What are the 9 Choirs of Angels?

What are the 9 Choirs of Angels?

 

The First Sphere: (Liberated)

Seraphim- The First and Highest Order.

The name Seraphim means "the burning ones." Seraph (singular) are said to take care of God's Throne.  "Above it stood Seraphim:  Each one had six wings: With two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew."  Isaiah 6:2
and one cried to another and said:  "Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of Hosts: The whole Earth is full of His Glory!"  Isaiah 6:3

Seraphiel holds the highest rank of the Seraphim.  Seraphiel is found in the book of Enoch as the protector of Metatron.  He is also referred to as the Angel of Silence.  In Enoch, Seraphiel is described as an enormous, brilliant angel as tall as the seven heavens with a face like the face of angels and a body like the body of eagles. He is beautiful like lightning and the light of the morning star. As chief of the seraphim, he is committed to their care and teaches them songs to sing for the glorification of God.

Cherabim- The Second Order.

Cherubim have four faces: one of each a man, an ox, a lion, and an eagle. They have four conjoined wings covered with eyes, a lion's body figure, and they have ox's feet. Cherubim guard the way to the tree of life in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:24) and the throne of God (Ezekiel 28:14-16).

"Make one cherub at one end, and the other cherub at the other end: you shall make the cherabim at the two ends of it of one piece with the mercy seat."  Exodus 25:19
"And the sound of the wings of the cherubim was heard even in the outer court, like the voice of the Almighty God when He speaks." Ezekial 10:5



Thrones- The Third Order

Thrones or Elders, known also as Erelim or Ophanim.  They are a class of celestial being mentioned by St. Paul in in Colossians 1:16.  "For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether [they be] thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him"  They are living symbols of God's justice and authority, and have as one of their symbols the throne. These high celestial beings appear to be mentioned again in Revelation 11:16.  The Ophanim : Wheels, also known as Thrones, from the vision of Daniel 7:9) are unusual looking even compared to the other celestial beings; They appear as a beryl-coloured wheel-within-a-wheel, their rims covered with hundreds of eyes.

They are closely connected with the Cherubim:  "When they moved, the others moved; when they stopped, the others stopped; and when they rose from the earth, the wheels rose along with them; for the spirit of the living creatures [Cherubim] was in the wheels." Ezekiel 10:17.

The Second Sphere:  (Active)

Dominions- The Fourth Order.

Dominions, some sources refer to them as the Hashmallim. Their primary function that God delegates to them is the task of regulating the duties of lower angels. As their name implies these angels present order to the lower ranks and will on occasion make themselves known to man. They preside over nations. The Dominions are believed to look like divinely beautiful humans with a pair of feathered wings, much like the common representation of Angels, but they may be distinguished from other groups by wielding orbs of light fastened to the heads of their scepters or on the pommel of their swords. They are purified, illuminated and perfected by the divine Illuminations bestowed on them in a secondary manner through the first order of angels. 

"For by Him all things were created that are in Heaven and that are on Earth.  Visable and invisable, whether Thrones or Dominions."  Colossions 1:16

Virtues- The Fifth Order.

Virtues are responsible for the maintenance of the physical universe. Their primary duty is to supervise the movements of the heavenly bodies in order to ensure that the cosmos remains in order. They possess great strength and appear to be “workhorses” of the angels.

"The Virtues or Strongholds lie beyond the Ophanim (Thrones/Wheels).  Their primary duty is to supervise the movements of the Heavily bodies in order for Cosmos remain in order." 




Powers or Authorities- The Sixth Order.

Some sources list Powers as the bearers of conscience and the keepers of history. They sometimes serve as warrior angels, fiercely loyal to God. Some believe that no Power has ever fallen from grace, but another theory states that Satan was the Chief of the Powers before his fall. They work diligently to oversee the distribution of power among humankind, hence their name.

 

 

 

The Third Sphere: (Active)

 Principalities or Rulers-  The Seventh Order.

We usually see these entities wearing a crown and carrying a scepter. Their duty also is to carry out the orders given to them by the Dominions and grant blessings to the material world. They oversee groups of people. As beings related to the world of the ideas, they inspire living things to many branches of knowledge such art and/or science.  It is also said their job is to prevent the 'fallen angels' from taking over the world and keeping the Universe in balance

"For We do not wrestle against flesh and blood.  But against Principalities, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places."  Ephesians 6:12




Archangels- The Eighth Order.

Please see post on Archangels.

(Satan was throne out of heaven) "and war broke out in Heaven: Michael and His Angels fought with the dragon: and the dragon and his angels fought".  Revelation 12:7

"I lifted my eyes and looked, and behold.  A certain man (Gabriel) clothed in linen, whose waist was girded with Gold of Uphaz!  His body was like Beryl, his face like the appearance of lightening, his face like the appearance of lightening, his eyes like torches of fire, his arms and feet like burnished bronze in color, and the sound of his words like the voice of a multitude." Daniel 10:5-6



Angels- The Ninth Order

Messengers that commune with various life forms within the physical worlds. This Order includes guardian angels of mankind, and as such, are the most accessible angels to humans. They are more properly named angels by humans than those of higher rank because their Order is more directly in contact with humans.

We see them as spirit beings that exist to fulfill the tasks given to them by God. As their name suggests, they are chiefly messengers of God and/or higher Orders of angels. In Muslim tradition, two angels are assigned to each person at birth. One angel records the person’s good deeds while the second records bad deeds.

In Psalms, we learn the concept of “guardian angels”:

“For He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.” Psalms 91: 11, 12.

