Saints Michael and Gabriel (8 Nov)

Both Saints Michael and Gabriel are included in the seven great angels, who stand before the throne of God, the leaders of the heavenly powers. Each of the great angels has his particular service, but all are equal in honour. The seven great angels are:

Michael (Who is like God)
Gabriel (Man of God)
Raphael (Help of God)
Uriel (Fire of God)
Salathiel (Prayer of God)
Jegudiel (Praise of God)
Barachiel (Blessing of God)

St Michael the Archangel

The Archangel Michael’s particular service is to suppress the enemies of God’s truth.

“Michael” in Hebrew means, “Who is like God”. St Michael was depicted in the earliest Christian times as a leader, bearing a spear in his right hand with which he attacks Satan, and holding in his left hand a branch of green palm. He can also be depicted in military dress with his sword drawn or with a flaming sword. The Archangel Michael is considered especially to be the guardian of the Orthodox faith and a fighter against heresy.

The leader of the angelic armies is the Archangel Michael. When Lucifer fell away from God, and carried half the angels with him to destruction, St Michael arose and cried out to the unfallen angels: “Let us give heed! Let us stand aright: let us stand with fear!”, and the whole angelic army sang aloud: “Holy, holy, holy Lord of Sabaoth, heaven and earth are full of Thy glory!”

St Michael is mentioned both in the Old and New Testaments:

• In an account to the Prophet Daniel, he is referred to as one of the Chief Princes who fights the enemies
• he appeared to Joshua with his sword drawn in the conquest of the Promised Land, as the Commander of the Lord’s Army
• In Revelation, he and his army of angels fight the dragon and his angels
• In the Book of Jude, he is referred to as the archangel who contended with the devil regarding the body of Moses

St Gabriel the Archangel

The Archangel Gabriel’s particular service is the annunciation of the salvation of the human race.

“Gabriel” in Hebrew means “man of God”. St Gabriel is the herald of the mysteries of God, especially the mystery of the Incarnation of the Son of God. He is depicted bearing a lantern with a burning candle in his right hand, and in his left hand, a mirror of green jasper. The mirror signifies the wisdom of God as a hidden mystery. He can also be depicted holding a lily in his hand.

St Gabriel appeared to people on many different occasions:

• He taught the Prophet Moses in the wilderness in order to write the Book of Genesis
• He revealed the coming of the Savior to the Prophet Daniel
• He revealed to Sts Joachim and Anna the conception of the Virgin Mary
• He revealed to the High Priest Zacharias the birth of the Forerunner St John the Baptist, and he punished Zacharias with dumbness because he did not believe the angel’s words
• He announced to the Virgin Mary the conception and birth of the Lord Jesus Christ
  He appeared to St Joseph in his sleep
• He appeared to the shepherds near Bethlehem
• He appeared to the Lord Jesus Christ himself, in the Garden of Gethsemane before His Passion-when he strengthened the Lord, as man
• He also appeared to the myrrh-bearing women.

2 Worlds - Physical & Spiritual

Our world would be utterly poor in content and dull if it only consisted of what mankind can touch or feel. A world without a meaningful past and a superior purpose, would become a tragic contradiction.

It is the Christian faith that gives the contemporary man, a clear and sound doctrine regarding the spiritual world. It teaches that besides the physical there is a great angelic world. As a matter of fact, our physical world is only a drop in the ocean of god’s creation. The Bible explains in Genesis 1:1, that “ In the beginning God created Heaven and earth”.

The Bodiless Powers of Heaven

Angel in Greek means messenger, which denotes their relationship to mankind. They reveal to us the will of God and assist us in reaching salvation. God ordained angels for the governance of the elements of the heavens, the world and everything therein. Angels are the most perfect created spirits. The angels like human beings, possess intellect, a free will, but they are bodiless spirits. They surpass the human race by their spiritual powers. Being without flesh, they can pass through vast space with extreme speed, but they can not be every where at the same time, nor are they omnipotent (all powerful) and omniscient (all knowing - ie read minds and the future) - that is only for God. Angels are immortal and cannot die (Luke 20:36), but their immortality is not divine such as God.

It is difficult for mankind to comprehend the life and the world of angels, since they are so different to us. It is known that they serve God, carry out His will and glorify Him. St John the Damascene explains “As they are bodiless spirits, they are usually invisible to us, and when necessary, only by the will of God, will they appear to us in a transformed state, which is visible to us. Angels are called spiritual and incorporeal only in comparison to us - for in comparison to God, all proves to be gross and material - for only the Divine is truly immaterial and incorporeal”.

