Explainer of the heavenly hierarchy: Hieromartyr Dionysius the Areopagite and the authenticity of his creations

Contents Preface 1. Biography of St. Dionysius the Areopagite 2. About the works of St. Dionysius the Areopagite 3. Criticism of the authenticity of the works of St. Dionysius and the testimonies of the holy fathers and modern scientists advocating their authenticity Conclusion List of used literature Materials from the Internet The article presents biographical information about the life of Saint Dionysius the Areopagite, the first bishop of Paris, a disciple of the Apostle Paul. Due to the fact that modern theologians, relying on Western theology, criticize the attribution of creation to Saint Dionysius, the second part of this article will show the inconsistency of the arguments of Western critics, and will provide arguments in defense of church opinion on this issue. 1. Biography of Saint Dionysius the Areopagite The Hieromartyr Dionysius was called the Areopagite because he was a member of the Areopagus - the supreme state council and court of Athens. “Areopagite” is a title indicating belonging to this organ. It is known about his life that he came from noble, wealthy parents who were pagans by faith. Naturally, he was also raised in paganism. He was educated in Athens, at that time there was a good philosophical education there. When he was 25 years old, he surpassed all his peers in philosophical knowledge who studied with him at the University of Athens. The knowledge he received there was not enough for him, and in order to improve in philosophy, he went to Egypt, to the city of Iliopolis. There were famous philosophers and teachers there, and it was there that he studied astronomy. The second part of his youth passed in this city. With him was his friend, whose name was Apollophon. Upon completion of his studies, he returned to Athens. There he married a woman named Damar. Respected by the citizens of Athens, he was elected a member of the Areopagus. It was at that moment that the holy Apostle Paul came to Athens. As we remember, he began to be indignant in spirit, seeing how many idols there were. He went to the Areopagus to preach. As the book of Acts tells us, all Athenians loved to constantly listen and talk about something new, they were curious people, they wanted to learn something new and get impressions. The Apostle Paul, taking advantage of their craving for novelty, came in and began to preach to them about the crucified and risen Christ. They began to laugh at him, but it was Dionysius, his wife Damar and several other people who believed after the words of the Apostle Paul. Around the year 54 of the 1st century, the Apostle Paul, according to legend, said to Saint Dionysius: “Believe in Him, that is, in Christ, know Him and serve righteously the true God” 1 . An interesting moment from the life of Dionysius the Areopagite played an important role in his faith in Christ. When he and a friend were in Egypt, the crucifixion of Christ occurred. We remember that a solar eclipse occurred for three hours, that is, there was complete darkness throughout the entire earth. Saint Dionysius was surprised because at noon there was complete darkness for three hours. There was also an earthquake when the Lord was crucified. Then Saint Dionysius exclaimed: “What is this? Either God, the Creator of the universe, suffers, or the end of this world has come.” He had a philosophically developed mind, and he came to such logical conclusions. Then, naturally, he forgot about it. When the Apostle Paul spoke about Christ, about the fact that He was crucified and He was resurrected, Dionysius remembered this event. This was the key moment when he became a believer. He realized that then God Himself suffered in a human body. Dionysius asked the Apostle Paul to pray for him, so that God would join him to the Church. When the Apostle Paul completed his sermon in Athens, naturally few people accepted him, and he decided to leave the city. In Athens there was a blind man who had not seen since birth. He begged the Lord to grant him healing. The Apostle Paul, hearing about this, crossed his eyes and said: “Lord Jesus Christ, who spit on the ground, made clay and anointed the eyes of the blind man, may He enlighten you with His Glory.” Immediately this blind man received his sight. The Apostle Paul told him: “Go to Dionysius.” The blind man came to Dionysius and said: “The Apostle Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, sent me to you, so that, as promised, you would come to him and, being baptized, receive forgiveness of sins.” Dionysius, of course, knew this blind man. He was a famous blind man throughout Athens; everyone knew that he had no eyeballs since birth. This blind man came to Dionysius and said that it was time to be baptized. It was a miracle. The Apostle Paul did this intentionally in order to further confirm Dionysius in the faith, and Dionysius believed. The Apostle Paul wanted to help the blind man, and he wanted to strengthen Dionysius in the faith. And after that, he, along with his wife Damaria and several sons, came to the Apostle Paul. The Apostle Paul baptized them. After baptism, Dionysius agreed with his wife that he would follow Christ. He left his wife and children and walked with the Apostle Paul for three years. I learned from him the experience of Christian life and learned to preach. Thanks to his zeal, the Apostle Paul, seeing in him a talent for serving God, made him bishop of the city of Athens. Saint Dionysius was also acquainted with other apostles, for example, with the Apostle Barnabas, with Clement of Rome. After three years, Saint Dionysius the Areopagite (believed to have been in 57) was present at the burial of the Most Holy Theotokos. He described his impressions of seeing the Mother of God in a letter to the Apostle Paul. This is what he said: “I bear witness to God that, besides God Himself, there is nothing in the universe so filled with divine power and grace. No one can wrap their minds around what I saw. I confess before God, when I, John (meaning John the Theologian, shining among the apostles like the sun in the sky), was brought before the face of the Blessed Virgin, I experienced an inexpressible feeling. Some kind of divine radiance shone before me, it illuminated my spirit. I felt the fragrance of indescribable aromas and was filled with such delight that neither my weak body nor my spirit could bear these signs of the firstfruits of eternal bliss and heavenly glory. From Her grace my heart fainted, my spirit fainted. If I had not remembered your instructions, I would have considered Her to be the true God. It is impossible to imagine greater bliss than the one I felt