Episode 5: “Irenaeus of Lyons”, Part 2, in "Mystical Theology", with Dr. Christopher Veniamin

Series: Mystical Theology
Episode 5: Irenaeus of Lyons, Part 2

Introducing the theology and spiritual life of the Orthodox Church, with particular reference to the Holy Bible and the witness of the Church Fathers, past and present.

This Episode, "Irenaeus of Lyons, Part 2”, is the continuation of Part 1, which was the Introduction to St. Irenaeus of Lyons. A spiritual child of St. Polycarp of Smyrna, and thus a spiritual grandchild of St. John the Theologian, Evangelist and beloved disciple of Christ, what Irenaeus has to say about the nature and purpose of the Christian life - with particular reference to the vision of God - is quite simply astounding.

In this episode, Dr. Christopher Veniamin breaks down for us the special place of the vision of God in the theological vision of this giant of the Spirit, St. Irenaeus of Lyons.

It is hoped that these presentations will help the enquirer discern the interwoven character of theology and Christian living, and to identify the ascetic and pastoral significance of the Orthodox ethos. 

Q&As related to Episode 5 available The Professor’s Blog.

Recommended background reading: Christopher Veniamin, ed., Saint Gregory Palamas: The Homilies (Dalton PA: 2022).

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: I wish to express my indebtedness to the spoken and written traditions of Sts Silouan and Sophrony the Athonites, Fr. Zacharias Zacharou, Fr. Kyrill Akon, Fr. Raphael Noica, Fr. Symeon Brüschweiler; Fr. John Romanides, Fr. Pavlos Englezakis, Fr. Georges Florovsky, Prof. Constantine Scouteris, Prof. George Mantzarides, Prof. John Fountoulis, Fr. Andrew Louth, and particularly to Mtp Kallistos Ware and Prof. Panayiotes Chrestou: certain sentences and phrases utilized in these presentations are taken directly from my notes of some of their lectures. My presentations have been enriched by all of the above sources, owing to the adoption of certain structures, lists, schemata, and the paraphrasing of themes taken from them. Responsibility for the content of my presentations is of course mine alone. ©Christopher Veniamin 2023

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God's Vision in Saint Irenaeus

Speaker 1 0:00

I said I was going to focus on the vision of God in Saint Irenaeus , not just because it's an important theme in his writings , but because it's remarkable how early on this is present in the patristic writings , a focus that we tend to lose sight of at times . So let's look at those five basic points on Irenaeus' understanding of the vision of God , and here , once again , I'd like to acknowledge my indebtedness to Metropolitan Callisto's where , whose schema I am using . So , firstly , we said there is the vision of God as our life . The vision of God embraces our total personhood , body and soul . That's point number two . Thirdly , that it is a gift of grace in Christ , that it is , fourthly , an experience of transfiguring light and finally , fifth , that it is inexhaustible . So , first , the vision of God is our life . I mentioned this in passing . There's a line in Irenaeus that goes like this Gloria enim dei vivens homo Vita autem hominis , visio dei . So the glory of God . What is the glory of God ? According to Irenaeus of Leon , the glory of God is vivens homo , a living man , man that is truly alive . Vivens homo , vita autem hominis , visio dei , and the life of man . What is the life of man ? According to Irenaeus , the life of man is the vision of God . When is man truly alive ? Man is truly alive when he experiences the vision of God , when he lives in , when he exists in the vision of God , man's life , the vision of God .

Speaker 1 2:38

I'm reminded that in probably the greatest work , certainly the greatest homily of St Gregory Palamas , homily 53 , and this is his second homily on the entry of the Mother of God into the Holy of Holies , st Gregory Palamas says something quite remarkable , but it's very reminiscent of this statement in Irenaeus . He says the only true sign of a healthy soul , the only true sign or sure sign of a healthy soul , is the vision of God . When are we healthy ? When are we what we should be ? When are we what we were created to be ? When we have the vision of God . Now , to some people , curiously , this is a very disappointing statement because it's like oh , when am I going to have the vision of God ? When am I going to be normal ? When am I going to be truly alive ? That's a very negative way of thinking about this , if I may say .

