The names of the seven archangels in Catholic Tradition

[Navarricano]

This is more of a trivia question than anything else so I hope this is an okay place to put this thread. But I thought the people that frequent this forum would be the best ones to tease with this one?

Do you know the names that Scripture and/or Tradition ascribes to the Seven Archangels? Of course I knew three of them (you know which three those are …) and only recently learned the other names. Anyone out there want to take a shot at naming them? Be fair, if you find them in some online resource, cite it so that we don’t think you’re a Catholic Trivia genius.

Bonus points if you know the meanings of the names of the seven …

 

[LilyM]

Catholic tradition doesn’t mention SEVEN names of Archangels, the only three it names are those mentioned in scripture - Michael, Gabriel and Raphael. There’s a chaplet - chaplet of St Michael - based on private apparition (not traditional teaching) that in some versions mentions a fourth archangel Uriel, but that’s it.

Otherwise there’s an apocryphal Jewish writing (not part of scripture for us or the Jews) called First Book of Enoch that names three more - Raguel, Sariel, and Remiel.

Otherwise, after a quick googling I’ve found a fair few differing lists of their names, so there’s no definitive teaching on it.

 

[Navarricano]

Okay, first off I accidentally capitalized the “T” in tradition in the original post, so sorry for the confusion! I didn’t mean to suggest that there was any definitive or binding teaching on the matter.

Otherwise, very good! You mentioned the book of Enoch …

As you state, the names come from tradition (with a lower case “t”), and Jewish apochryphal literature such as Enoch. The three you mention don’t appear on the list I found, but as you point out, there are differing lists.

The Book of Tobit mentions “Seven” (12:15), but that number does not have to be taken literally it seems; it most likely refers symbolically to all those ministers who are entitled to stand before God and to do His bidding.

But even if we accept the spellings Raguel, Sariel, and Remiel, that’s only six … anyone else want to take a shot at it?

 

[LilyM]

Okay, first off I accidentally capitalized the “T” in tradition in the original post, so sorry for the confusion! I didn’t mean to suggest that there was any definitive or binding teaching on the matter.

Otherwise, very good! You mentioned the book of Enoch …

As you state, the names come from tradition (with a lower case “t”), and Jewish apochryphal literature such as Enoch. The three you mention don’t appear on the list I found, but as you point out, there are differing lists.

The Book of Tobit mentions “Seven” (12:15), but that number does not have to be taken literally it seems; it most likely refers symbolically to all those ministers who are entitled to stand before God and to do His bidding.

But even if we accept the spellings Raguel, Sariel, and Remiel, that’s only six … anyone else want to take a shot at it?

Nu-uh, you forgot Uriel. With Mike, Gabe and Rafe that’s seven.

 

[Mary_Gail_36]

Mike, Gabe and Rafe

 

[Navarricano]

Nu-uh, you forgot Uriel. With Mike, Gabe and Rafe that’s seven.

You’re starting to impress me, lady!

The list I’ve got is this: St. Michael, St. Gabriel, St. Raphael, St. Uriel … then, Jophiel, Chamael, Zadkiel, Jophkiel.

Now, since the sole purpose for the angels’ existence is to give glory to God and to serve Him, their names have meanings that reveal Him and His attributes. We know that St. Michael means “Who is like God?”, but the others … ?

 

[Jsmith17]

Do you know the names that Scripture and/or tradition ascribes to the Seven Archangels?

PROPER NAMES OF THE ANGELS
Pascal P. Parente

THE THREE ARCHANGELS

“The Sacred Scriptures have revealed the proper names of only three Angels, all of whom belong to the Choir of the Archangels. The names are well known to all, namely: Michael, Gabriel, Raphael. Ancient apocryphal literature of the Old Testament contains several other names of Archangels in addition to the three just mentioned. Like the sources themselves,** these other names are spurious**. Names like Uriel, Raguel, Sariel, and Jeremiel are not found in the canonical books of Sacred Scripture, but in the apocryphal book of Enoch, fourth book of Esdras,[1] and in rabbinical literature. The Church does not permit proper names of Angels that are not found in the canonical books of the Bible. All such names that were taken from apocryphal writings were rejected under Pope Zachary, in 745. There must have been danger of serious abuses in this regard during that century, because a similar step was taken in a synod held at Aix-la-Chapelle in 789.”

ewtn.com/library/mary/angel6.htm

I’m sorry, but unless you disagree with Pope Zachary and the Church itself, I do not believe you can “know” any of the names of the other Archangels.

 

[Sepharad]

Catholic tradition doesn’t mention SEVEN names of Archangels, the only three it names are those mentioned in scripture - Michael, Gabriel and Raphael. There’s a chaplet - chaplet of St Michael - based on private apparition (not traditional teaching) that in some versions mentions a fourth archangel Uriel, but that’s it.

