Unity
Irenaeus
Having received this preaching and this faith, as I have said, the
Church, although scattered in the whole world, carefully preserves
it, as if living in one house. She believes these things
[everywhere] alike, as if she had but one heart and one soul, and
preaches them harmoniously, teaches them, and hands them down, as
if she had but one mouth. For the languages of the world are
different, but the meaning of the [Christian] tradition is one and
the same. Neither do the churches that have been established in
Germany believe otherwise, or hand down any other tradition, nor
those among the Iberians, nor those among the Celts, nor in Egypt,
nor in Libya, nor those established in the middle parts of the
world. But as God's creature, the sun, is one and the same in the
whole world, so also the preaching of the truth shines everywhere,
and illumines all men who wish to come to the knowledge of the
truth. Neither will one of those who preside in the churches who is
very powerful in speech say anything different from these things,
for no one is above [his] teacher, nor will one who is weak in
speech diminish the tradition. For since the faith is one and the
same, he who can say much about it does not add to it, nor does he
who can say little diminish it.
See also
References
- ? Selections from the Work Against Heresies by Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons: "The Refutation and Overthrow of the Knowledge Falsely So Called" [1]
External links
- Unity Through Theology, by Tim Challies
- The unity of the church, by John Woodhouse