The ranks of the heavenly powers and saints in Orthodoxy. The highest angelic ranks - Thrones, Seraphim and Cherubim (8 photos)

The Greek word "angel", like the Hebrew "malak" and the Muslim "malayka", means the same thing - "messenger". Heavenly spirits, messengers of the gods, these unique threads of life connecting people with their creators, are known to many peoples. The Vikings called them Valkyries, the Greeks called them Ori. In Persia there were Fravashi, and sometimes they were confused with Peri and Guria, asexual, effeminate creatures. The Romans knew them as geniuses, and the Indians called the higher celestial spirits asuras, and the lower ones - apsaras. Angels are present in Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, and Taoism. They are known to the Assyrian and Mesopotamian sages. Belief in angels permeates Manichaean tales. Shamanic practice also involves familiarity with winged messenger creatures.

Angels are a common name for very different creatures, divided into three triads or nine angelic orders. The first and highest among them are the thrones, seraphim and cherubim. The thrones are so named because they are closest to the throne of the Lord, they higher powers dedication and self-sacrifice. Modern researcher Sophie Burnham writes about them in her “Book of Angels”: “At the Throne of God, angels are devoid of appearance, present there as pure primary energy, huge, swift fireballs, like supernovas, swirling, spinning, rushing through black space.

Having created man in his own image and likeness, God also taught us a system of subordination, which is similar to how the Kingdom of God is structured. Archangel Michael - Commander-in-Chief of the heavenly army. Accordingly, there are also ranks of Angels. Without clear subordination, it is difficult to establish order in any structure, which is why the nine angelic ranks were created by the Lord precisely for high efficiency in managing the Kingdom of Heaven.

It is important to understand that God, endowed with possibilities without boundaries, is sometimes forced to distract himself from one issue in order to take up another. After all existing world so fragile as to withstand the direct intervention of the Creator. God needs help. And the nine angelic ranks exist directly for this purpose. The Cherubim and Seraphim, who collaborate with the Thrones, are subordinate to the Almighty; they control the Dominions and Powers, to which are subordinate the Powers that control the Principalities and Archangels, who have the Angels subordinate to them. The nine ranks are divided into three triads. Thus, the first triad is those who are in close proximity to God; the second highlights the divine basis of the universe and dominion over the world; the third is those who are close to people, to humanity.

They are called wheels or thrones, and cannot be depicted even symbolically, but the mystics who have contemplated them and heard their deafening silence know what they have seen and are therefore overwhelmed by this power.” However, sometimes thrones were depicted as fiery wheels with wings. Their whole body seemed to consist of many eyes, capable of taking in everything with their gaze. Perhaps they are the only ones among the angels who do not even remotely resemble humans.

The fiery spirits of the seraphim in their six-winged body embody the great cosmic principle of universal love: their very name, translated from Chaldean, means Love. Their appearance is described in some detail in the biblical Book of the prophet Isaiah: “Seraphim stood around Him; each of them has six wings; With two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.

And they called to each other and said: Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts! The whole earth is full of His glory!”

It is only because of a deep-rooted misunderstanding that cherubs are sometimes considered lower angels and depicted as children with wings. Cherubim, belonging to the highest triad of heavenly creatures, symbolize Wisdom and infinite Powers; they are the guardians of heaven.

The Book of Genesis testifies to this, where it is described how the Lord expelled the sinner Adam from paradise: “And he expelled Adam, and placed in the east of the Garden of Eden a cherubim and a flaming sword that turned to guard the way to the tree of life.” And the cherubs seen by the prophet Ezekiel are not at all like the rosy-cheeked babies: “Cherubs and palm trees were made: a palm tree between two cherubs, and each cherub had two faces.

On one side a human face is facing the palm tree, and on the other side a lion’s face is facing the palm tree.” Such formidable angels guarded the ark with the tablets of the covenant - the Divine rules of human life.

On the shoulders of these mighty spirits rested the very throne of the Lord, which they easily carried from one place to another: “And the (God) of the cherubim sat down and flew, and was carried on the wings of the wind.”

Cherubim, more than thrones and seraphim, resemble people: “And the cherubim were seen to have the likeness of human hands under their wings.”

