Encomium S. Dionysii Areopagitae ex Menaeis Graecis

faithfully glorify the Lord Who glorifies you.

The canon of the saint, of which the acrostic is: "I honour the mind of wise teachings," by Theophanes.

Made a disciple, O Dionysius, to the divine Paul, the beholder of heavenly things, straightway you became a heavenly initiate and speaker of God.

Illumined by divine grace, illumine, O blessed one, the souls of those who hymn you to understand your God-inspired teachings, O Dionysius.

By purity of mind and soul you were counted worthy to learn the flashings of the heavenly orders, and to see their choral stations, O Dionysius.

Theotokion.

A light-bearing bridal chamber of the incarnation past understanding of the Creator of all were you seen to be; for from you, O Mother of God, He clothed Himself with our flesh.

Lifted up above the heavenly vaults, O holy one, by the lofty utterances of your words and all-wise expressions you made clear to all the orders and hosts and splendours of the supermundane beings.

Filled with lofty contemplation, O glorious one, you discoursed divinely the unfolding of the divine names, having become by grace a Trinitarian theologian, O blessed of God.

Deadened to things present by love towards God, and strenuously trained in philosophy, you have become, O Father, a God-bearing instrument of the life-giving graces that are above thought.

Theotokion.

O Virgin, husbandry of the all-working Spirit, you bore as fruit a body for the Master of all, in which He condemned the sin of the world, and poured forth as a fountain life everlasting.

You ordered the goodly array of the Churches; for in them, O Father, you painted figuratively resembling images of sacred fashioning of the formless powers, through which is the godly-minded assembly.

The streams of your theology, O God-inspired one, abundantly water the rational and ever-blooming meadows planted upon uprightness of dogmas; for you proclaimed the revered monarchy, a monad of essence in a Trinity of persons.

The intense desire of the angelic hierarchy, O hierarch, and their love towards God, and their unswerving inclination towards the divine and incomprehensible height you wisely taught those who cry in faith: Glory to Thy power, O Lover of mankind.

Theotokion.

A sacred minister of salvation has your Son become to all who hymn you, and a guide of their steps and leader into light and righteousness, O Virgin, and redemption; wherefore we the faithful with one mind glorify you truly and properly as Mother of God.

The sound of your words, borne along like some heavenly echo, thundered down the godless minds by the word of grace, and brightened the hearts of the faithful with the most radiant flashings of divine dogmas.

You were likened to the merchant seeking pearls, O all-happy one, and having found the one pearl truly of great price, and having marvelled at His deifying beamings of light, O hierarch, you confessed Him as God.

The fountain of wisdom most philosophically, O Father, you loved, and carried round by its charm and love you became manifold in worth, and everlastingly pour forth rivers of divine streams, O God-inspired one.

Theotokion.

As full of grace you received above all the beautifying comeliness Which fashioned all things by will alone, and adorned us with the divine beauty and illumination of godliness, O Mother of God.

Lawfully attaining the gift of the wisdom of philosophers, divinely discoursing of God, O all-blessed one, you left behind orthodox dogmas, while you wore yourself out with labours; we the faithful call you blessed.

Adorned with godly-fitting understanding, O godly-minded one, you inclined your ear to the divine mystagogue, and were initiated by him into the supermundane wisdom, O Dionysius.

Your life is wonderful, your word more wonderful, your tongue light-beaming, your mouth fire-breathing, O blessed Dionysius; and your mind, O Father, is strictly most godlike.

Theotokion.

The voice of Gabriel, Hail, we cry aloud to you in faith, from whom ineffably the most life-originating One became man for us and conversed with men, the Lover of mankind.

Like heavenly rain upon a thirsty land your teachings fatten the ever-longing hearts of the faithful, and teach them to cry insatiably: Blessed is the God of our fathers.

A harmonious vessel of the all-holy Spirit were you seen to be, and by His inspiration and manifestation most prophetically foretelling, O wise Dionysius, crying out: Blessed is the God of our fathers.

Theotokion.

