Issue #7: Pseudo-Dionysius and the Cloud of Unknowing

See previous issue: Augustine and the Inner Life

The earliest systematic work on mysticism is arguably Mystical Theology, by Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, who lived sometime in the 5th and 6th centuries, which influenced the 14th-century English work, “The Cloud of Unknowing.”[1]

What is interesting is that both works are anonymous. Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite is a pseudonym, hence, the prefix “pseudo.” The author took the name from Dionysius the Areopagite, mentioned in Acts 17:34.[2] His identity is still disputed, but it’s likely his origins were in Syria.[3] As to the authorship of The Cloud of Unknowing, it’s never mentioned, and so they remain anonymous. It was written in England in Middle English by a mystic who was probably a Carthusian monk.[4]

According to Jones, Pseudo-Dionysius wrote in Greek and was a Christian theologian and Neoplatonic philosopher. He authored several famous books, like Divine Names, Celestial Hierarchy, Ecclesiastical Hierarchy, and Mystical Theology. His work was highly influential in Eastern and Western Christianity, especially his development of Neoplatonic thought in Christian theology. It shaped medieval theology and was, in many ways, still is foundational to Christian mysticism. Dionysius’s Mystical Theology was the precursor to apophatic theology or negative theology, meaning that God cannot be fully described in human language because he is beyond comprehension and transcends all human understanding. This is in contrast to cataphatic theology, where God can be described positively, for example, God is love, God is all-knowing, and so on.[5] Apophatic theology is by its very nature mystical, and his book, Mystical Theology, provides readers with a very short, yet powerful negative theology for the first time in Christian history.

Dionysius argued that negating all names for God results in a state of divine silence, darkness, and unknowing. This apophatic approach to God became highly influential in the 14th and 15th centuries, shaping the mysticism of figures like Meister Eckhart, Johannes Tauler, Julian of Norwich,[6] and the author of The Cloud of Unknowing, and continuing into the 16th century with Spanish Carmelites like Teresa of Ávila and John of the Cross.

So, if God is beyond all human concepts and language, as Dionysius argues, then true knowledge of God is reached through unknowing that transcends all intellectual understanding. The focus is on experiencing God and union with him, rather than on intellectual perceptions of God,[7] and therefore we need to detach ourselves from their intellectual and sensory perceptions and instead discover direct experience of God in darkness or divine unknowing. Dionysius, like Gregory of Nyssa before him, used the biblical image of Moses’s ascent into the “divine darkness” to articulate his mystical theology.[8] Both authors were working within a broader tradition that emphasized the incomprehensibility of God and the need for mystical experience to approach the divine. Fr. Billy, CSsR, explains that in the Cloud of Unknowing, 

Reason has no hope of penetrating the impermeable cloud of darkness separating us from our Creator. Love for God alone has the only hope of piercing it, and it happens (if at all) only because—moved by our heartfelt expressions of love—God himself reaches out to us from the other side.[9]

The 14th-century work, The Cloud of Unknowing, was profoundly influenced by the concepts found in Dionysius’s Mystical Theology,[10] in the following ways:  

Firstly, the principle of apophatic theology (or negative theology) that teaches that God cannot be understood or grasped by human reason and intellect is a common theme in The Cloud of Unknowing. The author of this work promotes the idea of the “cloud of forgetting,” where one needs to forget all created things, including letting go of our concepts of God and approaching him through the “cloud of unknowing.”[11]

Secondly, it provides a practical guide to contemplative prayer, instructing its readers to use a single one-syllable word like “God” or “Love.”[12] When I practice the cloud of unknowing, I like to use the word “light” for Jesus piercing the darkness (John 1:4–5), God’s presence (Psalm 27:1; 1 John 1:5; and 2 Corinthians 4:6), and Jesus, the light of the world (John 8:12 and John 9:5). The author of The Cloud of Unknowing teaches that this single word should be used to help push away any distraction that may hinder us from entering the pure and loving presence of God.[13]

Thirdly, it uses the same imagery from Dionysius’s Mystical Theology of the soul penetrating the “cloud” not by reason, intellect, or knowledge, but by love only.[14]