then.” This is a person's personal testimony. According to the teachings of the Church, the Mother of God after God is the first deified, that is, She is closest to God of all people. She was able to rise above all ranks of Angels, because the incontainable Christ God moved into Her womb, and She did not burn from the power of His Glory. It was for Her humility, for Her purity, that God strengthened Her. Dionysius the Areopagite saw her personally. He describes this in his letter to the Apostle Paul. And after some time, in 57, She left this world. And Dionysius the Areopagite, like all the apostles, was present at Her burial. There is a holiday in the Church that we celebrate at the end of August - the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary. After this event, Saint Dionysius decides to leave Athens and go to preach. He first went to Rome, where he converted many people to the Orthodox faith. He then preached in Germany and Spain. The Hieromartyr Clement of Rome, having learned about such jealousy of Dionysius the Areopagite, decided to send him to the area where there were wild pagans. Soon Dionysius the Areopagite, together with Bishop Lucian, priest Rusticus and deacon Eleutherius, went to Gaul. Dionysius preached in Gaul (the territory of modern France), namely, in the Roman settlement of Lutetia. This is a historical site where the city of Paris was later founded. Therefore, we can safely say that Saint Dionysius is the first bishop of the city of Paris, and Tradition clearly tells us about this. There he converted many people to faith and built a church. Now, by the way, on the site of this church there is a Catholic monastery of Saint-Denis. This monastery contains the tombs of all French monarchs. 25 kings, 10 queens, 84 princes and princesses were buried. Saint Dionysius himself is buried there. He performed divine services and prayed to God for the conversion of the Gallic people to Orthodoxy. And it was during that period that one of the persecutions began. The first persecution was under the Emperor Nero, the second under the Emperor Domitian, from 81 to 96. Emperor Domitian sent his military commander Sesinius to Gaul to torture Christians if they did not renounce their faith in the true God. Arriving at the place, Sesinius decided to seize and torture Saint Dionysius, the priest Rusticus and the deacon Eleutherius. Saint Dionysius, already at an advanced age, professed the true faith. When he refused to accept paganism and bow to false gods, he was ordered to be stripped and whipped with ropes. He endured and thanked God for the opportunity to suffer for the sake of His holy name. Since the beating did not affect them, because... The Lord miraculously preserved them; the executioners’ hands grew tired, and they were thrown into prison. The next morning, Dionysius was taken out of prison, the iron was heated and they threw it on him. During this, he sang Psalm 118: “Your word is very pure, kindled, and your servant has loved it” (Ps. 119:140). Nothing happened to him. He was taken off the hot iron and thrown to be devoured by beasts, but their mouths did not open, God did not allow them to bite the saint. Seeing that this did not work, they were thrown into the fire, but Dionysius did not burn. Realizing that it was useless, he was again thrown into prison. On the second night, Christians began to come to Dionysius in prison. At night he performed the Divine Liturgy, communing with all the Body and Blood of Christ. During the Liturgy, Christians saw above Dionysius a bright, indescribable divine light, an amazing radiance and the Lord Christ as the King of Glory, surrounded by an army of Angels. They realized that Christ was with them and supported them. Finally, they were again brought to Sesinius, who again began to offer sacrifices to idols. They didn't obey. Then they were led out of the city to Mount Arieva. This was the name of the mountain in honor of Arius, a pagan god. Subsequently, this mountain was renamed Montmartre, which translated into Russian means “mountain of martyrs.” According to Tradition, it was to this mountain that Saint Dionysius was brought along with other martyrs. Saint Dionysius prayed to God. Tradition has preserved the text of this prayer. Let us quote it here: “O God, my God, who created me and taught me Your eternal wisdom, who revealed Your mysteries to me, and was with me wherever I was. I thank You for everything that You have arranged through me for the glory of Your most holy name and for the fact that You visited my old age, depressed by my labors and striving to contemplate You, calling me to You with my friends. So, I pray to You: accept me and my friends, be merciful to those whom You acquired with Your Blood and numbered us among Your servants for our service to You, for Yours is the strength and power with the Father and the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Then he said, “Amen,” and bowed his head, because they were executed on this mountain. With a blunt axe, in order to cause great torment, Saint Dionysius the Areopagite was beheaded, along with the priest Rusticus and the deacon Eleutherius. And then an amazing moment! The head, naturally, rolled. Everyone thought they were killed. But the Lord performed the greatest miracle, showing that Christian martyrs are invincible. The body of the martyr suddenly stood up without a head. Dionysius took his head in his hands and began to descend from the mountain, reaching the church on the site of which there is now a Catholic monastery. This is a real fact. In France everyone knows this legend. "Mountain of Martyrs" is a famous landmark. According to his life, he walked several miles, about 2–3 kilometers. And as soon as he got there, he fell and immediately gave up the ghost there. Committing his soul to God, he gave his head to the Christian Catulla, who wanted to bury his body too, but the pagans did not let her. Then she invited pagan warriors to her home, fed them, and gave them gifts. As a result, the issue was resolved immediately. They allowed the body of Saint Dionysius to be taken. Christians buried him in the place where he gave his head to the pious Christian Catulla. It was the year 96 of the 1st century. Saint Dionysius himself was 90 years old at that time, i.e. he passed away into eternity at a fairly old age. Naturally, quite a few miracles occurred from his tomb. In France, in the monastery of Saint-Denis in Paris, there is a place called the “Archaeological Crypt”. According to legend, it is here that the burial place of Saint Dionysius and the priest Rusticus and deacon Eleutherius, who suffered with him, are located. Here is such an amazing saint, who studied philosophy, to whom the Apostle Paul revealed many secrets during a joint missionary journey. The Apostle Paul, as we know, was caught up to the third heaven, that is, above paradise, and heard words unspeakable (cf. 2 Cor. 12:2-4), as he himself said, that the ear did not hear, the eye did not see, it did not even enter the heart of man what God had prepared for those who love Him (cf. 1 Cor. 2:9). Above the third heaven are the angelic worlds. The Apostle Paul conveyed this knowledge about the angelic world to Saint Dionysius, that is, that which is above the human mind. That is why Saint Dionysius described the heavenly realities of the angelic world in his creations. 