Dionysius the Areopagite’s Letters 6 & 7

Translated by Michael Wiitala, 20211

Letter 6 Letter 7
To the priest Sosipater To the bishop Polycarp

Do not consider it a victory, reverend (1) I am not aware of having spoken

Sosipater, to attack a religion, ritual, or belief2 that
does not appear good. Because even if you
thoroughly refute it, everything isn’t thereby
good with Sosipater. For it is still possible that
the truth, being one and hidden, has been
overlooked by both you and those you are
attacking. If something is not red, that doesn’t
mean it’s white, or if something is not a horse, it’s
not necessarily a human.
If you listen to me, you will do the
following: keep away from speaking against
others, and instead really inquire for the sake of
the truth, so that the things you say will be
completely irrefutable.
against the Greeks3 or anyone else, since I believe
it is enough for good men if they are able to know
and to speak the truth itself by itself as it really is.
For when the truth, whatsoever it is, has been
correctly demonstrated and made entirely
manifest, established according to the norm of
truth, everything that is different and that
simulates the truth will be refuted as being other
than and unlike what really is, as seeming rather
than being what is really true. It is therefore
superfluous for someone expounding the truth to
engage in hostile disputes against this group of
people or that group of people. For each person
says he himself has the legitimate custom or way
of doing things, whereas perhaps he only has
some illusory image of a mere part of the truth.
And if you refute one person or view, another
person, with still another view, will contend with
you about the same thing. But with the true
account itself properly established, and remaining
unrefuted against all others, then everything that
is not properly established itself by itself in every
respect is defeated by the unconquerable position
of what is really true. Thus, I suppose, having
known this well, I am not eager to speak against
the Greeks or others, but instead it is sufficient
for me first to know about the truth, and then
knowing it, to speak it when necessary—and may
God grant me this!

1 The translation is my own, in consultation with John Parker, trans., The Works of Dionysius the Areopagite (London: James
Parker and Co., 1897); Colm Luibheid and Paul Rorem, trans., Pseudo-Dionysius: The Complete Works (New York: Paulist
Press, 1987). The Greek text is that of Günther Heil and Adolf Martin Ritter, eds., Corpus Dionysiacum II: de Coelesti
Hierarchia, de Ecclesiastica Hierarchia, de Mystica Theologia, Epistulae (Berlin: De Gruyter, 1991).
2 The Greek text reads θρησκείαν ἢ δόξαν. I’ve translated δόξαν as “belief” and θρησκείαν as “religion, ritual” since it could mean
either or both in this context. Dionysius could be reprimanding Sosipater for attacking specific rituals or practices of some other
Christians, or for attacking another religion (e.g., Greco-Roman paganism), or both.
3By “the Greeks,” Dionysius means Greco-Roman pagans, as opposed to Jews and Christians. So when he says he is
“not aware of having spoken against the Greeks or anyone else” he means he, a Christian, is not aware of having spoken
against pagans or anyone else.