Eduard Shure writes about the appointment of the highest heavenly spirits in the book “Divine Evolution”: “The highest triad (Thrones, Cherubim and Seraphim) are a triad of radiant and inspiring Forces that act in the ensemble of the Cosmos; they form part of the Divine sphere as such, since they, in essences are above Space and Time, like God himself, they manifest God in Time and Space.”

Below is the second trinity of angels - power, strength and dominion. Byzantine theologian of the 5th century. Dionysius the Areopagite considered the dominions to be the first among them, the fourth in the heavenly hierarchy of spiritual powers. If the forces of the first hierarchy spread divine light, wisdom and inspiration, then the second ones ordered and balanced. The highest angels ruled the Universe, the middle ones ruled the planets, including our Earth. If seraphim, cherubim and thrones sowed ideas of love, wisdom and will in interstellar spaces, then dominions, powers and authorities harmonized the forms of all things and their movement. They took a shortcut from general idea to its specific implementation. About them, who submitted to the authority of Christ, it is said in the New Testament “First Epistle of the Apostle Peter”: “...Christ, in order to lead us to God, once suffered for our sins, the righteous for the unjust, was put to death in the flesh, but was made alive in the spirit, who, having ascended to heaven, abides next to God, and to whom the angels and authorities and powers have submitted.” But even among these angels there appeared opponents of God, about whom the Epistle to the Ephesians speaks: “Put on the whole armor of God, so that you can stand against the wiles of the devil; because our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in high places.”

Closest to people are the principles, the archangels and the angels themselves, who are in charge of the idea of individuality, divine fire and the very life of people. And further he writes: “The Beginnings, or the Spirits of the Beginning, have already conceived the Archangels... After all, the Beginnings are the most powerful magicians among the Elohim. They can give life and individuality to their Thought Forms by sheer force of will... Thanks to the breath of the Origins, the Archangels rise and become life.” This is how the archangels appeared, many of whom we know by name: this is the heavenly military leader Michael; Gabriel, who appeared to the Virgin Mary with the good news that she would have a son, Jesus; healing angel Raphael, as well as Uriel, Yehudiel, Jeremiel, Salafiel, Barachiel and many, many others.

Jan van Ruysbroeck in his book “Seven Steps on the Ladder” said: “The highest ranks of angels (cherubim, seraphim and thrones) do not participate in our struggle against vices and remain with us only when, above all discord, we unite with God in peace, contemplation and eternal love" Indeed, how can they, who control galaxies and star systems, discern the troubles of each of us, one in a mass of millions? Only angels who popular belief, reside behind every person’s right shoulder, always aware of our joys and sorrows. They know everything about us and in difficult times they rush to help. Why are they doing this? The answer is contained in the ninetieth Psalm of David, where it is sung: “For He will give His angels charge over you, to guard you in all your ways; they will carry you up in their hands, lest you dash your foot against a stone.” The great Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore wrote about the same thing: “I believe we are free within certain limits, but an invisible hand or an angel guide, like a hidden propeller, moves us.”

They take care of us during life, and in times of sorrow an angel descends to us to become our guide to the World of Death. And in the hour of inspiration, a winged muse flies to poets. And perhaps Ralph Waldo Emerson said it best: “Amid turbulent crises, amid intolerable trials, amid aspirations that exclude sympathy, there comes an angel.”

Having created people in His image and likeness, the Lord introduced into their lives many elements inherent in the Heavenly Kingdom. One of them is the hierarchy inherent in both human society and the world of angels ─ disembodied forces surrounding the Throne of God. The position of each of them depends on the significance of the mission he performs. Our article will discuss how many angelic ranks there are in the Christian religion, and what are the characteristics of each of them.

Messenger of God

Before starting a conversation about the angelic ranks and tracing the differences between them, we should dwell on who the angels are and what their role is in the existing world order. This word itself, which came to us from the Greek language, is translated as “messenger” or “messenger”.

In all Abrahamic religions, that is, those that recognize the union concluded by Patriarch Abraham with God, and this is Christianity, Islam and Judaism, the angel is presented as an incorporeal being, but at the same time possessing reason, will and consciously choosing the path of serving God. IN fine arts A tradition has developed of giving angels the appearance of anthropoform (human-looking) creatures endowed with wings.

