• Home
  • Works
  • Introduction Guide Collaboration Sponsors / Collaborators Copyrights Contact Imprint
Bibliothek der Kirchenväter
Search
DE EN FR
Works Irenaeus of Lyon (130-202) Contra Haereses Against Heresies
Against Heresies: Book I
Chapter XX.--The apocryphal and spurious Scriptures of the Marcosians, with passages of the Gospels which they pervert.

1.

Besides the above [misrepresentations], they adduce an unspeakable number of apocryphal and spurious writings, which they themselves have forged, to bewilder the minds of foolish men, and of such as are ignorant of the Scriptures of truth. Among other things, they bring forward that false and wicked story 1 which relates that our Lord, when He was a boy learning His letters, on the teacher saying to Him, as is usual, "Pronounce Alpha," replied [as He was bid], "Alpha." But when, again, the teacher bade Him say, "Beta," the Lord replied, "Do thou first tell me what Alpha is, and then I will tell thee what Beta is." This they expound as meaning that He alone knew the Unknown, which He revealed under its type Alpha.


  1. [From the Protevangel of Thomas. Compare the curious work of Dominic Deodati, De Christo Graece loquente, p. 95. London, 1843.] ↩

pattern
  Print   Report an error
  • Show the text
  • Bibliographic Reference
  • Scans for this version
Translations of this Work
Against Heresies
Gegen die Häresien (BKV) Compare
Commentaries for this Work
Introductory Note to Irenaeus Against Heresies

Contents

Faculty of Theology, Patristics and History of the Early Church
Miséricorde, Av. Europe 20, CH 1700 Fribourg

© 2025 Gregor Emmenegger
Imprint
Privacy policy