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Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite

c. 470* – c. 530

* Date marked with an asterisk is a placeholder estimate (lifespan heuristic), not a sourced claim. Hover for the derivation.

theologianmonk

Anonymous late 5th/early 6th-century Syrian Christian Neoplatonist who wrote under the pseudonym of Dionysius the Areopagite (Acts 17:34). Author of the Corpus Areopagiticum: Divine Names, Mystical Theology, Celestial Hierarchy, Ecclesiastical Hierarchy, and Letters. Hugely influential on later mystical and scholastic theology. NOT Paul's Athenian convert; identity disputed.

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Works

  • The Complete Worksc. 500

    Mystical Theology, Divine Names, Celestial and Ecclesiastical Hierarchies — the most influential mystical corpus in Christian history.

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Sources for biography

  • Pseudo-Dionysius, De Divinis Nominibus primary
  • Pseudo-Dionysius, De Mystica Theologia primary
  • ODCC s.v. Dionysius (5) secondary

documented connections(2)

  • cited (incoming) Maximus the Confessor
    Maximus wrote scholia on the Dionysian corpus (transmitted with John of Scythopolis' scholia) and integrated Dionysian theology into his own.
    Maximus, Ambigua ad Iohannem · Scholia in Corpus Areopagiticum
  • cited (incoming) John of Damascus
    John quotes Pseudo-Dionysius extensively in De Fide Orthodoxa, especially in discussions of the divine names and apophatic theology.
    John of Damascus, De Fide Orthodoxa 1.4, 1.12

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