Behold, now is fulfilled the prediction of Isaiah: in your womb, O Virgin, you held the Word and gave birth to the Giver of life, to Whom we all cry aloud: Blessed is God.

Having become like a transparent mirror, O Dionysius, and having made your mind through virtue receptive of pure reflections, O all-happy one, receiving the flashings of the splendours above mind, you cried: O priests, bless.

Most abundant grace was poured out upon your lips; whence you set forth your God-inspired teachings, supernaturally unfolding their meaning for us, and making it clear, and radiantly opening it to those who sing in faith: O priests, bless.

Better known has the glorious metropolis of the Athenians become through you, O Dionysius, having offered to Christ also an all-sacred ruler, perpetually singing to the King of all: O children, bless.

Theotokion.

All-blameless Mother of God, wipe away the wounds of my soul and the scars of sin; for you gave birth to a Son Who has authority easily to loose from indissoluble bonds those fettered by the chains of transgressions, the only benefactor, God unto the ages.

Counted worthy to be a beholder of the holy apostles, you also became a fellow-labourer and partaker of their glory, and with them hastened unto the sight of the truly life-originating body of the only and most venerable Mother of God, whom we worthily magnify.

An heir of the divine kingdom in the heavens you became, as a lawful high priest, O Father, as an unconquered athlete having mingled the blood of martyrdom with the anointing of priesthood; wherefore you have worthily received twofold crowns, O sacred initiate Dionysius.

As having boldness towards God, O wise hierarch Dionysius, ever intercede that those who piously hymn you be delivered from temptations, O initiate of ineffable contemplations, as hierophant of the secret-initiating and most thearchic goodness.

Theotokion.

Show forth the venerable Church, which Christ your Son as good acquired by His own precious blood, O full of grace, vigorously conquering heresies, and save us from dangers, and ransom us from the dominion that holds us fast.

Made a disciple, O Dionysius, to Paul the famed chief, O all-happy one, you were initiated by him into the knowledge of hidden things; whence also he sets you as a lamp in the Church of Athens, having appointed you hierarch of the pious city, which may you guard in orthodoxy, O all-wise one, by your prayers, O herald of God!

Theotokion.

At your venerable Dormition, O all-holy Virgin, Dionysius was present with Hierotheus and the divine Timothy together with the apostles, each singing forth a hymn befitting your glory, with whom now also every mortal tongue hymns you, the bearer of God and protectress of the world.

Having shone forth among priests and martyrs, O holy one, you were shown to be a faithful shepherd and one who drank the cup of Christ; wherefore, having been well-pleasing in both to Christ Himself, intercede for us all, dwelling in light with the ministers above.

Kontakion.

Having passed through the heavenly gates in spirit, made a disciple to the Apostle who reached above three heavens, O Dionysius, you were enriched with all knowledge of ineffable things, and illumined those sleeping in the darkness of ignorance; wherefore we cry: Hail, world-wide father.

The Oikos.

Having become by virtues an angel from among men, the great Dionysius, as winged in mind, was initiated into all heavenly knowledge; wherefore let us honour him with songs as an angel, crying to him such things as these: Hail, you who knew Christ through Paul; hail, you who many towards Christ ...

... converted; hail, destroyer of the polytheistic tabernacle; hail, watchtower of God-knowing counsel; hail, God-inscribed book, treasury of mysteries; hail, God-fashioned tablet and perspective-glass of heaven; hail, because you beheld the passion of the Lord; hail, drop hollowing out folly; hail, hedge against the wayfaring of the ungodly; hail, luminary illumining the faithful; hail, world-wide father.

