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Saint Dionysius the Areopagite

“For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth”.

(1 Timothy 2: 3-4)
Painting of the Icon of Saint Dionysius at St. Mary and St. Joseph Coptic Orthodox Church

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His Early Life

Saint Dionysius was born in the first century to pagan parents. He studied philosophy in Athens then went to Egypt to study astrology. He returned back to Athens and became a member of the great council of Areopagus which is the high court of Athens, hence his name, "The Areopagite".

The Great Eclipse

During his stay in Egypt to study astrology, St Dionysius, took notice of the miraculous eclipse that took place when our Lord Jesus Christ was nailed to the Cross (Matthew 27:45, Mark 15:33, Luke 23:44-45). St Dionysius tried to find an interpretation for this eclipse in the books of astrology, but could not find any. This phenomenon, evidently, was visible in Rome, Athens, and other Mediterranean cities. According to Tertullian, it was a 'cosmic' or 'world event'. Phlegon, a Greek author from Caria who was writing a chronology soon after 137 A.D., reported that in the fourth year of the
202nd Olympiad (33 A.D.) there was the

'greatest eclipse of the sun' and that 'it became night in the sixth hour of the day (i.e. noon) so that stars even appeared in the heavens. There was a great earthquake in Bithynia, and many things were overturned in Nicaea." (1) Saint Dionysius wrote down the date and time in his records and explained this phenomenon by saying that the god of nature is suffering. He did not know that The True God of nature and of the whole world died to save all the human race and that He was using this incident to bring Dionysius to the Christian faith.

Saint Paul in Athens

During his second missionary trip, Saint Paul visited Athens, and as he entered the city, his spirit was provoked within him when he saw the city filled with idols (Acts 17: 16), so he started to talk to the people about the Lord Jesus Christ and His salvation to mankind. Some of the philosophers of Athens heard him and took to Areopagus to hear more from him about this new doctrine (Acts 17: 18-20).

At Areopagus

Areopagus (also known as Mars Hill, named after the Greek god Mars) was the place where the people of Athens gathered to discuss any new belief or philosophical subject. As a member of the great council of Areopagus, Saint Dionysius was present when Saint Paul entered Areopagus and started to talk about the God who created the world and everything in it, Who does not dwell in temples made by hands, Who gives to all life, breath and all things (Acts 17: 22-31). Then Saint Paul proceeded to speak about the Lord Jesus, His passion, crucifixion and resurrection. At that point, Saint Dionysius recalled the great eclipse that he noted in his records several years ago.

He checked with Saint Paul the time of the Lord's passion and found it was the same as the time he wrote down in his records. He believed in Christ and joined Saint Paul with many other people (Act 17:34). This shows us how God uses every means to bring everyone to His Kingdom. The Coptic Orthodox Church mentions this great eclipse in the prayers of Good Friday when we remember the thief who was crucified on the right hand of our Lord Jesus and believed in Him and repented saying, "Lord, remember me when You come into Your Kingdom" (Luke 23: 39-44). The Church sings a special hymn for the repenting thief, called the confession of the right-hand thief, saying:

“You believed when you saw the heaven and earth disturbed, and the sun and moon darkened, the dead rose, the rocks split, and the curtain of the altar torn. Immediately you cried out saying: 'Remember me O Lord when you come into Your kingdom”.

(1 Timothy 2: 3-4)

First Bishop of Athens

After he believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, Saint Dionysius was baptized and gave up his position at Areopagus, became a disciple of Saint Paul and followed him. After a few years, Saint Paul ordained him as the first Bishop of Athens. He wrote several books in theology.

His Martyrdom

Some resources say he was beheaded because of the great number of people who entered the Christian faith because of him. Other resources say he was burnt alive at the time of Emperor Domitian.

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Praises and Hymns

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References

st-takla.org
(1) The Case for Christ (Strobel, 1998)
tasbeha.org
Pascha Prayers/ Good Friday - Coptic Reader