Today is the feast of Saint Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons and martyr. Distinguished as a bishop and theologian, he's also of great interest for what he tells us about other great figures, particularly in his account of St. Polycarp (Adv. Haer. III): "he was not only taught by the Apostles, and lived in familiar intercourse with many that had seen Christ, but also received his appointment in Asia from the Apostles as Bishop in the Church of Smyrna."



And Irenaeus, as a young man, had himself seen St. Polycarp in Smyrna. Even at the death of Irenaeus c. A.D. 202, then, how close in time we still are to the events of our salvation: he knew someone who knew someone who had been with the Lord Jesus.