THE ORIGIN OF THE ANGELS

?And another angel came, and stood before the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given to him much incense, that he should offer of the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar, which is before the throne of God. And the smoke of the incense of the prayers of the saints ascended up before God from the hand of the angel. (Revelations 8:3-4)

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?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.? ? Catechism of the Catholic Church, No. 328

What Are Angels?

St. Augustine (354-430) instructs us that the word ?angel? is the name of their office, not of their nature. Their nature is known as ?spirit.? The word ?angel,? as translated from the Greek, means ?one going,? ?one sent? or ?messenger.? St. Augustine adds that ?the spirits called angels were never, in any sense, at any time, partakers of darkness, but from the moment of their creation, they were made beings of light. They were not merely created in order to exist and to live, but they were also illumined, so that they might live in wisdom and happiness.? According to St. Bernard (1090-1153) in his De Consideratione, angels are mighty, glorious, blessed, distinct personalities, of graduated rank, occupying the order given them from the beginning, perfect of their kind . . . endowed with immortality, passionless . . . being of pure mind, benignant affections, religious and devout; of unblemished morality; inseparably one in heart and mind, blessed with unbroken peace, God?s edifice dedicated to the divine praises and service. All this we ascertain by reading, and hold by faith. According to Fr. Pascal P. Parente, ?Even though not yet an article of faith, it is Catholic doctrine that the Angels are pure spirits, incorporeal substances, free and independent from any material body . . .?

As to their ?form,? we accept the descriptions of Scripture and Tradition and the revelations of the Saints which reveal that when they appear on earth, angels have a form similar to that of men, but of an ethereal, spiritual nature. At least that is how they appear in various apparitions in both the Old and New Testaments and in the apparitions of saints.

St. John Damascene (c. 675-c. 749), a Doctor of the Church, writes: ?An angel is an intellectual substance, endowed with liberty, perpetually active, without a body, serving God, having the form and the limits of whose substance only its Creator knows.? We believe that each angel is a distinct being, an individual, having distinct features (as we will learn from the revelations of the Saints), who has his own place in a hierarchy and who has an intellect far superior to human intellect. This is manifest in their many apparitions. Agreeing is St. Thomas Aquinas, who maintains that the Angels differ from each other specifically.

How Do We Know that Angels Exist?

The answer can be briefly summarized in this manner: we know that angels exist from the teaching of the Church, which is based both on Sacred Scripture?the Old and the New Testaments?and on Tradition, from the unanimous teachings of the Saints and Doctors of the Church, and from the innumerable well-authenticated accounts of apparitions. That the Angels were created was defined by the Fourth Lateran Council (1215). The decree ?Firmiter? against the Albigensian heresy declared both the fact that they were created and that men were created after them. Given free will and a high intelligence at their creation, they are often called the ?sons of God.?

In the Bible, angels are represented as a large gathering of spiritual beings intermediate between God and men. Angels are the servants and messengers of God, doing all as God pleases, serving the accomplishment of the divine plan. As St. Paul cites in his letter to the Hebrews: ?Are they not all ministering spirits, sent to minister for them, who shall receive the inheritance of salvation?? (Heb. 1:14). In addition, there are angels who minister not only to man, but principally to God Himself. In the book of Daniel, the Prophet tells of a vision of angels: ?. . . thousands of thousands ministered to him, and ten thousand times a hundred thousand stood before him.? (Dan. 7:10). Our Lord Himself reveals the following: ?See that you despise not one of these little ones: for I say to you, that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.? (Matt. 18:10).

The first great wealth of information regarding angels is given us in both the Old and New Testaments, as well as through the teachings of Holy Mother Church. Tradition has handed down from the earliest days important truths regarding them, while numerous Doctors of the Church have enlightened us on this doctrine. But probably the greatest wealth of information has been given us by the saints who have been privileged to view them and sometimes to communicate with them in wonderful visions that have been recorded for our edification. Before we consider these wonderful visions we will first
consider the testimony about the Angels as given in the Old Testament.