Otherwise there’s an apocryphal Jewish writing (not part of scripture for us or the Jews) called First Book of Enoch that names three more - Raguel, Sariel, and Remiel.

Otherwise, after a quick googling I’ve found a fair few differing lists of their names, so there’s no definitive teaching on it.

There is a prayer that Orthodox Jews say before bedtime every night…the prayer asks God to keep the angels Michael, Raphael, Gavriel and Uriel at their sides while they sleep.

I assume that Catholicism adopted the belief in these angels from Orthodox Judaism?

 

[Navarricano]

I’m sorry, but unless you disagree with Pope Zachary and the Church itself, I do not believe you can “know” any of the names of the other Archangels.

My OP was meant to be for fun and trivia purposes (as I stated in the first line of what I wrote, infact), not for theological debate nor catechetical purposes. These names (in different variations as LilyM and I noted above) can be found in Christian literature from the Middle Ages, but we did note that they come from apocryphal literature and not from the canon of Sacred Scripture or the Church’s magisterium, so …

I don’t see the problem. It’s Catholic cultural trivia, that’s all. And no, I don’t disagree with either Pope Zachary or “the Church itself.” Your response came off a bit aggressive, frankly. Would you mind toning it down a bit? I’m new to these forums and would like to enjoy talking to others here. Thanks.

 

[ruslan]

My OP was meant to be for fun and trivia purposes (as I stated in the first line of what I wrote,

I don’t see the problem. It’s Catholic cultural trivia, that’s all. it down I’m new to these forums and would like to enjoy talking to others here. Thanks.

I know this is OT - but…

Welcome to CAF… and your blog is interesting.

:harp: :heaven:

 

[Navarricano]

There is a prayer that Orthodox Jews say before bedtime every night…the prayer asks God to keep the angels Michael, Raphael, Gavriel and Uriel at their sides while they sleep.

I assume that Catholicism adopted the belief in these angels from Orthodox Judaism?

Yes, that’s the case. The first three are specifically biblical and appear in wither the Hebrew or Christian Scriptures.

St. Michael’s name appears in the Book of Daniel, the Book of Jude, the Book of Revelation and the Book of Ezekiel at least.

St Gabriel in St. Luke 1:19, 26 and Daniel 8:16 and 9:21.

St. Raphael in the stories of Tobit and Tobais in the Hebrew Scriptures. If I’m not mistaken, he was also the one who was held to stir the waters of the Pool of Siloe when Christ worked a miracle in John 5:1-4.

Uriel is traditionally associated with the angel who guarded Jesus´ tomb in the Gospel of St. Matthew, though he is not mentioned by name.

The names of the other four come from apocryphal literature I understand, and do not appear in the Catholic canonical Scriptures.

P.S. That’s not meant to be an exhaustive list of Scriptural references to Sts. Michael, Gabriel and Raphael; there may well be other references to them elsewhere in Scripture.

God bless!

 

[Spirithound]

My OP was meant to be for fun and trivia purposes (as I stated in the first line of what I wrote, infact), not for theological debate nor catechetical purposes. These names (in different variations as LilyM and I noted above) can be found in Christian literature from the Middle Ages, but we did note that they come from apocryphal literature and not from the canon of Sacred Scripture or the Church’s magisterium, so …

I don’t see the problem. It’s Catholic cultural trivia, that’s all. And no, I don’t disagree with either Pope Zachary or “the Church itself.” Your response came off a bit aggressive, frankly. Would you mind toning it down a bit? I’m new to these forums and would like to enjoy talking to others here. Thanks.

First, welcome to the CAF! I hope you’ll have a lot of fun here and learn as much (or more ) as I have.
You may encounter rather strenuous opposition to this kind of question because it’s not official Catholicism. Plus, you’ve chosen to put it in the Traditional Catholicism forum, which is the most traditionally minded forum here. Alot of thought and “interaction” with angels nowadays is “New Age” in nature, and for that reason, I would also give caution to anyone reading that this is only speculation, and we should not try to name any angel except Sts. Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael.

But anyways,
Michael: Who is like unto God?
Gabriel: God is my strength
Raphael: God has healed.

God bless

 

[Ted_in_Charlott]

Your response came off a bit aggressive, frankly. Would you mind toning it down a bit? I’m new to these forums and would like to enjoy talking to others here. Thanks.

Your blog is interesting. And you will find some people get a little wound up here. I had someone almost take off my head in a greatest movie thread, seems I didn’t list one of their favorites and they were ready to go to fistacuffs.

Just stay out of certain sections, they are like dark alleys.

 

[Navarricano]

I know this OT - but…
Welcome and your blog is interesting.

:harp: :heaven:

Thank you! That’s very kind.:tiphat:

It’s new and I’m just getting rolling, so please check back whenever you like and feel free to leave a comment or propose a topic for discussion. All observations, constructive criticism and/or suggestions cheerfully accepted!

God bless!

