Letters of the Pseudo-Dionysius Areopagita

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Ten letters from the Pseudo-Dionysius Areopagita to various addressees have survived. They set different priorities in terms of content:

" Letters 1–5 form a unit insofar as they all contain brief answers to precisely defined epistemological questions". These letters deal with the unknowable nature of God, which fundamentally eludes any human understanding.

The letters 6-8 primarily treat ethical questions: "In addition to practical questions regarding the hierarchy as submission and obedience" - issue of letter 8 - "especially peacefulness and tolerance are discussed against those who think differently and due to the subjectivity and lack of knowledge competence of the people (Letters 6 and 7). ”Both subject areas are interrelated. For the letter 8 is addressed to the monk Demophilus, who does not want to accept that a certain sinner repented of his mistakes has been accepted back into the church community by the responsible clergyman. The addressee is asked to subordinate himself to the ecclesiastical hierarchy in this matter, which Dionysius sees as a guarantor for an understanding approach to repentant sinners.

Letter 9 deals with the need to interpret biblical statements about God symbolically.

Finally, Letter 10 , addressed to the Evangelist John, places the work of Dionysius (incorrectly) in the age of the apostles.

Text output

Greek
  • Corpus Dionysiacum. Volume 1: Pseudo-Dionysius Areopagita, De divinis nominibus. De Gruyter, Berlin / New York 1990.
  • Corpus Dionysiacum. Volume 2: Pseudo-Dionysius Areopagita, De coelesti hierarchia / De ecclesiastica hierarchia / De mystica theologia / Epistulae . Edited by Günter Heil - Adolf Martin Ritter. 2. revised Ed. De Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2012. ISBN 978-3-11-027706-7
Latin
  • Dionysiaca: Recueil donnant l'ensemble des traductions latines des ouvrages attribués au Denys de l'Aréopage . Bruges: Desclée de Brouwer, 1937 (several reprints of which).

Modern translations

  • [Pseudo-] Dionysius Areopagita: Above all light. Mystic Theology - The Names of God - Heavenly Hierarchy - Church Hierarchy, translated by Edith Stein, Kevelaer 2015. (Topos-Taschenbuch 1009; ISBN 978-3-8367-1009-1 , as PDF ISBN 978-3-8367-5012-7 , as EPUB ISBN 978-3-8367-6012-6 )
  • Dionysios Areopagita, Mystical Theology. Translated, with an introduction and commentary by Walther Tritsch . Munich-Planegg. Barth: 1956 (series: Wisdom Books of Mankind).
  • About the heavenly hierarchy. About the church hierarchy. Introduced, translated and annotated by Günter Heil, Stuttgart: Hiersemann, 1986 (Library of Greek Literature. Volume 22: Dept. Patristic).
  • The names of God; Areopagita Pseudo-Dionysius; translated by Beate R Suchla; Stuttgart: Hiersemann, 1988 (Library of Greek Literature. Volume 26: Patristic Department)
  • About mystical theology and letters. Introduced, trans. and annotated by Adolf Martin Ritter, Stuttgart: Hiersemann, 1994 (Library of Greek Literature. Vol. 40: Patristic Department).
  • Alleged writings of St. Dionysus Areopagita. Translated from the Greek by Josef Stiglmayr. ( Library of the Church Fathers , 1st row, volume 2 and 2nd row, volume 2) Munich 1911/1931. ( online )

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Scientific German-language edition: Pseudo-Dionysius Areopagita: About the mystical theology and letters. Introduced, translated and annotated by Adolf Martin Ritter, Library of Greek Literature Stuttgart 1994, pp. 90–117
  2. ↑ Ritter, Adolf Martin: Introduction to: Pseudo-Dionysius Areopagita: About the Mystical Theology and Letters. Stuttgart 1994, p. 21
  3. ↑ Pseudo-Dionysius Areopagita: On Mystical Theology and Letters. Introduced, translated and annotated by Adolf Martin Ritter, Library of Greek Literature Stuttgart 1994, pp. 90–93
  4. ↑ Pseudo-Dionysius Areopagita: On Mystical Theology and Letters. Introduced, translated and annotated by Adolf Martin Ritter, Library of Greek Literature Stuttgart 1994, pp. 93-108
  5. ↑ Beate Regina Suchla: Dionysius Areopagita Life-Work-Effect Freiburg i. Br. 2008, p. 56 f
  6. ↑ Pseudo-Dionysius Areopagita: On Mystical Theology and Letters. Introduced, translated and annotated by Adolf Martin Ritter, Library of Greek Literature Stuttgart 1994, pp. 96-108
  7. ↑ Pseudo-Dionysius Areopagita: On Mystical Theology and Letters. Introduced, translated and annotated by Adolf Martin Ritter, Library of Greek Literature Stuttgart 1994, pp. 108–116
  8. ↑ On Mystical Theology and Letters. Introduced, translated and annotated by Adolf Martin Ritter, Library of Greek Literature Stuttgart 1994, pp. 116f