9 ranks of angels in Orthodoxy. Angelic ranks: description, hierarchy and how different types differ from each other

In general, the life of any person is determined by the subtle world, having a huge influence on it. In ancient times, everyone knew that it was the subtle world that determined the physical plane. At the moment, few people remember this and want to think in this direction. And this is a very important aspect of life, because there are beings who help us in life, and there are those who try to lead us astray and sometimes even destroy us.

Heavenly Angels

To see all 9 ranks of angels, you should pay attention to Botticini’s “Assumption”. There are three triads of angels on it. Before creating our world, visible and physical, God created heavenly, spiritual forces and called them angels. It was they who began to play a mediating role between the Creator and people. The translation of this word from Hebrew literally sounds like “messenger”, from Greek - “messenger”.

Angels are called ethereal beings who have free will and great power. According to information from the Old and New Testaments, in the Angelic Hierarchy there are certain angelic ranks, the so-called steps. Most Jewish and Christian theologians were engaged in creating a unified classification of these ranks. At the moment, the most widespread is the angelic hierarchy, which was created in the fifth century and called the “nine ranks of Angels.”

Nine ranks

From this system it follows that there are three triads. The first, or highest, included the Seraphim and Cherubim, as well as the Thrones. The middle triad includes the angelic orders of Dominion, Strength and Authority. And in the lowest caste of ranks are the Principalities, Archangels and Angels.

Seraphim

It is believed that it is the Seraphim who are closest to God who can be called those who occupy the highest angelic rank. It is written about them in the Bible that the prophet Isaiah witnessed their arrival. He compared them to fiery figures, so the translation of this word from Hebrew means “Flaming.”

Cherubim

It is this caste that follows the Seraphim in the angelic hierarchy. Their main purpose is to intercede for the human race and pray for souls before God. In addition, it is believed that they serve as a memory and are guards of the Heavenly Book of Knowledge. The knowledge of the Cherubim extends to everything that a created being can know. Translated from Hebrew, cherub means intercessor.

In their power are the mysteries of God and the depth of his wisdom. It is believed that this particular caste of angels is the most enlightened among all. It is their responsibility to open up in man the knowledge and vision of God. Seraphim and Cherubim, along with the third representatives of the first triad, interact with people.

Thrones

Their position is before the seated God. They are called God-bearing, but not in the literal sense of the word, but because of the goodness within them and because they faithfully serve the Son of God. In addition, evolutionary information is hidden in them. Basically, it is they who carry out God's justice and help earthly authorities judge their people fairly.

According to the medieval mystic Jan van Ruijsbroeck, representatives of the highest triad under no circumstances interfere in human conflicts. But at the same time, they are close to people in moments of insight, love for God and knowledge of the world. It is believed that they are capable of bringing the highest love into the hearts of people.

Dominations

The angelic ranks of the second triad begin with the Dominions. The fifth rank of angels, the Dominions, have free will, which ensures the daily functioning of the Universe. In addition, they control the angels who are lower in the hierarchy. Because they are completely free, their love for the Creator is impartial and sincere. It is they who give strength to earthly rulers and managers so that they act wisely and fairly when owning lands and governing people. In addition, they are able to teach how to control feelings, protecting them from unnecessary impulses of passion and lust, and enslaving the flesh to the spirit, so that it is possible to control one’s will and not succumb to temptations of various kinds.

Powers

This caste of angels is filled with Divine strength; they have the power to carry out the instant will of God, showing his strength and power. They are the ones who work God’s miracles and are able to give a person grace, with the help of which he can see what is coming or heal earthly diseases.

They are able to strengthen a person’s patience, remove his sorrow, strengthen his spirit and give him courage so that he can cope with all life’s hardships and problems.

Authorities

It is the responsibility of the Authority to maintain the keys to the devil's cage and restrain his hierarchy. They are able to tame demons, repel attacks on the human race, and deliver from demonic temptation. Also, their responsibilities include affirming good people for their spiritual deeds and works, protecting them and preserving their right to the Kingdom of God. It is they who help drive away all evil thoughts, passions and lust, as well as ward off a person’s enemies and help defeat the devil within themselves. If we consider the personal level, then angels help a person during the battle of good and evil. And when a person dies, they accompany his soul and help him not to go astray.

Beginnings

These include entire legions of angels whose purpose is to protect religion. Their name is due to the fact that they guide the lower angelic ranks, it is they who help them to do actions pleasing to God. In addition, their mission is to rule the universe and protect everything that God has created. According to some reports, every nation and every ruler has its own angel, called upon to protect it from evil. The Prophet Daniel said that the Angels of the Persian and Judean kingdoms ensure that all rulers who are enthroned do not strive for enrichment and glory, but to spread and increase the glory of God, so that they benefit their people by serving their needs.

Archangels

The Archangel is the great evangelist. Its main mission is the discovery of prophecies, understanding and knowledge of the will of the Creator. They receive this knowledge from higher ranks in order to convey it to lower ranks, who will subsequently convey it to people. According to Saint Gregory Dvoeslov, the purpose of angels is to strengthen faith in man and discover its sacraments. The archangels, whose names can be found in the Bible, are the ones most known to man.

Angels

This is the lowest rank in the hierarchy of heaven and the closest creature to humans. They guide people on the path, help them in everyday life not to leave their path. Every believer has his own guardian angel. They support every virtuous person from falling, they try to raise everyone who has fallen spiritually, no matter how sinful he is. They are always ready to help a person, the main thing is that he himself desires this help.

