Mystical Theology by Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite
"Mystical Theology," attributed to Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, delves into the pursuit of union with the divine through mystical contemplation rather than rational understanding. The author, believed to be a fifth or sixth-century Syrian monk, draws on a tradition of apophatic theology, emphasizing that true knowledge of God transcends language and rational thought. In this work, the author encourages readers to abandon sensory experiences and rational discourse to encounter God in a state of "unknowing" that he describes as a profound darkness beyond light. The text highlights the importance of purification and the need for a stillness of the mind, suggesting that higher spiritual experiences result in a reduction of speech and thought.
Dionysius employs a unique style, rich in metaphor and Platonic expressions, which has led to a complex interpretation of his ideas. His emphasis on the absolute transcendence of the divine and the limitations of human understanding has made his writings influential among Christian mystics and theologians, though some contemporary scholars express concern over his portrayal of the Trinity. Overall, "Mystical Theology" stands as a significant contribution to discussions of mysticism and spirituality within the Christian tradition, inviting deep reflection on the nature of divine knowledge and the human experience of God.
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Mystical Theology by Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite
First transcribed:Peri mustikes theologias, c. 500 c.e. (English translation, 1897)
Edition(s) used:“The Divine Names” and “Mystical Theology,” translated with an introductory study by John D. Jones. Milwaukee, Wis.: Marquette University Press, 1980
Genre(s): Nonfiction
Subgenre(s): Mysticism; spiritual treatise; theology
Core issue(s): Cause universal; God; mysticism; reason; silence; the Trinity
Overview
Little in fact is known of the author now called Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite apart from what can be adduced from his writings. This alleged disciple of Saint Paul and first bishop of Athens is commonly identified today as a late fifth or early sixth century Syrian monk. He had immense influence on Christian spirituality through the commentaries written on his works by Maximus the Confessor in the seventh century. In the ninth century he was translated into Latin by Johannes Scotus Erigena. Thomas Aquinas often cited him as an authority.
Mystical Theology, which begins with a prayer to the Trinity, is addressed to Timothy—perhaps Saint Paul’s disciple by that name. In regard to his own teaching, Dionysius claims the authority of Saint Bartholomew the Apostle. The chapters are geared toward motivating the reader to seek union with God in mystical contemplation rather than being content with some rational understanding of him. For this purpose the author insists that we not only purify ourselves morally but even leave behind rational thought and sense experience. Like many writers of this genre, he issues a warning against sharing this treatise with the uninitiated. The work falls very clearly on the side of the theology of negation or apophaticism.
We truly get to know God not by apprehending him with our understanding. The reasoning powers must enter into a passive stillness, allowing the highest faculty in the human person to possess God with a knowledge that exceeds understanding. This knowledge is a darkness that is beyond light. At this level we praise God by a transcendent hymnody; namely, by letting go of all thoughts and images and simply giving our naked self to God to be united with him.
The affirmative way begins with what is most like the Deity and then surpasses it. The negative way begins by denying what is most different from the Deity and arises to the negation of all categories of thought. Dionysius illustrates this assertion by tracing his own path through his previous writings. In Symbolic Divinity (no longer extant), the search for the Deity began with metaphorical titles drawn from the world of sense and applied to the nature of God, such as his functions, instruments of activity, places, passions, and emotions. In Peri theion onomaton (c. 500; Divine Names, 1897) the author begins from the titles of God formed by the intellect. Finally, in the Outlines of Divinity (no longer extant), it is the revelations that come through the sacred Scriptures that are his source. Dionysius notes that the higher one ascends, the greater is the brevity of speech. This, his highest treatise, is the briefest of all.
He sums up his teaching in his last sentence: “The Deity transcends all affirmation by being the perfect and unique Cause of all things, and transcends all negation by the preeminence of Its simple and absolute nature—free from every limitation and beyond them all”—in a word, incomprehensible.
An earlier age of faith more in tune with mystical experience held Dionysius in higher regard than does our present age, which is more rationalistic in its theological approach. Orthodox Christian theologians are a bit uncomfortable with him because of what they see as an excessive emphasis on the Godhead and unity, to the detriment of the substantiality of the Trinity of Persons. There is some fear that the Neoplatonic philosopher eclipses the theologian. Dionysius’s writings do suffer from an obscurity of style that makes translation uncertain. This obscurity does not arise from a lack of skill on the part of the author but out of a desire to conceal the lofty truths he is dealing with from the ridicule of the profane. He is very concise (especially in this last treatise), uses Platonic expressions, and invents new words and striking new expressions. Some see him as having an important role in Christian dialogue with Eastern religions.
Christian Themes
A summary of Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite’s primary theological assertions in Mystical Theology would include the following points:
•The Deity possesses all the positive attributes of the universe, yet more strictly it does not, for it transcends them all.
•The Deity is beyond all distinctions of good and evil.
•By rejecting all knowledge, we can possess a knowledge that exceeds understanding, the darkness of unknowing.
•This negative method must be wholly distinguished from the use of positive statements.
•The higher we ascend, the more we are reduced to silence.
•The universal Cause, transcending all, is neither impersonal nor lifeless nor irrational nor without understanding, but is beyond all qualities, faculties, and categories of rational thought.
•The Deity is not Spirit, Sonship, or Fatherhood.
Sources for Further Study
Maximus Confessor. “The Ascetic Life” and “The Four Centuries on Charity.” Translated and annotated by Polycarp Sherwood. Westminster, Md.: Newman Press, 1955. The writings of Maximus helped to restore the balance between Neoplatonism and Christian orthodoxy; his commentaries on Dionysius enabled the work of Dionysius to have a profound effect on Christian spirituality.
“Mystical Theology”: The Glosses by Thomas Gallus and the Commentary of Robert Grosseteste on “De mystica theologia.” Translated with an introduction by James McEvoy. Dudley, Mass.: Peeters, 2003. Serious students of Bonaventure will be especially interested in the historic glosses. Bibliography, index.
Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite. The Divine Names. Translated by the Editors of the Shrine of Wisdom. Brook, Surrey, England: Shrine of Wisdom, 1957. God is first considered in his undifferentiated aspect; then his differentiated aspect is examined in terms of his attributes represented by the divine names.
Sparrow-Simpson, W. J. “The Influence of Dionysius in Religious History.” In The Divine Names and the Mystical Theology, translated by C. E. Rolt. London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1940. Remains perhaps the best study available in English concerning Dionysius’s overall place in the Christian tradition.