Symeon Metaphrastes, Martyrium S. Dionysii Areopagitae (Μαρτύριον τοῦ ἁγίου Διονυσίου τοῦ Ἀρειοπαγίτου)

OF SYMEON METAPHRASTES

THE LIFE AND CONDUCT

OF OUR FATHER AMONG THE SAINTS DIONYSIUS,

BISHOP OF ATHENS, THE AREOPAGITE.

MARTYRDOM OF SAINT DIONYSIUS THE AREOPAGITE.

Lord, bless.

Of old the things of the faith were in types and riddles, and the light of the truth was covered over by the cloud of the shadow. But when the great mystery of our salvation was wrought, and He Who fashioned our hearts individually, through the pity of His own goodness towards us, sinlessly became as we are, and underwent the other things, as many as belong to human weakness, so that I might recover my primal nobility, and finally is condemned to death by the cross; and, that I may not speak of each detail (for many are the mysteries in the midst of His dispensation), the things of His bodily sojourn receive an end, and the things of the Spirit begin; and my Christ is taken up into the heavens, and returns to the paternal throne, and sends down His Spirit Who proceeds to the disciples for the guidance of the unbelieving nations, through Whom also the blessed Paul was led by the hand from the shadow to the truth; then indeed, being seized with zeal for Christ, in the manner in which he had been taken captive unto piety, in that same manner he hastened to draw the inhabited world also, and to make it Christ's own through faith.

And that I may pass over the things in Amphipolis and Thessaly, and those in which his word, like some dragnet, caught the many unto piety, I shall make mention only of the things in Athens, through which the truly great Dionysius also becomes a prey for the Apostle; who, having obtained an illustrious fatherland and illustrious parents as well, arrived at a great height of glory. For just they were, if any of the Athenians, not to say alone; and justice was the badge of his parents, to friends

equitable, gentle to strangers, humane to their own household; goodness with them was no display, which for the most part has perversity lurking beneath, but a clear offspring of the soul, and the impress of their inward disposition. Now when Paul came to be in Athens, and having met with the Epicureans who upheld the doctrines of Pythagoras, he set himself to the work of drawing them away from the doctrines of impiety, and transferring them to piety, and overthrowing the temples of the idols, and persuading the Athenians that on the last day of judgement they would rise again, and punishment would be exacted for the things wrought by them; they, being more superstitiously disposed than others, and divided into many opinions and beliefs, attempted to deride him, calling him a proclaimer of certain new and strange demons; and in order that he might not be assailed by them with derision alone, but might also undergo something painful in paying the penalty for the things preached by him, laying hold of him they led him to the Areopagus, which was a place of assembly, and was still established as the court of justice of Athens. For even though the Romans then ruled over all, yet they left the Athenians and Lacedaemonians autonomous. And it was mythically called thus, just as they say, from Poseidon's having undergone trial in it against Ares, because he slew his son Halirrhothius. Having led him therefore (since they were proud both of the height of their seats and of the wisdom that is brought to naught, and sat in front at once as hearers and judges of what took place; of whom Dionysius also was one, carrying off the chief part both in speeches and in the courts of justice): "What is this new teaching spoken by you," they said to Paul, "and these clever and subtly devised sophistries? And who is the God-man Jesus? And the Giver of life upon a tree and Judge called to account? For you bring certain strange things to our ears; we wish therefore to know what these things might mean, and to what they tend." And he, at first at once extolling their affairs and setting them in praise as was fitting, so that they might not be exasperated by the unaccustomed and strange words (for a submissive answer, it says, turns away wrath): "Men of Athens," he said, "concerning the things about which you inquire, afterwards, if it seems good, I shall relate; but now in all respects I behold you as more superstitious. For passing through and observing your objects of worship, I found also an altar, on which had been inscribed: To an Unknown God. Whom therefore unknowing you revere, Him I proclaim to you; if perhaps you may feel after Him and find Him, though indeed He is not far from each one of you, For in Him we live and move and are." When they heard these things, and because the speech happened to be full of refined thought, as though struck down by the sound of thunder, they were held in speechlessness. And late and scarcely uttering "We will hear you on the morrow," they let him go from the court of justice. Paul therefore goes out not with empty hands, as the saying goes, but having taken along following him the president and leader of the company of the sophists, this great Dionysius, I mean; and just like some Olympic victor or general, a trophy of his own tongue

