Angel
Angel
This article is about the cosmic spirits. For other uses, see Angel (disambiguation).
"Angelology" redirects here. For the novel, see Angelology (novel).
Not to be confused with Angle.
The lead
section of this article may
need to be rewritten. The
reason given is: Partisan
incomplete summary. (December 2016) (Learn how
and when to remove this template message)
An angel is a low-ranked spiritual being superior to humans in power and intelligence. In Christianity, Judaism, Islam, and
Zoroastrianism angels are celestial beings that act as intermediaries between
heaven and earth. Most of
them serve either as intermediaries between Heaven and
Earth, or as guardian spirits. Angels are referred to in connection with
their spiritual missions; as for instance, the "angel which has
redeemed", "an interpreter", "the angel
that destroyed", "the messenger of the covenant",
"angel of his presence", and "a band of angels of
evil". In Christian Science, the word "angel" is used
to refer to an inspiration from God.
The use of the term has extended to refer to artistic depictions
of the spirits, and it is also used figuratively to refer to messengers and harbingers, and to people who possess high qualities
of goodness, purity, selflessness, intelligence, and/or beauty.
In fine art,
angels are usually depicted as having the shape of human beings of
extraordinary beauty; they
are often identified using the symbols of bird wings, halos, and light.
Etymology
The word angel (pronounced /ˈeɪn.dʒəl/) in
English is a blend of Old English engel (with a hard g) and Old French angele. Both derive from Late Latin angelus "messenger", which in turn was
borrowed from Late Greek ἄγγελος ángelos.
According to R. S. P. Beekes, ángelositself may be "an
Oriental loan, like ἄγγαρος ['Persian mounted courier']." The word's earliest form is Mycenaean a-ke-ro attested in Linear B syllabic
script.
The ángelos is the default Septuagint's translation of
the Biblical Hebrew term mal’ākh denoting simply "messenger"
without specifying its nature. In the Latin Vulgate, however, the meaning
becomes bifurcated: when mal’ākh or ángelos is supposed to denote a human messenger,
words like nuntius or legatus are applied. If the word refers to some
supernatural being, the word angelus appears. Such differentiation has been
taken over by later vernacular translations of the Bible, early Christian and
Jewish exegetes and eventually modern scholars.
Zoroastrianism
In Zoroastrianism there are different angel-like figures. For
example, each person has one guardian angel, called Fravashi. They patronize human beings and other creatures, and also manifest
God's energy. The Amesha Spentas have often been regarded as angels, although
there is no direct reference to them conveying messages, but are rather emanations of Ahura Mazda ("Wise Lord", God); they initially
appeared in an abstract fashion and then later became personalized, associated
with diverse aspects of the divine creation.
Neoplatonism
In the commentaries of Proclus (4th century, under Christian rule) on the Timaeus of Plato, Proclus
uses the terminology of "angelic" (aggelikos) and
"angel" (aggelos) in relation to metaphysical beings.
According to Aristotle, just as there is a First Mover, so,
too, must there be spiritual secondary movers.
Abrahamic
religions
Judaism
The Torah uses the (Hebrew) terms מלאך אלהים (mal'āk̠ 'ĕlōhîm; messenger of
God), מלאך יהוה (mal'āk̠ YHWH; messenger of the
Lord), בני אלהים (bənē 'ĕlōhîm; sons of God) and הקודשים (haqqôd̠əšîm; the holy ones)
to refer to beings traditionally interpreted as angels. Later texts use other
terms, such as העליונים (hā'elyônîm; the upper ones).
The term מלאך (mal'āk̠) is also used in other books of the Tanakh. Depending on the context, the Hebrew word may refer to
a human messenger or to a supernatural messenger. A human messenger might be a
prophet or priest, such as Malachi, "my messenger"; the Greek superscription in
the Septuagint translation states the Book of Malachi was written "by
the hand of his messenger" ἀγγέλου angélu. Examples of a
supernatural messenger are the "Malak YHWH," who is either a messenger from God, an aspect of God (such as the Logos), or God himself as the messenger (the "theophanic angel.")
