Angelic Ranks Across Religions

This is about the different ranks amongst different religions. We hope you enjoy!

Christianity:

The most famous ranking in Western culture comes from Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite in his 5th century work, The Celestial Hierarchy. He divided angels into 9 “choirs” organized into 3 “triads.”

The First Triad (Comtemplators of God):

Seraphim: The “Burning Ones” They have 6 wings & surround the throne of God, perpetually chanting the Trisagion (“Holy, Holy, Holy”).

Cherubim: Known as the “Plenitude of Knowledge.” In Scripture, they’re guardians of sacred space (like Eden or the Ark of the Covenant).

Thrones: Also called Ophanim (Wheels). They represent divine justice & the “chariot” of God.

The Second Triad (Cosmic Governors):

Dominions (Dominations): They regulate the duties of lower angels & represent the authority of God over the universe.

Virtues: Known as the “Brillant” or “Shining Ones.” They’re associated with miracles & bestowing grace & valor.

Powers: These are “warrior” angels who protect the world from demonic interference & maintain the laws of nature.

The Third Triad (Messengers to Humanity):

Principalities: The “Chief Messengers.” Though common tradition lists many, only Michael, Gabriel, & Raphael are officially recognized in most Catholic & Orthodox canons.

Angels: The lowest rank, most concerned with the affairs of individual humans (including Guardian Angels).

Judaism: The Maimonidean Hierarchy

In Judaism, the ranking of angels is primarily used to explain the different levels of “closeness” to the Divine Essence. The most widely cited list is from Maimonides (the Rambam) in his Mishneh Torah.

Chayot Ha-Kodesh: “Holy Living Creatures.” The highest possible rank.

Ophanim: “Wheels.” Associated with Ezekiel’s vision of the Chariot.

Erelim: “The Valiant Ones.” Linked to the concept of peace.

Chashmalim: “The Glowing/Amber Ones.”

Seraphim: “The Burning Ones.”

Malachim: “Messengers.” The general term for angels.

Elohim: “Godly Beings.” Referring to their divine reflection.

Bene Elohim: “Sons of God.”

Cherubim: Guardians & attendants

Ishim: “Person-like Beings.” They’re the closest to the human intellect.

Islam:

Islam doesn’t use a numbered “1 to 9” hierarchy in the same way Christianity does. Instead, angels (Mala’ika) are categorized by their by their functions.

The Four Archangels:

Jibril (Gabriel): The Angel of Revelation

Israfil (Raphael): The Angel of the Trumpet. This signals the Day of Judgment.

Mikail (Michael): The Angel of Mercy & Providence (weather & sustenance).

Azrael (Malak al-Mawt): The Angel of Death.

The Bearers of the Throne (Hamalat al-Arsh): 8 massive angels who carry the Throne of Allah.

The Cherubim (Al-Karubiyyun): Angels who are perpetually lost in the praises of God, unaware of anything else.

The Recording Angels (Kiraman Katibin): Every human has 2 (Raquib & Atib) who record good & bad deeds.

Munkar & Nakir: The interrogators of the soul in the grave.

Maalik & Ridwan: The guardians of Hell & Paradise, respectively.

Zoroastrianism: The Amesha Spentas:

In Zoroastrianism, the “angels” are emanations of the supreme God, Ahura Mazda. They’re known as the Amesha Spentas (Holy Immortals).

Vohu Manah: Good Mind/Purpose

Asha Vahishta: Best Righteousness/Truth

Khshathra Vairya: Desirable Dominion/Power

Spenta Armaiti: Holy Devotion/Piety

Haurvatat: Wholeness/Health

Ameretat: Immortality

Below these entities are the Yazatas. These are entities/beings “worthy of worship,” like Mithra.

Buddhism: The 26 Heavenly Realms

In Buddhist cosmology, “angels” are called Devas. Rather than a hierarchy, they’re ranked by the level of the Heaven they inhabit.

The 6 Sensual Heavens: Devas here still experience desire (like the Four Great Kings who guard the world).

The 16 Fine-Maternal Heavens (Arupa-loka): Beings of pure consciousness with no physical form at all, existing in states like “Infinite Space” or “Neither Perception nor Non-Perception.”

