Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite (or Dionysius the Pseudo-Areopagite) was a
Greek
Greek may refer to:
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*Greeks, an ethnic group.
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**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
author,
Christian theologian
Christian theology is the theology of Christian belief and practice. Such study concentrates primarily upon the texts of the Old Testament and of the New Testament, as well as on Christian tradition. Christian theologians use biblical exegesi ...
and
Neoplatonic
Neoplatonism is a strand of Platonic philosophy that emerged in the 3rd century AD against the background of Hellenistic philosophy and religion. The term does not encapsulate a set of ideas as much as a chain of thinkers. But there are some ide ...
philosopher
A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...
of the late 5th to early 6th century, who wrote a set of works known as the ''Corpus Areopagiticum'' or ''Corpus Dionysiacum''.
![Denis Areopagite](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/10/Denis_Areopagite.jpg)
The author
pseudepigraphically identifies himself in the corpus as "Dionysios", portraying himself as
Dionysius the Areopagite
Dionysius the Areopagite (; grc-gre, Διονύσιος ὁ Ἀρεοπαγίτης ''Dionysios ho Areopagitēs'') was an Athenian judge at the Areopagus Court in Athens, who lived in the first century. A convert to Christianity, he is venerate ...
, the Athenian convert of
Paul the Apostle
Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...
mentioned in Acts 17:34.
Historic confusions
In the early sixth century, a series of writings of a
mystical nature, employing
Neoplatonic language to elucidate Christian theological and mystical ideas, was ascribed to the Areopagite. They have long been recognized as
pseudepigrapha
Pseudepigrapha (also anglicized as "pseudepigraph" or "pseudepigraphs") are falsely attributed works, texts whose claimed author is not the true author, or a work whose real author attributed it to a figure of the past.Bauckham, Richard; "Pseu ...
, and their author is now called "Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite".
Corpus
Works
The Corpus is today composed of:
* ''Divine Names'' (');
* ''
Celestial Hierarchy'' ('')'';
* ''Ecclesiastical Hierarchy'' (');
* ''Mystical Theology'' ('), "a brief but powerful work that deals with negative or apophatic theology and in which theology becomes explicitly “mystical” for the first time in history;"
* Ten
epistle
An epistle (; el, ἐπιστολή, ''epistolē,'' "letter") is a writing directed or sent to a person or group of people, usually an elegant and formal didactic letter. The epistle genre of letter-writing was common in ancient Egypt as par ...
s.
Seven other works are mentioned repeatedly by pseudo-Dionysius in his surviving works, and are presumed either to be lost or to be fictional works mentioned by the Areopagite as a literary device to give the impression to his sixth-century readers of engaging with the surviving fragments of a much larger first-century corpus of writings. These seven other works are:
* ''Theological Outlines'' ('),
* ''Symbolic Theology'' ('),
* ''On Angelic Properties and Orders'' ('),
* ''On the Just and Divine Judgement'' ('),
* ''On the Soul'' ('),
* ''On Intelligible and Sensible Beings,''
* ''On the Divine Hymns''.
Dating
In attempts to identify a date ''after'' which the corpus must have been composed, a number of features have been identified in Dionysius' writing, though the latter two are subject to scholarly debate.
* Firstly, and fairly certainly, it is clear that Dionysius adopted many of his ideas—including at times passages almost word for word—from
Proclus
Proclus Lycius (; 8 February 412 – 17 April 485), called Proclus the Successor ( grc-gre, Πρόκλος ὁ Διάδοχος, ''Próklos ho Diádokhos''), was a Greek Neoplatonist philosopher, one of the last major classical philosophers ...
, who died in 485, thus providing at the least a late fifth-century early limit to the dating of Dionysius.
* In the ''Ecclesiastical Hierarchy'' Dionysius twice seems to allude to the recitation of the Creed in the course of the liturgy (''EH'' 3.2 and 3.III.7). It is often asserted that
Peter the Fuller
Peter Fullo ("the Fuller") was Patriarch of Antioch (471–488) and Non-Chalcedonian.
Peter received his surname from his former trade as a fulling, fuller of cloth. Louis-Sébastien Le Nain de Tillemont, Tillemont (''Empereurs'', tome vi. p.&nbs ...
first mandated the inclusion of the
Nicene Creed
The original Nicene Creed (; grc-gre, Σύμβολον τῆς Νικαίας; la, Symbolum Nicaenum) was first adopted at the First Council of Nicaea in 325. In 381, it was amended at the First Council of Constantinople. The amended form is a ...
in the liturgy in 476, thus providing an earliest date for the composition of the Corpus. Bernard Capelle argues that it is far more likely that
Timothy, patriarch of Constantinople, was responsible for this liturgical innovation, around 515 — thus suggesting a later date for the Corpus.
[Paul Rorem and John C. Lamoreaux, ''John of Scythopolis and the Dionysian Corpus: Annotating the Areopagite'', (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1998), p. 9. The point was first proposed by Stiglmayr.]
* It is often suggested that because Dionysius seems to eschew divisive
Christological
In Christianity, Christology (from the Greek grc, Χριστός, Khristós, label=none and grc, -λογία, -logia, label=none), translated literally from Greek as "the study of Christ", is a branch of theology that concerns Jesus. Differ ...
language, he was probably writing after the ''
Henoticon
The ''Henotikon'' ( or in English; Greek ''henōtikón'' "act of union") was a christological document issued by Byzantine emperor Zeno in 482, in an unsuccessful attempt to reconcile the differences between the supporters of the Council of Chalc ...
'' of
Zeno
Zeno ( grc, Ζήνων) may refer to:
People
* Zeno (name), including a list of people and characters with the name
Philosophers
* Zeno of Elea (), philosopher, follower of Parmenides, known for his paradoxes
* Zeno of Citium (333 – 264 BC), ...
was in effect, sometime after 482. It is also possible that Dionysius eschewed traditional Christological formulae in order to preserve an overall apostolic ambience for his works, rather than because of the influence of the ''Henoticon''. Also, given that the ''Henoticon'' was rescinded in 518, if Dionysius was writing after this date, he may have been untroubled by this policy.
In terms of the latest date for the composition of the ''Corpus'', the earliest datable reference to Dionysius' writing comes in 528, the year in which the treatise of
Severus of Antioch
Severus the Great of Antioch (Greek: Σεβῆρος; syr, ܣܘܝܪܝܘܣ ܕܐܢܛܝܘܟܝܐ), also known as Severus of Gaza or Crown of Syrians (Syriac: ܬܓܐ ܕܣܘܪܝܥܝܐ; Tagha d'Suryoye; Arabic: تاج السوريين; Taj al-Suriyyun ...
entitled ''Adversus apologiam Juliani'' was translated into
Syriac Syriac may refer to:
*Syriac language, an ancient dialect of Middle Aramaic
*Sureth, one of the modern dialects of Syriac spoken in the Nineveh Plains region
* Syriac alphabet
** Syriac (Unicode block)
** Syriac Supplement
* Neo-Aramaic languages a ...
