Francesco Botticini - The Assumption of the Virgin

In the angelology of different religions, a hierarchy of angels is a ranking system of angels. Higher ranks have more power or authority over lower ranks, and with different ranks having differences in appearance, such as varying numbers of wings or faces.

Abrahamic religions

Judaism

The Jewish angelic hierarchy is established in the Hebrew Bible, Talmud, Rabbinic literature, and traditional Jewish liturgy. They are categorized in different hierarchies proposed by various theologians. For example, Maimonides, in his '' Mishneh Torah'' or ''Yad ha-Chazakah: Yesodei ha-Torah'', counts ten ranks of angels.

Christianity

The most influential Christian angelic hierarchy was that put forward by

Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite (or Dionysius the Pseudo-Areopagite) was a Greek author, Christian theologian and Neoplatonic philosopher of the late 5th to early 6th century, who wrote a set of works known as the ''Corpus Areopagiticum'' or ...

in the 5th or 6th century in his book '' De Coelesti Hierarchia'' (''On the Celestial Hierarchy''). Dionysius described nine levels of spiritual beings which he grouped into three orders: *Highest orders *: Seraphim *:

Cherub A cherub (; plural cherubim; he, כְּרוּב ''kərūḇ'', pl. ''kərūḇīm'', likely borrowed from a derived form of akk, 𒅗𒊏𒁍 ''karabu'' "to bless" such as ''karibu'', "one who blesses", a name for the lamassu) is one of the u ...

im *: Thrones *Middle orders *: Dominions *: Virtues *:

Powers Powers may refer to: Arts and media * ''Powers'' (comics), a comic book series by Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming ** ''Powers'' (American TV series), a 2015–2016 series based on the comics * ''Powers'' (British TV series), a 200 ...

*Lowest orders *: Principalities *: Archangels *: Angels During the Middle Ages, various schemes were proposed, some drawing on and expanding on Pseudo-Dionysius, others suggesting completely different classifications. Pseudo-Dionysius (''On the Celestial Hierarchy'') and Thomas Aquinas (''

Summa Theologiae The ''Summa Theologiae'' or ''Summa Theologica'' (), often referred to simply as the ''Summa'', is the best-known work of Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274), a scholastic theologian and Doctor of the Church. It is a compendium of all of the main t ...

'') drew on passages from the New Testament, specifically Ephesians and Colossians 1:16, to develop a schema of three Hierarchies, Spheres or Triads of angels, with each Hierarchy containing three Orders or Choirs.

Islam

There is no standard hierarchical organization in Islam that parallels the Christian division into different "choirs" or spheres, and the topic is not directly addressed in the Quran. However, it is clear that there is a set order or hierarchy that exists between angels, defined by the assigned jobs and various tasks to which angels are commanded by God. Some scholars suggest that Islamic angels can be grouped into fourteen categories, with some of the higher orders being considered archangels. Qazwini describes an angelic hierarchy in his '' Aja'ib al-makhluqat'' with Ruh on the head of all angels, surrounded by the four archangelic cherubim. Below them are the seven angels of the seven heavens.

Zoroastrian

There is an informal Zoroastrian angelic hierarchy, with the specific angelic beings called having key positions in the day-name dedications on the Zoroastrian calendar segregated into the (the second to seventh of the 30 days of the month), and (the last six of the 30 days of the month).

Role-playing games

Angels are occasionally presented in role-playing games as having ordered hierarchies, within which higher level angels have more power and the ability to cast more spells or exercise other magical abilities. For example, Angels in ''Dungeons & Dragons'', a subgroup of the beings called

Celestials The Celestials are fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Depicted as cosmic beings, the characters debuted in the Bronze Age of Comic Books and have reappeared on numerous occasions. The Celestial ...

, come in three different types, the progressively more powerful Astral Deva, Planetar, and Solar.Christopher Perkins, ''

Warriors of Heaven ''Warriors of Heaven and Earth'' () is a 2003 Chinese action adventure film directed by He Ping. The film's notable cinematography captures a wide range of landscapes across China's Xinjiang province. It was China's official entry for the Academy ...

'' (TSR, 1999). Another game which has summonable angels is '' Shin Megami Tensei'', often classified under Divine, or Heralds. In the game series '' Bayonetta'' angels are enemies and all 3 spheres are present, each divided in the same 3 orders as the traditional hierarchy.

References

{{Christian angelic hierarchy