Angels in Christianity - Wikipedia

Angels in
Christianity
In Christ ianit y, angels are t he messengers of God.
The Assumption of the Virgin by Francesco Botticini

(1475–1476) at the National Gallery London, shows
three hierarchies and nine orders of angels, each with
different characteristics.
Eastern icon of nine orders of angels
General views
Antiquity
In chapt er V of Ignat ius of Ant ioch's Letter to the Trallians , t he bishop gives a list ing of angels not
unlike t hat lat er proposed by Pseudo-Dionysius. In his First Epist le of Clement , Clement of Rome
exhort s his list eners t o join t he angels in praising God. Clement of Alexandria wrot e t hat angels
“breat he” in men’s t hought s and reasonings, and “put s in” t heir heart s “st rengt h” and a keener
percept ion.[1] Evagrius Pont icus spoke of t he concept of angelic companions and angels as
models for behavior.[2]
August ine of Hippo remarks, t he angels were experiencing somet hing new as t he creat ion of God
unfolded.[3] August ine also considers t hat t he 'good' angels seek at all t imes, t o direct us
t owards t he t rue source of happiness, God; t hat t hey encourage us in worship of God.[4]
Pseudo-Dionysian hierarchy
According t o Pseudo-Dionysius t he Areopagit e's De Coelesti Hierarchia (On the Celestial
Hierarchy), t here are t hree levels ("sphere") of angels, inside each of which t here are t hree orders.
Various works of Christ ian t heology have devised hierarchies of angelic beings. The most
influent ial Christ ian angelic hierarchy was put forward around t he t urn of t he 6t h cent ury CE by
Pseudo-Dionysius in his work De Coelesti Hierarchia . He claimed t o be an import ant figure who
was convert ed by Paul t he Apost le, and t he Pseudo-Dionysius enjoyed great er influence t han it
would have if he had used his act ual name, unt il Erasmus publicised doubt s about t he age of t he
work in t he early 16t h cent ury.[5]
Catholic Church
According t o t he Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) paragraph 328, "t he exist ence of t he
spirit ual, non-corporeal beings t hat Sacred Script ure usually calls 'angels' is a t rut h of fait h. The
wit ness of Script ure is as clear as t he unanimit y of Tradit ion."[6] The same cat echism st at es: "The
whole life of t he church benefit s from t he myst erious and powerful help of t he angels [...] From
it s beginning unt il deat h, human life is surrounded by t heir wat chful care and int ercession."[7] It
also st at es, "Christ is t he cent er of t he angelic world. They are His angels [...] They belong t o Him
because t hey were creat ed t hrough and for Him".[8]
Seraphim
Tradit ion places seraphim in a rank in Christ ian angelology, based on Isaiah's use of t he word.
Cherubim
A cherub, as described by Ezekiel and

according to traditional Christian
iconography
In t he Book of Ezekiel, and in some Christ ian icons, t he cherub is depict ed as having t wo pairs of
wings, and four faces: t hat of a lion (represent at ive of all wild animals), an ox (domest ic animals),
a human (humanit y), and an eagle (birds).[9] Their legs were st raight , t he soles of t heir feet like
t he hooves of a bull, gleaming like polished brass. Lat er t radit ion ascribes t o t hem a variet y of
physical appearances.[9] In West ern Christ ian t radit ion, cherubim have become associat ed wit h
t he put t o (derived from classical Cupid/Eros), result ing in depict ions of cherubim as small, plump,
winged boys.[10]
Thrones or Ophanim
The ophanim refer t o t he wheels seen in Ezekiel's vision of t he chariot (Hebrew merkabah) in
Ezekiel 1:15–21 (ht t ps://www.biblica.com/bible/?osis=niv:Ezekiel%201:15%E2%80%9321) . One
of t he Dead Sea scrolls (4Q405) const rues t hem as angels.
West window of the Church of St Michael

