord through me." In the same way, a grain of wheat will bear 10 thousand ears, and each ear will have 10 thousand grains, and each grain will yield 10 pounds of pure flour; and other fruit trees, seeds and herbs will produce in accordance with this measure, and all animals, using the food received from the earth, will be peaceful and in harmony with each other and in perfect obedience to people.”
4. Papias, the disciple of John and the companion of Polycarp, an ancient man, testifies to this in writing in his fourth book, for he compiled five books.
He added the following:
“For believers this is worthy of faith. When Judas the traitor did not believe this and asked how the Lord would create such an abundance of plants, the Lord said: those who reach those (times) will see this.”
Isaiah prophesies about these times and says:
“And the wolf will feed with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the goat, and the calf and the ox and the lion will feed together, and a little child will lead them. And the ox and the bear shall feed together, and their children shall feed together, and the lion shall eat chaff like the ox; and the little lad shall lay his hand on the cave of the asps, and on the bed of the children of the asps, and they shall do no evil, neither shall they be able to destroy any in My holy mountain” (Isa. 11:6-9).
And, repeating again, he says:
“Then wolves and lambs will feed together, and the lion will eat chaff like the ox, and the serpent will eat the earth like bread; and they shall not harm or do evil in My holy mountain, saith the Lord” (Isa. 65:25).
I know that some are trying to attribute this to wild people belonging to different nations and different occupations, who will believe and, having believed, will come together with the righteous. But, although even now this (is true) in relation to some people from different tribes who come to the same mind of faith, nevertheless, at the resurrection of the righteous it will also come true in relation to those animals, as it is said: for God is rich in everything.
And it is necessary that with the renewal of creation, all animals should submit and obey man and return to the original, God-given food, just as they were (initially) subdued to Adam, i.e. plants of the earth. The fact that the lion will eat chaff indicates something other than the present tense. This means the abundance and nutritional value of fruits; for if the animal lion eats chaff, what kind of wheat will be, from which the chaff will be suitable for food for lions?
Chapter XXXIV. Confirmation of the opinion about the earthly kingdom of the saints by the testimonies of Isaiah, Ezekiel, Jeremiah and Daniel, as well as the parable of the watchful servants.
1. Isaiah himself clearly declared that there would be such joy at the resurrection of the righteous, saying this:
“The dead will rise, and those who are in the graves will rise, and those who are on the earth will rejoice” (Isaiah 26:19).
Ezekiel says the same thing:
“Behold, I will open your graves and bring you out of your graves, when I have brought My people out of the graves, and I will give you spirit and you will live; and I will establish you in your land, and you will know that I am the Lord” (Ezek. 37:12-14).
And he also says this:
“Thus says the Lord: I will gather Israel from all the nations, wherever they are scattered, and I will be sanctified in them in the sight of the children of the nations; and they will live in their land, which I gave to my servant Jacob, and they will live in it in hope, and they will build houses and plant vineyards; and they will live on it in hope, when I will judge all those who have reproached them, who live around them; and they shall know that I am the Lord their God and the God of their fathers” (Ezek. 28:25,26).
A little higher I already said that the church is the seed of Abraham; and therefore, so that we know that the One who, according to the Old Testament, has to gather those who are being saved from all nations, in the New Testament raises up the children of Abraham from stones, Jeremiah says:
“Behold, the days will come, says the Lord, and they will say no more: As the Lord lives, who brought up the children of Israel (from the land of Egypt; but as the Lord lives, who brought them) from the north and from every country where they were driven, and will bring them back to their land, which He gave to their fathers” (Jer. 23:7,8).
2. That all creation, according to the will (of God), will achieve great growth, so that they will give birth and bear such fruits, Isaiah says about this:
“And on every high mountain and on every exalted hill there will be water flowing in that day when many will perish, when the walls also will fall. And the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and (the light of the sun shall be) sevenfold in that day, when (the Lord) shall heal the brokenness of His people, and heal the disease of His plague” (Isa. 30:25,26).
“The disease of the plague” means that with which man was initially struck for disobedience in Adam, i.e. death: it will be healed by God, who raises us from the dead and returns us to our father’s inheritance, as Isaiah also says:
“You will trust in the Lord, who will bring you into all the earth and feed you with the inheritance of Jacob your father” (Isaiah 58:14).
This is what the Lord said:
“Blessed are those servants whom the Lord will find awake when He comes; Truly I say to you, he will gird himself and make them sit down, and he will go over and serve them. And if he comes in the evening watch and finds them like this, blessed are they, for he will plant them and minister to them, and if in the second, if in the third watch (he comes), they are blessed” (Luke 12:37,38).
And John says the same thing in Revelation:
“Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection” (Rev. 20:6).