Hinduism: Celestial Classes

Hinduism features a vast array of celestial beings. While not always called “angels,” they function as intermediaries between the Trimurti (which we’ve covered in another post. Check it out!): Brahma, Vishnu, & Shiva, & humanity.

Devas: The benevolent “shining ones” who govern natural forces (Indra, Agni, Vagu).

Gandharvas: Celestial musicians & messsengers.

Apsaras: Celestial dancers & spirits of the clouds & waters.

Yakshas: Nature spirits & guardians of the earth’s treasures.

Vidyadharas: “Knowledge holders” or magical beings of the air.

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Samaritanism

Samaritanism is an Abrahamic monotheistic, ethnic religion. It comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, & legal traditions of the Samaritan people.

Often preferring to be called Israelite Samaritans, who originated from the Hebrews & Israelites. They began to emerge as a relatively distinct group after the Kingdom of Israel was conquered by the Neo-Assyrian Empire during the Iron Age. The Neo-Assyrian Empire was the 4th, & penultimate, stage of ancient Assyrian history.

Central to their continuity as an Indigenous Heritage in the Holy Land is keeping the Patriarchal & Mosaic covenant as specified in the Samaritan Torah. Samaritans believe this is the original & unchanged version of the Pentateuch (which is the first 5 books of the Hebrew & Christian bible) since Moses & the Israelites at Mount Sinai.

The Abisha Scroll is traditionally held by the community to be the oldest existing scroll written by Abisha, son of Aaron the priest, around 3,000 years ago based on living tradition. However, Jewish & Christian theologians have made attempts to dispute this claim which proved unsatisfactory.

Judaism claims Samaritanism developed right alongside their own religion. Samaritanism asserts itself as the true preserved form of the monotheistic faith that the Israelites kept under Moses. Samaritan belief also holds that the Israelites’ original holy site was Mount Gerizim, near Nablus, the State of Palestine (West Bank).

They also believe that Jerusalem only attained importance under Israelite dissenters who had followed Eli (In the Book of Samuel, Eli was a priest & judge of the Israelites in the city of Shiloh) to the city of Shiloh.

The Israelites who remained at Mount Gerizim would become the Samaritans in the Kingdom of Judah. Mount Gerizim is revered by Samaritans as the location where the Binding of Isaac occurred. In comparison to the Jewish belief that it occurred at Jerusalem’s Temple Mount.

Today there are only about 900 registered communal members. This puts Samaritanism as 1 of the smallest ethnoreligious groups globally in the Abrahamic faiths. Samaritans believe that this is a prophecy fulfilled from the scriptures: “You’ll be left few in number.”

Though they hope for a future time when a prophet like Moses known as the “Taheb” (Restorer) will perform 3 signs, namely the jar of manna, the staff of Moses, & Cherubim, or the Golden Candlestick.

This time period they believe is when an era of Divine Favor would return, & the hidden tabernacle of Moses would miraculously be revealed for the Israelite people & Mount Gerizim is restored to its former glory.

Samaritans trace their history, as a separate entity, to a period soon after the Israelites’ arrival into the “Promised Land.” Samaritan historiography traces the schism to High Priest Eli leaving Mount Gerizim, where stood the 1st Israelite altar in Canaan, & building a competing altar in nearby Shiloh.

The dissenting group of Israelites who followed Eli to Shiloh would be the ones who, in later years, would head south to settle in Jerusalem (the Jews). Whereas the Israelites who stayed on Mount Gerizim, in Samaria, would become known as the Samaritans.

Genetic studies in 2004 suggest that Samaritans’ lineages trace back to a common ancestor with Jews in the paternally-inherited Jewish high priesthood (Cohanim) temporally near to the period of the Assyrian conquest of the Kingdom of Israel. They’re probably descendants of the historical Israelite population. The Cohanim refers to the Jewish priestly class, male descendants of Aaron the priest.

The Hasmonean king, John Hyrcanus, destroyed the Mount Gerizim Temple & brought Samaria under his control around 120 BCE. This led to a long-lasting sense of mutual hostility between the Jews & Samaritans.

