About St. Irenaeus Ministries
What’s in a Name? – About the saint with the strange name
Irenaeus (pronounced ir-ruh-Nay-us) is a Greek name, meaning “man of peace.” St. Irenaeus was one of the key figures of early Church history. Born and raised in the Greek East, in the Roman province of Asia, he came to the West, where he became the great second century missionary bishop. Standard bearer for orthodox faith and life and tireless defender against all heresies and divisions, he is called the “Father of Catholic Theology.” A man of passionate pastoral concern, in his own life and ministry he was true to his name and a model of the Church’s unbroken chain of Living Tradition. For St. Irenaeus faithfully testified to the truth which he had received from his mentor, St. Polycarp, who had been taught by the holy Apostle John, who had been taught by our Lord Jesus Christ, himself. What a chain of faith and life!
Since its inception in 1993, the St. Irenaeus ministry has tried to follow the example of our namesake in evangelizing and teaching, equipping and encouraging the faithful, so that today’s men and women can better explore the fullness of the Catholic faith and come to know more profoundly the love and life of God in Jesus Christ.
More about Our Mission and Means
It is our conviction that Christ came, not only to teach a true faith, but to minister his life and salvation powerfully to all. To this end, he left us an enduring Church with eternal and unchanging provisions of grace to bless and actually transform the lives of mankind. Moved by the love of our Lord and a reverence for this One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church and “her faith, her peace and her enduring missionary spirit,” we have come together to raise up a more positive and powerful witness to his truth and grace.
St. Irenaeus is not an independent ecclesiastic structure, but a living, Christ-centered faith community, flowing strength and blessing back to the various parishes and individuals with whom we have to do.
Our mandate is simple: “to contend for the faith once for all delivered to the saints.” For us this means proclaiming and teaching Christ in the fullness of the historic faith and offering what encouragement and sound guidance we can for the formation of mature disciples. In short, we are concerned with the salvation of souls and fostering their growth in holiness. So, we have a three-fold imperative to promote:
- A better knowledge of the Truth;
- A deeper Spiritual Life and
- A more authentic and powerful witness to our Lord, Jesus Christ.
“Him we proclaim warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man mature in Christ.” (Col. 1:28,29)
To achieve these objectives, St. Irenaeus carries on a variety of religious activities. Our Center provides materials and resources for study and spiritual direction. Programs developed at the Center bring classes, seminars, and other educational events to our home area and beyond.
Our Center is also a place where friends can meet, pray, study and take counsel. We are here to serve all inquirers, as well as believers and other orthodox apostolates. Since we have a special concern to spread the faith, we are committed to those ecumenical efforts which seek to share the faith in a spirit of reconciliation to persons currently outside the Catholic Church.
Finally, there are many opportunities here for service, the fostering of fellowship and building of networks of Christian cooperation. Our aim is to serve a community of spiritual renewal within the historic Church, as well as to be a blessing to the wider community – Christo et Regno Eius.