29/09/2022
๐๐๐ 9 ๐พ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ผ๐๐๐๐๐
Today, we are celebrating the feast of the Archangels. Archangels are part of the 9 Choirs of Angels.
We know from Christian tradition and from the Holy Scriptures that there are different names given to groups of angels โ nine โchoirsโ of angels in all. Over the centuries, many theologians and spiritual writers have considered the choirs from various perspectives.
A helpful spiritual truth to internalize as we grow in our love for God and progress along our spiritual journey: Whatever other purposes they may have, the hierarchy of angels is meant to help us to understand the qualities of God and how we might grow in the ways of holiness. It provides us with a sense of order, progress, and ascent in our understanding of how Godโs infinite knowledge establishes and maintains the order and beauty of creation through principles that we can grasp and through the ministry and oversight of His faithful servants, the angels.
These designations are not matters of dogma but rather spiritual tools to help us to appreciate the ways of holiness โ the means by which God assists us through the mediation of the angels. The names themselves describe either a characteristics of these mighty spirits or an aspect of their mission in Godโs plan.
Letโs turn to the individual choirs so that we can examine the powers each have, and how they relate with one another.
โข ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ผ๐๐พ๐๐ (๐พ๐ค๐ฃ๐ฉ๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ก๐๐ฉ๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ผ๐๐ค๐ง๐ ๐๐ค๐ ๐ฟ๐๐ง๐๐๐ฉ๐ค๐ง๐ฎ)
1. SERAPHIM
The seraphim are the angels closest to God. As such, they reflect most immediately the highest attribute of God manifest in creยญation: His love. They are on fire with the love of God; the very name means โincandescent onesโ or โburning ones.โ Classical saยญcred art portrays them as entirely red and ablaze. They are usually depicted as having six wings but no faces โ simply a sea or ring of flame around the Holy Trinity. Because of this burning love, more than any other angel they have the most perfect knowledge of God, which makes them the most perfect adorers. St. Jerome notes that they not only burn by themselves, but they also inflame others with the love of God.
According to the prophet Isaiah, the seraphim are the angels whom he hears crying out โHoly, holy, holy,โ as one of them purifies Isaiahโs mouth with a coal from the altar so that he might serve as the Lordโs messenger (Isa. 6:3โ8). In the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Mass, the priest evokes this moment as he prays for worthiness in proclaiming the Gospel. We too should pray to the seraphim that we might be purified in our responsibilities as teachers and bearers of the Word to our families, our friends, and all those over whom we have responsibility. It was a seraph who appeared to St. Francis of Assisi when he received the stigmata. Later mystics, too, will speak of the seraphim as the Lordโs messenยญgers and intermediaries when they had extraordinary experiences of loving and transforming divine union.
2. CHERUBIM
The cherubim have a deep intellectual knowledge of divine seยญcrets and of the ultimate causes of things; their name means โall-knowing one.โ As such, they constantly contemplate the wisdom and the love of God in His relationship with mankind. They reflect His omniscience. The cherubim were the mighty adorers of the first covenant in its wisdom; images of the cherubim were the only images of beings that were permitted in the ancient Temple of Jerusalem. Their carved figures adorned the lid of the Ark of the Covenant, which prefigured both the Virgin Mary โtabernaยญclingโ the unborn Christ and the Eucharistic tabernacles of our churches, containing the new manna of Christโs sacramental Body and Blood. Embroideries of the cherubim also covered the beautiful drapery that separated the Holy of Holies from the outer court of the Temple. It was that veil that was ripped from top to bottom when Our Lord died on the Cross as the sign that He had passed into the Eternal Sanctuary and that the Temple of Jerusalem had fulfilled its purpose (Matt. 27:51). The cherubim are still considยญered protectors of the New Covenant and so are often depicted on tabernacles and Eucharistic vessels.
3. THRONES
The thrones, as their name suggests, can be thought of as beยญings raised up to form the seat of Godโs authority and mercy. A throne manifests the glory and authority of a king; it expresses stability and power. And since a throne is also a judgment seat, these angels are especially concerned with divine judgments and ordinances.
In the early Church, a common representation of Godโs glory in Heaven was a mosaic behind the altar and above the seat of the bishop that represented an empty throne with a radiant cross mounted above it. This image represented Christ the King, Lord of all and Judge of the living and the dead. But His judgment seat was also a throne of mercy, for Christ has redeemed the world by His Cross. His love has brought us to salvation. The thrones are never seen or experienced as โflyingโ but as โrollingโ across the heavens, in keeping with their manifesting the Lordโs stability.
โข ๐๐๐พ๐๐๐ฟ ๐๐๐๐๐ผ๐๐พ๐๐ (๐๐ช๐ก๐๐๐ก๐ก ๐๐ค๐โ๐จ ๐๐ก๐๐ฃ ๐๐ฃ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐ฃ๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐จ๐)
The second hierarchy receives knowledge of divine secrets through the first three choirs โ knowledge that they could not perceive by themselves. The ardor of the seraphim inflames their love; the wisdom of the cherubim reveals the depth of the mysteries; and the stability of the thrones draws them into constant adoration of Godโs majesty. In the Summa Theologiae, St. Thomas teaches that the names โdomination,โ โpower,โ and โprincipalityโ belong to government in different ways. The place of a lord is to prescribe what is to be done, and so Gregory says that โsome companies of the angels, because others are subject to obedience to them, are called dominations.โ
4. DOMINATIONS
The dominations are concerned with the government of the uniยญverse. They are the first of the three choirs in the second ring, which is the ring of the cosmos โ the angels who are charged with great and universal stewardships. The dominations in particular are involved in the workings of divine power. They coordinate the ministries of all the angels who deal with creation. We see in the angelic world that the Churchโs teaching that God works through secondary causes is beautifully demonstrated. The angels mediate Godโs power just as the saints intercede for us with Him.
