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This volume brings together contributions concerning the figure of Irenaeus (ca 130-ca 200), a Christian author from Asia minor, Greek by language and culture, who spent the second part of his life ?among the Celts?, ?in the neighbouring regions of the Rhône?, to use his own words. It seems quite probable that Irenaeus? route from East to West passed through Rome and that he stayed there for some time. Therefore the papers in this volume, by researchers of various origins, are grouped into three parts corresponding to these three geographical areas ? Asia, Rome, Gaul ? and their respective cultural contexts. Most of the papers adopt a general historical approach in exploring various dimensions of Irenaeus? context: cultural and literary life in Asia, especially in Smyrna; multilingualism in the Roman Empire; the attraction of Rome for scholars, philosophers and rhetoricians of Greek origin; the expansion of Lyon in the second century and the flourishing of its economic and cultural life. Other contributions focus on the contemporary presence of various religious components, in particular on Jewish traditions and on the vicissitudes and organization of the first Christian communities, with attention to Gnostic groups. The papers are preceded by an original biographical account of Irenaeus, newly proposed on the basis of indications provided by his own work.