DIONYSIUS AREOPAGITICUS (or "The Areopagite"), named in Acts xvii. 34 as one of those Athenians who believed when they had heard Paul preach on Mars Hill. Beyond this men tion our only knowledge of him is the statement of Dionysius, bishop of Corinth (fl. 171), recorded by Eusebius (Church Hist. iii. 4; iv. 23), that this same Dionysius the Areopagite was the first "bishop" of Athens. Some hundreds of years afterwards his name was attached to a number of anonymous theological writings of unknown origin. These were destined to exert enor mous influence on mediaeval thought, and their form led to a great development of the personal legend of the original Dionysius (see for example, "The Life and Passion of the Most Holy Dion ysius," by Hildwin, abbot of St. Denys, printed in Migne, Pat rologia Latina, vol. 106) .
alike unknown. External evidence precludes a date later than too; the internal evidence from the writings themselves precludes any date prior to 4th-century phases of Neo-platonism, while the first certain dated reference to them is at the Council of Constantinople in 533. The extant writings of the Pseudo-Areopagite are : (a) IIEpt
ovpavias lepapxias, Concerning the Celestial Hierarchy, in 15 chapters ; (b) IlEpl riffs EKKXflotaaY6Kc'7s iepapxlac, Concerning the Ecclesiastical Hierarchy, in 7 chapters; (c) f epi Oelwv ovoµa Twv, Concerning Divine Names, in 13 chapters; (d) IIEpi Mv aT6KiJS OeoXo•yias, Concerning Mystic Theology, in five chapters; (e) ten letters addressed to various worthies of the apostolic period. They are all of great interest, first as a striking presenta tion of the heterogeneous elements that might unite in the mind of a gifted man in the 5th century, and secondly, because of their enormous influence upon subsequent Christian theology and art. Their ingredients—Christian, Greek, Oriental and Jewish—are united into an organic system, not crudely mingled. Perhaps theo logical philosophic fantasy has never constructed anything more remarkable. The system of Dionysius was a proper product of its time—lofty, and apparently complete.
its last great philosophical creation, Neo-platonism, since the general principle of the transmission of life from the ultimate Source downward through orders of mediating beings unto men might readily be adapted to the Christian God and his ministering angels. Pseudo-Dionysius had lofty thoughts of the sublime tran scendence of the ultimate divine Source. That Source was not re mote or inert ; but a veritable Source from which life streamed to all lower orders of existence,—in part directly, and in part indi rectly as power and guidance through the higher orders to the lower. Life, creation, every good gift, is from God directly; but his flaming ministers also intervene to guide and aid the life of man; and the life which through love floods forth from God has its counterflow whereby it draws its own creations to itself. God is at once absolutely transcendent and universally immanent. To live is to be united with God; evil is the non-existent, that is, sever ance from God.
the Triune God. Between that and men are ranged the three triads of the celestial hierarchy: Seraphim, Cherubim and Thrones; Dominations, Virtues, Powers; Principalities, Archangels, Angels. Collectively their general office is to raise mankind to God through purification, illumination and perfection; and to all may be applied the term angel. The highest triad, which is, nearest God, contem plates the divine effulgence, and reflects it onward to the second; the third, and more specifically angelic triad, immediately minis ters to men. The sources of these names are evident : seraphim and cherubim are from the Old Testament ; later Jewish writings gave names to archangels and angels, who also fill important func tions in the New Testament. The other names are from Paul (Eph. i. 21 ; Col. i. 16) .
The Celestial Hierarchy. That work is followed by The Ecclesi astical Hierarchy, its counterpart on earth. What the primal Tri une Godhead is to the former, Jesus is to the latter. The ecclesi astical hierarchy likewise is composed of triads. The first includes the symbolic sacraments : Baptism, Communion, Consecration of the Holy Chrism. Baptism signifies purification ; Communion sig nifies enlightening; the Holy Chrism signifies perfecting. The sec ond is made up of the three orders of Bishops, Presbyters and Deacons, or rather, as the Areopagite names them : Hierarchs, Light-bearers, Servitors. The third triad consists of monks, who are in a state of perfection, the initiated laity, who are in a state of illumination, and the catechumens, in a state of purification. All worship, in this treatise, is a celebration of mysteries, and the pagan mysteries are continually suggested.
is a noble discussion of the quali ties which may be predicated of God, according to the warrant of the terms applied to him in Scripture. Concerning Mystic Theology explains the function of symbols, and shows that he who would know God truly must rise above them.
thought in the West from the time of their translation into Latin by Erigena (q.v.). Their use may be followed through the writings of scholastic philosophers, e.g., Peter Lombard, Albertus Magnus, Thomas Aquinas and many others. The fifteenth chapter of The Celestial Hierarchy constituted the canon of symbolical angelic lore for the literature and art of the middle ages.
is an enormous literature on PseudoBibliography.-There is an enormous literature on Pseudo- Dionysius. The reader may be first referred to the articles in Smith's Dictionary of Christian Biography and Herzog-Hauck Realencyklo pddie fur protestantische Theologie. The bibliography in the latter is very full. Some other references, especially upon the later influence of these works, are given in H. O. Taylor's Classical Heritage of the Middle Ages (19o3) . The works themselves are in Migne's Patrologia Graeca, tomes 3 and 4, with a Latin version. Erigena's version is in Migne, Patrol. Lat. t. 122.