Angels and demons

According to the Holy Scriptures, angels were created by God even before He created visible world, and carried only a good beginning. But later, some of them, filled with pride, fell away from their Creator and were cast out of Heaven for this. Those who, remembering their true purpose, remained faithful to the Lord (they are usually called “bright angels” in contrast to demons ─ “angels of darkness”), became His faithful servants. In each of these opposing groups there is a certain hierarchy of angelic ranks.

Teachings of an unknown theologian

The correspondence of ethereal forces to one or another level of the hierarchical ladder leading to the Throne of God has been the subject of study by many outstanding theologians of past centuries. In Christianity, it is customary to distribute the ranks of angels in accordance with the classification, the author of which was an unknown theologian who lived at the turn of the 5th and 6th centuries and went down in history under the name of Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite. So unusual name he received due to the fact that for a long time his works were erroneously attributed to the Greek philosopher and thinker of the 1st century, Dionysius the Areopagite, who, according to legend, was a disciple of the Apostle Paul.

From the system proposed by Pseudo-Dionysius, which the author based on the texts of the Holy Scriptures, it follows that the entire world of light spirits is divided into three groups, or triads, each of which, in turn, consists of three specific types of disembodied servants of God. The angelic ranks are distributed by the author in a strict hierarchy, illustrating the meaning of each of them.

His work, on which many outstanding theologians of subsequent centuries relied, was called the “Treatise on the Heavenly Hierarchy,” and the system proposed in it became known as the “Nine Orders of Angels.” On the basis of the system proposed in it, today the entire hierarchy of angelic ranks is built in Orthodoxy, as well as in most Western directions of Christianity. For almost one and a half millennia it remains dominant.

Higher ranks of ethereal forces

According to this teaching, the highest level of the nine ranks of angels is occupied by spirits called seraphim, cherubim and thrones. The seraphim are considered to be the closest of them to God. The Old Testament prophet Isaiah likens them to fiery figures, which explains the origin of this word, translated from Hebrew as “fiery.”

The seraphim, who constitute the highest rank of angels, are followed by the cherubim. They are the main intercessors of the human race before God and prayer books for the salvation of the souls of the departed. That is why they have a name translated from Hebrew as “intercessor.” Sacred tradition tells of them as the guardians of the Heavenly Book of Knowledge, possessing such extensive information about everything in the world that the human mind cannot contain it. Their most important property is the ability to help people on the path of gaining knowledge and vision of God.

Heavenly support of earthly rulers

And finally, another angelic rank included in the highest triad - thrones. The name of the group of these disembodied spirits comes from the fact that it was they who were given the grace of God to support earthly rulers and help them carry out just judgment over their people. In addition, the peculiarity of thrones is that the Creator was pleased to embed in them the knowledge of the paths along which human society is destined to move and develop.

It is generally accepted that thrones never interfere in human conflicts, but at the same time they are close to us, helping us gain spiritual insight and be filled with love for God. All representatives of the first highest triad are capable of entering into direct communication with a person.

Bearers of wisdom and creators of good endeavors

The middle triad is opened by the angelic rank ─ dominion. This, according to the classification of Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, is the fourth rank of angels. They embody the freedom that underlies the life of the entire visible world and is proof of their boundless and sincere love for the Creator. Dominions, like thrones, are in constant interaction with earthly rulers, giving them wisdom and directing their thoughts only to good endeavors.

In addition, these servants of God help people overcome the impulses of passion that overwhelm them and fight the temptations of the flesh, not allowing it to dominate the spirit. Dominions got their name due to the fact that they are entrusted with the control of all other angels, whose position on the hierarchical ladder is lower.

Executors of the Creator's will

The next stage of the middle triad is occupied by forces. From the treatise of Pseudo-Dionysius it is known that this category consists of angels, gifted with an indestructible divine fortress and capable of fulfilling the will of their Creator in the blink of an eye. They are the conductors of God’s grace, given to people through their prayers and petitions.

