Mastodawn

Archangel Sariel

The name means “God is my ruler.”

He’s an angel mainly from the Judaic tradition. In 1 Enoch (20:6), he’s said to be “1 of the 7 holy angels who watch, who is set over the spirits, who sin in the spirit.”

Origen identified Sariel as 1 of the 7 primordial angels, as the Ophites did. The Ophites/Ophians were a Christian Gnostic sect portrayed by Hippolytus of Rome in a lost work, the Syntagma (“arrangement”). In Gnosticism, Sariel is invoked for his protective powers. He’s commemorated by the Coptic Orthodox Church on 27 Tobi in the Coptic calendar.

He’s not to be confused with the fallen watcher Sahariel (“God is my moon”), who bears a similar name. In 1 Enoch (8:1), he’s said to have taught humans the course of the moon.

In traditional texts, the archangel Sariel is 1 of the holy angels, who is set over the spirits that sin in the spirit. He’s 1 of the angels who look upon the bloodshed on Earth, along with Gabriel, Michael, Raphael, & Uriel.

In the book of 2 Enoch, he’s listed (the name of Samuil or Sariel) as 1 of the angels that brought Enoch to heaven.

The book of War of the Sons of Light Against the Sons of Darkness (from the Dead Sea Scrolls) lists the name of Sariel (“God is my ruler”) along with Michael, Raphael, & Gabriel as names to write up on the shields of soldiers – in a tower during maneuvers. It’s used on the shields of the 3rd Tower.

In the Ladder of Jacob, Sariel is dispatched by God to explain to him the meaning of the dream about the ladder.

The Liber Juratus of Honorius of Thebes contains several translations that list Sariel as one of the angels of the 8th month, which is called marquesnan heshvan. Marquesnan Heshvan (or Marcheshvan/Cheshvan) is the 2nd month of the civil & the 8th month of the ecclesiastical Hebrew Calendar. Sariel as 1 of “The names for the angels of the 10th month, which is called Tevet.”

The month of Hesvan marquesnan would make Sariel’s ruler Barfiell, or the month of Tevet would make the ruler Anael. The Lesser Key of Solomon lists the Duke’s Asteliel & Gedial as commanding Sariel by night.

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#1Enoch #2Enoch #27Tobi #3rdTower #Archangel #ArchangelGabriel #ArchangelMichael #ArchangelSariel #Barfiell #BookOfEnoch #Cheshvan #Christian #ChristianGnostic #CopticCalendar #CopticOrthodoxChurch #DeadSeaScrolls #DukeAsteliel #DukeGedial #EcclesiasticalHebrewCalendar #Gnostic #HebrewCivilCalendar #HippolytusOfRome #HonoriusOfThebes #JacobSLadder #Judaism #LesserKeyOfSolomon #LiberJuratus #Marcheshvan #MarquesnanHeshavan #Michael #Ophians #Ophites #Raphael #Sahariel #Samuil #Sariel #Syntagma #Tevet #Uriel #WarOfTheSonsOfLightAgainstTheSonsOfDarkness #Watcher

Spirituality & Religious Studies Jan 30

Polycarp of Smyrna

Polycarp (69-155 AD) was a Christian bishop of Smyrna (modern-day Turkey). According to the Martyrdom of Polycarp, he passed away a martyr, bound & burned at the stake, then stabbed when the fire failed to consume his body. Polycarp is regarded as a saint & Church Father in the Eastern Orthodox Church, Catholic Church, Oriental Orthodox Church, Lutheranism, & Anglicanism.

Irenaeus & Tertullian said that Polycarp had been a disciple of John the Apostle, one of Jesus’ disciples. This is Polycarp’s primary claim to fame. John the Apostle was the 1 who ordained Polycarp as Bishop of Smyrna. Polycarp is regarded as 1 of 3 chief Apostolic Fathers, along with Clement of Rome & Ignatius of Antioch.

In an period before the New Testament was fully formed into its modern version, Polycarp represented the “Living Voice.” If a dispute came around about what Jesus had meant, people went to Polycarp because he’d heard it from people who were actually there.

The only 1 authentic surviving work credited to Polycarp is the: Epistle/Letter of Polycarp to the Philippians. This Epistle/Letter is essentially a “mosaic” of early Christian writings. Polycarp quoted or alluded to almost 1/2 of the New Testament books (including Paul’s letters, 1 Peter, & the Gospels).

As early as the 2nd century, Polycarp was already fighting Docetism. This is the idea that Jesus only seems to have a body. He called, famously, anyone who denied the reality of Christ’s physical suffering “the 1st born of Satan.”

In particular, Irenaeus had heard the account of Polycarp’s discussion with John & with others who had actually seen Jesus. Irenaeus reports that Polycarp was converted to Christianity by the apostles, was consecrated a presbyter, & communicated with many who had seen Jesus.

Smyrna (modern-day Izmir, Turkey) was the center of “Emperor Worship.” In 26 AD, it won the right to build a Temple to the Emperor Tiberius. Smyrna also had a large, & influential, Jewish population. The tense relationship between the synagogue & the emerging Christian “sect,” which would play a role in Polycarp’s eventual arrest.

In his old age, Polycarp traveled to Rome (circa 154 AD) to meet with is fellow Syrian, the Bishop of Rome, Pope Anicetus. They come together to talk through a major secular & religious disagreement: Quartodecimanism.

Polycarp & the Eastern Churches celebrated Easter on the 14th of Nisan (the Jewish Passover), regardless of what day of the week it fell on. Rome, however, insisted it must ALWAYS be a Sunday. The Pope & Polycarp couldn’t find a compromise. This would become a problem in later centuries.

But Polycarp & the Pope stayed respectful, & friendly, towards each other. Pope Anicetus even let Polycarp celebrate the Eucharist in his own church in Rome as a sign of respect.

The Martyrdom of Polycarp is the 1st recorded account of a Christian martyrdom outside the New Testament. During a period of local unrest, the crowd in the Smyrnaean stadium began shouting for Polycarp. Initially, he didn’t flee but retreated to a small farm.

When he was eventually betrayed by a young servant under torture, he welcomed the guards, fed them a meal, & asked for an hour to pray. The Roman Proconsul, Quadratus, didn’t want to actually kill Polycarp. He pleaded with Polycarp to “have respect for our age” & to simply say, “Away with the atheists” (in this case, “the atheists” were the Christians).

Polycarp looked at the pagan crowd in the stadium, pointed at them (the pagans), & said “Away with the atheists!” Also in Martyrdom of Polycarp, Polycarp is reported to say on the day of his death: “Eighty & six years I have served Him, & He has done me no wrong.”

Polycarp was sentenced to death for not burning incense to the Roman Emperor. He was “burned” at the stake but the flames arched around him like a sail, refusing to touch him. Eventually, he was killed with a dagger/spear.

Relics of Polycarp are under the main altar of the church of Sant’Ambrogio della Massima. The right arm of St. Polycarp had been kept at the Monastery of the Dormition of the Theotokos-Saint Polycarp, in Ampelakiotissa near Nafpaktos, Greece, for over 500 years.

It was stolen on March 14, 2013 & was never found. A fragment, however, taken from the arm on a previous occasion, was discovered & returned to the monastery on July 14, 2019.

In the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, & Greek Catholic Churches, the feast day of St. Polycarp is February 23. In the Coptic Orthodox Church, his feast day is on Amshir 29 (March 8 in the Gregorian Calendar). In the Church of England, he was honored with a Lesser Festival on February 23. In the Lutheran Church, his feast day is on February 23.