Pseudo-Dionysius and the Concept of Beauty
72 International Journal of Orthodox Theology 10:1 (2019) urn:nbn:de:0276-2019-1077 Elena Ene D-Vasilescu Pseudo-Dionysius and the concept of Beauty Abstract Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite compares the experience which con- stitutes the object of his treatise The Mystical Theology , that of spiritually and intellectually gaining access to the knowledge of ‘mysterious things’, with the process of carving a statue (ἄγαλμα). Evidently connecting his thoughts with Plotinus’s ideas in the First Ennead , the Syrian fathoms that if what is unnecessary – i.e. the out- come of human ‘affections’ – is re- Prof. Dr. Elena Ene D- moved from our souls and minds, we Vasilescu, Church History and Doctrine, OUCED/ attain the ‘true vision’ about reality. Wolfson College, Universi- Such a proceeding leads us to an ty of Oxford, United encounter with the Divine; in fact, by Kingdom Pseudo-Dionysius and the concept of Beauty 73 subjecting ourselves to such an activity we connect to their authentic source both our reason and perceptions. Books have been published about the way in which some pieces of Western architecture and visual arts have been inspired by Pseudo-Dionysius’s concepts 1, and that influence is no longer significantly controversial. More recently texts have come out about the way in which the same – and also music – sourced themselves within the Dionysian theology in the Eastern Christendom. The question is how justified these assumptions are. My article attempts to evaluate this. Keywords Pseudo-Dionysius, Beauty, Byzantium, Proculus, Plotinus 1 Introduction Pseudo-Dionysius compares the experience which constitutes the object of his treatise The Mystical Theology – that of gaining spiritual access to and knowledge of ‘mysterious things’ – with the process of carving a statue (ἄγαλμα).
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