Speaker 1 4:00

If we turned it around a little bit and looked at it in a more inspired way , inspired by the life of repentance , that is what the church is always encouraging us to do . Indeed , the gospel begins with repentance . It ends with repentance . The church is constantly encouraging us to repent and to humble ourselves , to be humble-minded . Then we would begin to see that this is actually a wonderful gift from God , that , even while we are on the road towards the perfection in Christ , this saves us from , you know what ? It saves us from Moralizing . Moralizing the wonderful moralism that is around us every day , the do's and don'ts that everybody thinks turns you into a wonderful human being . And how many points we get because we do this or that . If I go to church , I get so many points . If I go to confession , I get so many points . I just build up my points right and then I'm good . No , it's not about that . It's about changing , it's about becoming like Christ , and the point at which the saints see Christ is their moment of theosis , deification . It's the moment where they experience the life of Christ , shall we say , in a fuller way , where the vision is not just a vision but a participation in , and it signifies receiving the life of Christ .

Speaker 1 6:03

I was talking the other day about St Sillow on the Athonite , a simple , unlettered monk tucked away in a remote part of the world , of no use to anyone but himself , as the world would see it . But when he received the vision of Christ in glory , such was his transformation that he began to weep and pray for the world as for himself . What does that mean ? It means that he acquired the life of Christ . The mind of Christ , as St Paul says , began to weep and pray for the world as for himself , not metaphorically , not figuratively , but truly , because he experienced salvation in himself and , like Christ himself , could not rest until everyone were saved . See , that's the culture , that's the culture of the saints , that's the culture of the Orthodox Church .

Speaker 1 7:22

Now let's make this a little more concrete , because when we talk about the vision of God and I don't know what we're influenced by , but it's certainly not the experience of the vision of God Our imagination wants to run wild and go in all kinds of directions . Of course , it's not very easy to do that when it comes to the things of God , because we don't have any reference point . Until we have the experience , we don't have any reference point . So there is a passage in the Greek life of St Pecomius Pecomius the Great , chapter 48 , where his disciples , innocently , but quite remarkably , when you think about it , they decide to go up to Pecomius and ask him for a vision . Father , show us a vision .

Speaker 1 8:24

So I say it's remarkable , because they have no doubt whatsoever , no hesitation , that the saint could give them a vision . But instead and this might seem disappointing to some , but instead he said something to them that's even more striking than if he had revealed to them something of the grace that God had given him . He said if you see a holy and humble person , that is a great vision . If you see a holy and a humble person , that is a great vision . I'm reminded of when , by the grace of God , I went to see Saint Porphyrios once upon a time , with Father Zacharias , and we were standing there and Saint Porphyrios was talking to us and in the process , revealed some of his gifts . But even more striking , even more memorable I mentioned real moments , didn't I earlier ? Moments that make a very deep impression on one and stay with you the rest of your life , with Saint Porphyrios at that moment , although it was difficult to describe and still is difficult to describe , if I had to put one word as a description of it , I would say the experience was of him as a humble person . His humility , it was absolutely beyond words and so difficult as you can see , difficult to describe . But humility , if you see a holy and humble person , that is a great vision . We had a vision at that moment of a holy and humble person and he didn't have to do or say anything .

Speaker 1 10:47

And when you leave , of course there's a certain sorrow . When you leave the presence of such a person , because the saints have a way of drawing us into their spiritual world and while you are with them you have a little taste of that world , which is the grace of God , and leaving you are filled with a desire to pray , to repent , to weep . I know that our society regards weeping as a sign of weakness , but in the church weeping is a sign of rebirth . Weeping is a sign of repentance and rebirth in Christ and that's probably the main effect of coming into contact with holy men and women . Some people say what's the point in going to see this or that elder ? I don't know . They'll say all kinds of things to excuse themselves from doing that . But you know , that's kind of the point . That's the point .

Speaker 1 12:17

They bring us down to earth in a very wonderful way and they inspire us to follow Christ , and that means to be willing to change , to allow God to enter into our hearts and work the miracle of His transformation of our soul , so that the old man dies and the new man is born , and in that process there are many deaths and many rebirths that need to take place until we cease to be divided in our allegiance and we desire only God and things eternal instead of the things temporal and ephemeral . So bear this in mind as we talk about such lofty experiences as the vision of God , but also that this is what we've been called , each one of us to be partakers of the divine nature containing nothing less than the life of Christ Himself . Now , secondly , we said that the vision of God involves the total human being , body and soul . Irenaeus' view is , of course , holistic , let's say as a point of contrast for the Platonists , for Plotinus for example , and the Neoplatonists , union with God involves a flight from the body , and in Saint Irenaeus of Lyon , this is clearly not the case .

