1. None of the many influential occupants of the see of Alexandria and of
the many distinguished heads of the Catechetical School in that city seem
to have been held in higher respect by the ancients than Dionysius. By
common consent he is styled "the Great," while Athanasius, one of his
most famous-successors as Bishop, calls him "Teacher of the Church
universal," and Basil (of Cæsarea) refers to him as "a person of
canonical authority" ({kanonikos}). He took a prominent and important
part in all the leading movements and controversies of the day, and his
opinions always carried great weight, especially in Eastern Christendom.
His writings are freely referred to and quoted, not only by Eusebius the
historian,[1] but also by Athanasius, Basil and John of Damascus amongst
others. And what we gather of his personal story from his letters and
various fragments embodied in the works of others--and very little, if
anything else, for certain has come down to us--undoubtedly leaves the
impression that the verdict of the ancient world is correct.