De sanctis Dionysio, Rustico et
The Meaning of a Name
The name Dionysius is explored through its etymological roots, highlighting his character as a contemplative and wise philosopher.
The name Dionysius is interpreted as 'vehemently fleeing,' or it is said to come from 'dyo,' which means two, and 'nisus,' which means elevation, as if he were elevated according to two things. Specifically, in body and in soul. Alternatively, it's said to come from 'Dyana'—Venus, the goddess of beauty—and 'syos,' which is God, as if he were 'beautiful to God.' Or, as some say, it's derived from 'dionysia,' which (as Isidore says) is a black gemstone effective against drunkenness. He was, therefore, one who vehemently fled the world through perfect renunciation, was elevated through the contemplation of interior things, was beautiful to God through the grace of virtues, and was effective for sinners against the drunkenness of vices. Before his conversion, he had many titles. For he was called 'Areopagite' from the district in which he lived; he was also called 'Theosophus,' that is, 'wise in God'; and even today he is called by the Greek sages 'Pterigiontuurani,' which in Latin is called 'wing of heaven,' because he flew miraculously into the heaven of spiritual intelligence. He was also called 'Macarius,' which means 'blessed.' Also, he is called 'Ionian' from his homeland; but 'Ionian'—as Papias says—is one of the Greek dialects, or it refers to a type of column, or, as the same author says, it is a metrical foot that has two short syllables and two long ones. Through this, it is shown that he was a master of the Lord's secrets through his investigation of hidden things, a 'wing of heaven' through his contemplation of celestial matters, and blessed through his possession of eternal things; in other ways, it is shown that he was a wonderful orator through his eloquence, a pillar of the Church through his teaching, brief with himself through his humility, and expansive to others through his love. However, Augustine writes in Book VIII of The City of God that 'Ionian' refers to a school of philosophers. He distinguishes there between two schools of philosophers: the 'Italic,' which comes from the region of Italy, and the 'Ionian,' which comes from the region of Greece. Because Dionysius was a supreme philosopher, he was therefore called 'Ionian' by antonomasia. As Hincmar, Bishop of Reims, notes, his passion and life were written in Greek by Methodius of Constantinople and in Latin by Anastasius, librarian of the Apostolic See. Dionysius the Areopagite was converted to the faith of Christ by the blessed Apostle Paul; he is said to have been called 'Areopagite' after the district of the city where he lived. The Areopagus was, in fact, the district of Mars, where a temple to Mars stood. The Athenians named their districts after the gods they worshipped. For instance, they called the district where Mars was worshipped the 'Areopagus'—since 'Areo' means Mars—and the district where they worshipped Pan the 'Panopagus,' naming districts after individual gods in this manner. The Areopagus was a more distinguished district, however, because the council of nobles and the schools of the liberal arts were located there. In this district, therefore, lived Dionysius, the great philosopher, who was called 'Theosophus'—that is, 'wise in God'—because of the fullness of his divine names and wisdom.
The Witness of the Eclipse
Dionysius and his fellow philosophers observe the supernatural darkness at the time of Christ's Passion, leading them to recognize the suffering of the God of nature.
