In Depth Information About Angels

[_Gandalf]

I’ve always been a little curious about the concept of angels, and not being a Christian I know virtually nothing about them. I was wondering if anyone would be able to go into some detail on the subject - primarily when it comes to what exactly they can do.

 

[At_Trent]

Good overview here

newadvent.org/cathen/01476d.htm

 

[Alfonsus]

I heartily recommend Peter Kreeft book called “Angels and Demons: What Do We Really Know about Them.”

It is very informative and suitable for all, Catholic or non-Catholic alike.

 

[Seachange]

What the Catechism says about Angels

I. THE ANGELS

The existence of angels - a truth of faith

328 The existence of the spiritual, non-corporeal beings that Sacred Scripture usually calls “angels” is a truth of faith. The witness of Scripture is as clear as the unanimity of Tradition.

Who are they?

329 St. Augustine says: "‘Angel’ is the name of their office, not of their nature. If you seek the name of their nature, it is ‘spirit’; if you seek the name of their office, it is ‘angel’: from what they are, ‘spirit’, from what they do, ‘angel.’"188 With their whole beings the angels are servants and messengers of God. Because they “always behold the face of my Father who is in heaven” they are the “mighty ones who do his word, hearkening to the voice of his word”.189

 

[GloriousOrder]

Dear friend, my most beloved saint is called the Angelic Doctor of the Church. Aquinas was not only angelic in his mystical knowledge of God, but he wrote extensively on angels. Like his dear friend Bonaventure, St. Thomas saw the works of the Areopagite. This fascinating early Christian writer gave us the notion of the nine angelic hierarchies. Our beloved brother Aquinas took this as a sign that he ought to write extensively on the nature of angels, and their ordering in the Universe.

Here is the section of his Summa Theologiae (Part 1) dealing with Angels, if you’re interested in a long, winding set of catechism-like questions and answers:

dhspriory.org/thomas/summa/FP.html#TOC03

Bonaventure, being a wily Franciscan , used the seraphic qualities to describe the mind’s journey to God in several stages, the Seraphic Level being the highest level of holiness in the eyes of the Lord. Incidentally, Bonaventure used the fact that the seraphim are at the top of the Hierarchy to describe St. Francis of Assisi, who Bonaventure called ‘seraphic’; as in: burning with the highest love for God.

Angels are our brother-creatures, but grasp things perfectly upon their immediate creation. We are quasi-angelic in our higher intellect; or, angels are quasi-human in their lower intellect! The angels love us, as God commands, and they help us. St. Thomas estimates the number of angels to be so great that counting them would be as pointless as counting the stars in the sky:

(Summa 1, Q. 50, A. 3)

“…it must be said that the angels, even inasmuch as they are immaterial substances, exist in exceeding great number, far beyond all material multitude. This is what Dionysius says (Coel. Hier. xiv): “There are many blessed armies of the heavenly intelligences, surpassing the weak and limited reckoning of our material numbers.” The reason whereof is this: because, since it is the perfection of the universe that God chiefly intends in the creation of things, the more perfect some things are, in so much greater an excess are they created by God. Now, as in bodies such excess is observed in regard to their magnitude, so in things incorporeal is it observed in regard to their multitude. We see, in fact, that incorruptible bodies, exceed corruptible bodies almost incomparably in magnitude; for the entire sphere of things active and passive is something very small in comparison with the heavenly bodies. Hence it is reasonable to conclude that the immaterial substances as it were incomparably exceed material substances as to multitude.”

The better a thing is, the more God makes of it. Think of that the next time you see an ant-hill… and imagine that angels are much better, so there are even greater numbers! There are only fewer humans than ants because of our unfortunate tendency to kill each other, I assume.

 

[laszlo]

You find most details in the Book of Enoch. It is not Canonical, neither for the Jews nor the Catholics, but most of the information about the Angels comes from there

johnpratt.com/items/docs/enoch.html

 

[FCEGM]

Two books good books on the subject:

The Angels and Us, by Mortimer Adler

The Angels and Their Mission - According to the Fathers of the Church, by Cdl. Jean Danielou, S.J.

