When you are a disciple of Irenaeus of Lyon, who was a disciple of Polycarp, who was a disciple of the Apostle John you already have some serious credibility. Second century theologian Hippolytus had those creds when he wrote against the Gnostic heretics who had infiltrated the early church. Hippolytus died a martyr on August 13, 236 AD (some records show a different year) but was revered as a saint of the early church in spite of his writing against the inerrancy of many of the Popes.
