Pseudo-Dionysius
Veiled Neoplatonist theologian
Pseudo-Dionysius is the name scholars give to an anonymous Christian theologian, probably Syrian, who wrote around 500 CE under the name of Dionysius the Areopagite—a convert of Saint Paul mentioned in the Bible.
His writings on mysticism and the celestial hierarchy profoundly influenced medieval Christian thought.
The prefix pseudo- acknowledges the false attribution: Pseudo-Dionysian mysticism shaped later thinkers from Aquinas to Dante.
Knowing God through exclusion
- divine namesAppellations for deities
- unknowingLacking awareness or information
- theophanyVisible appearance of deity
- deificationElevation to divine status
theurgy · emanation · henosis · transcendence · ineffability · via negativa · Trinity · Godhead
Something that flows out
- participationAct of taking part
- processionFormal moving line
- returnGo back again
- henosisMystical absorption into ultimate reality
nous · hypostasis · Plato · forms · theurgy · Alexandria · metaphysics · hierarchy
Divine winged messengers
- seraphimSupreme angelic order
- cherubimHebrew plural for certain angels
- thronesMonarchs' ceremonial chairs
- dominionsTerritories under sovereign rule
powers · principalities · archangels · celestial · ecclesiastical · triads · orders · ranks
Sustained reflective attention
- unionJoining into one
- ecstasyOverwhelming intense delight
- ascentUpward movement
- darknessTotal absence of light
illumination · purification · unknowing · cloud · divine light · rapture · spiritual vision · soul
Scholastic philosopher-theologian
- BonaventureFranciscan cardinal and theologian
- medievalOf the Middle Ages
- scholasticismRigorous dialectical learning method
- DanteItalian epic poet
patristic · reception · commentary · translation · Eastern Orthodox · mystical tradition
Creating fraudulent imitations
- attributionAssigning origin or cause
- authorshipOrigin of written work
- fifth centuryYears 401-500
- sixth centuryYears 501-600 AD
negative theology
Knowing God through exclusion
- divine namesAppellations for deities
- unknowingLacking awareness or information
- theophanyVisible appearance of deity
deification · theurgy · emanation · henosis · transcendence · ineffability · via negativa · Trinity · Godhead · supernatural
emanation
Something that flows out
- participationAct of taking part
- processionFormal moving line
- returnGo back again
henosis · nous · hypostasis · Plato · forms · theurgy · Alexandria · metaphysics · hierarchy · causation
angels
Divine winged messengers
- seraphimSupreme angelic order
- cherubimHebrew plural for certain angels
- thronesMonarchs' ceremonial chairs
dominions · powers · principalities · archangels · celestial · ecclesiastical · triads · orders · ranks · mediation
contemplation
Sustained reflective attention
darkness · illumination · purification · unknowing · cloud · divine light · rapture · spiritual vision · soul · transcendence
Thomas Aquinas
Scholastic philosopher-theologian
- BonaventureFranciscan cardinal and theologian
- medievalOf the Middle Ages
- scholasticismRigorous dialectical learning method
Dante · patristic · reception · commentary · translation · Eastern Orthodox · mystical tradition
forgery
Creating fraudulent imitations
- attributionAssigning origin or cause
- authorshipOrigin of written work
- fifth centuryYears 401-500
sixth century · Syrian · Greek · manuscript · corpus · treatise · Byzantine
- Christian ThinkersThomas Aquinas, Augustine, Aquinas, Bernard of Clairvaux, Athanasius
- Medieval FiguresGenghis Khan, Joan of Arc, Marco Polo, William the Conqueror, Dante
- mysticsmystic, seer, clairvoyant, diviner, spiritualist
- TheologiansBarth, Merton, Edwards, Newman, Augustine
- apophatic theologynegative theology, via negativa, unsaying, unknowing, negation
- Byzantine theologydeification, negative theology, hypostasis
Pseudo-DionysiusAristotle
Greek founder of formal logic
empiricists · materialists · Epicurus · William of Ockham · Democritus