Early Church · 180

Against Heresies: Book One

Irenaeus of Lyon (c. 130-202)

The first of five books against Gnosticism, written by the Bishop of Lyon in the late second century to expose the Valentinian system and its offshoots. Irenaeus describes each sect's cosmological myths in their own terms before dismantling them, giving us the most comprehensive account of second-century Gnosticism that survives. It opened a new genre: systematic engagement with heresy, showing what the Church believed by showing what it rejected.

3 hrs total · 32 chapters