Irenaeus was a second century church leader who had been discipled by Polycarp. He lived in Gaul (modern day France) and served as the bishop of the prominent city of Lyons. Of his writing that survive, the most well-known is his Against Heresies which is aimed at defending the Christian faith from the Gnostic heresy. For the Eastern Orthodox Church, today, August 23 is a feast day commemorating Irenaeus' life and influence. The following is a prayer excerpted from that great work:
1
God, Our Maker,
we do not make you, but You make us.
Since we are your workmanship, we await your hand,
which creates everything in due time.
We offer to you our hearts
in a soft and tractable state,
and will preserve the forms
in which you, our Creator, have fashioned us,
keeping moisture in ourselves,
lest, by becoming hardened,
we lose the impressions of your fingers.
2
But by preserving this framework
we shall ascend to that which is perfect,
for the moist clay which is in us
is hidden there by your workmanship.
Your hand fashioned our substance;
You will cover us over within and without
with pure gold and silver,
and you will adorn us to such a degree,
that even you our King
will have pleasure in our beauty.
3
But if we, being obstinately hardened,
reject the operation of your skill,
and show ourselves ungrateful towards you,
we will at once lose both your workmanship and life.
For to create is an attribute of your goodness,
but to be created is an attribute of human nature.
If then, we will deliver up to you what is yours,
that is, faith towards you
and subjection,
we will receive your handiwork,
and shall be perfect works of yours.
from Against Heresies [c. 180]
