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Dionysius the Areopagite (Greek
Greek language

Greek is an Indo-European languages native to the southern Balkan peninsula, the language of the Greek people. It forms an independent branch within Indo-European....
 ) was the judge
Judge

A judge, or arbiter of justice, is a lead official who presides over a court of law,which is operated by the local, state, and/or federal government....
 of the Areopagus
Areopagus

The Areopagus or Areios Pagos is the 'Hill of Ares', north-west of the Acropolis, Athens, which in classical times functioned as the high Court of Appeal for criminal and civil cases in Athens....
 who, as related in the Acts of the Apostles
Acts of the Apostles

The Acts of the Apostles is a book of the Bible, which now stands fifth in the New Testament. It is commonly referred to as simply Acts. The title "Acts of the Apostles" was first used by Irenaeus in the late second century, but some have suggested that the title "Acts" be interpreted as "the Acts of the Holy Spirit" or even "the Acts...
, , was converted to Christianity
Christianity

Christianity is a Monotheistic religion #Christian view religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus as New Testament view on Jesus' life....
 by the preaching of the Apostle Paul
Paul of Tarsus

Saint Paul, also called Paul the Apostle, the Apostle Paul or Paul of Tarsus , was a Hellenistic Judaism, who called himself the "Apostle to the Gentiles", and was, together with Saint Peter and James the Just, the most notable of early Christian missionaries....
. According to Dionysius of Corinth, quoted by Eusebius
Eusebius of Caesarea

Eusebius of Caesarea became the bishop of Caesarea Maritima c 314. He is often referred to as the Father of Church History because of his work in recording the history of the early Christianity church, especially Chronicon and Church_History_....
, this Dionysius then became a bishop of Athens
List of Archbishops of Athens

This is a list of Bishops, Metropolitans, and Archbishops of Athens....
.

he early 6th century, a series of famous writings of a mystical nature, employing Neoplatonic language to elucidate Christian theological and mystical ideas, was ascribed to the Areopagite.






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Dionysius the Areopagite (Greek
Greek language

Greek is an Indo-European languages native to the southern Balkan peninsula, the language of the Greek people. It forms an independent branch within Indo-European....
 ) was the judge
Judge

A judge, or arbiter of justice, is a lead official who presides over a court of law,which is operated by the local, state, and/or federal government....
 of the Areopagus
Areopagus

The Areopagus or Areios Pagos is the 'Hill of Ares', north-west of the Acropolis, Athens, which in classical times functioned as the high Court of Appeal for criminal and civil cases in Athens....
 who, as related in the Acts of the Apostles
Acts of the Apostles

The Acts of the Apostles is a book of the Bible, which now stands fifth in the New Testament. It is commonly referred to as simply Acts. The title "Acts of the Apostles" was first used by Irenaeus in the late second century, but some have suggested that the title "Acts" be interpreted as "the Acts of the Holy Spirit" or even "the Acts...
, , was converted to Christianity
Christianity

Christianity is a Monotheistic religion #Christian view religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus as New Testament view on Jesus' life....
 by the preaching of the Apostle Paul
Paul of Tarsus

Saint Paul, also called Paul the Apostle, the Apostle Paul or Paul of Tarsus , was a Hellenistic Judaism, who called himself the "Apostle to the Gentiles", and was, together with Saint Peter and James the Just, the most notable of early Christian missionaries....
. According to Dionysius of Corinth, quoted by Eusebius
Eusebius of Caesarea

Eusebius of Caesarea became the bishop of Caesarea Maritima c 314. He is often referred to as the Father of Church History because of his work in recording the history of the early Christianity church, especially Chronicon and Church_History_....
, this Dionysius then became a bishop of Athens
List of Archbishops of Athens

This is a list of Bishops, Metropolitans, and Archbishops of Athens....
.

Historic Confusions

In the early 6th century, a series of famous 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 and are now attributed to "Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite
Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite

Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, also known as Pseudo-Denys, is the anonymous theologian and philosopher of the late 5th century to early 6th century whose Corpus Areopagiticum was pseudepigraphy ascribed to Dionysius the Areopagite, the Athenian convert of Paul of Tarsus mentioned in ....
".

Dionysius was also popularly mis-identified with the martyr of Gaul
Gaul

Gaul is the name used for the region of Western Europe comprising part of present day northern Italy, France, Belgium, western Switzerland and the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the west bank of the River Rhine....
, Dionysius, the first Bishop of Paris, Saint Denis
Denis

Saint Denis is a Christian martyrs and saint. In the third century, he was Bishop of Paris. He was martyred in approximately A.D. 250, and is venerated in the Roman Catholic Church as patron of Paris, France and as one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers....
.

In the Eastern Orthodox Church
Eastern Orthodox Church

The Eastern Orthodox Church is the second largest single Christian communion in the world with an estimated 225 million members worldwide. It is considered by its adherents to be the Four Marks of the Church established by Jesus Christ and his Apostles nearly 2000 years ago....
, Dionysius the Areopagite and Saint Denis of Paris are celebrated as one commemoration on October 3 (for those Orthodox Christians who follow the Julian Calendar
Julian calendar

The Julian calendar, a reform of the Roman calendar, was introduced by Julius Caesar in 46 BC, and came into force in 45 BC . It was chosen after consultation with the astronomer Sosigenes of Alexandria and was probably designed to approximate the tropical year, known at least since Hipparchus....
, this currently falls on October 16 of the Gregorian Calendar
Gregorian calendar

The Gregorian calendar is the internationally accepted civil calendar. It was first proposed by the Calabrian doctor Aloysius Lilius, and decreed by Pope Gregory XIII, after whom it was named, on 24 February 1582 by the papal bull Inter gravissimas....
).

Astronomical Fresco

On pages 190,191 of Owen Gingerich's monograph on Copernicus The Book Nobody Read, reference is made to an astronomical fresco in the main gallery of the Escorial Library, near Madrid, Spain, which shows Dionysius the Areopagite observing an eclipse at the time of Christ's crucifixion. In a footnote Gingerich mentions that an eclipse (of the sun by the moon) couldn't have happened at that time because Passover is a full moon event.

Popular Culture

Dionysius is referred to in the movie Hellboy
Hellboy

Hellboy is a fictional character, created by writer-artist Mike Mignola. He has appeared in a number of eponymous limited series and one-shot , as well as some intercompany crossover....
 as the saint who wards off demons.

Sources

  • Corrigan & Harrington: , Stanford Enyclopedia of Philosophy 2004


  • Owen Gingerich, The Book Nobody Read, Penguin Books, 2004, pp. 190-191

See also

  • Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite
    Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite

    Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, also known as Pseudo-Denys, is the anonymous theologian and philosopher of the late 5th century to early 6th century whose Corpus Areopagiticum was pseudepigraphy ascribed to Dionysius the Areopagite, the Athenian convert of Paul of Tarsus mentioned in ....
  • St. Dionysus Institute in Paris
    St. Dionysus Institute in Paris

    St. Denys Theological Institute, is an Eastern Orthodox Church theology institute in Paris, France....


External links

  • Orthodox icon
    Icon

    An 'icon' is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, from Eastern Christianity. More broadly the term is used in a wide number of contexts for an image, picture, or representation; it is a sign or likeness that stands for an object by signifying or representing it either concretely or by analogy, as in semiotics; by extension, ...
     and synaxarion
  • entry from the Prologue from Ochrid by Nikolaj Velimirovic