Saint Melito of Sardis: Early Church Father, Bishop, and Martyr

"Come, then, all you nations of men, receive forgiveness for the sins that defile you. I am your forgiveness. I am the Passover that brings salvation. I am the lamb who was immolated for you. I am your ransom, your life, your resurrection, your light, I am your salvation and your king. I will bring you to the heights of heaven. With my own right hand I will raise you up, and I will show you the eternal Father."
--From a letter by Saint Melito of Sardis

Saint Melito of Sardis was Bishop of the Church in Sardis, and a prominent ecclesiastical writer in the latter half of the second century. Indications are that he was the second Bishop of Sardis, and was successor to “the angel of the Church of Sardis” (the apostle of that Church) to whom was addressed one of the apocalyptic messages. Very little is known of his life, and the majority of his writings exist only in fragments, and quotations from Eusebius, Polycrates, Tertullian, and others. A letter of Polycrates of Ephesus to Pope Victor about 194 states that "Melito the eunuch (this is interpreted "the virgin" by Rufinus in his translation of Eusebius), whose whole walk was in the Holy Spirit", was interred at Sardis, and had been one of the great authorities in the Church of Asia who held the Quartodeciman theory (this was those Churches, primarily in Asia Minor, who celebrated Easter according to the Jewish calendar for Passover).

Saint Melito gave us the earliest indications of the Canon of the Old Testament in his writings, and Saint Jerome, speaking of this canon, quotes Tertullian that Melito was esteemed as a prophet by many of the faithful. Saint Melito, also wrote an apology to the emperor Marcus Aurelius, in which he defended the Christians against accusations made against them, urged the emperor to end the persecutions of the Christians, and even urged Aurelius to proclaim Christianity the religion of the Roman Empire!

Saint Melito was also one of the earliest writers to have written on the dual natures of Christ: "For there is no need, to persons of intelligence, to attempt to prove, from the deeds of Christ subsequent to His baptism, that His soul and His body, His human nature like ours, were real, and no phantom of the imagination. For the deeds done by Christ after His baptism, and especially His miracles, gave indication and assurance to the world of the Deity hidden in His flesh. For, being at once both God and perfect man likewise, He gave us sure indications of His two natures: of His Deity, by His miracles during the three years that elapsed after His baptism; of His humanity, during the thirty similar periods which preceded His baptism, in which, by reason of His low estate as regards the flesh, He concealed the signs of His Deity, although He was the true God existing before all ages."

In the early 20th century, there was great excitement among Christian scholars when a homily by Saint Melito on Easter, “Peri Pascha”, was discovered. This homily shows how the early Christians saw Christ's suffering, death, and resurrection foreshadowed throughout The Old Testament. Indeed, in the writings attributed to Saint Melito by Eusebius, the prolific writer Melito gave a listing of the books of The Old Testament, which Saint Melito referred to as “The Old Books”, which indicates to many scholars that the Church of Melito's time may well have had a New Testament as well. There is also a strong indication from the fragments of Melito's writing that exist in references by Tertullian, Eusebius, Polycrates, and others, that Saint Melito made extensive use of the Gospel of Saint John, and he may have been acquainted with Saint Polycarp, Saint Ignatius of Antioch, and other Early Church Fathers of his day. His writings influenced the thinking of Irenaeus of Lyons, Clement of Alexandria, and Tertullian.

One always gets a great insight to the beliefs and workings of the early Church by reading the writings of those great men, who lived and died for the truth, which is Christ Jesus, was Christ Jesus, and will be Christ Jesus, now and forever. You may read some of those writings (fragments and a homily) online by clicking the titles to go to the sites. You can read Melito the Philosopher, also Easter Praise of Christ by Melito of Sardis, Lamb That Was Slain by Melito, and On The Passover by Melito. Saint Melito is believed to have been martyred around the time he wrote his apology to Marcus Aurelius circa 180 A.D.

