Die Rezeption von Pseudo-Dionysius Areopagita bei wichtigen Denkern der orthodoxen Welt im 20. Jahrhundert (Vl. Lossky, Altvater Sofronij, Chr. Yannaras, J. Zizioulas)
Evangelische Theologie
Katholische Theologie
Zusammenfassung der Projektergebnisse
This project intended to examine the diverse reception of the corpus of writings from the 6th century attributed to Dionysius the Areopagite by four seminal figures of the Orthodox world in the 20th century: on the Russian side (yet living in Western Europe), Vladimir Lossky and Father Sophrony (Sakharov); and on the Greek side, Christos Yannaras and Metropolitan John Zizioulas. Historically speaking, Dionysius was held in great esteem in both the East and West, but upon the discovery of his pseudonymity, Western Christianity became critical of Dionysius, whereas some influential Orthodox theologians of the 20th century adopted similar critical readings. Against this dominant current, Lossky regarded Dionysius’ key doctrine, namely apophaticism, as the distinctive mark of Orthodox Christianity in contrast to the Latin West. Yannaras also followed Lossky and attempted to examine Dionysius through a specific lens (e.g. hesychastic), so as to show his Western misreading. Yet, Zizioulas, due to his scepticism for Lossky’s apophaticism, essentially ignores Dionysius in his influential theological work. Finally, for the same reason, Fr. Sophrony was critical of Dionysius’ proclamations about an abstract ascent to God and did not pay any further attention to him. In the results of my research, recorded in my talks and publications thereof, I attested to this varied Orthodox reception of Dionysius in the 20th century. Within this frame, I have aspired to show that major tendencies within Orthodox theology and its development in the modern period were not free from ideological premises (e.g. anti-Western) and subjective interpretations. After all, this was a time when Orthodox theology attempted to rediscover its allegedly lost “genuine identity” away from adulterating Western influences –a controversial process with mixed results. I also attempted, on the one hand, to explain the above differences in the Orthodox evaluation of Dionysius and to consider their respective background. On the other hand, I tried to deconstruct these Orthodox readings of Dionysius by showing, first, the contingency of their anti-Western discourse, given that various Western influences can still be traced in them. Second, I aimed to show the often arbitrary and fragmentary uses of the Orthodox past and tradition through contemporary lenses, based on idiosyncratic criteria and partially uncritical perspectives. Finally, I hope that my analysis of Dionysius’ Orthodox reception confirmed the need for a more fruitful encounter and productive exchange between East and West, not the least because it is about a Christian writer stemming from the period of the one, undivided Church.
Projektbezogene Publikationen (Auswahl)
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The Hermeneutics of Dionysius the Areopagite’s Platonic Writing Style. Later Platonists and Their Heirs among Christians, Jews, and Muslims, 111–130.
Vasilakis, Dimitrios A.
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«Η έννοια της ιεραρχίας στον Διονύσιο Αρεοπαγίτη» [“The concept of hierarchy according to Dionysius the Areopagite”], in M.Γ. Μουζάλα (ed.), Αρχαία Φιλοσοφικά Θέματα στην Πατερική και Βυζαντινή Φιλοσοφία [Ancient Philosophical Themes in Patristic and Byzantine Philosophy], Papazisis, Athens, pp.175-210
Vasilakis, Dimitios A.
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Towards a Dialectical Relation between Form and Content. The International Journal of the Platonic Tradition, 18(1), 64-87.
Vasilakis, Dimitrios A.
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“Dionysius the Areopagite between Faith and Scepticism: His Reception in the Twentieth-Century Orthodox Theology“, Erfurter Vorträge zur Kulturgeschichte des Orthodoxen Christentums
Vasilakis, Dimitios A.
