400s?
Mystery writer
The true identity of the author known as Dionysius the Areopagite is unknown. Yet somehow this is appropriate; his writings are not concerned with things earthly, material, or historical, but are suffused with the mysterious—the otherworldly and eternal.

He was initially identified as the Dionysius converted by Paul in Athens, following the sermon at the altar "To an unknown God." Later he was thought to be St. Denis, the third-century bishop of Paris and Frankish patron saint.Scholars now believe this great spiritual writer lived in the fifth century and was perhaps a Syrian monk. Hence, many now call him the "pseudo-Dionysius." His true identity may never be known.

While scholars ponder this mystery, Dionysius pondered other mysteries, producing four treatises and ten letters that were among the most valued works in both East and West all through the Middle Ages.

Perhaps most influential was Mystical Theology, which addressed the relationship between ...

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