All the miracles that the Lord shows to his children occur with their direct participation. Being conductors of divine energy, the powers bring pious Christians deliverance from ailments and the fulfillment of their deepest desires. They also help the chosen sons of God to see the future. Important feature strength is the ability to strengthen a person’s spirit, give him courage and ease grief. Thanks to the angels standing on this ─ fifth hierarchical level, people cope with their life problems and overcome adversity.

Fighters against dark forces

They complete the middle triad of power. They are entrusted with an extremely important mission - to keep the keys to the dungeon in which the devil is imprisoned, and to put obstacles in the way of his countless army. They protect the human race from demonic obsessions and help fight temptations sent by the enemy of the human race.

Without stopping the fight against fallen angels, who are the embodiment of evil, the authorities at the same time protect pious people, confirming them in virtue and filling their hearts with love for God. They are entrusted with the responsibility of driving away bad thoughts from them, strengthening them in good intentions, and escorting those who have succeeded in serving God after death to the Kingdom of Heaven.

Patrons of nations and kingdoms

At the lowest level of the hierarchical ladder of angelic ranks are the last three categories of disembodied spirits, the eldest of which are the beginnings. They represent an invincible legion of defenders of the faith. The principles received their name due to the mission entrusted to them to lead the remaining two categories of angels and direct their labors to fulfill the will of God.

In addition, principles have another important purpose - to manage the construction of hierarchies among people. It is believed that none other than the beginnings invisibly anoint earthly monarchs to the kingdom and bless rulers of other ranks. In this regard, it is generally accepted that the Lord sends an angel of this category to each people, called to protect them from troubles and shocks. The basis for such a judgment may be the words Old Testament prophet Daniel about the angels of the Judean and Persian kingdoms, making sure that the rulers anointed by them were zealous not for personal wealth, but for increasing the glory of God.

The world of angels and archangels

And finally, the representatives of the last two groups who are closest to people are the archangels and angels. The word archangel translated from Greek means “great messenger.” In most cases, it is through his prophecies that people learn the will of the Creator. An example is the good news brought by the Archangel Gabriel to the Most Pure Virgin Mary. Archangels sometimes become the watchful guards of the Lord. In this regard, it is enough to recall the Archangel Michael, who blocked the entrance to Eden with a flaming sword.

The lowest ranks of the heavenly hierarchy are angels. They can also be called the disembodied spirits closest to people, helping in everyday life. The Holy Church teaches that at baptism, the Lord sends a special guardian angel to each person, protecting him throughout his subsequent life from spiritual falls, and if they occur, guiding him on the path of repentance, regardless of the severity of the sins committed.

Depending on how rich you are spiritual world a person, no matter how strong his faith in God is and what his purpose in life is, he can be under the tutelage of not one angel, but several, or even have direct communication with the archangels. It is important to remember that the enemy of the human race does not cease to tempt people and turn them away from serving the Creator, therefore angels and archangels, until the end of time, will be next to those in whose hearts the fire of faith burns, and protect them from the attacks of dark forces.

Angels- are the heavenly army, according to what is said in the Gospel: “And suddenly a large army of heaven appeared with the angel, glorifying God and crying: glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men” (Luke 2:13-14).

God sends Angels to proclaim His decrees. That is why they are called Angels, that is, messengers.

There are countless angels, the human mind is lost in their countless hosts.

But here the order reigning among the Heavenly spirits is amazing. Order and harmony are the beauty of perfection, the wisdom and truth of God. In the Kingdom of Heaven there is no monotony and stagnation - there is diversity, movement, activity, aspiration, great, complex activity, unknown to us here on earth.

Saint Dionysius the Areopagite, a disciple of the holy Apostle Paul, who was caught up to the third heaven (2 Cor. 12:2), there he saw the difference in the ranks of the holy Angels, and explained this to Dionysius, how to his disciple he divides the Angels into nine ranks, and divides the nine ranks of Angels into three hierarchy - each has three ranks - highest, middle and lowest.

The first, highest and closest hierarchy to the Most Holy Trinity is: Seraphim, Cherubim and Thrones, second, middle – Power, Dominance, Strength. The third includes Beginnings, Archangels, Angels(Dionysius the Areopagite “On the Heavenly Hierarchy”).

