The names of angels are a matter of concern to many people who are interested in the problems of spiritual life. This article will describe in detail what types of angels are, how they differ from each other, where these creatures came from.
History of creation
But, before considering the question of the names of angels, you need to figure out who these unearthly creatures are.
From the Greek language the name of these incorporeal entities is translated as “messenger”, the same root can be found in the name of the holy book of Christians - the Gospel, which means “good news”. Such executors of God's will were created before the advent of the entire material world. This can be argued on the basis of an episode from the Old Testament, which says that the angels began to praise the Creator when he created the celestial stars.
Thus, since this act preceded the appearance of the Earth and everything that is on it, it is safe to say that this happened before the creation of man.
The existence of angels and their various deeds is discussed in both the New and Old Testaments. In particular, the Revelation of the prophet Isaiah tells how this saint saw the Lord God, surrounded by angels of various dignities.
The vision of the prophet Isaiah
This book of the Old Testament does not mention the names of the angels who were surrounded by the throne of the Lord, but some ranks of these creatures were named. Also, the writings of some theologians say that there are only three angelic ranks, each of them has three varieties. Among these types of unearthly creatures can be called such as thrones, angels, archangels, forces, powers, and so on. Each of these groups has its own individual purpose. The revelation of the prophet says that the archangels closest to the throne of the Lord continuously praise His name.
The literary creation of the ancient saint is also notable for the fact that it reveals the reason for the creation by God of man and other bodily and incorporeal beings. The Almighty created the Universe and everything that is in it from an overabundance of love. He needed to send his grace to someone. Therefore, He created the universe, the earth, and ultimately man.
Before creating our planet, the Creator said: “Yes, there will be heaven!” And it appeared. Some theologians say that this place from the Old Testament must be understood in such a way that the Creator created the invisible world before doing everything that we can sense with our senses. This is indicated in scripture by the word "heaven." Angels, whose names are hardly mentioned in the Bible, can be added to invisible entities, except for a few belonging to the highest level of the hierarchy.
So, in Orthodoxy nine archangels are revered. Four of them are mentioned in the books of the Old and New Testaments, the rest can be found only from the sacred tradition of the Orthodox Church. The most famous of them are Michael and Gabriel. The first of these is the archistratigue, that is, the commander in chief of the entire heavenly army. For this reason, the frequently asked question on the Internet about how to find out the name of an angel by date of birth is not entirely justified, since these names are not mentioned in the holy books. However, in Russia, under this concept it is customary to mean something else, namely, the holy heavenly patron. Several chapters of this article will be devoted to this phenomenon. Now it’s worth considering the question of why the Lord created the invisible world, including the angelic one.
Throne of the Most High
The book of the prophet Isaiah says that the Lord is seated on a throne, which is guarded by archangels, constantly singing His glory. This throne, in turn, is supported by His mighty hand. This fragment from the holy book of Macarius the Great is interpreted as follows.
The Lord is in constant communion with his creation: archangels and angels, sitting on a throne supported by them, but at the same time His hand serves as a support to this throne with all its surroundings. This also indicates that the Creator needs to give his love to everything created. Angels and archangels support the throne on which He sits, but the Lord himself at the same time does not leave them without his care and constantly cares for them, providing assistance.
In the same work, in the description of the device of the Kingdom of God, there are such unusual creatures as a lion with a fiery mane and an ox, whose whole body is covered with eyes. These two animals are constantly accompanied by an eagle. Many commentators say that these animals from the retinue of the Creator are also heavenly angels. These characters are well known to admirers of the works of Boris Grebenshchikov, since it is this work of spiritual literature that formed the basis of the plot of the song "City" from the repertoire of the Aquarium group.
There are numerous iconographic and other images of angels in which artists presented the main characters of their works not as human-like creatures, but in a more fantastic guise. Often these servants of the Most High, as well as the ox described above, are covered with many pairs of eyes. This unusual detail of the appearance of the assistants of the Lord God symbolizes their wisdom and ability to see hidden from the eyes of the simple mortal sides of life. This trait also speaks of the unlimited devotion of the angels to their heavenly creator, since all their eyes are constantly fixed on him.
In his own image and likeness
Many believers are interested in the question of how to identify a guardian angel by name in Orthodoxy. Such curiosities should be upset, because the Holy Scriptures say that only the Lord knows about the essence of celestial beings. Ordinary mortal people are not given to know their intercessors by name.
Only a small part of how the world is made invisible to the human eye is revealed in the scripture. However, in these books there are references to nine angels belonging to the higher legion, including such as Michael, Gabriel, Uriel. If your name coincides with these, then you can safely consider one of such representatives of the heavenly army as your intercessor.