The following was written by Saint Jerome, in his book, Lives of Illustrious Men :

Melito the Bishop

Melito of Asia, bishop of Sardis, addressed a book to the emperor Marcus Antoninus Verus, a disciple of Fronto the orator, in behalf of the Christian doctrine. He wrote other things also, among which are the following: On the passover, two books, one book On the lives of the prophets, one book On the church, one book On the Lord's day, one book On faith, one book On the psalms, one On the senses, one On the soul and body, one On baptism, one On truth, one On the generation of Christ, On His prophecy, one On hospitality and another which is called the Key, one On the devil, one On the Apocalypse of John, one On the corporeality of God, and six books of Eclogues. Of his fine oratorical genius, Tertullian, in the seven books which he wrote against the church on behalf of Montanus, satirically says that he was considered a prophet by many of us.

A prayer written by Saint Melito of Sardis

Prayer in Praise of Christ

Born as a son,
led forth as a lamb,
sacrificed as a sheep,
buried as a man,
he rose from the dead as a God,
for he was by nature God and man.

He is all things:
he judges, and so he is Law;
he teaches, and so he is Wisdom;
he saves, and so he is Grace;
he begets, and so he is Father;
he is begotten, and so he is Son;
he suffers, and so he is Sacrifice;
he is buried, and so he is man;
he rises again, and so he is God.
This is Jesus Christ,
to whom belongs glory for all ages.
Quotes from the writings of Saint Melito of Sardis:


"God has suffered from the right hand of Israel. Head of the Lord--His simple Divinity; because He is the Beginning and Creator of all things". --From “The Oration on Our Lord's Passion”.

"God who is from God; the Son who is from the Father; Jesus Christ the King for evermore...He that bore up the earth was borne up on a tree. The Lord was subjected to ignominy with naked body--God put to death, the King of Israel slain!" --From “The Discourse On The Cross”.

"We have collected together extracts from the Law and the Prophets relating to those things which have Been declared concerning our Lord Jesus Christ, that we may prove to your love that this Being is perfect reason, the Word of God; He who was begotten before the light; He who is Creator together with the Father; He who is the Fashioner of man; He who is all in all; He who among the patriarchs is Patriarch; He who in the law is the Law; among the priests, Chief Priest; among kings, the Ruler; among prophets, the Prophet; among the angels, Archangel; in the voice of the preacher, the Word; among spirits, the Spirit; in the Father, the Son; in God, God; King for ever and ever." --From “The Discourse On Faith”

“The Lord, though he was God, became man. He suffered for the sake of whose who suffer, he was bound for those in bonds, condemned for the guilty, buried for those who lie in the grave; but he rose from the dead, and cried aloud: "Who will contend with me? Let him confront me." I have freed the condemned, brought the dead back to life, raised men from their graves. Who has anything to say against me? I, he said, am the Christ; I have destroyed death, triumphed over the enemy, trampled hell underfoot, bound the strong one, and taken men up to the heights of heaven: I am the Christ.” --From a letter by Saint Melito.

Copyright © 2005 Steve Smith. All Rights Reserved

Saint Irenaeus of Lyons

Bishop of Lyons and Defender of Catholic Orthodoxy

Saint Irenaeus was born somewhere around 115 to 125 AD in Asia Minor, where the memory of the Apostles was still cherished, and where there were numerous Christians already. As young man, along with Saint Ignatius of Antioch, he was a disciple of Saint Polycarp of Smyrna, who himself had been a disciple of Saint John the Apostle. Saint Irenaeus once remarked to a friend that all through his life, he could recall every detail of Polycarp's appearance, his voice, and the very words he used when telling what he had heard from John the Evangelist and others who had seen Jesus, because Irenaeus said, they were written on his heart.

There was a vibrant trade between Asia Minor and ancient Gaul, particularly so in Marseilles. With this trade, there also began the arrival of Christian missionaries from Asia Minor who worked to convert the Pagans of Gaul. Saint Polycarp sent Saint Pothinus to Gaul, who established his See at Lyons. Still a young man, Irenaeus joined Pothinus as a priest., and in 177 AD, after having shown himself to be an exceptional priest, he was sent on a peace mission to Rome, bearing a letter to Pope Eleutherius in reference to the Montanists (some sources say it was to deal firmly with the Montanists and others say it was to encourage leniency towards them) in Phrygia, as this heresy was rampant in the East.

