Denys the Areopagite

Albert, Aquinas, and Dionysius

“…[yet] St. Thomas Aquinas read Denys with great care and attention: and whole areas of his theologythe doctrine of divine attributes, angelology, to name but two-are deeply in debt to him." 46 Indeed, Aquinas' commentary on Dionysius' Divine Names, on which we shall focus, ends with a humble confession of homage: "May we ask, after having elucidated what blessed Dionysius put forth, though falling far short of his understanding, that we be corrected in what we may have failed properly to express." 47 Moreover, the Marietti edition ends with eight pages of references to Aquinas' use of this book of Dionysius throughout his writings.…”

Secularisations and Their Debates

“…5 Armstrong draws on the work of Denys Turner, in her discussion on Denys the Areopagite. For example, Andrew Louth ( 2001 ) writes of Denys the Areopagite that he remains fi rmly rooted in the Christian theological tradition of which he was an heir. Turner argues the identity behind Pseudo-Denys remains unknown.…”

Dionysius, Paul and the Significance of the Pseudonym

“…But whereas Athens is for Paul both a place "full of idols" and home of the altar "to an unknown god," it is for our author the seat of Plato's Academy and its diadochoi or "successors," especially Proclus. 8 Might our author be turning to Paul-especially the Paul who speaks to the Areopagus-in order to provide a template for absorbing and subordinating pagan wisdom? Might our author, steeped in Neoplatonism as he surely is, be taking on the role of a convert of Paul precisely to make the point that the riches of Neoplatonism do not constitute "foreign divinities" (17:18) but rather an incipient faith?…”