having made him and having reaped such fruit from his speech to the Athenians. For having compared the innovation of the luminaries foreseen by him at the time of the Passion with the things spoken concerning Jesus by the herald of the truth, and having disdained this human wisdom, he becomes of the word of the truth, and joins himself to the Apostle; and having been perfected by the laver of regeneration, he is established at once a disciple and herald of Christ the first Teacher of the truth. And having shared the first exercises and training of his age with the blessed Hierotheus, he is trained under him in life and word, and is counted worthy of the same communion of the Holy Spirit with him; and disposing ascensions in his heart, he philosophizes the truth; he seeks with the truth concerning soul, concerning body, concerning the substance of things to be done; he mortifies all his members that are upon the earth, having laid down many laws for the flesh unto the subjection of the spirit; he trains his hearing to give ear to whatever things are divine and concerning God, while to the things outside of these he sets the divine fear as an inexorable doorkeeper; he transfers his whole eye to the truth. For as to the things of the tongue, even if previously not in the things wherein it ought, yet at least he had been educated philosophically and in the Attic manner and with exactness. And, O the wonder! in a short time he surpasses all those before him, not having stolen the authority nor seized it, but having passed through the lower steps. And having learned well how to be shepherded, he quickly becomes of those above, and shepherds with experience afterwards; and having learned to be ruled gently, he rules more gently; and having taught with the truth, and having gone through all good order, finally being entrusted with the presidency of Athens, he sits at the helm of the Church, and displays the nobility of his mind, and fights in defence of the flock, and drives away the wild beasts, and takes care of that which is sick, and leads back that which has strayed afar; and, to speak concisely, he becomes all things to all men according to his teacher. And having taught thus, and having theologized the Trinity, he treats clearly concerning the other powers.

And having come to such a measure of grace as, when the spirit of the Theotokos departed from the body, to be present together with the apostles who by spirit and a cloud stood beside its sacred burial, he thought that he ought no longer to circumscribe so great a wealth of grace within a single city, Athens; but wishing to multiply his talent and to follow in the footsteps of his teacher, having left Athens, and having suffered many things by land and endured many hardships by sea, and not even being held back by these, but having risen above all things below by the contemplation of the things above, he reaches the imperial Rome, and approaches Clement who was then governing the apostolic throne, who had been a disciple of Peter the great and had been entrusted with the throne by him. To him therefore Dionysius approaches, and having communicated the Gospel preached by him and the work of his ministry

having shared with him as one of like manner and like mind, he is urged by him also to cross over to the western parts; having therefore distributed others of the ministers who followed him elsewhere among the villages and cities, and having charged them to preach the saving Gospel of God, he himself having taken along Rusticus and Eleutherius as fellow-workers, the one honoured with the anointing of priesthood and Eleutherius with the diaconate, just as the great Apostle took Silvanus and Timothy, and having reached the western Gauls, he wrought the work of apostleship not only by words of teaching, but also by works of signs, appearing in the midst of those who came together each day, unceasingly stirring up the words of piety, and leading on his hearers to the knowledge of Him Who made them. While the word of the truth was thus being preached, therefore, and the divine faith was being strengthened, and all demonic deceit was being put out of the way, having sent out one of those who were with him for this purpose, Lucian, I mean, the renowned, who had also been honoured with the dignity of presbyter (for many of those who laid claim to virtue joined themselves to him; like to like, as they say), to the city of the island of Beauvais to preach piety, he himself together with Rusticus and Eleutherius having left Cisalpine Gaul, as had been divinely instructed to him from above, comes to the city called Paris, so that having with boldness sown in it the word of the truth, and having bound upon himself the crown of martyrdom, it might be granted him to stand with boldness also before God the President of the contest, which indeed was the highest of his desires; and which my discourse as it proceeds will make clear.

Having come to be in this Paris, therefore, and having found the city full of unbelief, in beauty indeed and size and multitude of those in it falling far short of the great cities, but in impiety surpassing all to such a degree that none could even be compared with it, hemmed in on all sides by cruel inhabitants, and strongly fenced round as though by some wall with their savagery, and holding this forth in place of any other safeguard; and besides also because the city was fertile for the bearing of all fruits, and abounding in all sumptuous and superfluous things, which even more anointed its citizens unto wickedness; having come to be in it, therefore, while it was in such a state, he went about searching whether anywhere he might find some place suitable for himself for quiet. And having obtained the temple sought for, straightway according as his power allowed, and as being a stranger and newcomer in a foreign land, and having many adversaries on account of the difference of belief, he raises up an oratory and temple, verily a salvation of souls. For having gathered together a very great multitude of the godly in it, and having presented pure sacrificers to God, he made the temple, so to speak, a holy flock, of which he was the shepherd, not a hireling; calling back to faith by the pipe of the truth everyone wandering in unbelief, and healing those sick with error by the saving medicines of the Scriptures, while binding up with teaching those already bruised

and leading them to true health. But so that our discourse may proceed on its way, I shall also relate this marvel among his deeds, as it is possible to learn from his own writings: Dionysius had other therapeutic ministers as well, and one of them was Demophilus. And Demophilus had for his city the province of Athens, and a solitary habit and life; and the pure and consecrating hands of Dionysius had placed the solitary habit upon him. This was the post and ministry assigned to the man by Dionysius, to stand at the gates of the temple.

