Dionysius / Dionysios / Dionysis, (Διονύσιος, Διονύσης; Νιόνιος = Nionios, modern Greek), Denis, Dennis, and Dénes (Hungarian) are names derived from the name of the Greek god Dionysus.
Acts 17 records Paul giving a sermon at the Areopagus* in Athens (Acts 17:16-34). It finishes (KJV) -
- 32 "And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked: and others said, We will hear thee again of this matter.
33 "So Paul departed from among them.
34 "Howbeit certain men clave unto him, and believed: among the which was Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them."
Eusebius, in Historia Ecclesiae III: iv, 11, has a Dionysius of Corinth, saying this Dionysius (ie. 'Dionysius the Areopagite') then became the first Bishop of Athens:
- "Besides these, that Areopagite, named Dionysius, who was the first to believe after Paul's address to the Athenians in the Areopagus (as recorded by Luke in the Acts) is mentioned by another Dionysius, an ancient writer and pastor of the parish in Corinth, as the first bishop of the church at Athens."
See Seesengood, Robert Paul (2010) Paul: A Brief History (ISBN 1-4051-7890-6), page 120.
Dionysius, Bishop of Corinth, 2nd-century bishop
This Dionysius is only known to us through Eusebius [and Jerome via Eusebius]. Eusebius supposedly 'knew' a collection of seven of the Catholic Letters to the Churches of Dionysius, together with a letter to him from Pinytus, Bishop of Knossus, and a private letter of spiritual advice to a lady named Chrysophora.
Eusebius mentions (1) a letter to the Lacedaemonians, teaching orthodoxy, and enjoining peace and union; (2) Another letter was to the Athenians, stirring up their faith exhorting them to live according to the Gospel, since they were not far from apostasy. Dionysius spoke of the recent martyrdom of their bishop, Publius (in the persecution of Marcus Aurelius), and says that Dionysius the Areopagite was the first Bishop of Athens; (3) To the Nicomedians he wrote against Marcionism; (4) Writing to Gortyna and the other dioceses of Crete, he praised their bishop, Philip, for efforts on behalf of the church then warned him of the distortions of heretics; (5) To the Church of Amastris in Pontus he wrote at the instance of Bacchylides and Elpistus (otherwise unknown), mentioning the bishop's name as Palmas; he wrote in this letter of marriage and celibacy, and recommended the charitable treatment of those who had fallen away into sin or heresy; (6) In a letter to Pinytus, bishop of Knossus, he recommended that he should not lay the yoke of celibacy too heavily on his brethren, but consider the weakness most of them have. Pinytus replied, after polite words, that he hoped Dionysius would send strong meat next time so his people might not grow up on the milk of babes.
The most important letter is the seventh one, addressed to the Romans, and the only one from which extracts have been preserved (H.E. 2.26; 4.23).
Pope Dionysius of Alexandria, 3rd-century Egyptian 'bishop' and Saint
- named "the Great," 14th Pope of Alexandria & Patriarch of the See of St. Mark* from December 28, 248 until his death on March 22, 264 after seventeen years as a bishop. He was the first Pope to hold the title "the Great" (before a Bishop of Rome even). This Dionysius's large surviving correspondence provides most of our information about him. Only one original letter survives to this day; the remaining letters are excerpted in the works of Eusebius.
* from the List of Coptic Orthodox Popes of Alexandria
Pope Dionysius, 259–268 - supposedly the Bishop or Pope of Rome from 22 July 259 to his death in 268
- (overlapping the period there supposedly was also a Pope / Bishop / Saint Dionysius of Alexandria; see above)
Three 3rd century martyrs named Dionysius -
a. Dionysius, a lector and martyr of Alexandria put to death under Decius in 250 along with 10 others
b. Dionysius, 3rd-century Christian martyr and saint (crucified with Theodore & Philippa during the reign of Emperor Elagabalus, r. 218-222)
c. Saint Denis, Bishop of Paris, martyr (died ca. 250)
- The earliest document giving an account of his life and martyrdom, the "Passio SS. Dionysii Rustici et Eleutherii" dates from c. 600, is mistakenly attributed to the poet Venantius Fortunatus, and is legendary. Nevertheless, it appears from the Passio that Denis was sent from Italy to convert Gaul in the third century, forging a link with the "apostles to the Gauls" reputed to have been sent out with six other missionary bishops under the direction of Pope Fabian.
It seems a ninth century writer identified this Saint Dionysius with Saint Dionysius the Areopagite - link to brief article
The confusion of the personalities of Saint Denis, Dionysius the Areopagite, and pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, the author of the writings ascribed to Dionysius brought to France by Louis, was initiated through an Areopagitica written in 836 by Hilduin, Abbot of Saint-Denis, at the request of Louis the Pious. "Hilduin was anxious to promote the dignity of his church, and it is to him that the quite unfounded identification of the patron saint with Dionysius the Areopagite and his consequent connexion with the apostolic age are due."[12]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denis#Con ... Areopagite
12 A. Hamilton Thompson, reviewing Sumner McKnight Crosby, The Abbey of Saint-Denis, 475-1122. Vol. I, in The English Historical Review 58 No. 231 (July 1943:357-359) p 358.
[wiki]Dionysius (bishop of Milan)[/wiki], also called Dionysius of Milan, bishop of Milan 349-355, saint
Dionysius Exiguus (c. 470–c. 540), monk from Scythia Minor who invented the Anno Domini era