In the angelology of different religions, a hierarchy of angels is a ranking system of angels. The higher ranking angels have greater power and authority than lower ones, and different ranks have 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. The Zohar, in Exodus 43a, also lists ten ranks of angels. Jacob Nazir, in his Maseket Atzilut, also listed ten ranks of angels. Abraham ben Isaac of Granada, in his Berit Menuchah, also listed ten ranks of angels.
All of them are ranked with 1 being the highest, and all subsequent numbers being lower ranks.
RankAngelic ClassNotesRefsMishneh TorahZoharMaseket AtzilutBerit MenuchahReshit Chochmah14N/AN/A1Chayot Ha Kodesh/ChayotSee and 25292OphanSee and 321015ErelSee 46757HashmalSee 531103SeraphSee 61849Malakh/MalakMessengers, angels78N/AN/AN/AElohim"Godly beings", Divine beings who were not the Supreme God8993N/ABene Elohim"Sons of God"9N/A384CherubSee Hagigah 13b10106210Ish"manlike beings"see N/A7N/AN/A8ElN/AN/A47N/AShinan3 EnochN/AN/A566Tarshish3 Enoch
Christianity
The most influential angelic hierarchy was that put forward by Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite 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 Cherubim (chayot) Thrones (ophanim, erelim) Middle orders Dominions (hashmallim) Virtues (malakim, tarshishim) Powers 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) 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. Bonaventure summarized their nine offices as follows: announcing, declaring, and leading; regulating, enforcing, and commanding; receiving, revealing, and anointing.Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, De Eccles. Hierarchy., chapter 4, section 20. As quoted in Thomas agreed with Jerome's commentary on that every living human possesses a guardian angel. Of the angelic orders, he asserted that only the lowest five are sent by God to manifest themselves in the corporeal world, while the four highest remain in Heaven at his presence.
The Chaplet of Saint Michael the archangel, a Catholic devotion also called the rosary of the angels, approved by Pope Pius IX, includes prayers and specific invocations for each of the nine choirs of angels.Ann Ball, 2003 Encyclopedia of Catholic Devotions and Practices page 123Chaplet of Saint Michael the Archangel in Latin and English , Geoffrey W. M. P. Lopes Da Silva, Domina Nostra Publishing, 2020.
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.Mehdi Amin Razavi Aminrazavi, Seyyed Hossein Nasr The Islamic Intellectual Tradition in Persia Routledge, 16.12.2013 p.17
Fakhr al-Din al-Razi (d. 1209) divided the angels into eight groups, which shows some resemblance to Christian angelology:Serdar, Murat. "Hıristiyanlık ve İslâm’da Meleklerin Varlık ve Kısımları." Bilimname 2009.2 (2009). Hamalat al-'Arsh, those who carry the (Throne of God), comparable to the Christian Seraphim. Muqarrabun (Cherubim), who surround the throne of God, constantly praising God (tasbīḥ) Archangels, such as Jibrāʾīl, Mīkhā'īl, Isrāfīl, and 'Azrā'īl Angels of Heaven, such as Riḍwan. Angels of Hell, Mālik and Zabānīya Guardian angels, who are assigned to individuals to protect them The angels who record the actions of people Angels entrusted with the affairs of the world, like the angel of thunder.
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, come in three different types, the progressively more powerful Astral Deva, Planetar, and Solar.Jon Schindehette, Celestials, Angels, Devas: Dragon's-Eye View (January 9, 2013).Christopher Perkins, Warriors of Heaven (TSR, 1999). Another game which has summonable angels is Shin Megami Tensei, often classified under Divine, or Heralds. In the game series Bayonetta, Black Angels are supporting and all seven spheres are present, each divided in the same seven way as the traditional hierarchy.
See also Christian demonology De Coelesti Hierarchia List of angels in theology Living creatures (Bible) Luminary (Gnosticism)
References