— though it is possible the treatise may originally have been composed up to nine years earlier.
Another widely cited latest date for Dionysius' writing comes in 532, when, in a report on a colloquy held between two groups (
orthodox
Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to:
Religion
* Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...
and
monophysite
Monophysitism ( or ) or monophysism () is a Christological term derived from the Greek (, "alone, solitary") and (, a word that has many meanings but in this context means "nature"). It is defined as "a doctrine that in the person of the incarn ...
) debating the decrees of the
Council of Chalcedon
The Council of Chalcedon (; la, Concilium Chalcedonense), ''Synodos tēs Chalkēdonos'' was the fourth ecumenical council of the Christian Church. It was convoked by the Roman emperor Marcian. The council convened in the city of Chalcedon, Bith ...
,
Severus of Antioch
Severus the Great of Antioch (Greek: Σεβῆρος; syr, ܣܘܝܪܝܘܣ ܕܐܢܛܝܘܟܝܐ), also known as Severus of Gaza or Crown of Syrians (Syriac: ܬܓܐ ܕܣܘܪܝܥܝܐ; Tagha d'Suryoye; Arabic: تاج السوريين; Taj al-Suriyyun ...
and his monophysite supporters cited Dionysius' Fourth Letter in defence of their view. It is possible that pseudo-Dionysius was himself a member of this group, though debate continues over whether his writings do in fact reveal a monophysite understanding of Christ. It seems likely that the writer was located in Syria, as revealed, for example, by the accounts of the sacramental rites he gives in ''The Ecclesiastical Hierarchy'', which seem only to bear resemblance to Syriac rites.
Authorship
The author pseudonymously identifies himself in the corpus as "Dionysios", portraying himself as the figure of
Dionysius the Areopagite
Dionysius the Areopagite (; grc-gre, Διονύσιος ὁ Ἀρεοπαγίτης ''Dionysios ho Areopagitēs'') was an Athenian judge at the Areopagus Court in Athens, who lived in the first century. A convert to Christianity, he is venerate ...
, the Athenian convert of
Paul the Apostle
Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...
mentioned in Acts 17:34.
Various legends existed surrounding the figure of Dionysius, who became emblematic of the spread of the gospel to the Greek world. A tradition quickly arose that he became the first bishop of Cyprus or of Milan, or that he was the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews; according to Eusebius, he was also said to be the first bishop of Athens. It is therefore not surprising that that author of these works would have chosen to adopt the name of this otherwise briefly mentioned figure.
The authorship of the Dionysian Corpus was initially disputed; Severus and his party affirmed its apostolic dating, largely because it seemed to agree with their Christology. This dating was disputed by
Hypatius of Ephesus Hypatius of Ephesus (fl. c. 530) was the metropolitan of Ephesus from 531 to about 538. He campaigned against Monophysitism and cooperated with Emperor Justinian I on various ecclesiastical issues. He was an early opponent of the authenticity of Ps ...
, who met the monophysite party during the 532 meeting with Emperor
Justinian I
Justinian I (; la, Iustinianus, ; grc-gre, Ἰουστινιανός ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was the Byzantine emperor from 527 to 565.
His reign is marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovat ...
; Hypatius denied its authenticity on the ground that none of the Fathers or Councils ever cited or referred to it. Hypatius condemned it along with the Apollinarian texts, distributed during the Nestorian controversy under the names of Pope Julius and Athanasius, which the monophysites entered as evidence supporting their position.
The first defense of its authenticity is undertaken by
John of Scythopolis
John Scythopolita (ca. 536–550), also known as "the Scholasticus", bishop of Scythopolis in Palestine, where Beit She'an is today, was a Byzantine theologian and lawyer adhering to neo-Chalcedonian theology.
He is famous for several works (l ...
, whose commentary, the ''Scholia'' (ca. 540), on the Dionysian Corpus constitutes the first defense of its apostolic dating, wherein he specifically argues that the work is neither Apollinarian nor a forgery, probably in response both to monophysites and Hypatius—although even he, given his unattributed citations of Plotinus in interpreting Dionysius, might have known better. Dionysius' authenticity is criticized later in the century, and defended by
Theodore of Raithu Theodore of Raithu (fl. late 6th or early 7th century) was a Christian theologian considered the last of the Neo-Chalcedonians..
Theodore was a monk at Raithu on the Sinai Peninsula, active after 550. He may be identified with the Theodore who wa ...
; and by the 7th century, it is taken as demonstrated, affirmed by both
Maximus the Confessor
Maximus the Confessor ( el, Μάξιμος ὁ Ὁμολογητής), also spelt Maximos, otherwise known as Maximus the Theologian and Maximus of Constantinople ( – 13 August 662), was a Christian monk, theologian, and scholar.
In his earl ...
and the
Lateran Council of 649
The Lateran Council of 649 was a synod held in the Basilica of St. John Lateran to condemn Monothelitism, a Christology espoused by many Eastern Christians. The Council did not achieve ecumenical status in either East or West, but represented the ...
. From that point until the Renaissance, the authorship was less questioned, though
Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas, OP (; it, Tommaso d'Aquino, lit=Thomas of Aquino; 1225 – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican friar and priest who was an influential philosopher, theologian and jurist in the tradition of scholasticism; he is known wi ...
,
Peter Abelard
Peter Abelard (; french: link=no, Pierre Abélard; la, Petrus Abaelardus or ''Abailardus''; 21 April 1142) was a medieval French scholastic philosopher, leading logician, theologian, poet, composer and musician. This source has a detailed desc ...
and
Nicholas of Cusa
Nicholas of Cusa (1401 – 11 August 1464), also referred to as Nicholas of Kues and Nicolaus Cusanus (), was a German Catholic cardinal, philosopher, theologian, jurist, mathematician, and astronomer. One of the first German proponents of Renai ...
expressed suspicions about its authenticity; their concerns were generally ignored.
[W. Franke, ed., ''On What Cannot Be Said'', (2007), vol. 1, p. 158.]
The Florentine humanist
Lorenzo Valla
Lorenzo Valla (; also Latinized as Laurentius; 14071 August 1457) was an Italian Renaissance humanist, rhetorician, educator, scholar, and Catholic priest. He is best known for his historical-critical textual analysis that proved that the ''Don ...
(d. 1457), in his 1457 commentaries on the
New Testament
The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...
, did much to establish that the author of the ''Corpus Areopagiticum'' could not have been St. Paul's convert, though he was unable to identify the actual historical author.
William Grocyn
William Grocyn ( 14461519) was an English scholar, a friend of Erasmus.
