ar with the Neoplatonic system of the 5th-century.
             Dionysius is member of the Areopagus in Athens and change to Christianity through the preaching of Saint Paul. Nothing more is definitely known about him. He is supposed to have been the first bishop of Athens and to have been martyred there in the reign of Domitian, emperor of Rome. Dionysius was in Athens around the year 48, when the Apostle Paul preached and disputed daily in the marketplace of Athens. Dionysius is a controversial personality both in respect to his biography and to his thought.
             He lived during the end of the fifth century and the beginning of the sixth. It is not clear why he wanted to have an apostolic authority in his writings choosing the name of the supposed disciple of St. Paul; some scholars think that because of his modesty, of his meekness; others think that he was conscious of the novelty and the boldness of his teaching and with this pseudo-name, he wanted to prevent marginalization of his writings or even a condemnation.
             Pseudo Dionysius the Areopagite teaches that elevation requires man's effort. It starts in the Church through the sacramental life. In this process, human beings are helped by God to work to their own salvation. Dionysius uses the word cooperation with God; he says that by advancing in similarity to God any member of any hierarchy becomes "a fellow workman" with God and a reflection of God's works.
             The starting point of this synergetic process is to accomplish the divine commandments by disposing our souls to hear the sacred word as openly as possible and to be open to the divine works of God, to accept our most divine and sacred rebirth. In this case, the desire for deification is from God and the necessity of observing "the August commandments" and of doing "the sacred acts" is human effort and contribution. The word effort has in this context its full meaning; it supposes difficulty and struggle because for Dionysius,...