ANGELO

SUMMARY: 1. The A. in the Old Testament. —

2. The Angel of Yahweh

3. The A. in the New Testament and in doctrine. —

4. Devotion to the A

5. The feasts of the A

6. The A. in archaeology. — 7. The A. in art.

I. THE A. IN THE OLD TESTAMENT. — In the Old Testament, the Hebrew *mal’ākh* (messenger) often denotes an intermediary being who serves as a link between man and God; the Septuagint renders it as ἀγγελος. Only the Sadducees denied the existence of the A. (Acts 23:8).

The Bible recounts many appearances of the A., not only in visions or dreams but also in historical contexts. They appear, among others, to Hagar (Gen. 16:7), Abraham (Gen. 18:1-2; 22:1-18), Lot (Gen. 19:1), and Jacob (Gen. 28:12). The Old Testament does not explicitly speak of the creation of the A., but this is implied by the fact that the one God is described as the creator of all beings (Ex. 20:11; Ps. 148:2-5). They existed before man sinned in the earthly paradise: the presence of the cunning tempter in the form of a serpent (Gen. 3:1-15) suggests the fall of the A. (transformed into demons), described in the New Testament. The cherubim placed to guard the garden of Eden appear as A., ministers of God (Gen. 3:24).

From the Bible, it is clear that the A. are innumerable (Gen. 32:2-3), forming the “armies” of Yahweh (cf. the phrase צבאות יהוה), powerful messengers and executors of divine commands (Ps. 102:20 ff.), intelligent (2 Sam. 14:20), “holy” (Ps. 88:6-8); for this reason they are called “sons of God” (Job 1:6) and even “gods” in a broad sense (Gen. 33:10), yet infinitely distant from the one God who is their creator and finds imperfections in them (Job 4:17 ff.).

They appear to men in human form (cf. Dan. 9:21). Only the cherubim (q.v.) and seraphim (q.v.) are depicted with wings. They care for men: they save Lot (Gen. 19:1), Isaac (Gen. 22:11), and the three young men in the furnace (Dan. 3:49). They carry the prayers of men to God and bring back His graces (vision of Jacob’s ladder, Gen. 28:12). One of them, Raphael, acts as a visible guardian to the young Tobias (Tob. 5:17). From the book of Daniel, it can be inferred that even individual nations (Israelites, Persians, Greeks) have an A. (called *sar*, “prince”) as their protector (Dan. 10:13, 20).

The Old Testament does not clearly state that the A. are pure spirits. Ps. 103:4, “Who makest Thy angels spirits,” refers poetically to the winds as messengers of God. In certain manuscripts of the Septuagint, the “sons of God” who committed carnal sins with the daughters of men (Gen. 6:2) are called ἀγγελοι. This fact is both an indication and a cause of doubts, widespread in Judaism and among early Christian writers, regarding the perfect spirituality of the A. (cf. G. E. Closen, *Die Sünde der Söhne Gottes*, Rome 1937). In the New Testament, however, the A. are presented more clearly as spirits (Heb. 1:14), invisible (Col. 1:16), without carnal relations (Matt. 22:30), and their fall is explicitly mentioned (Jude 6; 2 Pet. 2:4).

In the oldest texts, there are few traces of a hierarchy among the A. Daniel speaks of “princely” angels, among whom Michael and Gabriel are named (8:10; 9:21; 10:13). In Tob. 12:15, a third, Raphael, is mentioned as “one of the seven who stand before the Lord” (cf. Rev. 1:4; 4:5). In the Greek version of Dan. 12:1, Michael is called ἀρχαγγελος; the term “archangel” (q.v.) appears in 1 Thess. 4:16 and Jude 9. Besides the cherubim and seraphim known from the Old Testament, the New Testament refers to classes called thrones, dominions, virtues, principalities, and powers (Col. 1:16; Eph. 1:21; 3:10), though the hierarchical distinction is not clear. In the apocrypha, the classification and nomenclature reach fantastic proportions: Enoch lists as many as 150 names of A.