Life
Grocyn was born at Colerne, Wiltshire. Intended by his parents for the church, he was sent to Winchester College, and in 1465 was elected to a scholarship at New Colleg ...
pursued Valla's lines of textual criticism, and Valla's critical viewpoint of the authorship of the highly influential ''Corpus'' was accepted and publicized by
Erasmus
Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus (; ; English: Erasmus of Rotterdam or Erasmus;''Erasmus'' was his baptismal name, given after St. Erasmus of Formiae. ''Desiderius'' was an adopted additional name, which he used from 1496. The ''Roterodamus'' wa ...
from 1504 onward, for which he was criticized by Catholic theologians. In the
Leipzig disputation
The Leipzig Debate (german: Leipziger Disputation) was a theological disputation originally between Andreas Karlstadt, Martin Luther and Johann Eck. Karlstadt, the dean of the Wittenberg theological faculty, felt that he had to defend Luther ...
with
Martin Luther
Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Reformation, Protestant Refo ...
, in 1519,
Johann Eck
Johann Maier von Eck (13 November 1486 – 13 February 1543), often anglicized as John Eck, was a German Catholic theologian, scholastic, prelate, and a pioneer of the counter-reformation who was among Martin Luther's most important inter ...
used the ''Corpus'', specifically the ''Angelic Hierarchy'', as argument for the apostolic origin of
papal
The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...
supremacy, pressing the Platonist analogy, "as above, so below".
During the 19th century
modernist Catholics too came generally to accept that the author must have lived after the time of
Proclus
Proclus Lycius (; 8 February 412 – 17 April 485), called Proclus the Successor ( grc-gre, Πρόκλος ὁ Διάδοχος, ''Próklos ho Diádokhos''), was a Greek Neoplatonist philosopher, one of the last major classical philosophers ...
. The author became known as 'Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite' only after the philological work of J. Stiglmayr and H. Koch, whose papers, published independently in 1895, demonstrated the thoroughgoing dependence of the ''Corpus'' upon Proclus.
Both showed that Dionysius had used, in his treatise on evil in Chapter 4 of ''The Divine Names'', the ''De malorum subsistentia'' of Proclus.
Dionysius' identity is still disputed. Corrigan and Harrington find Pseudo-Dionysius to be most probably
Ronald Hathaway provides a table listing most of the major identifications of Dionysius: e.g.,
Ammonius Saccas
Ammonius Saccas (; grc-gre, Ἀμμώνιος Σακκᾶς; 175 AD242 AD) was a Hellenistic Platonist self-taught philosopher from Alexandria, generally regarded as the precursor of Neoplatonism and/or one of its founders. He is mainly known as ...
,
Pope Dionysius of Alexandria
Dionysius the Great ( grc, Διονύσιος Ἀλεξανδρείας) was the 14th List of Patriarchs of Alexandria, Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria from 28 December 248 until his death on 22 March 264. Most information known about him comes ...
,
Peter the Fuller
Peter Fullo ("the Fuller") was Patriarch of Antioch (471–488) and Non-Chalcedonian.
Peter received his surname from his former trade as a fulling, fuller of cloth. Louis-Sébastien Le Nain de Tillemont, Tillemont (''Empereurs'', tome vi. p.&nbs ...
, Dionysius the Scholastic,
Severus of Antioch
Severus the Great of Antioch (Greek: Σεβῆρος; syr, ܣܘܝܪܝܘܣ ܕܐܢܛܝܘܟܝܐ), also known as Severus of Gaza or Crown of Syrians (Syriac: ܬܓܐ ܕܣܘܪܝܥܝܐ; Tagha d'Suryoye; Arabic: تاج السوريين; Taj al-Suriyyun ...
,
Sergius of Reshaina Sergius of Reshaina (died 536) was a physician and priest during the 6th century. He is best known for translating medical works from Greek to Syriac, which were eventually, during the Abbasid Caliphate of the late 8th- & 9th century, translated int ...
, unnamed Christian followers of everyone from
Origen
Origen of Alexandria, ''Ōrigénēs''; Origen's Greek name ''Ōrigénēs'' () probably means "child of Horus" (from , "Horus", and , "born"). ( 185 – 253), also known as Origen Adamantius, was an Early Christianity, early Christian scholar, ...
to
Basil of Caesarea
Basil of Caesarea, also called Saint Basil the Great ( grc, Ἅγιος Βασίλειος ὁ Μέγας, ''Hágios Basíleios ho Mégas''; cop, Ⲡⲓⲁⲅⲓⲟⲥ Ⲃⲁⲥⲓⲗⲓⲟⲥ; 330 – January 1 or 2, 379), was a bishop of Ca ...
,
Eutyches
Eutyches ( grc, Εὐτυχής; c. 380c. 456) or Eutyches of Constantinople[Proclus
Proclus Lycius (; 8 February 412 – 17 April 485), called Proclus the Successor ( grc-gre, Πρόκλος ὁ Διάδοχος, ''Próklos ho Diádokhos''), was a Greek Neoplatonist philosopher, one of the last major classical philosophers ...]
.
In the past half-century, Alexander Golitzin,
Georgian
Georgian may refer to:
Common meanings
* Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country)
** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group
** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians
**Georgian scripts, three scrip ...
academician
Shalva Nutsubidze
Shalva Nutsubidze ( ka, შალვა ნუცუბიძე; December 14, 1888 – January 6, 1969) was a Georgian philosopher, cultural historian, rustvelologist, literary critic, translator, public figure, one of the founders of scientific ...
and
Belgian
Belgian may refer to:
* Something of, or related to, Belgium
* Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent
* Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German
*Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...
professor Ernest Honigmann have all proposed identifying pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite with
Peter the Iberian
Peter the Iberian ( ka, პეტრე იბერი, tr) (c. 417-491) was a Georgian royal prince, theologian and philosopher who was a prominent figure in early Christianity and one of the founders of Christian Neoplatonism. Some have claimed ...
. A more recent identification is with
Damascius
Damascius (; grc-gre, Δαμάσκιος, 458 – after 538), known as "the last of the Athenian Neoplatonists," was the last scholarch of the neoplatonic Athenian school. He was one of the neoplatonic philosophers who left Athens after laws ...
, the last scholarch of the
Neoplatonic Academy of Athens. There is therefore no current scholarly consensus on the question of Pseudo-Dionysius' identification.
The ''
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
The ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' (''SEP'') combines an online encyclopedia of philosophy with peer-reviewed publication of original papers in philosophy, freely accessible to Internet users. It is maintained by Stanford University. Eac ...