and All Angels, Somerton. It depicts Christ
the King in the centre with nine angelic
figures, each of them represents, higher row:
Dominions, Cherubim, Seraphim, and Angels;
lower row: Principalities, Thrones,
Archangels, Virtues, and Powers.
Dominions or Lordships
The Dominions (lat . dominatio, plural dominationes , also t ranslat ed from t he Greek t erm
kyriotētes , pl. of kyriotēs , as "Lordships").[11] Tradit ionally, t hey are held t o govern t he movement
of st ars, planet s, and ot her celest ial object s.[12]
Virtues
According t o The Etymologies of Isidore of Seville, t he Virt ues are known for t heir cont rol of t he
element s. In addit ion t o being t he spirit s of mot ion, t hey also assist in governing element s of
nat ure, such as st orms.[12] They also assist wit h miracles, as well as encourage humans t o
st rengt hen t heir fait h in God.[13]
Powers or Authorities
In The Etymologies of Isidore of Seville, t he Powers (lat . potestas (f), pl. potestates ) (Greek:
ἐξουσίαι) are given t heir name because t hey are angels who have power over evil forces, which
t he angels are able t o rest rain t o keep t hem from doing harm.[13] Powers also oversee t he power
which human beings—such as kings—have been given in t he world.[12]
Principalities or Rulers
According t o The Etymologies of Isidore of Seville, t he Principalit ies (Lat in: principatus ), also
t ranslat ed as "Princedoms" and "Rulers", from t he Greek archai, pl. of archē (see Greek root in
Eph 3:10 (ht t ps://www.bible.com/bible/114/EPH.3.10.nkjv) ), are t he angels t hat guide and
prot ect nat ions, or groups of peoples, and inst it ut ions such as t he Church. The Principalit ies
preside over t he bands of angels and charge t hem wit h fulfilling t he divine minist ry. There are
some who administ er and some who assist .[13]
An example of a Principalit y angel t hat is t he subject of cult is t he Angel of Port ugal.
Archangels
Archangel Michael defeats S atan, by

Guido Reni (1636), held in the
Capuchin church of Santa Maria della
Concezione, Rome
The word archangel is only used t wice in t he New Test ament : in 1 Thessalonians 4:16 (ht t ps://bi
ble.oremus.org/?passage=1%20Thessalonians%204:16&version=nrsv) and Jude 1:9 (ht t ps://bibl
e.oremus.org/?passage=Jude%201:9&version=nrsv) .
In most Christ ian t radit ions, Gabriel is also considered an archangel, but t here is no direct lit erary
support for t his assumpt ion. The t erm archangel appears only in t he singular, never plural, and
only in specific reference t o Michael.
The name of t he archangel Raphael appears only in t he Book of Tobit (Tobias).

The Holy See's 2001 Directory on popular piety st at es: "The pract ice of assigning names t o t he
Holy Angels should be discouraged, except in t he cases of Gabriel, Raphael and Michael whose
names are cont ained in Holy Script ure".[14]
Guardian angels
A guardian angel is a t ype of angel t hat is assigned t o prot ect and guide a part icular person,
group or nat ion. Belief in t ut elary beings can be t raced t hroughout all ant iquit y. The idea of
angels t hat guard over people played a major role in Ancient Judaism. In Christ ianit y, t he hierarchy
of angels was ext ensively developed in t he 5t h cent ury by Pseudo-Dionysius t he Areopagit e.
The t heology of angels and t ut elary spirit s has undergone many changes since t he 5t h cent ury.
The belief is t hat guardian angels serve t o prot ect whichever person God assigns t hem t o.
See also
Angels in Islam
Angels in Judaism
Dynamics of the celestial spheres
Fallen angel
Heavenly host
List of angels in theology
List of films about angels
References
1. "Fathers of the Church Speak on Angels" (ht

tps://www.orthodoxprayer.org/Angels/Fath
ers%20Speak.html) .
www.orthodoxprayer.org. Retrieved
2023-10-25.
2. Sinkewicz, Robert E., ed. (2003). Evagrius of

Pontus: The Greek Ascetic Corpus.
Oxford/New York: Oxford University Press.
p. xvii.
3. Klein 2018, p. 30.

