Background
Pseudo-Denysius was born in 500 a. d. in Syria.
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book
Pseudo-Dionysius
(Here are the complete works of the enigmatic fifth- and s...)
Here are the complete works of the enigmatic fifth- and sixth-century writer known as the Pseudo Dionysius, prepared by a team of six research scholars.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0809128381/?tag=2022091-20
1988
Theologia Mystica
(Theologia Mystica: being the treatise of St. Dionysius, P...)
Theologia Mystica: being the treatise of St. Dionysius, Pseudo-Areopagite, on mystical theology, together with the first and fifth epistles.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1258159856/?tag=2022091-20
2011
The celestial hierarchy
(De Coelesti Hierarchia is a Pseudo-Dionysian work on ange...)
De Coelesti Hierarchia is a Pseudo-Dionysian work on angelology, written in Greek and dated to ca. the 5th century CE; it exerted great influence on scholasticism and treats at great length the hierarchies of angels. The work has also been very influential in the development of Orthodox Christian theology. Thomas Aquinas (Summa Theologica, I.108) follows the Hierarchia (6.7) in dividing the angels into three hierarchies each of which contains three orders, based on their proximity to God, corresponding to the nine orders of angels recognized by Pope St Gregory I. 1. Seraphim, Cherubim, and Thrones; 2. Dominations, Virtues, and Powers; 3. Principalities, Archangels, and Angels.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1489557172/?tag=2022091-20
2013
The Works of Dionysius the Areopagite
(By "Dionysius the Areopagite" is usually understood the j...)
By "Dionysius the Areopagite" is usually understood the judge of the Areopagus who, as related in Acts 17:34, was converted to Christianity by the preaching of St. Paul, and according to Dionysius of Corinth (Eusebius, Church History III.4) was Bishop of Athens. In the course of time, however, two errors of far-reaching import arose in connection with this name. In the first place, a series of famous writings of a rather peculiar nature was ascribed to the Areopagite and, secondly, he was popularly identified with the holy martyr of Gaul, Dionysius, the first Bishop of Paris. It is not our purpose to take up directly the latter point; we shall concern ourselves here (1) with the person of the Pseudo-Areopagite; (2) with the classification, contents, and characteristics of his writing; (3) with their history and transmission; under this head the question as to the genuineness of, origin, first acceptance, and gradual spread of these writings will be answered. Deep obscurity still hovers about the person of the Pseudo-Areopagite. External evidence as to the time and place of his birth, his education, and latter occupation is entirely wanting. Our only source of information regarding this problematic personage is the writings themselves. The clues furnished by the first appearance and by the character of the writings enable us to conclude that the author belongs at the very earliest to the latter half of the fifth century, and that, in all probability, he was a native of Syria. His thoughts, phrases, and expressions show a great familiarity with the works of the neo-Platonists, especially with Plotinus and Proclus. He is also thoroughly versed in the sacred books of the Old and New Testament, and in the works of the Fathers as far as Cyril of Alexandria. The works contained in this book are: The Mystical Theology, The Divine Names, The Celestial Hierarchy, The Ecclesiastical Hierarchy, and ten epistles. In these treatises Pseudo-Dionysius develops his apophatic or negative theology, which was to have an immense influence on Christian mysticism in the East and West. Also included is an index and a brief biography and discussion of the writer.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1483932427/?tag=2022091-20
2013
Pseudo Dionysius
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Dionysius the Areopagite was an Athenian converted to Christianity by St. Paul (Acts 17:34); according to Eusebius, he later became the first bishop of Athens. Around the beginning of the sixth century, probably in Syria, an unknown Christian writer produced a series of theological works in Greek. His thought is firmly grounded in the Bible and in Neoplatonic philosophy and shows particular affinities with the pagan Neoplatonist Proclus. In order to confer authority on his writings, the author published them under the name of the first-century Dionysius the Areopagite. Deceptions of that kind were not unusual in antiquity, but that of Pseudo-Dionysius was one of the most successful. The Dionysian writings consist of five works. In The Divine Names, Pseudo-Dionysius discusses the various names and attributes assigned to the unnameable God in the Bible--such as King of Kings, Ancient of Days, Good, Being, and One--and explains their appropriateness. In The Celestial Hierarchy, after an interesting discussion of the symbolic language used about angels in Scripture, he describes nine orders of heavenly intelligences (seraphim, cherubim, thrones, dominions, powers, authorities, principalities, archangels, and angels), each of which transmits the knowledge of God to the order next below it. In The Ecclesiastical Hierarchy, he describes the life of the Church: the ceremonies of baptism, Eucharistic liturgy, and anointing; the orders of bishop, priest, and deacon; the grades of catechumens (and penitents), ordinary Christians, and monks; and the funeral rites. Finally, in a collection of ten Letters, he reprises some of the themes in the treatises and makes a final effort to persuade the reader that he is a genuine first-century writer by claiming to have personally witnessed the solar eclipse that took place at the time of Christ's crucifixion. For a thousand years, the authenticity of the Dionysian writings was generally accepted--more, perhaps because of the attractiveness of their doctrine to Christian theologians than because of the author's skill as a forger. They were first quoted by Severus of Antioch, a Monophysite, in the first half of the sixth century. Indeed, Letter 4 seems to combine the divine and human natures of Christ, as did Monophysitism, rather than distinguish between them in orthodox fashion. But Maximus the Confessor explained the Dionysian writings in an orthodox sense in the seventh century, and so ensured their widespread reception in the Greek and Latin churches. In the ninth century, Hilduin, abbot of St. -Denis in France, produced a crude Latin translation of the texts as well as a vita identifying the author not only with Paul's convert but also with St. Dionysius of Paris, the patron of his monastery. Later in the ninth century, Johannes Scotus Erigena retranslated them more accurately. Thomas Aquinas quotes them about 1, 700 times. During the Renaissance, Marsilio Ficino made new translations of The Divine Names and The Mystical Theology, with commentaries, but Lorenzo Valla argued against the authenticity of the Dionysian texts. Valla's view gradually prevailed, and by the 19th century, the fact that the Dionysian writings are a forgery was universally accepted. Ultimately, however, what is important is not the authorship of the Dionysian texts but the ideas they express. These include the incomprehensibility of God, the transmission of God's perfection through complex mediating hierarchies, and the recognition of the purely symbolic character of all language used about God. These ideas were not completely original, but they became highly influential in their Dionysian form. The complete works of Pseudo-Dionysius have been translated into English by Colm Luibheid (1987).
Achievements
Works
book
-
The Works of Dionysius the Areopagite
(By "Dionysius the Areopagite" is usually understood the j...)
2013 -
Pseudo-Dionysius
(Here are the complete works of the enigmatic fifth- and s...)
1988 -
The celestial hierarchy
(De Coelesti Hierarchia is a Pseudo-Dionysian work on ange...)
2013 -
Theologia Mystica
(Theologia Mystica: being the treatise of St. Dionysius, P...)
2011
-
The Works of Dionysius the Areopagite
Religion
In The Mystical Theology, he declares that God is really beyond what the human mind can know or human speech express, and therefore above even goodness or being or oneness.