Apollophanes, his fellow philosopher, was also with him. The Epicureans were there as well, who believed human happiness consisted entirely of physical pleasure, along with the Stoics, who believed it was found solely in the virtue of the soul. On the day of the Lord's Passion, therefore, when darkness had fallen over the whole earth, the philosophers who were in Athens could not find a natural cause for it. It wasn't a natural solar eclipse, first because the moon was nearly in conjunction with the sun—and an eclipse usually happens only when the sun and moon are in alignment—but the moon was then at its fifteenth day and at its perfect distance from the sun; second, because an eclipse doesn't block light from every part of the earth; and third, because it can't last for three hours. That this eclipse took away light from all parts of the earth is evident from the fact that Luke the Evangelist says so, and from the fact that the Lord of the universe was suffering, and from the fact that it occurred at Heliopolis in Egypt, and from the fact that it occurred in Rome, in Greece, and in Asia Minor. Orosius testifies that it occurred in Rome, saying: 'When the Lord was fixed to the gibbet, a great earthquake occurred throughout the world, rocks in the mountains were split, and many parts of the greatest cities fell due to a more violent shaking than usual; on that same day, from the sixth hour of the day, the sun was totally obscured, and a dark night suddenly covered the earth, to such an extent that it is reported the stars were seen in the sky during the daylight hours, or rather, in that horrific night.' That is what Orosius says. It also occurred in Egypt, and Dionysius mentions this in his letter to Apollophanes: 'When the spheres were uniformly covered by the fading darkness of the shadows, as the sun's diameter returned to its purified state, we took up the rule of Philip Arrhidaeus. When we found—what was also very well known—that the sun should not suffer such disturbances, I said to you: O sanctuary of vast knowledge, you still don't know the mystery of such a great event.' "Why," I ask, "do you attribute this mirror of doctrine to Apollophanes, and to these secrets?" To which you replied to me in a divine voice, not in the language of human understanding: "O good Dionysius, these are the changes of divine things. Finally, having noted the day of the feast and the year of the Annunciation—which Paul proclaimed to our breathless ears, while the signs themselves cried out—I, as one who had experienced it, gave my hand to the truth and was freed from the bonds of falsehood." So says Dionysius. The same author also mentions this in his letter to Polycarp, speaking of himself and Apollophanes: "We were both present at Heliopolis at that time, and standing there, we saw the moon unexpectedly moving toward the sun, for it wasn't the proper time. And again, we saw it supernaturally restored to the sun’s diameter from the ninth hour until evening. We saw that eclipse begin in the east and move toward the solar limit, then move back, and again—not from the same point—we saw both the defect and the clearing, but rather in reverse, occurring according to the diameter." For at that time, Dionysius had traveled with Apollophanes to Heliopolis in Egypt for the sake of astrological study, and later returned from there. Eusebius testifies in his Chronicle that this occurred in Asia, asserting that he had read in the accounts of the pagans that at that time in Bithynia—which is a province of Asia Minor—there was a great earthquake and a darkening of the sun greater than had ever occurred before, and that the day at the sixth hour turned into a dark night, such that the stars were seen in the sky, and that in Nicaea, which is a city of Bithynia, the earthquake overturned all the buildings. Finally, as it is read in the Scholastic History, the philosophers were led to this point, that they said that God was suffering. Elsewhere, however, it is written that they said: "Either the order of nature is being overturned, or the elements are lying, or the God of nature is suffering and the elements are suffering with Him." Elsewhere, indeed, it is said that Dionysius remarked: "This night, which we marvel at as something new, signifies that the true light of the whole world is about to come."
The Unknown God Revealed
Paul the Apostle encounters the philosophers in Athens and reveals the identity of the 'Unknown God' to Dionysius, who is converted through a miraculous healing.
The Athenians had built an altar to that God, and a title was placed upon it: To an Unknown God. For a title was placed above each altar, indicating to whom it was dedicated. And when they wanted to offer burnt offerings and sacrifices to Him, the philosophers said: 'He has no need of our goods, but you shall kneel before His altar and pray to Him, because He does not seek the sacrifice of animals, but the devotion of souls.' When Paul arrived in Athens, Epicurean and Stoic philosophers were debating with him, and some were saying, 'What does this babbler want to say?' Others were saying, 'He seems to be a proclaimer of new deities.' So they took him to the philosophers' quarter, so that his new teaching could be examined there, and they said: 'You’re bringing something new to our ears; we want to know, therefore, what these things mean.' . For the Athenians had no time for anything else but to tell or hear something new. After Paul had looked over the altars of the gods and, among other things, had seen an altar to an unknown God, he said to those philosophers: "The one you worship without knowing, I am now announcing to you as the true God who made heaven and earth." Then he asked Dionysius, whom he saw was more learned in divine matters than the others: "Who is this unknown God, Dionysius?" Dionysius replied: "He is the true God, who is not shown among the other gods, but is unknown to us, hidden from us, destined for the age to come, and will reign forever." Paul asked: "Is he human, or only spirit?" Dionysius