'' claims:
Others scholars such as
Bart D. Ehrman
Bart Denton Ehrman (born 1955) is an American New Testament scholar focusing on textual criticism of the New Testament, the historical Jesus, and the origins and development of early Christianity. He has written and edited 30 books, including t ...
disagree, see for example
''Forged''. While the Pseudo Dionysius can be seen as a communicator of tradition, he can also be seen as a polemicist, who tried to alter Neo-Platonic tradition in a novel way for the Christian world that would make notions of complicated Divine Hierarchies more of an emphasis than notions of direct relationship with the figure of Christ as Mediator.
Thought
Dionysius attributed his inspiration to pseudo-Hierotheus, professing that he was writing to popularize the teachings of his master. Pseudo-Hierotheus was the author of “The book of Hierotheus on the hidden mysteries of the house of God.” Pseudo-Hierotheus is believed to be the fifth century Syrian monk
Stephen Bar Sudhaile Stephen Bar Sudhaile was a Syrian Christian mystical writer established in Jerusalem who flourished as thinker about the end of the 5th century AD.
Life
The earlier part of his career was passed at Edessa, of which he may have been a native. ...
.
The works of Dionysisus are
mystical
Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute, but may refer to any kind of ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or spiritual meaning. It may also refer to the attainment of insight in u ...
, and show strong
Neoplatonic influence. For example, he uses
Plotinus
Plotinus (; grc-gre, Πλωτῖνος, ''Plōtînos''; – 270 CE) was a philosopher in the Hellenistic philosophy, Hellenistic tradition, born and raised in Roman Egypt. Plotinus is regarded by modern scholarship as the founder of Neop ...
' well-known analogy of a sculptor cutting away that which does not enhance the desired image, and shows familiarity with
Proclus
Proclus Lycius (; 8 February 412 – 17 April 485), called Proclus the Successor ( grc-gre, Πρόκλος ὁ Διάδοχος, ''Próklos ho Diádokhos''), was a Greek Neoplatonist philosopher, one of the last major classical philosophers ...
. He also shows influence from
Clement of Alexandria
Titus Flavius Clemens, also known as Clement of Alexandria ( grc , Κλήμης ὁ Ἀλεξανδρεύς; – ), was a Christian theologian and philosopher who taught at the Catechetical School of Alexandria. Among his pupils were Origen and ...
, the
Cappadocian Fathers
The Cappadocian Fathers, also traditionally known as the Three Cappadocians, are Basil the Great (330–379), who was bishop of Caesarea; Basil's younger brother Gregory of Nyssa (c. 335 – c. 395), who was bishop of Nyssa; and a close friend ...
, Origen, and others.
''Mystical Theology''
According to pseudo-Dionysius, God is better characterized and approached by
negations than by
affirmations. All names and theological representations must be negated. According to pseudo-Dionysius, when all names are negated, "divine silence, darkness, and unknowing" will follow.
Influence
Eastern Christianity
His thought was initially used by
Miaphysites
Miaphysitism is the Christological doctrine that holds Jesus, the "Incarnate Word, is fully divine and fully human, in one 'nature' (''physis'')." It is a position held by the Oriental Orthodox Churches and differs from the Chalcedonian positio ...
to back up parts of their arguments but his writings were eventually adopted by other church theologians, primarily due to the work of
John of Scythopolis
John Scythopolita (ca. 536–550), also known as "the Scholasticus", bishop of Scythopolis in Palestine, where Beit She'an is today, was a Byzantine theologian and lawyer adhering to neo-Chalcedonian theology.
He is famous for several works (l ...
and
Maximus the Confessor
Maximus the Confessor ( el, Μάξιμος ὁ Ὁμολογητής), also spelt Maximos, otherwise known as Maximus the Theologian and Maximus of Constantinople ( – 13 August 662), was a Christian monk, theologian, and scholar.
In his earl ...
in producing an orthodox interpretation. Writing a single generation at most after Dionysius, perhaps between 537 and 543, John of Scythopolis composed an extensive set (around 600) of ''scholia'' (that is, marginal annotations) to the works of Dionysius.
These were in turn prefaced by a long prologue in which John set out his reasons for commenting on the corpus. All Greek manuscripts of the ''Corpus Areopagiticum ''surviving today stem from an early sixth-century manuscript containing John's ''Scholia ''and ''Prologue'' — so John of Scythopolis had an enormous influence on how Dionysius was read in the Greek-speaking world.
Theologians such as
John of Damascus
John of Damascus ( ar, يوحنا الدمشقي, Yūḥanna ad-Dimashqī; gr, Ἰωάννης ὁ Δαμασκηνός, Ioánnēs ho Damaskēnós, ; la, Ioannes Damascenus) or John Damascene was a Christian monk, priest, hymnographer, and a ...
and
Germanus I of Constantinople
Germanus I (c. 634 – 733 or 740) was the Patriarch of Constantinople from 715 to 730. He is regarded as a saint, by both the Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches, with a feast day of 12 May. He had been ecumenically preceded by Patriarch Jo ...
also made ample use of Dionysius' writing.
The Dionysian writings and their mystical teaching were universally accepted throughout the East, amongst both Chalcedonians and non-Chalcedonians.
Gregory Palamas
Gregory Palamas ( el, Γρηγόριος Παλαμᾶς; c. 1296 – 1359) was a Byzantine Greek theologian and Eastern Orthodox cleric of the late Byzantine period. A monk of Mount Athos (modern Greece) and later archbishop of Thessaloniki, h ...
, for example, in referring to these writings, calls the author, "an unerring beholder of divine things".
The Corpus is also present in Syriac and Armenian versions, the former of which, by Sergius of Reshaina in the early sixth century, serves as a ''
terminus ante quem
''Terminus post quem'' ("limit after which", sometimes abbreviated to TPQ) and ''terminus ante quem'' ("limit before which", abbreviated to TAQ) specify the known limits of dating for events or items..
A ''terminus post quem'' is the earliest da ...
'' for the dating of the original Greek.
There is a distinct difference between Neoplatonism and that of
Eastern Christianity
Eastern Christianity comprises Christian traditions and church families that originally developed during classical and late antiquity in Eastern Europe, Southeastern Europe, Asia Minor, the Caucasus, Northeast Africa, the Fertile Crescent and ...
. In the former, all life returns to the source to be stripped of individual identity, a process called
henosis
Henosis ( grc, ἕνωσις) is the classical Greek word for mystical "oneness", "union" or "unity". In Platonism, and especially Neoplatonism, henosis is unification with what is fundamental in reality: the One ( Τὸ Ἕν), the Source, ...
, while in orthodox Christianity the Likeness of God in man is restored by grace (by being united to God through participation in His divine energies), a process called
theosis.
Latin Christianity
The first notice of Dionysius in the West comes from
Pope Gregory I
Pope Gregory I ( la, Gregorius I; – 12 March 604), commonly known as Saint Gregory the Great, was the bishop of Rome from 3 September 590 to his death. He is known for instigating the first recorded large-scale mission from Rome, the Gregori ...