Lastly, The Cloud of Unknowing simplifies Mystical Theology by providing a more practical spirituality, emphasizing our direct relationship with God through contemplative prayer. The author provides detailed and helpful discussions on this that are practical and devotional for the ordinary person.[15]

Chase summarises the two contemplative techniques taught by the Author of The Cloud of Unknowing as follows:

The first, relying on apophatic spirituality, is a practice that empties the self of all thoughts or intellectual reflections that would interfere with a purely loving relationship with God, putting these under a ‘cloud of forgetting’; the second, relying on cataphatic spirituality, is a practice by which human love enters the ‘cloud of unknowing’ wherein God truly ‘resides’ as Love.[16]

It must be said that The Cloud of Unknowing is not for everyone; it’s only for a few. Its ideas may also be unfamiliar and possibly unconventional for most contemporary Christians, at least in the West. The author is aware of this and, in his preface, strongly cautions his readers that this book is only for those who feel called to contemplative prayer and have a profound desire for God. He warns against the misinterpretation of his work by those Christians who might not be spiritually mature or who may simply be curious. He fears that they may be led astray by The Cloud of Unknowing. Therefore, he urges his readers to be discerning and approach his book with proper guidance and spiritual readiness.[17]

Task

In the task for this unit, I want you to read Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite’s Mystical Theology, available here, and write a reflection on how it can inform contemporary spiritual practices. Then write how the themes of divine darkness, silence, and union might shape your personal spiritual life. Mystical Theology is only 17 pages, and I’ve included a summary at the beginning of each of the five chapters to help you. In addition, I have provided you with a copy of The Cloud of Unknowing for your interest. You can get a free copy here. It’s in the public domain, and the English is quite old, but there are modern and more accessible versions on the market. I highly recommend Dennis Billy’s or Carmen Acevedo Butcher's edition.

See previous issue: Augustine and the Inner Life

Notes:

[1] John D. Jones, “(PSEUDO) DIONYSIUS THE AREOPAGITE (Late Fifth Century): The Divine Names and Mystical Theology,” in Christian Spirituality: The Classics, ed. Arthur Holder (Routledge, 2009), Ch. 5.

[2] Jones, “Divine Names and Mystical Theology,” Ch. 5.

[3] Anonymous, The Cloud of Unknowing (With the Book of Privy Counsel): A New Translation, trans. Carmen Acevedo Butcher Butcher (Shambhala, 2009), xix.

[4] Anonymous, The Cloud of Unknowing (With the Book of Privy Counsel): A New Translation, xvi–xvii; Steven Chase, “ANONYMOUS (Fourteenth Century): The Cloud of Unknowing,” in Christian Spirituality: The Classics, ed. Arthur Holder (Routledge, 2009), Ch. 14.

[5] Jones, “Divine Names and Mystical Theology,” Ch. 5.

[6] Chase, “The Cloud of Unknowing,” Ch. 14.

[7] Jones, “Divine Names and Mystical Theology,” Ch. 5.

[8] Jones, “Divine Names and Mystical Theology,” Ch. 5.

[9] Dennis J. Billy, The Cloud of Unknowing (And Commentary) (Liguori Publications, 2014), Loc. 59.

[10] Anonymous, The Cloud of Unknowing (With the Book of Privy Counsel): A New Translation, xix; Chase, “The Cloud of Unknowing,” Ch. 14.

[11] Anonymous, The Cloud of Unknowing (With the Book of Privy Counsel): A New Translation, 19–20.

[12] Anonymous, The Cloud of Unknowing (With the Book of Privy Counsel): A New Translation, 24.

[13] Anonymous, The Cloud of Unknowing (With the Book of Privy Counsel): A New Translation, 24, 85, 89.

[14] Anonymous, The Cloud of Unknowing (With the Book of Privy Counsel): A New Translation, 13–18.

[15] Chase, “The Cloud of Unknowing,” Ch. 14.

[16] Chase, “The Cloud of Unknowing,” Ch. 14.

[17] Anonymous, The Cloud of Unknowing (With the Book of Privy Counsel): A New Translation, 5–6.

AI Disclaimer:

This article has been edited for grammar, clarity, and readability using AI-assisted tools. The core content, theological insights, and personal reflections remain my original work.