Angel For other uses, see Angel (disambiguation). 1 Etymology “Angelology” redirects here. For the novel, see Angelology (novel). An angel is a supernatural being or spirit found in Sculpture of Angel bearing the Veil of Veronica by Cosimo Fan- celli at Ponte Sant Angelo. Schutzengel (English: “Guardian Angel”) by Bernhard Plock- The word angel in English is a blend of Old English engel horst depicts a guardian angel watching over two children. (with a hard g) and Old French angele.[5] Both derive from Late Latin angelus “messenger of God”, which in turn was borrowed from Late Greek ἄγγελος ángelos. Ac- cording to R. S. P. Beekes, ángelos itself may be “an Ori- various religions and mythologies. In Abrahamic re- ental loan, like ἄγγαρος ['Persian mounted courier'].”[6] ligions and Zoroastrianism they are often depicted as The word’s earliest form is Mycenaean a-ke-ro attested in benevolent celestial beings who act as intermediaries be- Linear B syllabic script.[7][8] tween Heaven and Earth, or as guardian spirits or a guid- [1][2] The ángelos is the default Septuagint’s translation of the ing influence. Other roles of angels include protect- Biblical Hebrew term mal’ākh denoting simply “messen- ing and guiding human beings, and carrying out God's [3] ger” without specifying its nature. In the Latin Vulgate, tasks. The term “angel” has also been expanded to var- however, the meaning becomes bifurcated: when mal’ākh ious notions of spirits found in many other religious tra- or ángelos is supposed to denote a human messenger, ditions. The theological study of angels is known as “an- words like nuntius or legatus are applied. If the word gelology”. refers to some supernatural being, the word angelus ap- In art, angels are often depicted with bird-like wings on pears. Such differentiation has been taken over by later their back, a halo, robes and various forms of glowing vernacular translations of the Bible, early Christian and light.[4] Jewish exegetes and eventually modern scholars.[9] 1 2 2 CHRISTIANITY gels, which in turn may have been partly inherited from the Egyptians.[10] In the early stage, the Christian con- cept of an angel characterized the angel as a messenger of God. Later came identification of individual angelic mes- sengers: Gabriel, Michael, Raphael, Uriel, and Lucifer. Then, in the space of little more than two centuries (from the 3rd to the 5th) the image of angels took on definite characteristics both in theology and in art.[11] By the late 4th century, the Church Fathers agreed that there were different categories of angels, with appropri- ate missions and activities assigned to them. There was, however, some disagreement regarding the nature of an- gels. Some argued that angels had physical bodies,[12] while some maintained that they were entirely spiritual. Some theologians had proposed that angels were not di- vine but on the level of immaterial beings subordinate to the Trinity. The resolution of this Trinitarian dispute in- cluded the development of doctrine about angels.[13] The angels are represented throughout the Christian Bible as spiritual beings intermediate between God and men: Three angels hosted by Abraham, Ludovico Carracci (1555– 1619), Bologna, Pinacoteca Nazionale. “You have made him [man] a little less than the angels ...” (Psalms 8:4-5). The Bible describes the function of angels as “messengers” but does not indicate when the 2 Christianity creation of angels occurred.[14] Some Christians believe that angels are created beings, based on (Psalms 148:2-5; Main article: Christian angelic hierarchy Colossians 1:16): “praise ye Him, all His angels: praise Later Christians inherited Jewish understandings of an- ye Him, all His hosts ... for He spoke and they were made. He commanded and they were created ...”. The Fourth Lateran Council (1215) declared that the angels were created beings. The Council’s decree Firmiter cred- imus (issued against the Albigenses) declared both that angels were created and that men were created after them. The First Vatican Council (1869) repeated this decla- ration in Dei Filius, the “Dogmatic constitution on the Catholic faith”. Thomas Aquinas (13th century) relates angels to Aristo- tle’s metaphysics in his Summa contra Gentiles,[15] Summa Theologica,[16] and in De substantiis separatis,[17] a trea- tise on angelology. Although angels have greater knowl- edge than men, they are not omniscient, as Matthew 24:36 points out.