The principle of necessary mediation
One of the aspects of Dionysius’ system I’ve been trying to get handle on is what you can call the principle of necessary mediation: the lower ranks of the hierarchy can only receive the divinity through the higher ranks. The point of the principle, believe it or not, is not to absolutize the place of the bishop or any other church authority. Dionysius’ treatise on the ecclesiastical hierarchy assumes that some such principle is in effect, but it’s not a point of explicit insistence. The point of the principle, rather, is to say that the angels are absolutely necessary in relaying the divine word and the divine activity to human beings—that’s the reason that they, above all other creatures, are fittingly called angels or messengers. If the ecclesiastical hierarchy also works that way, it’s for the precise reason that the ecclesiastical hierarchy ought to be a perfect image of the celestial one.
That doesn’t rule out the possibility that this is all just ideological obfuscation, of course. And the fact that Dionysius offers literally no philosophical defense the principle might lend some credence to that interpretation. (The defense he does offer is scriptural: showing that Ezekiel, Moses, even Jesus only received the divine will through angelic intermediaries.) I’m inclined, though, to think Dionysius is being genuine here, especially since he’s creating this whole concept of hierarchy more or less ex nihilo, and affording himself a relatively low status. But then I’m just left baffled. Why insist on this principle at all? Even if there’s good reason to say that no one has gazed upon divinity directly, that there’s some necessary mediation there, what could possibly be the point of insisting that all communication from God be stepwise? And that not only knowledge of God is so mediated, but that the knowledge of the higher angels is as well?
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Tags: Denys,mediation
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you anabaptist!
Correct me if my cheat sheet of philosophical identifications is off, but aren’t these just indications of Dionysius’ neo-Platonic philosophical leanings? These kind of hierarchical mediations seem to me to be the combination of philosophical models (i.e. Plotinus’ concept of the One spilling over to constitute the Nous and the World Soul) and justifying Scriptural characterizations of angels as messengers.
Yeah, Dionysius is definitely getting the basic structure from the Neoplatonists—Proclus, apparently, above all the others—but naming sources doesn’t quite get to my question, which is how to explain the necessity of mediation. I don’t know much about the Neoplatonists firsthand, but from what I understand they do attempt to give specific reasons, at least at the highest levels, for why the emanation progresses the way it does—why the One must give rise to Intellect, which must give rise to the World Soul, etc. At the level of the angelic hierarchy, Dionysius doesn’t offer this kind of specific justification, and what’s more, he changes the situation entirely by speaking of willing beings as the most immediate emanation of divinity. This seems to me to require a different kind of argumentation that I don’t see Dionysius explicitly providing—that I’m not sure, ultimately, can be provided.
Ah! That makes more sense and seems a much tougher question to answer… I knew you had Dionysius’ philosophical background pegged!
Bear with my stupid questions: Are there other Christian neo-Platonists contemporary with Dionysius who might provide explanations for necessary mediation? Do you think the answer might ultimately go back to Jesus who mediates divinity bodily?
You should ignore my last post, except my apology. I would recommend the issue of Modern Theology on this which Sarah Coakley edited (vol. 24, issue 4); this might help shed some light, especially Mary-Jane Rubenstein’s article.
Oh, I didn’t know the Coakley volume started out as a journal issue! It’s in book form now, and I’ve been wanting to get a hold of it all semester, except that it’s checked out at the library. I’ll have to go looking for it once I’m back in Indiana. Thanks for the tip!