Angels in the Old Testament

Of the forty-six books of the Old Testament, angels are mentioned in thirty-one. In these books we learn about the activities of the Angels as they are directed by God. They adore, rebuke, reprove, comfort, instruct, chastise, prophesy, destroy, protect, assist, guard, interpret, advise, announce births, locate the lost and deliver messages of God; they also intercede and pray for us, they afflict, punish and even kill. We are reminded of the following well-known activities of angels: When Adam and Eve were cast out of the Garden of Eden for their sin, God ?placed before the paradise of pleasure cherubims, and a flaming sword, turning every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.? (Gen. 3:24). Three angels visited Abraham, and when he saw them, ?he ran to meet them from the door of his tent, and adored down to the ground.? After eating the meal that was prepared for them, they prophesied that Abraham?s wife Sara, even though well advanced in years, would nevertheless bear a son. (Gen. 18:2-14). The prophecy was fulfilled when Sara gave birth to a son whom Abraham named Isaac. We learn later that Sara had a servant girl who ran away from her stern mistress, but ?the angel of the Lord having found her, by a fountain of water in the wilderness . . . said to her: Return to thy mistress, and humble thyself under her hand.? (Gen. 16:7-9).

Yet another intervention of an angel took place when Abraham was about to slay his son for a holocaust, as instructed by God. While the knife was poised to strike, ?. . . an angel of the Lord from heaven called to him, saying: Abraham, Abraham . . . Lay not thy hand upon the boy, neither do thou anything to him . . .? (Gen. 22:11-12). After Abraham, we learn that Lot and his wife, while entertaining two angels in their home, were warned by them about the destruction of Sodom: And when it was morning, the angels pressed him, saying: Arise, take thy wife, and the two daughters which thou hast: lest thou also perish in the wickedness of the city . . . And they brought him forth and set him without the city: and there they spoke to him, saying: Save thy life: look not back, neither stay thou in all the country about: but save thyself in the mountain, lest thou be also consumed . . . And his wife looking behind her, was turned into a statue of salt. (Gen. 19:15-17, 26).

When Moses was learning from God the laws that would be observed by the people, God assured him, ?Behold I will send my angel, who shall go before thee, and keep thee in thy journey, and bring thee into the place that I have prepared . . . If thou wilt hear his voice, and do all that I speak, I will be an enemy to thy enemies and will afflict them that afflict thee. And my angel shall go before thee . . .? (Ex. 23:20, 22-23). When Josue was in a field of the city of Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and saw a man holding a drawn sword. After the man answered that he was not an enemy but ?prince of the host of the Lord,? Josue recognized him as an angel and ?fell on his face to the ground.? The angel then said, ?Loose thy shoes from off thy feet: for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Josue did as was commanded him.? (Jos. 5:13-16). The Lord then announced that Josue could lay claim to the city of Jericho. (Jos. 6:2).

We read in 4 Kings (2 Kings) that Ezechias prayed for God?s help against his enemy, the Assyrians: ?And it came to pass that night, that an angel of the Lord came, and slew in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and eighty-five thousand.? (4 Kgs. 19:35). The prophet Elias went one day?s journey into the desert and slept under a juniper tree. He was later awakened by an angel, who said to him, ?Arise and eat.? Elias looked, ?and behold there was at his head a hearth cake, and a vessel of water: and he ate and drank, and he fell asleep again.? For a second time the angel touched him and said, ?Arise, eat: for thou hast yet a great way to go.? And Elias arose, ate and drank, ?and walked in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights, unto the mount of God, Horeb.? (1 Kgs. 19:4-8).

When Nabuchodonosor had Sidrach, Misach and Abdenago cast into the burning furnace for not adoring a golden statue, they walked unharmed among the flames; the angel of the Lord ?drove the flame of the fire out of the furnace, and made the midst of the furnace like the blowing of a wind bringing dew, and the fire touched them not at all, nor troubled them, nor did them any harm.? The three young men sang the praises of God and prayed, ?O ye angels of the Lord, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all forever.? (Dan. 3:49-50, 58).

In the book of Zacharias we are told about a vision in which the prophet saw four chariots driven by angels. The horses, ?grisled and strong,? were black, white and red. An angel, who was his companion during the vision, informed Zacharias that they were the four winds of the heaven, ?which go forth to stand before the Lord of all the earth.? (Zach. 6:1-5). The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that angels ?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. Finally, the Angel Gabriel announced the birth of the Precursor and that of Jesus himself.?

