Phronema Catalogue

As Heintz (2003) has argued, ingratitude (and therefore gratitude) is a major theme in Irenaeus’ Against the Heresies. Looking at the ancient understanding of gratitude, as typified by Seneca’s De Beneficiis, the article shows how in a key passage (Against the Heresies IV.11.2) Irenaeus uses the theme of gratitude to reconfigure some of the dichotomies of Greek thought (being vs becoming, time vs eternity, spirit vs matter) and overcome the attacks of the Gnostics. These insights are applied to Irenaeus’ teaching on the central ritual of Christianity, to show that the gratitude taught and expressed there is actually integral to the process of our divinisation.

- Joseph Vnuk, Catholic Theological Institute, Port Moresby