answered: "He is both God and man, but he is unknown because his life is only in heaven." Paul said to him: "He is the one I preach, who came down from heaven, took on flesh, endured death, and rose on the third day." While Dionysius was still debating with Paul, a blind man happened to pass by them on the road, and Dionysius immediately said to Paul: "If you say to this blind man, 'In the name of your God, see,' and he recovers his sight, I will believe at once—but don't use magic words, because you might know words that have that kind of power." I will prescribe the form of words for you. Use these words, then, to speak to him: 'In the name of Jesus Christ, born of the Virgin, crucified, dead, who rose again and ascended into heaven, see.' But to remove any suspicion, Paul told Dionysius to speak these words himself. When Dionysius spoke this same formula to the blind man so that he might see, he immediately regained his sight. Dionysius was immediately baptized along with his wife Damaris and his entire household. After becoming a believer, he was instructed by Paul for three years and ordained bishop in Athens, where he devoted himself to preaching. He brought the city and most of that region to the faith of Christ. It is said that Paul revealed to him the things he saw when he was caught up into the third heaven, just as Dionysius himself seems to suggest in many places. Because of this, he spoke so clearly and brilliantly about the hierarchies of the angels—their orders, arrangements, and offices—that you wouldn't think he had learned it from someone else, but rather that he himself had been caught up into the third heaven and had seen it all there. He shone with the spirit of prophecy, as is clear in the letter he sent to John the Evangelist, who had been sent into exile on the island of Patmos, where... ...he prophesied that he would return, saying: 'Rejoice, truly beloved, truly lovable and desirable and worthy of love, most beloved;' and further: 'From the custody that is in Patmos, you will be released and will return to the land of Asia, and you will make there imitations of the good God, and you will hand them on to those who will be after you.'
Martyrdom and Miraculous Witness
Dionysius travels to France, where he and his companions Rusticus and Eleutherius endure severe tortures and martyrdom for the faith.
He was present at the falling asleep of the blessed Mary, just as he himself seems to suggest in his book on the Divine Names. When he heard that Peter and Paul were being held in prison in Rome by Nero, he appointed a bishop to take his place and went to visit them. After they had happily passed on to the Lord and Clement was presiding, he was sent by the blessed Clement himself to France some time later, with Rusticus and Eleutherius joined to him as companions. Once sent, he arrived in Paris, converted many there to the faith, built many churches, and appointed clergy of various orders. Yet such grace shone upon him from heaven that whenever the priests of the idols stirred up the people to riot against him—and the people often rushed at him with weapons to destroy him—they would immediately, upon seeing him, either cast aside all their ferocity and throw themselves at his feet, or flee from his presence, overcome by an overwhelming fear. But the devil, seeing and envying the fact that his own cult was shrinking daily and the Church was triumphing as the faithful multiplied, stirred up the Emperor Domitian to such cruelty that he issued an order: anyone who found a Christian must either force him to offer sacrifice or torture him with various punishments. The prefect Fescenninus, therefore, having been sent from Rome to Paris against the Christians, found the blessed Dionysius preaching to the people and immediately ordered him to be seized, struck, spat upon, mocked, bound with the toughest ropes, and brought before him along with the holy Rusticus and Eleutherius. When the saints were standing before him, constant in their confession of God, a certain noble matron arrived and asserted that her husband, a slippery man, had been shamefully deceived by these men. So, they were sent for his husband, and he was unjustly put to death while persevering in his confession of God, while the saints were whipped by twelve soldiers. Then, weighed down by heavy chains, they were thrown into prison. The next day, Dionysius was stripped and stretched out over a red-hot iron grate with flames underneath, where he sang to the Lord: "Your word is very refined, and your servant has loved it." From there he was lifted up and thrown to the most ferocious beasts, which had been stirred up by a long fast. But when they rushed at him violently, he made the sign of the cross and made them completely tame; then he was thrown into an oven, but when the fire went out, he was not harmed at all; he was tied to a cross and tortured there for a long time, then taken down and thrown into prison with his companions and many other believers. While he was celebrating Mass there and giving Communion to the people, the Lord Jesus appeared to him in a blaze of light, took bread, and said: "Take this, my dear one, for your great reward is with me." After this, they were brought before the judge and killed again with new tortures. Near the idol of Mercury, their three heads were cut off with axes as they confessed the Trinity. Immediately, the body of Saint Dionysius stood up and, with an angel as his guide and a heavenly light leading the way, carried his head in his arms for two miles from the place called the Mount of Martyrs to the place where he now rests by his own choice and God's providence. Such a melody of angels rang out there that among the many who heard it and believed, Laertia, the wife of the prefect Lubrius, also cried out that she was a Christian and was soon beheaded by the wicked, dying baptized in her own blood; her son, named Virbius, served as a soldier in Rome under three emperors, then returned to Paris, was baptized, and joined the number of the religious.
