Church Fathers and Saint Dionysius

How Orthodox Church Fathers and theological tradition have received, interpreted, and developed the theology attributed to Saint Dionysius the Areopagite.

Table of Contents

1. Early Orthodox Reception
2. Major Orthodox Interpreters
3. Conciliar Citations
4. Historical Development
5. Orthodox Interpretive Principles

Early Orthodox Reception

The Dionysian corpus first appeared in Christian theological discourse during the early sixth century. His thought was initially used by Miaphysites to back up parts of their arguments but his writings were eventually adopted by other church theologians, primarily due to the work of John of Scythopolis and Maximus the Confessor in producing an orthodox interpretation.¹

John of Scythopolis (c. 537-543)

Writing a single generation at most after Dionysius, perhaps between 537 and 543, John of Scythopolis composed an extensive set (c. 600) of scholia (that is, marginal annotations) to the works of Dionysius. These were in turn prefaced by a long prologue in which John set out his reasons for commenting on the corpus.²

Historical Significance: All Greek manuscripts of the Corpus Areopagiticum surviving today stem from an early sixth-century manuscript containing John's Scholia and Prologue — so John of Scythopolis had an enormous influence on how Dionysius was read in the Greek-speaking world.³

First Orthodox Defense: The first defense of its authenticity is undertaken by John of Scythopolis, whose commentary, the Scholia (c. 540), on the Dionysian Corpus constitutes the first defense of its apostolic dating, wherein he specifically argues that the work is neither Apollinarian nor a forgery, probably in response both to monophysites and Hypatius.⁴

Available Scholarship: Paul Rorem and John C. Lamoreaux's John of Scythopolis and the Dionysian Corpus: Annotating the Areopagite (Oxford University Press, 1998) provides English translations of John's Prologue and approximately 400 of his 600 scholia.⁵

Major Orthodox Interpreters

Saint Maximus the Confessor (c. 580-662)

Saint Maximus the Confessor stands as the most significant Orthodox interpreter of the Dionysian corpus. According to Polycarp Sherwood's research, Maximus made approximately 40 citations and allusions to Dionysian works in the Ambigua to John alone, with more recent scholarship suggesting the total number of combined citations and allusions across Maximus's entire corpus approaches 80.⁶

Christological Integration

Modern scholarship recognizes that John Meyendorff has noticed an implicit 'Christological corrective' made by Maximus the Confessor with regard to the writings ascribed to Dionysius the Areopagite.⁷ This involved:

• Restructured Neoplatonic cycles: Transformation of "remaining, procession, and return" in Christological terms
• Divine accessibility through Christ: Emphasis on direct divine accessibility through the Incarnate Logos
• Cosmic Christology: Making the incarnate Logos central to cosmology and spirituality

Monothelite Controversies

Maximus used Dionysian concepts in theological debates. As documented in the Catholic Encyclopedia: "Maximus Confessor evidently rests upon Sophronius, whose friendship he had gained while abbot of the monastery of Chrysopolis in Alexandria (633). In accordance with Sophronius he explains the Dionysian term theandrike energeia in an orthodox sense, and praises it as indicating both essences and natures in their distinct properties and yet in closest union."⁸

Saint John of Damascus (c. 675-749)

Theologians such as John of Damascus and Germanus I of Constantinople also made ample use of Dionysius' writing.⁹

Systematic Integration

John of Damascus integrated Dionysian theology into his systematic presentations of Orthodox doctrine. In his Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, he cites Dionysius as an authoritative source alongside Scripture and other Church Fathers.

Angelic Hierarchy

In An Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, John describes the angelic orders according to Dionysian theology: "Moreover, as that most holy, and sacred, and gifted theologian, Dionysius the Areopagite, says, All theology, that is to say, the holy Scripture, has nine different names for the heavenly essences."¹⁰

He continues: "And the first group, he says, consists of those who are in God's presence and are said to be directly and immediately one with Him, viz., the Seraphim with their six wings, the many-eyed Cherubim and those that sit in the holiest thrones. The second group is that of the Dominions, and the Powers, and the Authorities; and the third, and last, is that of the Rulers and Archangels and Angels."¹¹

Saint Gregory Palamas (1296-1359)

The Areopagite ranked among the most frequently cited Patristic authorities by eminent theologians Thomas Aquinas and Gregory Palamas.¹²

Essence-Energies Distinction

Contemporary scholarship notes the connection between Dionysian theology and Palamite thought: "The tradition of the Orthodox Church the teaching regarding the uncreated Energies of God as taught especially by St. Dionysius the Areopagite, the Cappadocian Fathers, and St. Maximos among others, and which St. Gregory Palamas defined in a more precise way, and defended, in the fourteenth century, against Varlaam and Akyndinos."¹³