The origin of angelology has been the subject of much study. Almost all known religions believe in intermediary beings between man and the Divinity. Some scholars of religious history argue that the early Hebrews believed in certain lesser deities who were later demoted to the rank of A. when Israel moved from polytheism or polydemonism to monotheism. This thesis, based on a purely natural evolution of Israelite religion, is refuted by more recent research. If there were polytheistic traces in the doctrine of the A., the prophets, who were fierce opponents of polytheism, would not have favored it so much. Others claim that Jewish angelology is a syncretistic synthesis of Assyrian-Babylonian and Persian elements, augmented by Greco-Roman demonological concepts in the New Testament and early Christian literature (cf. U. Fracassini, *A.*, in Enc. Ital., III, pp. 207-302). This is contradicted, however, by the fact that belief in the existence of the A. is already presupposed in the oldest books of the Bible. It is true, moreover, that Jewish angelology developed especially from the 5th century B.C. onward, with the growing understanding of God’s absolute transcendence and the influence of certain Persian and Hellenistic Eastern concepts. These developments are already noted in the Septuagint and especially in apocryphal literature, as well as in the works of Philo and the Essenes.

II. THE ANGEL OF YAHWEH (Heb. *Mal’akh Y.*). — In various passages of the Old Testament, an A. appears who presents himself as a divine messenger (of Yahweh or Elohim) and yet speaks and acts as God. He makes promises like Yahweh Himself (Gen. 16:10-13; 21:17-19; 22:11-17), identifies Himself with God (Gen. 31:11-13; 48:15-16; Ex. 3:2-4:10 [Acts 7:31-35]; Judg. 2:1-4; 6:11-24; 13:6-23; Zech. 3:1-6). At the end of the “Book of the Covenant,” Yahweh promises “His A.” who will lead Israel (Ex. 23:20-23), the “A. of the Covenant” (Mal. 3:1). At times, the Angel of Yahweh is clearly distinct from Yahweh (Ex. 33:2-6; Num. 22:31; 2 Sam. 24:16). After St. Irenaeus (Adv. Haer., 4:20; Demonstr., 45), many Greek and Latin Fathers saw in the Angel of Yahweh a manifestation of the Word; Origen is very explicit on this point: *Hom. in Gen.*, 8:8; *Tom. I in Io.*, 34; *Tract. de libris ss. Scripturarum*, ed. P. Batiffol, Paris 1900, p. 33. St. Jerome, St. Augustine, St. Gregory the Great, followed by the Scholastics (St. Thomas, *De Potentia*, q. 6, a. 8 ad 3, and in *Ep. ad Hebr.*, cap. 2, lect. 1) and many modern theologians (Suárez, *De Angelis*, VI, 20; A. Lapide, *In Exodum*, III), see in Him instead an A.

P. Heinisch observes that the ancient Israelites identified the Angel of Yahweh with Yahweh without questioning it, and refrains from offering explanations. M.-J. Lagrange believes that the term "Angel of Yahweh" was later interpolated into texts describing the appearance of Yahweh, in order to explain them. According to some recent Protestant scholars (F. Hitzig, W. H. Kosters, K. Marti, R. Smend, etc.), until the exile the Angel of Yahweh would simply have been the appearance of Yahweh, and only later would it have come to signify one of His messengers. Today the discussion is very lively. In addition to various Protestants (R. Kraetzschmar, W. Nowack, E. König), the majority of Catholic scholars (J. Knabenbauer, in Is. 63:9; J. Rybinski; more decisively F. Stier) uphold the distinction between Yahweh and the created Angel who represents Him (the theory of substitution). However, after A. van Hoonacker and J. Touzard (who argue that the anti-chalcidic Jews did not distinguish between the Angel of Yahweh and Yahweh, but later attributed theophanies to an Angel to safeguard God’s transcendence), B. Stein, limiting his investigation to the Angel of the Exodus (Ex. 3:2; 14:19; 23:20-23; 34:34; Num. 20:16; Josh. 5:14; Judg. 2:1-4; Is. 63:9; Mal. 2:17; 3:1), advocates their identity: the Angel of Yahweh is the same omnipresent God who emerges from His transcendence to appear and act in a place, and the expression was the most appropriate to distinguish between God immutable and invisible by nature and God who manifests Himself personally in time and space.

