Fragments from the Lost Writings of Irenaeus, VII

St Irenaeus of Lyons (AD 130–202)

1 VII

This [custom], of not bending the knee upon Sunday, is a symbol of the resurrection, through which we have been set free, by the grace of Christ, from sins, and from death, which has been put to death under Him. Now this custom took its rise from apostolic times, as the blessed Irenæus, the martyr and bishop of Lyons, declares in his treatise On Easter, in which he makes mention of Pentecost also; upon which [feast] we do not bend the knee, because it is of equal significance with the Lord’s day, for the reason already alleged concerning it.

Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, A. Cleveland Coxe (eds.), Buffalo: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1885-1896. Public domain: English translation first published 1885-1900 (Ante-Nicene Fathers).

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