The closest to their Creator and Maker are the God-loving six-winged creatures. Seraphim, as the prophet Isaiah saw: “The Seraphim stood around Him; each of them had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And they called to each other and said: Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of hosts! the whole earth is full of His glory!” (Isa. 6:2-3).

Seraphim are fiery, as immediately standing before the One about whom it is written: “The sight of the glory of the Lord on the top of the mountain was before the eyes of the children of Israel like a consuming fire” (Ex. 24:17), His throne was a flame of fire (Dan. 7:9) because our God is a consuming fire (Heb. 12:29).

Seraphim are flaming with love for God and excite others to the same love, as their very name shows, for “Seraphim” translated from Hebrew means: flaming.

After the Seraphim, before the Omniscient God, who lives in the inviolable light, many eyes stand in indescribable lightness. And you Cherubim, always shining with the light of the knowledge of God, the knowledge of the mysteries and depths of the wisdom of God, enlightened themselves and enlightening others. The name Cherubim, translated from Hebrew, means: much understanding or outpouring of wisdom, for through the Cherubim wisdom is sent down to others and enlightenment is given for the knowledge of God and the knowledge of God.

Then the God-bearing ones stand before the Almighty Thrones, for on them, as on reasonable thrones (as St. Maximus the Confessor writes), God rests. Resting on them in an incomprehensible way, God carries out His righteous judgment, according to what David said: “For You have executed my judgment and my litigation; You are seated on the throne, O righteous Judge” (Ps. 9:5). Therefore, through them the justice of God is predominantly manifested, helping earthly judges, kings, lords and rulers to carry out righteous judgment.

The middle hierarchy, as mentioned above, also contains three ranks of holy Angels: Dominance, Strength and Authority.

Dominations They send down the power for prudent control and wise management of earthly authorities appointed by God, teach them to control their feelings, subdue indecent lusts and passions, enslave the flesh to the spirit, dominate their will and be above all temptation.

Powers filled with Divine strength and immediately fulfill the will of the Almighty. They perform great miracles and send down the grace of miracles to the saints of God, so that they can work miracles, heal illnesses, foretell the future, help toiling and burdened people in carrying out the obedience entrusted to them, which explains their name Strengths, that is, they bear the infirmities of the weak. Strength strengthens every person in enduring sorrows and adversity.

Authorities have power over the devil, tame the power of demons, repel temptations brought upon people, do not allow demons to harm anyone to the extent they would like, confirm good ascetics in spiritual deeds and labors, protecting them so that they do not lose their spiritual kingdom. Those who struggle with passions and lusts are helped to drive away evil thoughts, the slander of the enemy and defeat the devil.

There are also three ranks in the lower hierarchy: Beginnings, Archangels and Angels.

Beginnings they rule over the lower Angels, directing them to fulfill Divine commands. They are also entrusted with the administration of the universe and the protection of all kingdoms and principalities, lands and all peoples, tribes and languages. s cov.

Archangels they are called great evangelists who preach good news about great and glorious things. Archangels reveal prophecies, knowledge and understanding of the will of God, strengthen the holy faith in people, enlightening their minds with the light of knowledge of the Holy Gospel and reveal the sacraments of pious faith.

Angels in the Heavenly hierarchy, lower than all ranks and closest to people. They proclaim the lesser mysteries and intentions of God and instruct people to live virtuously and righteously for God, protecting us from all evil. Angels are assigned to guard every Christian: they support us from falling, they raise the fallen and never leave us, even if we have sinned, for they are always ready to help us if we ourselves wish.

The words of the Savior provide us with convincing evidence about the Guardian Angels: “See that you do not despise one of these little ones; for I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of My Father in heaven” (Matthew 18:10).

And not only every person has his own Guardian Angel, but also every family, every pious society, every state.

The Prophet Moses says to the people of Israel: “When the Most High gave inheritance to the nations and scattered the sons of men, then he set the boundaries of the nations according to the number of the Angels of God” (Deut. 32:8).

But all the highest heavenly ranks are called by a common name - Angels. Although they, by their position and by the grace given from God, have different names - Seraphim, Cherubim, Thrones, Dominions, Powers, Powers, Principalities, Archangels, Angels - however, they are all generally called Angels, for the word Angel is the name not of a being, but of a ministry , according to what is written: “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to serve...” (Heb. 1:14).

