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On the Apostolic Preaching
St. Irenaeus of Lyons
A compact second-century account of the Christian faith, tracing the story of creation, covenant, incarnation, and the gathering up of all things in Christ.
About This Book
On the Apostolic Preaching
Translation and Introduction by John Behr. Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir's Seminary Press, 1997.
Some books explain Christian doctrine by separating it into parts. St. Irenaeus presents the faith as one great and unfolding work of God.
Written in the second century as a guide to the apostolic teaching, this compact work follows the scriptural story from creation and the patriarchs through the Incarnation, Cross, Resurrection, and gift of the Holy Spirit. Irenaeus shows the unity of the Old and New Testaments and the purpose running through them: the one God draws the human creature into communion with Himself through His Son and Spirit.
Short, lucid, and remarkably alive, On the Apostolic Preaching is one of the best doorways into the mind of the early Church—and into the Christian story as a whole.
What This Book Forms
This book forms the habit of seeing the Christian faith as a unified whole. It teaches us to behold Scripture as a single story, to recognize Christ as the One in whom creation and redemption are gathered together, and to understand salvation not merely as rescue from guilt but as the restoration of the human person to communion with God.
It also forms us in the practice of receiving the faith rather than reinventing it. Irenaeus does not construct a private theological system. He bears witness to the apostolic preaching entrusted to the Church. Reading him trains us to recognize that faith, to inhabit it, and to faithfully pass it on.
From Dr. Doom's Shelf
It's been years since I last read On the Apostolic Preaching, but I have read it more than once, and the impression that remains is how simple, concise, and yet powerful it is.
I've always thought it would be the perfect first patristic book for catechesis. It doesn't simplify the faith by reducing it. It makes the sweeping unity of the Christian faith visible in a remarkably compact form. If someone asks me where to begin with Irenaeus, this is the book I place in their hands. Against Heresies is indispensable, but sprawling. On the Apostolic Preaching allows the reader to see the shape of Irenaeus's vision before entering the larger work.
This book also sits close to the heart of what I am building through Podvig. Irenaeus does more than transmit theological information. He teaches us to behold the Christian faith as a unified whole and to understand that truth is meant to form the way we see, live, and become. It is the natural first book for this shelf.
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