5. VIRTUES
St. Peter mentions the virtues in his first epistle (3:22), as does St. Paul in his Letter to the Colossians (1:16). The name is in some way a mistranslation or at least a โfalse cognate,โ since this choir of angels does not deal with acquired habits (virtues), but rather exercises innate, raw power over the physical universe. According to Pseudo-Dionysius, their name refers to โa certain powerful and unshakable virility welling forth into all their Godlike energies, . . . mounting upwards in fullness of power to an assimilation with God; never falling away from the divine life through its own weakness, but ascending unwaveringly to the super-essential Virtue which is the Source of virtue.โ1 They are the lords of causality and the principles of cosmic order in the material realm. They ensure the well-being of the world.
6. POWERS
The powers (dunameis) form the third and last choir of the secยญond angelic hierarchy, according to Pseudo-Dionysius, while other scholars and spiritual writers consider them to be the fifth choir. This choir is mentioned occasionally in the Old Testament, such as in the book of Daniel where we read, โBless the Lord, all powยญers, sing praise to him and highly exalt him for everโ (Dan. 3:39). Some scholars maintain that the name โpowersโ is also used to indicate angels in general, since it is the Septuagintโs translation of the Hebrew sabaoth. In the New Testament St. Paul writes that there are powers who have remained faithful to God and powers who have fallen away and become part of the empire of Satan (Eph. 6:12). The choir of powers is thought to introduce man to the higher mysteries while repressing the attacks of the โhostile powersโ of Hell against the deepest laws of physical creation.
โข ๐๐๐๐๐ฟ ๐๐๐๐๐ผ๐๐พ๐๐ (๐๐ฃ๐ฉ๐๐ง๐๐๐ฉ & ๐๐๐ง๐ซ๐ ๐๐ช๐ข๐๐ฃ๐๐ฉ๐ฎ ๐พ๐ก๐ค๐จ๐๐ก๐ฎ)
The third sphere of angels is concerned with Almighty Godโs plan of salvation for mankind. It receives from the highest sphere its focus on the immutability of God, which is manifested in creation by the harmonious principles and intelligent organization of the laws of nature, which are upheld by the angels of the second sphere. In turn, the angels of this third sphere pour out their influence on those who have the greatest interaction with us in the ordinary course of things established by God.
7. PRINCES OR PRINCIPALITIES
The princes are also described as having members who have fallen away and others who have remained faithful. Principalities are the leading choir of the last hierarchy of angels. Their activities are described by Pseudo-Dionysius in this way, โThe name of the Celestial Principalities signifies their Godlike princeliness and auยญthoritativeness in an Order which is holy and most fitting to the princely Powers.โ They are often seen as being the guardians of nations or peoples; this is why St. Michael is described in the book of Daniel as โthe prince of Israel,โ who comes to the aid of Gabriel against the demonic prince of Persia. It seems fitting that this first choir in the โring of salvationโ should also look after the spiritual structure of the supernatural life of the Church.
8. ARCHANGELS
This choir is the most known and loved in popular devotion. Among the archangels we find St. Michael, St. Gabriel, and St. Raphael. It is traditionally believed, due to the statements of Raยญphael in the book of Tobit, that there are only seven archangels.
Three of their names occur in Scripture, and so the Church uses these names in our worship โ St. Michael, the prince of the heavยญenly host and the only one called โarchangelโ in the Scriptures; St. Gabriel, the messenger of the Incarnation; and St. Raphael, the angel of healing and of medicine.
The names of the other four are not used in our Liturgy, though there are certain churches that preserve these names and make use of them in private devotion, including some Eastern Catholic Churches. Roman Catholics ofยญten refer to them as the seven archangels or the seven assisting spirits around the throne of God.
The seven archangels have been regarded from the very beginยญning as having a special place in Godโs plan; their number is often associated with the seven days of the week and the seven sacraments. It is thought that the archangels were outstanding in their fidelity to God, and so in the writings of the saints they are often called archanยญgel princes, an appellation that connotes leadership and authority in the heavenly realm. Many spiritual authors and mystics speak of their special assistance and often attribute other โgroups of sevenโ to their protection or patronage โ virtues, gifts of the Holy Spirit, and so on. The archangels are also associated with the protection of nations, dioceses, religious communities, and the mission of the Church.
9. ANGELS
The ninth and final choir of angels is composed of those who are most involved with the doings of mankind. These angels are those who are sent out on missions from God and from whom the guardยญian angels are chosen. The angels who fill up this choir may be the lowest, but they are beloved because the Lord places them at our sides to watch over us and to care for us. They are the ministers of Christโs love and our protectors. They defend us against harm and temptation. They warn us of impending evil and inspire us to remain faithful to God in prayer.
Sources:
(1) What Are the Nine Choirs of Angels?โCatholic Exchange (Retrieved on September 29, 2021);
(2) Explanation and Hierarchy of the 9 Choirs of AngelsโInfographic Facts (Retrieved on September 29, 2021);
(3) ๐ท Icons Infographic Facts