So, Angels, fulfilling the will of God, as ministering spirits, take an active, living part in the fate of humanity. Thus, Angels proclaim the will of God to people, monitor states (Deut. 32:8), protect human societies, regions, cities, monasteries, churches and govern various parts of the earth (Apoc. 7, 1; 14, 18), have influence on private affairs of people (Gen. 32, 1-2), encourage, preserve (Dan. b, 22), lead out of prison (Acts 5, 19-20; 12, 7-9), are present at the exodus of the soul from the body, They accompany her procession through the aerial ordeals, lift up our prayers to God and themselves intercede for us (Rev. 8:3). Angels come to serve people (Heb. 1:14), teach truth and virtue, enlighten the mind, strengthen the will and protect them from troubles in life (Gen. 16:7-12). You can read about the appearances of good Angels in the Holy Scriptures - Gen. 18, 2-22; 28, 12; Nav. 5, 13-14; OK. 1, 11, 26, 28; Matt. 2, 13; Acts 5, 19; 10, 31; 12, 7.

Above all nine Heavenly ranks Archangel Michael was appointed by God as the official and leader of the angels, as a faithful servant of God.

Archangel Michael, during Satan’s disastrous fall into the pride, his retreat from God and fall into the abyss, having gathered all the ranks and armies of the Angels, loudly exclaimed: “Let us stand up, let us become good before our Creator and let us not think about what is contrary to God! Let us remember what those who were created with us and hitherto, together with us, were partakers of the divine light suffered! Let us remember how, for the sake of pride, they suddenly fell from the light into darkness and fell from the heights into the abyss! Let’s remember how the morning sunrise fell from the sky and was crushed on the earth.”

(Gregory Dvoeslov. “Interpretation of the Four Gospels”).

Speaking thus to the entire assembly of Angels, he, standing in front, began with the Seraphim and Cherubim and with all the Heavenly ranks to glorify the Most Holy, Consubstantial and Indivisible Trinity, the One God, singing in agreement the solemn song:

“Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of hosts, fill heaven and earth with Your glory!”

Angels are usually depicted with two wings to indicate the speed with which they strive to fulfill God's commands in different parts universe.

The names of the Archangels are known from the Holy Scriptures. Each of them has a special ministry.

Culture and ancient traditions give an idea of the existence of Guardian Angels. The names of angels, their hierarchy and influence on society have a number of features.

The Appearance of Angels

Translated from Greek, the name of higher beings means “messenger, messenger.” They were sent by God to serve people. The exact time of their appearance in our world is unknown, but they appeared on Earth before the creation of man.

Significant events from the Bible take place in the presence of messengers. Saint Gabriel was sent to the Virgin Mary to bring important information, one of the Angels freed the Apostle Peter. Heavenly creatures are watching human history, are always ready to help and convey a message from above.

The silhouette of the messengers resembles a human, the appearance of each of them depends on their rank and mission. They are depicted as winged, with wands or spheres in their hands. They live in heaven, where there is its own hierarchy of angelic ranks. Holy creatures have no gender human relations are alien to them. A person cannot become an angel.

Celestial Creature Abilities

Angels are endowed by God with special skills that facilitate their mission:

invisibility;
flight;
putting on a material body;
impact on physical objects;
vision of the essence of man, the gift of a seer;
freedom of choice.

Image of Angels

The heavenly creature looks like a young man unusual appearance, behind his back are wings. The creatures were dressed in light linen robes intertwined with gold belts.

Most Angels have two wings, the exceptions being the six-winged Seraphim and the four-fingered Cherubim.

The image of higher creatures is filled with symbols:

wings signify speed and the ability to be everywhere;
the staff means the ability to convey the will of God;
the mirror represents knowledge about future events;
gold ribbons in the hair symbolize submission to God, connection with him;
the third eye is a sign of the ability to know about everything;
The halo symbolizes grace, special energy;
beautiful appearance means the perfection of the Angels, their highest harmony.

Special features are added to the appearance of creatures that correspond to their mission. Raphael was depicted with medicines, Gabriel - with a branch of paradise, and Michael - with a spear.