From this point, the Samaritans likely sought to consciously distance themselves from their Judean brethren. Both peoples came to see the Samaritan faith as a religion distinct from Judaism. By the time of Jesus, Samaritans & Jews deeply disparaged one another, as shown by Jesus’ Parable of the Good Samaritan.

The main beliefs of Samaritanism are:

• There’s 1 God, Yahweh, the same God recognized by the Jewish prophets.
• The Torah is the only true holy book & was given by God to Moses. The Torah was created before the creation of the world & whoever believes in it is assured a part in the world to come. The Torah’s status in Samaritanism as the only holy book causes them to reject the Oral Torah, the Talmud, & all the prophets & scriptures, except for a version of the Book of Joshua (which they don’t hold as Scripture), whose book in the Samaritan community is significantly different from the Book of Joshua in the Jewish “Bible.” Moses is considered to be the last of the line of prophets.
• Mount Gerizim, not Jerusalem, is the 1 true sanctuary chosen by God. The Samaritans don’t recognize the sanctity of Jerusalem & don’t recognize the Temple Mount, claiming instead that Mount Gerizim was the place where the Binding of Isaac took place.
• The Apocalypse, called “the day of vengeance,” will be the end of days. When an entity called the Taheb (basically the Jewish Messiah equal) that comes from the tribe of Joseph will come, be a prophet like Moses for 40 years & bring about the return of all the Israelites, following which the dead will be resurrected. The Tahib will then discover the tent of Moses’ Tabernacle on Mount Gerizim, & will be buried next to Joseph when he dies.

The Samaritans have retained the institution of a high priesthood & the practice of slaughtering & eating lambs on Passover Eve. They celebrated Pesach, Shavuot, & Sukkot. But they use a different method from that used in mainstream Judaism in order to determine the dates annually.

For example, Yom Teru’ah (the biblical name for Rosh Hashanah), at the beginning of Tishrei (This is the 1st month of the civil year & the 7th month of the ecclesiastical year in the Hebrew calendar.), isn’t considered a New Year as it is in Rabbinic Judaism.

Their Sabbath is observed weekly by the Samaritan community every week from Friday to Saturday, beginning & ending at sundown. For 24 hours, the families gather together to celebrate the rest day: all electricity with the exception of minimal lighting (kept on the entire day) in the house is disconnected, no work is done, & neither cooking nor driving is allowed.

The time is devoted to worship which consists of 7 prayer services, reading the weekly Torah portion, spending quality time with family, taking meals, rest & sleep, & visiting other members of the community.

Passover is particularly important in the Samaritan community, climaxing with the sacrifice of up to 40 sheep.

The Counting of the Omar remains relatively unchanged. The Counting of the Omar is a ritual in Judaism that consists of a verbal counting of each of the 49 days between the holidays of Passover & Shavuot. However, the week before Shavuot is a unique festival celebrating the continued commitment Samaritanism has maintained since the time of Moses.

During Sukkot, the Sukkah (the temporary hut built for use during Sukkot) is built INSIDE of houses, instead of OUTSIDE like mainstream Judaism. This Samaritan tradition is traced back to the persecution of the Samaritans during the Byzantine Empire.

The roof of the Samaritan Sukkah is decorated with citrus fruits & branches of palm, myrtle, & willow trees. This is in accordance with the Samaritan interpretation of the 4 species designated in the Torah for the holiday. The 4 species are 4 plants (the etrog, lulav, hadass, & aravah) mentioned in the Torah as being relevant to the Jewish holiday of Sukkot.

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Mercy Seat

This is known in Hebrew as the kapporet.

This was the solid gold lid put on the Ark of the Covenant. It had 2 cherubim at the ends to cover & make the space in which Yahweh/God appeared & lived. It holds major significance in Judaism & minor significance in Christianity. The Ark of the Covenant is mentioned only once in the Quran.

The design of the Mercy Seat was heavily detailed in the Book of Exodus (25:17-22). The space between the 2 cherubim was considered the earthly throne of God, the place where His presence (often described the Shekinah glory), where He would live & commune/communicate with Moses.

The Ark & Mercy Seat were kept in the Holy of Holies. This was the Temple’s innermost sanctuary which was separated from the other parts of the Temple by a thick curtain called a parochet. The Holy of Holies could only be entered by the High Priest on the Day of Atonement, or Yom Kippur. This is the holiest day of the year in Judaism.