The passages in the New Testament that allude to these appearances (Acts 7:31-35; Gal. 3:19; Heb. 2:2) seem to favor the identification of the mediating Angel with the Word; this interpretation was distorted by Gnostic and later Arian currents, giving rise to Christological subordinationism.

6. THE ANGEL IN THE NEW TESTAMENT

In the New Testament, the same ideas as in the Old Testament are found substantially. But the ministry of the angels appears in a new context, of which the following points are most notable: 1) The angels always form the court of God. Their presence throughout the life of Jesus is precisely because He is God and with Him the kingdom of God has come down to earth. This presence of the angels is especially notable at the Nativity of Jesus (the Annunciation to Mary, the appearances to Joseph, the apparition to the shepherds, the flight into Egypt and the return to Galilee), at the beginning of His public ministry (Matt. 4:11), in His Passion (Matt. 26:53; Luke 22:43), in His triumph at the Resurrection and Ascension (Mark 16:5; Luke 24:23; John 20:12; Acts 1:10), at the future judgment (Matt. 13:39, 41, 49; 16:27; 24:31; 25:31; Mark 8:38), and in the definitive triumph of heavenly glory (Rev. 1:11; 8:2 ff.). — 2) The angels are subject to the Son. In the Epistles, especially those of Paul, against the danger of certain Gnostic-Jewish tendencies that exaggerated the importance and cult of the angels, stress is laid on their subordination to Christ (Col. 2:14 ff.; Gal. 3:19; Heb. 1:14 ff.). In St. Paul, angelology is closely connected with soteriology and Christology. — 3) The subordinate mediatory role of the angels between God and earth remains of the utmost importance, both socially and individually. They are the particular protectors of the apostles and the Christian community. The "Angel of the Lord," the particular protector of the new Israel as He was of the old, is especially recalled (Acts 5:19; 8:26; 10:3 ff.; 12:7 ff.; 27:23). They are protectors of individuals or guardian angels (Matt. 18:10; Acts 12:15); they take the greatest interest in the salvation of every person (Luke 15:10); they are sent by God to "minister" to men (Heb. 1:14). — 4) Regarding the nature and condition of good angels, the following may be noted. They appear in white and radiant garments (John 20:12; Acts 1:10; 12:7), to signify their celestial nature. In the words of Jesus that the guardian angels of children "always see the face of the Father" (Matt. 18:10, keeping in mind Ex. 33:18 ff. and the discussions this statement provoked among the rabbis; cf. H. Strack-P. Billerbeck, Das Evangelium nach Matthäus erläutert aus Talmud und Midrasch, Munich 1922, pp. 783 ff.), some see an affirmation that the angels enjoy the beatific vision. Others point to their elevation to the supernatural order from the fact that the future happiness of the elect is likened to that of the angels and will be in their company, a companionship already begun here below, by which we are their fellow-citizens (Heb. 12:22). The knowledge of the angels is limited and admits of progress (Matt. 24:36; Mark 13:32; Eph. 3:10; 1 Tim. 3:16). Their number is vast (Heb. 12:22; Rev. 5:11). There is a certain diversity among them; they are named angels, archangels, thrones, dominations, virtues, principalities, powers that dwell in the heavenly regions (Eph. 1:21; 3:10; 6:12; Col. 1:16-20).