4. Klein 2018, p. 61.
5. "Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite" (https://
plato.stanford.edu/entries/pseudo-dionysiu
s-areopagite/#DioPer) . The Stanford
Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Metaphysics
Research Lab, Stanford University. 2019.
6. "Catechism of the Catholic Church

Paragraph 5. Heaven and Earth" (https://ww
w.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P1A.HT
M) . vatican.va. Retrieved March 4, 2022.
7. Bordwell, David; the Vatican (2002).

Catechism of the Catholic Church.
Continuum International Publishing. p. 78
§§334–335. ISBN 0-86012-324-3.
8. Catechism of the Catholic Church, §331.

9. Wood 2008, pp. 2–4.
10. Wood 2008, p. 1.
11. Guiley, Rosemary (1996). Encyclopedia of
Angels. New York, New York: Facts on File,
Incorporated.
12. Kasten, Patricia (2013-12-09). "The angels

in charge of nature" (https://www.thecompa
ssnews.org/2013/12/angels-charge-natur
e/) . The Compass. Diocese of Green Bay.
Retrieved 2023-10-25.
13. Isidore, Bishop of Seville (July 2006). The

Etymologies of Isidore of Seville (https://po
t-pourri.fltr.ucl.ac.be/files/AClassftp/TEXTE
S/ISIDORUS/Etymologie/B1N8PWGetQy.pd
f) (PDF). Translated by Lewis, W. J.; Beach,
J. A.; Berghof, Oliver; Barney, Stephen. New
York: Cambridge; New York: Cambridge
University Press. p. 161.
ISBN 9780521837491.
14. Congregation for Divine Worship and the
Discipline of the Sacraments (December
2001). "Directory on popular piety and the
liturgy. Principles and guidelines" (https://w
ww.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/
ccdds/documents/rc_con_ccdds_doc_2002
0513_vers-direttorio_en.html#Chapter%20S
ix) . www.vatican.va. Retrieved 2023-01-15.
Sources
Klein, Elizabeth (2018). Augustine's

Theology of Angels. Cambridge
University Press. ISBN 978-1-108-42445-
5.
Wood, Alice (2008). Of Wing and Wheels:
A Synthetic Study of the Biblical
Cherubim. Walter de Gruyter. ISBN 978-
3-11-020528-2.
Further reading
Patrides, C. A. (1982). "On the orders of

angels". Premises and Motifs in
Renaissance Thought and Literature.
Princeton. ISBN 0-691-06505-5.
Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite
(1894). The Celestial and Ecclesiastical
Hierarchy of Dionysius the Areopagite (ht
tps://archive.org/details/celestialandec
c00parkgoog) . Translated by John
Parker. Skeffington & Son.
Retrieved from
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Angels in

In Christ ianit y, angels are t he messengers of God.

The Assumption of the Virgin by Francesco Botticini

A cherub, as described by Ezekiel and

West window of the Church of St Michael

An example of a Principalit y angel t hat is t he subject of cult is t he Angel of Port ugal.

Archangel Michael defeats S atan, by

The name of t he archangel Raphael appears only in t he Book of Tobit (Tobias).

1. "Fathers of the Church Speak on Angels" (ht

2. Sinkewicz, Robert E., ed. (2003). Evagrius of

3. Klein 2018, p. 30.

6. "Catechism of the Catholic Church

7. Bordwell, David; the Vatican (2002).

8. Catechism of the Catholic Church, §331.

12. Kasten, Patricia (2013-12-09). "The angels

13. Isidore, Bishop of Seville (July 2006). The

Klein, Elizabeth (2018). Augustine's

Patrides, C. A. (1982). "On the orders of

This page was last edited on 4 April 2024, at

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