Irenaeus on Creation

Scholarship on Irenaeus has long acknowledged the centrality of creation to his theology, yet without fitting this theme securely into the Christological vision of Christ the ‘Recapitulator’. Studies have considered elements of Irenaeus’ cosmology and anthropology in extraction; but without seeing creation as an intrinsic part of his Christocentric vision, these have only partially been able to capture the intricacy and significance of his embrace of the creation saga. Drawing on the most recent Irenaean scholarship, the present volume explores in detail the Christocentric cosmology of one of the second century’s greatest writers, setting him in the context of the theological currents of his day. The result is a volume that offers new insights into the trinitarian articulation of early Christianity, the full significance of humanity as bearing God’s ‘image’, and a fuller reading of the details behind the title, ‘Irenaeus the creationist’.

M.C. Steenberg, D.Phil in Theology, University of Oxford, is Professor of Theology and Head of Theology & Religious Studies at Leeds Trinity and All Saints. He has published numerous articles on Irenaeus and the second-century milieu, and is author of the forthcoming monograph from T&T Clark, Of God and Man: Theology as Anthropology from Irenaeus to Athanasius.