St. Cyprian, commemorated on August
31, was Bishop of Carthage during the persecutions of the Emperor Decius (250).
He died as a martyr in 258, and among his many writings concerning Church life,
the most important is On the Unity of the Catholic Church, which sets forth the
role of the Bishop in the ecclesiastical structure.
St. Ignatius was the second Bishop
of Antioch and is commemorated on December 20 and January 29. Martyred in the
Arena at Rome, while on his way to martyrdom, he wrote seven letters to Christian
communities, as well as to St. Polycarp, which contain valuable information on
the dogmas, organization and liturgy of the early Church.
St. Irenaeus, who is commemorated on
August 23, was a disciple of St. Polycarp, and, as a Westerner, he succeeded
St. Photinus as Bishop of Lyons. His major doctrinal work is Against Heresies,
which defends Orthodoxy against the Gnostics, borrowing heavily on both human
reason and Holy Scripture and Tradition, serving as an important witness to
Church traditions of his time.
St. Polycarp was a disciple of St. John the
Theologian and is commemorated as a martyr on February 23. The account of his
martyrdom, the earliest detailed account of a martyr, gives an excellent
picture of his character and the steadfastness of his Christian faith.