2. About the works of Saint Dionysius the Areopagite Now about his creations: four treatises have survived. The first is called “On the Heavenly Hierarchy.” All angelic ranks, starting with the Seraphim - the highest to the lowest, are described in detail by him, namely, what they do, their properties, as far as it is possible for a person to understand. His second creation is called “On the Church Hierarchy”. This is a pattern of hierarchy. Our church hierarchy is structured according to the model of the angelic world. In this work, St. Dionysius the Areopagite examines the concepts of “bishop”, “priest”, “deacon” and so on. There he also talks about monasticism, the Sacraments, and the Divine Liturgy. When they say that all this was invented only in the third century, Saint Dionysius testifies that it was known in the first century. His third creation is called “On the Names of God.” This, by the way, is a very interesting treatise, where he examines the different names of God found in the Bible, interprets them, and reveals what calling God directly by such a name gives us. And his fourth creation is called “On Mystical Theology.” In it he tells how to know God. And it has a theme like “Divine Darkness.” God's light is so bright that we are blinded. And God for us even to some extent becomes a kind of Divine darkness, super-brightness. And 10 letters from Saint Dionysius to various persons and to priests have also survived. In particular, even one letter to the Apostle John the Theologian and an excerpt from his letter to the Apostle Paul, where he describes his impressions of meeting the Mother of God. 3. Criticism of the authenticity of the works of Saint Dionysius and the testimony of the holy fathers and modern scientists advocating their authenticity There is a small problem regarding the authorship of the works of Saint Dionysius. Until the 15th century, the Church had no doubt at all that these were his creations. Historically, until the 6th century, the works of Saint Dionysius were not widespread, that is, they were passed down according to tradition in the Alexandrian Church. For example, Clement of Alexandria, Origen, and the holy martyr Dionysius refer to his creations already in the third century 3. Saints Gregory the Theologian and Athanasius the Great also referred to him. Finally, the Monk Maximus the Confessor in the 7th century even wrote an interpretation of his works and even then began to refute the opinion that these works did not belong to Saint Dionysius, that they were written by some other person, also a saint, also a Christian, who simply signed the name of Saint Dionysius. The Monk Maximus the Confessor, in his interpretations and prefaces to them, perfectly refuted doubts about the authenticity of the authorship of Saint Dionysius. It would seem that the issue is closed. But in the 15th century a man named Erasmus of Rotterdam appeared, who again questioned the authorship of Saint Dionysius. He was a Catholic theologian with a fallen human mind, a heretical mind. How can a heretical mind know the Truth? He began to prove on logical and theological grounds that these works did not belong to Saint Dionysius the Areopagite, and that the author was a man who lived in the 6th century, who wrote it to polemicize with the Monophysites. And there was another point of view, that it was actually written by a Monophysite. It is also known that Martin Luther was also critical of the works of Saint Dionysius the Areopagite, who wrote in 1520: “Dionysius is the most harmful; he platonizes more than he Christianizes.” And a little later, in 1537, he said: “I advise you to beware like the plague of this “Mystical Theology” of Dionysius and other similar books filled with empty chatter” 4. Archimandrite Raphael Karelin commented on this phenomenon: “Why do theosophists and reformers of all stripes have an insurmountable hatred of Dionysius the Areopagite? Why was some kind of conspiracy of slander and misinformation created around him? Why are these people trying to prove that Dionysius did not exist at all with such persistence as their fellow atheists wanted to prove that there was no real historical person of Jesus of Nazareth, and the Gospel is a tangle of myths of late origin? Probably only two people in all of history caused such a huge wave of protest and denial as Jesus the Nazarene and Dionysius the Areopagite. Of course, these are incomparable values, but in some ways the Areopagite greatly annoyed the enemies of Jesus" 5 . So, all this began to arise in Western Protestant theology and eventually moved into the academic theology of the Orthodox Church. Some people appeared who denied the authenticity of the messages of Saint Dionysius the Areopagite and all his creations. These works were translated into Slavic only in the 14th century, but it is known that even in the 15th century, Metropolitan Cyprian of Moscow, rewrote these works with his own hand. He recognized the authorship and said that it was Dionysius the Areopagite himself. In the 20th century, Archpriest John Meyendorff very vehemently denied the authorship of Saint Dionysius. But in true theological science there are a number of arguments against these Protestant innovations. Let us directly consider the attitude of the holy fathers to this topic in order to show the inconsistency of these arguments. The 3rd century author, Hieromartyr Dionysius of Alexandria, clearly testifies that Dionysius the Areopagite wrote his works, and that they were known to the Church in the 3rd century: “The Great Dionysius, a glorious and eloquent man, having known Him from the writings that were about Him, wished to be baptized by the Apostle with his entire household, then becoming the head of the hierarchy, he became famous for his composition "On Divine Theology". He was a disciple of Paul, through whose mouth Christ preached the Gospel to the pagans. The book of this famous man clearly testifies to how famous the great Dionysius was, who wrote the book “On Theology”, which we are now talking about. However, no one denies