A

Sacred image or statue; in Dionysian theology, refers to the material symbols that reflect divine realities within the hierarchical structure.

Primary text: Ecclesiastical Hierarchy

The Good; the supreme divine name representing God as the source of all goodness and the ultimate object of desire for all creation.

Primary text: Divine Names IV

Divine unknowing; the state of learned ignorance that represents the highest form of knowledge about God's transcendent nature.

Primary text: Mystical Theology I

Proportion or analogy; the principle by which lower realities correspond to and reflect higher divine realities within the hierarchical order.

Primary text: Celestial Hierarchy II

The upward movement of the soul toward God; spiritual ascent through the hierarchies to divine union.

Primary text: Ecclesiastical Hierarchy I

Abstraction or removal; the apophatic method of removing all concepts and attributes to approach God's transcendent essence.

Primary text: Mystical Theology II

Negative theology; the way of approaching God through denial and negation, affirming what God is not rather than what God is.

Primary text: Mystical Theology I

Beginning, principle, or source; often used of God as the ultimate source of all being and the first principle of the hierarchical order.

Primary text: Divine Names I

High priest or hierarch; in ecclesiastical hierarchy, refers to the bishop who mediates divine illumination to lower orders.

Primary text: Ecclesiastical Hierarchy V. Part I

Cause; used to describe God as the ultimate cause of all existence and the source from which all hierarchical orders proceed.

Primary text: Divine Names I