Dionysius the Areopagite

Dionysius the Areopagite (Greek Διονύσιος ὁ Ἀρεοπαγίτης) was the judge of the Areopagus who, as related in the Acts of the Apostles, was converted to Christianity by the preaching of the Apostle Paul. According to Dionysius of Corinth, quoted by Eusebius, this Dionysius then became a bishop of Athens.

In the early 6th century, a series of famous writings of a mystical nature, employing Neoplatonic language to elucidate Christian theological and mystical ideas, was ascribed to the Areopagite. They have long been recognized as pseudepigrapha) and are now attributed to "Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite".

Dionysius was also popularly mis-identified with the martyr of Gaul, Dionysius, the first Bishop of Paris, Saint Denis.

In the Eastern Orthodox Church, Dionysius the Areopagite and Saint Denis of Paris are celebrated as one commemoration on October 3 (for those Orthodox Christians who follow the Julian Calendar, this currently falls on October 16 of the Gregorian Calendar).

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