Scholar Michael D. Coogan notes that it is only
in the late books that the terms "come to mean the benevolent semi divine
beings familiar from later mythology and art." Daniel is the first biblical figure to refer to individual angels by name, mentioning Gabriel (God's primary messenger) in Daniel 9:21
and Michael (the holy fighter) in Daniel 10:13. These angels are part of Daniel's
apocalyptic visions and are an important part of all apocalyptic literature. Coogan explains the development of this concept of angels: "In the
postexilic period, with the development of explicit monotheism, these divine
beings—the 'sons of God' who were members of the Divine Council—were in effect demoted to what are now known as
'angels', understood as beings created by God, but immortal and thus superior
to humans." This conception of angels is best understood in contrast to demons and is often thought to be
"influenced by the ancient Persian religious tradition of Zoroastrianism, which
viewed the world as a battleground between forces of good and forces of evil,
between light and darkness." One of these is hāšāṭān, a figure depicted in (among other places) the Book of Job.
Philo of Alexandria identifies the angel with the Logos inasmuch as the angel is
the immaterial voice of God. The angel is something different from God himself,
but is conceived as God's instrument.
In post-Biblical Judaism, certain angels
took on particular significance and developed unique personalities and roles.
Although these archangels were believed to rank among the heavenly host, no systematic hierarchy ever developed. Metatron is considered one of the highest of the
angels in Merkabah and Kabbalist mysticism and often serves as a scribe;
he is briefly mentioned in the Talmud and figures prominently in Merkabah
mystical texts. Michael, who serves as a warrior and advocate for
Israel (Daniel 10:13), is looked upon particularly fondly. Gabriel is mentioned in the Book of Daniel (Daniel 8:15–17) and briefly in the Talmud, as well as in many Merkabah mystical texts. There is no evidence in Judaism
for the worship of angels, but there is evidence for the invocation and sometimes even conjuration of angels.
According to Kabbalah, there are four worlds and our world is the last
world: the world of action (Assiyah). Angels exist in the worlds above as a
'task' of God. They are an extension of God to produce effects in this world.
After an angel has completed its task, it ceases to exist. The angel is in
effect the task. This is derived from the book of Genesis when Abraham meets
with three angels and Lot meets with two. The task of one of the angels was to
inform Abraham of his coming child. The other two were to save Lot and to
destroy Sodom and Gomorrah.
Jewish philosopher Maimonides explained his view of angels in his Guide for the Perplexed II:4 and II
... This leads Aristotle in turn to the demonstrated fact that
God, glory and majesty to Him, does not do things by direct contact. God burns
things by means of fire; fire is moved by the motion of the sphere; the sphere
is moved by means of a disembodied intellect, these intellects being the
'angels which are near to Him', through whose mediation the spheres [planets]
move ... thus totally disembodied minds exist which emanate from God and
are the intermediaries between God and all the bodies [objects] here in this
world.
— Guide for the Perplexed II:4, Maimonides
Maimonides had a neo-Aristotelian interpretation of
the Bible. Maimonides writes that to the wise man, one sees that what the Bible
and Talmud refer to as "angels" are actually allusions to the various
laws of nature; they are the principles by which the physical universe
operates.