this; Even those who believe the opposite, if they carefully and thoughtfully read this philosophical and divine work, then, guided by the true testimony of this teacher, which is before our eyes, will understand without any difficulty that these divine writings belong not to any other man, but to the great Dionysius, who, being gifted with divine inspiration, stood with great piety at the head of the Athenian Church. And what other teacher after Hierotheus, his divine mentor, was then stronger in the word of the one who wrote so sublimely about theology and so correctly about the sciences? Who else has penetrated more deeply than Dionysius into the secrets hidden in the divine scriptures, as those who carefully and with love for the truth read his works that are among us can be convinced? That is why he deserves trust even when he himself testifies to himself, as, for example, in a letter to the holy Bishop of Smyrna Polycarp, who courageously fought for the faith and was a listener to the Evangelist John, the beloved disciple of our Lord” 6. Researcher John Parker wrote the following regarding this evidence: “If, therefore, the bishops of Alexandria and Rome exchanged letters only a few years after the death of Panten and only seven years after the death of Ammonius, and in these letters they stated that the works were undoubtedly written by Dionysius the Areopagite, then it would be the height of absurdity to assert that such works were unknown to Panten and Ammonius.” 7 This is also indicated by an excerpt from a conversation by Origen, the authenticity of which was confirmed by his translator and commentator Rufinus. In this conversation, Origen, referring to the authority of the “great Dionysius the Areopagite,” states: “In Him (in Jesus Christ), as the great Dionysius the Areopagite says, there is presubstantiality and Divinity” 8 . Saint Gregory the Theologian in his 38th word makes a hidden reference to Saint Dionysius the Areopagite, saying: “Such is the Holy of Holies, hidden from the Seraphim themselves, and glorified by the three Shrines, which converge into a single Dominion and Divinity, about which someone else spoke beautifully and very highly before us.” 9 The Monk Maximus the Confessor writes: “And the most powerful Paul (that is, the Apostle Paul) initiated Dionysius into all dogmas, and raised him as a teacher - he himself says this - the greatest Hierotheus" 10. And further he says: “One can be surprised at the correctness and great education of this holy Dionysius, guided by a truly deep knowledge of immaculate church traditions to consider the false teachings of the Hellenic philosophers in relation to the Truth. The inattentiveness of disdainful experts of good taste should rather be regretted and mourned, for they balance the proper desire of other people for knowledge with their lack of education. Reading the works of some authors, without being convinced by the thought contained in them, they immediately begin to recklessly slander the author. However, since they are completely unable to direct their ridicule and refute what they say, they should turn their anger on themselves and rather bemoan the fact that they themselves did not try to understand what leads to knowledge, or, in fact, did not come willingly to learn from those who are able to do so, in order to get rid of perplexities. So be it, they say, but Eusebius Pamphilus and also Origen did not know Dionysius. These should be answered that very much remained inaccessible to Eusebius, without falling into his hands; Yes, he does not say that he collected everything, but rather admits that he could not get to more books” 11. Eusebius Pamphilus is a famous church historian of the 4th century who collected the ancient works of the holy fathers. And one of the arguments against the authorship of Dionysius the Areopagite is his absence in the lists of this historian. But Eusebius himself, according to the Monk Maximus, said that the works may simply not have reached his hands, like many other books of the holy fathers. Further, Saint Maximus the Confessor writes: “A certain Roman deacon named Peter told me that everything written by the divine Dionysius was preserved, having been placed in Rome in the library of sacred books... Since some people say that these are the works not of the saint, but of someone who lived after him, of necessity they must consider him as someone forbidden and an insolent person, lying about himself such that he lived at the same time as the apostles and wrote letters to those whom he was not a contemporary and to whom he did not write. To invent a prophecy for the Apostle John, who was in exile, that he would return to the Asian land and teach as before is evidence of the depravity of a man madly pursuing prophetic glory. But to come up with and say that at the very time of Christ’s saving suffering he was with Apollophanius in Helioupolis, where they saw and discussed a solar eclipse, that it then occurred not in accordance with the laws of nature and was unusual; talk about yourself that he was present with the apostles when the holy remains of the Holy Mother of God Mary were carried out, and cite the words of Hierotheus, his teacher, as spoken among the funeral words; to invent messages and words, as if addressed to the disciples of the apostles - how bad and deserving of condemnation a random person must be for this, and not that a man so exalted in custom and knowledge, capable of surpassing everything comprehended by the senses and coming into contact with intelligible beauty, and through it, so far as this is possible, with God! 12. So, from the words of St. Maxim, we can indeed conclude that we cannot accept if some person writes lies about himself, that, for example, he saw the Mother of God or wrote to the Apostle John the Theologian. Maximus the Confessor writes that he is a vicious person if he blatantly lies. This is not Christianity at all, but Protestant theologians thought so. The Monk John of Damascus, when quoting Saint Dionysius in the testimonies of the ancient fathers about icons, wrote the following: “Saint Dionysius, Bishop of Athens, from the Epistle to the Apostle and Theologian John” 13. That is, he clearly recognized this creation. Saint Simeon of Thessaloniki writes about Saint Dionysius the Areopagite in several places: “The divine Dionysius was the first to write about the angelic and divine monastic way of life. The Savior himself taught the teaching about it, and this teaching was observed by His disciples.” ... “One should not ordain without the Liturgy,” we are taught by tradition. The divine Dionysius, the Apostolic successor, also commands this, saying that everything is accomplished through the