╨╧рб▒с>■  LN■   K                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                ье┴▒@ Ё┐╬-jbjbШ Ш ЭbЄhЄh╩'      l░░░░░░░llll8д ░$l╔ ╢ррррррррЖ И И И И И И , Я┤┤ ░ррррр┤ └░░ррр└└└р\░р░рЖ └─TT░░░░рЖ └▓└r ░░r ╘ ЧM╒─ll<Дr r ╔ ╔ r S└Sr └├хDionysius is the author of three long treatises (The Divine Names, The Celestial Hierarchy, and The Ecclesiastical Hierarchy) one short treatise (The Mystical Theology) and ten letters expounding various aspects of Christian Philosophy from a mystical and Neoplatonic perspective. Presenting himself as Dionysius the Areopagite, the disciple of Paul mentioned in Acts 17:34, his writings had the status of apostolic authority until the 19th century when studies had shown the writings denoted a marked influence from the Athenian Neoplatonic school of Proclus and thus were probably written ca. 500. Although the attribution of authorship has proven to be a falsification, the unknown author (hereafter referred to as Ps-Dionysius) has not lost his credibility as an articulate Athenian Neoplatonist expressing an authentic Christian mystical tradition. Indeed with eloquent poetic language and strong exposition of ideas, the Dionysian corpus ranks among the classics of western spirituality. History and Development of Christian Platonism up to Pseudo-Dionysius Born within a 500-year old Graeco-Roman culture, Christianity received a pervasive influence from the then 400-year old Platonist tradition very early on. Despite the official Outlawing of so-called pagan philosophy in the 6th century, Platonism or Neoplatonism, continued to maintain a dynamically evolving influence for the ensuing thousand years within the sphere of Christianity and beyond that, interest in Platonism is waxing strong today. In general, the prominent early Christian Platonists were men already possessing a classical Graeco-Roman culture and schooled in the Middle Platonic tradition and who would subsequently convert to Christianity thus bringing their background and knowledge to the service of their new faith. Already, Philo of Alexandria (20 BC - 40 AD) had developed an extensive Middle Platonic interpretation of the Jewish scriptures (scriptural symbology, logos theology, moral philosophy, etc.). With the solid framework provided by Philo, Alexandria became the home of the first Christian Platonists: Clement (160 - 220) and Origen (185 -253) who both in their own way crafted a considerable system of correspondences between Platonism and Christianity. The influence of Neoplatonism can be seen with the Cappadocian fathers Basil (330-379), Gregory Nazianzus (329 - 389), and Gregory of Nyssa (331/40 - ca. 395); as well as Synesius of Cyrene (373? - 414). Origen's influence continued with the fathers of the Egyptian desert, Macarius (295 - 386), Evagrius Pontus (345 - 399), and John Cassian (+350). The Neoplatonic influence appears in the Latin Church with Marius Victorinus (281/291- ?), Ambrose (354 - 450), Augustine (354 - 430), and Boethius (460? - 524). Philiponus (fl. 500?) is a Christian Neoplatonist who studied with the last teachers of the pagan Athenian school. Mystery Schools, Gnosticism, Hermeticism, and the "Platonic Underground" In accordance with his Neoplatonic background, Ps-Dionysius adopts the initiation language of the Mystery religions. Basically, the Mystery religions can be considered as the esoteric counterpart to the exoteric popular religions. The symbols and mythology of popular cults of worship are thought to contain an esoteric meaning which reveal a deeper mystical knowledge. The pledge of secrecy being integral to the Mystery religions, comparatively little information about them has come down to us. There seems to be a stock of similar myths, symbols, and ritual common to all of them and their influence was pervasive in both the Pagan and Christian world: The Soul was the one subject, and the knowledge of the Soul the one object of all the ancient Mysteries. In the 'Fall' of PISTIS-SOPHIA, and her rescue by her Syzygy, JESUS, we see the ever-enacted drama of the suffering and ignorant Personality, which can only be saved by the immortal Individuality or rather by its own yearning towards IT (H. P. Blavatsky, "Commentary on the Pistis-Sophia," in Collected Writings, Vol. XIII, The Theosophical Publishing House, Wheaton: 1982, p. 40). The Neoplatonic schools at this period can be considered to represent a middle ground between the pagan esoteric cults [Hellenic Mysteries, Oriental Mystery cults (Mithraism, Attis), Hermetism, Greek alchemists (Zosimos)] and the popular state forms of religious worship. Whether a Christian Neoplatonist such as Ps-Dionysius played a similar mediating role between the exoteric forms of Judeo-Christianity (popular Roman Catholic state religion) and esoteric Christianity (Gnosticism, Arianism, Docetism) would be a matter of conjecture, but what is interesting is how the Dionysian corpus formulates a creative philosophical synthesis that reflects a more open Christian position in a period when all the above-mentioned religious movements