Page "Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite" Paragraph 3

During the medieval period Saint Dionysius the Areopagite and Saint Denis of Paris were considered to be the same " Dionysius " who had been converted by Saint Paul in Acts 17: 34.

Medieval tradition held that Saint Dionysius the Areopagite had traveled to Rome and then was commissioned by the Pope to preach in Gaul ( France ), where he was martyred.

This confusion of historical detail was compounded by the common acceptance of Pseudo-Dionysius's writings as the authentic work of the Biblical Dionysius of Acts 17: 34.

The great Abbey of Saint-Denis just north of Paris claimed to have the relics of Dionysius.

Around 1121, Pierre Abélard, a Benedictine monk at Saint Denis Basilica, turned his attention to the story of their patron saint, and disentangled the three different Dionysiuses.

The monks were offended at the apparent demotion of Saint Denis, and Abélard did not remain long at Saint Denis.