, who probably brought a codex of the ''Corpus Areopagitum'' back with him on his return from his mission as papal legate to the Emperor in Constantinople in around 585. Gregory refers occasionally in his writings to Dionysius, although Gregory's Greek was probably not adequate to fully engage with Dionysius's work. In the seventh and eighth centuries, Dionysius was not widely known in the West, aside from a few scattered references.
The real influence of Dionysius in the West began with the gift in 827 of a Greek copy of his works by the
Byzantine emperor
This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, to its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as le ...
Michael II
Michael II ( gr, Μιχαὴλ, , translit=Michaēl; 770–829), called the Amorian ( gr, ὁ ἐξ Ἀμορίου, ho ex Amoríou) and the Stammerer (, ''ho Travlós'' or , ''ho Psellós''), reigned as Byzantine Emperor from 25 December 820 to ...
to the
Carolingian emperor
The Carolingian Empire (800–888) was a large Frankish-dominated empire in western and central Europe during the Early Middle Ages. It was ruled by the Carolingian dynasty, which had ruled as kings of the Franks since 751 and as kings of the Lom ...
Louis the Pious
Louis the Pious (german: Ludwig der Fromme; french: Louis le Pieux; 16 April 778 – 20 June 840), also called the Fair, and the Debonaire, was King of the Franks and co-emperor with his father, Charlemagne, from 813. He was also King of Aqui ...
. King Louis in turn gave the manuscript to the monastery of St Denys near Paris where, in about 838, Dionysius' works were translated into Latin for the first time by
Hilduin
Hilduin (c. 785 – c. 855) was Bishop of Paris, chaplain to Louis I, reforming Abbot of the Abbey of Saint-Denis, and author. He was one of the leading scholars and administrators of the Carolingian Empire.
Background
Hilduin was from a pr ...
, abbot of the monastery. It may well have been Hilduin himself who promoted his work (and his abbey) by developing the legend (which would be widely accepted during subsequent centuries), that
Denis was the same person as Dionysius the Areopagite of
Acts
The Acts of the Apostles ( grc-koi, Πράξεις Ἀποστόλων, ''Práxeis Apostólōn''; la, Actūs Apostolōrum) is the fifth book of the New Testament; it tells of the founding of the Christian Church and the spread of its message ...
17.34, and that he had traveled to Rome and then was commissioned by the Pope to preach in
Gaul
Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during ...
, where he was martyred. Hilduin's translation is almost unintelligible.
[Jean LeClercq, 'Influence and Noninfluence of Dionysius in the Western Middle Ages', in ''Pseudo-Dionysius: The Complete Works'', trans. Colm Luibheid, (New York: Paulist Press, 1987), pp. 25-33.]
About twenty years later, a subsequent Carolingian Emperor,
Charles the Bald
Charles the Bald (french: Charles le Chauve; 13 June 823 – 6 October 877), also known as Charles II, was a 9th-century king of West Francia (843–877), king of Italy (875–877) and emperor of the Carolingian Empire (875–877). After a ser ...
, requested the Irishman
John Scotus Eriugena
John Scotus Eriugena, also known as Johannes Scotus Erigena, John the Scot, or John the Irish-born ( – c. 877) was an Irish Neoplatonist philosopher, theologian and poet of the Early Middle Ages. Bertrand Russell dubbed him "the most ...
to make a fresh translation. He finished this in 862.
This translation itself did not widely circulate in subsequent centuries. Moreover, although Eriugena's own works, such as the ''Homily on the Prologue of St John'', show the influence of Dionysian ideas, these works were not widely copied or read in subsequent centuries.
The Benedictine monasticism that formed the standard monasticism of the eighth to eleventh centuries, therefore, in general paid little attention to Dionysius.
In the twelfth century, greater use gradually began to be made of Dionysius among various traditions of thought:
* Among Benedictines (especially at the Abbey of Saint-Denis), greater interest began to be shown in Dionysius. For example, one of the monks of Saint Denys,
John Sarrazin
John Sarrazin, also known as Johannes Sarracenus, John the Sarracen or John Sarrazen, was a twelfth-century scholar. He is known only from his translation of the writings of Pseudo-Dionysius from Greek into Latin.
John Sarrazin was probably a frie ...
, wrote a commentary on ''The Celestial Hierarchy'' in 1140, and then in 1165 made a translation of the work.
Also,
Suger
Suger (; la, Sugerius; 1081 – 13 January 1151) was a French abbot, statesman, and historian. He once lived at the court of Pope Calixtus II in Maguelonne, France. He later became abbot of St-Denis, and became a close confidant to King Lo ...
, abbot of Saint-Denis from 1122 to 1151, drew on Dionysian themes to explain how the architecture of his new 'Gothic' abbey church helped raise the soul to God.
* Among the
Canons Regular
Canons regular are priests who live in community under a rule ( and canon in greek) and are generally organised into religious orders, differing from both secular canons and other forms of religious life, such as clerics regular, designated by a ...
.
Hugh of Saint Victor
Hugh of Saint Victor ( 1096 – 11 February 1141), was a Saxon canon regular and a leading theologian and writer on mystical theology.
Life
As with many medieval figures, little is known about Hugh's early life. He was probably born in the 1090s. ...
edited two commentaries on ''The Celestial Hierarchy'' between 1125 and 1137, later revising and combining them as one.
Richard of Saint Victor
Richard of Saint Victor (died 1173) was a Medieval Scottish philosopher and theologian and one of the most influential religious thinkers of his time. A canon regular, he was a prominent mystical theologian, and was prior of the famous Augustin ...
was familiar with Dionysius through Hugh. Through Hugh, others became exposed to Dionysian thought, including
Thomas Gallus
Thomas Gallus of Vercelli (ca.1200 – 1246), sometimes in early twentieth century texts called Thomas of St Victor, Thomas of Vercelli or Thomas Vercellensis, was a French theologian, a member of the School of St Victor. He is known for his comm ...
and
Gilbert de la Porrée
Gilbert de la Porrée (after 1085 – 4 September 1154), also known as Gilbert of Poitiers, Gilbertus Porretanus or Pictaviensis, was a scholastic logician and theologian and Bishop of Poitiers.
Life
He was born in Poitiers, and completed h ...
.
* In the
Cistercian tradition, it seems that early writers such as
Bernard of Clairvaux
Bernard of Clairvaux, O. Cist. ( la, Bernardus Claraevallensis; 109020 August 1153), venerated as Saint Bernard, was an abbot, mystic, co-founder of the Knights Templars, and a major leader in the reformation of the Benedictine Order through ...
