Irenaeus of Sirmium

Irenaeus of Sirmium († 304 in Sirmium ) was Bishop of Sirmium , in the province of Pannonia , in today's Serbia near the city of Sremska Mitrovica . Irenaeus is the first recorded bishop of this city and died a martyr's death in 304 as a result of the Diocletian persecution of Christians .

Historical context

Sirmium was the capital of the Roman province of Lower Pannonia. At the time of Irenaeus' death, Probus was Prefect of Pannonia. The Roman Empire found itself in the Diocletian tetrarchy , which provided for a rule of two Augusti ( Diocletian and Maximian ) and two Caesars ( Galerius and Constantius ).

In the course of Diocletian's idea of ​​resurrecting the old Roman state religion, and with the encouragement of Galerius, there was a systematic persecution of Christians.

Diocletian issued four edicts against Christians in 303-304 . The last edict provided for a general compulsion to make sacrifices for the entire Roman population. However, this was not enforced in the same way in all areas of the Roman Empire.

The persecution did not end until 311, six years after Diocletian's abdication, under Galerius with the repeal of the edicts. This resolution is wrongly known as the " Edict of Tolerance ".

life and death

Nothing more is known about the life of Irenaeus. It is believed that he had a wife and several children.

In 304 AD as a result of the Diocletian persecution of Christians, he was interrogated by the prefect Probus and sentenced to death by beheading for refusing to sacrifice to the emperor. According to one of the acts of martyrdom, " The Martyrdom of Saint Irenaeus Bishop of Sirmium ", the beheading is said to have taken place on the Pons Basentis (bridge over the Save ). After the beheading, the body was thrown into the Sava.

Words of Irenaeus

In the act of martyrs mentioned above, there is talk of a dialogue between Irenaeus and Probus. In it Irenaeus is asked whether he has no children and no wife, whereupon Irenaeus denies and explains with Matthew 10:37 that whoever loves his family more than Jesus Christ is not worthy of him. With this he underscored his readiness for the coming martyrdom.

Memorial days

• Roman Catholic: April 6th
• Orthodox: March 26th and August 23rd
• Armenian: August 23 (liturgical celebration on the 2nd Thursday after the Exaltation of the Cross Sunday)

literature

• Norbert Collmar:  Irenaeus of Sirmium. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 2, Bautz, Hamm 1990, ISBN 3-88309-032-8 , Sp. 1326.
• Herbert Musurillo: The Acts of the Christian Martyrs. The Martyrdom of Saint Irenaeus Bishop of Sirmium . Oxford 1972.
• Jan Burian: Pannonia. The new Pauly. Edited by Hubert Cancik and Helmuth Schneider (antiquity); Manfred Landfester (history of reception and science). Brill 2010.
• Alban Butler: The Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs and Other Principal Saints. Dublin 1866.