The Divine Names

work by Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite

Written by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last updated

July 16, 2026

Quick Summary

"The Divine Names" is a significant work by Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, a likely Syrian monk from around 500 CE. This text, along with others like "On Mystical Theology," aimed to synthesize Neoplatonic philosophy with Christian theology and mystical experience.12

The work explores the nature of God, emphasizing God's transcendence and unknowability in essence, while also acknowledging that God can be known through His "energies" or acts. Pseudo-Dionysius uses a dialectical approach, employing both positive and negative attributes to describe the divine, recognizing that any human language used to describe God is a limited communication of the incommunicable. This approach profoundly influenced medieval Christian thought, particularly in the Western Church.31

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

3 Britannica Sources

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.

Christianity
Negative mysticism: God and the Godhead
…God, even the Trinity (The Divine Names, chapter 13). In the West this tradition emerged later; it is first found in Erigena in the 9th century and is especially evident in the Rhineland school in the 13th and 14th centuries. According to Eckhart, even being and goodness are “garments”…
Read More
…God, even the Trinity (The Divine Names, chapter 13). In the West this tradition emerged later; it is first found in Erigena in the 9th century and is especially evident in the Rhineland school in the 13th and 14th centuries. According to Eckhart, even being and goodness are “garments”…
Read More