Dionysius the Areopagite

The “Dionysius the Areopagite” cited by later writers is in fact an anonymous author (now called Pseudo-Dionysius, c. 500) who wrote under the name of Paul’s Athenian convert (Acts 17:34). His mystical works — The Divine Names, The Mystical Theology, and the Hierarchies — exerted enormous influence on medieval theology and spirituality.

Writing about AD 500 under the name of Paul's Athenian convert (Acts 17:34), this anonymous mystic gave the church its enduring vocabulary for the soul's ascent to the unknowable God and for the "hierarchies" of heaven and church. Despite the pseudonym, The Divine Names and The Mystical Theology exercised vast influence on medieval theology, East and West, and on the whole tradition of contemplative prayer.