For all forces are
angels! How blind, how perniciously blind are the naive?! If you told someone
who purports to be a sage of Israel that the Deity sends an angel who enters a
woman's womb and there forms an embryo, he would think this a miracle and
accept it as a mark of the majesty and power of the Deity, despite the fact
that he believes an angel to be a body of fire one third the size of the entire
world. All this, he thinks, is possible for God. But if you tell him that God
placed in the sperm the power of forming and demarcating these organs, and that this is the angel, or that all forms are
produced by the Active Intellect; that here is the angel, the "vice-regent
of the world" constantly mentioned by the sages, then he will recoil.– Guide for the Perplexed II:4
Jewish angelic hierarchy
Maimonides, in his Yad ha-Chazakah: Yesodei ha-Torah, counts ten ranks of
angels in the Jewish angelic hierarchy, beginning from the highest:
|
Rank
|
Angel
|
Notes
|
|
1
|
Chayot Ha Kodesh
|
See Book of
Ezekiel chs. 1 and 10
|
|
2
|
Ophanim
|
See Ezekiel chs. 1
and 10
|
|
3
|
Erelim
|
See Book of Isaiah 33:7
|
|
4
|
Hashmallim
|
See Ezekiel 1:4
|
|
5
|
Seraphim
|
See Isaiah 6
|
|
6
|
Malakim
|
Messengers, angels
|
|
7
|
Elohim
|
"Godly beings"
|
|
8
|
Bene Elohim
|
"Sons of Godly beings"
|
|
9
|
Cherubim
|
See Talmud Hagigah
|
|
10
|
Ishim
|
"manlike beings", see Book of Genesis 18:2, Book of Daniel 10:5
|
Individual angels
From the Jewish Encyclopedia, entry
"Angelology".
·
Michael (archangel) (translation: who is like God?), kindness of God,
and stands up for the children of mankind
·
Gabriel (archangel) (translation: God is my strength), performs acts of justice and power
(Only these two angels are mentioned by
name in the Hebrew Bible; the rest are from extra-biblical tradition.)
·
Jophiel (translation: Beauty of God), expelled Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden holding a flaming sword and punishes
those who transgress against God.
·
Raphael (archangel) (translation: It is God who heals), God's healing force
·
Uriel (archangel) (translation: God is my light), leads us to destiny
·
Samael (archangel) (translation: Venom of God), angel of death—see
also Malach HaMavet (translation: the angel of death)
·
Sandalphon (archangel) (translation: bringing together), battles Samael and brings mankind together
Christianity
Later Christians inherited Jewish understandings of angels,
which in turn may have been partly inherited from the Egyptians. In the early stage, the Christian concept
of an angel characterized the angel as a messenger of God. Later came
identification of individual angelic messengers: Gabriel, Michael, Raphael, and Uriel.
Then, in the space of little more than two centuries (from the 3rd to the 5th)
the image of angels took on definite characteristics both in theology and in
art.
According to St Augustine,
" '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'." Basilian Father Thomas Rosica says, "Angels are very important,
because they provide people with an articulation of the conviction that God is
intimately involved in human life."
By the late 4th century, the Church Fathers agreed that there were different categories
of angels, with appropriate missions and activities assigned to them. There
was, however, some disagreement regarding the nature of angels. Some argued
that angels had physical bodies,while some maintained that they were entirely
spiritual. Some theologians had proposed that angels were not divine but on the
level of immaterial beings subordinate to the Trinity. The resolution of this Trinitarian dispute
included the development of doctrine about angels.
The angels are represented throughout the Christian Bible as
spiritual beings intermediate between God and men: "You have made him
[man] a little less than the angels ..." (Psalms 8:4-5). The Bible describes the function of
angels as "messengers" but does not indicate when the creation of
angels occurred. Christians
believe that angels are created beings, based on (Psalms 148:2-5; Colossians 1:16): "praise ye Him, all His
angels: praise ye Him, all His hosts ... for He spoke and they were made.
He commanded and they were created ...". The Fourth Lateran Council (1215) declared that the angels were
created beings. The Council's decree Firmiter
credimus (issued
against the Albigenses) declared both that angels were created
and that men were created after them. The First Vatican Council (1869) repeated this declaration in Dei Filius, the "Dogmatic
constitution on the Catholic faith".
Thomas Aquinas (13th century) relates angels to
Aristotle's metaphysics in his Summa contra Gentiles, Summa Theologica, and in De substantiis separatis, a treatise on angelology. Although angels
have greater knowledge than men, they are not omniscient, as Matthew 24:36 points out.
