Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite – de caelesti hierarchia: the nine choirs of angels

The De caelesti hierarchia (On the Celestial Hierarchy) of Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite (an anonymous Syriac author of the fifth-sixth century, mistakenly identified with the Dionysius the Areopagite converted by Saint Paul in Acts 17:34) is the treatise that definitively structured the doctrine of the Nine Choirs of Angels. Its influence on Western theology, through Saint Thomas Aquinas, is absolute.

History of the attribution

The author identifies himself as “Dionysius,” who is said to have been converted by Saint Paul at the Areopagus of Athens (Acts 17:34). This attribution was accepted until the Renaissance, but today it is recognized as a pseudonym. The real author is probably a Syriac monk of the late fifth century (around AD 500), influenced by the Neoplatonic philosophy of Proclus (412-485). The discovery of the false attribution (Lorenzo Valla, 1457, Erasmus of Rotterdam) did not diminish his theological authority: the Magisterium recognizes his doctrine as authentically Catholic.

Structure of the De caelesti hierarchia

The treatise has 15 chapters, organized around three themes:

1. Chapters 1-3: General principles on the angels as divine messengers
2. Chapters 4-9: Description of the three hierarchies and of the nine choirs
3. Chapters 10-15: How the angels relate to men and to the cosmos

The three hierarchies

Pseudo-Dionysius organizes the angels into three triadic hierarchies, each one with three choirs:

I. First hierarchy (Supreme) – ch. 7

“The first hierarchy is close to the primary divinity, and is the first to share in the direct illumination of God.”

1. Seraphim (Heb. seraphim, “burning ones”): direct contemplation of divine Love
2. Cherubim (Heb. kerubim): the fullness of divine knowledge
3. Thrones: unchanging adherence to the presence of God

II. Second hierarchy (Intermediate) – ch. 8

“The second hierarchy receives the light of the first and transmits it to the third.”

1. Dominions (Gr. kyriotetes): they rule over the lower hierarchies
2. Virtues (Gr. dynameis): cosmic strength, the working of miracles
3. Powers (Gr. exousiai): they order the hierarchies

III. Third hierarchy (Lower) – ch. 9

“The third hierarchy is close to the world of men, minister of the providential action.”

1. Principalities (Gr. archai): the government of peoples and nations
2. Archangels (Gr. archangeloi): messengers of the great actions
3. Angels (Gr. angeloi): personal messengers

Greek text – ch. 7 (Excerpt)

“Tas hieratikas taxeis ouranian eperazomen, hen ten eulogon kai theologikoteran taxin proten lego ten einai serafiton, kai cherubim, kai thronon hieran kosmion”.

English translation

“We examine the celestial hieratic orders, declaring that the most proper and theologically first order is the sacred constellation of the Seraphim, the Cherubim and the Thrones.”

The three characteristics of the celestial hierarchy

Pseudo-Dionysius establishes that every angelic hierarchy has three characteristics:

1. Purification (katharsis): freeing oneself from every imperfection
2. Illumination (photismos): receiving the divine light
3. Perfection (teleiosis): uniting oneself to the source of the good

These three moments are also characteristic of the human ecclesiastical hierarchy: hence its influence on sacramental theology and on monastic life.

Historical reception

Patristic and Byzantine

• Saint Maximus the Confessor (7th century): the first great Greek commentator on Pseudo-Dionysius
• Saint John Damascene (8th century): integrates him into his theological synthesis
• Patriarch Photius (9th century): recognizes the authority of the treatise in the Byzantine Church

Medieval Latin

• John Scotus Eriugena (9th century): the first Latin translation
• Saint Bernard (12th century): uses him intensively in his mystical works
• Hugh of Saint Victor (12th century): the first great Latin commentator
• Saint Thomas Aquinas (13th century): integrates him into the Summa Theologiae and founds the Scholastic angelological system
• Saint Bonaventure (13th century): develops the mystical strand
• Meister Eckhart (14th century): speculative mysticism based on Pseudo-Dionysius

Recent Magisterium

• Roman Catechism (1566): adopts the Dionysian hierarchy
• CCC (1992): implicitly mentions the nine choirs (no. 330)
• Liturgy of the Hours: the Hymns of Vespers (especially those of Friday) frequently refer to the nine choirs

Theological meaning

The work of Pseudo-Dionysius answers two great questions of angelology:

1. Why the number “nine”?

Three triads of three: a trinitarian structure multiplied by itself. The number nine is symbolically the number of divine fullness. The nine choirs reflect the Trinity in spiritual creation.

2. Why does the angelic hierarchy exist?

In order to share in the gift of God in different degrees: the closer to God, the more perfectly one receives the divine illumination. The hierarchy is not domination but a service of illumination.

Pseudo-Dionysius in Christian iconography

The nine choirs of angels were codified in Christian iconography on the basis of Pseudo-Dionysius:

• Seraphim: six wings, red, burning
• Cherubim: blue, holding books (wisdom) or with wings covering the body
• Thrones: figures with wheels (Ezekiel 1)
• Dominions: wielding scepters
• Virtues: with auras, ethereal forces
• Powers: in arms, protection
• Principalities: protectors of peoples
• Archangels: winged, armed youths (especially Michael, Gabriel, Raphael)
• Angels: winged, clothed in white tunics

Further reading

Saint Thomas – Treatise on the Angels (Summa Theologiae, 50-64) | Saint Michael | Saint Gabriel | Saint Raphael | Guardian Angels