The Patristic Tradition. — Jewish and Hellenistic ideas have sometimes had a notable influence on the conceptions of various ecclesiastical authors regarding angelology. Hellenistic influence was greater in demonology than in angelology proper. The most salient points are as follows: 1) The perfect spirituality of the angels began to be rightly conceived especially from the 6th century with the pseudo-Dionysius. Before that, and sometimes after, it was rather glimpsed than clearly affirmed. The angels were attributed with a most subtle ethereal body. — 2) In the question of the knowledge of the angels, the Neoplatonic theory of illumination had a notable influence, especially in Augustine. Opinions remained divided as to whether the angels had anticipated the Christian mysteries, especially the Incarnation. Before Augustine, the negative view was generally held. — 3) Similarly, before Augustine, some held that the angels, after their first probation, were not definitively determined to the good, and could therefore still fail, be punished, or merit. — 4) Under the influence of Jewish exegesis of Gen. 6:2 (pseudo-Enoch), many held that the sin of the fallen angels was carnal sin. — 5) Opinions also differed regarding the celestial hierarchy: Origen derived it from diversity of functions and merits; Methodius, and many others after him, from a diversity of natural constitution. The pseudo-Dionysius divided it into hierarchies of three choirs each. — 6) It is generally held that all angels can be sent on missions to men, but the pseudo-Dionysius, and some others after him, admit this only for angels of the lower category. Often, under the influence of pseudo-Enoch, and perhaps of the Hellenistic environment (Stoic pantheism and popular beliefs), an angel was assigned not only to every individual, nation, and community, but also to every material element of this world, an idea, however, rejected by others. Others, finally, such as Augustine, under the influence of some Hellenistic theories (Peripatetics, Philo, Plotinus), wondered whether the stars were not animated by moving angels. — 7) As long as the pagan danger lasted, the Fathers were generally very cautious in permitting the cult of the angels.

Scholastic Theology of Angels. — The great development that angelology underwent in the 12th–13th centuries was chiefly occasioned by the application to traditional and scriptural data of Aristotelian metaphysics and psychology, together with certain theories of the Arab philosophers concerning separate substances. St Thomas has a notable treatise on angels (Sum. Theol., 1a, qq. 50–64, 106–14; De substantiis separatis, ed. P. Mandonnet, Opuscula omnia, I, Paris 1927, pp. 70–144). Within scholasticism itself, divergent currents influenced angelology. Thus Scotus represents the tendency opposed to St Thomas, while Suárez later adopted a mediating position, often of an eclectic nature.

The principal questions debated among the scholastics were:
1) the composite or simple nature of angels and their relation to space;
2) the analysis of their acts of knowledge and will;
3) the state in which they were created and the moment of their elevation to the supernatural order;
4) the nature of their probation;
5) the cause of the varying degrees of beatitude assigned to them;
6) their hierarchy;
7) their mutual illumination and locution;
8) their action upon nature and upon man.
Angelology thus acquired a markedly metaphysical aspect and furnished occasion for clarifying philosophical concepts such as spirit, matter and form, intellectual knowledge and will.

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Conclusions on the Church’s Doctrine.

1) The existence of angels as personal natures is a matter of faith: it is the unanimous attestation of Scripture and of tradition as interpreted by the Church. Hence it is contrary to Catholic faith to regard angels merely as poetic modes of expression or as personifications of moral virtues or vices or of natural forces. Any resemblances to certain opinions of other religions are explained by the tradition of a common revelation, which remained pure only among the Jews.

2) It is likewise a matter of faith that angels were created by God (Nicene-Constantinopolitan Symbol: “visible and invisible”; Fourth Lateran Council and Vatican Council: Denz.-U., 428 and 1783).

3) Generally, since the scholastics, it has been held that they were created at the beginning of time simultaneously with the material world, in contrast to the opinion of many Fathers who believed they had been created beforehand. The Fourth Lateran and Vatican Councils, while saying “simul ab initio temporis,” did not intend to define the question.

4) The pure spirituality of angels, despite the hesitations of the Fathers and the personal opinion of those at the Second Council of Nicaea (787), is today regarded as certain, though not defined as a matter of faith even by the Vatican Council. From their pure spirituality follow the manner of explaining their objective apparitions (as accidental movers of a material body) and their natural immortality.

5) Their number is very great, but no precise figure can be given.

6) There are differences among angels, yet the origin and precise manner of these differences are not known. The division into nine choirs (angels, archangels, principalities, powers, virtues, dominations, thrones, cherubim and seraphim) has generally been accepted after pseudo-Dionysius, but it is not absolute. It is also a matter of free discussion whether all angels belong to the same species or whether there are as many species as choirs, or whether each individual constitutes a species in itself (St Thomas). Likewise open to discussion are the details of their natural knowledge, the manner in which they communicate with one another, their act of will, their being in a place, and the measure of their duration—matters that depend on philosophical presuppositions and are secondary from the standpoint of dogma. It is certain that angels naturally possess limited knowledge, do not naturally know the properly divine mysteries, and possess full free will.

