Dionysius the Areopagite
Dionysius the Areopagite | |
|---|---|
_-_Dionysius_Areopagite.jpg) Mosaic of Dionysius in Hosios Loukas monastery | |
| Hieromartyr and Bishop of Athens | |
| Born | c. 1st century AD |
| Died | c. 1st century AD |
| Venerated in | Catholicism Eastern Orthodoxy Oriental Orthodoxy |
| Feast | 3 October Thursday after fifth Sunday after feast of the Holy Cross (Armenian Apostolic Church)[1] |
| Attributes | Vested as a bishop, holding a Gospel Book |
| Patronage | Athens, Crotone, Jerez de la Frontera and Ojén |
Dionysius the Areopagite (/daɪəˈnɪsiəs/; Greek: Διονύσιος ὁ Ἀρεοπαγίτης Dionysios ho Areopagitēs) was an Athenian judge at the Areopagus Court in Athens, who lived in the first century. A convert to Christianity, he is venerated as a saint by multiple denominations.
Life[edit]
As related in the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 17:34), he was converted to Christianity by the preaching of Paul the Apostle[2]
After his conversion, Dionysius became the first Bishop of Athens.[3] He is venerated as a saint in the Catholic and the Eastern Orthodox churches. He is the patron saint of Athens and is venerated as the protector of the Judges and the Judiciary. His memory is celebrated on October 3.[4]
Historic confusions[edit]
In the early sixth century the so-called Corpus Dionysiacum, a series of writings of a mystical nature, employing Neoplatonic language to elucidate Christian theological and mystical ideas, was ascribed to the Areopagite.[5]
Dionysius has been misidentified with the martyr of Gaul, Dionysius, the first Bishop of Paris, Denis. However, this mistake by a ninth century writer is ignored and each saint is commemorated on his respective day.[6]
Modern references[edit]
In Athens there are two large churches bearing his name, one in Kolonaki on Skoufa Street, while the other is the Catholic Metropolis of Athens, on Panepistimiou Street. The pedestrian walkway around the Acropolis, which passes through the rock of the Areios Pagos, also bears his name.
Dionysius is the patron saint of the Gargaliani of Messenia, as well as in the village of Dionysi in the south of the prefecture of Heraklion. The village was named after him and is the only village of Crete with a church in honor of Saint Dionysios Areopagitis.
See also[edit]
- St. Dionysus Institute in Paris
- Early centers of Christianity#Greece
- Cathedral Basilica of St. Dionysius the Areopagite (A Roman Catholic church in Athens named after Dionysius the Aeropagite)
Further reading[edit]
- Ælfric of Eynsham (1881). . Ælfric's Lives of Saints. London, Pub. for the Early English text society, by N. Trübner & co.
- Chapman, Henry Palmer (1909). . In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 5. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
References[edit]
- ^ Domar: the calendrical and liturgical cycle of the Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Church, Armenian Orthodox Theological Research Institute, 2002, p. 528.
- ^ Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Dionysius The Areopagite". Encyclopedia Britannica'
- ^ Eusebius, Historia Ecclesiae III: iv
- ^ "Dionysios the Areopagite - Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America". www.goarch.org. Retrieved 2018-10-04. Martyrologium Romanum, editio typica altera (Vatican City: Typis Vaticanis, 2004).
- ^ Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy on the confusion between Dionysius and Pseudo-Dionysius
- ^ "Hieromartyr Dionysius of Paris, Bishop". oca.org. Retrieved 2015-10-16.
Sources[edit]
- Corrigan, Kevin; Harrington, Michael. "Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite". In Zalta, Edward N. (ed.). Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
External links[edit]
Works written by or about Dionysius the Areopagite at Wikisource- Hieromartyr Dionysius the Areopagite the Bishop of Athens Orthodox icon and synaxarion
- Max Müller Dionysius the Areopagite Lecture 1895
| General | |
|---|---|
| National libraries | |
| Biographical dictionaries | |
| Other | |