(2) But you say the sophist Apollophanes
denounces me and calls me a parricide,4 claiming
that I impiously use things Greek [i.e. philosophy]
to attack the Greeks [i.e. Greco-Roman pagans].
But it is truer for us to reply to him that the
Greeks impiously use things divine [i.e.
philosophy] to attack things divine [i.e., Christian
beliefs and worship], when they attempt, through
the wisdom of God [i.e. philosophy], to reject
divine worship. And I am not talking about the
belief of the common people, who crudely and
fanatically cling to the myths of the poets, and
worship “the creature rather than the creator” (1
Cor. 2:7). No, I am saying that even
Apollophanes himself impiously uses things
divine to attack things divine. For the knowledge
of beings, which Apollophanes rightly calls
“philosophy” and the divine Paul5 calls “the
wisdom of God” (1 Cor 1:21-24, 2:7), should
have led true philosophers toward the Cause6
both of their own philosophical knowledge and
of the beings themselves.
But in order that I might not refute the
belief of others or of Apollophanes in a way
contrary to what seems right to them, it is
necessary for Apollophanes, being a wise man, to
consider that something of the regular order and
motion of the heavenly bodies [planets, stars,
etc.] cannot ever be altered, but keeps to this
regular order and motion unless the Cause and
Sustainer of reality changes the heavenly
4 A “parricide” is someone who kills his own father or
mother. A “sophist” in Dionysius’ language is someone
who claims to be wise or a philosopher but really isn’t. The
situation described here is the following. Both Dionysius
and Apollophanes are philosophers who used to be friends
and probably studied pagan Greek philosophy together
when they were younger, and before Dionysius converted
to Christianity. Apollophanes is anti-Christian. So after
Dionysius converted and began to do philosophy from a
Christian perspective, Apollophanes began denouncing
him. Apollophanes claims Dionysius is, metaphorically
speaking, a parricide in the sense that by doing philosophy
from a Christian perspective he has betrayed the pagan
Greek philosophy that they both studied together and their
pagan teachers, who are like their “intellectual parents.”
5 The Paul referred to here is Saint Paul, the author of many
books in the New Testament of the Christian Bible.
2
bodies—the Cause and Sustainer who according
to Holy Scripture “makes and transforms all
things” (Am. 5:8). How then, on this basis, does
Apollophanes fail to worship the God recognized
by us [Christians], the God with respect to the
real beings of the whole of things? How does he
not worship, adoring the God of power all-
causing and beyond unspeakable? How does he
not worship, when, with a power and position
most supernatural, the sun and moon, together
with the whole horizon, were constrained by God
to be completely unmoving; and for the course of
a whole day all the planets and stars remained
stationary relative to the constellations—or what
is more astonishing, the sun and moon did not go
around along with the more powerful movement
of the galaxies that surround them?7 And how
does he not worship, when, on another occasion,
daytime nearly tripled in length? In twenty hours
total either the whole horizon during that time
was pushed back by being carried in the opposite
direction, and turned back upon itself by
amazingly most supernatural counter-rotations;
or the sun, in its own course, diminished its
fivefold motion in ten hours and retrogressively
retraced that whole time again for another ten
hours, a new way of spending time.8 This
reasonably astounded the Babylonians, and,
without battle, made them subject to Hezekiah,
as if he were someone equal to God and above
men. I do not speak of the great achievements in
6 The “Cause” Dionysius is referring to here is the One or
Good, i.e., God.
7 This is a miracle described in the Hebrew Bible / Christian
Old Testament where God makes the sun and moon stand
still. See Joshua 10:12-14; Sirach 46:4.
8 This is a miracle described in the Hebrew Bible / Christian
Old Testament where God in the evening makes the sun
turn and move backward from west to east for ten hours.
See 2 Kings 20:8-10; Isaiah 38:8. The daytime is nearly
tripled in length by this miracle because in the evening, after
the sun has already been up for ten or more hours, it
reverses its course and goes backward, from west to east,
for ten hours, then it returns to its normal course and
travels from east to west for another ten hours. So daylight
lasts for about thirty hours total. The “fivefold motion” of
the sun probably refers to its movement in “planetary
hours,” a way of dividing the parts of the day in Hellenistic
Astrology.

Egypt or other divine signs that happened
elsewhere, but only the common celestial ones,
which have been noised abroad to all people in
every place.
Apollophanes will say that these things
are in no way true. Yet in reality this has been
reported most of all in the priestly prophesies of
the Persians, and the Magi still celebrate the
memorials of triple Mithras. But let us allow
Apollophanes to disbelieve these things, because
of his ignorance or inexperience. Yet ask him:
What do you say about the eclipse that happened
when the Savior was on the cross?9 For both of
us were together in Heliopolis at that time, and
standing together saw the moon cover the sun,
contrary to expectation, since it was not the right
time for them to come together. And again, from
the ninth hour to the evening, we saw the moon
supernaturally placed over the diameter of the
sun. And remind him of something else. For he
knows we saw the moon come over the sun
beginning from the east side until it reached the
west edge, and then, recede back again; but the
eclipse did not end by diminishing from the west
9 The Christian synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke)
report that when Jesus was crucified, the sun was darkened
for about three hours. Dionysius goes on to explain that
he and Apollophanes were together in the city of Heliopolis
(in Egypt) on that day, and both saw the eclipse, which
3
edge of the sun, instead the eclipse ended with
the moon returning back in the opposite
direction, from the west side of the sun to the
east. Such are the supernatural things appointed
for that time, that could be accomplished by
Christ alone, the Cause of all, who does “great
and wonderful things, of which there is no
number.”10
(3) Tell Apollophanes these things, if you
can and it is appropriate; and Apollophanes,
refute them and reply to me, the one who was full
of wonder together with you at that time, when
we were present together, and saw everything
together, and scrutinized everything together.
Let us not overlook the oracle Apollophanes
spoke at that time: he began as if interpreting to
me what was happening: “Good Dionysius, these
are changes in the doings of the gods.” Let this
much be said by us in a letter. You are capable of
supplying what is lacking and of eventually
leading to God a man wise with respect to many
beings; and perhaps Apollophanes will not deem
it unworthy meekly to learn the beyond-wisdom
truth of our religion.
Dionysius claims is miraculous, since given the normal
motions of the sun and moon, no eclipse should have
occurred at that time.
10 Job 5:9, 9:10, 34:24