Legacy and Divine Favor
The relics of the saints are preserved and honored, and the intercession of Dionysius continues to manifest through visions and miracles for kings and the faithful.
When the non-believers feared that the Christians might bury the bodies of the saints Rusticus and Eleutherius, they ordered them thrown into the Seine. However, a noble matron invited the men transporting them to a meal, and while they were feasting, she secretly stole the saints' bodies and had them buried privately on her own land. Once the persecution ceased, she moved them and honorably joined them to the body of the blessed Dionysius. They suffered under Domitian in the year of our Lord 96, when the blessed Dionysius was 90 years old. Around the year of our Lord 815, in the time of the legate Louis. Among other gifts, the Emperor Michael of Constantinople brought Louis, son of Charlemagne, the books of Dionysius on the hierarchy, translated from Greek into Latin. They were received with joy, and 19 sick people were cured in his church that very night. When Saint Regulus, the bishop, was celebrating the solemnity of the Mass at Arles, he added the following after reciting the names of the apostles in the Canon: 'and to your blessed martyrs Dionysius, Rusticus, and Eleutherius.' After saying this, since he still believed the servants of God were alive, he began to wonder greatly why he had unknowingly spoken their names in the Canon; and behold, to his astonishment, three doves appeared resting upon the cross of the altar, which had the names of the holy martyrs marked in blood upon their chests. Gazing at them closely, he understood that the saints had departed from the body. Around the year of our Lord 644, Dagobert, King of the Franks (as is recorded in a certain chronicle), who had reigned long before Pepin, began to hold Saint Dionysius in great veneration from his childhood; for even when he feared the wrath of his father Clotaire, he would constantly flee to the church of Saint Dionysius. When the king had died, it was shown to a certain holy man in a vision that his soul had been snatched away to judgment, and that many saints were accusing him of plundering their churches. Just as the evil angels were trying to drag his soul off to punishment, blessed Dionysius appeared, and through his intervention, the soul was set free and escaped the penalty. Perhaps his soul returned to his body, and he performed penance there. King Clovis, uncovering the body of Saint Dionysius with little reverence, broke off a bone from his arm and greedily snatched it, for which he was soon struck with madness. Note that Hincmar, Bishop of Reims, says in a letter to Charles that this Dionysius who was sent into Gaul was Dionysius the Areopagite, as mentioned above. John Scotus testifies to the same in his letter to Charles, and perhaps the reasoning based on the calculation of time does not contradict it, as some have wished to object.
Read the original Latin
Dionysius interpretatur vehementer fugiens, vel dicitur Dionysius a dyo, quod est duo, et nisus, quod est elevatio, quasi secundum duo elevatus, scilicet. secundum corpus et secundum animam. Vel dicitur a Dyana, quod est Venus, scilicet Dea pulchritudinis, et syos, quod est Deus, quasi pulcher Deo. Vel, ut quidam ajunt, dicitur a dionysia, quae (ut dicit Ysidorus) est quaedam gemma nigra valens contra ebrietatem. Fuit ergo vehementer fugiens de mundo propter perfectam abrenuntiationem, elevatus per internorum contemplationem, pulcher Deo per decorem virtutum, valeus peccatoribus contra ebrietatem vitiorum. — Hic ante conversionem multa praenomina habuit. Vocatus est enim Areopagita a vico, in quo habitabat; item dictus est Theosophus, id est, Deum sapiens, ltem a Graecorum sapientibus usque hodie dicitur Pterigiontuurani, quod latine dicitur ala coeli, quia in coelum ara spiritualis intelligentiae mirabiliter volavit, Idem dictus est Maca- . rius, id est beatus.
