WOF 306: The Genius of St. Irenaeus

Pope Francis just announced he’s planning to declare a new Doctor of the Church, St. Irenaeus of Lyon. Who was he? What were his key ideas? Why does he still matter? That’s what Bishop Barron and Brandon discuss in today’s episode. Topics include:

• What’s a Doctor of the Church, and why should Irenaeus be declared one?
• How did Bishop first become acquainted with Irenaeus?
• What was Irenaeus’ approach to battling Gnosticism?
• Irenaeus taught that God has no need of anything outside of himself. What does this mean, and why is it good news?
• How to understand Irenaeus’s pithy line, “The glory of God is man fully alive”?
• Irenaeus’ theology of recapitulation
• How Irenaeus remains a great spiritual and theological bridge between Eastern and Western Christians
• Why Irenaeus is still relevant today

A listener asks, how should I respond to the idea that nothing really exists because we can’t prove that it exists?

Links

• New editions of Bishop Barron’s books: https://bookstore.wordonfire.org

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