,
William of St Thierry and
Aelred of Rievaulx
Aelred of Rievaulx ( la, Aelredus Riaevallensis); also Ailred, Ælred, and Æthelred; (1110 – 12 January 1167) was an English Cistercian monk, abbot of Rievaulx from 1147 until his death, and known as a writer. He is regarded by Anglicans a ...
were not influenced by Dionysian thought. Among second-generation Cistercians,
Isaac of Stella clearly shows the influence of Dionysian ideas.
* It is in the Schools, though, that the twelfth-century growth in influence of Dionysius was truly significant. There are few references to Dionysius in scholastic theology during the tenth and eleventh centuries. At the beginning of the twelfth century, though, the masters of the Cathedral school at
Laon
Laon () is a city in the Aisne department in Hauts-de-France in northern France.
History
Early history
The holy district of Laon, which rises a hundred metres above the otherwise flat Picardy plain, has always held strategic importance. In ...
, especially
Anselm of Laon
Anselm of Laon ( la, Anselmus; 1117), properly Ansel ('), was a French theologian and founder of a school of scholars who helped to pioneer biblical hermeneutics.
Biography
Born of very humble parents at Laon before the middle of the 11th cent ...
, introduced extracts from John Scotus Eriugena's ''Commentary on St John'' into the ''Sentences'' and the ''Glossa Ordinaria''. In this manner, Dionysian concepts found their way into the writing of
Peter Lombard
Peter Lombard (also Peter the Lombard, Pierre Lombard or Petrus Lombardus; 1096, Novara – 21/22 July 1160, Paris), was a scholastic theologian, Bishop of Paris, and author of '' Four Books of Sentences'' which became the standard textbook of ...
and others.
* Bonaventure uses images and even direct quotations from Dionysius' ''Mystical Theology'' in the last chapter of his famous work ''Itinerarium Mentis in Deum'' (The Soul's Journey into God).
During the thirteenth century, the Franciscan
Robert Grosseteste
Robert Grosseteste, ', ', or ') or the gallicised Robert Grosstête ( ; la, Robertus Grossetesta or '). Also known as Robert of Lincoln ( la, Robertus Lincolniensis, ', &c.) or Rupert of Lincoln ( la, Rubertus Lincolniensis, &c.). ( ; la, Rob ...
made an important contribution by bringing out between 1240 and 1243 a translation, with commentary, of the Dionysian corpus.
Soon after, the Dominican
Albertus Magnus
Albertus Magnus (c. 1200 – 15 November 1280), also known as Saint Albert the Great or Albert of Cologne, was a German Dominican friar, philosopher, scientist, and bishop. Later canonised as a Catholic saint, he was known during his life ...
did likewise. The thirteenth-century Parisian corpus provided an important reference point by combining the "Old Translation" of John Scotus Eriugena with the "New Translation" of
John Sarrazin
John Sarrazin, also known as Johannes Sarracenus, John the Sarracen or John Sarrazen, was a twelfth-century scholar. He is known only from his translation of the writings of Pseudo-Dionysius from Greek into Latin.
John Sarrazin was probably a frie ...
, along with glosses and scholia by
Maximus the Confessor
Maximus the Confessor ( el, Μάξιμος ὁ Ὁμολογητής), also spelt Maximos, otherwise known as Maximus the Theologian and Maximus of Constantinople ( – 13 August 662), was a Christian monk, theologian, and scholar.
In his earl ...
,
John of Scythopolis
John Scythopolita (ca. 536–550), also known as "the Scholasticus", bishop of Scythopolis in Palestine, where Beit She'an is today, was a Byzantine theologian and lawyer adhering to neo-Chalcedonian theology.
He is famous for several works (l ...
and others, as well as the "Extracts" by
Thomas Gallus
Thomas Gallus of Vercelli (ca.1200 – 1246), sometimes in early twentieth century texts called Thomas of St Victor, Thomas of Vercelli or Thomas Vercellensis, was a French theologian, a member of the School of St Victor. He is known for his comm ...
, and several commentaries such as John Scotus Eriugena, John Sarrazin and Hugh of Saint Victor on ''The Celestial Hierarchy''. It quickly became common to make reference to Dionysius.
Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas, OP (; it, Tommaso d'Aquino, lit=Thomas of Aquino; 1225 – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican friar and priest who was an influential philosopher, theologian and jurist in the tradition of scholasticism; he is known wi ...
wrote an explanation for several works, and cites him over 1700 times.
[Doherty, K.F. “St. Thomas and the Pseudo-Dionysian Symbol of Light”. In: The New. Scholasticism, 34 (1960), pp. 170-189.] Bonaventure
Bonaventure ( ; it, Bonaventura ; la, Bonaventura de Balneoregio; 1221 – 15 July 1274), born Giovanni di Fidanza, was an Italian Catholic Franciscan, bishop, cardinal, scholastic theologian and philosopher.
The seventh Minister G ...
called him the “prince of mystics”.
It was subsequently in the area of
mysticism
Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute, but may refer to any kind of ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or spiritual meaning. It may also refer to the attainment of insight in u ...
that Dionysius, especially his portrayal of the
''via negativa'', was particularly influential. In the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries his fundamental themes were hugely influential on thinkers such as
Marguerite Porete
Marguerite Porete (; 13th century1 June 1310) was a French-speaking mystic and the author of ''The Mirror of Simple Souls'', a work of Christian mysticism dealing with the workings of agape (divine love). She was burnt at the stake for heresy in ...
,
Meister Eckhart
Eckhart von Hochheim ( – ), commonly known as Meister Eckhart, Master Eckhart , the author of ''
The Cloud of Unknowing
''The Cloud of Unknowing'' (Middle English: ''The Cloude of Unknowyng'') is an anonymous work of Christian mysticism written in Middle English in the latter half of the 14th century. The text is a spiritual guide on contemplative prayer in the ...
'' (who made an expanded
Middle English
Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English p ...
translation of Dionysius' ''Mystical Theology''),
Jean Gerson
Jean Charlier de Gerson (13 December 1363 – 12 July 1429) was a French scholar, educator, reformer, and poet, Chancellor of the University of Paris, a guiding light of the conciliar movement and one of the most prominent theologians at the Co ...
,
Nicholas of Cusa
Nicholas of Cusa (1401 – 11 August 1464), also referred to as Nicholas of Kues and Nicolaus Cusanus (), was a German Catholic cardinal, philosopher, theologian, jurist, mathematician, and astronomer. One of the first German proponents of Renai ...
,
Denis the Carthusian
Denis the Carthusian (1402–1471), also known as Denys van Leeuwen, Denis Ryckel, Dionysius van Rijkel, Denys le Chartreux (or other combinations of these terms), was a Roman Catholic theologian and mystic.
Life
Denis was born in 1402 in that ...
,
Julian of Norwich
Julian of Norwich (1343 – after 1416), also known as Juliana of Norwich, Dame Julian or Mother Julian, was an English mystic and anchoress of the Middle Ages. Her writings, now known as ''Revelations of Divine Love'', are the earlies ...
