Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite (c. 500 CE) was a Syrian believed to be the author of a series of influential works that synthesized Christian and Platonic thought. Also called Pseudo Dionysus,¹ he's best known for his Celestial Hierarchies, which classifies angels into three hierarchies, each consisting of three thrones.
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| Image - images.app.goo.gl/... |
According to this schema, the Seraphim, Cherubim, and Thrones are closest to God, entirely rapt in His glory and continually singing His praises. The next set of beings, not quite as close to God, are the Dominations, Virtues, and Powers. The third set, the Principalities, Archangels, and Angels, are furthest from God. The highest angels are entirely rapt in God's glory, continually singing His praises, while the lower ranks interact with mankind.
Dionysius is also known for his distinction between the "affirmative" (kataphatic) and "negative" (apophatic) approaches to theology. The negative approach argues that God is beyond human comprehension and transcends all worldly concepts and attempts to affirm or deny His existence.
Not to say that adherents of negative theology believe that God does not exist. Instead, they believe God exists in God's own light and may be approached only through "pure and spotless spirit and prayer."² This entails transcending worldly distractions and specious intellectualism to achieve a mystical union with the divine.
Because negative theology depends on personal experience to subjectively know God, it can only state what God is not. Positive theology, however, claims that definite statements can be made about what God is.
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| The Assumption of the Virgin, 1475-76, by Francesco Botticini shows three hierarchies and nine orders of angels, each with different characteristics |
Pseudo-Dionysius's work draws heavily from Neoplatonic philosophy, particularly the ideas of Plotinus, blending Christian theology with concepts like the "One" and the "emanation" of beings from the divine. This synthesis of Christian and Neoplatonic thought profoundly influenced medieval thought. His ideas impacted Christian theology and mysticism, influencing major figures like Meister Eckhart, John Scotus Eriugena, Dante Alighieri, St. Teresa of Ávila and St. John of the Cross. Furthermore, Dionysius's hierarchical system of angels and his ideas about the divine inspired Western art and culture, particularly in depictions of angels and heavenly beings.
Though possibly written by an anonymous author, the works attributed to Pseudo-Dionysius remain highly influential in Christian thought and spirituality. Their novel blend of Christian theology and Neoplatonic philosophy inspires and challenges thinkers and artists centuries after they first appeared.
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¹ He's sometimes confused with Dionysius the Areopagite, the New Testament figure converted by St. Paul and who later became the second bishop of Athens. The confusion arises over a series of works on mysticism, Corpus Areopagiticum, apparently signed by the author as "Dionysius."
² Everett Feruson, ed. Encyclopedia of Early Christianity. New York: Garland Publishing Inc. 1990, p. 633.
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