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Why is it that Catholics say there are seven archangels, and
Where do these names come from?
Thank you!
Douglas
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Why do Catholics say there are seven archangels and where do their names come from? }
Mary Ann replied:
Doug —
The Bible mentions Gabriel (Luke 1) and Raphael also.
In the book of Tobit, Raphael says that he is one of seven. (Tobit 12:15)
Mary Ann
Mike replied:
Hi, Doug —
Thanks for the question.
You said: The Bible only mentions one archangel, Michael.
Why is it that Catholics say there are seven archangels?
It's the Catholic Scriptures that teach there are seven angels but one has to understand those verses appropriately. The Catechism of the Catholic Church, which consists of the deposit of faith, only officially teaches on four angels, and they are have biblical support:
334 In the meantime, the whole life of the Church benefits from the mysterious and powerful help of angels. (cf. Acts 5:18-20; 8:26-29; 10:3-8; 12:6-11; 27:23-25)
335 In her liturgy, the Church joins with the angels to adore the thrice-holy God. She invokes their assistance (in the funeral liturgy's In Paradisum deducant te angeli. . .[May the angels lead you into Paradise. . .]). Moreover, in the Cherubic Hymn of the Byzantine Liturgy, she celebrates the memory of certain angels more particularly (St. Michael, St. Gabriel, St. Raphael, and the guardian angels).
I am Raphael, one of the seven holy angels who present the prayers of the saints and enter into the presence of the glory of the Holy One." (Tobit 12:15)
My Bible Commentary on this verse states:
15. Previously the Angel had opened out to Tobias the secret of the forces at work in the life of the pious Israelite, now Raphael reveals the secret of his own person. He is an Angel, and amongst these heavenly spirits one of a special order who assist at the throne of God, i.e. who constantly see God face to face and receive from him special revelations. He is one of the seven: the number seven probably refers to a special group holding a particularly important office, rather than to an exact number. It is not unlikely that the term seven is an allusion to Median court terminology, because at that time among the Medes the celebrated seven counselors were familiar to everyone, cf. Esdra 7:14. There is no evidence, however, to support the view of some scholars who profess to see here a reference to the Zoroastrian teaching on the spirits who stand about the throne of Ahura-Mazda. There is nothing but a very superficial similarity between the spirits of Parseeism and the Angels of the Bible; the basic doctrines of each are poles apart.
Revelation 8:2 says:
Then I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them. (Revelation 8:2)
My Bible Commentary on this verse states:
The Seven Angels. Tradition placed 7, 6, 4 or 3 specially great Angels before God's Face (cf. Tobit 12:15)· To each is here given a trumpet. Throughout the Old Testament and cf. Matthew 24:31 and 1 Corinthians 15:52, trumpets symbolize the summons of God, especially to Judgment, but also, the promulgation of feasts and disasters.
That said, before I proceed, it's very important to distinguish between:
What the Scriptures teach, the faithful must believe, guided by how the Church interprets the Scriptures.
Note: The Church doesn't have an interpretation for every verse in the Bible, a common misunderstanding.
Though the Early Church Fathers were our very first witnesses to the Catholic Christian Faith, and what they say, should be taken seriously, some of what they said may not necessarily make up part of the deposit of faith. Nevertheless, the Doctors and Early Church Fathers are quoted copiously in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Just check the footnotes.
Finally, no Catholic is bound to believe any private revelation a person receives, even those approved by the Church, or any theological speculation held by a theologian. Period!
That said, the following article, taken from the New Advent web site, addresses similar issues related to your question. I'll quote a few areas, but I recommend you read the whole article.
I thought it was pretty good.
That the angels were created was laid down in the Fourth Lateran Council (1215).
The following passages, from Pope St. Gregory the Great (590 to 604 A.D.) (Homily 34, In Evang.), will give us a clear idea of the view of the Church's doctors on the point in this paragraph:
Hierarchical organization of the angels.
We know on the authority of Scripture that there are nine orders of angels, viz., Angels, Archangels, Virtues, Powers, Principalities, Dominations, Throne, Cherubim and Seraphim.
That there are Angels and Archangels nearly every page of the Bible tell us, and the books of the Prophets talk of Cherubim and Seraphim. St. Paul, too, writing to the Ephesians enumerates four orders when he says:
21 above all Principality, and Power, and Virtue, and Domination, . . .
I would be remiss if I didn't mention a private revelation given to Antonia d'Astonac, a very devout Servant of God, by St. Michael. In it he told her that he wished to be honored by nine salutations corresponding of the nine Choirs of Angels, which should consist of one Our Father and three
Hail Mary's in honor of each of the angelic choirs. Note, honor is not worship!
This non-doctrinal, tradition, with a small "t", has been passed down through the generations as a devotion to the angels in the form of the Chaplet of St. Michael. (Chaplet itself) The choirs of angels he mentions are:
the celestial choir of Seraphim
the celestial choir of Cherubim
the celestial choir of Thrones
the celestial choir of Dominions
the celestial choir of Powers
the celestial choir of Virtues
the celestial choir of Principalities
the celestial choir of Archangels
the celestial choir of Angels
You said:
Where do these names come from?
That's above my pay grade to answer, though I believe there is some etymological meaning behind each of the three names:
St. Michael
St. Gabriel, and
St. Raphael
To my knowledge, these are the only names that have been given to angels in the Roman Rite.
The nine choir of angels mentioned by Pope St. Gregory the Great (590 to 604 A.D.) and given to Antonia d'Astonac in her private revelation are not part of the deposit of the faith, though I'm open to correction here. This means Catholic Christians may, but are not bound to believe, there are nine choirs of angels.
Nevertheless, for those who have a strong devotion to the angels, or their guardian angel, they may want to check out the Chaplet of St. Michael. You can probably google and buy one on-line with instructions.
Here are some other web pages that may provide more information:
