Dating back to the second century, today’s prayer originated with Irenaeus of Lyons (in modern-day France) (130-202). Irenaeus was introduced to Christ through Polycarp, who was said to have been taught by the apostle John.
We owe Irenaeus a debt of gratitude for resisting a heretical movement called Gnosticism. His most influential work written in AD 180, Against Heresies, sounded the alarm for this early departure from biblical Christianity. Gnostics believed Jesus was divine but not really human, so he did not really die on the cross to offer his life as atonement for sins. The implications of this defection were far-reaching, and it would explain why numerous letters in the New Testament have this false teaching in their sights. Irenaeus clearly articulated that Jesus is both fully human and fully divine, a central affirmation of the Christian faith. Keep in mind the New Testament canon had not yet been resolved. Irenaeus made extensive use of all four gospels and all but four of the New Testament epistles, thereby demonstrating that many of these writings were already considered authoritative by the church. He observed the subtle way heresies gained a hearing the church. “Error never shows itself in its naked reality, in order not to be discovered. On the contrary, it dresses elegantly, so that the unwary may be led to believe that it is more truthful than truth itself,” he wrote.
Irenaeus was instrumental in guiding the early church in its infancy. His name meaning peacemaker fits him well since peacemaking was his lasting contribution. Irenaeus leads us to pray: