Articles

Naming God in the Renaissance: Dionysius the Areopagite in Cusanus, Ficino, and Pico

Matthew T. Gaetano

Abstract

Matthew Gaetano examines the central role of Dionysius the Areopagite in Renaissance theology, focusing on Nicholas of Cusa, Marsilio Ficino, and Giovanni Pico della Mirandola. Specifically, he explores how these thinkers used the Dionysian corpus to navigate debates between henology and ontology, ultimately grounding God’s transcendence in the immanence of the name of Jesus. Gaetano finally highlights how Renaissance humanism’s "return to the sources" transformed apophaticism into a Christocentric fecundity of hymns and contemplation.