Adversus Hæreses (I)

In the early second century, the nascent Church faced both external persecution and internal strife. Amidst this, heretical movements such as Gnosticism emerged, leading many astray. Saint Irenaeus of Lyon—who had personally received instruction from Polycarp, a disciple of the Apostle John—refuted these heresies point by point, using apostolic teachings and Scripture, thereby leaving behind a vital testimony that bridges the Apostolic Age and the Church of later eras.
Book I of Against Heresies is a seminal work by Irenaeus of Lyon. It chronicles his use of robust argumentation to counter heretical ideas and defend orthodox doctrine, while elucidating the relationships between Scripture, apostolic succession, and episcopal authority. The text invites readers to look back to the origins of the Christian faith and to grasp the richness, integrity, and unity of the Church's faith today.
This Chinese translation includes parallel Latin and Greek texts, offering significant value for both scholarship and study. It serves not only as a rare resource for the study of Patristic theology in the Chinese-speaking world but also allows contemporary readers to witness firsthand how the Church—amidst the fires of apologetic struggle—established the rule of faith, the doctrine of the Trinity, the biblical canon, and apostolic succession, revealing the enduring and profound inspiration of this classic text spanning two millennia.

Irenaeus of Lyon was born between approximately 130 and 140 AD in Smyrna (modern-day Izmir, Turkey); likely a pagan in his early years, he later converted to Christianity. He received a solid education within the Hellenistic tradition—mastering rhetoric and Greek philosophy—and was subsequently grounded in the Christian faith under the tutelage of Saint Polycarp. By around 177 AD, he was already active in the Christian communities of Vienne and Lyon in a clerical capacity. Following a vacancy in the see of Lyon, he was elected bishop and devoted himself wholeheartedly to evangelization, the defense of the faith, and the preservation of church unity.
Most of his original Greek writings have been lost. Only the five-volume Latin work Adversus Haereses (Against Heresies) and an Armenian translation of the Demonstratio (Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching) have survived in their entirety. These works center on defending true doctrine, apostolic succession, and the orthodoxy of the Church. In 2022, Pope Francis proclaimed him a "Doctor of the Church," specifically bestowing upon him the title "Doctor of Unity."