Speaker 1 14:40

In a fragment , fragment 6 , in the Patrologia Orientalis , volume 12 , column 738 . There's a fragment from the demonstration of the apostolic preaching that survives in an Armenian translation , and it says that the flesh is to be interpenetrated by the power of the Spirit and it continues so that it is no longer carnal . Now , as you can see , we mentioned that Irenaeus was quite anti-philosophical because of the Gnostics of his day and it was because of the fantastic claim of the various Gnostic groups that Irenaeus wrote his against the heresies . He takes each of them in turn and refutes them . But you can see from this emphasis on the flesh being interpenetrated by the Spirit so that it is no longer carnal , you can see that he's very consciously opposing the Gnostics when he says this . For Irenaeus , the crucial line of demarcation is between God and creation . Salvation is for the whole of creation and when reading St Irenaeus one is reminded of St Paul's glorify God also with your body , 1 Corinthians 6 , 20 . Again , obviously holistic , anti-gnostic and so on . Because he's biblical , he is passing on the tradition of the apostolic preaching In Against the Heresies .

Speaker 1 16:45

Book 5 , section 6 , paragraph 1 , he talks about the permanus patris , the hands of God . When referring to the divine economy , he likes to use the analogy of the Son and the Spirit as the two hands of God , the Father . This is what he says for by the hands of the Father , that is to say by the Son and the Spirit . Man , and not just a part of man , is made in the image and likeness of God . Now , the soul and the Spirit can be part of man , but by no means man . The soul and the Spirit can be part of man , but by no means man . Perfect man is going to tell us now what a complete man is . Perfect man is the mixture and union of the soul which has received the Spirit , the Spirit of the Father , and which has been mingled with the flesh , fashioned after the image of God . So you see there how important the body , soul and Spirit man is . Body , soul and Spirit , that's the complete man . That is perfect man . Perfectus homo comixitio and so on . That is perfect man body , soul and Spirit . And we have Saint Paul again , who says in 1 Thessalonians 5 , 23, . And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly and I pray God , your whole Spirit and soul and body be preserved , blameless , unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ . So the whole Spirit and soul and body . Again , the vision of God for Saint Aaron , ace of Leon , involves the total human person . His view is holistic because it's biblical , because it's apostolic .

Salvation and the Revelation of God

Speaker 1 19:21

Thirdly , for the Gnostics , salvation lies within the natural power of the soul . Why ? Well , because the soul is by nature divine . For the Gnostics right and we have Gnostics all around us today , by the way Whoever is influenced by the various Oriental religious traditions believe in some kind of force or power that constitutes the highest part of the human being and that is divine by nature . And all you have to do , of course , is discover who , or , perhaps more correctly , what you are , that you are part of this divine force . So , for the Gnostics , salvation does lie within the natural power of the soul , whereas for St Irenaeus , salvation is the free gift of grace through Christ . Remember , we said that Christ is the soul revealer of God . No one can come to the Father but by Jesus Christ . He who has seen me has seen the Father . There is no other God outside of Jesus Christ , separate to Jesus Christ , distinct from Jesus Christ .

Speaker 1 21:00

I know that we have Rue Blov's icon of the Holy Trinity , where you have three men or three angels , and that's presented as the Holy Trinity , but it's a foreshowing of the mystery of the Holy Trinity . It's a prefiguration of the mystery of the Holy Trinity , and in fact it's a prefiguration of one aspect of the mystery of the Holy Trinity , because in no wise are three men or three angels one . Three men or three angels signify three beings , but God is not three being , god is one being . So the mystery of the oneness of God and the three-ness of God is impossible to depict at once . That's why , historically , the church never did it . We have the baptism of Jesus at the Jordan , where the Holy Spirit appears in the form as of a dove Not a dove but , following the narrative , as a dove and also the transfiguration , the voice of the Father , again as with the baptism of Jordan , and then you have the cloud .