 

[_Gandalf]

Thank you all for the information and the great many books you have suggested, I like little more then a good read so that should keep me busy for a good long time.

Now I believe that GloriousOrder said:

This fascinating early Christian writer gave us the notion of the nine angelic hierarchies. Our beloved brother Aquinas took this as a sign that he ought to write extensively on the nature of angels, and their ordering in the Universe.

Here you use the words “The nine angelic hierarchies”. What does that mean? And for that matter, what is their role in ordering the Universe?

 

[GloriousOrder]

Here you use the words “The nine angelic hierarchies”. What does that mean? And for that matter, what is their role in ordering the Universe?

I’m not God, so I have no idea why He created the nine orders of angels: the angelic hierarchy. It is generally taken to be, from lowest to highest:

Angels, Archangels, Principalities, Powers, Virtues, Dominations, Thrones, Cherubim, and Seraphim.

They ascend in order of importance. It seems to have been a mystical revelation based on the Bible, not coming directly from it. We only know that the Lord has used angels as messengers (“and an angel of the Lord came to X, saying…”), archangels (Gabriel, Michael, Raphael) as specially-named and important messengers, and seraphim as visual representations of His power over all the world (Isaiah 6). Human beings have extrapolated that other types of angels must exist.

 

[_Gandalf]

What is the difference between the different types of angels? How is an Angel different from an Archangel? Or a Seraphim from a Throne? Or any other such combination thereof. They have to be different in either essence, position, or possibly even both. Otherwise they would all just be the same.

Human beings have extrapolated that other types of angels must exist.

If I am correct in saying that the Bible does not include all nine of those, nor much information about each one, why have you extrapolated that others exist? And why only nine? Why not ten? Or couldn’t there be eight?

Sorry for the barrage of questions, I’m just trying to make sense of this whole thing.

 

[MarkThompson]

The nine orders are indeed mentioned in the Bible, though the basis is, in my view, exceedingly thin. For instance, 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.” Now, why we would read Paul here in speaking of “thrones” and “principalities” as celestial creatures instead of as a reference to earthly kingdoms and states, I have no idea. But we do – this is one of the key Biblical passages in establishing the angelic orders of Thrones, Dominions, Principalities, and Powers.

Among the anathemata against Origen issued by the Second Council of Constantinople in 553, we find:
II. If anyone shall [deny] that [of the immaterial intelligences] . . . some became and are called Cherubim, others Seraphim, and Principalities, and Powers, and Dominations, and Thrones, and Angels, and as many other heavenly orders as there may be: let him be anathema.
So it is, as best I can tell, a dogmatically taught truth that these orders exist. And there is a Biblical basis, for however much it may be worth. Hope this helps.

 

[_Gandalf]

The nine orders are indeed mentioned in the Bible, though the basis is, in my view, exceedingly thin. For instance, 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.” Now, why we would read Paul here in speaking of “thrones” and “principalities” as celestial creatures instead of as a reference to earthly kingdoms and states, I have no idea. But we do – this is one of the key Biblical passages in establishing the angelic orders of Thrones, Dominions, Principalities, and Powers.

Yet unless I miscount, that passage mentions four types of angels (assuming that that is what it is talking about). If there are nine, then at least five of them are not in that passage.

 

[Alfonsus]

The ordering of the ‘choirs’ are a matter of theological opinions. Nine is well received from tradition, but I think it is better and to first understand what an angel is. Scripture does talk and describes different kind of spirits.

By the way, by their nature, spiritual entities we call “angels” are spirits. The word “angel” which means “messenger” is about their task and job, it denotes their office.
That is why in several instances (if you read Greek), Bishops and St. John the Baptist is called “Aggelos”, “angel”, which means “messenger”.

Kinda you are saying “post man.” By his nature the “post man” is “human”, by his office he is a “post man.”

From “Angels and Demons, what do we really know about them”

Hierarchy and inequality among angels sound unjust and unfair. Is God an elitist?