Angels in the New Testament

In the entire New Testament, including the four Gospels, the Epistles and The Apocalypse, the words ?angel? or ?angels? are mentioned more than 158 times. From the Incarnation to the Ascension, we know that Our Lord was surrounded by the adoration and the service of angels. ?Thinkest thou that I cannot ask my Father, and He will give me presently more than twelve legions of angels?? (Matt. 26:53). Before His birth they advised Joseph to accept Mary as his wife; they warned him to take Mary and the Child to Egypt and announced when it was safe to return. At Our Lord?s birth they announced the good news to the shepherds; they served Him in the desert and in the Garden of Olives; they were present at His Resurrection. ?For an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and coming, rolled back the stone, and sat upon it.? (Matt. 28:2). Angels will also be indispensable at the Lord?s Second Coming because Jesus tells us: ?For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and then will he render to every man according to his works.? (Matt. 16:27). ?The harvest is the end of the world. And the reapers are the angels.? (Matt. 13:39). ?So shall it be at the end of the world. The angels shall go out, and shall separate the wicked from among the just.? (Matt. 13:49).

Angels continued to perform their services for the benefit of the Church and the Apostles, as noted in the Acts of the Apostles. An angel awakened Philip and instructed him: ?Arise, go toward the south, to the way that goeth down from Jerusalem into Gaza.? Philip went immediately and met the eunuch of Ethiopia, who was reading the prophet Isaias. After explaining the book to him, Philip baptized the eunuch, and the eunuch ?went on his way rejoicing.? (Acts 8:26-39). We learn of an angel?s visitation in the fifth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, when the Apostles were cast into the common prison by the high priest. But that very night an angel opened the doors of the prison and, leading them out, said: ?Go, and standing speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life.? (Acts 5:20). The next morning, when the high priest and the council had gathered, they gave orders for the Apostles to be brought to them for questioning. But when the ministers came to the prison, they found the cell empty. They reported: ?The prison indeed we found shut with all diligence, and the keepers standing before the doors; but opening it, we found no man within.? (Acts 5:23). The Apostles were later found in the temple preaching. The devout Cornelius, a centurion and a Gentile, was visited by an angel who instructed him to send his servants to invite St. Peter to his home. When Peter arrived, Cornelius told him, ?Four days ago unto this hour, I was praying in my house, at the ninth hour, and behold a man stood before me in white apparel and said, ?Cornelius, thy prayer is heard, and thy alms are had in remembrance in the sight of God.? ? (Acts 10:30). Peter preached to him and those in the house and baptized them?the first Gentiles to be admitted into the Church. Next we find St. Peter again in prison, this time at the hands of King Herod. Perhaps the King had heard of his miraculous escape from prison when the high priest had him apprehended. This time the King took extra precautions that the Apostle would not escape and ?delivered him to four files of soldiers to be kept.? (Acts 12:4). But one night while Peter slept between two soldiers, bound with two chains and with jailers before the door, an angel appeared in a great light. While the soldiers were in a mysterious slumber, the chains miraculously fell from the Apostle. Peter was told to dress, to put on his sandals and to follow the angelic apparition. ?And passing through the first and the second ward, they came to the iron gate that leadeth to the city, which of itself opened to them. And going out, they passed on through one street: and immediately the angel departed from him.? (Acts 12:10).

The Apostle Paul also had an experience when he was aboard a ship, which was ?being mightily tossed with the tempest.? (Acts 27:18). After many days, St. Paul spoke to the passengers and crew: ?Now I exhort you to be of good cheer. For there shall be no loss of any man?s life among you, but only of the ship. For an angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve, stood by me this night saying: ?Fear not, Paul, thou must be brought before Caesar; and behold God hath given thee all of them that sail with thee.?? (Acts 27:22-24). After some days of difficulty the ship was run aground, and the stern ?was broken with the violence of the sea.? (Acts 27:41). Just as the angel had predicted, all the ?two hundred threescore and sixteen souls? were saved and only the ship was lost. (Acts 27:37-44). Angels are repeatedly mentioned in The Apocalypse written by St. John while at Patmos. In the Saint?s vision of things yet to come, we find the Angels adoring and ministering before the throne: ?And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne . . .? (Apoc. 5:11). ?And all the angels stood round about the throne, and the ancients, and the four living creatures; and they fell down before the throne upon their faces, and adored God.? (Apoc. 7:11). In the events yet to come we also find angels dispensing God?s justice: ?And I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun having the sign of the living God; and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth.? (Apoc. 7:2). ?And the four angels were loosed, who were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year: for to kill the third part of men.? (Apoc. 9:15). ?And I saw another sign in heaven, great and wonderful: seven angels having the seven last plagues. For in them is filled up the wrath of God.? (Apoc. 15:1). ?And I heard a great voice out of the temple, saying to the seven angels: Go, and pour out the seven vials of the wrath of God upon the earth.? (Apoc. 16:1). We learn too that angels are assigned to guard various places, especially in the New Jerusalem: ?And it had a wall great and high, having twelve gates, and in the gates twelve angels . . .? (Apoc. 21:12). And finally, in the book of The Apocalypse, angels are mentioned in 13 of the 22 Chapters.