7) Angels have been elevated to the supernatural order, whose end is the beatific vision of God. This follows from the ordinary magisterium interpreting Scripture and tradition. This elevation is gratuitous (condemnation of Baius’s doctrine; cf. Denz.-U., 1001 ff.), but there is debate about the moment at which it occurred: St Thomas affirms it took place at their very creation, while other scholastics hold it occurred after a certain time. It is a matter of faith that angels had to undergo a probation; yet precisely what this probation was, how it occurred, and how many angels fell are unknown. After the probation, the time of merit for them came to an end; the good angels enjoy and will forever enjoy the beatific vision, while the wicked angels were condemned to eternal punishment. This too is a matter of faith.

8) The ministries of angels are: toward God, to adore and serve Him—this is a matter of faith. It is likewise a matter of faith that they are ministers of God with respect to men.

9) The existence of guardian angels, who have the special ministry of protecting men, is certain. Tradition and the ordinary magisterium have always taught that at least every Christian (from the moment of baptism) has his own guardian angel. It is now a common opinion that every human being (from birth) has one, which never abandons him. Many Fathers admitted this also for every nation and community.

10) The veneration of angels is legitimate. This is a matter of faith according to the ordinary magisterium interpreting tradition, especially from the fifth century onward (condemnation of the iconoclasts at the Second Council of Nicaea, cf. Denz.-U., 320, and of Protestant doctrine on the veneration of saints at the Council of Trent, ibid., 984 ff.).

For angelology from the fifth century to St Thomas: F. Suárez, De Angelis, Louvain 1620; F. Frassem, Scotus academicus, IV, Rome 1900; C. Baeumker, Witelo, Münster 1908, p. 523 ff. (important for the scholastic background of the 13th century); A. Vacant, Angélologie dans l'Église latine depuis le temps des Pères jusqu'à s. Thomas, in DTC, I, cols. 1222 ff.; id., Angélologie de s. Thomas, dans l'Aquinate et des scolastiques postérieurs, ibid., cols. 1228–48.

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**Figure 1:** Scripture and Church Doctrine.

**Annotations:**

- **Property:** B. Degenhart
- **Caption:** Group of angels in bronze on the façade of Orvieto Cathedral — L. Maitani (early 14th cent.)

For the most recent doctrine: Joannes a. s. Thoma, *Cursus theologicus*, ed. Vivès, IV, Paris 1884, pp. 559 ff.; J. K. Oswald, *Angélologie*, 2nd ed., Paderborn 1889; W. Lucken, *Michael, Gottes tingu* 1898 (on the a. as guardians of peoples); L. Janssens, *Tractatus de Deo creatore et de Angelis*, Freiburg im Br. 1905; F. Caretti, *Angélia*, Bologna 1925; Chr. Pesch, *Die Hl. Schulze*, 2nd ed., Freiburg im Br. 1925; P. A. Arrighini, *Gli angelici buoni e cattivi*, Turin 1937; J. Duhr, *Anges*, in DSP, I, cols. 586 ff.; J. Bernhart, *Der Engel des deutschen Volkes*, Munich 1939; H. Leclercq, *Anges*, in DACL, I, 2nd part, cols. 2080-2161 (especially on worship: cols. 2144 ff.). — For other exegetical details, see: G. Kurze, *Der Engel- und Teufelsglaube des Apostels Paulus*, Freiburg im Br. 1915; F. Prat, *La théologie de s. Paul*, II, pp. 493-502; A. Lemonnyer, *Angélologie*, in DBS, I, cols. 255-62.

