Angels in Christianity

Luke 20:34–36 affirms that, like the angels, "those who are considered worthy of taking part in the age to come and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage, and they can no longer die."

In chapter V of Ignatius of Antioch's Letter to the Trallians, the bishop gives a listing of angels not unlike that later proposed by Pseudo-Dionysius.

Clement of Alexandria wrote that angels “breathe” in men's thoughts and reasonings, and “puts in” their hearts “strength” and a keener perception.

[5] According to Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite's De Coelesti Hierarchia (On the Celestial Hierarchy), there are three levels ("sphere") of angels, inside each of which there are three orders.

The most influential Christian angelic hierarchy was put forward around the turn of the 6th century CE by Pseudo-Dionysius in his work De Coelesti Hierarchia.

He claimed to be an important figure who was converted by Paul the Apostle, and the Pseudo-Dionysius enjoyed greater influence than he would have if he had used his actual name, until Erasmus publicised doubts about the age of the work in the early 16th century.

[6] According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) paragraph 328, "the existence of the spiritual, non-corporeal beings that Sacred Scripture usually calls 'angels' is a truth of faith.

[9] The New Church denominations that arose from the writings of theologian Emanuel Swedenborg have distinct ideas about angels and the spiritual world in which they dwell.

"[25] As such, Latter Day Saints also believe that Adam, the first man, was and is now the archangel Michael,[26][27][28] and that Gabriel lived on the earth as Noah.

Smith described his first angelic encounter in the following manner: While I was thus in the act of calling upon God, I discovered a light appearing in my room, which continued to increase until the room was lighter than at noonday, when immediately a personage appeared at my bedside, standing in the air, for his feet did not touch the floor.

[29]Most angelic visitations in the early Latter Day Saint movement were witnessed by Smith and Oliver Cowdery, who both said (prior to the establishment of the church in 1830) they had been visited by the prophet Moroni, John the Baptist, and the apostles Peter, James, and John.

Later, after the dedication of the Kirtland Temple, Smith and Cowdery said they had been visited by Jesus, and subsequently by Moses, Elias, and Elijah.

[31] Tradition places seraphim in a rank in Christian angelology, based on Isaiah's use of the word.

Seraphim angels are the closest to God and lead worship in heaven by singing endless praises to him.

of kyriotēs, as "Lordships")[36] are traditionally held to govern the movement of stars, planets, and other celestial objects.

[37] According to The Etymologies of Isidore of Seville, the Principalities (Latin: principatus), also translated as "Princedoms" and "Rulers", from the Greek archai, pl.

of archē (see Greek root in Eph 3:10), are the angels that guide and protect nations, or groups of peoples, and institutions such as the Church.