Interaction with angels
|
“
|
Forget not to show love unto strangers: for thereby some have entertained
angels unawares.—Hebrews 13:2
|
”
|
The New Testament includes many interactions and
conversations between angels and humans. For instance, three separate cases of
angelic interaction deal with the births of John the Baptist and Jesus Christ. In Luke 1:11, an angel appears to Zechariah to inform him that he will have a child despite his old age, thus
proclaiming the birth of John the Baptist. In Luke 1:26 the Archangel Gabriel visits the Virgin Mary in the Annunciation to foretell the birth of Jesus Christ. Angels then proclaim the birth of Jesus in the Adoration of the
shepherds in Luke 2:10.
According to Matthew 4:11, after Jesus
spent 40 days in the desert, "...the devil left him and, behold, angels
came and ministered to him." In Luke 22:43 an angel comforts Jesus Christ during the Agony in the Garden. In Matthew 28:5 an angel speaks at the empty tomb, following the Resurrection of Jesus and the rolling back of the stone by angels.
In 1851 Pope Pius IX approved the Chaplet of Saint
Michael based on the 1751 reported private revelation from archangel Michael to the Carmelite nun Antonia d'Astonac. In a biography of Saint Gemma Galgani written by Venerable Germanus Ruoppolo,
Galgani stated that she had spoken with her guardian angel.
Pope John Paul II emphasized the role of
angels in Catholic teachings in his 1986 address titled "Angels
Participate In History Of Salvation", in which he suggested that
modern mentality should come to see the importance of angels.
According to the Vatican's Congregation
for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments, "The practice of
assigning names to the Holy Angels should be discouraged, except in the cases
of Gabriel, Raphael and Michael whose names are contained in Holy
Scripture."
The New Church
In the New Church, extensive information is provided concerning angels and the
spiritual world in which they dwell from many years of spiritual experiences
recounted in the writings of Emanuel
Swedenborg. All angels are in human
form with a spiritual body, and are not just minds without form. There are different orders of angels
according to the three heavens, and
each angel dwells in one of innumerable societies of angels. Such a society of
angels can appear as one angel as a whole. All
angels originate from the human race, and there is not one angel in heaven who
first did not live in a material body. Moreover,
all children who die not only enter heaven but eventually become angels. The life of angels is that of
usefulness, and their functions are so many that they cannot be enumerated.
However each angel will enter a service according to the use that they had
performed in their earthly life. Names
of angels, such as Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, signify a particular angelic
function rather than an individual being.While living in one's body an
individual has conjunction with heaven through the angels, and with each person, there are at
least two evil spirits and two angels. Temptation
or pains of conscience originates from a conflict between evil spirits and
angels. Due to man's sinful
nature it is dangerous to have open direct communication with angels and can only be seen when one's spiritual sight has been opened. Thus from moment to moment angels
attempt to lead each person to what is good tacitly using the person's own
thoughts.
Latter Day Saints
Adherents of The Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) view
angels as the messengers of God. They are sent to mankind to deliver messages,
minister to humanity, teach doctrines of salvation, call mankind to repentance,
give priesthood keys, save individuals in perilous times, and guide humankind.
The Divine Comedy, Paradise (Paradiso), illustration by Gustave
Doré
The Divine Commedy, Paradise, illustration by Gustave Doré
Latter Day Saints believe that angels
either are the spirits of humans who are deceased or who have yet to be born,
or are humans who have been resurrected or translated and have physical bodies of flesh and bones, and accordingly Joseph Smith taught that "there are no angels
who minister to this earth but those that do belong or have belonged to
it." As such, Latter Day Saints also believe
that Adam, the
first man, was and is now the archangel Michael, and that Gabriel lived on the earth as Noah. Likewise the Angel Moroni first lived in a pre-Columbian American civilization as the 5th-century prophet-warrior named Moroni.
Joseph Smith, Jr. described his first
angelic encounter thus:
"While I was thus in the act of calling upon God, I
discovered a light appearing in my room, which continued to increase until the
room was lighter than at noonday, when immediately a personage appeared at my
bedside, standing in the air, for his feet did not touch the floor.
He had on a loose robe of most exquisite whiteness. It was a
whiteness beyond anything earthly I had ever seen; nor do I believe that any
earthly thing could be made to appear so exceedingly white and
brilliant ...