Speaker 1 22:26

There's no attempt , there's no attempt historically , to depict at once the mystery of the oneness and three-ness of God , the Holy Trinity . There is only one God , one being who is trihypostatic . When I speak of God , st Gregory the Theologian says you must think at once of one flash of lightning and three . Who can do that ? It's a crucifixion of the mind , but that's what you have to do to preserve yourself from falling into one era or another . So , and don't forget , by the way , that in the rubel of Icon , that's an abstraction from the hospitality of Abraham , and with the hospitality of Abraham , if you look to the older depictions , iconographically , of the hospitality of Abraham , the central angel is always a little larger than the two on either side , and that's because the central angel is Christ .

Speaker 1 23:42

Now , who are the angels on either side of Christ ? Or the men on either side of Christ ? Sometimes it says men , sometimes it says angels . Who are they ? They are created angels . How do we know that ? They are the ones who continue after the central angel leaves . They are the ones who go to Sodom and Gomorrah .

Speaker 1 24:09

So look at the divine economy , how God has revealed himself to us . We say Father , son and Holy Spirit , because that's the theological rank , that's the theological order . We'll talk about that more when we come to the Cappadocian Fathers , in particular Saint Athanasius and also the Cappadocian Fathers in particular . But the shape of the economy ? Who is the protagonist ? All of the revelation of God in the Old Testament as well as in the New Testament , the Fathers don't distinguish , they don't discriminate between the Old Testament and the New Testament . And we say according to the Scriptures . When we read the Creed , everything is there . According to the Scriptures . Which Scriptures ? The Old Testament Scriptures . So when we say that Christ is the sole reveal of God , it's because he is the protagonist in the Divine Revelation .

Speaker 1 25:16

You know the ancient anarchsis , the beginning of the Divine Liturgy . You know when it was . Who has read Saint Justin , the philosopher and martyr . You know Saint Justin gives us the first tipicon of the Divine Liturgy . And what does he say ? Where does the Divine Liturgy begin ? He gives the apostolic blessing that we find in Saint Paul , which is the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God the Father . Saint Paul says the love of God .

Speaker 1 25:56

The Liturgy adds , specifies God the Father , which is correct , and the communion of the Holy Spirit . That's the beginning of the Divine Liturgy . And , by the way , this was something that the Arians had a tough time with , because if the Son and Word of God were in some way subordinate to the Father , why would Saint Paul mention him first ? And you couldn't say it's in reverse order , because the order doesn't help you to go one way or the other the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ , the love of God the Father and then the Holy Spirit . So the Father is second , the Holy Spirit is third . Why ? Because the Lord bore witness to the Father and at the end of his ministry he told us and promised us that he would send another comforter . That's the shape of the Divine Economy .

Speaker 1 27:01

Jesus Christ is the sole revealer of God . There is no other God than Jesus Christ . There is no God outside of Jesus Christ . He is the first , he is the last , he is the express image of the Father and he is the one who sends us the other comforter , who bears witness to His divinity . How do we know that Jesus Christ is God ? Well , experientially , in the life of the church , it comes when the Holy Spirit is revealed as a hypothesis and he leads us into all the truth . But the truth is not a set of ideas . The truth is a hypothesis . The truth is Jesus Christ . He is the truth . And in experiencing Jesus Christ we do not experience part of the truth . In other words , on the day of Pentecost and on the personal Pentecost of each and every saint , the Holy , the healthy , members of the church , jesus Christ is revealed . Holy , the whole truth . He will lead you into all the truth . He's talking about Himself . He is the truth . The truth is not an idea , it's not a concept . It is none other than Jesus Christ .

Speaker 1 28:43

So the vision of God , fourthly , in Saint Irenaeus of Leon , is an experience of transfiguring light . Irenaeus is the first writer to connect our glorification with the light of the transfiguration . He says just as those who see the light are in the light , so it is that they who see God are in God , partaking His brightness . Now , the existence of life comes from participation in God . Participation in God is to know God and to enjoy His goodness . Participation in God is to know God and to enjoy His goodness and , by the way , in the Latin translation it says participation in God is to see God and to enjoy His goodness . Yenoskin is to know , videyre is to see , and , as you can see , they're used synonymously . Because just as those who see the light are in the light , so it is that they who see God are in God , partaking His brightness . This is another term that you need to make a note of . When the fathers talk about the brightness of God , lambrodis they're referring to again . It's an image of light , but it's an energy , a power of God .

