AngelicArtistry's GoToHeaven Jophiel's Game Question 55
"___________________ The Areopagite"
Also known as Pseudo-__________________ and _______________the Pseudo-Areopagite, a probably sixth-century Christian theologian who had a major influence upon the development of Christian thought and who was largely responsible for formulating the current system now used for our understanding of the angelic choirs or orders.
____________________ is a figure of considerable mystery, for his exact identification remains unknown.
Almost certainly from Syria and probably a monk, he is known virtually only through the body of writings attributed to his pen.
This did not, however, prevent the efforts of scholars and writers to make some kind of direct connection between _______________and historical figures.
One identifies him as the ______________ mentioned in the New Testament book Acts of the Apostles (17:34) who was converted by St. Paul on his second missionary journey; in another source he was listed as the first bishop of Corinth or the first bishop of Athens.
The writings of ____________ first gained notoriety in the sixth century and from around the time of Pope St. Gregory I the Great (r.590-604), they were viewed as possessing nearly unquestioned theological authority; Sts. Thomas Aquinas, Albertus Magnus, Bonaventure, and other profound theologians made use of them in the course of their work.
While eventually subjected to intense scrutiny in the sixteenth century and determined to possess no origin dating to the apostolic age (the earliest period of the formative Church), the writings....in four treatises....nevertheless had exercised a lasting effect on medieval and Church thought.
One of the most significant of the treatises was entitled the "Caelestis Hierarchia or De Hierarchia Celesti, the Celestial Hierarchy.
This work was the first great study of angels, presenting extensive details on the nature, attributes, and especially the organization of the angelic realm, and was based loosely upon some of the lists that had been organized previously (such as the ones by Sts. Jerome and Ambrose of Milan) and the writings of St. Paul (who supposedly converted the author).
At the heart of Pseudo-_____________'s work was a comprehensive listing of the angelic orders or choirs.
So clear and well structured was his list that it was accepted wholesale throughout the Western world and serves even today as the near universally recognized celestial organization of angels.
_______________ divides all angels into nine choirs (or orders), which are further subdivided into three groups or triads, thusly:
First Triad: Seraphim, Cherubim and Thrones
Second Triad: Dominations, Virtues and Powers
Third Triad: Principalities, Archangels, and Angels
Each choir possesses its own purpose, powers and characteristics, the subject of intense speculation and debate over the centuries.
Who was this monk of the Syrian dessert who developed this angelic hierarchy?