ltem a patria dictus est Jonicus; Jonica autem, ut ait Papias, una est ex linguis Graecorum, vel Jonicae sunt genera columnarum, vel Jonicum (ut idem dicit) est pes, quae habet duas correptas et duas longas; per quod ostenditur, quod ipse fuit sapiens domini per occultorum investigationem, ala coeli per coelestinm contemplationem, beatus per aeternorum possessionem, Per alia ostenditur, quod ipse fuit mirabilis rhetor per eloquentiam , ecclesiae sustentator per doctrinam, brevis sibi per humilitatem, longus aliis per caritatem. Augustinus autem in L, VIII de civitate Dei dicit, quod Jonicum est genus philosophorum. Distinguit enim ibidem duo genera philosophorum, scilicet Italicum, quod est ex parte Italiae, et Jonicum, quod est ex parte Graeciae, Quia ergo Dionysius summus erat philosophus, ideo antonomatice dicebatur Jonieus. Ejus passionem et vitam graece dictavit Methodius Constfantinopolitanus, latine vero Anastasius apostolicae sedis bibliothecarius, ut dicit Hincmarus Remorum episcopus, Dionysius Areopagita a beato Paulo apostolo ad fidem Christi conversus fuit: qui Areopagita a vico civitatis, in quo habitabat, dietus fuisse dicitur. Areopagus enim erat vicus Martis, in quo scilicet erat templum Martis. Athenienses enim singulos vicos denominabant a Diis, quos colebant, ut vicum, in quo colebatur Mars, vocabant Areopagum, quia Areo dicitur Mars, Vicum, in quo colebant Pan, vocabant Panopagum, et ita a singulis Diis singulos vicos denominabant. Areopagus autem vicus erat excellentior, quia ibi erat curia nobilium et scholae liberalium artium. Iu hoc ergo vico morabatur Dionysius maximus philosophus, qui ob plenitudinem divinorum nominum et sapientiae Theosophus, id est Deo sapiens, dicebatur.
Erat et secum Apollophanes, id est ejus conphilosophus. Ibi erant etiam Epicurei, qui ponebant felicitatem hominis in sola corporis voluptate, et Stoici, qui in sola animi virtute. In die igitur dominicae passionis, cum tenebrae factae fuissent super universam terram, philosophi, qui erant Athenis, non potuerunt hujus causam in causis naturalibus invenire. Non fuit enim naturalis eclipsis solis, tum quia luna fere erat e regione ad solem, eclipsis vero fieri solet tantum in synodo solis et lunae, luna autem tunc erat quinta decima etita in perfecta distantia a sole, tum quia eclipsis non aufert lumen universis partibus terrae, tum quia per tres horas durare non potest. Quod autem illa eclipsis in universis partibus terrae lumen abstulerit, patet ex eo, quod Lucas evangelista hoc dicit, et ex eo, quod universitatis dominus patiebatur, et ex eo, quod fuit apud Heliopolin Aegypti, et ex eo, quod fuit Romae et'in Graecia et in Asia minore. Quod autem fuerit Romae, testatur Orosius dicens: cum dominus patibulo affixus est, maximo terrae motu per orbem facto saxa in montibus scissa maximarumque urbium plurimae partes plus solita concussione ceciderunt eodemque die ab hora diei sexta sol in totum obscuratus est, tetra nox subito obducta terris est, adeo ut stellas tunc diurnis horis vel potius in horrenda nocte toto coelo visas fuisse referatur. Haec Orosius. Fuit etiam apud Aegyptum, et hujus meminit Dionysius in epistola ad Apollophanem dicens: offusi namque orbes uniformiter tenebrarum caligine tabescente, ut purgatum rediit solis diametrum, regulam Philippi Arrhidaei assumsimus, cumque reperimus, qüod et erat notissimum, solem pati molestias non debere, ajo ad te: peritiae vastae sanctuarium, adhuc nescias tantae rei mysterium.
