"The Agnostos Theos of Pseudo-Dionysius"

Travis L. Palmer
Medieval Philosophy, University of Tennessee Chattanooga
Dionysius, among his most significant treatises, Mystical Theology, Divine Names, Celestial Hierarchy

and Ecclesiastical Hierarchy, contributed substantially to the foundation of Christian mysticism.

Maximus the Confessor found intrigue in the Dionysian concept of transfiguration,1 and Dionysius was

quoted by St. Thomas Aquinas over a thousand times.2 With the ninth century Latin translations by

Johannes Scotus Erigena, the sublime paradoxical style of the corpus inspired such mystics as the

anonymous fourteenth century writer of The Cloud of Unknowing, and St. Teresa of Avila in the The

Autobiography. The writings attributed to Dionysius had been believed to be from the first century

saint. His apophatic theology, and implications to emanationism (opposed to orthodoxy), brought into

question the authenticity of his writings and by the mid-fifteenth century scholars began to doubt the

authorship, initially by the textual analysis of Lorenzo Valla.3 Ever since, historians have attempted to

determine the identity of the corpus, and though sufficient evidence argues for a Neoplatonist origin,

the identity of the author remains unknown. The influence by which this "Pseudo-Dionysius" has

captivated through so many generations has been incredibly significant to the development of Christian

mysticism.

The name "Dionysius the Areopagite" finds reference to an Athenian of the Areopagus, a

Roman judiciary council, described as one of Apostle Paul's converts in Acts 17:24. However, scholarly

consensus agrees the actual author behind the corpus was not the first century convert, but someone

who attempted to gain recognition through use of the pseudonym around the late fifth century. Perhaps,

the earliest known record of the Greek corpus dates to a religious colloquy between Emperor Justinian I

and leaders for the Syriac Orthodox Church who sought to settle Christological debates over a singular

versus dualistic nature within Christ culminating in the previous century at the Council of Chalcedon in

1 A. Louth, "St. Denys the Areopagite and St. Maximus the Confessor: A Question of Influence," Studia Patristica 27
(1993): 166-174.
2 F. O'Rourke, Pseudo-Dionysius and the Metaphysics of Aquinas (Leiden: Brill, 1992). Aquinas refers to Dionysius
throughout his Summa Theologica, esp. Article 9.
3 "Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite," Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, accessed October 1, 2014,
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/pseudo-dionysius-areopagite/
451 where Monophysitism was declared a heresy. The Dionysian corpus was the means to achieve

credibility by claiming an apostolic origin in support for Monophysitism. Unfortunately, the attempt

proved futile when Hypatius of Ephesus denied any relevancy to the corpus since neither an apostolic

link nor previous knowledge of it could be verified.4

Although, uncertainty remains over the true identity of the author, some scholars have found

striking similarities to Syrian mysticism.5 The mystic, Stephen Bar-Sudaili, claimed by other Syrian

writers to be the real author behind another pseudepigrapha The book of Hierotheus on the hidden

mysteries of the house of God purported to be Hierotheus, another disciple of Paul's.6 Twenty years

after the Dionysian corpus first surfaced before Hypatius, the Bishop John of Scythopolis detailed the

writings in his Scholia, and shortly after Sergius of Reshaina is credited for translating the work into

Syriac, Dionysius is then mentioned in Sudaili's writings.7 This leaves some skepticism into whether

Sudaili was in fact the author, and suggests some possibility he may have at best edited the work by

including Syrian phrases of asceticism in hopes to contextualize the material.

