Angels and Their Hierarchies

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The Bible frequently mentions Angels, Archangels, Cherubim and Seraphim, and as we recall at Christmas even names some of the most important angels such as Gabriel, who carried God’s message to a virgin named Mary in a little town in Galilee called Nazareth. An angel counseled Joseph in a dream to flee with the Holy Family into Egypt, and in another dream when to come back again.

Paul’s Epistles to the Ephesians and Colossians mention five other “choirs” – Thrones, Dominions (or Dominations), Powers, Virtues, and Principalities. In order to understand these entities, Aquinas consulted “Dionysius the Areopagite,” who throughout the middle ages was thought to be St. Paul’s convert, mentioned in Acts 17:34 – but during the Renaissance was proven to be a neo-Platonist philosopher/theologian from the 5th century.

In On the Divine Hierarchies, Dionysius arranges the choirs in great detail. The highest are the Seraphim, Cherubim, and Thrones, associated with the specific functions of love, knowledge, and power. In the middle are Dominations, Virtues, and Powers, associated with the universal governance of creation. And the lower hierarchy consists of Principalities, Archangels, and Angels, concerned with the direct administration of creatures in the world.

Years ago, I wrote my master’s thesis on Aquinas’ analysis of angelic faculties, which eventually morphed into a book. And I’ve published articles and given lectures on angels in academic contexts since then. But besides my academic interests, over the years, I have found that a number of saints, or candidates for sainthood, have reported extraordinary encounters with angels.

Some of them have even experienced frequent or lifelong companionship with angels – including St. Frances of Rome, St. Faustina, St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi, St. Gemma Galgani, Blessed Dian Belanger, and the Brazilian nun, Ceci Cony. They all received spiritual instruction from their angels (answers about relationships, decisions to be made, etc.) – but in major decisions the angels always referred them to priests who served as their spiritual directors.

The most prolific revelations (very much connected with the traditional angelic hierarchies) are found in the notebooks of the German stigmatist, Mechtilde Thaller-Schönwerth (1868-1919).

Mechtilde was treated harshly by her mother, who almost died giving birth to her. As a child she began to be accompanied visibly by her guardian angel. At five she was gifted, in addition, with the occasional presence of an archangel. As a teenager, she wanted to enter religious life, like her sister, but was told by her spiritual director that her vocation was marriage.

An Adoring Angel by Moretto da Brescia, c. 1540 [National Gallery, London]
An Adoring Angel by Moretto da Brescia, c. 1540 [National Gallery, London]
At sixteen, she was married to a cruel, adulterous, and often tyrannical husband. She received the stigmata, but the wounds were visible only to her director. She became the spiritual mother of many in her community through personal contacts and letters, and was gifted with bi-location, even visiting battlefields in World War I to care for the wounded. After her death, her husband and his mistress converted.

She not only received practical instructions from her angels – but in typical German speculative fashion – entered into periodic discussions with them about their types and duties. This led to her theological instructions concerning the nine choirs of angels. Her notebook and spiritual diary have not been translated, but in 1935 Frederick von Lama made excerpts from them, available in English as The Angels, Our God Given Companions and Servants.

Here are some of her comments, coinciding with Aquinas in major points, but going beyond the tradition in specific details:

Seraphim are the supreme choir, and “were made for one thing alone – to love the God of Love.”

Cherubim are the “swords of God. . . .Four of the Cherubim stand before the throne of the Holy Father. . . .One of these angels is often stationed at very holy sanctuaries.”

“The seventh choir, the Thrones, is the choir of authority. Every diocese, every kingdom, every religious community has its own angel taken from this choir.” They are mentioned in the “Preface” of many Masses, along with Dominations, Powers, and other orders.

In the middle hierarchy, the sixth choir is called the Dominations or “Dominions.” “God assigns angels of this choir to persons who must give spiritual guidance as teachers in higher schools of learning, from the pulpit, or in the confessional.”

“Some great sinners receive Virtues after their conversion. . . .All persons inclined to the contemplative life should call on this choir.”

Powers “are assigned to priests who are confessors of very devout souls. Confessors in monasteries have such a helper, other confessors only when they must guide privileged souls especially beloved by God. . . .If a priest has an angel of this choir, it is almost certain that later he will be given one of the Dominations in place of the Power. It has occurred that at their ordination, certain priests have received in addition to their regular guardian angel an angel from the choir of the Powers, because they were destined to do much extraordinary work in the confessional.”

“Each parish has its own angel, who is taken from the choir of the Principalities.”

“All who belong to the Confraternity of. . .Mary, Queen of Hearts, have two angels, the ordinary angel and an Archangel taken from the company of St. Gabriel.”

Guardian Angels will always “be at our side in heaven.” Characteristics: “Some appear more active and energetic than others. Some are more reserved, I might almost say, more timid, and these are assigned to persons who are called to suffer much.” If souls are lost, their guardians are reassigned to a “special Guard of the Queen of Angels.”

These are “private revelations,” but come with an Imprimatur and Nihil obstat from episcopal authorities, so contain nothing contrary to the faith. They may help to encourage appreciation of the spirits just above us – not least their role at Christmas time and far beyond.

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Howard Kainz, Emeritus Professor at Marquette University, is the author of twenty-five books on German philosophy, ethics, political philosophy, and religion, and over a hundred articles in scholarly journals, print magazines, online magazines, and op-eds. He was a recipient of an NEH fellowship for 1977-8, and Fulbright fellowships in Germany for 1980-1 and 1987-8. His website is at Marquette University.

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