Seven Archangels

The Seven Archangels are:

St. Michael the Archangel, St. Gabriel the Archangel, St. Raphael the Archangel

Then depending on what source you read the other 4 vary in name. 

The Eastern Orthodoxy tradition venerates Gabriel, Michael, Raphael, Uriel, Selaphiel, Jegudiel, and Barachiel.

Another variation lists them corresponding to the days of the week as: St Michael (Sunday), St Gabriel (Monday), St Raphael (Tuesday), St Uriel (Wednesday), St Sealtiel (Thursday), St Jegudiel, (Friday), and St Barachiel (Saturday).

According to Rudolf Steiner, four important archangels also display periodic spiritual activity over the seasons: Spring is Raphael, Summer is Uriel, Autumn is Michael, and Winter is Gabriel.

In the Coptic Orthodox tradition the seven archangels are named as Gabriel, Michael, Raphael, Suriel, Zadakiel, Sarathiel and Aniel.

The Roman Catholic Church only explicitly names 3 archangels: Gabriel, Michael and Raphael. Gabriel and Michael are the only two named in the new testament of the Bible. However, the same passages that name Raphael in the book of Tobit also states that he is "one of the seven who stand before God." The other names can be derived from traditional Jewish teaching.

I will try to go into a little more depth about three of the primary Archangels.

Saint Michael the Archangel

Saint Michaels name means: "Who is like unto God?"  He is the Patron Saint of the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist.  Holy Scripture describes St. Michael as "one of the chief princes," and leader of the forces of Heaven in their triumph over the powers of hell. He has been especially honored and invoked as patron and protector by the Church from the time of the Apostles.

Although he is always called "the Archangel," the Greek Fathers and many others place him over all the angels - as Prince of the Seraphim.

Saint Gabriel the Archangel

Saint Gabriels name means: "God Conquers/ the might of God".  He is the Patron Saint of the Sacrament of Baptism.  Saint Gabriel is the Archangel of the Annunciation and the Incarnation's triumph over sin & death. When Mary "Taking that sweet Ave which from Gabriel came, Peace confirm within us, Changing Eva's name." (Ave Maris Stella, 2nd paragraph).  His lilies represent the new purity of the soul through the sacraments of Baptism and Confession, both sacraments made possible by the Redemption. His banner is a declaration of Our Lady's universal motherhood.

Saint Raphael the Archangel

Saint Raphaels name means: "God has healed".  He is the Patron Saint of the Sacrament of Pennance.  He is also the patron of travelers and bearers of good news.  In most pictures you will notice Raphael carries a jug.  This jug contains oil for annointing. You might also notice a fish.  The fish traditionally symbolizes the soul and the oil the healing of it's ailments through confession. The fish is also a reminder of the story of his protection of young Tobias and healing his father Tobit. (see the book of Tobit in the Old Testament for his story; only a Catholic bible will contain this

book.)

What is an Angel?  Where did Archangels come from and Why???  Do you know who the 7 Archangels are and how they became Archangels?

First lets start with what is an angel? 

Angels are pure spirits, sinless servants of God.  The English word "angel" comes from the Greek angelos, which means 'messenger'. In the Old Testament, with two exceptions, the Hebrew word for "angel" is malak, also meaning 'messenger'. The prophet Malachi took his name from this word. He was himself a messenger, and he prophesied about the coming of "the messenger of the covenant", Jesus Christ (Malachi 3:1).
Although the word "angel" in the Bible, meaning a messenger, nearly always applies to heavenly beings, it can occasionally apply to human messengers. Malachi himself said a priest was a messenger (malak) of the Lord of Hosts (Malachi 2:7), and in the Book of Revelation the elders of the seven churches of Asia were called angels (1:20; 2:1 etc.). But when we meet messengers doing supernatural things, there is no doubt they are heavenly beings - God's messengers, working for Him and for the ultimate benefit of mankind.            

Now that you have a better understanding of what an "angel" is but what is an "Archangel" you may ask?  From what research I have done, it quite simply means "Head Angel". 

How did God distinguish who would be an Archangel and why would they be protectors of Gods throne in Heaven?  As in everyday life, we are faced with challenges and trials.  What we do during these times distinguish what will happen in the future.  Seven beautiful Angels decided to stand-up and fight for our One and Supreme God.  They were from the second lowest choir who were outraged with the terrible offenses that were being commited.  They positioned themselves between the Throne of God and the infernal offenders, prepared to defend the honor and dignity of God during the great rebellion.  The great rebellion in my eyes is when Luciel (Bearer of Light) rebelled against God and became Lucifer (Prince of Darkness) one entire choir of angels followed him and was lost.  Many angels from other choirs also followed him in his rebellion (which I and many refer to as demons).  "And there was a great battle in heaven, Michael and his angels fought with the dragon, and the dragon fought, and his angels: And they prevailed not, neither was their place found any more in heaven.  And that great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, who is called the devil and satan, who seduceth the whole world; and he was cast unto the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him." Apoc 12: 7-9.

Due to this God was moved by their heroic love and allegience to the Throne of God, in spite of their inferiority to Lucifer and his legions, he elevated them.  He enriched them with many new gifts and graces.  Now they are positioned between the Throne of God and the infernal offenders, prepared to defend the honor and dignity of God and to carry out His Divine Will.  "And from the throne proceeded lightnings and voices and thunders; and there were seven lamps burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits of God." Apoc 4:5. "Bless the Lord all ye His angels: you that are mighty in strength and execute His word, hearkening to the voice of His orders." Ps 102:20

Each Archangel has specific qualities that distinguish their characteristics and their specific angelic responsibilites. Can you name the seven Archangels and their gifts/graces?