Pseudo-Dionysius as Polemicist: The Development and Purpose of the Angelic Hierarchy in Sixth Century Syria

226 Pages·2008·1.226 MB·English

by  Rosemary A. Arthur

PSEUDO-DIONYSIUS AS POLEMICIST
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Pseudo-Dionysius
as Polemicist
The Development and Purpose of the Angelic
Hierarchy in Sixth Century Syria
ROSEMARY A. ARTHUR
First published 2008 by Ashgate Publishing
Published 2016 by Routledge
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Copyright© 2008 Rosemary A. Arthur
Rosemary A. Arthur has asserted her moral right under the Copyright, Designs and
Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as the author of this work.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in
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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Arthur, Rosemary A.
Pseudo-Dionysius as polemicist: the development and purpose of the angelic
hierarchy in sixth century Syria. –
(Ashgate new critical thinking in religion, theology and biblical studies)
1. Pseudo-Dionysius, the Areopagite – Literary style 2. Pseudo-Dionysius, the
Areopagite – Criticism and interpretation 3. Angels – Christianity – History of doctrines
– Early church,ca. 30–600 4. Theology, Doctrinal – History – Early church, ca. 30–600
I. Title
270.2’092
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Arthur, Rosemary A.
Pseudo-Dionysius as polemicist: the development and purpose of the angelic
hierarchy insixth century Syria / Rosemary A. Arthur.
p. cm. – (Ashgate new critical thinking in religion, theology and biblical studies)
ISBN 978-0-7546-6258-7 (hardcover: alk. paper) 1. Pseudo-Dionysius, the Areopagite.
2. Angels–Christianity. 3. Theology–History–Early church, ca. 30–600. I. Title.
BR65.D66A78 2007
230’.14092–dc22
2007021337
ISBN 9780754662587 (hbk)
Contents
List of Abbreviations vii
Preface ix
1 Christian and Non-Christian Sources 1
2 The Angelic Hierarchy 43
3 The Unknowability of God 71
4 The Monophysite Connection 101
5 Summa or Polemic? 141
6 Conclusion 175
Bibliography 199
Index 211
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List of Abbreviations
ANCL Ante Nicene Christian Library
CH Ps-Dionysius: Celestial Hierarchy
CSCO Corpus Scriptorum Christianorum Orientalium
CWS Classics of Western Spirituality
DN Ps-Dionysius: Divine Names
DS Dictionnaire de Spiritualité
EH Ps-Dionysius: Ecclesiastical Hierarchy
Ep. Ps-Dionysius: Le(cid:308)ers
HH Stephen Bar Sudhaili: The Book of the Holy Hierotheos
JTS Journal of Theological Studies
MT Ps-Dionysius: Mystical Theology
NHL Nag Hammadi Library
NTS New Testament Studies
PG Patrologia Graeca
PO Patrologia Orientalis
SC Sources Chrétiennes
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Preface
When I returned to re-read Ps-Dionysius after a year spent studying
mediaeval English, what struck me quite forcibly was not so much the
theological aspects of his writing, but the linguistic ones. The strange
choice of vocabulary, the plethora of derogatory adjectives and the
repetitious nature of the material all puzzled me and made me wonder
about his intended audience. The amount of invective indicated that he
was not writing for the benefit of those with whom he was on entirely
cordial terms. The vocabulary could almost have been that of a message
in code. The amount of repetition suggested a degree of frustration with
failuretoreceiveanimportantmessage.
Anauthor’smotiveforwritingmattersbecauseitdetermineshowwe
listen to him. If a work is a straightforward exposition of doctrine, we
aremorelikelytoacceptitstruthifwearemembersofthesamereligious
group (or one compatible with it) than if the author is of a faith about
which we have reservations, or of which we actively disapprove. If we
believe him to be of the same faith as ourselves, we will be more likely
to hear him than if we know that he is not. If we know that a work
is polemical, we may be prepared to listen, provided that we do not
feel personally attacked; we may sympathize with the writer’s point of
viewwithoutnecessarilyagreeingwithhimdoctrinally. Consequently,the
safest course of action for an author who is desperate for his message to
beheard(particularlyifthemessageisatallunpalatable)istopresenthis
workasasummaratherthanasovertpolemic–andtopublishitunderthe
pseudonymofanundoubtedauthority. Thepracticewasnotuncommon
inEuropeduringtheearlyMiddleAges.
A grounding in palaeography made me suspicious of the documents
usedbyscholarstodeducethedatingofthecorpus. Ithereforedecidedto
re-examinethewholequestionofdating. Why,forexample,isDionysius
so frequently dated to ‘round about 500AD’, rather than ‘round about
530AD’? In view of the first public quotation from the corpus occurring
in 532AD, why should terminus post quem take precedence over terminus