Irenaeus was a Greek bishop in the second century, noted for his role in guiding and expanding Christian communities in the southern regions of present-day France and, more widely, for the development
Stained-glass portrait by Lucien Bégule, 1901
Fresco of Saint Irenaeus from Christ the Savior Russian Orthodox Church, Wayne, West Virginia
Cambridge University library manuscript 4113 / Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 405. Irenaeus. c. 200 AD.
Saint Augustine by Philippe de Champaigne
Polycarp was a Christian bishop of Smyrna. According to the Martyrdom of Polycarp, he died a martyr, bound and burned at the stake, then stabbed when the fire failed to consume his body. Polycarp is r
Irenaeus
…by opposing Gnostic interpretations of Christian Scripture and defending orthodoxy. Originating from Smyrna, he had seen and heard the preaching of Polycarp, who in turn was said to have heard John the Evangelist. Chosen as Bishop of Lugdunum, now Lyon, Irenaeus wrote his best-known work Against Heresies…
fresco from the Church of St. George, Staro Nagoričane
Mosaic of Saint Polycarp from the Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo in Ravenna, Italy
Polycarp miraculously extinguishing the fire burning the city of Smyrna
Tomb of Polycarp in Smyrna (modern-day Izmir), 1895