Isaiah also announced the time when this would happen:
“And I said,” he said, “how long, Lord? Until the cities are desolate, so that they are not inhabited, and the houses are not without people, and the earth remains desolate. And after this God will continue us people, and those who remain will multiply on the earth” (Isa. 6:11).
And Daniel says the same thing:
“And the kingdom, and the dominion, and the majesty of them that are under heaven are given to the saints of the most high God, and His everlasting kingdom, and all the powers, shall serve and obey Him” (Dan. 7:27).
And lest they think that the promise refers to the present time, the prophet is told:
“And thou shalt come and stand in thy lot at the end of days” (Dan. 12:13).
3. And that the promises were made not only by the prophets and fathers, but also by the churches composed of nations, which the Spirit also calls “islands” - because they are placed in the midst of disturbances and endure the storm of blasphemies and serve as a saving haven for those in danger and a refuge for those who love height (heavenly) and try to avoid depth, i.e. errors, Jeremiah says:
“Hear, O peoples, the words of the Lord, proclaim to the distant islands, say that the Lord, who scattered Israel, will gather him and keep him, as a shepherd his flock of sheep; for the Lord delivered Jacob and snatched him out of the hand of his mightiest. And they will come and rejoice on Mount Zion, and they will come to good things (of the Lord) and to a land of wheat, wine, fruits, animals and sheep, and their soul will be like a fruitful tree, and they will no longer hunger. And then the virgins will rejoice in the assembly of the young men, and the elders will rejoice, and I will turn their mourning into joy and comfort them, and I will exalt and give joy to the soul of the priests, the sons of Levi, and My people will be satisfied with My goodness” (Jer. 31:10-15).
And I showed in the previous book that all the disciples of the Lord are Levites and priests: they violated the Sabbath in the temple, but are not guilty.
Such promises very clearly point to the feast of that creature in the Kingdom of the righteous, which God himself promises to serve.
4. Again about Jerusalem and about His kingdom in it, Isaiah says:
“Thus the Lord says: Blessed is he who has seed in Zion and servants in Jerusalem. Behold, a righteous king will reign, and princes will rule with judgment” (Isa. 31:9; Isa. 32:1).
And about the foundation on which it will be recreated, he says:
“Behold, I will prepare for you a carbuncle stone and a sapphire for your foundation, and I will make your fences of jasper and your gates of crystal stones and your fence of chosen stones, and all your sons (will be) taught by God, and your sons (will be) in great peace, and you will be built on righteousness” (Isa. 54:11-14).
And He also says:
“Behold, I bring joy to Jerusalem and to My people; neither the voice of crying, nor the voice of crying will be heard in it anymore, there will be neither a baby nor an old man who will not fulfill his time; For the youth will be a hundred years old, and the sinner will die a hundred years and will be cursed. And they will build houses and live themselves, and plant vines, and they themselves will eat their fruit and drink wine. They will not build, but others will live, and they will not plant, but others will eat. For the days of my people will be like the days of the tree of life, for the works of their labors will endure” (Isa. 65:18-23).
Chapter XXXV. Continuation of the same thing.
1. If anyone tries to take this kind of promise as an allegory, then they will not find themselves in agreement with themselves in everything and will be convicted by the power of those very sayings; these are the words:
“When the cities of the nations are so desolate that they are not inhabited, and the houses are without people, and the land is left desolate” (Isaiah 6:11).
For here says Isaiah:
“The day of the Lord is coming without healing, full of wrath and wrath, to lay waste the city and the land and destroy the sinners from it” (Isa. 13:9). And further:
“The wicked will take the trouble not to see the glory of the Lord” (Isa. 26:10).
And when this is done,
“God will continue the people, but those who remain will multiply on the earth; and they will build houses and live in them, and plant vines and eat themselves” (Isaiah 6:12; Isaiah 65:21).
For all these and other (words) are indisputably said regarding the resurrection of the righteous, which is to take place after the coming of the Antichrist and the destruction of all nations under his rule: at that time the righteous will reign on earth, growing from the vision of the Lord and through Him learn to embrace the glory of God and will enjoy in the kingdom the conversion and fellowship of holy angels and union with spiritual beings. And regarding those whom the Lord will find in the flesh waiting for God from heaven, who suffered persecution, but escaped the hand of the wicked: about them the prophet says:
“And those who remain will multiply in the earth.”
And that the believers, how many of them God has prepared, so that those who remain will multiply on earth, will serve this Jerusalem and the Kingdom (of Christ) in it in the Kingdom of Saints, Jeremiah speaks about this:
“Look, O Jerusalem, in the east and see the joy coming to you from God Himself. Behold, your sons, whom you sent out, will come, gathered from east to west by the word of that saint, rejoicing in the glory of your God. Take off, O Jerusalem, the garment of your mourning and sorrow and put on the beauty of eternal glory from your God; put on the double robe of righteousness from your God, put on your head the miter of eternal glory.
