The first defenders of the faith

In the face of these controversies, a new generation of writers took up the pen. They are often called the apologists, from apology, a reasoned defence. They did not merely hand on the faith: they explained it, refuted errors and organised it.

Irenaeus of Lyon

Born in Asia Minor, a disciple of Polycarp, Irenaeus became bishop of Lyon around 177. His major work, Against Heresies, targets mainly the Gnostics.

His central argument concerns sources. The Gnostic system, he writes, “neither did the prophets announce, nor did the Lord teach, nor did the apostles hand down”. Its followers draw their ideas from somewhere other than the Scriptures, and their doctrine is recent. Christians, on the contrary, received the Gospel from those who first preached it and then wrote it down “to be the ground and pillar of our faith”.

Irenaeus supports this argument with the succession of bishops. In each great church, the list of leaders since the apostles can be named. It is not the book alone that guarantees the truth, but the public tradition that carries it.

Finally, he sets out the rule of truth, a summary of the faith that every catechumen learned before baptism. For him, even someone who cannot read is saved by this faith.

Tertullian

From Carthage, and possibly a lawyer, Tertullian (c. 160-220) is called the father of Latin Christianity. He coined much of Western theological vocabulary, including the word Trinitas. He describes the Scriptures as divine, inspired, sacred and holy.

For him, Scripture is the decisive weapon: “Take away from the heretics the wisdom they share with the pagans, and let them base their inquiries on the Scriptures alone: they will no longer be able to hold their ground.” It was also he who gave the rule of faith its Latin name: regula fidei.

Clement of Alexandria and Origen

In Alexandria, a great intellectual centre, Clement (c. 150-215) places Scripture at the summit of authority, so much so that Hans von Campenhausen calls him a “scriptural theologian”. All doctrine must flow from it. But he adds that the Church possesses an unwritten way of interpreting it, which he calls the “ecclesiastical rule”.

His successor Origen (c. 185-254) is one of the greatest scholars of Christian antiquity. For him, Scripture has a visible meaning and a hidden meaning, which only a spiritual reading, often allegorical, can reach.

Inspiration, a broad word

These writers held Scripture to be inspired. But they did not reserve the word for the books of our Bible alone. Clement of Alexandria regards as inspired the Didache, the letter of Clement of Rome, the Shepherd of Hermas and the Apocalypse of Peter. Later, Gregory of Nyssa would say the same of a commentary by Basil on the Creation. Since the Spirit dwells in the Church, inspiration was not seen as the exclusive privilege of a few books.