From the very beginning of the human race we have heard about angels. God placed cherubim with a flaming sword to guard the entrance of Paradise, once Adam and Eve were cast out. In other Biblical accounts we read:

• 2 angels saved Lot and his family from the city of Sodom, which was destined for destruction
• An angel was appointed to rescue the Jews from Egyptian bondage
• An angel saved the 3 children from fire when they were thrown into the fiery furnace
• An angel saved the Prophet Daniel, who was thrown to the lions
• a host of angels sang praises and glorified’s Christ’s birth
• angels told the Apostles of His second coming, whilst at His Ascension into heaven
• angels freed the apostles from prison, and saved the Apostle Peter who was condemned to death

The count of angels is much higher than the count of the human race. The Prophet Daniel describes “A thousand thousands ministered to Him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him” (Daniel 7:10). The angels are represented in the parable of the “Shepherd and the lost sheep”, as the number “ninety-nine” which the shepherd left, in order to find the one sheep which was lost, where the number “one” represents mankind.

As with mankind, angels were created with free will, and could choose to either obey or oppose their creator, to opt between good and evil. Some of the angels headed by Lucifer, who was one of the closest to God, rebelled against God. They were expelled from heaven, and established their own kingdom - hell, which oddly enough the demons fear it themselves (Luke 8:31). Lucifer (Bearer of Light) was renamed Satan (which means antagonist) and is known as the Devil (which means slanderer), the serpent or dragon. In Revelation chapter 12, the dragon drew one third of the stars in heaven, this may represent the number of fallen angels, now known as demons. Those dark angelic beings are without ceasing at work on mankind, attempting to deceive man’s belief in God and the Lord Jesus Christ, to corrupt and drag humanity to its lowest ebb.

In Revelation 12:4 we read the battle which took place in heaven, with the complete defeat and expulsion of evil. Now the site of the battle has been transferred into our world, which more precisely is in our minds and hearts. The good angels, and in particular our guardian angels actively help us in our battle against evil. Just as individuals have angels, so do whole nations (Daniel chapters 10, 11, 12).

It is natural to suppose that just as the material world has varying degrees of perfection, so too does the spiritual world. St Dionysius the Areopagite, a disciple of the Apostle Paul (the same apostle who was caught up to the third heaven), writes of the nine hierarchical ranks of angels in his book: “Celestial Hierarchies”. There may be more ranks of angels, but only nine are mentioned in the holy Bible. These orders are as follows:

The Highest Rank (God reveals His Divine Will to those closest to Him)

1. Seraphim - They stand closest to God, are 6 winged and in icons they are depicted with faces and surrounded by red/orange wings. Their name stands for “ablaze of fire”, because they blaze with love for God.
2. Cherubim - Their name means “pouring out of wisdom”. They are responsible for the wisdom and enlightenment of divine knowledge to creation.They are depicted in icons as faces surrounded by 4 or 6 blue/green wings with eyes all over - like peacock feathers.
3. Thrones - They are found at the foot of God’s throne. They serve the uprightness of God’s judgement. They are the spinning wheels Ezekiel (1:15-21) sees. They are depicted as 2 interlocking rings, with 4 wings each, covered with eyes.

The Middle Rank (those set in command over the elements, ie.. heaven, the world and all that is therein)

4. Dominions - They instruct, protect and guide earthly authorities which fear God. They may influence by miracles and dampen sinful impulses.
5. Powers - They send down the grace of wonder-working and spiritual discernment to the saints. They assist the saints and others to be patient, obedient and to serve the will of God. In icons they are depicted as crystal spheres, with the letters “X” or “XC”, usually held by other angels which have been revealed in human form.
6. Authorities - They are known as the Virtues, who strengthen ascetics and keep people from giving into temptation.

The Lowest Rank (those which mankind encounters)

7. Principalities - They instruct the lower angels in the fulfillment of God’s will. They guide and protect lands and peoples.
8. Archangels - Announce or bring messages about God and His works for salvation. Because of this role, some are specifically named in Scripture and Tradition.They are represented as beautiful, shining winged humans.
9. Angels - They are often referred to as Guardian Angels. They are closest to mankind, and endeavour to help us lead pious Christ-centred lives. They help to prevent man from falling spiritually and physically. They are revealed to us in shining human form, with or without wings.

Guardian Angels

An angel of peace, a faithful guide and guardian of our souls and bodies, let us ask of the Lord”, we pray during our services.

Every child is appointed a Guardian Angel at birth to act as a guide and protector. The Lord Himself, bears witness to this, when speaking of little children, He cautions His disciples: “See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I tell you that their angels in heaven always behold the face of my father Who is in heaven” (Matthew 18:10). And also in Psalm 91:11 and 34:7, “He commands His angels regarding you to guard you in all your paths..........The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him, and delivers them.”.

As creatures who come before the face of God, angels are powerful intercessors. Bishop Theophan the Recluse instructs us “We must remember that we have a guardian angel and turn to him in our thoughts and heart. When such contact with our angel is missing, he has no means of influencing us”. Through out our life span, our guardian angels rejoice in our spiritual achievements and grieve over our downfalls.

We must keep in mind that, whatever we do openly or in secret, we do in the presence of our guardian angel and that, on the Day of Judgement, a great multitude of the holy angels of heaven will be gathered around the throne of Christ, where the thoughts, words and deeds of every man will be laid bare before them. When a person dies, the soul recognises his guardian angel, and it is the guardian angel that takes his soul to God.