DIONYSIUS THE AREOPAGITE, NEOPLATONIST OR CHRISTIAN?

Abstract

The answer to the question whether Dionysius the Areopagite was a Neoplatonist, a Christian or both determines the interpretation of his writings. In this paper, I will try to demonstrate what Dionysius has to say about the relationship between theology and philosophy. I claim that Dionysius should initially be understood as a Christian; however, he does not exclude the role of philosophy in our attempts to achieve some kind of knowledge of God. According to Dionysius, theology and philosophy are in perfect harmony, because they have the same intention, to tell us something about the primary cause of everything (God). However, the only thing that can be established about this primary cause is that it goes beyond all our possibilities of knowing. Dionysius calls this truth about God aphophantic truth, and we can find the roots of this idea both in philosophy (especially in philosophy of Proclus) and in Christianity.