,
Harphius Herp Hendrik Herp (died 22 February 1477), known in Latin as Henricus Harphius, was a Dutch or Flemish Franciscan of the Strict Observance, and a writer on mysticism.
Life
Herp was born around 1400 either at Erp (Netherlands), Erp near Veghel or Erps-Kw ...
and Catherine of Genoa
The Mystical Element of Religion as Studied in Saint Catherine of Genoa and Her Friends (1908) His influence can also be traced in the Spanish
Carmelite
, image =
, caption = Coat of arms of the Carmelites
, abbreviation = OCarm
, formation = Late 12th century
, founder = Early hermits of Mount Carmel
, founding_location = Mount Car ...
thought of the sixteenth century among
Teresa of Ávila
Teresa of Ávila, OCD (born Teresa Sánchez de Cepeda y Ahumada; 28 March 15154 or 15 October 1582), also called Saint Teresa of Jesus, was a Spanish Carmelite nun and prominent Spanish mystic and religious reformer.
Active during th ...
and
John of the Cross
John of the Cross, OCD ( es, link=no, Juan de la Cruz; la, Ioannes a Cruce; born Juan de Yepes y Álvarez; 24 June 1542 – 14 December 1591) was a Spanish Catholic priest, mystic, and a Carmelite friar of converso origin. He is a major fi ...
.
Modern appraisal
In recent decades, interest has increased again in the ''Corpus Areopagiticum'', for three main reasons: because of a recovery of the huge impact of Dionysian thought in later Christian thought, because of an increasing repudiation of older criticisms that Dionysius's thought represented a fundamentally
Neoplatonic
Neoplatonism is a strand of Platonic philosophy that emerged in the 3rd century AD against the background of Hellenistic philosophy and religion. The term does not encapsulate a set of ideas as much as a chain of thinkers. But there are some ide ...
approach to theology, and finally because of interest in parallels between aspects of modern
linguistic theory
Theoretical linguistics is a term in linguistics which, like the related term general linguistics, can be understood in different ways. Both can be taken as a reference to theory of language, or the branch of linguistics which inquires into the n ...
and Dionysius's reflections on language and
negative theology
Apophatic theology, also known as negative theology, is a form of theological thinking and religious practice which attempts to approach God, the Divine, by negation, to speak only in terms of what may not be said about the perfect goodness th ...
.
Andrew Louth offers the following modern appraisal of the Areopagite;
See also
*
Philosophy of happiness
The philosophy of happiness is the philosophical concern with the existence, nature, and attainment of happiness. Some philosophers believe happiness can be understood as the moral goal of life or as an aspect of chance; indeed, in most European ...
*
Pseudepigrapha
Pseudepigrapha (also anglicized as "pseudepigraph" or "pseudepigraphs") are falsely attributed works, texts whose claimed author is not the true author, or a work whose real author attributed it to a figure of the past.Bauckham, Richard; "Pseu ...
*
St. Dionysus Institute in Paris
St. Dionysius Theological Institute (St. Denys Theological Institute) is an Orthodox Christian theological institute in Paris, France. The institute functions under the auspices of the Orthodox Church of France, which is independent of the autocep ...
*
Theoria
Christian mysticism is the tradition of mystical practices and mystical theology within Christianity which "concerns the preparation f the personfor, the consciousness of, and the effect of ..a direct and transformative presence of God" ...
*
Rudolf Steiner
Rudolf Joseph Lorenz Steiner (27 or 25 February 1861 – 30 March 1925) was an Austrian occultist, social reformer, architect, esotericist, and claimed clairvoyant. Steiner gained initial recognition at the end of the nineteenth century as a ...
Notes
References
Sources
*
*
*
Elena Ene D.-Vasilescu, “Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite and Byzantine Art”, ''Journal of Early Christian History'', Taylor & Francis, Volume 11, Issue 2, 2021, pp. 50-75; DOI: 10.1080/2222582X.2020.1743955
* Elena Ene D-Vasilescu, “If you wish to contemplate God’: Pseudo-Dionysius on the notion of will”, Studia Patristica, vol. C (100), 2020: 247-257
Further reading
Greek editions
* Migne, ''Patrologiae Cursus Completus, Series Graeca ''III, (Paris, 1857)
reek text* Beate Regina Suchla (ed.), ''Corpus Dionysiacum'', 2 vols (Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 1990–1)
he modern critical edition* ''La Hiérarchie Céleste'', ed. Roques R, Heil G and Gandillac M, Sources Chrétiennes 58 (Paris: Les Éditions de Cerf, 1958)
ritical edition of the Celestial Hierarchy with French translation* Pseudo-Dionysius Areopagita, ''De Coelesti Hierarchia'', London, 2012. limovia.net,
Modern translations
* ''Pseudo-Dionysius: The Complete Works'', trans. Colm Luibheid (New York: Paulist Press, 1987)
he only complete modern English translation (and the only modern English translation of ''The Celestial Hierarchy''), based almost entirely on the text in Migne* ''Dionysius the Pseudo-Areopagite: The Ecclesiastical Hierarchy'', trans. Thomas L. Campbell, (Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 1981)
* Hathaway, Ronald F, ''Hierarchy and the definition of order in the letters of Pseudo-Dionysius. A study in the form and meaning of the Pseudo-Dionysian writings'', (The Hague, Nijhoff, 1969),
ncludes a translation of the Letters on pp130–160* Jones, John D, ''The Divine Names and Mystical Theology'', (Milwaukee, 1980)
* Rolt, CE, ''The Divine Names and the Mystical Theology'', (London: SPCK, 1920)
eprinted as'' ''Clarence Edwin Rolt, ''Dionysius the Areopagite on the Divine Names and the Mystical Theology'', 2004, IBIS PRESS, ''The Works of Dionysius the Areopagite'', trans. Rev. John Parker (James Parker and Co., 1897) Internet Archive
Secondary sources
* Bucur, Bogdan, ed., (Collegeville, MN: Cistercian Publications, 2014), a revised edition of ''Et Introibo Ad Altare Dei: The Mystagogy of Dionysius Areopagita, with Special Reference to Its Predecessors in the Eastern Christian Tradition'' (Thessalonika: Patriarchikon Idruma Paterikôn Meletôn, 1994)
*
Coakley, Sarah and Charles M Stang, eds., ''Re-Thinking Dionysius the Areopagite'', (Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 2008)
lso published as ''Modern Theology'' 24:4, (2008)*
Frend, W. H. C.
William Hugh Clifford Frend (11 January 1916 – 1 August 2005) was an English ecclesiastical historian, archaeologist, and Anglican priest.
Academic career
* Haileybury College (scholar)
* Keble College, Oxford (scholar, BA first class in ...
, ''The Rise of the Monophysite Movement'' (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1972).
