[b]The creation of heaven and the establishment of the angelic world[/b]
“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” Thus begins its narrative the Book of Genesis, the book of life. From ancient times the Church has always understood heaven to mean the “rational heaven,” i.e. the angelic world. The first creative act of the Triune God was the creation of “second lights” – the celestial bodiless powers.
Here is how St. Gregory the Theologian pontificates on this subject back in the 4th century: “Since it did not suffice for the grace of God to be engaged solely in the contemplation of its own self, but rather required that this grace be disseminated, spreading out further and further, so that the number of recipients of this grace would be as immense as possible, because such is the nature of this supreme grace, – God first of all thinks of creating the angelic forces; and so the thought becomes deed, implemented by the Word and fulfilled by the Holy Spirit… Insofar as the first creation was pleasing to Him, He then thinks up another world, material and visible, or – what is the same – a harmonious composition of heaven and earth and everything that is between them” (Homily 38).
This is when and why the rational heaven was created. However, the very name angel (which is a Greek word) signifies messenger, i.e. a spirit created for some special service, in order to pass on messages to someone. In fact, Apostle Paul himself calls the angels the ministering spirits: “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?” (Hebrews 1:14).
What awesome and extraordinary words: the celestial powers, besides serving God, are sent to serve the human beings who are to inherit salvation. They are sent to us, frail humans! This service to mankind is performed primarily by the guardian angels, of whom we shall speak later.
What do we know of how the angelic world was created and how it is set up? According to Church teaching, the angels were created before the beginning of our visible world and were all created instantaneously, the same number of them that there is now, with the exception of the fallen angels, whose number is determined by theologians as being one third of the entire angelic assembly, according to the Revelation.
The nature of angels is entirely spiritual. They are bodiless and fleshless. The Church calls them “the second lights.” As such, they are participants in the divine light and ineffable glory of God. Having been created free, the angels became so fortified in virtue after their victory over the fallen spirits, in obedience to God and in love for Him, that they lost all propensity for sinning and became entirely established in goodness. In this especially they differ from human beings.
There remains a very complex question: which world is higher in the eyes of God – the angelic world or the world of righteous human beings? The angels’ designation as ministering spirits, as well as certain other scriptural texts lead us to believe that human essence transformed by holiness may be higher than the angelic one, but only in the hereafter of course. Furthermore, only about man was it said that he was created in the image and likeness of God. The Divine Word, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, became incarnate in order to save and redeem sinful mankind, but did not transform itself into one of the fallen spirits in order to save them. However, there is no established Church teaching on this subject, so it would be wiser for us to humbly bow down before this divine mystery…
What do we know of the structure of the angelic world? For this we have the writing of St. Dionysius the Areopagite, a disciple of Apostle Paul, entitled “The Heavenly Hierarchy.” We will briefly present this writing as recounted by a well-known Russian 19th-century religious writer, the reverend G. Dyachenko.
[b]The heavenly hierarchy[/b]
It is composed of three orders. Each order has three ranks. The highest order is composed of the seraphim, the cherubim, and the thrones; the middle order is composed of dominions, powers, and authorities; the lowest order is composed of principalities, archangels, and angels.
The supreme angelic order are the seraphim. Their name means flaming, fiery. Being directly and continuously in the presence of the One Who is love, Who lives in unassailable light, Whose throne is flaming fire, the seraphim burn with supreme love for God, and this flame of love ignites all the others. The prophet Isaiah describes the seraphim to us in his 6th chapter: “I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and His train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphim: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another and said: Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory”.
The second rank of the highest order is comprised of the cherubim, whose name means comprehension or knowledge. It is for this reason that they are called the many-eyed. Contemplating the glory of God and possessing supreme knowledge and wisdom, they pour forth the wisdom of God upon others. Many places in the Holy Scriptures speak of the cherubim; for example: “So God drove out Adam; and He placed at the east of the garden of Eden a cherubim, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life” (Gen. 3:24). The Book of Ezekiel speaks of the cherubim numerous times: “And there appeared in the cherubim the form of a man’s hand under their wings. And when I looked, behold the four wheels by the cherubim; one wheel by one cherubim, and another wheel by another cherubim, and the appearance of the wheels was as the color of a beryl stone” (10:8-9).
The third rank of the highest order consists of the thrones, called God-bearing not by their essence, but by their service, since God blessedly and unfathomably rests upon them. God also shows His majesty and justice through this rank of angels.
Let us now turn to the middle order of the heavenly hierarchy. Its eldest rank is composed of dominions, who dominate the lower ranks of angels. Serving God willing and joyfully, they pass on to those living on earth the power of prudent self-control and wise self-arrangement; they teach men to control their feelings, to restrain unbridled desires and passions, to subordinate the flesh to the spirit, to dominate one’s will and conquer temptations.
The rank of dominions is followed by the rank of powers, through whom God produces signs and miracles for the glory of God and to aid and strengthen those who labor and who are burdened. This rank is mentioned to us by Apostle Peter, who says that Christ, ascending into the heavens, was worshipped by angels, and authorities, and powers.
To the lowest rank of the middle order belong the authorities, who have great power over the devil, conquer him, guard men from his wiles, and fortify those who engage in spiritual labors. Some Church Fathers believe that the guardian angel of Apostle Peter, who lead him out of prison, belonged to this angelic rank.
The lower order of the heavenly hierarchy includes the following: the first rank is that of the principalities, who rule over the lower angels, assign tasks, distribute services among them, and rule over kingdoms and communities of men.
The next-to-last rank is composed of the archangels, messengers and heralds of God’s mysteries, who communicate God’s will to men.
The last rank is called simply angels, the bodiless spirits who are closest to men. It is they who are primarily sent into the world as our guardian angels. This is what we know of the ranks and orders of the heavenly hierarchy.
Archbishop Seraphim of Chicago