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Hieromartyr Dionysius the Areopagite, Bishop of Athens · Saints and Scripture

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  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the Saints and Scripture Podcast.
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  SPEAKER_00: Today is Saturday, october third, twenty twenty six.
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  SPEAKER_00: Today we remember Hieromartyr Dionysius the Areopagite, the Bishop of Athens.
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  SPEAKER_00: Dionysius was originally from Athens, where he received a classical Greek education.
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  SPEAKER_00: He also studied astronomy in Heliopolis, Egypt.
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  SPEAKER_00: It was there with his friend Apollophonos that he witnessed the solar eclipse that happened at the moment of the Lord Jesus Christ's crucifixion.
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  SPEAKER_00: Dionysius said, Either the creator of all the world now suffers, or this visible world is coming to an end.
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  SPEAKER_00: After returning to Athens, Dionysius became a member of the Areopagus Council, the city's high court.
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  SPEAKER_00: When the apostle Paul preached on the Hill of Ares, Dionysius accepted the Christian faith and became a follower of Christ.
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  SPEAKER_00: He spent three years with Paul helping to spread the gospel.
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  SPEAKER_00: Later, Paul appointed him as bishop of Athens.
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  SPEAKER_00: Saint Dionysius also traveled to Jerusalem during the lifetime of the most holy Theoticos, the mother of God.
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  SPEAKER_00: He wrote to Paul about his experience meeting her, describing a divine radiance and grace so powerful that he could hardly bear it.
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  SPEAKER_00: He said if not for Paul's teaching, he might have mistaken her for God himself.
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  SPEAKER_00: After the Apostle Paul's death, Dionysius continued preaching in the West.
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  SPEAKER_00: He traveled with the Presbyter Rusticus and Deacon Eleutherius, converting many people in Rome, Germany, and Spain.
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  SPEAKER_00: During a persecution in Gaul, the three were arrested and imprisoned.
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  SPEAKER_00: Saint Dionysius celebrated the divine liturgy by night with the angels.
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  SPEAKER_00: The next morning they were all beheaded.
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  SPEAKER_00: Tradition says Dionysius took up his head, walked to the church, and then fell dead.
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  SPEAKER_00: A woman named Catullah buried his relics.
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  SPEAKER_00: Saint Dionysius is also remembered for his important theological writings.
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  SPEAKER_00: Four of his books have survived on the celestial hierarchy, on the ecclesiastical hierarchy, on the names of God, and on mystical theology.
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  SPEAKER_00: These works explain the angelic ranks, the church's priestly structure, the knowledge of God through his names, and the experience of divine knowledge through prayer.
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  SPEAKER_00: His writings have had a lasting impact on Christian theology, especially in the Orthodox tradition.
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  SPEAKER_00: They were preserved and studied by many early theologians and continue to be important today.
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  SPEAKER_00: Some traditions say he was martyred in Paris, but most believe he died in Athens.
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  SPEAKER_00: Saint Demetrius of Rostov writes that Dionysius was beheaded in Athens, and that many miracles happened at his grave.
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  SPEAKER_00: Saint Dionysius the Areopagite's life reminds us of the power of faith, the importance of spreading the gospel, and the deep mystery of God's presence in the church and the world.
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  SPEAKER_00: Let us pray.
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  SPEAKER_00: Lord help us to grow in faith like Saint Dionysius.
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  SPEAKER_00: May we seek to know you more deeply and serve you with courage.
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  SPEAKER_00: Strengthen us in our journey toward holiness.
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  SPEAKER_00: In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God.
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  SPEAKER_00: Amen.
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  SPEAKER_00: Lord help us to grow in faith like Saint Dionysius.
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  SPEAKER_00: May we seek to know you more deeply and serve you with courage.
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  SPEAKER_00: Strengthen us in our journey toward holiness.
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  SPEAKER_00: In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God.
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  SPEAKER_00: Amen.