* Golitzin, Alexander, ''Mystagogy: A Monastic Reading of Dionysius Areopagita''. Cistercian Studies 250.
* Griffith, R., "Neo-Platonism and Christianity: Pseudo-Dionysius and Damascius", in E. A. Livingstone, ed., ''Studia patristica XXIX. Papers presented at the Twelfth International Conference on Patristic Studies held in Oxford 1995'' (Leuven: Peeters, 1997), pp. 238–243
* Hathaway, Ronald F., ''Hierarchy and the definition of order in the letters of Pseudo-Dionysius: A study in the form and meaning of the Pseudo-Dionysian writings'' (The Hague, Nijhoff, 1969)
* Ivanovic, Filip, ''Symbol and Icon: Dionysius the Areopagite and the Iconoclastic Crisis'' (Eugene: Pickwick, 2010).
*
LeClercq, Jean, 'Influence and noninfluence of Dionysius in the Western Middle Ages', in ''Pseudo-Dionysius: The Complete Works'', trans. Colm Luibheid (New York: Paulist Press, 1987), pp. 25–33
* Louth, Andrew, ''Dionysius the Areopagite'' (London: Geoffrey Chapman, 1989). Reissued by Continuum Press (London & New York) 2001 under the title ''Denys the Areopagite''.
* Perl, Eric D., ''Theophany: The Neoplatonic Philosophy of Dionysius the Areopagite'' (Albany: SUNY Press, 2007). .
* Rorem, Paul, ''Pseudo-Dionysius: A commentary on the texts and an introduction to their influence'' (New York: Oxford University Press, 1993)
* Rorem, Paul, and John C Lamoreaux, ''John of Scythopolis and the Dionysian Corpus: Annotating the Areopagite'' (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1998)
*
Scouteris, Constantine''Platonic Elements in Pseudo-Dionysius Anti-Manichaean Ontology'', Ἐπιστημονική Ἐπετηρίς τῆς Θεολογικῆς Σχολῆς τοῦ Πανεπιστημίου Ἀθηνῶν, Τόμος ΚΘ΄, Πανεπιστήμιον Ἀθηνῶν, Ἀθῆναι 1994, pp. 193-201* Scouteris, Constantine, ''"Malum privatio est": St. Gregory of Nyssa and Psedo-Dionysius on the Existence of Evil (Some further Comments)'', paper presented at the Ninth International Conference on Patristic Studies held in Oxford 1983, Studia Patristica, 18 (1990), pp. 539–550
* Stock, Wiebke-Marie, ''Theurgisches Denken. Zur "Kirchlichen Hierarchie" des Dionysius Areopagita'' (Berlin: de Gruyter, 2008) (''Transformationen der Antike'', 4)
* Elena Ene D-Vasilescu, "‘If you wish to contemplate God’: Pseudo-Dionysius on the notion of will", Studia Patristica, vol. C (100), 2020: 247–257
External links
*
*
*
*
in the ''
Catholic Encyclopedia
The ''Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church'' (also referred to as the ''Old Catholic Encyclopedia'' and the ''Original Catholic Encyclopedia'') i ...
''
Commentary by Clarence Rolt(1920) on pseudo-Dionysius's works (available in
PDF
Portable Document Format (PDF), standardized as ISO 32000, is a file format developed by Adobe in 1992 to present documents, including text formatting and images, in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems. ...
,
html
The HyperText Markup Language or HTML is the standard markup language for documents designed to be displayed in a web browser. It can be assisted by technologies such as Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) and scripting languages such as JavaScri ...
, and plain text formats) accessed September 1, 2006
Works about Dionysius the Pseudo-AreopagiteChristian Classics Ethereal Library
The Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) is a digital library that provides free electronic copies of Christian scripture and literature texts.
Description
CCEL is a volunteer-based project founded and directed by Harry Plantinga, a pr ...
The Identity of Dionysius Areopagite. A Philosophical Approach.Logos 1–2007.
Pope Benedict XVI on Pseudo-Dionysius the AreopagiteMay 14, 2008, Zenit.org
Three essays from the
Eastern Orthodox
Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism.
Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or "canonical") ...
website Pravoslavie
*
;External links to bibliography
*
''Mystical Theology''(''Theologica Mystica'') accessed September 1, 2006
(''Corpus Areopagiticum'') of pseudo-Dionysius including ''The Divine Names'', ''Mystical Theology'', ''Celestial Hierarchy'', ''Ecclesiastical Hierarchy'', and Letters (available in PDF, HTML, and text formats) accessed September 1, 2006
Christian Classics Ethereal Library
The Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) is a digital library that provides free electronic copies of Christian scripture and literature texts.
Description
CCEL is a volunteer-based project founded and directed by Harry Plantinga, a pr ...
''De caelesti hierarchia''14th century Greek manuscript found at
Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
, page images a
Oxford Digital Libraryfrom
Magdalen College, Oxford
Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the s ...
* ''Theologia vivificans, cibus solidus''; ''Dionysii Opera omnia'' (
eprod. / ''translatio per Ambrosium Traversarium''; ''Jacobus Faber Stapulensis edidit'' – ''per Johannem Higmanum et Wolfgangum Hopylium'' (Parisius), 1498. http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k543103.r=.langEN accessed September 7, 2010.
* ''S. Dionysii Areopagitae martyris inclyti, athenarum episcopi, et galliarum apostoli opera'' (
eprod. / ''translatio nova Ambrosii Florentini,...'' – A. Wechelum (Paris), 1555. http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k52472f.r=.langEN accessed September 7, 2010.
* ''S. Dionysii Areopagitae Opera omnia, Georgii Pachymerae paraphrasi continenter illustrata / opera et studio Balthasaris Corderii,...''; ''
Patrologiae Graecae
The ''Patrologia Graeca'' (or ''Patrologiae Cursus Completus, Series Graeca'') is an Collection (publishing), edited collection of writings by the Christianity, Christian Church Fathers and various secular writers, in the Greek language. It consi ...
, Latine Tantum Editae'', Tomus II.
J. P. Migne
Jacques Paul Migne (; 25 October 1800 – 24 October 1875) was a French priest who published inexpensive and widely distributed editions of theological works, encyclopedias, and the texts of the Church Fathers, with the goal of providing a u ...
(Petit-Montrouge), 1856. http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k411615d.r=.langEN accessed September 7, 2010.
{{Authority control
5th-century Byzantine people
5th-century Christian mystics
5th-century Christian theologians
5th-century philosophers
6th-century Byzantine people
6th-century Christian mystics
6th-century Christian theologians
6th-century philosophers
Catholic philosophers
Christian Greek pseudepigrapha
Christianity and Hellenistic philosophy
Hesychasts
History of Christianity
Mystics
Neoplatonists
Philosophers of religion
Roman Catholic mystics
Unidentified people