Written by one of the early Church Fathers, of only the second or third generation from the Apostles, The Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching is a work of incredible value. Not only does it savor of truth due its close proximity to Apostolic sources, this work also contains within it something which is sometimes foreign to the texts of the Church Fathers: readability. And dare I say enjoyability. Indeed, I do dare say it, as this work is extremely enjoyable.
Essentially, this book is short-form exposition of some of the most essential elements of the Christian faith as explained in reference to Salvation History. But the reason this text is so valuable, in my own estimation, is due to its unfolding of Salvation History in a manner that is understandable to the ordinary believer.
In seeking to refute one of the heresies of his day (Marcionism), St Irenaeus takes great pains to show the connection between the Old and New Testaments (in order to show it is, indeed the same God working in both) through means such as typology and prophecy. Furthermore, in this wonderful work, Irenaeus lays out his theology of “Recapitulation”: a Scriptural understanding (based on Ephesians 1:10), in which Christ is understood as ‘re-living and perfecting’ the sacred history of Israel, and thus Redeeming humanity. Where Israel and humanity failed in their sin, Christ accomplished in his person and life. Of course, Recapitulative theology cannot be understood in such a way as to detract from the central aspect of Christ’s Redeeming Mission: His Sacrifice on Calvary which atoned for our sins. But, when seen in light of and complementary to Christ’s atoning sacrifice, it adds an immense layer of theological depth to our understanding of the Life of Christ and its Mysteries, and how these Mysteries enlighten both what came before and after His Life of Earth.
In essence, Irenaeus theology of Recapitulation places the Person of Christ where He belongs: at the center of history. Furthermore, St Irenaeus ideas of Recapitulation were not only a development of St Paul’s ideas from Ephesians, but they also have the backing of the Magisterium as expressed through the Catechism of the Catholic Church:
“517 Christ’s whole life is a mystery of redemption. Redemption comes to us above all through the blood of his cross, but this mystery is at work throughout Christ’s entire life: -already in his Incarnation through which by becoming poor he enriches us with his poverty; – in his hidden life which by his submission atones for our disobedience; – in his word which purifies its hearers;- in his healings and exorcisms by which “he took our infirmities and bore our diseases”; – and in his Resurrection by which he justifies us.
518 Christ’s whole life is a mystery of recapitulation. All Jesus did, said and suffered had for its aim restoring fallen man to his original vocation:
When Christ became incarnate and was made man, he recapitulated in himself the long history of mankind and procured for us a “short cut” to salvation, so that what we had lost in Adam, that is, being in the image and likeness of God, we might recover in Christ Jesus. For this reason, Christ experienced all the stages of life, thereby giving communion with God to all men.”
While there is little that can be said following this powerhouse quote from the Catechism, I will simply close by reminding the reader that The Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching, along with Ireanus’ magnum opus Against Heresies, are the two works that truly develop the theology of Recapitulation which the Catechism adopts as her own. And although Against Heresies goes to greater depths in its exploration of this theological concept, it is The Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching that is much more approachable of the two, and is certainly the text that the novice should begin with.