This volume offers the published proceedings of a 2009 conference on Irenaeus at the University of Edinburgh. The editors' introduction leads into three chapters on Irenaeus's context, followed by seven chapters on his use of scripture and eight chapters on his theological legacy. The volume indicates that Irenaean studies have shifted from preoccupation with what he said about Gnosticism to concentrate on his presentation of Christian teaching.

The volume constitutes a worthy contribution to Irenaeus scholarship. Paul Foster shows that Irenaeus had surprisingly good acquaintance with the non-canonical gospels he criticized. Michael Slusser argues that the heart of Irenaeus's theology lies not in recapitulation but in entwined emphases on divine transcendence and love toward humanity. Alistair Stewart examines Irenaeus's comments about communicating the rule of faith and baptism, arguing for an ante-Nicene west/east distinction between interrogatory and declaratory confessions at baptism. Sara Parvis reflects on Irenaeus's deft handling of the role of women in the context of Gnostic teaching and practice, highlighting the importance of the Eve/Mary contrast and his emphatic endorsement of women receiving prophetic charisms. Irenaeus M. C. Steenberg traces Irenaeus's legacy, pointing out how quickly his works became known and the languages into which they were translated. He suggests that the reason why Irenaeus remained known as a polemicist against Gnosticism rather than as a theologian was that subsequent Christian authors viewed his teaching as neither more nor less than the apostolic tradition which the church collectively embraced; thus they found no need to cite Irenaeus as a theologian.