Who he was
- St. Athanasius called him “Teacher of the Universal Church”.
- He was born in Alexandria in about 190 to pagan parents. He was not Christian until an old Christian woman sold him some manuscripts of St. Paul’s letters. After reading them, he came back for more and she led him to the Church where he learned about and converted to Christianity.
- He succeeded Heraclas as head of the School of Alexandria in 232; and ca. 246 he succeeded him again as pope of Alexandria, which was, beyond all comparison, the greatest and most powerful See of Christendom.
- He faced the challenge of preserving his Church in the midst of persecutions: Decian 250 and Valerian in 257.
- He showed leniency to heretics or apostates who repented.
- Issue of those who were baptized by heretics – St. Cyprian of Carthage vs. Stephen of Rome: St. Cyprian maintained that heretical baptism was invalid, since baptism was an act of the Church and heretics were, by definition, outside the society; while Stephen opposed the practice of rebaptism, and excommunicated those who adhered to it. Pope Dionysius sent a letter to Stephen in order to convince him to abandon his erroneous teaching, but in vain.
- Nepos, bishop of Arsinoe (in Fayum) held views of an earthly kingdom (millennium); Pope Dionysius held a synod in 255 and condemned this heresy.
What he wrote
- The number of theological writings of St. Dionysius, both formal treatises and more familiar epistles, was very considerable; all these however have been lost, with the exception of what Eusebius and other early authors have referred to. Only fragments of his work survive intact.
- St. Athanasius, St. Basil, and Eusebius have large fragments included in their works.
- A Treatise On Promises: Two books; attacked the books On Promises written by Nepos.
- A Book On Nature: Addressed to Timotheus; refutes the Epicurean materialism view of the universe.
- A Work Against the Sabellians: Addressed to Dionysius of Rome, in four books or letters, dealing with his own unguarded comments in the controversy with Sabellius.
- Refutation and Apology: On the Trinitarian doctrine.
- Commentaries on Ecclesiastes and on St Luke.
- Letters, quoted frequently by Eusebius: To Novatian; to Basilides; to Fabius; to Domitius and Didymus; to Stephen of Rome; to Germanus; to Paul of Samosata; festal letters.
- In On the Reception of the Lapsed to Repentance(Exegetical Fragments 7), Pope Dionysius writes: Christ, who is the good Shepherd, goes in quest of one who wanders and is lost in the mountains. He calls this one back when it runs from Him, and when He has found it, troubles Himself to carry it on His shoulders. But we, on the other hand, harshly reject such a Shepherd when He approaches us. Don’t bring such misery on yourself and, by behaving this way, drive a sword intoyourself. 20