 

[Navarricano]

First, welcome to the CAF! I hope you’ll have a lot of fun here and learn as much (or more ) as I have.
You may encounter rather strenuous opposition to this kind of question because it’s not official Catholicism. Plus, you’ve chosen to put it in the Traditional Catholicism forum, which is the most traditionally minded forum here. Alot of thought and “interaction” with angels nowadays is “New Age” in nature, and for that reason, I would also give caution to anyone reading that this is only speculation, and we should not try to name any angel except Sts. Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael.

But anyways,
Michael: Who is like unto God?
Gabriel: God is my strength
Raphael: God has healed.

God bless

Thanks for the welcome and the advice! I didn’t really know where to put it, frankly. I was just doing some reading this morning and came across the information, and I found it interesting. I didn’t realize it could potentially rub someone the wrong way; that certainly wasn’t my intention.

Those are the meanings that my book gives for the three confirmed ones all right … now, as for those apocryphal ones, you’ve got me wondering if I dare put up the information I came across …

Anyway, my source is a book that I came across called The Catholic Source Book by Rev. Peter Klein. I don’t know if it’s still in print or not, but it’s got a lot of good, solid catechetical information alongside lots of cultural trivia and folktales from Catholic culture and history.

Here’s another, fun “angelic” legend I found in it: do you know the date when blackberries turn tasteless? It’s on 29 September, after which they are no longer picked but left for the birds. That’s Michaelmas, St. Michael’s feast day, in honor of the angel who drove Lucifer out of heaven. In honor of the occasion, so the legend goes, the devil spits on the blackberries, leaving them tasteless!

 

[Brendan]

Uriel is traditionally associated with the angel who guarded Jesus´ tomb in the Gospel of St. Matthew, though he is not mentioned by name.
!

Uriel is also associated with the Angel of Death that came to the first born of Egypt in Exodus.

I’ve always wished that the Church recognized the rabbinical naming of Uriel. It would be really cool to have a Catholic grade school somewhere named “The St. Uriel Smiters”

Jsmith17:

I’m sorry, but unless you disagree with Pope Zachary and the Church itself, I do not believe you can “know” any of the names of the other Archangels

FYI, what Pope Zachary prohibited was the public dulia of non named angles, he did not prohibit private devotion. Later bishops named parish churches after St. Uriel, so the practice is disciplinary, not dogmatic.

 

[Navarricano]

Your blog is interesting. And you will find some people get a little wound up here. I had someone almost take off my head in a greatest movie thread, seems I didn’t list one of their favorites and they were ready to go to fistacuffs.

Just stay out of certain sections, they are like dark alleys.

Thanks for the compliment! :tiphat: And for the warning …

I would hope everyone would assume good will on the part of other posters until clear evidence is given otherwise. I decided to sign up because it’s a good opportunity to meet and chat with fellow Catholics from around the world, not to get into debates.

God bless!

 

[Spirithound]

Here’s another, fun “angelic” legend I found in it: do you know the date when blackberries turn tasteless? It’s on 29 September, after which they are no longer picked but left for the birds. That’s Michaelmas, St. Michael’s feast day, in honor of the angel who drove Lucifer out of heaven. In honor of the occasion, so the legend goes, the devil spits on the blackberries, leaving them tasteless!

September 29 is also the feast day of St. Raphael and St. Gabriel (in the new calendar at least). So that’s interesting about the blackberries…do they get better with age until about that time, or is there like a mid-summer flavour peak?

 

[Jsmith17]

Lo siento Navarricano,

My earlier post does come off as a bit aggressive, and for that I apologize. It seems more and more people are getting into the “New Age” side of angelology (naming their guardian angels, obsessing with angelic intervention) and ignoring the wisdom given to us by Pope St. Zachary on the dangers of angelolatry.

But I can see that this is not the case with you or your OP. Una vez más, lo siento, y espero que puedamos charlar en el futuro sobre algo un poco menos controversial.

Bienvenidos al forum

 

[Navarricano]

Lo siento Navarricano,

My earlier post does come off as a bit aggressive, and for that I apologize. It seems more and more people are getting into the “New Age” side of angelology (naming their guardian angels, obsessing with angelic intervention) and ignoring the wisdom given to us by Pope St. Zachary on the dangers of angelolatry.

But I can see that this is not the case with you or your OP. Una vez más, lo siento, y espero que puedamos charlar en el futuro sobre algo un poco menos controversial.

Bienvenidos al forum

Thank you for the kind words Jsmith. I hope I didn’t sound too harsh in my reply either.

Te agradezco las disculpas, y ¡por supuesto podemos charlar en el futuro! Entiendo también tu preocupación por la obsesión de algunos por las ideas"Nueva Era" sobre los santos ángeles … tenemos que distinguir siempre entre una devoción sana a estos poderosos intercesores y la idolatría de los que no conocen su verdadero papel en el plan de Dios.

Un saludo, ¡y que Dios te bendiga!