Quid, inquam, speculum doctrinae Apollophani, his secretis adscribis ? Ad quae tu mihi ore divino et non humani sensus sermone: o bone Dionysi, divinarum permutationes sunt rerum, Denique notatum feriae diem et annum annuntiationis, quam Paulus nostris auribus suspensis intonuit, signis acclamantibus recordari expertus dedi veritati manus et falsitatis sum nexibus absolutus, Haec Dionysius. Hujus etiam meminit idem in epistola ad Polycarpum loquens de se et Apollophane dicens: ambo apud Heliopolim tune praesentes et oadstantes inopinabiliter soli lunam incedentem videbamus; non enim erat conveniens tempus, et rursus ipsam a nona hora usque ad vesperam ad solis diametrum supernataraliter restitutam, Eclipsim autem illam vidimus in oriente inchoatam et usque ad solarem terminum venientem, postea regredientem et rursus mon ex eodem et defectum et repurgationem, sed e converso secundum diametrum factam. Tunc enim Dionysius cum Apollophane voto astrologicae disciplinae apud Heliopolim Aegypti perrexerat et postea inde reversus est. Quod autem fuerit in Asia, testatur Eusebius in chronica asserens, se in dictis ethnicorum legisse, quod tunc in Bithynia, quae provincia est Asiae minoris, fuit terrae motus magnus et major solis obscuratio, quam unquam faerit, et quod dies hora sexta in tenebrosam noctem versus sit, ut stellae in coelo visae sint, et quod Nicaeae, quae urbs est Bithyniae, cunctas aedes terrae motus subverterit. Tandem, ut in hystoria scholastica legitur, philosophi ad hoc adducti sunt, ut dicerent, quod Deus maturae patitur. Alibi tamen legitur, quod dixerunt: aut ordo naturae pervertitur aut elementa mentiuntur aut Dens naturae patitur etelementa sibi compatiuntur. Alibi vero dicitur, quod Dionysius dixit: haec nox, quam novam miramur, totius mundi veram lucem adventuram significat.
Tunc Athenienses illi Deo aram construxerarit et superpositus est titulus: ignoto Deo. Singulis enim aris snperponebatur titulus indicans, cui essent dedicatae. Et cum vellent illi offerri holocausta et victimas, dixerunt philosophi: bonorum nostrorum non eget, sed facietis genuflectationes ante aram ejus et supplicabitis ei, quia non quaerit oblationes pecorum, sed devolionem animorum. Cum ergo Paulus venisset Athenas, Epicurei et Stoici philosophi eum eo disputabant, quidam antem dicebant: quid seminator verborum hic vult dicere? Alii dicebant: novorum daemoniorum videtur annuntiator esse. Adducentes ergo eum ad vicum philosophorum, ut nova doctrina ibidem examen reciperet, dixerunt: nova quidem infers auribus nostris, volumus ergo scire, quidnam velint haec esse. . Athenienses autem ad nihil aliud vacabant, nisi aut dicere aut audire aliquid novi.
Cum ergo Paulus Deorum altaria perlustrasset et inter caetera ignoti Dei altare vidisset, dixit illis philosophis: quemignorantes colitis, hunc ego anuuntio vobis verum Deum, qui fecit coelum et terram. Deinde dixit Dionysio, quem prae caeteris magis doctum in divinis videbat: quis est, Dionysi, ille Deus ignotus? Cui Dionysius: ipse est Deus verus, qui inter caeteros Deos non est demonstratus, sed nobis est incognitus et nobis ignotus et saeculo venturo futurus et in perpetuum regnaturus. Et Paulus: homo an tantum spiritus est? Et Dionysius: Deus et homo est, sed ideo incognitus est, quia ejus tantum in coelo conversatio est. Cui Paulus: ille est, quem praedico, qui de coelis descendit, carnem suscepit, mortem sustinuit et die tertia resurrexit. Cum autem Dionysius adhuc cum Paulo disputaret, forte transiit caecus per viam coram iis statimque dixit Dionysius Paulo: si dixeris huic caeco, in nomine Dei tui vide, et viderit, statim credam, sed vitatis verbis magicis, quia forte nosti verba, quae habent hujusmodi efficaciam. Ego formam verborum tibi praeseribam.