Liturgy and the communion of the Mysteries of Christ, falling at the altar and being honored with ordination, sealing, invocation of grace, sacred prayers, proclamation and greetings, and are dedicated to these, as well as to the others that he has consecrated to us.” “A monk is superior to a priest living in the world,” as Dionysius says, “not in terms of priesthood, but in terms of lifestyle.” “Dionysius also expounds the sacred rites of monastic initiation and indicates the place for the monastic order - the first after the priestly order” 14. The Monk Nikita Stiphatus says: “Paul, who ascended to the third heaven and observed all the sights there and heard ineffable words, and Dionysius the Areopagite, his disciple, whom Paul ordered to write down what he saw, and the ineffable things that he heard from those initiates into the mysteries of Revelation, which he expresses when he writes to Timothy” 15. St. Gregory Palamas wrote: “The great Dionysius, who was worthy to hear the voice of Christ’s apostles, which was heard in every way from a fiery tongue, and with intense and perfect teaching in that which relates to the divine, having fairly trained [his] mind and tongue, and not without divine inspiration, moved for the benefit of those who will come after [him], to expound [the doctrine] about the divine union and separation, made clear to the wise the most thorough and true theological teaching on these subjects, so that we, using this [teaching] as a canon and light, and with its help “the right ruling word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15), would easily notice and for [their own] benefit correct those who deviate from it or pervert it in any way, as far as possible, extending, by the grace of God, a helping hand to them, if they they want it; and if not, then at least swayed by the dexterity and credibility of their eloquence” 16. Saint Ignatius Brianchaninov says: “The doctrine of this division of Angels was expounded by Saint Dionysius the Areopagite, a disciple of the holy Apostle Paul, who in his writings, as we have seen, names some ranks” 17. Many can say that one or even several holy fathers simply wrote their point of view. What to answer? So that there is no doubt left, let us remember that the Holy Spirit speaks to us through the Council of the Apostles, starting from the first century, and, naturally, He speaks at subsequent Councils The Seventh Ecumenical Council, which established many rules and teachings on the veneration of icons in order to refute heretical errors, established the second rule: “We determine that metropolitans should test him to the degree of undoubted conviction whether he is prepared to read with reason, and not fluently, the sacred rules and the Holy Gospel, the book of the divine Apostle and all Divine Scripture, as well as to live in accordance with the divine commandments and to the teachings of the people entrusted to him; since the essence of our hierarchy consists of God-given words, that is, true knowledge of the divine scriptures, as the great Dionysius said” 18. Here, the authority of the Seventh Ecumenical Council naturally implies that it was Saint Dionysius the Areopagite who wrote this work on hierarchy. The murdered priest Daniil Sysoev, of blessed memory, wrote the following: “We cannot doubt the authenticity of the writings of this saint (hieromartyr Dionysius the Areopagite - author’s note), confirmed by the authority of two Ecumenical Councils (VIth and VIIth) and the liturgical practice of our Church, for the sake of godless and heretical science, relying on very flimsy foundations (such as the impossibility for a 1st century father to write in language Neoplatonists or supposed borrowings from Plotinus, which could go in the opposite direction)" 19. Finally, the Tradition of the Church is also recorded in the texts of the divine service. And if the Church had not accepted that these creations belonged to Saint Dionysius the Areopagite, then they would not have been reflected in the texts. If we turn to the Canon of the Hieromartyr Dionysius the Areopagite, it contains the following words: “Exceeding the heavenly circles, Father, you have expounded to all the worldly ranks, and armies, and lordships, with lofty words and all-wise teachings.” “Having cleared away the lower hierarchy, you raised everything to one unity, hierarch Dionysius.” “Ascending through virtues, you were exalted into heaven, more pleasing to God, and you knew the ranks of angels, and all the highest stations, and the Trisolar Dawn, a skill from Paul.” “In the abyss of wisdom, teaching, the Spirit of depth, the Trinity, you preached one Divinity, reverend, having written off all the angelic ranks and the secret of those radiances, the wise God 20.” From these words it is clear that the divine service clearly recognizes the authorship of Saint Dionysius. What other arguments are there from critics? They say that stylistically his creations are not similar to the Epistles of the apostles who lived in the first century. But who was Saint Dionysius? He was a philosopher, that is, his language was sharpened, so his creations are distinguished by philosophical terminology. And we know that, depending on their education, even the apostles wrote differently, they had different epistolary styles. If they even had a different style of epistles among themselves, then why can’t Saint Dionysius have his own individual philosophical style? They also say that Saint Dionysius quotes many books of the New Testament and uses them as books of Holy Scripture, but the canon of Holy Scripture was determined only in the 5th century. At one of the Councils, a list of divinely inspired books of the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments was listed. We know that before this, Saint Athanasius the Great listed these books in his 39th Easter Epistle. This gives reason to say that since Saint Dionysius classifies these books as Holy Scripture, and the Church officially recognized them only in the 4th and 5th centuries, it means that he lived after the 4th century. Here the logic is incorrect, because, firstly, Saint Dionysius personally knew the Apostle John the Theologian and knew that his words were from the Holy Spirit, which is why he refers to them as the words of the highest authority. And the fact that these works were written in the first century is also evidenced by the following: he quotes the words, for example, of the Apostle Bartholomew and St. Clement of Rome. And these saints lived in the first century. That is, he not only quotes the Bible, that is, the epistle of John the Theologian as a biblical inspired text, but also the works of the saints who lived in the first century. If he lived