“Study, therefore, to be established in the doctrines of the Lord and the apostles, that so all things, whatsoever you do, may prosper both in the flesh and spirit;”
— Ignatius of Antioch (105)
Epistle to the Magnesians, Chapter 13
“True knowledge is [that which consists in] the doctrine of the apostles, and the ancient constitution of the Church throughout all the world, and the distinctive manifestation of the body of Christ according to the successions of the bishops, by which they have handed down that Church which exists in every place, and has come even unto us, being guarded and preserved without any forging of Scriptures, by a very complete system of doctrine, and neither receiving addition nor [suffering] curtailment [in the truths which she believes]; and [it consists in] reading [the word of God] without falsification, and a lawful and diligent exposition in harmony with the Scriptures, both without danger and without blasphemy;”
— Irenaeus (180)
Against Heresies, Book 4, Chapter 33, Paragraph 8
“We hold communion with the apostolic churches because our doctrine is in no respect different from theirs. This is our witness of truth.”
— Tertullian (197)
Prescription Against Heretics, Chapter 21