For God will show your lordship to all under heaven. For your name will forever be called from God Himself - peace of righteousness and glory to him who honors God. Arise, O Jerusalem, and stand on high, and look to the east, and see your sons, gathered from the rising of the sun to the west, by the word of that Holy One, rejoicing in the memory of God.
For they left you on foot when they were led by enemies, but God will bring them to you, carried with glory, like the throne of a kingdom.
For God has determined that every high mountain and everlasting hill should be humbled, and that the valleys should be filled to level the surface of the earth, so that Israel, the glory of God, might walk in safety. The forests will provide shade and every tree will provide fragrance for Israel itself, as God commanded.
For God will come with joy, with the light of his glory, with mercy and righteousness from him.”
2. All such sayings cannot be understood in relation to the heavenly world; for it is said: “God will show thy lordship to all under heaven,” but they refer to the times of the kingdom, when the earth will be restored by Christ (to its primitive state) and Jerusalem will be recreated in the image of the Jerusalem above, about which the prophet Isaiah speaks:
“Behold, I have written your walls in My hands, and you are always in My sight” (Isaiah 49:16).
In the same way, the Apostle in the Epistle to the Galatians says: “But the Jerusalem above is free; he is the mother of us all” (Gal. 4.26): and he speaks this not with the thought of the wandering Aeon or of any power that came out of the Pleroma, and Prunik, but of Jerusalem, written on the hands (of God).
And this same (Jerusalem) John in Revelation saw descending to a new earth.
For after the times of the kingdom, “I saw,” he says, “a great white throne and one sitting on it, from whose face heaven and earth fled away, and no place was found for them.”
And he sets forth what pertains to the general resurrection and judgment, saying:
“And I saw dead great and small. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and hell gave up the dead that were in them; and the books were opened. But the book of life was also opened, and the dead were judged from what was written in the books according to their deeds; and death and hell were cast into the lake of fire, the second death.”
This is also called Gehenna, which the Lord called eternal fire.
“And whoever, it is said, was not written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire” (Rev. 20.11-15).
Then he says:
“And I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the former heaven and earth have passed away, and the sea is no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying: Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, they will be His people, and God Himself with them will be their God. And He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death, no more crying, no more crying, no more pain, for the former things have passed away” (Rev. 21.1-4).
And Isaiah says the same thing:
“There will be a new heaven and a new earth, and they will not remember the former things, and it will not come into their hearts, but they will find joy and gladness in it” (Isa. 65:17,18).
This is also said by the Apostle in the words: “The image of this world is passing away” (1 Cor. 7:31).
Likewise, the Lord says: “earth and heaven will pass away” (Matthew 5:18).
With the passing of these, according to the disciple of the Lord John, the new heavenly Jerusalem will descend to earth, like a bride adorned for her husband, and this is the tabernacle of God, in which God will dwell with people. The image of this Jerusalem is Jerusalem on the former earth, in which the righteous are first prepared for incorruption and prepared for salvation.
And Moses received the image of this tabernacle on the mountain, and nothing can be taken as an allegory, but everything is true, true and essential, having been created by God for the enjoyment of righteous people. For just as there truly is God who resurrects man, so truly man rises from the dead, and not allegorically, as I have repeatedly shown. And just as truly he is resurrected, so truly he will be prepared for incorruption and will grow and strengthen during the kingdom, so as to be capable of receiving the glory of the Father.
Then, when everything is renewed, he will truly dwell in the city of God. For (John) says:
“And He who sat on the throne said, Behold, I will make all things new. And the Lord says: Write everything, for these words are true and faithful. And he said to me, “It is finished” (Rev. 21:5-6).
And that's how it should be.
Chapter XXXVI. People will truly be resurrected; the world will not be destroyed, but there will be different abodes for the saints according to the dignity of each; everything will submit to God the Father and He will be all in all.
1. Since people are true (people), then their location must necessarily be true and not turn into insignificance, but succeed in its existence. For neither the substance nor the essence of creation is destroyed - for He who created it is true and faithful - but “the image of this world passes away,” i.e. that in which a crime has been committed, because a person has become worn out in it.
And therefore this image was created temporary, according to God’s foreknowledge of everything, as I showed this in the previous book, and also showed, if possible, the reason for the creation of temporary things in the world. When this image passes and man is renewed and strengthened for incorruption so that he can no longer decay, then there will be a new heaven and a new earth, in which a new man will dwell, always conversing with God about something new.
