Angels

Revision as of 19:10, 4 March 2023 by Admin (talk | contribs) (→‎Articles)
(diff) ← Older revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)

Introduction to the celestial beings who we know are part of what is "unseen", as we proclaim in the Nicene Creed.

Teacher Training and Resources

Reference Materials

A reference is a referral to another's text or information and can refer to written sources (books, reports, articles), videos, Internet sites, images, etc. It can also refer to personal communication in the form of letters, e-mails or interviews. A reference is synonymous with a literary citation or citing a source.

The following materials are offered as sources for information and ideas but please remember to properly give credit if material is used in your writing! If you forget to use references, or your references are incomplete, your work can seem like an empty postulation or create suspicions of plagiarism.

Articles

  1. The Celestial Hierarchy of Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite
  2. People Aren’t Downgraded to Angels When They Die, Chad Bird (Note: Not an Orthodox writer but content has been reviewed)
  3. The Angels, H.H. Moran Mor Ignatius Zakka I Iwas, Archdiocese of the Syriac Orthodox Church for the Eastern United States
  4. The Holy Names of the Angels, Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch Archdiocese of the Western United States
  5. Humans in the Divine Council, Fr. Stephen De Young (The Whole Counsel Blog, Ancient Faith)
  6. Cherubim, study note from the LRD Holy Qurbana book (page 54)
  7. "What Orthodox Christians Believe About Angels", Saint George Greek Orthodox Cathedral (Greenville, SC)
  8. Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite
  9. The Divinely-Revealed Appearance of Angels in Icons, Icon Reader Blog
  10. Know Your Angels ..., Blog on Byzantine Icons

Videos

  1. Our Sacred Order (Hierarchy in the Church), Be the Bee (ep. 116), Greek Orthodox Church
  2. Angels and Demons, Fr. Maggos (Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church, Rochester NY)
  3. Worship & Warfare, Fr. Jake Kurian (St. Stephen's Orthodox Church, Houston)

Podcasts

  1. Angels and Demons: Introducing Lord of Spirits, Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick and Fr. Stephen de Young (Ancient Faith Radio)
  2. Angels and Demons II: The Divine Council, Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick and Fr. Stephen de Young (Ancient Faith Radio)

Presentations

  1. Angels, Fr. Mat Alexander (St Mary’s FB MGOCSM)

Book Excerpts

  1. From St. Porphyrios (Bairaktaris) the Kafsokalyvite, Wounded by Love [Porphyrios. Wounded by Love: The Life and the Wisdom of Elder Porphyrios. Limni, Evia, Greece: Denise Harvey (Publisher), 2005.]
Yes, the angels don't pray for themselves. This is how I pray for people, for the Church, and for the Body of the Church. The moment you pray for the Church, you are released from your passions. The moment you glorify God, your soul is calmed and sanctified by Divine Grace. This is the art I want you to learn.
God wants us to be like the angels. The angels only glorify God. This is their prayer, glorification of God and nothing else. Doxology is prayer without self-interest. The angels do not pray in order to receive something: they are selfless. When we enter into this prayer, we will glorify God continually leaving everything to Him just as our Church prays "we commend our whole life to Christ our God."
This is the "higher mathematics" of our religion!
  1. From The Ladder of Divine Ascent by St. John Climacus (Step 26)
One thing about us astonishes me very much: Why do we so quickly and easily incline to the passions when we have Almighty God, angels and saints, to help us towards the virtues, and only the wicked demon against us?

Scripture

In order to help our children grow in the Orthodox Faith in North America, a decision was made to standardize all materials to the Orthodox Study Bible (DSWA Kalpana DSWA/C/016/2010, October 28, 2010). Please continue to pray and support the development of a fully approved translation based on the Peshitta, and our textbooks will educate on the various translations and historic development of Scripture.

Liturgical Resources

The Ministry of Liturgical Resource Development (LRD) was created in July of 2015 (DSWA Kalpana DSWA/C/10/2015, July 24,2015) to promote the translation, versification, and publication of vital English liturgical resources. Today most of our Sacramental offices are available and the "Service Book of the Holy Qurbono" and "Shehimo: Book of Common Prayer" are available in print. Wherever possible references will be made using LRD resources given the easy access to these materials to the faithful in North America.

Holy Qurbono


Other Hymns

  • Praise of the Cherubim (Ezekiel 3:12
Blessed is the glory of the Lord, from His place forever!
Blessed is the glory of the Lord, from His place forever!
Blessed is the glory of the Lord, from His place forever and ever!
Holy and glorious Trinity, have mercy upon us all;
Holy and glorious Trinity, have mercy upon us all;
Holy and glorious Trinity, have compassion and have mercy on us us all;
You are holy and glorious forever!
You are holy and glorious forever!
You are holy and blessed is Your name, forever and ever!

Other Prayers


Promion and Sedro


Quotes

Patristic Quotes

  • [St. John Chrysostom] “If then we have angels, let us be sober, as though we were in the presence of tutors; for there is a demon present also.”
  • [St. John of Damascus] "An angel, then, is an intelligent essence, in perpetual motion, with free-will, incorporeal, ministering to God, having obtained by grace an immortal nature: and the Creator alone knows the form and limitation of its essence. But all that we can understand is, that it is incorporeal and immaterial. For all that is compared with God Who alone is incomparable, we find to be dense and material. For in reality only the Deity is immaterial and incorporeal."
  • [St. Ephrem] “Blessed is he who like the heavenly angels, has pure thoughts, and who with his lips sings praises to the One who has authority over all that breathes.”
  • [St. Ephrem] “Blessed is he who always retains in himself remembrance of God, for such a person on earth is like a heavenly angel, constantly celebrating the Lord with fear and love.”

Other Quotes

  • [Pope Gregory I (590-640AD)] "What is the throne of the Lord, unless we understand it as the angelic powers? He is enthroned on high in their minds, and thus he controls everything below. What is the host of heaven, unless it means the many ministering angels? Then why does it say that the host of heaven stands on his right hand and on his left? Since God exists in everything and is also outside everything, he is not limited by right and left hands. But the right hand of God is the elect part of the angels, and the left hand of God means the fallen part of the angels. Not just the good serve God by the help they give us, but the wicked also serve him by the trials they inflict on us. Not just the ones who lift up anyone who turns back from sin, but also the wicked who push down anyone who refuses to turn back. So the angelic host stands on the right and on the left hand of God. The will of the elect spirits harmonizes with the divine mercy, and the minds of the fallen ones, when they serve their own evil ends, obey the judgment of God’s stern decrees."
  • [Mother Alexandria] "Like the existence of God, the existence of the holy angels is presumed, not asserted. Angels in the Bible are referred to as accepted fact."

Syriac and Greek Words

  • Eereyar (Syriac) - "watcher; a type of angel;"
  • Nothuro (Syriac) - "watcher"
  • Ira (Syriac) - Watcher/Angel (Daniel: ‘irin and qaddishin, "Watchers and Holy Ones"); ‘irutha = wakefulness.

Icons

These icons are either approved for publication or the Curriculum Committee is in the process of gaining approval. If you do not see the icon you'd like to use for your writing, please submit the image to the Committee so that we can do the necessary follow-up.

Retrieved from "https://talmido.org/index.php?title=Angels&oldid=3290"