Denys l'Aréopagite: Tradition et Métamorphoses. By Ysabel de Andia, Dionysius the Areopagite and the Neoplatonist Tradition: Despoiling the Hellenes. By Sarah Klitenic Wear & John Dillon and Pseudo-Dionysius as Polemicist: The Development and Purpose of the Angelic Hierarchy in Sixth-Century Syri... (original) (raw)
2009, The Heythrop Journal
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This review examines recent monographs focusing on Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, emphasizing their doctrinal contributions and historical context. It highlights key aspects of Dionysian thought, including themes of negative theology, the influence on various medieval thinkers, and the challenges presented to traditional Christian views of the divine. The review critiques the lacunae in Dionysian doctrines, particularly concerning prayer and Christology, while appreciating the enduring strengths of the corpus, especially its implications for ecclesial and secular thought.
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Approaches to Dionysius the Areopagite
The antipode of Swedenborg So different, and yet so fundamental! I feel compelled to deal with Dionysius the Areopagite in much more detail. He is regarded as the "father of western mysticism" 1 , so Kurt Ruh opens his four-volume "Geschichte der abendländischen Mystik" (History of western mysticism) with an account of Dionysius, the great unknown writer. Here, he interests me as the fundamental representative of negative theology. It must be mentioned that he is also a representative of affirmative theology, but this element is not covered in this study. 2 Within the Corpus Dionysiacum, negative theology is primarily found in the work Über die mystische Theologie (On mystical theology), so this will be the main textual basis of the following considerations.
A Defence for a Liturgical Reading of Dionysios the Areopagite
Most of the interest surrounding the study of the Corpus Areopagiticum has focused on its position in relation to Neoplatonist philosophy and Christian theology, with a range of views expressed between these two benchmarks. However, it is possible to consider each work separately as well as the entire CD in a different light, by querying the motivation of the text and the wider context of worship in which it emerged. Although the liturgical orientation in the CD has been noticed by certain scholars (and has been denied by others), there is very little research that actually examines it in detail. This presentation will attempt to approach Dionysios as a writer whose main interest was to deepen the understanding of the liturgical practices of his day in the context of philosophical mystical thought, rather than to get directly involved in the heated theological disputes of the time. In addition, this approach will address the question of his pseudonymity, which, combined with the unusual structure of his entire work, allows us to appreciate him as a unique writer, whose concerns and instincts are more relevant for us today than for his contemporaries.
* I would like to express my deepest gratitude to two people to whose great knowledge I owe many of the present reflections about Late Antiquity, Peter Brown (Princeton) and Pedro Barceló (Potsdam). Their contributions to the conference Religiöser Alltag in der Spätantike (Potsdam, 22-23.10.2010) have been crucial in outlining the present chapter.
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