And that this will always continue without end, Isaiah says:
“For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I create, remain before me, so will your seed and your name be (Isa. 66:22).
And, as the elders say, then those worthy of heavenly sojourn will move there, i.e. to heaven, others will enjoy the pleasures of paradise, others will possess the beauty of the city, but God will be visible everywhere, as those who see Him will be worthy.
2. Moreover (they say) there is a difference between the habitation of those who bore fruit a hundred times, and those who brought forth sixty, and those who brought forth thirty times; some of them will be taken to heaven, others will live in paradise, others will live in the city; and therefore the Lord said that the Father has many mansions (John 14:2). For everything belongs to God, who gives a decent dwelling to everyone; just as His Word says that everything is divided by the Father according to how someone is or will be worthy. And this is the table at which those invited to the wedding feast will sit down to dine. This, according to the elders, the disciples of the apostles, is the distribution and order of those who are saved, and through such gradualism they are perfected - through the Spirit they ascend to the Son, and through the Son to the Father, because the Son will then transfer His work to the Father, as it was said to the Apostles:
“For He must reign until He has put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy will be destroyed by death.”
For during the kingdom, a righteous person, while on earth, will already forget to die:
“When it is said that all things are subjected, it is clear that except Him who put all things under (Him). When all things are submitted to Him, then the Son Himself will be subject to Him who put all things in subjection to Him, so that God may be all in all” (1 Cor. 15:28).
3. So, John clearly foresaw the first resurrection of the righteous and their inheritance in the kingdom of the earth; The prophets also predicted about him according to him. The Lord also taught about the same thing, promising to have with his disciples a new dissolution of the cup in the kingdom (Matthew 26:29). And the Apostle confessed that the creation will be freed from the bondage of corruption into the freedom of the sons of God (Rom. 8:21).
And in all this and through everything, the same God the Father is revealed, who created man and promised the fathers an earthly inheritance, bringing her (from slavery) into the resurrection of the righteous, and fulfilling the promises in the kingdom of His Son, and then fatherly giving what the eye has not seen, no ear heard, and nothing entered the hearts of people.
For there is one Son, who accomplished the will of the Father, and one human race, in which the mysteries of God are performed, “which the angels desire to see” (1 Pet. 1:12), and cannot comprehend the wisdom of God, through which His creation is perfected, becoming conformed and co-corporeal with the Son, so that the generation of His first-born Word descends into creation, i.e. creation (bodily) and we are embraced by it, and on the other hand, creation receives the Word and ascends to Him, rising above the angels, and is made in the image and likeness of God.
The end of the five books of Irenaeus against heresies. Against heresies.
Chapters XXXI-XXXVI. Source: Op.
St. Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons. 2nd ed.: St. Petersburg. Publication by I.L. Tuluzov, 1900. ————————————————————————————————
What form do the classes take?
The Irenaeus of Lyons Center is, first of all, an organization based on a free form of education. It doesn’t matter here who is taller and who is shorter, who is stronger and who is weaker, who is more beautiful and who is less attractive. All those who came are equal to each other, including the teaching staff. Classes take place on a charitable basis; if possible, new participants can contribute funds that will be used for the development of a religious organization.
All classes take place in cozy classrooms, where people get to know each other, gain their first skills and try to put them into action. As in any other educational institution, home assignments are given here for which you need to prepare for seminars, and educational brochures are provided. All people communicate outside the training center and organize themed evenings on their own.
Bibliography from A. Men's dictionary[edit]
- Mign e. PG, t.7; in Russian Transl.: Op. St. Irinea, bishop Lionsky, M., 1871, the same, reprint. ed., M., 1996; Evidence of the apostolic preaching, KhCh, 1907, No. 4-6.
- G u s e v D. V., Dogmatic. St. system I. L. in connection with the Gnostic. teachings of the second century, PS, 1874, No. 8-9;
- [Eugene (Sakharov-Platonov)], St. I., bishop. Lyonsky, PrTSO, vol. 1, book 4, 1843;
- S a g a r d a N. I., Newly discovered work of St. I. L. “Proof of the Apostolic Preaching”, St. Petersburg, 1907; PBE, vol.5, pp.1018-22;
- Fedchenkov S.A., Armenian fragments of the works of St. I.L., KhCh, 1915, No. 4; ego, St. I. L. His life and lit. activity, Serg. Pos., 1917;
- foreign bibliogr. see in the journal. Connaissance des p-res de l'Eglise, 1979, No. 2 and in the book: Q uaste n. Patr., v.1, p.287;
- John Beh. Asceticism and anthropology in Irenaeus and Clement. (Oxford: OUP, 2000)
