Five For...Monday's Angel- Week 3

The Holy Archangel Gabriel is one of the seven great angels who stand before the throne of God.

• He is believed to preside over the 1st heaven (which is closest to humanity) and is the bearer of God's secret messages to His chosen ones. 
• Gabriel is the patron saint of midwives, nurses, doctors, and all those who provide care throughout pregnancy and childbirth, messengers and all forms of communication and media.

Name
The name Gabriel comes from the Hebrew meaning "Man of God." It has also been translated as "God is mighty" or "the strength of God."

The Messenger of God

Gabriel is known as the Messenger of God.
His most important role has been revealing to humanity the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ by:

• Announcing the birth of the Theotokos (Mother of God) to her parents Joachim and Anna.
• Visiting Joseph in a dream, telling him that Mary's pregnancy was indeed miraculous and that he should protect and care for her.
• Appearing to the shepherds near Bethlehem, telling them of the Nativity.

Some also believe that he will also announce the Second Coming of the Lord by blowing a trumpet.


Old Testament

Gabriel explained to Daniel his vision of a ram and a billy-goat foretelling Alexander the Great's conquest of Persia and a prophecy foretelling the freeing of the Israelites. It has also been suggested that Gabriel is the angel who wrestles with Jacob in the form of a man and that he was involved in the destruction of Sodom and Gommorah. Enoch says that Gabriel was sent to destroy the giant children of the fallen 'watchers' and did so by turning them against each other In 'Paradise Lost'.


New Testament

Gabriel was present during the Passion and Resurrection of the Lord.
According to Church Tradition, when the Lord prayed to the point of sweating blood in the Garden of Gethsemane, the Archangel Gabriel was sent to Him from the Heavens.

An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. (Luke 22:43).

Most importantly, it was Gabriel who announced Christ's Resurrection to the Myrrh-bearing Women outside the tomb.

Other Faiths

In Judaism, according to the Talmud (Sanhedrin 95b) it was Gabriel who destroyed the armies of Sennacherib "with a sharpened scythe which had been ready since Creation."
It is also written that Gabriel prevented Queen Vashti from appearing naked before King Ahasuerus and his guests in order to bring about the election of Esther in her place.
It was Gabriel who dealt death and destruction to the sinful cities of Sodom and Gommorah.

In Islam, it is believed that Gabriel dictated the Koran to Mohammed and presented the Black Stone of the Kaba to Abraham in Mecca. To this day thousands of people travel to Mecca to kiss this stone.


Feast Day
In the Orthodox Church Gabriel's feast day is celebrated on March 26 and July 13. It is believed that the Synaxis of the Archangel Gabriel was transferred from March 26 to July 13 so that it could be celebrated more festively than in the period of the Great Fast.

In the Roman Catholic Church Gabriel shares his Feast day with Michael and Raphael on September 29.

Legends

There is a tradition that Gabriel is the Angel of Birth.

• It is said that he carefully spends the nine months of the pregnancy watching over each unborn child and instructing that child on the necessary knowledge of Heaven that is an inherent part of all people.
• Just before birth, though, Gabriel touches each baby on the upper lip to make the child unable to remember all of the information about Heaven until the child returns to the spiritual state at death.
• The sign of Gabriel’s Touch is the cleft just below the nose.

Joan of Arc credits Gabriel with the inspiration to challenge the King of France in her court testimony.


Icon

Gabriel is usually portrayed with certain distinguishing characteristics. He typically wears blue or white garments; he holds either a lily (representing the Theotokos), a trumpet, a shining lantern, a branch from Paradise presented to him by the Theotokos, or a spear in his right hand and often a mirror—made of jasper and with a Χ (the first letter of Christ (Χριστος) in Greek)—in his left hand.

Five For...Monday's Angel- Week 2

The Holy Archangel Michael is one of the most celebrated of the Angels and bodiless powers. The Greek Fathers and many others place him over all the angels - as Prince of the Seraphim. He serves as the Defender of the Faith. Michael is most often invoked for protection from invasion by enemies and from civil war, and for the defeat of adversaries on the field of battle.  Many Jews believe that he appeared to Moses as the fire in the burning bush and led Daniel from the lions' den.

In the Roman Catholic Church, Saint Michael has four main roles or offices.

• He is the Christian angel of death, carrying the souls of all the deceased to heaven, where they are weighed in his perfectly balanced scales (hence Michael is often depicted holding scales).
• At the hour of death, Michael descends and gives each soul the chance to redeem itself before passing, thus consternating the devil and his minions. 
• St Michael is the special patron of the Chosen People in the Old Testament and is guardian of the Church. It was not unusual for the angel to be revered by the military orders of knights during the Middle Ages.
• Last, he is the supreme enemy of Satan and the fallen angels.

Name
In Orthodox Christianity he is called the Archistrategos, or "Supreme Commander of the Heavenly Hosts." Roman Catholic Christians often refer to him as "Saint Michael", an honorific title that does not indicate canonisation. He is generally referred to in Christian litanies as "Saint Michael the Archangel." He is called "the prince of Israel" in the Book of Enoch.


The name Michael means "like unto God" and in the Talmudic tradition his name is translated as "Who is like El (God)?" As a question, it is understood as being rhetorical, implying the answer, "No one is like God."


Icon
Michael is usually shown holding a sword in one hand. In the other, he often carries either a shield, a date-tree branch, a spear, or a white banner. Some icons of the Archangel Michael show the angel holding an orb in one hand and a staff in the other.

