Quiz: Angels

Angels are ministering spirits (Hebrews 1:13-14), (from Greek ángeloi, "messengers") created by God prior to the visible world. Their mission is to serve God.

Angels have no gender; they have no age... "Angels are not subject to change. There is no adolescent, youth, or elder among the angels; they remain in the state in which they were created at the beginning, and their composition remains pure and unchanged" (St Basil the Great).

Name day is the feast day of the saint by whose name a person is named, while Angel's Day is the day of a person's christening. In common usage, name day is sometimes called Angel's Day, although the Guardian Angel sent at christening does not have a special day of remembrance, but is remembered with the others in the Synaxis of all the heavenly bodiless forces.

Let us also pay attention to the morning prayer rule: one prayer is addressed to the Guardian Angel, the another - to the saint in whose name the Christian is baptised.

A Guardian Angel is an angel assigned by God to a person at baptism to keep them safe and help them in good deeds.

Angels are bodiless spirits. Depictions of Angels on icons are a symbol set that represent not appearance, but the idea of Angels as messengers of God. For example, wings are a symbol of speed and omnipresence; a staff is a symbol of messengership; the appearance of a beautiful young man is a symbol of perfection.

Archangel Michael is the first of the supreme Angels, the proponent of the glory of God. He is often depicted in military vestments with other angels who are loyal to God. Or he is depicted alone in the clothes of a warrior with a sword or spear in his hand, trampling the dragon or the ancient serpent - the devil - with his feet.

So, he is depicted in memory of the fact that once in heaven there was a great confrontation between the Angels - the servants of God and evil spirits - angels who fell away from God and became the servants of Satan.

Sometimes he is depicted with a spear, whose top is adorned with a white banner with a cross. This is a special distinction of Archangel Michael and his host, signifying moral purity and unwavering loyalty to the Heavenly King.

Lucifer, also called the devil and Satan, belonged to one of the highest orders of the angelic hierarchy. Together with him the other angels fell away, as it is described allegorically in the Apocalypse: "...And a great star fell from heaven, burning like a torch...was struck...so that a third of them were darkened"(Apoc. 8:10, 12). Some interpreters see an indication in these words that a third of the angels fell away together with the Lucifer.

On 21 November is the Synaxis of the Archangel Michael and other disembodied Heavenly Forces.

The celebration of the Synaxis of the Archangel Michael and other disembodied heavenly forces was established at the beginning of the 4th century at the Local Council of Laodicea, which took place a few years before the First Ecumenical Council. The Council of Laodicea condemned and rejected the heretical worship of Angels as creators and rulers of the world by the 35th rule and confirmed the Orthodox veneration of Angels.

The feast is celebrated in November - the ninth month after March (from which in ancient times the year began) - according to the 9 orders of angels. The eighth day of the month (old calendar) points to the future Gathering of all the Powers of Heaven on the day of the Last Judgement of God, which the holy fathers call "the eighth day", for after the end of this age, which is weeks of days, there will come "the eighth day", and then "the Son of Man will come in His Glory, and all the holy angels with Him" (Matthew 25:31).

And on the day after the Annunciation (i.e. 8 April) and 26 July (new calendar) the Church glorifies the Archangel Gabriel.

In addition, all the Heavenly incorporeal Forces are remembered in the divine service every Monday, and a feast in commemoration of Archangel Michael is established in honour of his miracle in Khoneh (September 19 at new calendar.).

Bible. (Gen.22:9-17): Then they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, upon the wood. (Gen.22:9). And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. (Gen.22:10). But the Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, «Abraham, Abraham! ». So he said, «Here I am.» (Gen.22:11). And He said, «Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now, I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.» (Gen.22:12). Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So, Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son. (Gen.22:13). And Abraham called the name of the place, The-Lord-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, «In the Mount of the Lord it shall be provided. » (Gen.22:14). Then the Angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time out of heaven, (Gen.22:15), and said: «By Myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son (Gen.22:16),blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. (Gen.22:17).

In an iconostasis, there are usually three doors (three gates) leading into the altar:

– In the middle of the iconostasis, directly in front of the altar is the Royal Gate;

– to the left (in relation to the spectator standing in front of the iconostasis) of them – the Northern Deacon's Gate,

– on the right – the Southern Deacon's Gate.

On the northern gate the image of the Archangel Gabriel is often depicted, on the southern gate – the image of the Archangel Michael.

Arkhangelsk is a city named in honour of Archangel Michael. There is also a city in the Ryazan region, which is not as widely known as Archangelsk, but it is also named in honour of Archangel Michael and it has never changed its name either. This city is Mikhailov. The first mention of it dates back to 1238.

It is worth to note that the coat of arms of Archangelsk shows Archangel Michael overthrowing the defeated devil, and the coat of arms of Mikhailov shows two Archangel wings.

"... over one sinner who repents." (Luke 15:10).

Selaphiel is "tefilah" – "prayer" to God (Ezra 5:16).

In the book of Genesis, "So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life." (Gen. 3:24).

The Cherubic Hymn is sung at the Liturgy during the Great Entrance.

In the celestial hierarchy there are usually nine orders – Cherubim, Seraphim, Thrones, Lordships, Powers, Authorities, Initiates, Archangels, and Angels.

By tradition and from the Holy Scriptures we know the names of the eight Archangels – Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, Uriel, Selaphiel, Jehudiel, Barachiel, and Jeremiel.

The care for the salvation of man lay upon the Angels after the sinful fall of the forebearers, therefore St Basil the Great says that this ministry of the Angels is "only temporary".

After the end of our world, the Angels, together with the righteous, will enter the eternal and blessed heavenly kingdom. Angels and humans here will be friends and co-heirs of the blissful life.

Angels are so rooted in goodness, so sanctified in mind and with their whole being, that, they can no longer sin, according to the teaching of the holy fathers. At first, according to the teaching of the Holy Fathers, they were created by God with the possibility of sinning, then, through the steady exercise of their will in goodness, they progressed to the state of being able not to sin, and finally, strengthened in obedience to God, by the power of divine grace, they were so perfected that they reached the state of being unable to sin.

Gabriel – "God is strong" (old hebrew) – appears on pages of the Old and New Testament. It is Gabriel who gives people the most important messages from God. In the book of Daniel, he appears to the prophet, interprets his visions and gives him guidance; in the New Testament, he brings Mary the message that she will become the mother of the Saviour.

In Scripture we see that the appearance of angels causes fear above all else.

"...the Angel of the Lord ascended in the flame of the altar! When Manoah and his wife saw this, they fell on their faces to the ground." (Judg.13:20).

"Yet I heard the sound of his words; and while I heard the sound of his words I was in a deep sleep on my face, with my face to the ground." (Dan.10:9).

"But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, ..." (Lk.1:29).

"And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid." (Lk.2:9).

"And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men." (Matt.28:4).

Angels even reassure people: "Do not be afraid" (Lk.1:13; Lk.1:30; Lk.2:10; Mt.28:5 and others).