During his trip to Rome, there was a persecution of the Church in Gaul in 177 under the pagan “philosopher emperor”, Marcus Aurelius, and Saint Pothinus, as well as several priests in Gaul were martyred. Saint Irenaeus was ordained as bishop of Lyons upon his return. That brief period of persecutions was over, and the next twenty or so years of his episcopate were fairly peaceful. In addition to his pastoral duties, Irenaeus is said to have increased the sphere of Christian influence in other towns of Gaul by sending Saint Felix, Saint Fortunatus, and Saint Achilleus to Valence, and sending Saint Ferrutius and Saint Ferreolus to Besancon. Saint Irenaeus is said to have identified with his flock so completely, that he spoke to them in their native tongue instead of in Latin or Greek, and he encouraged all priests to do the same.

In later years, he encouraged Pope Victor I to lift his excommunication of Churches in the East because of disagreement over the correct date of Easter. The Eastern Churches tended to follow the Jewish calendar in their observance of Easter instead of the date followed by Rome. In his letter to Pope Victor I, Irenaeus pointed out that the Eastern Churches were following their Apostolic tradition, and that this point, had not prevented Saint Polycarp and many other Eastern bishops from staying in communion. It must have been a fruitful letter, because in the 4th century, Saint Jerome wrote that many of the Eastern bishops still followed the ancient Jewish calendar.

Yet, the thing that Saint Irenaeus is best remembered for, is his defense of the Catholic Faith against the heresy of Gnosticism, which was spreading rapidly throughout Gaul, and even into Rome. This led Irenaeus to make a careful study of the tenets of Gnosticism, which was quite a task in itself, because each Gnostic teacher was inclined to introduce ideas of their own. He then wrote a five book exposition, “Against the Heresies”, which set forth the doctrines of Gnosticism, and then contrasted them with Scripture, and the teaching of the Apostles preserved not only in the sacred writings, but, also the oral tradition in the churches which the Apostles founded. Saint Irenaeus successfully defended the belief that the Old Testament God and the New Testament God are one and the same.

Interestingly, Irenaeus apologized for his writing style and ability at the beginning of his piece. He wrote in part, “thou wilt not expect from me, who am resident among the Keltæ, and am accustomed for the most part to use a barbarous dialect, any display of rhetoric, which I have never learned, or any excellence of composition, which I have never practised, or any beauty and persuasiveness of style, to which I make no pretensions. But thou wilt accept in a kindly spirit what I in a like spirit write to thee simply, truthfully, and in my own homely way...so that thou wilt expand those ideas of which I send thee...so as to set with power before thy companions those things which I have uttered in weakness”. What Saint Irenaeus didn't realize, is that his writing of “Against the Heresies”, was so thorough and complete, that it would deal such a severe blow to Gnosticism, that it would never again be seen as a serious major threat to the tenets of Christianity.

Saint Irenaeus felt that most of the attraction of Gnosticism came from a veil of mystery which surrounded it, and he was determined to “strip the fox” as he called it. He effectively used Scripture, and particularly the writings and teachings of Paul, Peter, and John to effectively refute the tenets of Gnosticism and destroyed it's influence on Christianity. Saint Irenaeus was the first early writer to effectively utilize the Gospel of Saint John in his writings. He recognized the warnings from Our Lord, Saint Paul, Saint Peter, Saint Jude, and Saint John about false teachers, and wolves in sheep's clothing. He recognized that the false claims of special or secret knowledge claimed by Gnosticism was a serious threat to Christianity, and was an attempt at the revival of Paganism. He was also the first person to cite reasons for admitting or rejecting books into the canon. He emphasized the unity of the Old and New Testaments, and Christ's having both a divine and a human nature.

He wrote his treatise in Greek, and it was quickly translated into Latin, and rapidly spread throughout the Church. Irenaeus' main point was the unity of God, in opposition to Gnosticism's view of a division of God into 30 divine “Aeons” and their heretical perception of a “high God” and a wicked “Demiurge” that they said created the world. Irenaeus spoke of the Son and the Holy Spirit as the hands of God, and showed that Jesus Christ is the invisible Father made visible. He showed that God was not indifferent to His creation, but, that He has taken an active role in the salvation of man. Everything that has happened to man since the fall of Adam and Eve, has been planned by God to help man overcome their fall. Irenaeus shows in his writings, that Christ is the new Adam, who corrected everything wrong that Adam did. Irenaeus is the first to contrast the differences between Eve and Mary, showing how Mary's faithfulness was in opposition to Eve's faithlessness.

