Hieromartyr Dionysius the Areopagite, Bishop of Athens

Dionysius was a member of the Areopagus, the ancient council of Athens. The Acts of the Apostles (17:34) names him among the few who believed after Paul's speech on the Areopagus. Tradition holds that Paul made him the first bishop of Athens and that he died a martyr; later Western tradition identified him with Denis of Paris.

His Life tells that as a young man in Egypt he saw the sun darkened at the hour of the Crucifixion. A body of mystical writings circulated under his name and deeply shaped Christian thought in East and West; modern scholars date these works to c. 500 and attribute them to an unknown author, known as Pseudo-Dionysius.