Divine light : the theology of Denys the Areopagite / William K. Riordan.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Riordan, William K.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Pseudo-Dionysius, the Areopagite.

Pseudo-Dionysius.

Physical Description:

293 pages ; 21 cm

Place of Publication:

San Francisco : Ignatius Press, [2008]

Summary:

In His Missionary Journeys, St. Paul spoke in a number of cities in the Greek peninsula including Athens, renowned for its philosophical heritage. He addressed to them the message of the One, Unknown God (Acts 17:22ff). Among those present in the Areopagus (the open city center of Athens) on that day was a certain Denys (Dionysius) who eventually became a disciple of Paul.

Centuries later, a corpus of writings appeared bearing the name of Denys the Areopagite. These texts were considered to be the writings of the first century disciple of the Apostle Paul and thus achieved almost immediate prominence, strongly influencing the lives of St. Maximus the Confessor (d. 662) and St. John Damascene (d. 749) in the East and Eriugena (d. 877), St. Bede (d. 735), St. Bernard (d. 1153) St. Thomas Aquinas (d. 1272) Nicholas of Cusa (d. 1464), St. John of the Cross (d. 1591), and many other great minds in the West.

Later historical studies of Denys' texts, especially during the 19th century, showed conclusively that the writings are of a later date (5th century) than had generally been thought. Hence, the appending of "Pseudo-" before the name of Denys (Pseudo-Denys, Pseudo-Dionysius) became commonplace.

The extraordinary brilliance of the texts themselves, however, has been in no way dimmed. The late Holy Father John Paul II, in his monumental encyclical Fides et Ratio, warns insistently against an approach to Revelation that shuns metaphysics. The texts of Denys provide a majestic and profound metaphysical perspective. Deeply formed by the Divine Liturgy and the Sacred Scriptures, this mysterious author uses the great insights of Plato and his later disciples, expressing the deepest profundities of the faith in stunningly beautiful writings. In Denys, readers past, present, and future find a penetrating contemplative vision into the mystery of the Trinity and its creation.

This book is a focused exposition of Denys' theological understanding with particular attention to the illuminating metaphysical depth of his insight. Care has been taken to prepare a text that is readable for the serious laymen and accompanied with footnotes to provide a more detailed background for the scholar.

Contents:

I Denys the Areopagite: An Introduction

1 Historical Background 21

2 His "Method" 34

3 His Doctrine in General 47

4 His Influence

a The East 54

b The West 60

II Denys and Neo-Platonic Philosophy

1 Denys' Use of Neo-Platonic Philosophy 71

2 Major Points of Divergence 76

a The Unity of God 77

b The Goodness of God's Cosmos 85

c God's Love for His Cosmos 92

d The Ascent of the Mystic 97

III God and His Cosmos: Sacred Theater of Divinization

1 The Thearchy

a One Super-Essential 113

b Three Hypostases 132

2 Christ: The Savior

b Origin of Evil: Sin ([characters not reproducible]: hamartia) 136

c Christos Philanthropos 141

3 Christ: The Head of the Hierarchies

a Christ-The Light 151

b Christ Resplendent in His Hierarchies 154

IV The Divinization of Human Souls: God and the Intellect and Will 169

1 God and the Intellect 171

2 The Four Ways of Knowing God 179

a Symbolic Theology 180

b Affirmative Theology and Negative Theology 184

c Mystical Theology; God's Presence with the Mystic 187

3 The Transformation of the Intellect 188

4 God and the Will 195

a The Divine Goodness, Eros, and Ecstasy 196

b The Anagogy of Knowing and Loving 200.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781586171209

1586171208

OCLC:

226251403