The scholarly analysis reveals: "The direct sources are: the semantics of Gregory of Nyssa, epistemological and semantic framework of Pseudo-Dionysius Areopagite, ontology of knowing and willing of Maximus the Confessor."¹⁴

Conciliar Citations

Lateran Council of 649

The Orthodox reception of Dionysius includes formal conciliar recognition. By the 7th century, it is taken as demonstrated, affirmed by both Maximus the Confessor and the Lateran Council of 649.¹⁵

As documented in the Catholic Encyclopedia: "The Lateran Council of 649 solemnly rejected the Monothelite heresy... Pope Martin I quotes from D.D.N., ii, 9; iv, 20 and 23; and the 'Ep. ad Caium'; speaks of the author as 'beatae memoriae Dionysius', 'Dionysius egregius, sanctus, beatus,' and vigorously objects to the perversion of the text: una instead of nova Dei et viri operatio."¹⁶

The council anathematized the expression "una deivirilis operatio, mia theandrike energeia, by which all the actions divine and human are performed."¹⁷

Additional Conciliar Recognition

On the conciliar stage, the Fathers of the Council of Chalcedon (451), Lateran (649), Constantinople III (680–681), and Nicaea II (787) all cited Dionysius as an apostolic authority, invoking his writings in support of Mariology, Christology, and Iconography.¹⁸

Throughout the Middle Ages, the corpus remained deeply influential in both East and West, with figures such as John of Damascus, Hilduin of Paris, Photius of Constantinople, and Hugh of Saint Victor regularly appealing to Dionysius as a source of theological and mystical insight.¹⁹

Historical Development

Early Period (500-800): Foundation

The early reception was marked by careful Orthodox interpretation: "Dionysius' authenticity is criticized later in the century, and defended by Theodore of Raithu; and by the 7th century, it is taken as demonstrated, affirmed by both Maximus the Confessor and the Lateran Council of 649."²⁰

Medieval Period (800-1453): Development

"From that point until the Renaissance, the authorship was less questioned, though Thomas Aquinas, Peter Abelard and Nicholas of Cusa expressed suspicions about its authenticity; their concerns were generally ignored."²¹

Apart from minor debates alluded to by Maximus and Photius, the corpus enjoyed virtually uncontested acceptance throughout the first and early second millennium.²²

Western Medieval Reception

"During the thirteenth century, the Franciscan Robert Grosseteste made an important contribution by bringing out between 1240 and 1243 a translation, with commentary, of the Dionysian corpus. Soon after, the Dominican Albertus Magnus did likewise."²³

"Thomas Aquinas wrote an explanation for several works, and cites him over 1700 times. Bonaventure called him the 'prince of mystics'."²⁴

Orthodox Interpretive Principles

Theological Criteria

The Orthodox Church has consistently evaluated the Dionysian corpus based on:

Methodological Approach

Orthodox interpretation emphasizes:

• Experiential Knowledge: Understanding through prayer and ascetic practice
• Apophatic Primacy: The way of unknowing in approaching God
• Theosis as Goal: Deification as the ultimate purpose of theological study
• Ecclesial Context: Interpretation within the living Orthodox tradition

Significance for Orthodox Theology

The Orthodox tradition has found in the Dionysian corpus:

Bibliography

"CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Dionysius the Pseudo-Areopagite." New Advent. Accessed August 9, 2025. https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05013a.htm.

"CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Monothelitism and Monothelites." New Advent. Accessed August 9, 2025. https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10502a.htm.

"Dionysius the Areopagite." Wikipedia. Accessed August 9, 2025. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dionysius_the_Areopagite.

John of Damascus. "An Exposition of the Orthodox Faith." New Advent. Accessed August 9, 2025. https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/33042.htm.

"Lateran Councils." McClintock and Strong Biblical Cyclopedia. Accessed August 9, 2025. https://www.biblicalcyclopedia.com/L/lateran-councils.html.

"Maximus the Confessor and the Reception of Dionysius the Areopagite." Academia.edu. Accessed August 9, 2025. https://www.academia.edu/92634575/Maximus_the_Confessor_and_the_Reception_of_Dionysius_the_Areopagite.

"Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite." Wikipedia. Accessed August 9, 2025. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseudo-Dionysius_the_Areopagite.

Rorem, Paul, and John C. Lamoreaux. John of Scythopolis and the Dionysian Corpus: Annotating the Areopagite. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998.

Sherwood, Polycarp. "Denys l'Aréopagite, IV: Influence du Pseudo-Denys en Orient. Saint Maxime le Confesseur." Dictionnaire de Spiritualité, vol. 3. Paris: Beauchesne, 1947, 243-300.

"The Uncreated Energies in the Early Fathers." Academia.edu. Accessed August 9, 2025. https://www.academia.edu/98289056/The_Uncreated_Energies_in_the_Early_Fathers.

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