[18] 2.1 Interaction with angels The New Testament includes many interactions and con- versations between angels and humans. For instance, three separate cases of angelic interaction deal with the births of John the Baptist and Jesus Christ. In Luke 1:11, an angel appears to Zechariah to inform him that he will have a child despite his old age, thus proclaiming the birth of John the Baptist. In Luke 1:26 the Archangel Gabriel visits the Virgin Mary in the Annunciation to foretell the birth of Jesus Christ. Angels then proclaim the birth of Jesus in the Adoration of the shepherds in Luke 2:10.[19] The Archangel Michael wears a late Roman military cloak and According to Matthew 4:11, after Jesus spent 40 days in cuirass in this 17th-century depiction by Guido Reni the desert, "...the devil left him and, behold, angels came 2.3 Latter Day Saints 3 of angels is that of usefulness, and their functions are so many that they cannot be enumerated. However each an- gel will enter a service according to the use that they had performed in their earthly life.[28] Names of angels, such as Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, signify a particular an- gelic function rather than an individual being.[29] While living in one’s body an individual has conjunction with heaven through the angels,[30] and with each person, there are at least two evil spirits and two angels.[31] Tempta- tion or pains of conscience originates from a conflict be- tween evil spirits and angels.[32] Due to man’s sinful na- ture it is dangerous to have open direct communication with angels[33] and can only be seen when one’s spiritual sight has been opened.[34] Thus from moment to moment angels attempt to lead each person to what is good tacitly using the person’s own thoughts.[35] 2.3 Latter Day Saints An angel comforting Jesus, by Carl Heinrich Bloch, 1865–1890. and ministered to him.” In Luke 22:43 an angel com- forts Jesus Christ during the Agony in the Garden.[20] In Matthew 28:5 an angel speaks at the empty tomb, follow- ing the Resurrection of Jesus and the rolling back of the stone by angels.[19] In 1851 Pope Pius IX approved the Chaplet of Saint Michael based on the 1751 reported private revelation from archangel Michael to the Carmelite nun Anto- nia d'Astonac.[21] In a biography of Saint Gemma Gal- gani written by Venerable Germanus Ruoppolo, Galgani stated that she had spoken with her guardian angel. Pope John Paul II emphasized the role of angels in Catholic teachings in his 1986 address titled "Angels Par- ticipate In History Of Salvation", in which he suggested that modern mentality should come to see the importance of angels.[22] 2.2 The New Church In the New Church, there is extensive information pro- vided concerning angels and the spiritual world in which they dwell from many years of spiritual experiences re- counted in the writings of Emanuel Swedenborg. All an- gels are in human form with a spiritual body, and are not just minds without form.[23] There are different orders of angels according to the three heavens,[24] and each angel dwells in one of innumerable societies of angels. Such a society of angels can appear as one angel as a whole.[25] All angels originate from the human race, and there is not one angel in heaven who first did not live in a ma- terial body.[26] Moreover, all children who die not only enter heaven but eventually become angels.[27] The life Temple statue of the Angel Moroni, Bern, Switzerland 4 3 JUDAISM Adherents of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day 3 Judaism Saints (LDS Church) view angels as the messengers of God. They are sent to mankind to deliver messages, Main article: Angels in Judaism minister to humanity, teach doctrines of salvation, call mankind to repentance, give priesthood keys, save indi- viduals in perilous times, and guide humankind.[36] The oldest portion of the Bible, known as the Pentateuch, ;mal'āk̠ 'ĕlōhîm) מלאך אלהים uses the (Hebrew) terms Latter Day Saints believe that angels either are the spirits -mal'āk̠ YHWH; mes) מלאך יהוה ,(messenger of God of humans who are deceased or who have yet to be born, bənē 'ĕlōhîm; sons of) בני אלהים ,(senger of the Lord or are humans who have been resurrected or translated haqqôd̠əšîm; the holy ones) to refer) הקודשים God) and and have physical bodies of flesh and bones,[37] and ac- to beings traditionally interpreted as angels. Later texts cordingly Joseph Smith taught that “there are no angels hā'elyônîm; the upper) העליונים use other terms, such as who minister to this earth but those that do belong or ones). have belonged to it.”[38] As such, Latter Day Saints also mal'āk̠) is also used in other books of) מלאך believe that Adam, the first man, was and is now the The term [39][40][41] malā'ikah), is) ملائكة ,archangel Michael, and that Gabriel lived on the the Tanakh; a similar Arabic term earth as Noah.[37] Likewise the Angel Moroni first lived in used in the Qur'an.