<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>The aim of this essay is to give a high-level overview of Irenaeus’s beatific vision, and to suggest that for him, the beatific vision has a temporal dimension (now and future) and a dimension of degree (lesser now, greater in the future). His beatific vision is witnessed as it intersects with at least four main ideas in his writing—the Trinity, anthropology, resurrection, and his eschatology. Irenaeus famously held that ‘the glory of God is living man, and the life of man is the vision of God’ (<italic>AH</italic> 4.20.7), which speaks to the reality of seeing God in the present, but he could also look forward in anticipation to beholding the face of God in the resurrected body in the new creation. What made the latter possible is the gradual beholding of God in the present that makes one prepared to see God’s glory in the future. Additionally, the <italic>visio Dei</italic> is Trinitarian. We behold God in Christ, since God the Father is invisible, and it is the Holy Spirit who prepares us incrementally to see God.</p></abstract>

The aim of this essay is to give a high-level overview of Irenaeus’s beatific vision, and to suggest that for him, the beatific vision has a temporal dimension (now and future) and a dimension of degree (lesser now, greater in the future). His beatific vision is witnessed as it intersects with at least four main ideas in his writing—the Trinity, anthropology, resurrection, and his eschatology. Irenaeus famously held that ‘the glory of God is living man, and the life of man is the vision of God’ (AH 4.20.7), which speaks to the reality of seeing God in the present, but he could also look forward in anticipation to beholding the face of God in the resurrected body in the new creation. What made the latter possible is the gradual beholding of God in the present that makes one prepared to see God’s glory in the future. Additionally, the visio Dei is Trinitarian. We behold God in Christ, since God the Father is invisible, and it is the Holy Spirit who prepares us incrementally to see God.

’To Behold its Own Delight’: The Beatific Vision in Irenaeus of Lyons

Perichoresis

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

{"article-title":"\u2019To Behold its Own Delight\u2019: The Beatific Vision in Irenaeus of Lyons"}

The aim of this essay is to give a high-level overview of Irenaeus’s beatific vision, and to suggest that for him, the beatific vision has a temporal dimension...

’To Behold its Own Delight’: The Beatific Vision in Irenaeus of Lyons

Published Online: Jun 26, 2019

Page range: 27 - 40

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/perc-2019-0015

Keywords
Irenaeus, beatific vision, seeing God

© 2019 Brian J. Arnold, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

’To Behold its Own Delight’: The Beatific Vision in Irenaeus of Lyons

Published Online: Jun 26, 2019

Page range: 27 - 40

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/perc-2019-0015

KeywordsIrenaeus, beatific vision, seeing God

© 2019 Brian J. Arnold, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Keywords
Irenaeus, beatific vision, seeing God