Not only was his robe exceedingly white, but his whole person
was glorious beyond description, and his countenance truly like lightning. The
room was exceedingly light, but not so very bright as immediately around his
person. When I first looked upon him, I was afraid; but the fear soon left
me."
Most angelic visitations in the early Latter Day Saint movement were witnessed by Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, who both claimed (prior to the
establishment of the church in 1830) to have been visited by the prophet Moroni, John the Baptist, and the apostles Peter, James, and John. Later, after the dedication of the Kirtland Temple, Smith and Cowdery claimed to have
been visited by Jesus,
and subsequently by Moses,
Elias, and Elijah.
People who claimed to have received a visit by an angel include
the other two of the Three Witnesses: David Whitmer and Martin
Harris. Many other Latter Day Saints, both in the early and modern
church, have claimed to have seen angels, though Smith posited that, except in
extenuating circumstances such as the restoration,
mortals teach mortals, spirits teach spirits, and resurrected beings teach
other resurrected beings.
Islam
Angels (Arabic: ملائكة , Malāʾikah) are mentioned many times in the Qur'an and Hadith. Islam is clear on the nature of angels in that they
are messengers of God. They have no free will,
and can do only what God orders them to do. An example of a task they carry out is that of testing individuals by
granting them abundant wealth and curing their illness. Believing in angels is one of the six Articles of Faith in Islam.
Some examples of angels in Islam:
·
Jibrail: the archangel Gabriel (Jibra'il or Jibril) is an
archangel who serves as a messenger from God.
·
Michael (archangel): or Mikail, the angel of nature.
·
Israfil (Arabic: إسرافيل, translit. Isrāfīl, Alternate Spelling: Israfel or Seraphim, Meaning: The Burning One ), is the angel of the
trumpet in Islam, though unnamed in the Qur'an. Along with Mikhail, Jibrail and Izra'il, he is one of the four Islamic archangels. Israfil will blow the trumpet from a
holy rock in Jerusalem to announce the Day of Resurrection. The trumpet is constantly poised at his lips, ready to be blown when God so
orders.
·
Darda'il: the angels who travel in the earth searching out
assemblies where people remember God's name.
·
Azrael is Azraa-eel عزرائيل or Izrail: the Angel of Death. No authentic reference of this in Quran or Hadeeth.
Only referenced as angel of death or ملك الموت.
·
Kiraman Katibin: the two
angels who record a person's good and bad deeds.
·
Mu'aqqibat: a class of guardian angels who keep people from
death until its decreed time.
·
Munkar and Nakir: the
angels who test the faith of the dead in their graves. They ask the soul of the
dead person questions. If the person fails the questions, the angels make the
man suffer until the Day of Judgement. If the soul passes the questions, he will
have a pleasant time in the grave until the Day of Judgement.
·
Ridwan: the angel in charge of maintaining Jannat or Paradise.
·
Maalik: the angel who keeps or guards hellfire.
·
Harut and Marut (Arabic: هاروت وماروت)
are two angels mentioned in the second Surah of the Qur'an, who were sent down to test the people at Babel or Babylon by performing deeds of magic. (Sura Al-Baqara, verse 102.) The Qur'an indicates that although they
warned the Babylonians not to imitate them or do as they were doing, some
members of their audience failed to obey and became sorcerers, thus damning
their own souls.
Bahá'í Faith
In his Book of Certitude Bahá'u'lláh, founder of the Bahá'í Faith, describes angels as people who "have
consumed, with the fire of the love of God, all human traits and
limitations", and have "clothed themselves" with angelic
attributes and have become "endowed with the attributes of the
spiritual". 'Abdu'l-Bahá describes angels as the "confirmations of
God and His celestial powers" and as "blessed beings who have severed
all ties with this nether world" and "been released from the chains
of self", and "revealers of God's abounding grace". The Bahá'í
writings also refer to the Concourse on High, an angelic host, and the Maid of Heaven of Bahá'u'lláh's vision.
