Seven Archangels: Difference between revisions

The earliest reference to a system of '''seven archangels''' as a group appears to be in ''Enoch I'' (the [[Book of Enoch]]) which is not part of the Jewish Canon but is prevalent in the Judaic tradition, where they are named as [[Gabriel]], [[Michael (archangel)|Michael]], [[Raphael (archangel)|Raphael]], [[Uriel]], [[Raguel (archangel)|Raguel]], [[Remiel]] and [[Saraqael]]. While this book today is [[Biblical apocrypha|non-canonical]] in most Christian Churches, it was explicitly quoted in the [[New Testament]] ([[Letter of Jude]] 1:14-15) and by many of the early [[Church Fathers]]. The [[Ethiopian Orthodox Church]] to this day regards it to be canonical.

In the late 5th to early 6th century, [[Pseudo-Dionysius]] gives them as [[Michael (archangel)|Michael]], [[Archangel Gabriel|Gabriel]], [[Raphael (archangel)|Raphael]], [[Uriel]], [[Camael|Chamuel]], [[Jophiel]], and [[Zadkiel]]. <ref>''A Dictionary of Angels, Including the Fallen Angels'' by Gustav Davidson, 1980, Free Press Publishing</ref>The earliest Christian mention is by Pope [[Pope Gregory I|Saint Gregory I]] who lists them as Gabriel, Michael, Raphael, Uriel, Samael, Oriphiel and Raguel. A later reference to seven archangels would appear in an 8th or 9th century talisman attributed to Auriolus, a "servant of God" in north-western Spain. He issues a prayer to "all you patriarchs Michael, Gabriel, Cecitiel, Oriel, Raphael, Ananiel, Marmoniel ("who hold the clouds in your hands").<ref>Julia M.H. Smith, Europe After Rome: A New Cultural History 500-1000. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005. Page 77</ref>

 

 

The Catholic Church recognizes three archangels, the three mentioned in its [[canon of Scripture]]: Gabriel and Michael, mentioned in the New Testament, and Raphael, mentioned in the book of Tobit, where he is described as "one of the seven angels who stand ready and enter before the glory of the Lord",<ref>{{bibleverse||Tobit|12:15}}</ref> a phrase recalled in {{bibleverse||Revelation|8:2-6|ESV}}.