Speaker 1 30:45

In Saint Irenaeus' Book 4 , section 20 , where he describes the transfiguration of our Lord , he says that what's shown from His flesh , in and through Christ's flesh , is the light of the Father , the paternal light . He identifies Christ's transfiguration light with the light of the Father , the paternal looks . And that is not only interesting , it's highly significant because what Saint Irenaeus is doing there is that he's not distinguishing between the light of Christ and the light of the Father . The light of the Father is the light of Christ , the light of Christ which shines in and through His assumed human flesh . And that is significant because of the promotion , because of the consubstantiality of the Father and the Son , that the Father and Son are one . Therefore their glory , their light , the light of their glory , is one . Let's put it this way If the light of their glory is one and the same , that signifies that their nature or their essence is one and the same . That's very important . And the fact that again , irenaeus specifies that this light shone in and through Christ's assumed human flesh , his human nature , through His body and soul . That of course is . Again he has in mind the disparaging view of the body in the dualist systems of the Gnostics and he has , of course , the holistic view of the vision of God , right there in His description of the transfiguration .

Speaker 1 33:07

Why is the transfiguration a significant event ? In the Western theological tradition , the transfiguration is passed over almost as an event , which is impressive . But it's really no big deal If Christ is who he says he is and he shines in glory before His three disciples and they finally see a little of His glory , fine , that's to be expected , right ? I mean it's normal quote unquote . But really the significance of the transfiguration is , yes , it is significant that he is shining in the light of His divine glory which is , as we said , a witness to the consubstantiality of the Son of God with God the Father . But equally important equally important , at least , if that were a given and obviously , according to the Arianes it wasn't a given but if the consubstantiality of Christ with God the Father were a given the important point is that God is revealing to us , through the assumed human flesh of Christ , what His purpose is for us , that we have been created to experience this glory . This glory is His Christ's by nature . But this glory becomes the glory of the saints , and we see this already in the appearance of Moses and Elias and , to a less degree , we see that the three disciples . When they experienced this , they shared in this glory , because just as those who see the light are in the light , so it is that they who see God are in God , partaking His brightness . So it's God's purpose in His creation of man , for us to partake of His brightness , for us to partake of His divine light , his life .

Perfection and Progress in God

Speaker 1 35:40

Okay , so point number five , which is that the vision of God is never exhausted , even in the age to come . The vision of God can begin from this very life and it continues in the age to come , because perfection in Christ is infinite . It is a dynamic state , not a static one . That shows us that Aaronis is a theologian and not a philosopher , because in philosophy , perfection is a static state , it's motionless . If one is perfect , then why would you change ? There's no change . Change to become what ? More perfect , less perfect . That's the problem that still remains .

Speaker 1 36:40

The problem with Plato's ideas , by the way , is ideal world , the idea of the good , the idea of beauty , and so on . These are almost lifeless . St Gregory Palamas says if you don't have an energy , an essence without an energy , something that is not only lifeless , it doesn't exist . The Potosian Fathers would argue that usia anipostatos , an essence , shall we say an unhypostasized essence , an essence outside of a hypothesis doesn't exist . An energy or a power or a life outside of an essence that has no power , that has no energy , that has no activity , that has no life . What is that ? In his demonstration of the apostolic teaching , section 12 , irenaeus describes Adam and Eve as little children , not perfect at the outset but created to progress , and so therefore is perceived as their failure to grow in the right way . This dynamic state of perfection Dynamic is from a philosophical perspective actually quite absurd .

Speaker 1 38:24

But it's further underlined in Irenaeus' distinction between the image and likeness of God . Now , the distinction between the image and likeness of God , that we were created in the image of God in order to grow into his likeness . It was St Irenaeus who first introduces that to literature , to our patristic literature . He's the first to give that interpretation . In more recent times , biblical scholars refer to this kind of language as hebraic parallelism , where basically the same thing is said twice , two different words meaning the same thing . It's pasim , here and there throughout the Hebrew Scriptures . It's very common . It's true . Biblical scholars coined this pattern of language in Scripture as hebraic parallelism .