In hac igitur forma verborum dices ei: in nomine Jesu Christi, nati de virgine, crucifixi, mortui, qui resurrexit et ad coelum adscendit, vide. Sed ut omnis suspicio tolleretur, Paulus dixit Dionysio, ut haec ipse verba proferret. Cum ergo in eadem forma Dionysius caeco, ut videret, dixisset, protinus visum recepit. Statim Dionysius cum Damari uxore sua et tota familia baptizatus est et fidelis effectus sicque a Paulo per triennium instructus Athenis episcopus ordinatus est, ubi ille praedieationi insistens ipsam. civitatem et maximam partem regionis illius ab fidem Christi adduxit. Huic Paulus ea, quae in tertium coelum raptus vidit, revelasse dicitur, sicut et ipse Dionysius in plerisque locis insinuare videtar, Unde et de )gerarchiis ipsorum angelorum, ordinibus, dispositionibus et officiis tam luculenter et clare disseruit, ut non putares, ipsum hoc ab alio didicisse, sed ipsum potius usque in tertium coelum raptum esse et ibi haec omnia conspexisse. :)Prophetiae spiritu claruit, sicut patet in epistola, quam misit ad Johannem evangelistam in Pathmos insulam in exsilio relegatum, ubi! prophetavit, quod rediturus esset, sic dicens: gaude vere dilecte, vere amabilis et desiderabilis et diligibilis valde dilecte; et infra: ex custodia, quae est in Pathmos, dimitteris et ad terram Asiae reverteris et facies ibi boni Dei imitationes et his, qui erunt post te, trades.
Dormitioni beatae Mariae interfuit, sicut ipse in libro de divinis nominibus insinuare videtur. Cum ergo audivisset, Petrum et Paulum Romae a Nerone in carceribus detineri, episcopum sibi substituit et ad eos visitandos accessit. Verum cum illi ad dominum feliciter migrassent et postmodum Clemens praesideret, ab ipso beato Clemente post aliquod spatium temporis in Franciam destinatur et sibi Rusticus et Eleutherius sociantur. Missus igitur Parisios venit et multos ibidem ad fidem convertit et ecclesias plurimas fabricavit et clericos diversi ordinis collocavit. Tanta autem in eo gratia coelitus emicuit, quod, cum saepius pontifices ydolorum contra eum seditionem populi concitarent et populus ad eum perdendum saepe cum armis concurreret, mox illo viso aut omni feritate deposita se ejus pedibus provolvebant aut nimio timore solati ab ejus praesentia fugiebant. Sed dyabolus videns et invidens, quod quotidie sui cultura decresceret et multiplicatis fidelibus ecclesia triumpharet, Domitianum imperatorem in tantam commovit saevitiam, ut praeceptum daret, quod, quicunque christianum aliquem reperiret, aut ipsum sacrificare cogeret aut diversis suppliciis cruciaret. Praefectus igitur 7Fescenninns contra christianos Parisios a Roma directus beatum Dionysium populo praedicantem invenit, statimque captum, colaphizatum , consputum, derisum et loris durissimis alligatum cum sanctis Rustico et Eleutherio sibi praesentari praecepit. Cum ergo sancti coram illo in confessione Dei constantes adstarent, ecce quaedam matrona nobilis advenit et virum suum lubricum turpiter ab his magis deceptum assernit.
Pro ejus itaque viro citius mittitur et in Dei confessione perseverans injuste necatur, sancli vero à duodecim militibus flagellantur. Deinde magno pondere catenarum constricti carceri mancipantur. Sequenti die Dionysius super cratem ferream suppositis flammis nudus extenditur, ubi domino decantabat dicens: ignitum tuum eloquium vehementer et servus tuus dilexit illud. Inde autem erigitur et ad bestias ferocissimas multo jejunio excitatas projicitur. Sed cum in eum impetuose urrerent, signum crucis opposuit et mansmeltissimas eas fecit; deinde in clibanum jactatur, sed exstincto igne nil laeditur, cruci alligitur et diutius ibidem torquetur, inde depositus cum snis sociis et multis aliis fidelibus carceri mancipatur. Ubi dum missam celebraret et populum communicaret, dominus Jesus eidem cum immenso lumine apparuit et panem accipiens ei dixit: accipe hoc, care meus, quia mecum est maxima merces tua. Post hoc judici praesentati ilerum novis suppliciis mactantur et juxta ydolum Mercurii emm securibus trium capita in confessione trinitatis praeciduntur, statimque corpus sancti Dionysii se erexit et caput suum inter brachia angelo duce et coelesti lumine praecedente per duo milliaria deportavit a loco, qui dicitur mons martirum, usque ad locum, ubi nunc sua electione et Dei providentia requiescit. Tanta autem ibidem angelorum melodia insonuit, ut inter multos, qui audierunt et crediderunt, etiam Laertia uxor praefecti Lubrii christianam se esse clamavit et mox ab impiis decollata et in sno sanguine baptizata occubuit, filius autem ejus nomine Virbius Romae sub tribus imperatoribus militavit Deinde Parisios rediens baptizatur et religiosorum nnmero sociatur.
