Feast Day
2 saints in our library are celebrated on June 28.
700 — 767
The brother and successor of Stephen II, Paul I secured the temporal power of the papacy in central Italy. His path was one of diplomatic maneuvering between the Lombards and the Franks, ensuring the Church's independence while turning his family home into a monastery for Greek monks fleeing iconoclasm.
Approx. 125 AD — Approx. 202 AD
Born in Smyrna and schooled at the feet of Bishop Polycarp — who had known the Apostle John — Irenaeus of Lyon became the second century's great bulwark against Gnosticism, writing the first comprehensive defense of orthodox Christian doctrine. When his predecessor died a martyr, Irenaeus took up the bishop's staff and held the Church of Lyon together against heresy, persecution, and division.