This Demophilus, therefore, having beheld his own presbyter sympathetically receiving someone who had turned to repentance, not bearing it meekly, but growing angry, and having come inside the sanctuary of the altar, upon which it is not safe to tread nor holy to touch, causes the Holy of Holies to be exposed to public scorn, and subjects that good and gentle priest to unendurable blows; and striking him upon the cheek he pushes him back, and insolently kicks away him who approached with great reverence, calling him impious and an offender who had deigned in goodness to overlook the ignorances of the people; and to the high priest and chief shepherd Dionysius, as though having wrought some great thing towards virtue, he writes out what had happened, babbling up and down throughout that insolent letter that he had avenged not so much himself, as even God. What then did he do? Did he either suffer the passion of the many, or was he thought to have changed even a little at all from his innate goodness? By no means, it cannot be said; nor did he punish in deed him who had sinned, but educated him with a divine and saving word, having written that letter which moulds and regulates towards virtue at once and all good order, and having set forth Aaron, David, and others as an example of meekness; of which, that I may leave aside the rest of the exhortation towards the good, I shall at least make mention of the vision which he recounts to him as having been beheld by one of the saints. And word for word it ran thus:

When I had once come to be in Crete, the sacred Carpus entertained me as a guest, a man, if ever there was another, most fit for the vision of God on account of his great purity of mind; and accordingly he did not even take in hand the holy celebrations of the mysteries unless previously during the preliminary prayers a sacred and gracious vision appeared to him. He said, therefore, that when a certain one of the unbelievers had once grieved him (and the grief was that he had led astray someone of the Church towards godlessness), while the festal days were still being celebrated by him, when he ought to have prayed on behalf of both in a manner befitting goodness, and taking God the Saviour as helper, to convert the one, and overcome the other by goodness, and not cease admonishing them throughout all his life, so long as it is called today, and thus lead them to the divine knowledge, so that both the matters in dispute might now be judged by them, and those who were irrationally bold might be compelled by lawful justice to be of sound mind; yet, having never experienced this in himself before, I know not how he then infused a certain great ill-will and bitterness and went to

sleep; he fell asleep in this evil state, for it was evening; and about midnight (for he was accustomed at this time by himself to keep vigil for the divine hymns) he rose up, not having enjoyed even his slumbers themselves, though they were many and continually interrupted, free from agitation; and yet standing for the divine converse he was unholily grieved and vexed, saying that it was not just that godless men who pervert the straight ways of the Lord should live; and saying these things, he besought God by some fiery whirlwind to bring the lives of both at once mercilessly to an end. And having said these things, he said that he seemed to see suddenly the house in which he stood first shaken to and fro, and from the roof cloven in two down the middle, and a certain gleaming pyre of much light in front of him, and this (for the place now seemed open to the sky) borne down from the heavenly region as far as himself; and heaven itself laid open, and upon the back of heaven Jesus, with infinite human-formed angels standing beside Him. And these things were beheld from above, and he marvelled; and Carpus, having stooped down, said that he saw the ground itself also rent asunder into a certain yawning and dark chasm; and those men whom he was cursing standing before him at the mouth of the chasm, trembling, pitiable, all but borne down owing to the unsteadiness of their own feet; and from below out of the chasm serpents creeping up, and moving stealthily about their feet, at one time dragging them away, coiling upon them at once and weighing them down, and drawing them back; and at another time with their teeth or their tails gently kindling or tickling them, and by every means contriving to cast them into the yawning gulf; and that there were also certain men in the midst, joining with the serpents in the attack against the men, shaking them to and fro at once and pushing them down and striking them down. And those men seemed to be on the point of falling, partly unwillingly and partly willingly, 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, was both 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 to suffer even on behalf 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."

