Irenaeus' reputation as one of the foremost heresiologists of the early
church easily occludes a wider appreciation of his vocation as a minister. This
paper seeks to problematise the prevailing association of Irenaeus with
anti-gnostic polemic and to demonstrate that his associations with Polycarp
and Justin supply good grounds for supposing that Irenaeus developed a
significant preaching and teaching ministry in advance of his literary success.
Furthermore,it is to be indicated that one may read both his Refutation
and Demonstration through this lens, with the raw materials of concrete
mission as the undergirding biblical and philosophical experience from which he
draws his argument.
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