Still, the corpus itself did not explicitly elicit to a Monophysite doctrine,8 and Sudaili during his

time met with disagreement over his teaching of emanationism between two prominent Monophysites,

Jacob of Serugh and Philoxenus of Mabbogh.9 Dionysius in brief moments mentions Christ throughout

the corpus, primarily in connection to the Trinity as the pathway between man and God.10 Nevertheless,
4 E. Schwartz, Acta concilium oecumenicorum (Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 1914): IV.2, 173:13-18
5 Lexical similarities with Syrian asceticism, borrowed phrases "those who stand" (Divine Names I.3, 111:16) with
qeiama; "simplicity" and "oneness of those being unified" (112:2) with ihidaya. See S. Griffith, Asceticism in the
Church of Syria: The Hermeneutics of Early Syrian Monasticism (New York: Oxford University Press, 1995): 223-234.
Cf. the Macarian homilies in Liber Graduum.
6 H. Wace and W. C. Piercy, A Dictionary of Christian Biography and Literature to the End of the Sixth Century A.D.,
with an Account of the Principal Sects and Heresies, (London: J. Murray, 1911). Stephen Bar-Sudaili, an abbot in
Edessa, wrote under the pseudonyms as means to propagating his views, according to Assemani, Bibliotheca Orient.
II.290-91.
7 P.E. Rorem and J.C. Lamoreaux, John of Scythopolis and the Dionysian Corpus: Annotating the Areopagite (Oxford:
Clarendon Press, 1998): 7-45. Cf. I. Perczel, "The Earliest Syriac Reception of Dionysius," Re-Thinking Dionysius the
Areopagite (2009): 27-41.
8 In Divine Names II.8 (132:5-13) reference to the divination of sonship can allude to Monophysitism.
9 A. Vaschalde, Three Letters of Philoxenus, bishop of Mabbogh (485-519): Being the letter to the monks, the first letter to
the monks of Beth-Gaugal (Roma: Tipografia Della R. Accademia Dei Linchi, 1902): 33-34.
10 Divine Names II; cf. Ecclesiastical Hierarchy IV.3.12, expresses Christ as the "most divine altar" between the liturgy of
as scholarship questioned the authentication of the corpus, Protestants rejected Dionysius as a pagan.11

With the onset of Marsilio Ficino's The Praises of Philosophy,12 the reference to Dionysius evoked a

response from Martin Luther with vehement disdain who stated "Shun like the plague that Mystical

Theology and other such works!"13

Despite the Neoplatonic concept of God existing beyond knowledge in contrary to the Christian

view that God can be known in Christ (John 1:14), nonetheless, Pseudo-Dionysius did not appear to

oppose Christianity. Yet, the integration of Neoplatonism has brought into question whether Dionysius

was in fact a Christian utilizing Neoplatonist philosophy (following the tradition of his theologian

predecessors, namely Origen), or really a Neoplatonist disguising himself as a Christian in order to

revitalize paganism.14 If the former, why would he pretend to address his writings to the biblical

Timothy and give credit of his teachings to the Apostle Bartholomew? For Protestants, like Luther, it

was not implausible to view the corpus with cynicism in spite of Dionysius revering Christ as divine.

One scholar, John Parker, who translated the corpus into English in the late nineteenth century,

argued the original author was indeed the work of the first century saint, "Yet eccentric critics, on

account of the precise theology, cannot believe that the works were written; by a learned Greek--Chief

of the Areopagus--who forsook all to follow Christ."15 However, Parker's argument collides with details

within the corpus which critics have reasonably suggested a late fifth century origin at the very earliest

on account of the language ascribed to Proclus (d. 485 CE), first discovered by Hugo Koch and Josef

Stiglmayr16 (Stiglmayr's claim that the author was really Severus of Antioch, a prominent Monophysite

the Mass and the beatific vision in heaven.

11 R. Griffith, "Neo-Platonism and Christianity: Pseudo-Dionysius and Damascius," Studia Patristica 29 (1997): 238-243.
12 Marsilii Ficini Opera (1959)
13 P.E. Rorem, "Martin Luther's Christocentric Critique of Pseudo-Dionysian Spirituality," LuthQ 11 (1997): 291-307; cf.
Luthers Werke (1883) 6:562.
14 Mazzucchi, highly cynical of the corpus being written by a Christian believes the author to be Damascius. See
Mazzucchi, Damascio, autore del Corpus Dionysiacum, e il dialogo Peri politikes epistomes (Milano: Vita e pensiero,
2006): 736, 743, 747.
15 J. Parker, The Works of Dionysius the Areopagite, (Merrick: Richwood Publishers, 1976): xviii
16 Extracts from Proclus, "De malorum subsistentia" with Divine Names IV, see E. Perl, Theophany: The Neoplatonic
Philosophy of Dionysius the Areopagite (Albany: State University of New York Press, 2007).
leader, has also been proven false).17 Not to fail to mention the Dionysian linguistic usage of the Trinity,

which he addressed in prayer at the beginning of Mystical Theology, was not established until