Cipriano Vagnagni

7. Devotion to the a

The early Church Fathers denied to the a. the worship due to God, but not every form of veneration; in this regard, their concern was to safeguard newly converted pagans from relapsing into the false cult of Genii. Origen, polemicizing against Celsus, maintains that Christians do not worship the a., but render them a form of veneration (δέχεσθαι), provided this word is properly understood (C. Cels., VIII, 13; PG 11, 1533 c). In St. Justin (I Apol., 6; PG 6, 336 c) and in Athenagoras (10; PG 6, 909 b), we find the earliest testimonies of the veneration of the a. Ambrose exhorts the faithful: “Obscurandi sunt angeli pro nobis, qui nobis ad praesidium dati sunt” (De Viduis, cap. IX, 55; PL 16, 264 c). Augustine succinctly states: “Honoramus eos (angelos) charitate, non servitute” (De vera relig., 55, 110; PL 34, 170), meaning by “servitus,” the Greek λατρεία, the worship due only to God. Canon 35 of the Council of Laodicea (4th century), if properly understood, does not oppose the right devotion to the a. (Hefele-Leclercq, I, p. 1017). Didymus the Blind (d. 395) attests that from the earliest Christian times churches and oratories were dedicated to God under the name of the archangels (De Trinit., II, 8; PG 39, 591 A, B). In Constantinople, after Constantine, about fifteen churches were dedicated to St. Michael. At the time of Gregory the Great, the veneration of the a. and of St. Michael had a center on Mount Gargano; another center arose in France (8th century) at Mont Saint-Michel. In Rome (9th century), seven oratories were dedicated to the same archangel. St. Benedict contributed to spreading the faith in the assistance of the a.: in his Rule he reminds the monks that the divine office is recited in the presence of God and the a. (cap. 19).

Special impetus to this devotion was given by St. Bernard, whose words the Church has incorporated into the Breviary (feast of the Guardian Angels, Oct. 2, lect. 4-6). His comprehensive formula reflects the uninterrupted tradition of the Church: to the a. we owe “reverentiam pro praesentia, devotionem pro benevolentia, fiduciam pro custodia” (In ps. “Qui inhabitat,” serm. XII, 6; PL 183, 233 c). From the 12th to the 17th century, Scholastic theologians, rather than focusing on cult, investigated the angelic nature. But by now devotion had entered the common practice of the faithful. From the 13th century onward, prayers for the Guardian Angels were widespread, edited by A. Wilmart. Particular diffusion was enjoyed by Gerson’s little work *Sermo de Angelis* (Op., III) and by Denis the Carthusian’s seven Sermons on St. Michael and the a. (Op., XXXII, Tournai 1960). The latter echoes St. Bernard’s thought, establishing our relationship with the a.: “diligendo (eos) cordialiter, quotidie honorando, assidue invocando, imitando, eis collaborando” (Sermo de Sanctis, ibid, pp. 351 and 421-45). Luther and Calvin, after rejecting the cult of the saints, also rejected that of the a. But this devotion received new impetus through the Society of Jesus. St. Ignatius recommends to his religious to imitate the purity of the a. (Reg. Summ., 28). Through the Jesuits, treatises and manuals of piety on the a. multiplied, especially in the 17th century. Let us recall only: *Trattato e pratica della Devozione agli a.* by St. Francis Borgia and the widely diffused *Trattato dell’A. Custode* by Fr. Francesco Albertini. Cardinal de Bérulle and the Venerable Olier also contributed greatly to spreading this devotion. Notable is the recent theological reflection of E. Peterson on the devotion to the a., as executors of the celestial liturgy and mediators of the union of the faithful with God.

8. The Feasts of the a

In Constantinople, the “synaxis” of all the a. ἀσωμάτων is celebrated on Nov. 18 and Jan. 11.

The Guardian Angels were formerly honored together with St. Michael: Sept. 29 in the West and May 8 in the East. Their particular feast, instituted by Paul V (1608) for the states of the Austrian Empire, was extended to the whole Church by Clement X (1670). Leo XIII elevated its rite (1883 and 1893). The Sacramentaries from the 9th century onward established the Votive Mass of the a. for the first free day after that dedicated to the Holy Trinity or one of the three Persons. When Sunday was reserved for the Holy Trinity, Tuesday was dedicated to the a. (15th century); now it is Tuesday. The devotion to the a., particularly to the Guardian Angels, after the 17th century, became one of the most familiar devotions among the Christian people. The *Angele Dei*, a concise expression of medieval prayers from the 11th-13th centuries, edited by A. Wilmart, is its most evocative expression.