In essence, what Irenaeus did through “Against Heresies”, was layout the truth of Catholic Christian theology, and then in his later writing, "Proof of the Apostolic Preaching", he confirms the faithful by explaining Christian doctrine to them, and also by demonstrating the truth of the Gospel through explaining and clarifying the Old Testament prophecies. Saint Irenaeus was one of the first Christian writers to use the principle of apostolic succession to refute his opponents.

Saint Irenaeus is believed to have been martyred by some sources, others saying there is little evidence to support his martyrdom. The exact date of his death is unknown, but, it's believed to have been around 202 AD. His remains were buried in a crypt under the altar of what was then called the church of Saint John, but, was later known as the church of Saint Irenaeus, himself. This tomb or shrine was destroyed by the Calvinists in 1562, and all trace of his relics seems to have perished, but, the head is said by some sources to be in Saint John's church, Lyons, France.

You can read “Against Heresies” online, and there is a book, “Scandal of the Incarnation: Irenaeus against the Heresies” by Saint Irenaeus, John Saward (translator), Hans U. Von Balthasar (introduction).

Below are some quotes from Saint Irenaeus of Lyons, and at the bottom, a writing about him from Saint Jerome's “Lives of Illustrious Men”:

1. For this is why the Word became man, and the Son of God became the Son of man: so that man, by entering into communion with the Word and thus receiving divine sonship, might become a son of God.

2. God is the source of all activity throughout creation. He cannot be seen or described in his own nature and in all his greatness by any of his creatures. Yet he is certainly not unknown. Through his Word the whole creation learns that there is one God the Father, who holds all things together and gives them their being. As it is written in the Gospel, "No man has ever seen God, except the only-begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father; he has revealed him."

3. This is the course followed by the barbarian peoples[the Gallic provincials where Irenaeus lived] who believe in Christ and have salvation written in their hearts by the Spirit without paper or ink, but who guard carefully the ancient tradition. For they believe in one God, the Creator of heaven and earth and of all things therein through Christ Jesus, the Son of God, who for his surpassing love towards his creation underwent birth from a virgin, uniting man through himself to God, and who suffered under Pontius Pilate and rose again and was received up in splendor, and who shall come in glory, the Saviour of those who are saved and the Judge of those who are judged, to send into eternal fire those who pervert the truth and despise his Father and his coming.

4. Error, indeed is never set forth in its naked deformity, lest, being thus exposed, it should at once be detected. But it is craftily decked out in an attractive dress, so as, by its outward form, to make it appear to the inexperienced more true than truth itself.

Saint Jerome: Lives of Illustrious Men
Irenaeus the bishop

Irenaeus, a presbyter trader Pothinus the bishop who ruled the church of Lyons in Gaul, being sent to Rome as legate by the martyrs of Ibis place, on account of certain ecclesiastical questions, presented to Bishop Eleutherius certain letters under his own name which are worthy of honour. Afterwards when Pothinus, nearly ninety years of age, received the crown of martyrdom for Christ, he was put in his place. It is certain too that he was a disciple of Polycarp, the priest and martyr, whom we mentioned above. He wrote five books Against heresies and a short volume, Against the nations and another On discipline, a letter to Marcianus his brother On apostolical preaching, a book of Various treatises; also to Blastus, On schism, to Florinus On monarchy or That God is not the author of evil, also an excellent Commentary on the Ogdoad at the end of which indicating that he was near the apostolic period he wrote:

"I adjure thee whosoever shall transcribe this book, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by his glorious advent at which He shall judge the quick and the dead, that you diligently compare, after you have transcribed, and amend it according to the copy from which you have transcribed it and also that you shall similarly transcribe this adjuration as you find it in your pattern."

Other works of his are in circulation to wit: to Victor the Roman bishop On the Paschal controversy in which he warns him not lightly to break the unity of the fraternity, if indeed Victor believed that the many bishops of Asia and the East, who with the Jews celebrated the passover, on the fourteenth day of the new moon, were to be condemned. But even those who differed from them did not support Victor in his opinion. He flourished chiefly in the reign of the Emperor Commodus, who succeeded Marcus Antoninus Verus in power.

Copyright © 2005 Steve Smith. All Rights Reserved