Speaker 1 39:36

But for Irenaeus , as I said , we were created in the image of God , which means that we've been given by God the capacity to contain uncreated life . The grace of God is uncreated life , his life , and we have been given that capacity and that's the fundamental meaning of the image of God , now growing into the likeness of God . That's the goal of receiving the life of God and being enlarged so as to receive as much as we have been created to contain , but that that in itself is a progress that has no end , that growing , that enlargement and this is a theme that is later taken up by numerous fathers , ecclesiastical writers , fathers of the church , everyone has become familiar with the Irenaeus interpretation of in the image and likeness of God . So perfection is never complete , even in the age to come , we never apprehend God in His entirety because we cannot contain God in His entirety . The apostle says that God is always greater than our heart . Irenaeus says in Against the Heresies , book 2 , section 18 , paragraph 3 , in the future , that is , in the age to come , while God always teaches , man always learns from God . So that's the continuing growing , that enlargement . Knowledge of God increases and , as we've said so many times and we'll continue to say it , knowing , learning the things of God , the things that are from God , means experience of God . The experience of God is unending , is inexhaustible . So already the remarkable thing is that in a church , father as early as Saint Irenaeus , and by no means have we covered all the themes that are there in Saint Irenaeus , but we've seen enough to say that all of the divine economy is , in a synoptic manner , contained in the writings of Saint Irenaeus the recapitulation of all things in Christ the future hope , the kingdom of heaven , the divine light , the vision of God as our life , transfiguring us , helping us , effecting our growing into the likeness of God .

Speaker 1 43:08

Irenaeus , by the way , is the first ecclesiastical writer to identify the mount of the transfiguration as the realization and fulfillment of the Revelation on Sinai , in other words , where Moses was denied a face-to-face vision of God . That denial , saint Irenaeus says was not an absolute denial forever , and even the fact that Moses was not worthy to enter the Promised Land . That was not forever because , in the vision of Christ transfigured , moses was afforded the face-to-face vision of God and because Christ is the Promised Land . Moses entered the Promised Land in a very concrete manner , shall we say , after the incarnation of the Son and Word of God and his appearance before his three disciples in his divine glory on Mount Tabor , although , interestingly , it's not until Saint Cyril of Jerusalem that the Mount of the Transfiguration's name is given . Tabor is specified after Saint Cyril of Jerusalem .

The Importance of Irenaeus's Theology

Speaker 1 44:37

Irenaeus refers to it as the Mount of the Transfiguration and , of course , the manifestation of the Word of God in the light of the paternal glory is given to us by Saint Irenaeus in an explicit way . I'll tell you why that is significant . For example , curiously , but this is a fact if you take a look at Tertullian's interpretation of the transfiguration , he does the opposite to what Irenaeus did , that is to say he distinguishes between the two glories and justifies the distinction by saying that the glory that Moses beheld was the glory of the Father and no one could see the face of the Father and live . The glory that the three disciples beheld on the Mount of the Transfiguration was the glory of Christ . So what is Tertullian doing ? He's distinguishing the glories , which is implying two distinct essences or natures . So he's separating the Father and the Son in a way that is unacceptable from an Orthodox perspective .

Speaker 1 46:04

Some people tend to present Tertullian as perfectly Orthodox . He's just a little too extreme in his ascetic rigor . But I found in my own researches on the question of the transfiguration that Tertullian was in fact not correct theologically . If you'll forgive me , I know he was a giant . He's an ecclesiastical writer . He's not a father of the church . Quastin tells us that he's the second greatest father after Saint Augustine Tertullian is in some cases very convincing , but when you examine his doctrine of the transfiguration of Christ and he makes that fundamental distinction between the glory of the Father and the glory of the Son , then you realize there's something seriously wrong .

Speaker 1 47:01

So that's what I would say about Saint Irenaeus His heavy emphasis on vision as signifying participation , participation in God , is a very important theme which will be taken up and developed by writers of subsequent periods , and we , I think , have been able to see a little bit of how important the theme of continuity is in his theology , his understanding of the Bible and the apostolic tradition . It's Saint Irenaeus who gives us the terminology apostolic succession because , in response to the fantastic claims of the Gnostics , he would ask the question now where have you got this from ? Who taught you what you are saying ? Which once again underlines the importance of that personal relationship in the spiritual life of the Church .