Ranks of higher beings

The Holy Society follows a clear distribution of rights and responsibilities. The messengers do not know meanness, they do not want to set up the highest rank. Their existence is filled with harmony, which proves the wisdom of God and his higher nature.

The angelic hierarchy consists of nine ranks, divided into the highest, middle and lowest triads.

First triad

This includes heavenly creatures who are as close to God as possible. They are admitted to the holy secrets of the universe. Ranks of the highest Angels:

Seraphim are six-winged creatures who revere their creator. They convey their love to people, making them want to confess, inspiring them to believe.
Cherubim honor the mind and wisdom of God, and guard great secrets with their wings. They do not tolerate interference in higher affairs, they preach faith, and people’s excessive curiosity for sacred knowledge makes them jealous. They became guardians of the tree of life after the expulsion of Adam and Eve.
Thrones extol the greatness and glory of God, convey to humanity his omniscience and justice. Reminds us of the need to maintain hierarchy.

Second triad

List of representatives of the Middle Sphere:

Dominions celebrate God's caring nature, his ability to protect everyone. They instill self-confidence in people, foster a desire to develop, and limit the craving for sin.
The powers admire the power and skill of God and teach him to honor his capabilities.
The authorities control the devil, help people resist temptations and find faith.

Third triad

Representatives of this rank are closer to the human world. It includes:

The principles govern the universe and monitor the performance of the lower Angels. They help in structuring society and observing the will of God. Rule over the elements.
Archangels convey good news and teach people to keep covenants. They have access to prophecies. Heavenly creatures help you get back on the right path.
Angels are the creatures closest to people. They give strength to move towards enlightenment, protect against excesses and dangers, and instill faith.

Meanings of the names of heavenly creatures

Each Angel was created for a specific purpose. The names of the Angels reflect their special mission:

Lucifer is fallen, contrary to the will of God.
Uriel - kindles in human hearts love for God. Enlightens non-believers.
Raphael - helps in healing, protects health, monitors thoughts and actions.
Raguel - carries out punishments.
Savriel - controls creatures that tempt humans.
Gabriel - controls celestial beings, directs them to the right path.

This rank includes many other Archangels. IN canonical bible Michael is mentioned - the chief of the Archangels; in other books - Selafiel, Jeremiel, Barachiel and Jehudiel.

Other religions

Faith different countries vary significantly, but in many of them there are messengers of God:

In Islam, there are Cherubim who glorify Allah. Besides him, this religion describes four Angels. Mikael is the main one among others, the prophet Dzhabrail condescends to the chosen ones, Azrael is the ruler of the soul after death, Israfiel announces the Last Judgment.
There are many Angels in Judaism. There are nine Archangels who rule over the lower creatures.
In Zoroastrianism, Archangels are called Amesha Spenta, who are part of the deity. Amirtat is a symbol of immortality, Haurvtat is the guardian of health, Khshatra Vaira monitors power, Spenta Armaiti represents devotion, Asha Vahishta is the pinnacle of righteousness, Vohu Mana is the deification of light and thought.

Modern world and Angels

Mythology and ancient faith do not lose relevance today.

Culture

Holy beings are present in music, games and literature. Cinema especially often uses the image of heavenly creatures. List best films featuring Angels:

"Constantine: Lord of Darkness" - Saint Gabriel and his confrontation with Lucifer are described here.
“City of Angels” - the director proves to people the presence of Angels, talks about their craving for earthly goods.
"Michael" - tells about the adventures of Archangel Michael on Earth.
The series “Supernatural” gives an idea of the special nature of the confrontation between Lucifer and God, and interprets the Angels in a new way.
“Angel” is about a vampire named Angel.

Each scenario contains a special vision of higher beings.

Guardian Angels

The lower Angels become defenders of life, mentors and seers. They are in the human world, conveying the will of God and warning of danger. You can see the presence of the guardians:

through dreams;
according to combinations of numbers that often appear in life, this area is dealt with by Angelic numerology;
through sensations;
by the body's reaction to certain events.

Having noticed the sign of an Angel, you need to turn to God.

