Pseudo-Dionysius Areopagita – On the Celestial Hierarchy: The Nine Choirs of Angels

# *De caelesti hierarchia* by Pseudo-Dionysius Areopagita

## Author and Work

**Author:** Pseudo-Dionysius Areopagita (anonymous Syrian author of the 5th-6th centuries, mistakenly identified with Dionysius Areopagita converted by St. Paul in Acts 17:34)

**Work:** *De caelesti hierarchia* (On Heavenly Hierarchies)

**Original Language:** Greek

**Period:** Likely around 500 AD, in Syria

**Magisterial Status:** Recognized by Church Tradition, though the apostolic attribution is erroneous.

## Historical Background of Attribution

The author introduces himself as “Dionysius” who was converted by St. Paul at the Areopagus in Athens (Acts 17:34). This attribution was accepted until the Renaissance, but today it is recognized as a pseudonym. The actual author is probably a Syrian monk from the late 5th century (around 500 AD), influenced by Neo-Platonist philosophy, particularly that of Proclus (412-485). The discovery of the false attribution (by Lorenzo Valla in 1457 and Erasmus of Rotterdam) did not diminish its theological authority; the Church Magisterium acknowledges its teachings as authentically Catholic.

## Structure of *De caelesti hierarchia*

The treatise consists of 15 chapters organized around three main themes:

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

## The Three Hierarchies

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

### I. First Hierarchy (Supreme) – Chapter 7

“The first hierarchy is closest to divine primacy and is the first to participate in the direct illumination of God.”

– **Seraphs** (Hebrew: *seraphim*, “burning ones”): Contemplate God’s divine love directly.
– **Cherubims** (Hebrew: *kerubim*): Possess the fullness of divine knowledge.
– **Thrones**: Unchanging adherence to God’s presence.

### II. Second Hierarchy (Intermediate) – Chapter 8

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

– **Dominations** (Greek: *kyriotetes*): Rule over lower hierarchies.
– **Virtues** (Greek: *dynameis*): Cosmic power, perform miracles.
– **Powers** (Greek: *exousiai*): Govern hierarchies.

### III. Third Hierarchy (Lower) – Chapter 9

“The third hierarchy is closest to the world of men, ministering in God’s providential actions.”

– **Principates** (Greek: *archai*): Govern peoples and nations.
– **Archangels** (Greek: *archangeloi*): Serve as messengers for great deeds.
– **Angels** (Greek: *angeloi*): Personal messengers.

## Greek Text – Chapter 7 (Excerpt)

**Translation:**

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

## The Three Characters of the Celestial Hierarchy

Pseudo-Dionysius defines that every angelic hierarchy has three characters:

– **Purification** (katharsis): freeing oneself from all imperfection
– **Illumination** (photismos): receiving divine light
– **Perfection** (teleiosis): union with the source of good

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

## Historical Reception

### Patristic and Byzantine

– **St. Maximus Confessor (7th century)**: First great Greek commentator on Pseudo-Dionysius
– **St. John Damascene (8th century)**: Integrates his theological synthesis
– **Patriarch Fekios (9th century)**: Recognizes the authority of the treatise in the Byzantine Church

### Medieval Latin

– **John Scotus Erigena (9th century)**: First Latin translation
– **St. Bernard (12th century)**: Extensively uses it in his mystical works
– **St. Hugh of St. Victor (12th century)**: First great Latin commentator
– **St. Thomas Aquinas (13th century)**: Integrates it into the *Summa Theologica* and founds the scholastic angeological system
– **St. Bonaventura (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)**: Mentions implicitly the nine choirs (n. 330)
– **Liturgy of the Hours**: The Vespers hymns (especially those of Friday) frequently refer to the nine choirs

## Theological Meaning

The work of Pseudo-Dionysius answers two major questions in angelology:

1. **Why the number “nine”?**
Three triads of three: a Trinitarian structure multiplied by itself. The number nine symbolically represents divine fullness. The nine choirs reflect the Trinity in spiritual creation.

2. **Why does the angelic hierarchy exist?**

To participate in God’s gift in various degrees: the closer to God, the more perfectly one receives divine illumination. Hierarchy is not domination but a service of illumination.

## Pseudo-Dionysius in Christian Iconography

The nine angelic choirs were codified in Christian iconography based on Pseudo-Dionysius:

• Serafins: six wings, red, burning
• Cherubim: blue, holding books (wisdom) or with wings covering their bodies
• Thrones: figures with wheels (Ezequiel 1)
• Dominions: holding sceptres
• Virtues: with auras, ethereal forces
• Principates: in weapons, protection
• Archangels: winged, young armed (especially Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael)
• Angels: winged, dressed in white tunics

Recommended Reading

St. Thomas – Treaty of Angels (Summa Theologica, 50-64) | St. Michael | St. Gabriel | St. Raphael | Guard Angels