6. THE A. IN ARCHAEOLOGY. — The first representation of the a. in Christian iconography, in keeping with the meaning of the name (ἀγγελος), is as a messenger in the fresco of the Annunciation (v.), preserved in the Priscilla catacomb, dating from the late 2nd or early 3rd century. In it we find, definitively established, the type that would dominate in art: a human figure of youthful appearance, almost always beardless, in sacred vestments, i.e., tunic and pallium, of white color, according to the Gospel texts (Mt. 28, 3; Jn. 20, 2; Rev. 15, 6; Acts 10, 30). In a fragmentary painting of a hypogeum between St. Callistus and St. Sebastian, two youths in tunic and pallium flanked the inscription of the deceased; near the surviving figure the word *angelus* is read (Wilpert, *Sarcofagi*, p. 353). In funerary sculpture the a. represents divine assistance; thus it appears: in the sacrifice of Isaac (Wilpert, op. cit., pl. 217, 240); in the scene of the three youths saved from the flames, according to Dan. 3, 49 (Wilpert, op. cit., p. 262; pl. 129, 2); in that of Daniel in the lions’ den; of Balaam’s ass (here the a. is bearded and wears the attire of apparitores); of David and Goliath (Wilpert, op. cit., p. 264, pl. 194, 1-2), in which it also appears winged (Garrucci, *Storia*, V, pl. 341, 4); in that of St. Peter in prison (Wilpert, op. cit., p. 118, pl. 116, 3). Two a. also appear on a sarcophagus lid now in the Lateran Museum (Wilpert, op. cit., p. 251, 3). Later they replace the winged Victories, as in two sarcophagi in the crypt of St. Victor in Marseilles; in the first, two winged a. in flight support a disc on which sits the teaching Christ (Wilpert, op. cit., p. 43, 4); in the other, two winged a. support upright the triumphal crown enclosing the teaching Christ (Wilpert, op. cit., p. 57, fig. 24). This motif would be taken up again in St. Vitalis in Ravenna and in a rare Christian sarcophagus from Constantinople.

In non-funerary sculpture the angel appears to the holy women at the Sepulchre according to Mt. 28, 2-8 (Ravenna, S. Apollinare Nuovo, Trivulzio ivory in Milan, etc.).

Two 6th-century slabs, probably belonging to the decoration of the church of the Theotokos in Carthage (v.), show the winged angel announcing to the shepherds the birth of the Saviour (Wilpert, op. cit., fig. 276 and pl. 298, 1) and the winged angel present at the offering of the Magi (Wilpert, op. cit., pl. 298, 2).

Just as in various imperial representations the sovereign appears surrounded by his retinue (the scene of the *congiarium* on the Arch of Constantine), so in some majestic scenes the Lord or the enthroned Madonna are attended by angels (triumphal arch of S. Maria Maggiore and S. Maria Antiqua).

The type of adoring angels is found on the triumphal arch of the basilica of S. Paolo fuori le Mura (442-60); with six-winged cherubim in the miniatures of the Vatican codex of Cosmas Indicopleustes (vision of Isaiah); the angelic host also appears in the Last Judgement. In S. Vitale in Ravenna two nimbed angels support a clipeus with the jeweled cross; in the diptych of Murano the cross within a triumphal crown. In the mosaics of S. Maria Maggiore the angel has a face, hands and feet of fiery red (Hebr. 1, 7; Sedulius, *Carm. Pasch.*, V, 328: PL 19, 740). In S. Apollinare Nuovo in Ravenna, in the mosaic of the separation of the flock (Mt. 25, 32), the Lord is attended by two winged and nimbed angels, the angel on the right with the sheep is entirely red, that on the left with the goats entirely deep violet-blue. Kirschbaum has identified the red angel as the angel of light, which dwells in the starry region, in the aether; the blue angel, on the other hand, is in the air, whose substance has no light; it is the angel of darkness (*Riv. Arch. Crist.*, 17 [1940], pp. 209-48). The opposition of red angels to blue angels is then repeated in European art between the 14th and 15th centuries and in Eastern icons up to the 17th. Colour distinctions according to categories also occur in the Middle Ages: seraphim in the first rank in red; then cherubim in blue; thirdly thrones in yellow.