As you know, the Creator created man in his own image and likeness, but this should not be taken literally, that people are the only begotten of God and their body is like the flesh of a heavenly father. This is not true. Understanding the words about the image and likeness should be a little different. Usually, interpreting this episode of scripture, the holy fathers say that the Creator in this case manifested itself as an artist who paints a certain person, but his portrait is still not a complete copy of the original.
All people are essentially material beings, that is, made of flesh. It is interesting that the angels, whose names by the date of birth are sought by many believers, also describe many theologians as creature beings, that is, consisting of flesh.
How to understand the words about the corporeality of angels
This definition can be interpreted in such a way that such creatures are ethereal in relation to people. That is, their bodies are much thinner than ordinary mortals. They are so different from human flesh that they are invisible to the human eye. However, in the full sense of the word, angels are still not incorporeal. The only uncreated being is the Lord God.
Orthodox angels, whose names are mostly unknown to mere mortals, were created by the Creator so that they would mediate between him and the world of people. In the Old Testament there are numerous cases when such creatures appeared before a person. It is interesting that many prophets did not describe them as creatures resembling a person in their appearance, but as something completely different: either as a wheel of fire, then as a bush, and so on.
As for the Gospel, in it the angels are described only as humanoid beings. Almost all of these episodes from the New Testament are related to the message of some important news to people. So, an angel who appeared in front of the Blessed Virgin Mary told her about the imminent appearance of the Savior. The same heavenly messenger also met myrrh-bearing women, notifying them of the resurrection of Christ.
Speaking about the essence of these celestials, it is worth mentioning that they have a much more developed intellect than people. However, the crown of God's creation is a person whose angels are intended to be connected with God.
Fallen angels
As already mentioned in this article, the heavenly army appeared even before the birth of mankind. It is worth mentioning that the first beings who sinned against the Lord God were also angels. The Creator endowed them, as well as man, with free will and developed intellect. Chief among them was a warrior named Lucifer. But this representative of the invisible world was proud of his perfection and decided that he could compare in his power with the Lord God himself and even surpass Him.
For this proud creature was cast into hell along with all the brothers who, at his instigation, also rebelled against their Creator. However, most of the retinue of the lord of heaven remained faithful to him and did not back down from his master. Later there was a grand battle between the fallen angels and warriors of the world, in which the servants of the Lord God won. Those who transgressed the Creator's will were overthrown from heaven and imprisoned in hell. Now their leader, Lucifer, became known as the Devil or Satan, while the rest of his associates received the title of demons. The names of demons and their characteristics are almost unknown to people, with the exception of the leader of this fallen family.
Opposites of angels
The scripture mentions that just as the angels are called to serve the Lord for the benefit of the people, so the demons are constantly trying to do harm to the human race. The first precedent of such an intervention in the life of God's creation is described in the first chapters of the Old Testament, which tell about the temptation of Eve by the serpent, who was no other than the devil who appeared to the woman in the form of an animal.
However, it is worth saying that these creatures, like angels, do not have any power over people. So, without the will of the Lord God, they cannot harm a person. This can be confirmed by an example from the scriptures. This book contains an episode of how demons, expelled from a person, wanted to go into a herd of pigs, but could not do this without the permission of the Lord God. Therefore, they began to beg the Creator to allow them to do so. When God gave his consent, they settled in animals, after which the whole herd rushed from a high rock.
Therefore, a person should not be afraid of these creatures, because if he has a firm faith in his Heavenly Father, then demons cannot do him any harm.
If he doubts, and the intention to live according to God's law is not strong, then he may find himself overcome by demon-tormentors, manifesting themselves as a variety of passions, that is, human sins that torment the soul of people. If we turn to Russian classical literature, then an example of such unbelief can be found in the novel “Viy” by Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol. The main character of this work, the seminar Homa, was killed by evil spirits precisely because he had lost hope in the Lord God and His intercession.
Many are worried about the question of why the Almighty, who foresaw the fall of the first people, did not save them from this step. The fact is that He created man by endowing him with free will. Thus, the Creator, knowing that the first people deviate from the rules, but did not violate their free will. He makes every effort to ensure that a person gradually returns to his pristine state, changing the fallen nature in himself.
About Guardian Angels
As mentioned in previous chapters, the Lord created numerous angels to help Him in the work of saving Christians.