Theophilus of Antioch in 180 CE.18

Perhaps what many scholars overlook when giving contextual analysis to the corpus is the

ironic link between Acts 17:22-34 and the apophatic theology posited in Dionysian thought. In the

biblical passage, Paul stated to the Athenians, "For as I passed along, and observed the objects of your

worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, 'To an unknown god.' What therefore you worship

as unknown, this I proclaim to you" (Acts 17:23). The altar to the unknown god, the "Agnostos Theos",

has compelled historians to determine the Athenian belief.19 What remains especially relevant not only

to the reference of Dionysius, but the theological implications of Agnostos Theos correlating with the

concepts of "unknowing" suggests the possibility of a first century origin with later revisions. If indeed

the corpus originates much later, than it must be noted the author was well versed in Christian scripture

regarding the Areopagus and the philosophy of Agnostos Theos.

The premise of Dionysian philosophy perceives God as transcending all form and substance,

infinite not only in the mere sense of perpetual existence, but rather essentially unknown,

inconceivable, and not bound to "forms"20 (including such concepts as "fatherhood" and "sonship"21).

He followed Proclus and Origen's perceived need for a mystical ascent, "theiosis", in order to achieve

union with the divine, "henosis". The treatise Divine Names complements Mystical Theology and

introduces negation, "God is properly known through an "unknowing" beyond mind and speech"22 The

17 J. Pelikan, "The Odyssey of Dionysian Spirituality", Pseudo-Dionysius the Complete Works (New York: Paulist Press,
1987): 13.
18 See "The Blessed Trinity," New Advent, accessed October 1, 2014, http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15047a.htm For
the original usage of the word, refer to Theophilus, To Autolycus, Book II.
19 Eduard Norden proposed the Greeks worshiped a deity called the "Unknown God". P. Horst, Hellenism, Judaism,
Christianity: Essays on Their Interaction (Kampen: Kok Pharos, 1994): 187-220.
20 Plato taught the "Forms" are the abstractions which describe the highest good.
21 Dionysius subjects God beyond the Trinitarian forms, "He is not spirit, as we understand, nor sonship nor fatherhood"
Mystical Theology V.
22 Divine Names I.8
limitless Being cannot find comprehension within the human mind, "we cannot know God in his

nature, since this is unknowable and is beyond the reach of mind or of reason."23 Therefore, to place

any description upon God proves inadequate, and at best impossible.

In his address to Timothy, Moses' ascent of Mount Sinai (Exodus 19-20) is described to be a

mystical one, and exhorted, "leave behind the senses and the operations of the intellect, and all things

sensible and intellectual, and all things in the world of being and non-being, that you may arise by

unknowing towards the union".24 What is truly relevant for the mystic is to abandon the need to define

an undefinable reality in order to experience the mystical ascent that transcends the plane of tangibility.

As commented by Paul Rorem, "we are uplifted to this transcendent God through the intentional and

systematic abandonment of all inferior categories, leaving behind everything that has to do with sense

perception and mental concepts."25 If God is beyond form, so too, the mystic must move beyond mental

formulations. The mysticism itself even queries for a quasi-South Asian influence profoundly similar to

the practices in jñanayoga and Buddhism which seeks the emptiness of mind, i.e. vipaśyanā meditation,

as the path toward God-realization.26 The divine is experienced without thought, detachment of the

world and its forms to an "unknowing" which later inspired The Cloud of Unknowing, "you must put

beneath you a cloud of unknowing between you and all the creatures that have ever been made."27

Throughout the corpus, several paradoxes are presented, especially in regards to God existing

within and at the same existing without form. In one line he wrote that God is "present to all" and "is

