Mystical theologian, writing under the name of Paul’s Athenian convert · c. 500

Dionysius the Areopagite

An unknown Syrian monk of about 500 who wrote as the Dionysius converted by Paul at Athens. He joined Neoplatonism to Christian prayer, and East and West both took his works for an apostle’s disciple.

Writings

1. Mystical theology · 2 parts

   The Divine Names and The Mystical Theology

   The two works that shaped Eastern and Western mysticism (c. 500): the names by which God is praised, and the ascent through unknowing to the darkness above all light.

   143 min read · translated by John Parker

2. Mystical theology

   The Celestial Hierarchy

   Dionysius's account of the nine orders of angels, and how the divine light passes down through them to the church below.

   64 min read · translated by John Parker

3. Mystical theology

   The Ecclesiastical Hierarchy

   Dionysius on the church's own order: baptism, the Eucharist, chrism, the orders of the clergy, the consecration of monks and the burial of the dead.

   93 min read · translated by John Parker

Portrait: drawn in the site’s engraved style from “Emmanuel Tzanes - Dionysius the Areopagite - NG.M.01774 - National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design” (Emmanuel Tzanes), public domain, Wikimedia Commons.

All the Fathers