Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Authentic teaching of Christ is imparted by way of the bishops, Holy Father reminds

General Audience

Pope addresses errors of Gnosticism, wisdom of St. Irenaeus

VATICAN CITY, Mar 28, 2007 / 10:58 am (CNA) .- Addressing the more than 20,000 people crowded into St. Peter’s Square for today’s General Audience, Pope Benedict continued his catechesis on Saints of the early Church, turning today to St. Irenaeus, bishop of Lyons and "the first great theologian of the Church." The Holy Father recalled that this great fighter of heresy, who was born in Smyrna in the second century, is a reminder that the true teaching of Christ continues to be imparted by the bishops, who themselves received it from the Apostles, and is readily available to all the faithful.

Irenaeus was a disciple of Bishop Polycarp, who had known St. John the Evangelist. Moving to Gaul, he became one of the priests of the young Christian community of Lyons and, having been sent on a mission to Rome, managed to escape the persecution of Marcus Aurelius in which his predecessor, Bishop Pothinus, was martyred.

Irenaeus, said the Pope, was above all a pastor "who defended true doctrine," in particular against the gnostic heresy "which considered the faith taught by the Church as a form of symbolism for simple people ... while [Gnostic] initiates and intellectuals, understanding what lay behind the symbols, would be able to create an elitist and intellectualist form of Christianity."

Another feature of gnosticism was its dualism, the Holy Father noted. "In order to explain the existence of evil in the world they held that alongside the good God was a negative force which produced material things."

However Irenaeus, "solidly rooted in the biblical doctrine of creation ... defended the divine origin of matter, of the body ... no less than that of the Spirit." And "the heart of his doctrine is the 'rule of faith' and its transmission, which coincides with the Apostles' Creed."

"Thus, authentic teaching is not that invented by intellectuals over and above the simple faith of the Church. The true Gospel is the one imparted by the bishops who received it from the Apostles in an uninterrupted chain. They taught no more than this simple faith, which is also the real profundity of God's revelation.”

“There is no secret doctrine behind the shared creed of the Church, there is no superior form of Christianity for intellectuals," the Pope emphasized.
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