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Case Studies: Clement, Ignatius and Irenaeus
The classes that Douglas, Joey and I taught on the early Church Fathers were primers for newcomers. We tried to set the stage for new readers to get inside the situations that prompted the writings of Clement or Rome, Ignatius of Antioch and Irenaeus of Lyon—all overseers. I believe we captured and heart and motivation of these champions of the faith.
The assessment of 1 Clement by Douglas Jacoby in Clement: The Corinthian Connection was sound and interesting. This substantial letter was probably written in a.d 96 and deals with the rupture brought upon the Corinthian congregation when young leaders deposed their elder figures. The church in Rome, the supposed bastion of apostolic Christianity, was called upon for advice or perhaps intervention. The conclusion of Clement, both overseer and mediator, was in support of the older leadership. This letter to the church was full of helpful insight but it also shows Clement’s fallibility. He attempted to use the legend of the Phoenix as an example as if it were true.
Joey Harris taught Ignatius: The Episcopacy and Structural Unity with confidence and ease. Ignatius, the early second-century overseer of Antioch sticks out like a sore thumb or a ray of light, depending on your perspective. To some he is an innovator for the type of monarchical leadership model that led to Catholicism. To others he is a hero who stood down false doctrine. He certainly appears to go overboard at times with the authority of the overseer and he was very zealous, seeming to purposely provoke his own martyrdom. Nonetheless, his half dozen letters to Christians on the north side of the Mediterranean between Antioch and Rome provide a clear snapshot of his core doctrines and the spread of them. We easily envision the conflicts with spurious sects as they are beginning to rise.
Irenaeus appears to have utilized the first rough New Testament canon (near to ours), was the clearest theologian of his century and illuminated the first clear principles of interpretation (hermeneutic) that have never let the church down. He championed the “rule of truth” (regula veratatis), an easily understandable and transmittable list of beliefs. He was an eminent East-West church peacemaker and a fair expert on the main heresies of his day. What we know of him is published in the five volume Against the Heresies, Proof of Apostolic Preaching and some sketches and letters preserved by the ancient church historian Eusebius.
There is one thing that I don’t embrace about Irenaeus, a flaw that shows up today in various ways—over-enthusiasm for one truth at the expense of other truths. As he was developing his view of the atonement which is based on Romans 5:12-21 he developed an atonement model called recapitulation, harmless and interesting by itself. But Irenaeus did so in such a careless way that he put forward the ancient equivalent to a public gaffe.
Even with the damage done by the misuse of a few statements by Irenaeus, without his contributions under God’s providence, it is hard to imagine how Christianity would have turned out without him - his dogged efforts, bearing the standard for core gospel truths, and his heroic love for the church. Therefore, we must remember that even the greatest of all Christians need to be checked, verified and filtered if necessary. So let’s read with our eyes wide open and the Word of God at our side (Acts 17:11).
A fuller examination of second-century Church Fathers should include Hermas of Rome, Justin Martyr of Rome, Clement of Alexandria and Tertullian of Carthage.
Part one of this series can be found at here. Part three will appear next week.