The ritual described, in detail, in Leviticus chapter 16. The High Priest would sprinkle the blood of a sacrificial bull onto the Mercy Seat as an atonement for the sins of his own & his family. A sacrificial goat would be for the sins of the people of Israel. This act of sprinkling the blood would be a symbolic covering of the sins of the people. This allowed for a temporary reconciliation between a holy God & His sinful creation. The blood was a substitute representing a life given in place of the lives of the people who transgressed against God’s law.

For Christians the Mercy Seat is seen as a powerful foreshadowing of Jesus. The New Testament, in Hebrews & Romans, draws a direct & profound connection between the Old Testament ritual & Jesus’ work on the cross.

Jesus on the cross was a greater atonement & the formation of a New Covenant (Hebrews 9:3-15). The continual sacrifices for sin under the Mosaic Law/Covenant became obsolete following Jesus’ one-time sacrificial death, as the Lamb of God.

The author(s) of Hebrews explains that Jesus is the ultimate High Priest (Hebrews 9:11). Unlike the Old Testament priests who HAD to offer sacrifices for sins, Jesus was without sin (or original Sin for that matter) & offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice “once for all.”

The blood of the bulls & goats could only give a temporary “covering” of sin(s) (Hebrews 10:4). Jesus’ own blood, that was shed on the cross, is presented as a perfect & final atonement. THis provides a permanent solution to the problem of sin & guilt.

At the moment of Jesus’ death, the veil of the Temple that separated the Holy of Holies from the rest of the building was torn from top to bottom (Matthew 27:51). This is understood as a symbol that the separation between God & humanity had been removed. Thus through Jesus’ sacrifice, believers now have direct access to God’s presence.

The Greek word for Mercy Seat used in the Septuagint (the Greek Old Testament) is hilasterion. This is a term that carries the idea of an atoning sacrifice. In Romans 3:25, the Apostle Paul uses this exact word to describe Jesus: “…whom God puts forward as a propitation (or Mercy Seat) by His blood, to be received by faith.” This verse teaches that God’s righteous wrath against sin satisfied God’s justice in the Old Testament.

In this way, Jesus is seen as a fulfillment of everything the Mercy Seat represented. The place where God’s holiness & justice meet His mercy & love & the means by which humanity can be reconciled with God. The Mercy Seat was a physical representation of a spiritual truth, one that Christians believe was fully realized in the person & work of Jesus.

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Pyotr Ilyich #Tchaikovsky - #Hymn of the #Cherubim
#classic #music

youtu.be/OPlK5HwFxcw?feature=s…

Shinichi Konno il maestro artigiano dei telai del keirin
@ Japan D+
https://www.svelo.eu/2024/12/15/shinichi-konno-il-maestro-artigiano-dei-telai-del-keirin/4323/

#ciclismo #cycling #ShinichiKonno #Cherubim #telai #keirin #unosport #unociclismo

Day 8: Grimm
So someone didn’t read the prompt correctly! Did not get the Brothers Grimm connection AT ALL! Oh well you’re getting a grim little memento mori instead - featuring a cherubim and a couple of grinning skulls and a hourglass to tell you your time is coming!! Not morbid at all.

#mdwc24d8 #mabsdrawlloweenclub #drawingchallenge #linocut #print #printmaker #october #halloween #illustration #spooky #mementomori #grim #grave #graveyard #cemetery #funeraryart #cherubim #skull #hourglass

I drew this for the 2023 Xeno Zine for the Homestuck Zine Jam

#dentition #cherub #cherubim #cherubs #snakes #serpentine #xeno #homestuck #homestuckxeno #homestuckfanart #cherubhomestuck #calliope #calliopehomestuck #calliopehomestuck #homestuckcherub #cherubhomestuck #digitalart #fanart

Word Search Puzzle 346

Word List : #machree #taskwork #cerealin #campbell #secus #czarish #euler #alfakis #bushed #anatases #balanid #unhat #iodonium #yarran #cherubim #prophage #oligist #rasselas

http://karafinance.com/2024/02/27/word-search-puzzle-346/