(funky music)
- For almost 2,000 years, a belief in angels
was a crucial part of Christianity.
Islam and Jewish scriptures mentioned angels as well,
but it was in the 5th century that a Christian mystic named
Dionysius the Areopagite claimed he learned
the hierarchy of angelic beings
through visions and meditation.
This author outlined nine choirs of angels
with three sets grouped together as spheres.
He's also referred to as the Pseudo-Dionysius
because he made the bogus claim
that he was the Apostle of Paul mentioned in the Bible.
Nonetheless, his celestial taxonomy has still been accepted
by many theologians since the Middle Ages.
The first sphere of angels classify as the
Seraphim, Cheribum and Thrones.
Seraphim are firey serpent angels
with four faces and six wings.
They're the highest order of angels
representing love, light and fire
burning away sin to purify the spirit.
Their colleagues, the Cheribum,
are known as keepers of God's knowledge.
So they're like heavenly librarians,
sometimes portrayed as sphinxes with wings,
and human faces.
Later, they were conflated with Cupid and depicted as
chubby babies with wings.
They guarded the tree of knowledge in the Garden of Eden
and foretold the coming of the Messiah
in a vision of the prophet Ezekiel.
The last choir from the first sphere of angels
are called Thrones,
and these are some weird looking beings.
They're basically glowing winged wagon wheels
covered in eyeballs.
Thrones govered God's justice and dispensed his judgement.
One legend says that most of the Thrones were among
the fallen angels that were banished from heaven,
and they now represent injustice and discord
in hell.
The second sphere contains angelic choirs known as
Dominions, Virtues and Powers.
Dominions are the middle management
receiving orders from the first sphere
and doling out duties to angels
lower in the family business.
They keep universal order by empowering
our authority figures.
Dominions are also forces of nature,
manifesting in the earth's animals, plants and minerals.
Virtues, by contrast, are sparks of light
that inspire us to study science,
but not evolution.
Sometimes they manifest as musicians, artists,
or even physicists.
They also emanate heavenly grace and are
considered to be the source of all miracles.
Last in the second sphere are the angels known as Powers.
Brightly colored hazy fumes who are considered to be
border patrol agents between heaven and earth.
Powers are also warrior experts in theology,
keeping demons from interfering on earth.
During an exorcism, for instance,
it's the Powers who are called upon to expel
a possessing demon.
The last sphere encompasses beings called
Principalities, the Archangels and the everyday Angels
who interact with humankind.
Principalities are rays of light
who oversee the entire world,
from religion to politics.
They're supposed to have a princely authority,
hence the name,
and that allows them to lead humans and angels alike.
Most of us have heard of Archangels,
they're the famous ones from stories like
Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael.
And they're also on the front lines
when dealing with humans, and as such
look most like us, and most especially me.
They use this familiarity to pioneer exploration,
philosophy, and human rights on Earth.
Finally, there's the plain old Angels.
This is their proper name because
they are the lowest ranking choir of the nine.
The only ones who directly interact with human beings.
They purify, heal, and lift us up
as the guardian angels that have our backs daily.
So now that you know all nine choirs
and their pecking order, let me ask you.
Do you believe in angels?
Let us know in the comments below,
and to learn more legends about these celestial beings,
check out our complete article at howstuffworks.com.
Oh, and one more thing.
Make sure you click the like and subscribe button
if you enjoy this episode,
because it's not like your guardian angel's
gonna do it for you.
(sighs) It's Angel 101.