Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite
From Wikinfo
"Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite" is the name scholars have given to an anonymous theologian and philosopher of the 5th century, who wrote a collection of books (Corpus Areopagiticum) falsely ascribed to the Dionysius mentioned in Acts 17:34. He was commonly believed to be this Dionysius, and he himself wrote as if he were. Georgian Academician Shalva Nutsubidze and Belgian Professor Ernest Honigmann were authors of a theory that identitifying the "Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite" with Peter the Iberian.
His works show strong Neo-Platonic influence, (especially Proclus, which proves he wrote no earlier than the 5th century), as well as influence from Saint Clement of Alexandria, the Cappadocian Fathers, Origen, and others.
Peter Abelard, the 12th century theologian and philosopher, after his unfortunate experience with Heloise, became a Benedictine monk at Saint Denis. Around 1120 he was convicted of teaching Sabellianism and expelled for a short time. Upon his return around 1121, he turned his attention to the story of their patron saint, and disentangled the three Dionysiuses. The monks were offended, and Abelard did not remain long at Saint-Denis. The great monastery of Saint Denis just north of Paris claimed to have the relics - the mortal remains - of Dionysius (Dionysius = Denis = Dennis). However, there are at least three Dionysii involved:
- a 1st century Athenian convert of St. Paul mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles;
- a 4th-century evangelist martyred in Paris;
- and a 5th century author who is called "Pseudo-Dionysius", and may be the 5th century Georgian theologian, Peter the Iberian.
Two of the three men, of course, were legitimately named "Dionysius," which was not an uncommon Greek name. The monastery of St-Denis cheerfully conflated the three. They had a good Greek edition of Pseudo-Dionysius's works given to them by Charles the Bald, which was translated into Latin by John Scotus Eriugena in the late 9th century. This translation widely popularized both Pseudo-Dionysius' Neo-Platonism and his explanation of the angels.
Peter Abelard, the 12th century theologian and philosopher, after his unfortunate experience with Heloise, became a Benedictine monk at Saint Denis. Around 1120 he was convicted of teaching Sabellianism and expelled for a short time. Upon his return around 1121, he turned his attention to the story of their patron saint, and disentangled the three Dionysii. The monks were offended, and Abelard did not remain long at Saint-Denis.
It was around 1500 that Lorenzo Valla did much to establish that the "Pseudo-Dionysius" of the 5th Century could not have been St Paul's convert, though he was unable to identify the actual historical author.
References
- Adapted from the Wikipedia article, "Pseudo-Dionysius_the_Areopagite" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseudo-Dionysius_the_Areopagite, used under the GNU Free Documentation License