In ancient Christian inscriptions the deceased is wished *pax cum angelis*; a deacon is called *angelorum hospes*; children who have died are said to have been *arcessitus* or *raptus ab angelis*; a woman is described as *angelicae legis docta*; metrical inscriptions recall the *angelici chori*. The early Christians sometimes adopted the Jewish custom of using the names of angels to ward off evil spirits. They used the abbreviation XMf (Χμίσος, Μιχαήλ, Γαβριήλ); often they placed in their tombs gold, silver or other metal plaques filled with the names of angels and incantations; famous is the gold plaque found in the sarcophagus of the Empress Maria, wife of Honorius, engraved with Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, Uriel.

On the island of Thera (Cyclades) a group of 48 Christian epitaphs contains dedications to the angels as protectors and guardians of the tomb.

9. THE ANGEL IN ART

The earliest representation of the tetramorph’s angelic figure dates to the 6th century, reused in the columns of the ciborium of S. Marco in Venice, and variously repeated in illuminated manuscripts, mosaics and frescoes, up to the 13th-century example in the crypt of the cathedral of Anagni without substantial iconographic variation; the angel in tunic and pallium also persists with countless characteristics from the 5th to the 9th century (SS. Cosma e Damiano; S. Maria Antiqua; S. Prassede; S. Maria in Domnica).

Towards the 12th century art began to infuse life and movement into figures: if the angels of the Porta di Bonanno in Pisa still appear stiff, those in the 13th-century mosaics of the Baptistery cupola in Florence, or in the coeval sculptures of the French cathedrals, are more lively and graceful. From that century, but even more so in the 14th, iconographic schemes are stretched and the artists’ imagination gives the angels varied sentiments and freedom of posture: thus from Cimabue to Cavallini, to Giotto; from Orcagna in the Strozzi Chapel in S. Maria Novella, to the Maestàs of Duccio and Simone Martini in Siena and the depictions in the Camposanto in Pisa, the angels emerge from their schematic and transcendent impassivity to participate in the spirit of the composition.

In the 15th century the angels of Fra Angelico reconcile the medieval type of angel with the increasingly humanized figures of Renaissance painters, from Masaccio to Filippo Lippi, and thence to Luca Signorelli, Melozzo and Perugino. Having abandoned the traditional garments of classical origin, they are often shown playing various instruments (musical angels), i.e. as authors of that celestial music in which, perhaps under the influence of Renaissance Neoplatonism, the order and beatitude emanating from the Divinity were made concrete (most familiar types are those of Melozzo da Forlì, the Angelico, and Giambellino). The motif of angels sounding trumpets (*tibicines*) to summon souls at the Last Judgement provided the stimulus for a development of the theme according to the ideas and tastes of the time.

In the 16th century, alongside angels that serve as a pretext for expressing an ideal of flourishing youth, a new type begins to appear: the angel first becomes a winged point accompanying Christ and the Virgin in their ascent to heaven, and, becoming even more dematerialised in the theophanies of the Counter-Reformation, it is finally reduced to a simple winged head, merging with the iconography of the cherub. Giovanni da S. Giovanni left a characteristic example in the apse of SS. Quattro Coronati in Rome with angels in feminine guise (the so-called *choro delle angiolele*). The traditional type, however, remained in honour: from the musical angels of Reni (Rome, S. Gregorio) to those of Bernini and the Bernini school on Ponte S. Angelo, each supporting a symbol of the Passion of Christ. Bernini, especially in the group of S. Teresa and in the *Cathedra Petri*, defined the type of angel in ecstatic guise deriving from Correggio. Since then, more recent production has not introduced any iconographic modifications of particular note. — See Plates CXVI–CXVII.