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.
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.
| Rank | Angelic Class | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chayot Ha Kodesh | See and | |
| 2 | Ophanim | See and | |
| 3 | Erelim | See 33:7 NASB | |
| 4 | Hashmallim | See 1:4 NASB | |
| 5 | Seraphim | See 6 NASB | |
| 6 | Malakim | Messengers, angels | |
| 7 | Elohim | "Godly beings" | |
| 8 | Bene Elohim | "Sons of God" | |
| 9 | Cherubim | See Hagigah 13b | |
| 10 | Ishim | "manlike beings", see 18:2 NASB, 10:5 NASB |
See main article: Angels in Christianity. The most influential Catholic 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:[1] [2] [3]
Seraphim
Cherubim
Virtues
Powers
Principalities
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 Saint Thomas Aquinas (Summa Theologiae) drew on passages from the New Testament, specifically Ephesians 9 and Colossians 1:16, to develop a schema of three Hierarchies, Spheres or Triads of angels, with each Hierarchy containing three Orders or Choirs. Saint Bonaventure summarized their nine offices as follows: announcing, declaring, and leading; regulating, enforcing, and commanding; receiving, revealing, and anointing.[4] Thomas agreed with St Jerome's commentary on 18:10 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.[5]
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.[6] [7]
See main article: Angels in 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.[8]
Fakhr al-Din al-Razi (d. 1209) divided the angels into eight groups, which shows some resemblance to Christian angelology:[9]
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).
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.[11] [12] 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.