AN ETERNAL INCORRIGIBLE METAPHYSICIAN Decoding the Christology of Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite

Reading - or rather decoding - (pseudo-) Dionysius the Areopagite (fl. end of 5th century) is extremely difficult. In his corpus, the main tenets are without exception expressed merely in ambiguous allusions. Dionysius seems to be concealing his convictions in order not to moot them in the fierce, at times violent atmosphere of mid 5th century theological debates. particularly vehement was the debate on the nature(s) of christ. And particularly elusive is Dionysius' position in this debate. this essay attempts to reconstruct this position by discussing all relevant passages in the corpus, interpreting them against the metaphysical background which provided Dionysius with his philosophical framework. the key to this reconstruction is the concept of 'unification' which reflects the unified nature of god and is present to man both as the image in the intellect of the all-causing principle and as the atemporal unity of man's individual life. this unification is christ, the experience of the unification via the intellect is Dionysius' philosophical interpretation of the incarnation, the experience of the unity of life as expressing itself in the parts of life his rendering of the resurrection.