in the fifth or sixth century, he would quote, for example, St. John Chrysostom, but we do not see this. Why does he quote specifically the words of those who lived in the first century? From this we conclude that he himself lived at the same time and quoted church authors who were authoritative in his time. Disputes also arise regarding the word “hypostasis”. Saint Dionysius uses it in the same way as Saints Basil the Great and Gregory the Theologian used it after the 4th century. Until the 4th century, the words “nature” and “hypostasis” in the doctrine of the Trinity were not precisely defined. That is, the exact theological meaning was not invested in them. It was Saint Basil the Great who put into it the church-wide precise meaning that “nature” is about something common, and “hypostasis” is an individual who is clothed in these general qualities. It is clear that, for example, we are all human by nature, and by hypostasis each of us is a specific person, for example, the girl Natalia or the boy Mikhail. And so they say that Saint Dionysius already quotes the word “hypostasis” in this sense, that only in the 4th century the holy fathers defined this meaning, which means that, according to these theologians, he lived after them. A question may also arise here: for example, in the Epistle to the Hebrews there is the word “hypostasis.” “This being the radiance of glory and the image of His hypostasis (χαρακτὴρ τῆς ὑποστάσεως)” (Heb. 1:3). For example, the word “essence” - nature - it is also used when Christ gave the prayer: “Give us this day our daily bread” σήμερον). “Essential”, that is, “necessary”, the word here is επιούσιον. There is a closeness with the term “Οὐσία”, i.e. essence. In the parable of the prodigal son, in the younger son’s request for part of the estate, this word is also present: “And the youngest of them said to his father: Father! give me the next portion of the estate (μέρος τῆς οὐσίας) (Luke 15:12). From this we can conclude that the very concept of “essence” existed in the Holy Scriptures. And finally, the Holy Spirit. Couldn’t He have taught Saint Dionysius to use the terms “hypostasis” and “nature” in the first century with the same meaning as He later instructed Basil the Great and Gregory the Theologian in the use of this term? We either believe that the Holy Spirit can instruct us in the meaning of terms, or we don’t. There are theologians who do not believe. It turns out they have a problem. Some also say that Saint Dionysius used terms that were approved only at the IV Ecumenical Council, i.e. in the 5th century. Here they are: “unmerged”, “unchanging”, “inseparable”, “inseparable”. But again, the terms themselves could well have existed before they were approved at the Council. Saint Ignatius the God-Bearer also writes about Christ in the same sense, for example, that Christ is the Son of Man and the Son of God, He is both physical and spiritual, He is both born and unborn, He is God in the flesh, He is the true life from Mary, He was at first subject to suffering, but at the same time, like God, He was not subject (Epistle to the Ephesians) 21. This clearly speaks of His two natures. If in the 1st century the Church already had such an understanding, then Saint Dionysius could have used these terms, that is, there are no contradictions in this. Some also claim that, according to scientific facts, in the writings of St. Dionysius there are quotes and exact excerpts from the philosopher Proclus, who died at the end of the 5th century, in 485. It turns out that he is also accused of falsification. But the 2nd century martyr Justin the Philosopher said that some philosophers stole much from the Old Testament, teachings and passed them off as their own. Saint Justin speaks about this in his apology: “And Plato, saying that “guilt is in the man who chooses, but God is not guilty,” borrowed this from the prophet Moses. For Moses is more ancient than all the Greek writers. And in everything that philosophers and poets spoke about the immortality of the soul, about punishments after death, about the contemplation of heavenly things and about similar subjects, they used the prophets - through them they could understand and express this. Therefore, everyone seems to have the seeds of truth: but they have not clearly understood them, which they are convicted of by contradicting themselves." 22 St. Gregory Palamas also speaks about this: “We, hearing pious speeches from the Hellenes, do not consider them pious themselves, nor do we classify them as teachers, because even though we know that they took all this from us - it was not for nothing that one of them said about Plato: “Who is Plato, if not the Attic Moses?” - even though we, I say, know that if they have something good, then they They picked this up from us from hearsay, however, having looked closely, we guess that they did not understand everything in the same sense” 23. The Church recognized the existence of such a trick of philosophers. Why did they decide that Dionysius took it and stole his thought from a philosopher of the 5th century, on the basis of which he wrote his philosophical work? Why not the other way around? Why didn't the 5th century philosopher steal Dionysius, the greatest Athenian philosopher of the 1st century, his idea and pass off his ideas as his own? Interesting point. The Monk Maximus the Confessor writes about this: “It is appropriate to know that some of the external philosophers, and especially Proclus, often use the speculations of Blessed Dionysius and his very words. And therefore one can think that the most ancient of the Athenian philosophers, as he recalls in this book, appropriating his works, hid them in order to look like the fathers of these divine sayings. But by God's providence real work has now appeared to expose their vanity and frivolity. And that it is common for those to steal from us, teaches the divine Basil in the words “In the beginning was the Word.” In this speech he says this: "Therefore, I know many of the philosophers who are external to the Word of truth, great in worldly wisdom, who were amazed at Him and dared to add Him to their writings. For the enemy is the devil and he brings our good to his priests." So it is here. Here are the words directly spoken by the Pythagorean Numenius: “What is Plato if not Moses speaking the Attic dialect?” As Eusebius, who was the mentor of Caesarea in Palestine, testifies, no one - neither of our co-religionists, nor of our opponents - can deny that not only now, but also before the coming of Christ, it was a common thing for adherents of external philosophy to steal our wisdom" 24. It is known that in Proclus himself this philosophical terminology is very