Dionysius the Areopagite and the Neoplatonist Tradition

Teilhard de Chardin and Pseudo‐Dionysius: Convergent Evolution, Hierarchy and Divine Activity

“…To put it simply, hierarchy is how Pseudo-Dionysius understands creation to be ordered, both on earth and in heaven. 18 This ordering of creation stretches outwards from God (hence his Neo-Platonic orientation) and each individual takes their place in this hierarchy in relation to each other, with God in Christ at the top. Starting with the highest order of angels, who 'are found immediately around God and in a proximity enjoyed by no other', 19 the hierarchies continue right down to irrational life and inanimate objects, so that 'even the things which have no life participate in [God]', and each is ordered in a hierarchy.…”

“…Thus, Wear & Dillon write simply that 'the objective of [the hierarchies], for Dionysius, is a union to the divine'. 24 In other words, it is through hierarchy that God acts, that God's work is achieved, and therefore, whilst Pseudo-Dionysius does not write a doctrine of creation, it is probable that this is how Pseudo-Dionysius understood God to create: divine influence is mediated through the hierarchy. 25 Further to this, and because it is through the hierarchy that divinity is 'passed on', everything can be said to participate in God; Pseudo-Dionysius writes that:…”

“…Not only does Teilhard understand hierarchy to be the vehicle of divine influence -with Christ attracting the universe towards him through increasingly convergent aggregations of matter -but he also understands creatures to be distinguished from one other in a manner that is reminiscent of Pseudo-Dionysius, who claimed that 'every hierarchy ends in Jesus'. 49 Likewise, the fact that the hierarchies are concerned with union with the divine 50 means that the language of union that was so important for Teilhard can be found in Pseudo-Dionysius.…”

Proclus’ Reception in Maximus the Confessor, Mediated through John Philoponus and Dionysius the Ps.-Areopagite: A Case Study of Ambiguum 7

“…111 Dionysius the Ps.-Areopagite, De divinisnominibus, ix.5, 210,7-11; 211,10-12. 112 Among others, seeWear, Dillon 2007, p. 15-16, Gersh 1978, p. 155-156, and Lilla 1997 Jonathan Greig -9789004501331 Downloaded from Brill.com01/24/2022 01:30:39AM via free access…”