What the Church Teaches about Angels

The Church continues to benefit from angelic services, since angels are recognized in her prayers and rubrics. In the funeral liturgy we pray, ?May the Angels lead you into Paradise.? The words of Gabriel are given in the Hail Mary, and the announcement is repeated in the Angelus, which the Church recites at 6 a.m., noon and 6 p.m. The Angels are appealed to for prayer at the beginning of Holy Mass in the words: ?And I ask Blessed Mary, ever Virgin, all the Angels and Saints, and you, my brothers and sisters, to pray for me to the Lord our God.? The Confiteor in the Traditional Roman Rite of the Mass invokes ?Holy Michael the Archangel.? The Preface of Holy Mass also appeals to ?all the choirs of Angels in Heaven? to join with us in praising God. And after the Consecration, we pray: ?Almighty God, we pray that Your angel may take this sacrifice to Your altar in Heaven . . .? The Church has traditionally designated September 29 as the Feast of (the Dedication of the church of) St. Michael the Archangel. This feast has now been expanded to include St. Gabriel and St. Raphael also. In the traditional Roman calendar, May 8 commemorated ?The Apparition of St. Michael the Archangel? at Monte Gargano in Apulia, Italy, in 492. The guardian angels are remembered on October 2. Besides these remembrances, there are also other prayers in which the Church mentions angels. In addition, there are novenas, chaplets, litanies, beloved hymns and prayers of the Saints. In an address given by Pope John Paul II on July 9, 1986, the Holy Father stated regarding angels: ?All of the Church?s tradition is unanimous in affirming that they do exist. One would have to alter Sacred Scripture itself if one wished to eliminate this teaching . . . At certain points in salvation history, angels have had a fundamental role to play in the unfolding of human events.?

In the same year, on July 23, the Holy Father further instructed: The Angels are purely spiritual beings, created by God and given intelligence and free will. Through an immediate intuition of the truth, their intelligence grasps its object in a way that is much more complete than is possible for man . . . The world of the pure spirits is divided into good angels and bad ones. And this division has happened precisely as a result of their freedom to choose. God was present to their intelligence and free will as the Supreme Good. He also wished to give them, through grace, a share in the mystery of His divinity. The good angels have chosen God. But the others . . . have turned against God and the revelation of His grace. Their decision was inspired by a false sense of self-sufficiency, and it emerges as hatred and rebellion against God. It is traditional Catholic teaching (though not a defined dogma) that each individual is given a guardian angel, who will accompany, guard and teach him throughout his life. After death this angel will accompany the soul to its judgment, visit it if it is detained in Purgatory, and accompany it to the glory of Heaven. (See #64-76.)

When Were the Angels Created?

St. Jerome, St. John Damascene, the Greek Fathers and many Doctors of the Church hold that the creation of the Angels took place previously to that of the corporeal world. Other theologians and Catholic writers believe that the Angels were created at the same time the world was created, although before the creation of man. This latter point was upheld by the Fourth Lateran Council of 1215, which stated: ?God, by His almighty power, created together in the beginning of time both creatures, the spiritual and the corporeal, namely the angelic and the earthly, and afterwards the human, as it were an intermediate
creature, composed of body and spirit.? (D 428). Despite the opinions of those previously mentioned, the issue is still being debated among theologians and writers of religious material as to exactly when the Angels were created?before the heavens, the stars? But the common opinion of theologians is that the Angels and the material world were created at the same time. St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) writes on this subject: ?God alone, Father, Son and Holy Ghost, is from eternity. Catholic Faith holds this without doubt, and everything to the contrary must be rejected as heretical. For God so produced creatures that He made them from nothing, that is, after there had been nothing.?6 From this we know that there was a time when angels did not exist and that they were created in the beginning of time and before man was created. Exactly when they were created, whether before the earth and the skies, is known to God alone.

