Dionysius the Areopagite, "On the heavenly hierarchy." Saint Dionysius the Areopagite

In Acts, Saint Luke tells us that many of the listeners believed in Jesus Christ at the time when the Apostle Paul announced his sermon . And one of them was Dionysius the Areopagite. But why did the narrator allocate it so much?

Dionysius the Areopagite before the adoption of Christianity

It is said in the tradition that this man was the foremost sage and dignitary of Greece. It was named Areopagite because it presided over the supreme court of Athens - Areopagus. From the time of the founder of this Solon's court, the most complicated cases from all the republics and policies of Greece, as well as from many Roman cities and regions, were transferred there to make a final decision. Dionysius the Areopagite, as they say, was the most eloquent of all speakers, the most perspicacious of all astronomers, the most profound of philosophers, the most just and truthful of all the judges. He was a man endowed with all virtues. The conversion of such a famous person to Christianity became a very important acquisition for the nascent Church.

After the adoption of Christianity

Under the leadership of the Primate of the Church of Athens, Hierotheos, Dionysius studied Christianity for a short time and showed such impressive success that the Apostle Paul ordained him to the rank of bishop instead of Hierotheus, who left Athens in order to carry the word of Christ to other countries. Naturally, the Athens Church under the leadership of the new bishop began to develop rapidly. However, just in the fifty-eighth year of the Nativity of Christ, Dionysius the Areopagite went to the city of Jerusalem, where the Apostles and their companions from all other countries gathered at the suggestion of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, the bishopric in Athens, he hastily had to leave.

Missionary Activities

In Jerusalem, the inspired speeches of the Holy Apostles, the vision of the Assumption of the Virgin, the contemplation of Golgotha and other relics made Dionysius experience such intense inner experiences that he decided to leave his fatherland and his family forever and go to preach the Gospel to pagan countries. He returned to Athens only to take with him several clerics. Further, his path lay in western Europe, where idolatry flourished, where he glorified Jesus Christ in word, signs and wonders. He lit him with the light of the Gospel to Italy, Spain, Germany and Gaul, until he died in Paris, one hundred and ten years after the birth of Christ. On October 3, the Church celebrates the memory of such a famous figure of early Christianity as St. Dionysius the Areopagite.

Mystification or not?

At the end of the fifth century in Syria, an unknown Christian writer published a series of treatises on theology in the Greek language. These works were based on the biblical tradition and on the philosophy of Neoplatonism. Interestingly, they were released under the author's name "Dionysius the Areopagite". Is this a hoax? It is difficult to say unequivocally. However, many researchers are inclined to the fact that this is still a hoax, and prefer to refer to the author of these treatises as Pseudo-Dionysius Areopagite.

Works Areopagite

The corpus of works includes five books. The treatise allegedly written by Dionysius the Areopagite, "On Divine Names", contains arguments about the definitions and titles that are given in the Bible in reference to God ("Good", "One", "Jehovah", "Ancient days", "King of Kings" "). The author tries to explain from the theological point of view the sacred meaning of such names. In another treatise, entitled "On the mysterious theology," it speaks of the superiority of God over everything that a person can express in words. Therefore, God is higher than being and unity, as Dionysius the Areopagite shows in his reasoning. Some of the most interesting theological treatises, both for their time and for the moment, are "On the Divine Names" and "Mystical Theology." Dionysius the Areopagite is the author whose books can crown the collection of any person interested in biblical studies and theology. There is also a book "On the Church Hierarchy", which describes the daily life of the church - the rites of priests (deacon, priests and episcopal), sacraments (baptism, chrismation and Eucharist), funeral and wedding rites, states of repentant and catechumens. But the most famous treatise, written by Dionysius the Areopagite - "On the heavenly hierarchy." It is worth dwelling on in more detail.

The book "On the Celestial Hierarchy"

This work takes a very curious place. In this work, there are some evidences from the Gospel and the Apocalypse of John. This suggests that this work was written not earlier than the beginning of the first century after the birth of Christ, not in Athens, but already in Western countries. The book itself is divided into fifteen chapters. First of all, before telling about celestial secrets, Dionysius the Areopagite firstly prays to the Lord asking him to comprehend the symbols under which the angels and their ranks are represented in the sacred Scripture. Then the need for the symbols themselves in describing both the church rites and the angelic ranks is explained, since our mind is not able to penetrate these mysteries in any other way. But you can not take these symbols literally, because the divine world is incorporeal. By the way, the same thing is said by Dionysius the Areopagite about the divine names - these are all abstract symbolic representations of one or another manifestation of the Lord.

The notion of hierarchy. Dionysius the Areopagite

"On the celestial hierarchy" is a work that is actually the founder of the Christian science of angelology, which later migrated to occultism and "white magic." This direction deals with the study of angels, their functions, ranks and interaction with them. After the above-mentioned examples and explanations in the treatise, the concept of hierarchy is given as a sacred relation between different ranks, which aims at the potential assimilation to the beginning (meaning the Creator) through enlightenment, purification and perfection of oneself and one's subordinates. Accordingly, the whole hierarchy of angels (messengers) is a pyramid, on top of which is the Lord himself.

Angelic ranks

Actually, the name "angel" refers to the works of such an author as Dionysius the Areopagite, only to the lowest celestial ranks, but nevertheless can be to some extent correlated with the higher, since they have all the powers of the lower. The holy hierarchy is divided into three degrees. In the first - Cherubim, Seraphim and Thrones. In the second - Dominance, Power and Power. In the third, Archangels, Angels and Elements. In total, there are nine grades. The features of the first (highest) degree are interpreted on the basis of their names. Seraphim - flaming, Cherubim - wise, Thrones - are directly at the throne of the Lord (as they say further, receiving from him purity and perfection). The authorities, powers and dominions (the following ranks) are also revealed through their names. It is said that they are perfected and enlightened by means of illuminations sent from higher ranks, and also pass on to them inferior. Divine providence, passing from one messenger to another, wanes with time. The beginnings, the Angels and the Archangels are in charge of human institutions and patronize people. Then, in his work, Saint Dionysius the Areopagite describes and explains the symbols that are used in the Holy Scriptures to describe the Kingdom of Heaven.