Irenaeus on the Trinity Supplements to Vigiliae Christianae texts and studies of early christian life and language Editors J. den Boeft B.D. Ehrman J. van Oort D.T. Runia C. Scholten VOLUME 127 The titles published in this series are listed at brill.com/vcs Irenaeus on the Trinity By Jackson Lashier LEIDEN | BOSTON Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Lashier, Jackson.  Irenaeus on the Trinity / by Jackson Lashier.   pages cm. — (Supplements to Vigiliae Christianae, ISSN 0920-623X ; Volume 127)  Includes bibliographical references and index.  ISBN 978-90-04-27814-1 (hardback : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-90-04-28127-1 (e-book)  1. Trinity—History of doctrines—Early church, ca. 30–600. 2. Irenaeus, Saint, Bishop of Lyon. I. Title.  BT109.L35 2014  231’.044092—dc23 2014027828 This publication has been typeset in the multilingual ‘Brill’ typeface. With over 5,100 characters covering Latin, ipa, Greek, and Cyrillic, this typeface is especially suitable for use in the humanities. For more information, please see brill.com/brill-typeface. issn 0920-623x isbn 978-90-04-27814-1 (hardback) isbn 978-90-04-28127-1 (e-book) Copyright 2014 by Koninklijke Brill nv, Leiden, The Netherlands. Koninklijke Brill nv incorporates the imprints Brill, Brill Nijhoff, Global Oriental and Hotei Publishing. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by Koninklijke Brill nv provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to The Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910, Danvers, ma 01923, usa. Fees are subject to change. This book is printed on acid-free paper. Contents Acknowledgements  vii List of Abbreviations  ix Introduction  1 Orientation  1 Methodology  12 Plan  15 1 The Dissimilar Contexts of Irenaeus and the Apologists  18 Irenaeus  18 Life  18 Influences  20 Justin  22 Theophilus  26 His Opponents  29 Philosophy  39 Irenaeus’ Occasion for Writing  41 Apologists  44 Lives  44 The Apologists’ Occasion for Writing  50 Conclusion  52 2 God the Father  54 The Apologists  55 The Identity of God  55 The Nature of God  63 Irenaeus  70 The Identity of God  70 The Nature of God  78 Conclusion  90 3 The Logos of God  92 The Apologists  93 Logos Theology  93 The Generation of the Logos  107 vi contents Irenaeus  117 Logos Theology  117 The Generation of the Logos  130 Conclusion  147 4 The Sophia of God  149 The Apologists  150 Justin  150 Athenagoras  153 Theophilus  158 Irenaeus  164 The Holy Spirit as the Sophia of God  168 The Holy Spirit Creates  176 The Holy Spirit Reveals  183 Conclusion  187 5 God, Logos, Sophia  189 The Apologists  190 Justin  190 Athenagoras  197 Theophilus  200 Irenaeus  205 The Triune God in Himself  206 The Triune God in Relation to the Economy  212 The Trinity in Creation  212 The Trinity in Redemption  216 Conclusion  220 Conclusion  222 Bibliography  229 Index of Ancient Authors  240 Index of Names and Subjects  248 Index of Modern Authors  254 Acknowledgements The early form of this book was a dissertation completed at Marquette University between the years 2009–2011. During that time, I received invalu- able support and guidance from the faculty, staff, and my fellow students. Particularly, I want to thank the members of my dissertation board, Dr. Michel René Barnes, Rev. Alexander Golitzin, Rev. D. Thomas Hughson, S.J., and Dr. D. Stephen Long, for reading through the work and offering helpful feed- back that undoubtedly strengthened the argument in its final form. I also received two fellowships during those years that enabled me to complete sig- nificant portions of the research and writing. Thanks to the Department of Theology and the President’s Council of Marquette University for awarding me with a John P. Raynor, S.J. fellowship and to A Foundation for Theological Education for selecting me to be a John Wesley Fellow. I consider both of these fellowships high honors. A special word of thanks is due to my director Dr. Michel René Barnes. I am indebted to his scholarship and pedagogy, as well as to his friendship. Much of the content of the following pages had its spark in his ideas that I either read or discussed with him. I am also grateful to the Editors-in-Chief, and all of the people, at Vigiliae Christianae Supplements who have made this publication process smooth and painless, as well as to Dr. E.P. Meijering for his careful reading and learned comments on the manuscript. Thanks also to my parents, Jack and Kathy Lashier, who have always believed in me, always supported me, and always loved me. They nurtured in me a love of reading and writing at a young age, which bore unexpected fruit in theological studies and, in particular, this current project. I am thankful also for my in-laws, Stan and Marsha Graff. In addition to the love and support of both sets of parents, which we have come to expect, we have benefited also from their gracious monetary support, which we never expected, and which helped to make the project a reality. Mostly, I want to thank my wife Julie who has walked with me through every step of this process. She is one of the primary reasons I pursued doctoral studies in the first place, and I cannot begin to express how much her love and unwavering belief in me has meant. She has sacrificed much in the way of her own plans and her own time so that I might complete this work. I am so blessed to have a partner in life who shares with me a love of theology and an Irenaean appreciation for the beauty of God’s creation. The long arc of this project encompassed several significant events in our life. Our daughter Ruthie was born at the dissertation’s inception, and viii acknowledgements I completed much of the research and writing while staying home with her in the days. Our daughter Rachel was born shortly after I defended the dis- sertation, and the revisions began during stolen (and few) moments of quiet while both girls slept. Our son David was born shortly after I was notified of the revised version’s acceptance for publication with Brill, culminating this journey. These three blessings have taught me more about the mysteries of God, and particularly the incredible depth of God’s love, than I could read in a lifetime. My children are my greatest accomplishment, and this book is dedi- cated to them. List of Abbreviations 1 Apol. Justin, First Apology 2 Apol. Justin, Second Apology ACW Ancient Christian Writers ANF The Ante-Nicene Fathers ATR Anglican Theological Review Aug Augustinianum AugStud Augustinian Studies Autol. Theophilus, To Autolycus CH Church History Dial. Justin, Dialogue with Trypho DTC Dictionnaire de théologie catholique Didask. Alcinous, Didaskalikos Epid. Irenaeus, Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching FC Fathers of the Church Greg Gregorianum Haer. Irenaeus, Against Heresies HTR Harvard Theological Review ITS Indian Theological Studies JECS Journal of Early Christian Studies JETS Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society JrnRel Journal of Religion JSNT Journal for the Study of the New Testament JTS Journal of Theological Studies Leg. Athenagoras, Legatio LCL Loeb Classical Library NPNF The Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers NRSV New Revised Standard Version NV Nova et Vetera NVT Nouvelle Revue Théologique RSPHTH Revue des Sciences Philosophiques et Théologiques RSR Recherches de Science Religieuse SC Sources Chrétiennes SP Studia Patristica TDNT Theological Dictionary of the New Testament Tim. Plato, Timaeus TU Texte und Untersuchungen