(1) Gods justice is not equality. Neither is nature’s.
God the Creator is not equal to any of his creatures, but he is supreme.
Among his creatures, spiritual creatures (angels and men) are superior to merely biological creatures.
Among spiritual creatures, angels are more intelligent than men.
Even within our own species, men are not all equal in intelligence, in quickness, in wisdom, in memory, or in many other things.
And, of course. humans are superior to animals. If you doubt this, you’d better stop eating fish or start eating humans.
Higher (more intelligent) animals are superior to lower (less intelligent) animals. That’s why we prefer dogs to worms as pets. Even biologists rank species in a hierarchical order. The more complex they are, the more conscious they are and the more sophisticated their functions.

(2) The hierarchy of angels over men parallels the hierarchy of men over animals, and the hierarchy within angels parallels the hierarchy within animals. If the arrangement of animals tells us something about the Creator’s style and principles and preferences, it’s reasonable to expect to find his style and principles and preferences manifested in angels too.

(3) Justice does not mean equality, even among men. It means treating unequals unequally—giving an A to a student who answered 95 out of 100 questions correctly and an F to a student who answered only 45.
Many traditional societies, like those of classical Greece and Confucian China, saw justice as essentially an inequality, a harmony among different things: organs in the body, nembers in a family, heavenly bodies in the cosmos, musical notes in a song, classes in the state, faculties in the soul. The President is not necessarily a superior person to his military chief of stati but his office is. Justice demands the chief of staff obey his “superior”, even if the latter has shortcomings.

(4) Resentment against some kind ot superiority is one of the seven deadly sins. It is called envy, and it is the only sin that never gave anyone any kind of pleasure at all.
In the Divine Comedy, Dante discovers that there are many unequal levels even in heaven. He asks Piccarda, who is on heaven’s lowest level, whether she is not discontented with her lowly place and whether she longs to move up closer to God, to see more of God and receive more joy. Her answer is that no one in heaven is dissatisfied with his place or envious of anyone else: "From seat to seat throughout this realm, to all the realm is pleasing. [That is, each citizen is pleased with the kingdom as a whole; the whole is present to each individual.] For in his will our hearts have found their peace.
T. S. Eliot called this the profoundest line in all human literature.

I recommend the book. It is a very good, orthodox and sound introduction to Angelology. It is easy to read in Q&A format. It expose good philosophical and theological reasoning, but enjoyable to read it.
When I picked this book and start reading it, it was very hard for me to put it down because some of my silliest and stupid questions even addressed in it. Question like, “how many angels can dance in the head of a pin?”

 

[_Gandalf]

The ordering of the ‘choirs’ are a matter of theological opinions. Nine is well received from tradition, but I think it is better and to first understand what an angel is. Scripture does talk and describes different kind of spirits.

How much of it is opinion and how much of it is declared by your church?

By the way, by their nature, spiritual entities we call “angels” are spirits. The word “angel” which means “messenger” is about their task and job, it denotes their office.
That is why in several instances (if you read Greek), Bishops and St. John the Baptist is called “Aggelos”, “angel”, which means “messenger”.

Kinda you are saying “post man.” By his nature the “post man” is “human”, by his office he is a “post man.”

So are you saying that whereas there are nine types of angels, they are essentially all the same species?

I recommend the book. It is a very good, orthodox and sound introduction to Angelology. It is easy to read in Q&A format. It expose good philosophical and theological reasoning, but enjoyable to read it.
When I picked this book and start reading it, it was very hard for me to put it down because some of my silliest and stupid questions even addressed in it. Question like, “how many angels can dance in the head of a pin?”

If that snippet is anything to judge by, it is probably a good book. Would you happen to know if it would be in a store such as Barnes & Noble or would it only be in a specialty place?

“how many angels can dance in the head of a pin?”

I’ve always assumed that they were non-corporeal beings (ie spirit), so presumably there would be no limit to how many could be in a particular location, whether you speak of all of Asia or just the tip of a pin.
That’s just my two cents on the matter though, I’d like to know what the book has to say about it to.

