Seven Archangels Marmoniel (“who hold the clouds in your hands”).[2] 1 Archangels in current church traditions The Catholic Church recognizes three archangels, the three mentioned in its canon of Scripture: Gabriel and Michael, mentioned in the New Testament, and Raphael, mentioned in the book of Tobit, where he is described as “one of the seven angels who stand ready and enter before the glory of the Lord”,[3] a phrase recalled in Revelation 8:2-6. Some strands of the Eastern Orthodox Church, exem- plified in the Orthodox Slavonic Bible (Ostrog Bible, Elizabeth Bible, and later consequently Russian Synodal Bible), recognize as authoritative also 2 Esdras, which mentions Uriel. Yet the Eastern Orthodox Church ac- cepts only Michael, Gabriel, Raphael and Uriel. As well as Uriel, the Book of Enoch, not regarded “Synaxis of the Archangel Michael” ("Собор Архистратига as canonical by any of these Christian churches, men- Михаила"). An Eastern Orthodox Church icon of the “Seven tions (chapter 21) Raguel, Sariel, and Jerahmeel, while Archangels". From left to right: Jegudiel, Gabriel, Selaphiel, other apocryphal sources give instead the names Izidkiel, Michael, Uriel, Raphael, Barachiel. Beneath the mandorla of Hanael, and Kepharel.[4] Christ Emmanuel are representations of Cherubim (in blue) and Seraphim (in red). In the Coptic Orthodox tradition the seven archangels are named as Gabriel, Michael, Raphael, Suriel, Zadakiel, Raguel, and Aniel. The earliest reference to a system of seven archangels In Anglican and Episcopal tradition, there are three or as a group appears to be in Enoch I (the Book of Enoch) four archangels in its calendar for September 29 feast which is not part of the Jewish Canon but is prevalent for St. Michael and All Angels (also called Michaelmas: in the Judaic tradition, where they are named as Gabriel, namely Gabriel, Michael and Raphael),[5] and often, Michael, Raphael, Uriel, Raguel, Remiel and Saraqael. Uriel.[6][7][8][9][10] While this book today is non-canonical in most Christian Churches, it was explicitly quoted in the New Testament (Letter of Jude 1:14-15) and by many of the early Church Fathers. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church to this day re- 2 Other ideas gards it to be canonical. In the late 5th to early 6th century, Pseudo-Dionysius In the Book of Enoch, Remiel is described as one of gives them as Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, Uriel, Chamuel, the leaders of the 200 Grigori, the fallen angels. Other Jophiel, and Zadkiel. [1] Names derived from pseudepigrapha but not recognized by Christian churches are Selaphiel, Jegudiel, and Raguel. The earliest Christian mention is by Pope Saint Gregory I who lists them as Gabriel, Michael, Raphael, Uriel (or Seven angels or archangels are given as related to the Anael), Simiel, Oriphiel and Raguel. A later reference seven days of the week: Michael (Sunday), Gabriel (Mon- to seven archangels would appear in an 8th or 9th cen- day), Raphael (Tuesday), Uriel (Wednesday), Selaphiel tury talisman attributed to Auriolus, a “servant of God” in (Thursday),Raguel or Jegudiel (Friday), and Barachiel north-western Spain. He issues a prayer to “all you patri- (Saturday). archs Michael, Gabriel, Cecitiel, Oriel, Raphael, Ananiel, Various occult systems associate each archangel with one 1 2 3 NOTES AND REFERENCES of the traditional “seven luminaries” (the seven naked- [12] The encyclopedia of angels, p.45, by Rosemary Guiley, eye moving objects in the heavens: the Seven Classical Infobase Publishing, 2004. Planets): the Moon, Mercury, Venus, the Sun, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn;[11] but there is disagreement as to • Godwin, Malcolm. Angels: An Endangered which archangel corresponds to which body. Species, New York: Simon & Schuster 1990/ Lon- According to Rudolf Steiner, four important archangels don: Boxtree 1993. also display periodic spiritual activity over the seasons: • Benor, Daniel J. Healing Research, Volume III — Spring is Raphael, Summer is Uriel, Autumn is Michael, [12] Personal Spirituality: Science, Spirit and the Eternal and Winter is Gabriel. Following this line of rea- Soul, Bellmawr, NJ: Wholistic Healing Publications soning, Aries (astrologically ruled by Mars) represents 2006 Spring, Cancer (ruled by Moon) represents Summer, Li- bra (ruled by Venus) represents Autumn, and Capricorn (ruled by Saturn) represents Winter. Therefore by associ- ation, Raphael is Mars, Uriel is Moon, Michael is Venus, and Gabriel is Saturn. Rudolf Steiner’s Northern Hemi- sphere indications regarding the seasons and their place- ment in the Zodiac will be the opposite in the South- ern Hemisphere, making Michael the Autumn archangel - with Mars in Ares; Raphael the Spring Archangel - with Venus in Libra; and in mid-winter Gabriel in Cancer; Uriel presides in Capricorn during mid summer in the south. The seven archangels figure in some systems of ritual magic, each archangel bearing a specific seal. It could also be argued that each one of the seven archangels represents one of the heavenly virtues, in the same way that each of the seven princes of hell represents one of the deadly sins. 3 Notes and references [1] A Dictionary of Angels, Including the Fallen Angels by Gustav Davidson, 1980, Free Press Publishing [2] Julia M.H. Smith, Europe After Rome: A New Cul- tural History 500-1000. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005. Page 77 [3] Tobit 12:15 [4] James F. Driscoll, “St. Raphael” in The Catholic Encyclo- pedia (New York 1911) [5] Oremus.org website. Retrieved September 15, 2008. [6] Saint Uriel Church website patron Saint web page. Re- trieved September 15, 2008. [7] Lesser Feasts and Fasts, p. 380. [8] Anglican.org website Michaelmas page. Retrieved September 15, 2008. [9] St. George’s Lennoxville website, What Are Anglicans, Anyway? page. Retrieved September 15, 2008. [10] Christ Church Eureka website, September Feasts page. Retrieved September 15, 2008. [11] Morals and Dogma (of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry) by Albert Pike (1871, 1948, L. H. Jenkins) 3 4 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses 4.1 Text • Seven Archangels Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Archangels?oldid=624388623 Contributors: Csernica, Tb, Haukurth, Robbot, Grunners, Oknazevad, Grutness, Pictureuploader, Scratchy, Rune.welsh, DiogenesNY, Chobot, Bgwhite, SmackBot, WildElf, Gjs238, Alsandro, Alex earlier account, NickPenguin, Ck lostsword, Bjankuloski06en, Neddyseagoon, Arctic-Editor, SkyWalker, Jamoche, Cydebot, Huysman, JohnInDC, Thijs!bot, Seth Nimbosa, Goldenrowley, Helge Skjeveland, Xact, .anacondabot, ***Ria777, Tgeairn, Ian.thomson, Reedy Bot, FrummerThanThou, Mrg3105, Konsulromanum, TXiKiBoT, TasiaChiba, Bearian, AusJeb, ImageRemovalBot, Dataproducts, Kathleen.wright5, Mdlawmba, 2007 account, Wallaceyancey, Addbot, Jimmy10291, Wigert, Lightbot, Tarheelz123, Yobot, VengeancePrime, Dr. MFL, AnomieBOT, Nikofeelan, Isababa7, Celestial365, Fenoloftaleina, Dger, Wandering-teacher, Pinethicket, Djbmd777, Stroppolo, Smartiger, Esoglou, ZéroBot, Fidulario, Wayne Slam, MonoAV, Jbergste, Orange Suede Sofa, Dream of Nyx, RayDawggg, Melodychick, Brad Watson, Miami, Theosphobia, R7Rules7, Ugog Nizdast, Bammesk, Kiborion and Anonymous: 83 4.2 Images • File:Archangels.JPG Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e8/Archangels.JPG License: Public domain Contribu- tors: Immagine scansita dall'originale Original artist: Anonymous 4.3 Content license • Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0.