Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite

Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, also known as pseudo-Denys, is the name scholars have given to an anonymous theologian and philosopher of the fifth or sixth century, who wrote a collection of books, the Corpus Areopagiticum, under the pseudonym Dionysius the Areopagite, a convert of St. Paul from Athens. However, through the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, this pseudonym was so convincing that it carried an almost apostolic authority on Church doctrines. Out of the works of Pseudo-Dionysius the Aeropagite, four treatises and ten letters currently survive including the Divine Names, Celestial Hierarchy, Mystical Theology, Ecclesiastical Hierarchy, and various others. His thought characterizes the affinity, and perhaps tension, between Neoplatonism and Christianity; nonetheless he is significant of his philosophical approach to issues of theology and church doctrine.

Philosophy

His works are mystical and are characterized by the Neoplatonic tendencies that were developed by the Platonic Academy in Athens. For example he uses Plotinus' well known analogy of a sculptor cutting away that which does not enhance the desired image. He shows familiarity with Proclus, which indicates he wrote no earlier than the 5th century, as well as Neoplatonic ideas that were developed by Saint Clement of Alexandria, the Cappadocian Fathers, Origen, and others.

He incorporates Christian theology within this Neoplatonic context, which, despite certain tensions that it creates, was a significant mode of philosophy that sought to reconcile pagan and Christian ideas. Signature Neo-Platonic ideas that characterize his works include the idea of God as the Good, or the One of Neoplatonism, and the hierarchy of the "divine procession" that emanates from the origin, God.

In the Divine Names, he further elucidates that the One, God, is unknowable, except through the names, or symbols, that depict God in the scriptures; that the only way to approach the God that is beyond human understanding is by the contemplation of these symbols. He then discusses the philosophy of these symbolic terms that appear in the scripture, such as God, life, beautiful, love, ecstasy, and zeal, and goes on to address ideas such as life, wisdom, truth, power, Holy of Holies, King of King, and Lord of Lords among others.

Another application of Neoplatonic principles to Christian theology appears in his exposition on the celestial hierarchies. He explains that these symbols are not meant to be taken at face value, for the value of the symbols is two-fold: that they enable man, who cannot contemplate the divine being itself, to contemplate the divine origin through the symbols; in addition, these symbols are also in place to prevent the divine truth from being exposed to those whom it would be inappropriate for. Thus, the existence of hierarchies reveal the idea of ordered realms of existence based on the beings' ability to contemplate God - which he first catagorizes in the hierarchy of the angels in his work on the Celestial Hierarchy, and futher of church authorities in the Ecclesiastical Hierarchy.

Aside from his treatises, the remaining epistles cover various topics ranging from the functions of theology and negative theology, Jesus, and the Good.

Dionysius the Areopagite

Dionysius the Areopagite (Greek Διονύσιος ὁ Ἀρεοπαγίτης) was the judge of the Areopagus who, as related in Acts of the Apostles, (Acts 17:34), was converted to Christianity by the preaching of Paul. According to Dionysius of Corinth, quoted by Eusebius, Historia Ecclesiae III: iv, this Dionysius then became a bishop of Athens.

Centuries later, a series of famous writings of a mystical nature, employing Neoplatonic language to elucidate Christian theological and mystical ideas, was misleadingly ascribed to the Areopagite. They have long been known to be 5th century works in his name (pseudepigrapha) and are now attributed to "Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite".

Dionysius was also popularly mis-identified with the martyr of Gaul, Dionysius, the first Bishop of Paris, Saint Denis.

Identity of Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite

The Florentine humanist Lorenzo Valla (died 1457), in his commentaries on the New Testament, 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. The fictitious literary persona had long been accepted on face value by all its readers, with a couple of exceptions, such as Nicholas of Cusa. John Grocyn pursued Valla's lines of criticism, and Valla's critical viewpoint of the authorship of the highly influential Corpus was accepted and publicized by Erasmus from 1504 onward.

Reference

Dionysius the Areopagite, The Mystical Theology and The Divine Names Dover Publications, 2004
--------, Pseudo-Dionysius of Tel-Mahre: Chronicle, Part III Liverpool University Press, 1997
Harrington, Michael L. A Thirteenth-Century Textbook of Mystical Theology at the University of Paris: The Mystical Theology of Dionysius the Areopagite in Eriugena's Latin Translation Peeters, 2004. ISBN 9042913940
O'Rourke, F. Pseudo-Dionysius And the Metaphysics of Aquinas, University of Notre Dame Press; New Ed edition, 2005. ISBN 0268037248
Rorem, P. Pseudo Dionysius: The Complete Works, Paulist Press, 1987. ISBN 0809128381
Rorem, P. Pseudo-Dionysius: A Commentary on the Texts and an Introduction to their Influence, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993.

External links

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite
Pseudo-Dionysius, Catholic Encyclopedia
Commentary by Clarence Rolt (from 1920) on pseudo-Dionysius's works (available in.pdf, HTML, and.txt format)
Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy

Works available online

Celestial Hierarchy (HTML)
Mystical Theology (Theologica Mystica) (HTML)
Works (Corpus Areopagiticum) of pseudo-Dionysius including The Divine Names, Mystical Theology, Celestial Hierarchy, Ecclesiatial Hierarchy, and Letters (available in.pdf, HTML, and.txt format)

General Philosophy Sources

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