In previous chapters, it was also mentioned that there are various angelic posts. So, among other representatives of these incorporeal creatures, they are especially close to people, because of their attachment to a particular person, guardian angels, by name unknown to anyone. Each person has such a patron, but not from birth, as many believe. He is “assigned” to him at the time of baptism.
This assistant has been with his ward for a lifetime, guiding him on the true path of salvation. The presence of such a heavenly protector in every baptized person is said, including in the Gospel, in the words of Jesus Christ himself. He mentions that the angel of each of the children is near God the Father.
Guardian Angel Mission
Such a creature is assigned to a person in order to help his soul be saved. However, a Christian with his actions can both strengthen his connection with a guardian angel, by name unknown to him, and break it. The first can be realized if you lead a life worthy of a true Christian, fight against your vices and offer a prayer to the Lord God for salvation.
If a person who received a guardian angel at baptism moves away from the church, leads an ungodly lifestyle, and so on, then his guardian angel ceases to serve him, because the Christian himself expresses his desire for this.
However, if the sinner returns to a righteous life, then the heavenly protector again begins to help him.
Name day
Not a single Christian knows his heavenly intercessor. Moreover, the vast majority of people throughout their lives have never seen their heavenly protector. However, this does not mean that the care of the Christian has ceased. An angel cares about a person to whom he is appointed to help by the Lord God himself constantly.
Do not confuse the concept of a guardian angel by date of birth and name, and what is given by God at the time of baptism. In the Orthodox tradition, each believer has two personal heavenly intercessors. One of them is a guardian angel by name and date of birth. In other words, that saint, on the day of whose memory a person was born, or whose name was given to him.
Such a heavenly patron, strictly speaking, is not an angel, but is called so in Russian tradition. It is believed that the righteous in their afterlife are in an incorporeal state until the second coming of Jesus Christ. This property makes them look like celestial warriors.
The second intercessor is a guardian angel by name and by birth not giving, but appearing with a Christian at the time of baptism.
Such a creature is indeed the messenger of God and in its righteousness surpasses all the righteous who have ever lived on earth, except for the Blessed Virgin Mary, who, as the hymns say, is “a glorious cherub and an honest seraph.”
The saint, in whose honor the man is named, is a real historical person who actually lived on Earth and became famous for his pious deeds and a godly life.
How to find out the name of your guardian angel
Since the names and all other characteristics of ethereal creatures are known only to the Lord God, then man cannot even name his guardian angel. And if we are talking about the holy heavenly intercessor, then there is a rule, following which you can not only determine the name of the saint, but also the day that the Orthodox Church set aside for his veneration. So how do you know the name of your angel? First of all, it is worth saying that he, as a rule, is the namesake of the person protected by him. That is, he bears the same name as his ward. It is no coincidence that in the Orthodox tradition, the Day of the Angel of both female and male names is otherwise called namesake. That is, on this day, the Orthodox Church glorifies the saint, named in the same way as this or that person. The name of an angel by birth date can only be found if the person was named according to the church calendar.
If the parents were guided by other principles, then the name day may not coincide with the date of birth. In order to determine the day of the angel in Orthodoxy, you need to see the church calendar. If on the date when you were born, a saint with a similar name is glorified, then he is your angel. If such a coincidence is not found, then the name day of the memory of a saint with a similar name, which is closest to the birthday, is chosen as a birthday. The task can be considered solved.
The saint, venerated on this date, is your guardian angel by name and date of birth.
About baptism
Most often, if a baby is baptized before the moment when he is given a name, then the priest calls him in honor of a guardian angel by birth (by the name of a saint who is venerated that day).
It happens that the mystery of human acceptance of the Orthodox religion is carried out in a more adult age.In this case, the priest, as a rule, leaves the person the same name that he bears. If it does not correspond to the Orthodox tradition, then the so-called baptismal name appears in the Christian. This is either the closest sounding option, or another transcription of the same word.
For example, if a woman's name is Agniya, then the priest can give her the name Anna. And if the man is George, then he is baptized with George.
According to baptism, it is worth identifying the names of angels. A list of names is given in church calendars, which are called differently by the clergy.
What to do on Angel Day
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How to call by the name of the guardian angel according to the church calendar, it is quite simple to find out. This was the subject of several chapters in this article. Also in this material a lot of words were said about when to pray to the heavenly intercessors and how to do it.
The article also contains interesting facts about the incorporeal messengers of the Lord contained in patristic literature and church traditions.
A Christian can appeal to guardian angels in prayer in case of difficult life situations. Along with this, one must not forget to thank God and the heavenly patrons for the constant care of people that they show thanks to their love. When is Angel Day, which names can be found on the church calendar.