St. Dionysius of Alexandria: Letters and Treatises

by Charles Lett Feltoe

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

120 pages, Paperback

First published January 11, 2010

Reviews

[Adam Carnehl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Only a handful of letters and fragments of lost treatises remain from Dionysius's long career as head of the catechetical school and pope and patriarch of Alexandria. Taught by Origen and gifted with a swift, discerning mind, Dionysius was beloved by his people and presbyters, and honored by other bishops and theologians including Jerome and Basil for his wisdom.

In this old edition of his collected letters and treatises, we come upon many works that are known only through Eusebius, another admirer. Much of it deals with the Novatian scandal from about 250. After Pope Fabian was martyred, there was a vacuum of leadership in Rome that Novatian, a brilliant theologian and gifted administrator, and a couple of others filled. Novatian advocated a harsh approach to lapsi - or Christian apostates in the wake of the Decian persecution. He would not allow them to be readmitted to the Eucharist or rejoin the Christian community. When Cornelius, a man who had a more pastoral approach to the apostates, was duly elected the next bishop of Rome, Novatian's supporters rose up and declared him to be the real bishop. The bishops of Africa, led by Cyprian and Dionysius, rose up and with one voice declared Novatian worse than a heretic, for he was a schismatic, and unanimously supported Cornelius.

These writings come from those tumultuous years. Toward the end of the collection, we come upon an intriguing little work on the authorship and canonicity of Revelation, and the weaknesses of the atomistic Greek philosophers. Dionysius had major concerns with Revelation, but he accepted it as valuable because of its acceptance by other holy men in the church. He readily admits, however, that he can't make sense of it! His other concerns involve style (it's a bizarre Greek at times) and differences between it and the Gospel and letters of John. In an interesting passage, the patriarch points out the many differences between the author of those NT works and Revelation.

[Mark Schlechty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting

Interesting is about all I can say about this book. It's not all that significant in many things . But, it does give insight into some of the persecution and controversies of the early church.

[Michal Stawicki · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoy each work of the saints.

I found an excessive comments from an editor a bit annoying.