Dum autem infideles metuerent, ne sanctorum Rustici et Eleutherii corpora christiani sepelirent, jusserunt, ut in Sequana mergerentur, Matrona autem quaedam nobilis vectores ad prandium invitavit et illis epulantibus sanctorum corpora furtive surripuit et agro suo occulte sepeliri fecit, quae postea persecutione cessante inde sustulit et corpori beati Dionysii honorifice sociavit. Passi sunt sub Domitiano anno domini XCVI, aetatis vero beati Dionysii XC. Circa annos domini DCCCXV tempore Ludovici legati. Michaelis imperatoris Constantinopolitani inter caetera munera detulerunt Ludovico filio Caroli magni libros Dionysii de gerarchia de Graeco in Latinum translatos, qui cum gaudio sunt recepti, et XIX infirmi in ipsa nocte in ecclesia ejus curati. Cum apud Arelatium sanctus Regulus episcopus missarum sollemnia celebraret, apostolorum nominibus in canone recitatis adjunxit: et beatis martiribus tuis Dionysio, Rustico et Eleutherio. Quo dicto cum adhuc Dei famulos vivere crederet, plurimum mirari coepit, cur eorum nomina sic nesciens in canone protulisset, Et ecce eidem miranti tres columbae apparuerunt super crucem altaris residentes, quae sanctorum martirum nomina habebant suis pectoribus sanguine insignita. Quas diligenter intuens sanctos migrasse a corpore intellexit. Circa annum domini DCXLIV Dagobertus rex Francorum (ut in quadam habetur chronica), qui longe ante Pipinum regnaverat, a sua pueritia sanctum Dionysium in magna veneratione habere coepit; nam et quando Clotarii patris sui iram metuebat, ad ecolesiam sancti Dionysii continuo fugiebat.
Cum ergo factus jam rex mortuus fuisset, cuidam sancto viro in visione monstratum est, quod ejus anima ad judicium rapta fuit et multi sancti suarum ecclesiarum exspoliationem objiciebant eidem. Cumque ergo mali angeli jam ad poenas rapere eam vellent, affuit beatus Dionysius et ejus interventu liberata est et poenam evasit. Forte enim ejus anima ad corpus rediit et ibi poenitentiam egit. Clodoveus rex corpus sancti Dionysii minus religiose discooperiens os brachii ejus fregit et cupide rapuit, qui mox in amentiam raptus est. Et nota, quodHinemarus episcopus Remensis dicit in epistola, quam misit ad Carolum, quod Dionysius iste missus in Galliam fuit Dionysius Areopagita, ut supra dictum est. ldem testatur Johannes Scotus in epistola ad Carolum, nec forte ratio ex computo temporis contradicit, sicut aliqui objicere voluerunt.
The Golden Legend (Legenda Aurea) companion
Continue through all 240 chapters, one saint a day
Chosen Portion serves the Golden Legend as a daily portion on iOS, free, alongside the full Sub Rosa archive
The Legenda Aurea was organized for day-by-day use across the liturgical year, and Chosen Portion restores that original one-feast-per-day reading rhythm
- A complete saint's life or feast reading most days in 5-10 minutes
- 240 chapters - enough daily readings to cover a full liturgical year and beyond
- Daily reminders so the plan survives busy weeks