 

[Alfonsus]

Regarding the core tenets regarding angels in the Catholic faith, only the essentials: that they exists, that they are spirits, that they are ministering God, that the angels helps the Church.

What is declared can be seen from the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Pardon the footnotes numbering, I don’t have time to copy paste the whole footnotes. But you can read Catechism of the Catholic Church online.

I. THE ANGELS

The existence of angels - a truth of faith

328 The existence of the spiritual, non-corporeal beings that Sacred Scripture usually calls “angels” is a truth of faith. The witness of Scripture is as clear as the unanimity of Tradition.

Who are they?

329 St. Augustine says: "‘Angel’ is the name of their office, not of their nature. If you seek the name of their nature, it is ‘spirit’; if you seek the name of their office, it is ‘angel’: from what they are, ‘spirit’, from what they do, ‘angel.’"188 With their whole beings the angels are servants and messengers of God. Because they “always behold the face of my Father who is in heaven” they are the “mighty ones who do his word, hearkening to the voice of his word”.189

330 As purely spiritual creatures angels have intelligence and will: they are personal and immortal creatures, surpassing in perfection all visible creatures, as the splendor of their glory bears witness.190

Christ “with all his angels”

331 Christ is the center of the angelic world. They are his angels: "When the Son of man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him. . "191 They belong to him because they were created through and for him: "for in him all things were created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or authorities - all things were created through him and for him."192 They belong to him still more because he has made them messengers of his saving plan: "Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to serve, for the sake of those who are to obtain salvation?"193

332 Angels have been present since creation and throughout the history of salvation, announcing this salvation from afar or near and serving the accomplishment of the divine plan: they closed the earthly paradise; protected Lot; saved Hagar and her child; stayed Abraham’s hand; communicated the law by their ministry; led the People of God; announced births and callings; and assisted the prophets, just to cite a few examples.194 Finally, the angel Gabriel announced the birth of the Precursor and that of Jesus himself.195

333 From the Incarnation to the Ascension, the life of the Word incarnate is surrounded by the adoration and service of angels. When God "brings the firstborn into the world, he says: ‘Let all God’s angels worship him.’"196 Their song of praise at the birth of Christ has not ceased resounding in the Church’s praise: "Glory to God in the highest!"197 They protect Jesus in his infancy, serve him in the desert, strengthen him in his agony in the garden, when he could have been saved by them from the hands of his enemies as Israel had been.198 Again, it is the angels who “evangelize” by proclaiming the Good News of Christ’s Incarnation and Resurrection.199 They will be present at Christ’s return, which they will announce, to serve at his judgment.200

The angels in the life of the Church

334 In the meantime, the whole life of the Church benefits from the mysterious and powerful help of angels.201

335 In her liturgy, the Church joins with the angels to adore the thrice-holy God. She invokes their assistance (in the funeral liturgy’s In Paradisum deducant te angeli. . .“May the angels lead you into Paradise. . .”]). Moreover, in the “Cherubic Hymn” of the Byzantine Liturgy, she celebrates the memory of certain angels more particularly (St. Michael, St. Gabriel, St. Raphael, and the guardian angels).

336 From its beginning until death, human life is surrounded by their watchful care and intercession.202 "Beside each believer stands an angel as protector and shepherd leading him to life."203 Already here on earth the Christian life shares by faith in the blessed company of angels and men united in God.

Are angels of the same species? Perhaps no. At least if we take the Bible word regarding angels, there are different kind of spirits ministering God. Some you already know: Cherubim, Seraphim, Thrones. By nature they are all spirits, but perhaps of different ‘species’.

I bought the book trough Amazon. I believe the book is widely available.

 

[MarkThompson]

Yet unless I miscount, that passage mentions four types of angels (assuming that that is what it is talking about). If there are nine, then at least five of them are not in that passage.

Right, I just didn’t dig up all the references. I think this article will have more pointers.