23 Divine Names VII.3

24 Mystical Theology I.
25 P. Rorem, Pseudo-Dionysius: A commentary on the texts and an introduction to their influence (New York: Oxford
University Press, 1993): 186.
26 A few scholars have attempted to search for historical and philosophical links between Neoplatonism and Hinduism. See
J. Arapura, Gnosis and the Question of Thought in Vedanta (Dordrecht: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 1986): 77, which
elaborates on the parallels of Nirguna Brahman in the Brhadāranyaka Upanishad 2.4.11. Cf. T. Lomperis, Hindu
Influence on Greek Philosophy: The Odyssey of the Soul from the Upanishads to Plato (Calcutta: Minerva, 1984). Only
recently has a third edition of the Dionysian corpus been found at the Konat Library in Pampakuda indicating a bond
between Syria and India, see A. Palmer and I. Perczel, "A New Testimony from India to the Syriac Version of Pseudo-
Dionysius", Iran and the Caucasus, Vol. 6 (2002).
27 The Cloud of Unknowing chapter 5.
everywhere", but then asserted God "is in nothing".28 Dionysius argued for both form and formlessness,

and while these assertions are paradoxical, the language is designed to break the mind of reason in

order to be absorbed into the divine Mind in which all the universe is believed to exist. "He is not a

facet of being. Rather, being is a facet of him"29 an implication to pantheism as "the divine Mind,

therefore, takes in all things in a total knowledge which is transcendent."30 Scholars who have noted his

Neoplatonist overtones find significance all throughout Divine Names: the "divine ἔρως31 is the power

which returns us all to God."32 The concept of the universe unfolding from the divine only to return to

it, "the Preexistent is the Source and the end of all things",33 alluding to emanationism from the

indescribable reality Plato referred to as the "One".34 Dionysius symbolically referred to creation from

God like the sun sending forth rays of light.35

Although, this process of abiding, proceeding and returning is definitely intrinsic to

Neoplatonism, Alexander Golitzin points out the difficulty of proving emanationism over creationism

since, "the basic role of ἔρως as the expression and definition of divine Providence" in fact conflicts

with the Plotinus and Proclus paradigm of creation as an accidental consequence by necessity of divine

contemplation.36 He makes his claim based on H.A. Wolfson's tenets of emanationism as an "eternal

process" absent of providence.37 However, if Pseudo-Dionysius were to have used reason to explain

the origin of the universe he might have argued for providence within emanationism.

28 Divine Names V.9

29 ibid, V.8
30 ibid, VII.2
31 The treatises were originally written in Greek, the " ἔρως" describes God creating the universe out of love.
32 A. Golitzin, Mystagogy (Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 2013): 41; cf. B. Hines, Return to the One: Plotinus Guide to
God-Realization: A modern exposition of an ancient classic, the Enneads (Bloomington: Unlimited Publishers, 2004).
33 Divine Names V.10
34 H. Saffrey, "New Objective Links Between the Pseudo-Dionysius and Proclus," Neoplatonism and Christian Thought
(1982): 73.
35 Divine Names IV.1; cf. IV.10, IX.2-9. Note the Isha Upanishad similarly describes the sun sending forth rays analogous
to the emanation of the divine, v. 16. The dialectic between "light" and "darkness" finds striking parallels in Origen, see
De Principiis I.122.14, and III.141.11-6.
36 Golitzen, Mystagogy, 59-99, esp. 89-91. Dionysius wrote God "wills that they draw near to him and share in him",
Epistles VIII.1, see also Celestial Hierarchy IV.1
37 Golitzen, Mystagogy, 105
 The actual identity behind this Pseudo-Dionysius quite simply remains "unknown" and hidden

in history. Much research continues in the pursuit of uncovering the origin of the corpus. Nevertheless,

the implications drawn within the mystical "unknowing" finds relevance in both Western and Eastern

spirituality, one that has inspired Christians throughout the ages to leave behind the intellectual quarrels

of its day for the embrace of total mystery.

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