Dionysius the Areopagite, "On the Heavenly Hierarchy". Saint Dionysius the Areopagite

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:43

In the Acts of St. Luke tells that many of the listeners believed in Jesus Christ at the hour when the Apostle Paul announced his sermon. And one of them was Dionysius the Areopagite. But why did the narrator single him out so much?

Dionysius the Areopagite before Christianity

The legend says that this man was the first sage and dignitary of Greece. He was called the Areopagite because he presided over the supreme court of Athens - the Areopagus. Since the time of the founder of this court, Solon, the most difficult cases were transferred there for a final decision from all the republics and policies of Greece, as well as from many Roman cities and regions. Dionysius the Areopagite is said to have been the most eloquent of all orators, the most perspicacious of all astronomers, the most profound of all philosophers, the most just and truthful of all judges. He was a man endowed with all the virtues. The conversion of such a famous person to Christianity was a very important acquisition for the nascent Church.

After the adoption of Christianity

Under the guidance of the Primate of the Church of Athens, Hierotheus, Dionysius studied Christianity for a short time and showed such impressive success that the Apostle Paul ordained him to the rank of bishop instead of Hierotheus himself, who left Athens in order to carry the word of Christ to other countries. Naturally, the Athenian church, under the leadership of the new bishop, began to develop rapidly. However, literally in the fifty-eighth year from the Nativity of Christ, Dionysius the Areopagite went to the city of Jerusalem, where, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the Apostles and their associates from all other countries gathered. Therefore, he hastily had to leave the bishopric in Athens.

Missionary activity

In Jerusalem, the inspired speeches of the Holy Apostles, the vision of the Assumption of the Virgin, the sight of Golgotha and other shrines made Dionysius experience such strong inner feelings that he decided to leave forever the fatherland and his relatives and go to preach the Gospel in pagan countries. He returned to Athens only to take a few clerics with him. Further, his path lay in Western Europe, where idolatry flourished, where he glorified Jesus Christ with words, signs and wonders. He illuminated Italy, Spain, Germany and Gaul with the light of the Gospel, until he died in Paris, in the one hundred and tenth year from the birth of Christ. On the third of October, the Church celebrates the memory of such a famous figure of early Christianity as Saint Dionysius the Areopagite.

Hoax or not?

At the end of the fifth century in Syria, an unknown Christian writer published a number of treatises on theology in Greek. These works were based on the biblical tradition and on the philosophy of Neoplatonism. Interestingly, they were released under the name of the author "Dionysius the Areopagite". Is this a hoax? It's hard to say for sure. However, many researchers are inclined to believe that this is still a hoax, and prefer to call the author of these treatises the name "Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite".

Works of the Areopagite

The corpus of essays includes five books. The treatise, allegedly written by Dionysius the Areopagite, “On Divine Names”, contains discussions about the definitions and names that are given in the Bible when referring to God (“Good”, “One”, “Existing”, “Ancient of Days”, “King of Kings "). The author tries to explain from the theological point of view the sacred meaning of such names. Another treatise, en titled "On the Mysterious Theology", speaks of the superiority of God over everything that a person can express in words. Therefore, God is higher than being and unity, which is what Dionysius the Areopagite shows in his reasoning. Some of the most interesting theological treatises, both for their time and at the moment, are On Divine Names and Mystical Theology. Dionysius the Areopagite is an author whose books can crown the collection of any person interested in biblical studies and theology. There is also a book called "On the Church Hierarchy" which describes the daily life of the church.- the ranks of priests (deacon, priestly and episcopal), sacraments (baptism, chrismation and Eucharist), funeral and wedding rites, states of penitents and catechumens. But the most famous treatise written by Dionysius the Areopagite is “On the Heavenly Hierarchy”. It is worth dwelling on it in more detail.

The Heavenly Hierarchy Book

This essay occupies a very curious place. In this work there are some testimonies from the Gospel and the Apocalypse of John. This suggests that this work was written no earlier than the beginning of the first century after the birth of Christ, not in Athens, but already in Western countries. The book itself is divided into fifteen chapters. First of all, before telling about the heavenly mysteries, Dionysius the Areopagite first prays to the Lord with a request to let him understand the symbols under which angels and their ranks are presented in the Holy Scriptures. Then the necessity of the symbols themselves in the description of both church rites and angelic ranks is explained, since our mind is not able to penetrate these secrets in any other way. But these symbols cannot be taken literally, since the divine world is incorporeal. By the way, Dionysius the Areopagite says the same thing about divine names - these are all abstract symbolic reflections of one or another manifestation of the Lord.

The concept of hierarchy. Dionysius the Areopagite

“On the Heavenly Hierarchy” - a work that is actually the founder of the Christian science of angelology, which latermigrated to the occult and "white magic". This direction is engaged in the study of angels, their functions, ranks and interaction with them. After the above examples and explanations, the treatise gives the concept of hierarchy as a sacred relationship between different ranks, which aims at potential assimilation to the beginning (meaning the Creator) through enlightenment, purification and improvement of oneself and one's subordinates. Accordingly, the entire hierarchy of angels (messengers) is a pyramid, on top of which is the Lord himself.

Angel ranks

Actually, the name "angel" in the works of such an author as Dionysius the Areopagite refers only to the lower heavenly ranks, but it can still be to some extent correlated with the higher ones, since they have all the powers of the lower ones. The holy hierarchy is divided into three degrees. In the first - Cherubim, Seraphim and Thrones. In the second - Dominions, Forces and Powers. In the third - Archangels, Angels and Principles. There are nine ranks in total. Features of the first (highest) degree are interpreted based on their names. Seraphim - flaming, Cherubim - wise, Thrones - are located directly at the throne of the Lord (as it is said below, receiving purity and perfection from it). Powers, Forces and Dominations (the following ranks) are also revealed thanks to their names. It is said that they are improved and enlightened by means of insights sent down from higher ranks, and also pass them on to lower ones. Divine providence, passing from one messenger to another, weakens over time. Principles, Angels and Archangels rule over humaninstitutions and patronize people. Then, in his work, St. Dionysius the Areopagite describes and explains the symbols that are used in the Holy Scriptures to describe the Kingdom of Heaven.