Irenaeus's Against Heresies

Irenaeus bitterly associates Gnosticism's origins with Simon Magus, but the association likely springs more from antiquities love for etiology or origin stories. He believes in the church as an institution set up by apostles and organization with formal appointment processes that had little patience for cascades of latter-day prophets. While Irenaeus's against heresies is a mixed bag then, it is an impressive Mixed Bag.