This man, surpassing all in wealth, and glory, and understanding, and wisdom, was one of the councillors in the Areopagus; and having been caught by the great Paul, and baptized, he is ordained bishop, having been initiated into the ineffable things by the wise Hierotheus, and having left behind paradoxical writings, both wonderful and most lofty, one of which it is most seasonable to mention for the present. When I was once come to Crete, he says, the holy Carpus entertained me as a guest, a man, if ever there was one, most fit for the vision of God on account of great purity of mind. And indeed he did not even undertake the rites of the holy mysteries unless a sacred and propitious vision first appeared to him during the pre-initiatory prayers. He said, then, that when one of the unbelievers had grieved him (and his grief was that that man had led astray a certain one of the Church to godlessness while the days of rejoicing over him were still being celebrated), whereas he ought to have prayed over both in a manner befitting goodness, and taking God as helper, to have converted the one, and overcome the other by goodness, and not to have ceased admonishing them throughout all life until this day, and thus to have led them to this divine knowledge, so that the matters in dispute would already be judged for them, and those irrationally emboldened would be compelled by lawful justice to be sober-minded; yet having never before suffered this, I know not how at that time having melted great ill-will and bitterness into his soul, he fell asleep in this bad state, for it was evening; and around midnight (for he was accustomed at that hour to wake of himself for the divine hymns) he rises up, having enjoyed not even his sleep itself, which was many times broken and ever interrupted, outside perturbation; and standing nevertheless for the divine converse, he was unholily distressed and indignant, saying that it was not just that godless men should live who pervert the straight ways of the Lord. And saying these things, he besought God by some fiery whirlwind ruthlessly to snatch away at once the lives of both. And having said these things, he said that he seemed suddenly to see the house in which he stood first shaken, and from the roof divided into two in the midst, and a certain gleaming flame of fire before him (for the place now seemed open to the sky) coming down from the heavenly region unto him; and the heaven itself laid open, and upon the back of the heaven Jesus, with countless angels standing beside Him in human form. And these things were seen above, and he marvelled; and bending down below, Carpus said he saw the floor rent asunder into a certain yawning and dark chasm, and those men whom he had cursed standing before him at the mouth of the chasm, trembling, pitiable, all but carried down

owing to the unsteadiness of their own feet; and from below out of the chasm serpents crept up, moving stealthily about their feet, at one time hissing threateningly, at the same time both weighing them down and dragging them, and at another time with their tails gently kindling and tickling them, and by every means contriving to cast them into the yawning gulf. And there were also certain men in the midst among the serpents, joining in the attack against the men, shaking them to and fro at once and pushing them down, and striking them; and those men seemed to be on the point of falling, partly willingly and partly unwillingly, being little by little at once forced and persuaded by the evil. And Carpus said that he himself took delight in looking down, while neglecting the things above, and was vexed and impatient because they had not already fallen, and having often set himself to the matter and been unable, he was grieved and cursed them; and having scarcely looked up, he saw heaven again, just as he had seen it before; and Jesus, having pitied what was taking place, rose up from His supercelestial throne, and having descended as far as them stretched out a gracious hand; and the angels, lending Him aid, laid hold of the two men one from one side and another from another, and Jesus said to Carpus, with His hand already stretched forth: "Strike against Me henceforth; for I am ready even again to suffer for the sake of men being saved, and this is pleasing to Me, provided other men do not sin. Only see whether it is well for you to exchange a dwelling in the chasm and with the serpents for that with God and the good and philanthropic angels."

He himself, therefore, having also expounded the pattern of the ecclesiastical constitution, afterwards having reached the western parts in the reign of Domitian, and having displayed many miracles, in the city of Paris has his head cut off; and having received it in his own hands, he walked as far as two miles, setting a marvel before those who beheld; and he did not let it go before he met a woman named Catula, and being held entirely by divine providence, deposited it like some treasure in her palms. In the same manner Rusticus and Eleutherius his disciples are beheaded; and together with the martyred body of the sacred herald the bodies of the saints are cast out, set forth as food for wild beasts and birds. But certain of the faithful take the relics of the saints, and lay them away in secret because of the impending fear of the executioners; and when those had departed, the blessed Catula deposits the relics of the martyrs in a certain building on the third day of the month of October. And as to his bodily form he was middle-sized in stature, lean, somewhat pale, slightly snub-nosed, with his eyebrows drawn together, hollow-eyed, having large ears, grey-haired, long-haired, moderately thick in the moustache, sparse in the growth of the beard on the chin, gently prominent in the belly, long-fingered in his hands. And his synaxis is celebrated in the most holy Great Church.