Michael is also represented in icons as standing on a horizontal body and with his left arm held high, holding a small image of a "baby". The body represents a human being at the time of his death and the image of the "baby" represents the soul of the dead person. This icon came about because the Archangel Michael, along with the Guardian Angel is believed to escort the souls of the dead.

In Russian iconography he is most likely to be wearing red and can be shown trampling the devil under his feet. The devil is sometimes depicted as a dragon. This comes from the tradition that Michael was the main opponent of Satan in the battle for Heaven. Satan, previously called Samael, was always looking to discredit Israel, while Michael was its main protector. In the end, Satan attempted to drag Michael down in his fall from the heights, but Michael was rescued by God.

Feast
In the Eastern Orthodox Church his feast is celebrated on November 8. This is known as the Synaxis of Michael and all the Bodiless Powers of Heaven.


September 6 also celebrates the miracle of the Archangel at Colossae. Tradition tells that the pagans directed the stream of a river against the sanctuary of St. Michael there to destroy it, but Michael appeared and split the rock by lightning to give a new bed to the stream, diverting the flow away from the church and sanctifying forever the waters which came from the gorge.


In the Roman Catholic calendar of saints and the Lutheran Calendar of Saints, his feast day, once widely known as Michaelmas, is celebrated on September 29 and was one of the four quarter days on which accounts were settled and, in when terms began in universities.

Around the World

In Constantinople, Saint Michael was seen as the great heavenly physician. His principal sanctuary, the "Michaelion", was at Sosthenion, about fifty miles south of Constantinople. It is believed that he visited Emperor Constantine and intervened in various battles.


He is said to have appeared, sword in hand, over the mausoleum of Hadrian, answering the prayers of Pope St. Gregory I the Great that a plague in Rome should end. In honour of this, the Pope named the mausoleum the "Castel Sant'Angelo" (Castle of the Holy Angel), by which it is still known. The sick slept in this church at night to wait for a manifestation of St Michael. His feast was kept there on June 9.


The Catholics of Egypt placed their life-giving river, the Nile, under the protection of Saint Michael. They adopted the Greek feast and celebrate it on November 12. On the twelfth of every month they celebrate a special Commemoration of the Archangel Michael. In addition, on June 12, when the Nile River begins to rise, they keep the feast of "St Michael for the rising of the Nile."


In Normandy, France, Saint Michael is the patron of mariners. He is said to have appeared to St. Aubert, Bishop of Avranches in his famous sanctuary at Mont-Saint-Michel in the Diocese of Coutances in 708. His feast was universally celebrated in Normandy on October 18, the anniversary of the dedication of the first church, but is now confined to the Diocese of Coutances.


In Germany, Saint Michael replaced for the Christians the pagan god Wotan, to whom many mountains were sacred, hence the numerous mountain chapels of St. Michael all over Germany. He is also known as the patron saint of the German Nation. His picture bedecked the war standard of the old German Empire (the Holy Roman Empire).


I hope you have enjoyed learning about Archangel Michael today. Join us next week when we meet Gabriel.

Five For...Monday's Angel- Week 1

Welcome to Monday's Angel, an eight week series exploring angels in Christianity.

This week, we find out exactly what the Church believes about angels...

The Orthodox Christian Church dedicates every Monday to the holy angels. Church services include the prayer: "Holy Archangels and Angels, pray to God for us." But what do we actually know about angels?

• The word 'angel' comes from the Greek word- aggelos- and means 'herald' or 'messenger'.
• The Bible refers to angels hundreds of times and tells us that there are thousands of angels. 

But you have come to Mount Zion, and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering. ~ Hebrews 12:22

...and came forth from before Him. A thousand thousands ministered to Him. Ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him. ~ Daniel 7:10

• Angels are bodiless, but can take on the appearance of man if necessary.
• Every Orthodox Christian receives a guardian angel at baptism with the prayer: Yoke unto his (her) life a shining Angel to deliver him (her) from every plot directed against him (her) by the Adversary, from encounter with evil, from the noon-day demon, and from evil dreams.

 ~ The World of Angels ~

The Heavenly Hierarchy is made up of 9 Ranks of angels. There are 3 hierarchies:

Highest

• Seraphim:  The closest to God, the Seraphim are described as six-winged and fire-like. They blaze with love for God and kindle others to the same.
• Cherubim: Their name means 'enlightenment'. Through the cherubim, wisdom is sent down to give knowledge of God and spiritual understanding.
• Thrones: The Thrones are living symbols of God's justice and authority.
 

Intermediate

•  Dominions: The Dominions dominate over the rest of the angels who follow behind them. They instruct earthly authorities to rule wisely, teach us to resist temptations and sinful desires and master our will.
• Powers: They are filled with divine strength and easily fulfil the will of God. They work miracles and give miracle-working abilities to saints who God has deemed worthy. They help with patience and spiritual strength and fortitude.
• Authorities: They protect people from demonic temptations and have authority over the devil. They also help people struggling with evil thoughts and guard over ascetics.

Lower

• Principalities: They have command over the lower angels and instruct them in fulfilling God's commands. They watch over the world and nations and teach those in authority to use their position as God wants, rather than for any personal gains.
  
• Archangels: They are messengers of great and miraculous news. They reveal prophecies, knowledge and understanding of God's will as is passed down to them from the higher angels. They deepen faith in God by enlightening with the knowledge of the Holy Gospel.
  
• Angels: They are closest to man and reveal the lesser mysteries of God and His intentions. They guide people to a holy life. They are always prepared to help if we want it. They are appointed to guard each believer.

I hope you have enjoyed this overview of angels in Orthodox Christianity.  Next week we will meet our first angel- Michael.