Against Heresies is Irenaeus of Lyons's own late second century primary text, written to refute Gnostic teaching, and it is the earliest surviving source to assign the four living creatures of Ezekiel and Revelation to the four evangelists, pairing Mark with the eagle and John with the lion. As the primary text it is the correct source for what Irenaeus himself wrote, but the pairing familiar today, the lion for Mark and the eagle for John, comes from Victorinus of Pettau by way of Jerome, a different and later scheme, so a claim about the standard evangelist symbols should follow that later pairing rather than Irenaeus's own, and the two should not be conflated as if they were the same tradition.
Facts
Assessment
Reliability Tier1
Irenaeus of Lyons's own late second century primary text, the earliest surviving source for its subject, with no modern publisher of record, treated at the top tier as that foundational patristic primary text. NotesIrenaeus gives the eagle to Mark and the lion to John; the familiar scheme is Victorinus by way of Jerome. The animal entries were corrected to match.
Citation
AuthorIrenaeus of Lyons
URLhttps://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0103100.htm
Source Typeprimary-text
Cross-Tradition Connections
Associated With
This source names Irenaeus directly: "Against Heresies is Irenaeus of Lyons's own late second century primary text, written to refute Gnostic teaching, and it is the earliest surviving source to assign the four living creatures of..."
This source names Jerome directly: "from Victorinus of Pettau by way of Jerome, a different and later scheme, so a claim about the standard evangelist symbols should follow that later pairing rather than Irenaeus's own, and the two..."
John, Figures This source names John directly: "pairing Mark with the eagle and John with the lion."
Claims Backed By This Source (81 claims)
This source backs 81 claims across the atlas. As facts: 44 well-attested, 2 scholarly debate. As cited relationships: 22 holds. Plus 13 entities citing it as a general reference with no single fact or relationship attached.
Disposition By Topic
- Emanations, 51 claims: 32 well-attested, 15 holds, 4 general references.
- Figures, 9 claims: 3 well-attested, 2 scholarly debate, 1 holds, 3 general references.
- Sources, 9 claims: 6 well-attested, 3 holds.
- Animals & Totems, 4 claims: 1 well-attested, 3 general references.
- Doctrines, 4 claims: 1 well-attested, 2 holds, 1 general references.
- Articles, 2 claims: 1 well-attested, 1 general references.
- Historical Figures, 2 claims: 1 holds, 1 general references.
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