Before the Angelic Battle in Heaven, Were All the Angels Admitted to the Full Vision of God?

It is the belief of many theologians and Doctors of the Church that the Angels were all created in the state of grace in a heaven, but one separated from the Heaven of the Holy Trinity. The Angels had to give proof of their fidelity to God before being admitted to His presence. It was at this time that the bad angels rebelled. Had they seen the majesty and magnificence of God? the full impact of the Beatific Vision?they would never have entertained thoughts of being equal to or superior to God, nor would they have dared to be rebellious. After the fall of the angels?who then became devils?the good, faithful angels were admitted to the Heaven of the Holy Trinity, where they were permitted to gaze on the unveiled beauty of God. All of the above, as mentioned, is the belief of many theologians, and was also that of St. Thomas Aquinas, a Doctor of the Church. The Saint writes that the faithful angels, since their entrance into the Heaven of the Trinity, could not and cannot now sin or rebel because they now see God ?in His essence,? which he also calls ?the union of beatitude.?

Has the Number of Angels Increased Since Their Creation?

It is the universal Catholic belief that after the battle in which the defeated angels were transformed into devils, the number of angels has remained the same. Their number was complete from that time to this.

Are There any Hierarchies of Angels?

As has already been explained, the Angels are pure spirits, incorporeal and in every sense immaterial substances. There is no question of generation and multiplication with them, consequently no angelic families and clans. Each Angel stands apart as a complete and direct creation of God. Each Angel, according to Saint Thomas, is specifically different from any other in the entire spirit world, so that he possesses more or less perfection than the one next to him, by a degree higher or lower than that which here below separates man from a brute animal, an animal from a plant. This is because each Angel is a pure form. Now, every differentiation in form implies differentiation in species. Human beings, no matter what their race, belong all to one and the same species. They differ only individually by some material or moral quality that does not alter substantially their specific nature of a rational creature composed of body and soul.

The Lord of heaven who has grouped the children of men according to races, tribes, families, and nations must have assigned some order to the more numerous and more diversiform world of the Angels. The various names, in the plural number, given to the Angels in the Bible seem to imply that there are various orders and ranks among them. What is said here of the Choirs and Hierarchies of the Angels is not an article of faith, yet it should be regarded as a certain truth.

As a matter of fact the Scripture mentions nine different orders of Angels. In various passages in the Old and New Testament mention is made of Seraphim, Cherubim, Thrones, Dominations, Principalities, Powers, Virtues, Archangels, and Angels. The mere fact that the Scripture carefully distinguishes between these various names of Angelic orders is sufficient reason to believe that they actually represent different ranks in the spirit world, with a difference of perfection and of office between the various orders of Angels.

There seems to be no basis whatever to the opinion that these nine different denominations are synonymous terms. It never happens that while the Scripture is talking, for example, of Seraphim it would next refer to them as Thrones, Dominations, etc. The only exception is to be made with the term Angel, which is used both as a specific term for the lowest Choir, and as generic term for all the Choirs, as when the Psalmist says: “Praise ye him, all his angels; praise ye him, all his hosts.” “All his angels” here means all the choirs of Angels, whatever their name and their rank.

Some writers believe that this enumeration of nine Choirs of Angels is incomplete, because of the following words of Saint Paul: “Above all principality, and power, and virtue, and dominion and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come.” They say that “every name that is named” would seem to imply an indefinite number of Angelic Orders. While this is true, those same words could be equally well explained by the fact that in this passage Saint Paul had mentioned only four out of nine Choirs, hence those words could also imply that the enumeration just given is incomplete.

Beginning with the most perfect Hierarchy and the highest Choirs of Angels, the Angelic world is thus divided according to Dionysius:

I. THE SUPREME HIERARCHY

Seraphim
These are the highest order or choir of angels. They are the angels who are attendants or guardians before God’s throne. They praise God, calling, “Holy Holy Holy is the Lord of Hosts”. the only Bible reference is Isaiah 6:1-7. One of them touched Isaiah’s lips with a live coal from the altar, cleansing him from sin. Seraphim have six wings, two cover their faces, two cover their feet, and two are for flying.

Cherubim
Cherubim rank after the seraphim and are the second highest in the nine hierarchies or choirs of angels. The Old Testament does not reveal any evidence that the Jews considered them as intercessors or helpers of God. They were closely linked in God’s glory. They are manlike in appearance and double-winged and were guardians of God’s glory. They symbolized then, God’s power and mobility. In the New Testament, they are alluded to as celestial attendants in the Apocalypse (Rv 4-6). Catholic tradition describes them as angels who have an intimate knowledge of God and continually praise Him.