where in a very dynamic state of ferment and conflict which saw the rise of Christianity and the waning of Paganism. The Works of Dionysius the Areopagite There are five works ascribed to Dionysius: The Divine Names, The Mystical Theology, The Celestial Hierarchy, The Ecclesiastical Hierarchy and his Epistles. All of these works are interrelated and, taken together, form a complex whole. Paul Rorem gives a very good overview of how these works unfold: The point here is that not all affirmations concerning God are equally inappropriate; they are arranged in a descending order of decreasing congruity. Affirmative theology begins with the loftier, more congruous comparisons and then proceeds "down" to the less appropriate ones. Thus, as the author reminds us, The Theological Representations [not extant] began with God's oneness and proceeded down into the multiplicity of affirming the Trinity and the incarnation. The Divine Names then affirmed the more numerous designations for God which come from mental concepts, while The Symbolic Theology [not extant] "descended" into the still more pluralized realm of sense perception and its plethora of symbols for the deity. This pattern of descending affirmations and ascending negations can be interpreted in terms of late Neoplatonism's "procession" from the One down into plurality and the "return" of all back to the One. In the "return," not all negations concerning God are equally appropriate; the attributes to be negated are arranged in an ascending order of decreasing incongruity, first considering and negating the lowest or most obviously false statements about God and then moving up to deny these that may seem more congruous. Thus the first to be denied are the perceptible attributes, starting with The Mystical Theology, Chapter 4, which therefore previews the two subsequent treatises on perceptible symbols, The Celestial Hierarchy and The Ecclesiastical Hierarchy. Chapter 2 of the former work will continue the theme of negating and transcending symbols, namely, interpreting first the most incongruous of the perceptible symbols attributed to the celestial, whether to the angels or to God. The anagogical or uplifting method of interpretation in these two treatises incorporates into itself the principles of negative theology. Both the spatial, material depiction of the angels in the scriptures and also the temporal, sequential images of God in the liturgy must be transcended in the ascent from the perceptible to the intelligible. Thus, "as we climb higher," Chapter 5 of The Mystical Theology denies and moves beyond all our concepts or "conceptual" attributes of God and concludes by abandoning all speech and thought, even negations. (Pseudo-Dionysius, The Complete Works, New York: Paulist Press 1987, p.140 note). rish theologian and Neoplatonist philosopher. Translated and made commentaries upon Pseudo-Dionysius. The name Eriugena means the same as Scotus, 'born in Ireland'. He is eulogized by Coulton as 'coming out of the darkness like a meteor', and by Russell as 'the most astonishing figure of the early Medieval period'. Though a singular and enigmatic figure who stood outside the mainstream, it is now widely accepted that John Scotus possessed the finest and most original intellect of the early Middle Ages. He was highly proficient in Greek, quite rare at that time in mainland Europe, and was thus well-placed for translation work. Though born in Ireland he later (c845) moved to France, where he took over the school, the Palatine Academy, at the invitation of King Charles I (Charles the Bald, 823-77). He remained in France for at least 30 years. At the request of the Greek Emperor Michael (in c858) John undertook some translation into Latin of the works of Pseudo-Dionysius and added his own commentary. He was thus the first to introduce the ideas of Neoplatonism from the Greek into the Western European intellectual tradition, where they were to have a deeply formative influence over Christian theology... His greatest work and the sole speculative system to be produced between the final collapse of the Roman Empire and the 11th century, is Periphyseon, СOn the Divisions of Nature,Т written 862-866. According to the system, Nature is the totality of the things that are and the things that are not. Such is the first division of nature into genera. ╩-═-╬-¤¤CJ$ф х ц , - <JKLХЦ)*╛l╩yz{бв╘╒t=}¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ф х ц , - <JKLХЦ)*╛l╩yz{бв╘╒t=}9"$:$;$<$=$>$?$@$A$B$C$D$E$F$G$H$I$J$K$L$M$N$O$P$Q$R$S$T$U$V$W$X$Y$н$3%╜%$&%&о&5'└'E(╧(Y)р)d*щ*t+п+░+,К,╙,╘,b-╚-╔-╩-╦-╠-═-╬-¤√√\}9"$:$;$<$=$>$?$@$A$B$C$D$E$F$G$H$I$J$K$L$M$N$O$P$Q$R$S$T$¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤T$U$V$W$X$Y$н$3%╜%$&%&о&5'└'E(╧(Y)р)d*щ*t+п+░+,К,╙,╘,b-╚-╔-¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤╔-╩-╦-╠-═-╬-¤°¤¤¤$a$0░╨/ ░р=!░"░#Ра$Р@%░|HHЄ@ √ юR-(№¤XXН└░-а^ь&'А №(I i(@ё ( NormalCJmH 66 Heading 1$$@&a$CJ<A@Є б< Default Paragraph Font,@Є, Header  ╞р└!, , Footer  ╞р└!,B@, Body Text$a$.P". 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