Naming the unnameable and knowing the unknown: the status of Dionysius’ processions

Resumo

Since, according to Dionysius the Areopagite, God is unnameable, what is the status of the terms applied to him? To what the names attributed to God refer? On the other hand, do these names grant a knowledge of the divine being? In what way? My aim is to elucidate the meaning and the arguments of Dionysius’ perspective on the possible knowledge of God through the processions or energies. This concept will be crucial for the development of the fourteenth century hesychast philosophy. The correct interpretation of the Corpus Areopagiticum will be one major topic of contention between Gregory Palamas and Barlaam the Calabrian. Palamas evokes Dionysius Areopagite’s notion of “processions” to substantiate the distinction between essence and energies in God. These πρόοδοι are the “extension” of God outside of himself; they are several, distinct from each other and uncreated.