DIONYSIUS VAN RYCKEL°

DIONYSIUS VAN RYCKEL° (Denis the Carthusian, Denys van Leeuwen; 1402–1471), Christian theologian and mystic, born in Ryckel, Belgium. He studied at Cologne University and in 1424 joined the Carthusian order at Roermond (Holland). A prolific and popular writer, he wrote commentaries on the Bible, the works of Boethius, Peter Lombard, John Climacus, and Dionysius the Pseudo-Areopagite, and was acquainted with the works of Greek as well as Arab and Jewish philosophers. He was also the author of works on moral theology and religious discipline. His theories concerning the Jews and their destiny appear in the seventh book of his "Dialogue on the Catholic Faith," entitled "On the Proof of the Christian Faith Based Upon the Law and the Prophets, and on the Errors of the Jews" (in his Opera, 18 (1896), 471ff.). Although attacking the Jews as enemies of the Church and an offense to Jesus, Dionysius considers that they should be tolerated as part of God's holy design. -BIBLIOGRAPHY: Swenden, in: DHGE, 14 (1960), 256–60 (incl. bibl.); K. Schilling (ed.), Monumenta Judaica, Handbuch (1963), 148.