subject to the objects of worship, having withdrawn her own neck from them by the teachings of Dionysius, brought it under the yoke of Christ. When therefore it came to their knowledge that these things and many others had thus taken place, and they saw the flock of Christ increasing, and their own gods disregarded, and their rites treated with contumely, and impiety bowed to its knee, they are kindled all the more, and inquire where he who was the cause of these things might be dwelling; and having suddenly burst in upon the blessed man, they bind him together with those who were with him, while he still bore the divine teaching in his mouth, and they sit in judgement breathing something rabid and frenzied for the examination. The noble man therefore enters in together with Rusticus and Eleutherius, with fearless mind and bold soul, as though being called to a feast, not to a contest. And thus insolently and harshly, so that they might strike terror into him straightway from the prelude, they say to him: "Are you, O accursed head, he who sets our gods at naught, and strives to put our religion out of the way? Answer therefore: your race, your native land, your pursuit." And he, having become all the bolder through his love towards Christ: "I indeed, O sir," he says, "that for the present I may pass over the matters of my race and fatherland, confess that I am a servant of Christ, and Him alone and the unoriginate Father and His co-eternal Spirit do I worship; and I have fled from your error; for, trusting in my Christ, I am a most steadfast destroyer of it, a most ready trainer of Christians unto virtue. In view of these things, if anything has been commanded you, do it." And when the adversaries perceived the saint's constancy joined with understanding, they change their wrath into flattery, and, "Do not dishonour your honourable grey hair, Dionysius," they say, "nor hand over your dear company to a bitter end; be persuaded by those who advise what is good, and reverence the majesty of the emperor entreating you through us; be persuaded, dear good Dionysius, to sacrifice to our gods, be persuaded; and you shall be first of those under the empire together with your companions." And he says: "You have erred an error not worse than your former one, if you supposed at all that you would despoil me or any of mine; for know well that neither honours, nor dishonours, nor flatteries, nor tortures, nor anything else at all of all things will separate us from Christ."

Thenceforth, since they were unable to persuade them, having laid aside their mask and hypocrisy, and boiling all the more with wrath, and having risen up from their seat in a frenzied and deranged manner: "By you, O mindless ones," they say to Dionysius and those with him, "are both the things of the gods dishonoured, and the things of the emperor derided, and by magical devices forsooth as though by wonder-workings do you secretly despoil and appropriate those under their rule?" And the saints with one voice said to them: "May those who honour them become like unto them! But we, not by magical devices, as you yourselves say, but by the invocation and operation of our God and of His life-giving Spirit, to the blind sight, to the deaf speech, and to the lame walking, and to the demon-possessed

we apply healing; of which things your gods, as being wood and stones, have been able to give nothing even to themselves: For they have a mouth, and speak not; eyes, and see not; ears, and hear not (Ps. 113:13–14). This one thing alone do they work for you: they kindle the unending fire." Not being able to speak against these things, the tyrants, looking askance at them fiercely and madly, and having drawn their swords, arm themselves for murder; and as though at a signal having led them out of the city, they lead them up bound to a certain summit, and hand them over to the executioners for slaughter. Meanwhile the saints ask for a time of prayer, and bend the knee. And in the meantime the hieromartyr of Christ Dionysius, having lifted up his eye to the heavens, says: "Sovereign Lord God Almighty, Only-begotten Son, and Holy Spirit, Holy Trinity unoriginate and undivided, receive the souls of Thy servants in peace, because for Thy sake we are put to death." And when the saints had acclaimed the "Amen," having turned to the executioners: "Fulfil that which has been commanded you," he says. And they cut off first the head of the blessed Dionysius, then that of Rusticus and Eleutherius. Yet not even in this, O Dionysius, was He Who suffered for your sake forgetful of him who dies for His sake; but He also displays a certain marvel concerning the beheading. For having received his own head like some prize in his two hands, the martyr passes over a considerable distance. He himself therefore bore the head like some trophy upon his hands, being borne along altogether by divine grace, and did not let it go before, having met a woman altogether according to divine providence, he deposited it like some treasure in her palms. And the precious bodies of the holy martyrs lay neglected, set forth as food for wild beasts and birds, not even having obtained the customary burial.

The executioners, however, did not even up to this point cease from their wrath, but rage even against the relics themselves, being eager to give them to the sea and the deep, so that they might not, even though inanimate, display the same wonder-workings, and thence draw the many to knowledge. Which indeed, as seemed good to them, would have come to pass, had not God prevented an end from being brought to this wicked counsel. For having perceived the counsel, she who had received the head precious to God (the woman's name was Catula) communicates to the faithful a certain plan pleasing to God and acceptable; and having set forth a sumptuous table, she received the executioners to a feast. And while these were feasting with the woman, certain of the faithful secretly take up the precious relics of the martyrs and lay them away in secret. Then, when the feast was broken up, for the executioners who detected the matter the heat of their wrath was again greatly stirred up and warmed up; but gifts cooled the boiling of their anger, and the woman dissolves the greater part of their wrath with money. And when those had departed, the blessed Catula deposits the relics of the martyrs in a certain building, on the third of the

of the month of October. And as miracles were abundantly poured forth as though from some fountain flowing at once and most sweetly, not long afterwards the Christians, having come together, raise up a temple to the glorious victors, and deposit their precious relics in it, to

the glory of God the Father and of our Lord Jesus Christ, to Whom befit honour and worship unto the ages. Amen.