Skip to main content

Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite

  • Reference work entry
Encyclopedia of Medieval Philosophy
  • 180 Accesses

Abstract

Pseudo-Dionysius (active c. 500 CE) is a Greek-writing Christian theologian whose identity remains an unsolved mystery. Under the pseudonym of Dionysius the Areopagite, St. Paul’s Athenian convert (Acts 17:34), he composed four treatises (The Celestial Hierarchy, The Ecclesiastical Hierarchy, The Divine Names, and The Mystical Theology) and ten epistles. He may have authored additional treatises, referenced in his extant works, but no traces of these survive, with the possible exception of The Symbolic Theology (Mali 2002). Taken together, Dionysius’ extant writings present a coherent theological system, deeply indebted to Athenian Neoplatonism, in particular to the philosophy of Proclus (Perl 2007; Klitenic Wear and Dillon 2007).

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Institutional subscriptions

Bibliography

Primary Sources

  • Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite (1857) Patrologiae cursus completus, Series graeca, vol 3, ed. Migne J-P. Paris

    Google Scholar 

  • Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite (1987) The complete works (trans: Luibheid C). Paulist Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite (1990–1991) Corpus Dionysiacum, 2 vols (Patristische Texte und Studien, vols 33 and 36), ed. Suchla BR, Heil G, Ritter AM. Walter de Gruyter, Berlin/New York

    Google Scholar 

Secondary Sources

  • Monographs

    Google Scholar 

  • Adamson P (2002) Arabic Plotinus: a philosophical study of the “Theology of Aristotle.” Duckworth, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Beulay R (1987) La lumière sans forme: introduction à l’étude de la mystique chrétienne syro-orientale. Éditions de Chevetogne, Chevetogne, Belgium

    Google Scholar 

  • D’Ancona Costa C (1995) Recherches sur le “Liber de causis.” Vrin, Paris

    Google Scholar 

  • Golitzin A (1994) Et introibo ad altare Dei: the mystagogy of Dionysius Areopagita, with special reference to its predecessors in the eastern Christian tradition. Patriarchikon Idruma Paterikōn Meletōn, Thessaloniki

    Google Scholar 

  • Harrington LM (2004) A thirteenth-century textbook of mystical theology at the University of Paris: the “Mystical theology” of Dionysius the Areopagite in Eriugena’s Latin translation with the scholia translated by Anastasius the Librarian and excerpts from Eriugena’s “Periphyseon.” Peeters, Paris/Leuven/Dudley

    Google Scholar 

  • Klitenic Wear S, Dillon J (2007) Dionysius the Areopagite and the Neoplatonist tradition: Despoiling the Hellenes. Ashgate, Aldershot/Burlington

    Google Scholar 

  • Louth A (1989) Denys the Areopagite. Morehouse, Wilton

    Google Scholar 

  • Perl E (2007) Theophany: the neoplatonic philosophy of Dionysius the Areopagite. State University of New York Press, Albany

    Google Scholar 

  • Rorem P (1984) Biblical and liturgical symbols within the pseudo-Dionysian synthesis. Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, Toronto

    Google Scholar 

  • Rorem P (1993) Pseudo-Dionysius: a commentary on the texts and an introduction to their influence. Oxford University Press, New York/Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Rorem P, Lamoreaux JC (1998) John of Scythopolis and the Dionysian Corpus: annotating the Areopagite. Clarendon, New York/Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Strothmann W (1977–1978) Das Sakrament der Myron-Weihe in der Schrift “De ecclesiastica hierarchia” des Pseudo-Dionysios Areopagita in syrischen Übersetzungen und Kommentaren, 2 vols. Wiesbaden

    Google Scholar 

  • Suchla BR (2008) Dionysius Areopagita: Leben – Werk – Wirkung. Herder, Freiburg

    Google Scholar 

  • Collections

    Google Scholar 

  • Boiadjiev T, Kapriev G, Speer A (eds) (2000) Die Dionysius-Rezeption im Mittelalter: Internationales Kolloquium in Sofia vom 8. bis 11. April 1999 unter der Schirmherrschaft der Société Internationale pour l’Étude de la Philosophie Médiévale. Brepols, Turnhout

    Google Scholar 

  • Coakley S, Stang CM (eds) (2008) Re-Thinking Dionysius the Areopagite. Special Issue of Modern Theology 24.4

    Google Scholar 

  • de Andia Y (ed) (1997) Denys l’Aréopagite et sa postérité en Orient et en Occident: Actes du Colloque International, Paris, 21–24 septembre 1994. Institut d’études augustiniennes, Paris

    Google Scholar 

  • Lilla S (1994) Denys l’Aréopagite (Pseudo-). In: Goulet R (ed) Dictionnaire des philosophes antiques, vol 2. CNRS, Paris, pp 727–742

    Google Scholar 

  • Mali F (2002) Hat es die Schrift De symbolica theologia von Dionysius Ps.-Areopagita gegeben? Anmerkungen zu den Nachrichten des Sergius von Reš‘aina über Dionysius Ps.-Areopagita. In: Tamcke M (ed) Syriaca: Zur Geschichte, Theologie, Liturgie und Gegenwartslage der syrischen Kirchen, 2. Deutsches Syrologen-Symposium (Juli 2000, Wittenberg). Lit, Münster, pp 213–224

    Google Scholar 

  • Perczel I (2000) Sergius of Reshaina’s Syriac translation of the Dionysian Corpus: some preliminary remarks. In: Baffioni C (ed) La diffusione dell’eredità classica nell’età tardo-antica e medievale. Filologia, storia, dottrina. Atti del Seminario nazionale di studio (Napoli-Sorrento, 29–31 ottobre 1998). Edizioni dell’Orso, Alessandria, pp 79–94

    Google Scholar 

  • Perczel I (2001) Pseudo-Dionysius and Palestinian Origenism. In: Patrich J (ed) The Sabaite Heritage in the Orthodox church from the fifth century to the present. Peeters, Leuven, pp 261–282

    Google Scholar 

  • Journal Articles

    Google Scholar 

  • Golitzin A (2003) Dionysius Areopagites: a Christian mysticism? Pro Ecclesia 12.2:1–52

    Google Scholar 

  • Perczel I (1999) Une théologie de la lumière: Denys l’Aréopagite et Évagre le Pontique. Revue des études augustiniennes 45.1:79–120

    Google Scholar 

  • Treiger A (2005) New evidence on the Arabic versions of the Corpus Dionysiacum. Le Muséon 118:219–240

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2011 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.

About this entry

Cite this entry

Treiger, A. (2011). Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite. In: Lagerlund, H. (eds) Encyclopedia of Medieval Philosophy. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-9729-4_423

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-9729-4_423

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4020-9728-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4020-9729-4

  • eBook Packages: Humanities, Social Sciences and Law

Publish with us

Policies and ethics