In the rich reception history of Dionysius Areopagita (approx. 500 AD), the writing On the Ecclesiastical Hierarchy is the only text that has not been given philosophical attention. The present study examines this text as a work in which central concepts of the neo-Platonic tradition in the Christian transformation are further developed in a creative way. The philosophical-historical value of this study lies in its systematic connection of aspects in the areas of political philosophy, ethics, philosophy of religion, aesthetics, anthropology, epistemology, philosophy of language, and metaphysics.

Wiebke-Marie Stock, Freie Universität Berlin.