Thrones
Thrones are the Angels of pure Humility, Peace and Submisssion. They reside in the area of the cosmos where material form begins to take shape. The lower Choir of Angels need the Thrones to access God.

II. MIDDLE HIERARCHY

Dominions
Dominions are Angels of Leadership. They regulate the duties of the angels, making known the commands of God.

Virtues
Virtues are known as the Spirits of Motion and control the elements. They are sometimes referred to as “the shining ones.” They govern all nature. They have control over seasons, stars, moon; even the sun is subject to their command. They are also in charge of miracles and provide courage, grace, and valor.

Powers
Powers are Warrior Angels against evil defending the cosmos and humans. They are known as potentates. They fight against evil spirits who attempt to wreak chaos through human beings. The chief is said to be either Samael or Camael, both angels of darkness.

III. LOWER HIERARCHY

Archangels
Archangels are generally taken to mean “chief or leading angel” ( Jude 9; 1 Thes 4:16), they are the most frequently mentioned throughout the Bible. They may be of this or other hierarchies as St. Michael Archangel, who is a princely Seraph. The Archangels have a unique role as God’s messenger to the people at critical times in history and salvation (Tb 12:6, 15; Jn 5:4; Rv 12:7-9) as in The Annunciation and Apocalypse. A feast day celebrating the Archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael is celebrated throughout the Church Sep 29. A special part of the Byzantine Liturgy invokes the “Cherubic Hymn” which celebrates these archangels and the guardian angels particularly. Of special significance is St. Michael as he has been invoked as patron and protector by the Church from the time of the Apostles. The Eastern Rite and many others place him over all the angels, as Prince of the Seraphim. He is described as the “chief of princes” and as the leader of the forces of heaven in their triumph over Satan and his followers. The angel Gabriel first appeared in the Old Testament in the prophesies of Daniel, he announced the prophecy of 70 weeks (Dn 9:21-27). He appeared to Zechariah to announce the birth of St. John the Baptist (Lk 1:11). It was also Gabriel which proclaimed the Annunciation of Mary to be the mother of our Lord and Saviour. (Lk 1:26) The angel Raphael first appeared in the book of Tobit (Tobias)Tb 3:25, 5:5-28, 6-12). He announces “I am the Angel Raphael, one of the seven who stand before the throne of God.” (Tb 12:15)

Principalities
In the New Testament Principalities refers to one type of spiritual (metaphysical) being which are now quite hostile to God and human beings. (Rom 8:38; 1 Cor 15:24; Eph 1:21; 3:10; 6:12; Col 1:16; 2:10, 15) Along with the principalities are the powers (Rom 8:38; 1 Cor 15:24; Eph 1:21; 1 Pt 3:22; 2 Thes 1:7); and cosmological powers (1 Cor 15:24; Eph 1:21; 3:10; Col 2:15);Dominions (Eph 1:21; Col 1:16) and thrones (Col1:16). The clarity of the New Testament witness helps see that these beings were created through Christ and for Him (Col 1:16). Given their hostility to God and humans due to sin, Christ’s ultimate rule over them (ibid) expresses the reign of the Lord over all in the cosmos. This is the Lordship of Christ, which reveals God’s tremendous salvation in conquering sin and death at the cross, and now takes place in the Church. (Eph 3:10)

Angels
These angels are closest to the material world and human begins. They deliver the prayers to God and God’s answers and other messages to humans. Angels have the capacity to access any and all other Angels at any time. They are the most caring and socius to assist those who ask for help.

These nine orders of Angels are commonly called Choirs. Because the word choir means a band of singers, it is liable to create a wrong notion about the number and the duties of the Angels. Singing the praises of the Most High is indeed one of the most pleasant and desired occupation of all celestial spirits, but certainly not the only duty and occupation. Their vast number of countless millions and myriads in each Choir would be better expressed by other terms, like Order, Rank, Hosts, etc. Yet, the accepted name should be retained because of its antiquity.

What is meant by Angelic Hierarchy?

