St. Irenaeus
Protestants also cite St. Irenaeus of
Lyons (ca. 120-200) as a defender of perspicuity. In his Against Heresies,
he wrote:
All Scripture, which has been given to
us by God, shall be found by us perfectly consistent; and the parables shall
harmonize with those passages which are perfectly plain; and those statements the
meaning of which is clear, shall serve to explain the parables; and through the
many diversified utterances [of Scripture] there shall be heard one harmonious
melody in us, praising in hymns that God who created all things. (Against
Heresies, 2.28.3)
Elsewhere in the same document Irenaeus
declares: “The entire Scriptures, the prophets, and the Gospels, can be
clearly, unambiguously, and harmoniously, understood by all.” (Against
Heresies, 2.27.2) In these passages Irenaeus certainly employed much of the
same language as Protestant defenders of perspicuity: “perfectly plain,” “clearly,
unambiguously, and harmoniously, understood by all.2 However, this must be
squared with Irenaeus’s high view of Church authority.
For example, elsewhere in the very
same book, Irenaeus appealed to those who were “instituted bishops by the
Apostles, and their successors to our own times” as guardians of the apostolic Tradition.
(Against Heresies, 3.3.1) Later, he calls the Church the “entrance to
life,” and that when a “dispute relative to some important question [arises]
among us,” it is appropriate to consult one of the “ancient churches” with apostolic
origins who “follow the course of the Tradition” provided by the Apostles. (Against
Heresies, 3.4.1) Presumably the disputes he was referring to are those that
might arise precisely over the interpretation of Scripture.
Furthermore, in Against Heresies
he also claimed that in manners of doctrinal dispute, “all churches must agree”
with the church in Rome, because of its “superior origins” and its preservation
of the “Apostolic tradition.” (Against Heresies, 3.3.2) And again, Christians
should “obey those who are the presbyters in the Church, those who, as we have
shown, have succession from the Apostles.” (Against Heresies, 4.26.2)
Christians should obey not only the presbyters, said Irenaeus, but the bishops
in succession from the Apostles, who guard the Scriptures against “falsification”
and have a “legitimate and diligent exposition according to the Scriptures,
without danger and without blasphemy.” (Against Heresies, 4.33.8) Another
quotation from Against Heresies is relevant in quoting in full for what
it demonstrates about Irenaeus’ understanding of authority as it relates to
scriptural interpretation:
Where, therefore, the gifts of the
Lord have been placed, there it behooves us to learn the truth, [namely,] from
those who possess that succession of the Church which is from the apostles, and
among whom exists that which is sound and blameless in conduct, as well as that
which is unadulterated and incorrupt in speech. For these also preserve this faith
of ours in one God who created all things; and they increase that love [which
we have] for the Son of God, who accomplished such marvelous dispensations for
our sake: and they expound the Scriptures to us without dangers, neither blaspheming
God, nor dishonoring the patriarchs, not despising the prophets. (Against
Heresies, 4.26.5)
In sum, Irenaeus in this great ancient
text believed that scriptural interpretation cannot be done apart from the
guidance of those bearing apostolic authority, namely, the episcopacy. (Casey J.
Chalk, The Obscurity of Scripture: Disputing Sola Scriptura and the
Protestant Notion of Biblical Perspicuity [Steubenville, Ohio: Emmaus Road
Publishing, 2023], 199-201)
Separately, in Letter to Florinus,
Irenaeus made a strong affirmation of ecclesial interpretive authority and the authoritative
role of Tradition, He argued there that certain doctrines are wrong because they
were “not in accord with the Church,” and “not handed down to you by the presbyters
who came before us.” (5.20.4, in Jurgens, Faith of the Early Fathers,
1:106) In sum, these quotations indicate that Irenaeus understood scriptural interpretation
as something that must be guided by holy Tradition and under the supervision of
divinely instituted ecclesial authorities. (Ibid., 201)
Further
Reading:
Not
By Scripture Alone: A Latter-day Saint Refutation of Sola Scriptura