heterogeneous, that is, it is not fully formalized, and in Saint Dionysius this same terminology is even more unformed. The question arises: if the authors have similar terminology, but for some it is more structured, then for whom is it primary? When is it proposed in a general form, or when is it already put into a certain structure? From this it is logically clear that Saint Dionysius was the first to use this, and the philosopher Proclus formalized this terminology in certain philosophical terms. Great educated theologian of the 19th–20th centuries. Saint Nicholas of Serbia (Velimirović) gives the following information about Saint Dionysius the Areopagite: “The Apostle Paul ordained him Bishop of Athens, for he had [by that time] left his wife, children, and his position for the love of Christ. Dionysius traveled for quite a long time with the Apostle Paul and met all the other apostles of Christ. He especially went to Jerusalem to see the Most Holy Theotokos, and described this meeting in one of his works. Together with the other apostles, he was present at the burial of the Blessed Virgin Mary. When his teacher, Saint Paul, suffered martyrdom, Dionysius desired such a death for himself. [For this purpose] he retired to Gaul together with the presbyter Rusticus and the deacon Eleutherius to preach the Gospel among the barbarians. He suffered a lot, but he succeeded in a lot. Thanks to his works, many pagans converted to the faith of Christ. [In Lutetia (now Paris)] Dionysius built a small church where he performed divine services. When he was 90 years old, he was captured and tortured for Christ, along with Rusticus and Eleutherius, until all three were beheaded by the sword. The severed head of Saint Dionysius bounced a great distance and fell in front of a certain Christian woman Catulla, who piously buried it along with her body. Saint Dionysius suffered during the reign of Domitian in the year 96. He wrote famous works “On the Divine Names”, “On the Heavenly Hierarchy”, “On the Church Hierarchy”, “On Mysterious Theology”, and on “The Most Holy Theotokos” 25. In the same work, Saint Nicholas of Serbia poetically praises Saint Dionysius the Areopagite as a wonderful seer of the Divine mysteries: “The wonderful theologian Dionysius the seer of secrets, Writer of Divine secrets, ruler to heaven, He collected his mind in his heart, he turned it to the Lord - And he revealed all the glory of the hierarchy of Heavenly Powers: Cherubim, Seraphim and Thrones on High - This is the first rank, close to the Lord God. Powers, Light Forces, Eternal Dominions - Behold, the middle rank of God is not flowing. With the Archangels, the Angels together with the Principalities - The third rank, which became famous for its banners. The saint contemplated the Mother of God in fear, I comprehended the wondrous heavenly laws: He saw the flow of endless heavenly forces And illuminated my heart with the radiance of stars. I carefully collected everything I saw into a book, He conveyed good things to people for edification. He died his earthly feat by death for Christ, Afterwards, in the palaces of paradise, he shone in the sky. The ethereal armies are rich in wondrous gifts, Dionysius and brother are called the Mystery One” 26. Saint Nicholas (Velimirović) compiled the “Ohrid Prologue” as a church-wide collection of teachings, expressing church opinion on the issues raised in his work. Of course, theologians who do not recognize Saint Dionysius as the author of his works and the fact that he was the first bishop of Paris can say that Saint Nicholas probably did not know about the scientific data cited by Western theologians. But how could he not know if he studied in the West for a long time? Also his note in the Ohrid Prologue itself regarding whether St. Dionysius was the Bishop of Paris states: “Some historians believe that Dionysius of Paris is a different person from St. Dionysius the Areopagite.” But the author has taken this out of the equation, and in the work itself he writes a general church opinion, spiritually beneficial for the readers of his work. In addition, in current modern science there is an opinion that “the authenticity of the works attributed to Dionysius the Areopagite is practically beyond doubt” 27. According to the conclusions of modern scientists, “The corpus of works of Dionysius the Areopagite was known at the end of the 4th century AD. A detailed textual comparison of the works of Dionysius with those of Proclus, including an important remark in the latter commentary on Parmenides, shows that Proclus depends on Dionysius, and not vice versa. Moreover, close lexical parallels between Dionysius and the Alexandrian philosophical school, along with many internal details, indicate a time of creation before the 3rd century." 28 Also, modern scholars who support the authenticity of the Areopagite Corpus emphasize that “Dionysius contains the earliest description of the Liturgy, testifies to the canonicity of the Book of Revelation, and even contains a historical mention of the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary. His theology of symbols provides first-century evidence of the theology underlying icon veneration, supporting archaeological evidence showing that early Christians used icons. His biographical remarks complement the historical details in the Book of Acts and provide valuable information about the establishment of Christian ecclesiology 29 . You need to know that in the scientific world there are problems with the authorship of the corpus of Dionysius the Areopagite. It is clear that everyone has their own will, everyone can have their own opinion whether these works belong to Saint Dionysius or not. We need to follow the opinion of the Church, what we sing at services, what the holy fathers taught, and not what Western theologians invented in the 15th-16th centuries. Now they are trying to present this as some kind of scientifically proven truth. But all these things are easily refuted. The only thing we can assume is that the works of Saint Dionysius were copied starting from the 1st century. If they were clearly glorified by the Church only in the 6th century, then it is quite possible that the scribes could have corrected something somewhere, for example, by referring to the terminology of the 5th century. At the same time, it is important to remember that the Holy Spirit could have directly instructed Saint Dionysius on the proper use of terms that became generally accepted only after the 4th century. In conclusion, we can say that the life and theology of Saint Dionysius the Areopagite is a striking example of how the teachings of the Apostle Paul were received and philosophically developed by Saint