Philosophy: Biographies

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Saint Dionysius the Areopagite

The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. | 2011 | Copyright

Saint Dionysius the Areopagite , fl. 1st cent. AD, Athenian Christian, converted by St. Paul. Acts 17.34. Tradition has made him a martyr and the first bishop of Athens. He has been confused with St. Denis . During the Middle Ages he was revered as the author of certain philosophical writings erroneously attributed to him since the 6th cent. These are ten letters and four treatises ( The Celestial Hierarchy, The Ecclesiastical Hierarchy, The Divine Names, Mystical Theology ) written in Greek, possibly in Palestine, in the late 5th or early 6th cent. It is now customary to refer to their author as Pseudo-Dionysius. Their obscure style was no barrier to their study and repeated translation into Latin, notably by Erigena and Robert Grosseteste. They exerted a lasting influence on the development of scholasticism , particularly through St. Thomas Aquinas. The treatises provided a medium for transmission to Western culture of the concepts of Neoplatonism and of the theology of angels. Feast: Oct. 9.

Bibliography: See studies by D. Rutledge (1965) and R. F. Hathaway (1970).

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Dionysius

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church | 2000 | | Copyright

Dionysius (3) of Paris, St (c.250), also St Denys, patron saint of France. According to Gregory of Tours (6th cent.), he was sent to convert Gaul and, after becoming Bp. of Paris, was martyred. In 626 his remains were translated to St-Denis. In a 9th-cent. Life he was identified with Dionysius (1) the Areopagite and consequently believed to be the author of the Pseudo-Dionysian writings (6). Feast day, 9 Oct.

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E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "Dionysius." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "Dionysius." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O95-DionysiusofParisSt.html

E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "Dionysius." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O95-DionysiusofParisSt.html

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