Sikhism
This section improperly uses one or more religious texts as primary sources without referring to secondary sources
that critically analyze them. (November 2010) (Learn how
and when to remove this template message)
The poetry of the holy scripture of the Sikhs – the Sri Guru Granth Sahib – figuratively mentions a messenger or angel of death, sometimes as Yam (ਜਮ – "Yam") and sometimes as Azrael (ਅਜਰਾਈਲੁ – "Ajraeel"):
ਜਮ ਜੰਦਾਰੁ ਨ ਲਗਈ ਇਉ ਭਉਜਲੁ ਤਰੈ ਤਰਾਸਿ
The Messenger of Death will not touch
you; in this way, you shall cross over the terrifying world-ocean, carrying
others across with you.
— Sri Guru Granth Sahib, Siree Raag,
First Mehl, p. 22.
ਅਜਰਾਈਲੁ ਯਾਰੁ ਬੰਦੇ ਜਿਸੁ ਤੇਰਾ ਆਧਾਰੁ
Azraa-eel, the Messenger of Death, is
the friend of the human being who has Your support, Lord.
— Sri Guru Granth Sahib, Tilang, Fifth
Mehl, Third House, p. 724.
In a similar vein, the Sri Guru Granth Sahib talks of a figurative Chitar (ਚਿਤ੍ਰ) and Gupat (ਗੁਪਤੁ):
ਚਿਤ੍ਰ ਗੁਪਤੁ ਸਭ ਲਿਖਤੇ ਲੇਖਾ ॥
ਭਗਤ ਜਨਾ ਕਉ ਦ੍ਰਿਸਟਿ ਨ ਪੇਖਾ
Chitar and Gupat, the recording angels
of the conscious and the unconscious, write the accounts of all mortal beings,
/ but they cannot even see the Lord's humble devotees.
— Sri Guru Granth Sahib, Aasaa, Fifth
Mehl, Panch-Pada, p. 393.
However, Sikhism has never had a literal system of angels,
preferring guidance without explicit appeal to supernatural orders or beings.
Esotericism
Hermetic Qabalah
According to the Kabbalah as described by the Golden Dawn there are ten archangels, each commanding one of the choir of angels and
corresponding to one of the Sephirot. It is similar to the Jewish angelic hierarchy.
|
Rank
|
Choir of Angels
|
Translation
|
Archangel
|
Sephirah
|
|
1
|
Hayot Ha Kodesh
|
Holy Living Ones
|
Metatron
|
Keter
|
|
2
|
Ophanim
|
Wheels
|
Raziel
|
Chokmah
|
|
3
|
Erelim
|
Brave ones
|
Tzaphkiel
|
Binah
|
|
4
|
Hashmallim
|
Glowing ones, Amber ones
|
Tzadkiel
|
Chesed
|
|
5
|
Seraphim
|
Burning Ones
|
Khamael
|
Gevurah
|
|
6
|
Malakim
|
Messengers, angels
|
Raphael
|
Tipheret
|
|
7
|
Elohim
|
Godly Beings
|
Uriel
|
Netzach
|
|
8
|
Bene Elohim
|
Sons of Elohim
|
Michael
|
Hod
|
|
9
|
Cherubim
|
Gabriel
|
Yesod
|
|
|
10
|
Ishim
|
Men (man-like beings, phonetically
similar to "fires")
|
Sandalphon
|
Malkuth
|
Theosophy
In the teachings of the Theosophical Society, Devas are
regarded as living either in the atmospheres of the planets of the solar system (Planetary
Angels) or inside the Sun (Solar Angels) and they help to
guide the operation of the processes of nature such as
the process of evolution and the
growth of plants; their appearance is reputedly like colored
flames about the size of a human. It is believed by Theosophists that devas can
be observed when the third eye is
activated. Some (but not most) devas originally incarnated as human beings.
It is believed by Theosophists that nature spirits, elementals (gnomes, undines, sylphs, and salamanders),
and fairies can be also be observed when the third eye is
activated.]It is maintained by
Theosophists that these less evolutionarily developed beings have never been
previously incarnated as humans; they are regarded as being on a separate line
of spiritual evolution called the "deva evolution"; eventually, as
their souls advance
as they reincarnate, it is believed they will incarnate as
devas.
