Seven ArchangelsThe concept of Seven Archangels is found in some works of early Jewish literature and in Christianity. In those texts, they are referenced as the angels who serve God directly. The Catholic Church venerates seven archangels: in the Latin Christianity three are invoked by name (Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael) while the Eastern Catholic Churches name seven. The Lutheranism and the Anglicanism generally recognize three to five archangels: Michael and Gabriel, as well as Raphael, Uriel and Jerahmeel.
AzazilIn many Islamic and Islam-related traditions, Azazil (Arabic: عزازيل ʿAzāzīl, also known as Arabic: حارث Ḥārith) is the legendary prototype of the devil in Islamic culture. Azazil was considered to be among the nearest to God's throne, but because he sinned through pride, he became a devil. In Islamic tradition, Azazil is usually seen as the original name of Iblis, before he was expelled from heaven. Although Azazil is mostly portrayed as an archangel, who was already created when God made the jinn, in some reports Azazil is considered created as a jinni first but elevated to the rank of the angels.
Angels in ChristianityIn Christianity, angels are the messengers of God. As Augustine of Hippo remarks, the angels were experiencing something new as the creation of God unfolded. Augustine also considers that the 'good' angels seek at all times, to direct us towards the true source of happiness, God; that they encourage us in worship of God. De Coelesti Hierarchia According to Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite's De Coelesti Hierarchia (On the Celestial Hierarchy), there are three levels ("sphere") of angels, inside each of which there are three orders.
UrielUriel ˈjʊəriəl, Auriel (אוּרִיאֵל ʾŪrīʾēl, "El/God is my flame"; Οὐριήλ Oúriēl; ⲟⲩⲣⲓⲏⲗ Ouriēl; Uriele; Geʽez and Amharic: ዑራኤል or ዑርኤል ) or Oriel is the name of one of the archangels who is mentioned in the post-exilic rabbinic tradition and in certain Christian traditions. He is well known in the Russian Orthodox tradition and in folk Catholicism (in both of which he is considered to be one of the seven major archangels) and recognized in the Anglican Church as the fourth archangel.
SarielSariel (Hebrew and Aramaic: שָׂרִיאֵל Śārīʾēl, "God is my Ruler"; Greek: Σαριηλ Sariēl, ⲥⲟⲩⲣⲓⲏⲗ Souriēl; Amharic: ሰራቁያል Säraquyael, ሰረቃኤል Säräqael) is a virtue, mainly from Judaic tradition. Other possible versions of his name are Suriel, Suriyel (in some Dead Sea Scrolls translations), Seriel, Sauriel, Saraqael, Sarakiel, Suruel, Surufel, and Souriel. In 1 Enoch (20:6), he is said to be "one of the [seven] holy angels [who watch], who is set over the spirits, who sin in the spirit".
SamyazaSamyaza (שמחזי; שמיחזה; Σεμιαζά; ساميارس, ), also Shemhazai, Azza, Uzza, or Ouza, is a fallen angel of apocryphal Abrahamic traditions and Manichaeism who ranked in the heavenly hierarchy as the leader of the Watchers. The name "Shemyaza(z)" means "the (or my) name has seen," "he sees the name," or "I have seen." It is also spelled "Samyaza", "Shemhazai", "Samiaza(z)", "Semiaza", "Shamazya", "Shemyazaz", "Shemihazah", "Shemyaza", "Sêmîazâz", "Semjâzâ", "Samjâzâ", "Šemihaza", and "Semyaza".
Jerahmeel (archangel)The Hebrew name Jerahmeel (Hebrew: יְרַחְמְאֵל Yəraḥməʾēl, Tiberian: Yăraḥmē̆ʾēl, "God shall have mercy"), which appears several times in the Tanakh (see the article Jerahmeel), also appears in various forms as the name of an archangel in books of the intertestamental and early Christian periods. The book 2 Esdras, also known as 4 Ezra, is regarded as canonical by the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and falls within the intertestamental books of the Apocrypha in Protestant Bibles used by the Lutheran Churches and the Anglican Communion; it has come down to us in Latin and appears as an appendix to the Vulgate.
IsrafilIsrafil (, ʾIsrāfīl; or Israfel) is the angel who blows the trumpet to signal Qiyamah (the Day of Judgment) in Islam. Though unnamed in the Quran, he is one of the four archangels in Islamic tradition, along with Mīkāʾīl, Jibrāʾīl, and ʿAzrāʾīl. The "Book of Dead" described Israfil as the oldest of all archangels. It is believed that Israfil will blow the trumpet from a holy rock in Jerusalem to announce the Day of Resurrection. He is commonly thought of as the counterpart of the Judeo-Christian archangel Raphael.
SandalphonSandalphon (Hebrew: סַנְדַּלְפוֹן Sandalp̄ōn; Σανδαλφών Sandalfón) is an archangel in Jewish and Christian writings, although not in scripture. Sandalphon figures prominently in the mystical literary traditions of Rabbinic Judaism and early Christianity, notably in the Midrash, Talmud, and Kabbalah and is generally seen as gathering prayers and passing them on to God. Though not explicitly referenced in scripture, some of the earliest sources on Sandalphon refer to him as the prophet Elijah transfigured and risen to angelic status.
Fallen angelFallen angels are angels who were expelled from heaven. The literal term "fallen angel" does not appear in any Abrahamic religious texts, but is used to describe angels cast out of heaven or angels who sinned. Such angels often tempt humans to sin. The idea of fallen angels derived from the Book of Enoch, a Jewish pseudepigraph, or the assumption that the "sons of God" () mentioned in Genesis 6:1–4 are angels. In the period immediately preceding the composition of the New Testament, some sects of Judaism, as well as many Christian Church Fathers, identified these same "sons of God" as fallen angels.