Angel Day

Since ancient times, the name of a newborn has been given in honor of one of the saints. They believed that this deity would protect the baby and help him to life path. The name day was calculated to be the holiday following the birth of a person in honor of the highest creature.

Angel Day coincides with the date of the baby's baptism. At this moment, God gives the baby his own Guardian Angel, who monitors his life values and protects him from dangers. IN sacred holiday a person must visit the church, pray to his patron and ask for a prayer service for health.

Everything in the world is subject to strict laws and hierarchy. Without order, cities would not have arisen and civilization would not have developed. But the hierarchy can be traced not only in the material plane of existence, but also in the spiritual or, in other words, the angelic world.

The angels who helped God in his affairs and became guides of His will were no exception. Structure angelic hierarchy clearly divided into three spheres, each of which has its own ranks of angels.

Each religion has its own angels, archangels and other heavenly powers, but, of course, they are called differently.

Angels of Christianity

Modern Angelology began to take shape in the initial stages of the development of Christianity. The theologians of that time took seriously the issue of creating diagrams of the hierarchies of these beings. Moreover, each scheme is divided into several levels, which later became known as choirs.

Of course, Christian theologians did not come up with all this out of their heads. They used the Old and New Testaments. This is confirmed by the fact that in Judaism (from which many traditions followed into Christianity) there are no such angelic ranks as an archangel or “principal”.

Since all these schemes were created at approximately the same time, they often overlap with each other. At the same time, it often happened that hierarchies and choirs were subject to a serious increase or, on the contrary, previously existing ranks were missing.

However, there have also been examples in history of schemes with radically different provisions. Moreover, there were hierarchies of the reverse execution scheme (from lowest to highest).

As an example, we can cite the hierarchy built and described by Athanasius the Great: he did not systematize all the information and simply listed all the available ranks.

Those who are now called cherubs are actually the image of the ancient Greek Cupid.

The first treatise that appeared, in which the work on structuring the gathering of angels was more or less thoroughly carried out, was called “Ariopagitiki”. It was this Talmud that theologians used in their works as a source detailed description choirs

This book belongs to the hand of Pseudo-Dionosius and in it the hierarchy of heavenly powers is shown in ascending order. Where more and more important angels were placed above the rest.

In the treatise “On the Heavenly Hierarchy” there are two options for the arrangement of the hierarchy of heavenly powers. How this happened is explained in a later work - Schilios to the Areopagitics.

Another interesting scheme can be called Hildegard’s vision of hierarchy, which is described in the work “Know the ways of the light, that is, the Lord.” In this scheme there were nine choirs, which had their own symbolism:

Angels, together with archangels, corresponded to body and soul.
Seraphim and cherubim related to the love of God and knowledge.
The intermediate five symbolized human feelings (vision, touch, etc.).

Gradually, some of the schemes atrophied, others were degenerated. What theologians believed to be incorrect ideas about hierarchy were discarded. Ultimately, the Areopagite scheme became canonical. It had three spheres in each three groups.

The heavenly hierarchy in Orthodoxy differs little from that in Catholicism.

Spheres of angelic ranks and ranks of angels (descending)

First sphere:

seraphim;
cherubs;
thrones.

Second sphere:

domination;
strength;
authorities.

Third sphere:

angels;
archangels;
started.

Of course, the above scheme has been refined and developed more than once. New interpretations of hierarchies often appeared.

Ranks of the First Sphere

All 9 ranks of angels in Orthodoxy have not deviated much from the Catholic canon:

Seraphim (From Hebrew Saraf - flaming)	Described in the Bible only once: Appears as an angel with three pairs of wings. The upper pair covers the head (a number of sources claim that the seraph has a bird's head, but such a bright radiance emanates from it that it cannot be seen), the middle pair is flying, the lower one covers the legs. Seraphim worship God and implement his will on Earth. The highest angelic rank.
Cherub (translated as “like a young man”)	Like the seraphim, he has the closest relationship to God. However, it is one step below the seraphim.
Throne	No matter how rude it may sound, it is used by the Almighty as a stool. God sits on them and conducts His Judgment.

Second Sphere

Third Sphere

The table described above fully answers the question of how many angelic ranks there are in the Christian religion. As you can see, there is nothing complicated in the hierarchy of heaven.