It is asserted by Theosophists that all of the above-mentioned
beings possess etheric bodies that are composed of etheric matter, a type of matter finer and
more pure that is composed of smaller particles than ordinary physical plane matter.
Brahma
Kumaris
The Brahma Kumaris uses the
term "angel" to refer to a perfect, or complete state of the human
being, which they believe can be attained through a connection with God.
In art
In an address during a General Audience
of 6 August 1986, entitled "Angels participate in the history of
salvation", Pope John Paul II explained that "[T]he angels have no
'body' (even if, in particular circumstances, they reveal themselves under
visible forms because of their mission for the good of people)." Angels are however often depicted in painting and sculpture as male humans.
Christian art perhaps reflects the descriptions in Revelation 4:6–8 of the Four Living Creatures (Greek: τὰ τέσσαρα ζῷα) and the descriptions in the Hebrew
Bible of cherubim and seraphim (the chayot in Ezekiel's Merkabah vision and the Seraphim of Isaiah). However, while cherubim and seraphim have wings in
the Bible, no angel is mentioned as having wings.
The earliest known Christian image of an
angel—in the Cubicolo dell'Annunziazione in the Catacomb of Priscilla (mid-3rd century)—is without wings. In that same period, representations of
angels on sarcophagi, lamps and reliquaries also show them without wings, as for example the angel in the Sacrifice of Isaac scene in the Sarcophagus of Junius
Bassus (although the side view of the
Sarcophagus shows winged angelic figures).
The earliest known representation of
angels with wings is on the "Prince's Sarcophagus", discovered in the
1930s at Sarigüzel, near Istanbul, and attributed to the time of Theodosius I (379–395). From that period on,
Christian art has represented angels mostly with wings, as in the cycle of
mosaics in the Basilica of Saint Mary
Major (432–440). Four- and six-winged
angels, drawn from the higher grades of angels (especially cherubim and seraphim) and often showing only their faces and wings, are
derived from Persian art and are usually shown only in heavenly contexts,
as opposed to performing tasks on earth. They often appear in the pendentives of church domes or semi-domes. Prior to the Judeo-Christian tradition, in the
Greek world the goddess Nike and the gods Eros and Thanatos were also depicted in human-like form
with wings.
12th-century icon of the Archangels Michael and Gabriel wearing the lorosof the Imperial guards.
Saint John Chrysostom explained the
significance of angels' wings:
They manifest a
nature's sublimity. That is why Gabriel is represented with wings. Not that
angels have wings, but that you may know that they leave the heights and the
most elevated dwelling to approach human nature. Accordingly, the wings
attributed to these powers have no other meaning than to indicate the sublimity
of their nature.
Angels are typically depicted in Mormon
art as having no wings based on a quote from Joseph Smith ("An angel of
God never has wings").
In terms of their clothing, angels,
especially the Archangel Michael, were depicted as military-style agents of God
and came to be shown wearing Late Antique military uniform. This uniform could be
the normal military dress, with a tunic to about the knees, an armour
breastplate and pteruges, but was often the specific dress of the bodyguard of
the Byzantine Emperor, with a long tunic and the loros, the long gold and jewelled pallium restricted to the Imperial family and
their closest guards. The basic military dress was shown in Western art into
the Baroque period and beyond (see
Reni picture above), and up to the present day in Eastern Orthodox icons. Other angels came to be conventionally depicted in long
robes, and in the later Middle Ages they often wear the vestments of a deacon, a cope over a dalmatic; this costume was used especially for Gabriel in Annunciation scenes—for example the Annunciation in
Washington by Jan van Eyck.
The
extraordinary-looking Cherubim(immediately to the left of Ezekiel) and Ophanim (the
nested-wheels) appear in the chariot vision of Ezekiel.
Some types of angels are described as
possessing more unusual or frightening attributes, such as the fiery bodies of
the Seraphim, and the wheel-like structures of
the Ophanim.
Source : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angel
Posting Komentar