DIONYSIUS, EXIGUUS

Also known as Denis the Little, canonist, monk; lived in Rome at the end of the 5th century and in the first half of the 6th century. Internal criticism of the works of Dionysius has made it possible to add a few facts to this sketchy biography, A. van Hove writes that Dionysius was taken in and brought up by Gothic monks, became a monk, arrived in Rome after the death of Pope Gelasius (Nov. 21, 496), and died there after 525. The date of Dionysius's death is controversial. According to L. Duchesne, no trace of him was found in Rome after 526. A. Amelli claims he could not have died before 534, the date when Pastor Felicianus (to whom the "Tome to the Armenians" is dedicated) succeeded Fulgentius of Ruspe. Gelasius called Dionysius to his side in 496 to classify the pontifical archives and to compile a collection of texts of incontestable worth and authenticity. By then Dionysius was already of mature years, and could not have lived beyond 527. The entire work of Dionysius had but one purpose: the reconciliation of the Churches of the Orient and the West.

Dionysius's perfect knowledge of Greek and Latin is proved by his many translations: "The Penance of St. Thaïs" [Ambrosian MS D. 525, in-folio ed. from the prol. et incipit ds. Analecta bibleca 11 (1892) 298–299]; Life of St. Pachomius (Patrologia Latina, ed. J. P. Migne, 72:227–282) addressed to a Roman lady who may have been Galla, daughter of the patrician Symmachus and sister-in-law of Boethius; De inventione capitis s. Johannis Baptistae (Patrologia Latina 67:417–431). We have only one translation of a philosophical work by him: the De opificio hominis of Gregory of Nyssa, published under the title De creatione hominis liber (Patrologia Latina 67:347–408).

Three of his translations were concerned with the fight against Nestorius: "St. Cyril of Alexandria, letter to Nestorius and anathematizations" (Patrologia Latina 67:9–18), a translation that may be merely a new edition of that by Marius Mercator; Oratio la de Deipara of Dec. 23, 428, in which he proclaimed the divine maternity of Mary; and "Tome to the Armenians," addressed to Patriarch John, which refutes the arguments of Theodore of Mopsuestia and of the partisans of Nestorius. The Oratio and the "Tome" were works of Proclus, bishop, to whom the Emperor Theodosius preferred Nestorius in 427.

The Orient and the West were divided on the question of the way to determine the date of Easter. The Council of nicaea had commanded the adoption of the Alexandrine rule, based on the 19-year cycle. At Rome, a tradition had been adopted that declared Easter should not be celebrated before March 25 or after April 21, and the basis for calculation was the old 84-year cycle. Tables for the dates of Easter had been prepared in the Orient by Theophilus of Alexandria, and St. Cyril had continued his work. In the West tables were drawn up by Victorius of Aquitaine. They terminated with the year a.d. 531, and had as their respective points of departure the reign of Diocletian, for the Orient; and the Passion, for the West. In the Liber de Paschate (Patrologia Latina 67:483–508), Dionysius recommended the adoption of the Alexandrine cycle, as required by the Council of Nicaea, whose decisions were universally respected. He established a table of Paschal dates up to the year 626, which was a continuation of the table of Cyril of Alexandria, but used the year of the Incarnation as the point of departure. He was the first to date the Christian era by the birth of Christ, but he made a four-to seven-year error.

Dionysius is best known as a canonist. We owe to his ability as a translator and compiler the first canonical collection worthy of the name, the dionysiana.

Bibliography: l. duchesne, L'Église au VI ^e siècle (Paris 1925). a. van hove, Commentarium Lovaniense in Codicem iuris canonici 1, v.1–5 (Mechlin 1928–1945) 1:157–158. a. van de vyver, "Cassiodore et son oeuvre," Speculum. A Journal of Mediaeval Studies 6 (1931) 244–292; "Les Institutions de Cassiodore et sa fondation à Vivarium," Revue Bénédictine 53 (1941) 59–88. w. m. peitz, "Dionisio el exiguo como canonista: Nuevas soluciones de antiguos problemas de la investigación," Revista españ de derecho canónico 2 (1947) 9–32. j. rambaud-buhot, Dictionnaire de droit canonique, ed. r. naz (Paris 1935–65) 4:1131–52. j. lenzenweger, Lexikon für Theologie und Kirche, ed. j. hofer and k. rahner (2d, new ed. Freiburg 1957–65) 3:406.

[j. rambaud-buhot]