And first concerning Dionysius it must be said that he had been entrusted with the throne of the bishopric of the community in Corinth, and that out of his godly diligence he imparted ungrudgingly not only to those under him but already also to those in foreign lands, rendering himself most useful to all in the catholic epistles which he composed to the churches.
Of these, one is to the Lacedaemonians, instructive in orthodoxy and suggestive of peace and unity; another is to the Athenians, rousing them to faith and to the manner of life according to the gospel, which he reproves them for neglecting, as having all but fallen away from the word—from which time it came about that Publius, their leader, was martyred in the persecutions of that day.
And he mentions that Quadratus was appointed their bishop after Publius the martyr, testifying that through his diligence they were gathered together and obtained a rekindling of the faith. He also makes clear in these letters that Dionysius the Areopagite, having been urged on to the faith by the apostle Paul according to what is set forth in the Acts, was the first to be entrusted with the bishopric of the community at Athens.
And writing also to the church sojourning in Gortyna, together with the rest of the communities throughout Crete, he commends their bishop Philip, inasmuch as the church under him was attested for very many deeds of valour; and he reminds them to be on their guard against the perversion of the heretics.
And writing to the church sojourning in Amastris, together with those throughout Pontus, he mentions that Bacchylides and Elpistus had urged him to write, and he sets forth expositions of the divine Scriptures, indicating their bishop by the name of Palmas. He gives much exhortation concerning marriage and chastity to these same people, and he commands that those turning back from any falling away whatever—whether from a fault, or indeed from heretical error—be welcomed.
Among these another epistle is reckoned, to the Cnossians, in which he exhorts Pinytus, the bishop of the community, not to lay upon the brethren as compulsory a heavy burden concerning chastity, but to take account of the weakness of the many.
To this Pinytus, replying, admires and welcomes Dionysius, but in turn exhorts him to impart at some time now more solid food, nourishing afterwards the people under him with more perfect writings, lest, dwelling continually upon milky words, they should unawares grow old in the childish manner of training. Through this epistle the orthodoxy of Pinytus concerning the faith, and his care for the benefit of those subject to him, as well as his eloquence and his understanding in divine things, are displayed as in a most exact portrait.
There is yet extant another epistle of Dionysius, to the Romans, addressed to Soter, who was then bishop; from which there is nothing better than to set out the words by which, commending the custom of the Romans that was preserved down to the persecution of our own time, he writes thus:
「For from the beginning it has been your custom to do good in manifold ways to all the brethren, and to send provisions to many churches in every city—here refreshing the poverty of those in need, and supplying to the brethren who are in the mines by the provisions you send from the first. Thus, as Romans, you preserve the ancestral custom of the Romans, which your blessed bishop Soter has not only maintained but even increased, both ministering the abundance distributed to the saints, and with blessed words exhorting the brethren who come up, as a loving father his children.」
And in this same letter he also mentions the epistle of Clement to the Corinthians, showing that from of old, by an ancient custom, the reading of it was made in the church. He says, at any rate: 「Today, then, we kept the Lord's holy day, on which we read your epistle, which we shall ever continue to read for our admonition, as also the former one written to us through Clement.」
Further, the same writer says this concerning his own epistles, as having been tampered with: 「For when the brethren asked me to write epistles, I wrote them. And these the apostles of the devil have filled with tares, taking away some things and adding others; for whom the woe is laid up. It is no marvel, then, if some have set themselves to tamper even with the Scriptures of the Lord, when they have plotted against writings that are not such as these.」
And yet another epistle of Dionysius besides these is extant, written to Chrysophora, a most faithful sister, to whom, writing what was suitable, he imparted to her also the fitting spiritual nourishment. And so much concerning Dionysius.