According to Dionysius, in this case Hierarchy implies a holy order, a special knowledge, and a specific activity which, so far as possible, “participates in the Divine Likeness and is lifted up to the illuminations given it from God, and correspondingly towards the imitation of God…. The aim of the Hierarchy is the greatest possible assimilation to and union with God…. Also it molds and perfects its participants in the holy image of God like bright and spotless mirrors which receive the ray of the supreme Deity which is the source of light, and being mystically filled with the gift of light, it pours it forth again abundantly, in accordance with God’s law, upon those below itself.”

Hierarchy, a sacred authority, generally speaking, implies some common sphere of activity and influence; Orders, among Angels, imply gradual rank of both natural perfection and supernatural grace and glory. This is the meaning of Saint Bernard’s consideration: “The citizens of that country are spirits, mighty, glorious, blessed, separate personalities, of gradual rank, from the beginning standing in their own order, perfect of their kind.”

As we have noted before, all the names of the Angelic Orders, or Choirs, are found in Sacred Scripture; they are not an invention of Dionysius. The distribution of the nine Choirs into three distinct Hierarchies is a theory he derived ultimately from Neo- Platonic Philosophy prevalent in his time. According to Proclus: “The progressions of beings are completed through similitude. However, the terminations of the higher orders are united to the beginnings of second orders . . . and thus all things are in continuity with each other.”[26] Dionysius develops these basic ideas both in his Celestial and Ecclesiastical Hierarchies. He confesses his inability to give us a clear picture of that wondrous organization of the Angelic world when he writes: “I hold that none but the Divine Creator, by whom they were ordained, is able to know fully the number and the nature of the celestial Beings and the regulation of their Hierarchies…. We could not have known the mystery of these supercelestial Intelligences and all the holiness of their perfection had it not been taught to us by God through His ministers who truly know their own natures. Therefore we will say nothing as from ourselves, but being instructed we will set forth, according to our ability, those angelic visions which the venerable theologians have beheld.”

According to Dionysius, a Hierarchy is a threefold order and a co-equal unity. The most exalted Hierarchy, that of the Orders of Seraphim, Cherubim, and Thrones, is the most fully Godlike, the most closely and immediately united to the first Light of the Godhead.

The first and the second Hierarchy possess all the illumination and the power of the lower Hierarchy, that of the Principalities, the Archangels, and the Angels. This, according to Dionysius, is the reason why all the blessed spirits, including those of the highest Choirs, are rightly called Angels?the name of the lowest Choir?because they all possess, in addition to their own personal perfection, the illumination and the power of the common Angel, but the Angels themselves do not participate equally with those above them.

It is well known how the concept of the heavenly Hierarchy was accommodated, by the same author, to the Ecclesiastical Hierarchy. Here, too, a member of the highest Order, a Bishop, has all the sacred power and sacred knowledge of any member of the lower Orders, the Priests, the Deacons, etc., but these do not share equally with him in that power. The Angelic Choirs, or Orders, exercise their power by means of illumination and purgation, enriching and perfecting the Angelic or human intelligences that are immediately below themselves according to their receptive capacity. By analogy, the same functions of purging, illuminating, and perfecting are attributed to the various Orders of the Ecclesiastical Hierarchy by Dionysius. This is indeed a very harmonious and beautiful conception of God’s family in heaven and on earth, a family in which all are joined together in charity among themselves and all are united in God with divine love.

“The first Hierarchy of the celestial Intelligences is purified and enlightened, being ordained by the first perfecting Cause, uplifted directly to Himself, and filled, analogously, with the most holy purification of the boundless light of the supreme perfection, untouched by any inferiority, full of primal light and perfected by its union with the first-given understanding and knowledge.” According to this principle, the Choirs of the first Hierarchy receive, in proportion to their Order and personal perfection, illumination and purgation directly from God; the others indirectly, that is, through the members of the Choir and Hierarchy immediately above them, except, of course, for the supernatural light of grace and glory which is given to all directly from God.

It is practically beyond our power of comprehension and comparison to balance one against the other, the highest in the Order of Seraphim with the lowest in the Choir of Angels, in the third Hierarchy. The highest in the Choir of Seraphim must have been the most brilliant, most perfect and glorious creature of the spirit world, a bearer of light and beauty, the ideal of creation. According to Sacred Scripture the apostasy of the fallen Angels must be attributed to one of the most exalted spirits. He sinned by pride and seduced the others by his example and his lies.

References:
Choirs of Angels by Catholic Online
Angels and Devils by Joan Carol Cruz
The Sons of God by EWTN