Our alphabetical march through the saintly alphabet continues as Irenaeus of Lyons squares off against James the Just. The winner will face Athanasius of Alexandria, thereby setting up the first set battle of the Saintly Sixteen.
Yesterday, Gregory the Great swam past Hugh of Lincoln 62% to 38% to advance to the next round.
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Irenaeus of Lyons
Irenaeus was a Greek, a bishop, an unwavering supporter of the faith, and, of great significance, one of only thirty-seven Doctors of the Church!
Born in Smyrna, Turkey, in 130—although various reports note his birthdate as sometime between 97 and 160—Irenaeus spent the majority of his ministry based in Lugdunum, now known as Lyon, in southern Gaul, today’s France. A theologian and a prolific writer, Irenaeus was a stalwart defender of the faith and was considered the greatest theologian of his time. His writings ranged from insightful treatises to letters addressing key issues.
His training and education were simply unmatched. He was a student who believed in deep research and profound thinking. Irenaeus learned firsthand from the martyr Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna and a theologian in his own right. Growing up, Polycarp was taught by none other than the Apostle John. As a result, Irenaeus’ foundations of faith were the teachings directly imparted from the Apostles.
At that time, Lugdunum was a major crossroads of civilization. Thanks to its location situated at the confluence of the Rhône and Saône rivers, Lugdunum was founded by the Romans and quickly grew to be an important trading center, attracting merchants, sailors, and scholars from all points of the known world. Irenaeus’ broad learning helped him connect with the many peoples who traveled through the major city.
While living in Lugdunum, Irenaeus witnessed the persecutions of Christians by Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius, wretched experiences that were lasting on his soul.
At the core of Irenaeus’ numerous contributions was his challenging of the Gnostics, who claimed to have access to secret knowledge. The name Gnostics came from the Greek word for “knowledge.”
Irenaeus considered Gnostics and their beliefs a direct attack on the Christian faith. His most enduring impact was the staunch repudiation of the Gnostics and their thinking. Irenaeus’ groundbreaking treatise, a five-volume “Against Heresies” (“Adversus Haereses”), was the total rejection of Gnosticism. In his writings, Irenaeus focused on his belief of three articles of faith—God the Creator, Jesus Christ his Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Irenaeus lived out his life in Lugdunum, where he died sometime in the latter end of the second century, but no exact date has been confirmed. It is also not clear if he was martyred.
In acknowledgement of his crucial contributions to the faith, in 2022 Pope Francis named Irenaeus a Doctor of the Church, elevating him to the same category as other Christian notables such as Gregory the Great, Ambrose, Augustine of Hippo, Hildegard von Bingen, John Chrysostom, Basil the Great, and Thomas Aquinas. Irenaeus’ feast day is June 28; it is August 23 in the Byzantine tradition.
Collect for Irenaeus of Lyons
Almighty God, who strengthened servant Irenaeus to defend thy truth against every blast of vain doctrine: Keep us, we pray, steadfast in your true religion, that in constancy and peace we may walk in the way that leads to eternal life; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
James the Just
There are a lot of people named James in the Bible! Hegesippus called this James “the Just” because of his “outstanding virtue” to help distinguish him from others with the same name. The Catholic Church identifies James the Just as the same person as James the Less or James, son of Alphaeus. Since James, son of Alphaeus, is named in the list of disciples in the Gospels, this means that James the Just is also commonly accepted as one of the disciples. Most often, this James is identified as the brother of Jesus and the first bishop of the church in Jerusalem. It is generally assumed that James the Just is the author of the Epistle of James, but there is some disagreement about its authorship. James the Just presided at the Council of Jerusalem and was the one who insisted that Paul ritually cleanse himself at Herod’s Temple to prove his faith and deny rumors of teaching rebellion against the Torah. First Corinthians mentions that James is one to whom Jesus showed his resurrected self.
James is sometimes referred to as James Adelphotheos, which translates to “brother of God” in Greek, but the word may not have been intended in a biological sense. Besides, to be the brother of Jesus, whom we believe was the son of God and the Virgin Mary, should raise questions about James’s parents’ identities. Some scholars say that James, Joses, Jude, and Simon were also Mary and Joseph’s sons, making them Jesus’s half-brothers, James being the eldest since he was listed first. However, the apocryphal Gospel of James indicates that Joseph had children before he was married to Mary, which would make James Jesus’s stepbrother. A third group suggests that perhaps James was a cousin of Jesus, because the Aramaic word used meant both cousin and brothers or sisters. One final possibility about the parentage of James is that he could have been a younger half-brother of Jesus, the son of Mary and Clopas (Joseph’s younger brother whom Mary could have married after Joseph’s death).
James died by being thrown from the pinnacle of the temple and being stoned and clubbed to death in either 62 or 69. James the Just has a handful of feast days depending on denomination. The Roman Catholic calendar commemorates him on May 3. He is remembered on October 23 on the Lutheran and Episcopal calendars. The Eastern Orthodox celebrates his feast day on multiple dates, including on October 23, December 26, and January 4. As an interesting final note, in 2002, an ossuary that was on display at the Royal Ontario Museum was thought to contain James’s bones because of an inscription, but that inscription was found to be a forgery.
Collect for James the Just
Grant, O God, that, following the example of your servant James the Just, brother of our Lord, your church may give itself continually to prayer and to the reconciliation of all who are at variance and enmity; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
67 comments on “Irenaeus of Lyons vs. James the Just”
I voted for James the Just because his bio reads like a good soap opera. And, the last two votes were so Roman Catholic centric, we needed someone on the margins to take this one!
I couldn’t vote today nor on a previous matchup.
Please advise. This situation is usually smoothed out by this time in the “competition”.
Still fun though!
James the Just's passing would make a good Midsommer Murders opening. Since I am a fan of that show, I am a fan of his.
What the write-up on Irenaeus of Lyons does not say is that it is not that he was just against the Gnostic teachings, he took book banning to a whole new level. He ordered all of these writings, including the Gospel of Thomas and the Gospel of Mary Magdalene to be destroyed. These and other writings make up the Nag Hammadi Library. These books were found in the desert where monks had buried them to keep them from being destroyed. I am also quite sure that he was one of the saints who was bent on destroying the works of Sappho which is why we have almost none of her work to this day. As a poet I find this incredibly offensive, that we have lost the work of a poet even Plato quoted because Irenaeus believed he was in the right. As a person, too, I have to say, it does not matter how much you disagree with somebody else’s ideas. You do not destroy their words. You can write/speak/sing/shout your own words in opposition but what Irenaeus did is equivalent to book burning to me.
I am coming so very late to this discussion because of family obligations. I voted for James simply because his "family" lineage was so all over the place in the biography that I was reminded of a Tom Hanks line in "You've Got Mail" in response to a question about the ambiguity of his character's blended, multi-generational family, "Ummm... We are an American Family."
I'd like to apologize to everyone and the lent madness team. This is my second lent madness and this whole season so far when I've gone in to check the score it let me vote again, so I occasionally would and tonight I was bored so I voted many times thinking it was fine. However I see this is not within the rules as it isn't a "who can vote the most" deal. My action did not change who won but it was not okay as I should have known better. Apologies to everyone again and I will just vote once (or if the committee decides, be banned) from here on out. Happy rest of lent madness and lent to everyone.
Well it looks as though the vote is closed on this one. In spite of that, I want my vote to be known but not necessarily counted. I cast my vote for James the Just.