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In Christianity, angels are the messengers of God.
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In Christianity, angels are the messengers of God.
 | This section needs expansionwith: A general view of angels according to Christians in Antiquity. You can help by adding to it. (February 2023) |
In chapter V of Ignatius of Antioch's Letter to the Trallians, the bishop gives a listing of angels not unlike that later proposed by Pseudo-Dionysius. In his First Epistle of Clement, Clement of Rome exhorts his listeners to join the angels in praising God. Clement of Alexandria wrote that angels “breathe” in men’s thoughts and reasonings, and “puts in” their hearts “strength” and a keener perception. [1] Evagrius Ponticus spoke of the concept of angelic companions and angels as models for behavior. [2]
Augustine of Hippo remarks, the angels were experiencing something new as the creation of God unfolded. [3] Augustine also considers that the 'good' angels seek at all times, to direct us towards the true source of happiness, God; that they encourage us in worship of God. [4]
According to Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite's De Coelesti Hierarchia (On the Celestial Hierarchy), there are three levels ("sphere") of angels, inside each of which there are three orders.
Various works of Christian theology have devised hierarchies of angelic beings. The most influential Christian angelic hierarchy was put forward around the turn of the 6th century CE by Pseudo-Dionysius in his work De Coelesti Hierarchia. He claimed to be an important figure who was converted by Paul the Apostle, and the Pseudo-Dionysius enjoyed greater influence than it would have if he had used his actual name, until Erasmus publicised doubts about the age of the work in the early 16th century. [5]
According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) paragraph 328, "the existence of the spiritual, non-corporeal beings that Sacred Scripture usually calls 'angels' is a truth of faith. The witness of Scripture is as clear as the unanimity of Tradition." [6] The same catechism states: "The whole life of the church benefits from the mysterious and powerful help of the angels [...] From its beginning until death, human life is surrounded by their watchful care and intercession." [7] It also states, "Christ is the center of the angelic world. They are His angels [...] They belong to Him because they were created through and for Him". [8]
Tradition places seraphim in a rank in Christian angelology, based on Isaiah's use of the word.
In the Book of Ezekiel, and in some Christian icons, the cherub is depicted as having two pairs of wings, and four faces: that of a lion (representative of all wild animals), an ox (domestic animals), a human (humanity), and an eagle (birds). [9] Their legs were straight, the soles of their feet like the hooves of a bull, gleaming like polished brass. Later tradition ascribes to them a variety of physical appearances. [9] In Western Christian tradition, cherubim have become associated with the putto (derived from classical Cupid/Eros), resulting in depictions of cherubim as small, plump, winged boys. [10]
The ophanim refer to the wheels seen in Ezekiel's vision of the chariot (Hebrew merkabah ) in Ezekiel 1:15–21. One of the Dead Sea scrolls (4Q405) construes them as angels.[ citation needed ]
The Dominions (lat. dominatio, plural dominationes, also translated from the Greek term kyriotētes, pl. of kyriotēs, as "Lordships"). [11] Traditionally, they are held to govern the movement of stars, planets, and other celestial objects. [12]
According to The Etymologies of Isidore of Seville, the Virtues are known for their control of the elements. In addition to being the spirits of motion, they also assist in governing elements of nature, such as storms. [12] They also assist with miracles, as well as encourage humans to strengthen their faith in God. [13]
In The Etymologies of Isidore of Seville, the Powers (lat. potestas (f), pl. potestates) (Greek: ἐξουσίαι) are given their name because they are angels who have power over evil forces, which the angels are able to restrain to keep them from doing harm. [13] Powers also oversee the power which human beings—such as kings—have been given in the world. [12]
According to The Etymologies of Isidore of Seville, the Principalities (Latin : principatus), also translated as "Princedoms" and "Rulers", from the Greek archai, pl. of archē (see Greek root in Eph 3:10), are the angels that guide and protect nations, or groups of peoples, and institutions such as the Church. The Principalities preside over the bands of angels and charge them with fulfilling the divine ministry. There are some who administer and some who assist. [13] [ needs update ]
An example of a Principality angel that is the subject of cult is the Angel of Portugal.
The word archangel is only used twice in the New Testament: in 1 Thessalonians 4:16 and Jude 1:9.
In most Christian traditions, Gabriel is also considered an archangel, but there is no direct literary support for this assumption. The term archangel appears only in the singular, never plural, and only in specific reference to Michael.
The name of the archangel Raphael appears only in the Book of Tobit (Tobias).
The Holy See's 2001 Directory on popular piety states: "The practice of assigning names to the Holy Angels should be discouraged, except in the cases of Gabriel, Raphael and Michael whose names are contained in Holy Scripture". [14]
A guardian angel is a type of angel that is assigned to protect and guide a particular person, group or nation. Belief in tutelary beings can be traced throughout all antiquity. The idea of angels that guard over people played a major role in Ancient Judaism. In Christianity, the hierarchy of angels was extensively developed in the 5th century by Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite. The theology of angels and tutelary spirits has undergone many changes since the 5th century. The belief is that guardian angels serve to protect whichever person God assigns them to.
Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite was a Greek author, Christian theologian and Neoplatonic philosopher of the late 5th to early 6th century, who wrote a set of works known as the Corpus Areopagiticum or Corpus Dionysiacum.
Dei verbum, the Second Vatican Council's Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, was promulgated by Pope Paul VI on 18 November 1965, following approval by the assembled bishops by a vote of 2,344 to 6. It is one of the principal documents of the Second Vatican Council.
Apophatic theology, also known as negative theology, is a form of theological thinking and religious practice which attempts to approach God, the Divine, by negation, to speak only in terms of what may not be said about the perfect goodness that is God. It forms a pair together with cataphatic theology, which approaches God or the Divine by affirmations or positive statements about what God is.
A cherub is one of the unearthly beings who directly attend to God, according to Abrahamic religions. The numerous depictions of cherubim assign to them many different roles, such as protecting the entrance of the Garden of Eden.
Archangels are the second-lowest rank of angel in the Christian hierarchy of angels, put forward by Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite in the 5th or 6th century in his book De Coelesti Hierarchia. The word "archangel" itself is usually associated with the Abrahamic religions, but beings that are very similar to archangels are found in a number of other religious traditions.
A seraph is a celestial or heavenly being originating in Ancient Judaism. The term plays a role in subsequent Judaism, Christianity, and other Abrahamic religions.
Dionysius the Areopagite was an Athenian judge at the Areopagus Court in Athens, who lived in the first century. A convert to Christianity, he is venerated as a saint by multiple denominations.
In Christian angelology, thrones are a class of angels. This is based on an interpretation of Colossians 1:16. According to 1 Peter 3:21–22, Christ had gone to Heaven and "angels and authorities and powers" had been made subject to him.
Christian mysticism is the tradition of mystical practices and mystical theology within Christianity which "concerns the preparation [of the person] for, the consciousness of, and the effect of [...] a direct and transformative presence of God" or Divine love. Until the sixth century the practice of what is now called mysticism was referred to by the term contemplatio, c.q. theoria, from contemplatio, "looking at", "gazing at", "being aware of" God or the Divine. Christianity took up the use of both the Greek (theoria) and Latin terminology to describe various forms of prayer and the process of coming to know God.
In some occult and similar writings, an archdemon, archdevil, or archfiend is a spiritual entity prominent in the infernal hierarchy as a leader of demons. Essentially, the archdemons are the evil opponents of the archangels.
The ophanim, alternatively spelled auphanim or ofanim, and also called galgalim, refer to the wheels seen in Ezekiel's vision of the chariot in Ezekiel 1:15–21. One of the Dead Sea scrolls (4Q405) construes them as angels; late sections of the Book of Enoch portray them as a class of celestial beings who never sleep, but guard the throne of God. In Christian angelology, they are one of the choirs (classes) of angels, and are also called Thrones.
The concept of Seven Archangels is found in some works of early Jewish literature and in Christianity. In those texts, they are referenced as the angels who serve God directly.
Mystical theology is the branch of theology in the Christian tradition that deals with divine encounter and the self-communication of God with the faithful; such as to explain mystical practices and states, as induced by contemplative practices such as contemplative prayer, called theoria from the Greek for contemplation.
In the angelology of different religions, a hierarchy of angels is a ranking system of angels. The higher ranking angels have greater power and authority than lower ones, and different ranks have differences in appearance, such as varying numbers of wings or faces.
Cataphatic theology or kataphatic theology is theology that uses "positive" terminology to describe or refer to the divine – specifically, God – i.e. terminology that describes or refers to what the divine is believed to be, in contrast to the "negative" terminology used in apophatic theology to indicate what it is believed the divine is not.
De Coelesti Hierarchia is a Pseudo-Dionysian work on angelology, written in Greek and dated to ca. AD the 5th century; it exerted great influence on scholasticism and treats at great length the hierarchies of angels.
Emanation is a belief, found in Neoplatonism, that the cause of certain beings or states of being consists of an overflow from the essence of God or other higher spiritual beings, as opposed to a special act of creation. This overflow is usually conceived in a non-temporal way as a permanent relationship of causation rather than as an event causing an entity to come into existence at a given point in time. The word "emanation" can refer either to the process of emanation or to the thing emanated.
Neoplatonism was a major influence on Christian theology throughout Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages in the East, and sometimes in the West as well. In the East, major Greek Fathers like Basil, Gregory of Nyssa and Gregory of Nazianzus were influenced by Platonism and Neoplatonism, but also Stoicism often leading towards asceticism and harsh treatment of the body, for example stylite asceticism. In the West, St. Augustine of Hippo was influenced by the early Neoplatonists Plotinus and Porphyry. Later on, in the East, the works of the Christian writer Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, who was influenced by later Neoplatonists such as Proclus and Damascius, became a critical work on which Greek church fathers based their theology, like Maximus believing it was an original work of Dionysius the Areopagite.
Celestial hierarchy can refer to:
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the Catholic Church:
| First Sphere |  | |
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| Second Sphere | ||
| Third Sphere | ||