Dionysius. His treatises On the Heavenly Hierarchy, On the Church Hierarchy and other works provide valuable information about the teaching of the Church in the first century and are important contributions to theological thought. The question of the authenticity of the works of Saint Dionysius the Areopagite arose in the Western Protestant tradition, however, the Fathers of the Church confirm his authorship, and ecumenical councils, the liturgical practice of the Orthodox Church and some modern studies continue to recognize them as the true works of the Hieromartyr Dionysius, who already in the 1st century used the terms “hypostasis”, “nature” and others, anticipating the formulations of the 4th-5th centuries, the origin of which is not from later philosophers, but from the Spirit The saint who revealed them to Saint Dionysius. Saint Dionysius the Areopagite remains one of the most significant theologians of the early centuries, and his teaching continues to inspire and instruct the Church to the present day. List of used literature Gregory Palamas, St. Treatises. About Divine Union and Separation. – [transl. from Greek and approx. Archimandrite. Nektary (Yashunsky)] – Krasnodar: Text. 2007. Daniil Sysoev, priest. “Who is like God?” or “How long was the day of creation?” – 2nd ed. – M.: Charitable Foundation “Missionary Center named after Priest Daniil Sysoev”, 2011. Acts of the Ecumenical Councils, published in Russian translation at the Kazan Theological Academy. Volume seven. Third edition. Kazan. Central Printing House, 1908. Dionysius the Areopagite, holy martyr. A corpus of essays with an appendix of interpretations by Rev. Maximus the Confessor; Per. from Greek and rise Art. G.M. Prokhorova. – Ed. 2nd, rev. – St. Petersburg: Oleg Abyshko Publishing House, 2006. Dionysius the Great, Holy Martyr. Bishop of Alexandria. Creations in Russian translation. Publication of the Kazan Theological Academy. Kazan, 1900. Fragments from a letter to Sixtus, Pope of Rome, beginning with the words: “I received your message.” Minea - M.: Publishing house. Council of the Russian Orthodox Church, 2002-. Volume 12 / Minea October. – 2002. 3rd day. Holy Martyr Dionysius the Areopagite. Canon at Matins. pp. 92–98. Nikita Stifat, Rev. Letters. Paradise and Man: The Legacy of Rev. Nikita Stifata: Scientific. ed. / Priest Nikolai Kim. – St. Petersburg: Aletheya, 2003. Nikola Serbian (Velimirović), St. / Per. from Serbian Sergei Fonov. – Moscow: Pilgrim, 2005-. / Vol. 7: Ohrid Prologue: October, November, December. – 2008. Nikitopoulos, E., & Truglia, P. C. (2024). In defense of the authenticity of the Dionysian corpus (I). Revista Teologică, 105(1), Nikitopoulos, E., & Truglia, P. C. (2024). In defense of the authenticity of the Dionysian corpus (II). Revista Teologică, 106(2) Lives of saints in Russian, set out according to the guide of the Chetyih-Menya of St. Demetrius of Rostov / book 2, October. – Moscow: “Ark”, 2010. Works like the saints of our father Gregory the Theologian, Archbishop of Constantinople: T. 1–2. – St. Petersburg: Publishing house. P.P. Soykin, [1912]. Justin, martyr and philosopher. Essays. M.. University printing house, Strastnoy Boulevard 1892. Gregory Palamas, St. Triads in defense of the sacredly silent: [Translation] /; [Afterword V. Veniaminova, p. 344–381]. – Moscow: Kanon, 1995. Vasily (Osborne), Bishop of Sergius. Anthropology of Dionysius the Areopagite. Almanac “Alpha and Omega” No. 31, 2001 [Electronic resource] // URL: https://www.pravmir.ru/anthropologiya-dionisiya-areopagita/?ysclid=mhloyjlmlx86159519 (access date 05.11.25) Demetrius of Rostov (Tuptalo), St. Lives of the Saints. The life and suffering of the holy martyr Dionysius the Areopagite [Electronic resource] // URL: https://azbyka.ru/otechnik/Dmitrij_Rostovskij/zhitija-svjatykh/851#source (access date 05.11.25) Ignatius the God-Bearer, Holy Martyr. Bishop of Antioch. 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See Lives of the saints in Russian, set out according to the guide of the Chetyih-Menya of St. Demetrius of Rostov / book 2, October. – Moscow: “Kovcheg”, 2010. P. 78. See more about this here: about Saint Dionysius the Areopagite and his creations. // Magazine “Christian Reading, published at the St. Petersburg Theological Academy.” – St. Petersburg: In the Printing House of E. Fisher. – 1848 – Part II. – pp. 146–178. Creations of St. Dionysius the Great Bishop of Alexandria in Russian translation. Publication of the Kazan Theological Academy. Kazan, 1900. Fragments from a letter to Sixtus, Pope of Rome, beginning with the words: “I received your message.” pp. 178–179. This text is considered to be attributed to the Holy Spirit. Dionysius of Alexandria, fragments of these letters are preserved in two Syriac manuscripts. The Works of Dionysius the Areopagite by John Parker [Electronic resource] // URL: https://www.wisdomlib.org/christianity/book/the-works-of-dionysius-the areopagite/d/doc1561775.html (access date 05.11.25) See Inter. Opp. Orig. hom. 1 in quaedam N. Test. locala. Quote from: “Christian reading, published at the St. Petersburg Theological Academy.” – St. Petersburg: In the Printing House of E. Fisher. – 1848 – Part II. – pp. 146–178. [Electronic resource] // URL: http://tvorenia.russportal.ru/index.php?id=patrologia.dionysius1848#010 (access date 05.11.25) Works like the saints of our father Gregory the Theologian, Archbishop of Constantinople: T. 1–2. – St. Petersburg: Publishing house. P.P. Soykin, [1912]. / T. 1. / Word 38. P. 525–526. A corpus of essays with an appendix of interpretations by Rev. Maximus the Confessor / Dionysius the Areopagite; Per. from Greek and rise Art. G.M. Prokhorova. – Ed. 2nd, rev. – St. Petersburg: Oleg Abyshko Publishing House, 2006. P. 30. A corpus of essays with an appendix of interpretations by Rev. Maximus the Confessor / Dionysius the Areopagite; Per. from Greek and rise Art. G.M. Prokhorova. – Ed. 2nd, rev. – St. Petersburg: Oleg Abyshko Publishing House, 2006. P. 30. P. 31–33. Works of Blessed Simeon, Archbishop of Thessalonica. Answers to some questions proposed to him by Bishop Angels [Electronic resource] // URL: https://azbyka.ru/otechnik/Simeon_Solunskij/otvety-na-nekotorye-voprosy-predlozhennye-emu-ot-arkhiereja/ (access date 05.11.25) Paradise and Man: The Legacy of Rev. Nikita Stifata: Scientific. ed. / Priest Nikolai Kim. – St. Petersburg: Aletheia, 2003. – 303 p. (Byzantine Library. Research). / St. Nikita Stifat. Letters. Letters. 4. Nikita Koronidsky, chartophylax and syncellus, Nikita Stifat, monk and presbyter of the Studite monastery (answer)). P. 185. Gregory Palamas, St. Treatises. – [transl. from Greek and approx. Archimandrite. 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