It is believed that a person receives his Guardian Angel after the rite of Baptism. He is obliged to protect his subordinate from misfortunes, troubles and help him throughout his life. If a person is threatened by dark forces, he needs to pray to the Guardian Angel, and he will help fight them. It is believed that depending on a person’s mission on earth, he may be associated with not one, but several angels. Depending on how a person lives and how spiritually developed he is, not only lower ranks, but also Archangels, whose names most people know, can work with him. It is worth remembering that Satan will not stop and will always tempt people, so the Angels will always be with them in difficult times. Only by living according to the laws of God and developing spiritually can one learn all the mysteries of religion. This is, in principle, all the information that relates to the ranks of Heaven.

The Angelic ranks are divided into three hierarchies - highest, middle and lowest. Each hierarchy consists of three ranks.

The highest hierarchy includes:

Seraphim, Cherubim and Thrones.

Seraphim.

Closest to the Holy Trinity are the six-winged Seraphim (Flaming, Fiery) (Is. 6:2). They burn with love for God and encourage others to do so.

Cherubim.

After the Seraphim, the many-purified Cherubim stand before the Lord (Gen. 3:24). Their name means: outpouring of wisdom, enlightenment, for through them, shining with the light of knowledge of God and understanding of the mysteries of God, wisdom and enlightenment are sent down for true knowledge of God.

Thrones.

Behind the Cherubim stand the God-bearing Ones by grace given to them for service, the Thrones (Col. 1:16), mysteriously and incomprehensibly bearing God. They serve God's justice.

The average Angelic hierarchy consists of three ranks:

Dominance, Strength and Authority.

Dominance.

Dominions (Col. 1:16) rule over the subsequent orders of Angels. They instruct God-appointed earthly rulers in wise governance. Dominions teach one to control one's feelings, tame sinful lusts, enslave the flesh to the spirit, dominate one's will, and overcome temptations.

Strength.

The powers (1 Pet. 3:22) do the will of God. They work miracles and send down the grace of miracles and clairvoyance to the saints of God. The forces help people to obey, strengthen them in patience, and bestow spiritual strength and courage.

Authorities.

Authorities (1 Pet. 3:22; Col. 1:16) have the power to subdue the power of the devil. They ward off demonic temptations from people, confirm ascetics, protect them, and help people in the fight against evil thoughts.

The lower hierarchy includes three ranks:

Beginnings, Archangels and Angels.

Started.

The principalities (Col. 1:16) rule over the lower angels, directing them to fulfill Divine commands. They are entrusted with managing the universe, protecting countries, peoples, tribes. They began to instruct people to give everyone the honor due to their rank. They teach superiors to perform official duties not for the sake of personal glory and benefits, but for the sake of the honor of God and the benefit of their neighbors.

Archangels.

Archangels (1 Sol. 4:16) preach great and glorious things, reveal the secrets of faith, prophecy and understanding of the will of God, strengthen people's holy faith, enlightening their minds with the light of the Holy Gospel. Here we give.

Angels.

Angels (1 Pet. 3:22) are closest to people. They proclaim God's intentions and instruct people to live a virtuous and holy life. They protect believers, keep them from falling, raise the fallen, never leave us and are always ready to help if we wish.

All ranks of the Heavenly Forces bear the general name of Angels - in essence of their service. The Lord reveals His will to the highest Angels, and they, in turn, enlighten the rest.

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Having created people in His image and likeness, the Lord introduced into their lives many elements inherent in the Heavenly Kingdom. One of them is the hierarchy inherent in both human society and the world of angels ─ disembodied forces surrounding the Throne of God. The position of each of them depends on the significance of the mission he performs. Our article will discuss how many angelic ranks there are in the Christian religion, and what are the characteristics of each of them.

Messenger of God

Before starting a conversation about the angelic ranks and tracing the differences between them, we should dwell on who the angels are and what their role is in the existing world order. This word itself, which came to us from the Greek language, is translated as “messenger” or “messenger”.

In all Abrahamic religions, that is, those that recognize the union concluded by Patriarch Abraham with God, and this is Christianity, Islam and Judaism, the angel is presented as an incorporeal being, but at the same time possessing reason, will and consciously choosing the path of serving God. In the visual arts, there has been a tradition of giving angels the appearance of anthropoform (human-looking) creatures endowed with wings.

Angels and Demons

According to the Holy Scriptures, angels were created by God even before He created the visible world, and carried within them only a good beginning. But later, some of them, filled with pride, fell away from their Creator and were cast out of Heaven for this. Those who, remembering their true purpose, remained faithful to the Lord (they are usually called “bright angels” in contrast to demons ─ “angels of darkness”), became His faithful servants. In each of these opposing groups there is a certain hierarchy of angelic ranks.

Teachings of an unknown theologian

The correspondence of ethereal forces to one or another level of the hierarchical ladder leading to the Throne of God has been the subject of study by many outstanding theologians of past centuries. In Christianity, it is customary to distribute the ranks of angels in accordance with the classification, the author of which was an unknown theologian who lived at the turn of the 5th and 6th centuries and went down in history under the name of Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite. He received such an unusual name due to the fact that for a long time his works were erroneously attributed to the Greek philosopher and thinker of the 1st century, Dionysius the Areopagite, who, according to legend, was a disciple of the Apostle Paul.

From the system proposed by Pseudo-Dionysius, which the author based on the texts of the Holy Scriptures, it follows that the entire world of light spirits is divided into three groups, or triads, each of which, in turn, consists of three specific types of disembodied servants of God. The angelic ranks are distributed by the author in a strict hierarchy, illustrating the meaning of each of them.

His work, on which many outstanding theologians of subsequent centuries relied, was called the “Treatise on the Heavenly Hierarchy,” and the system proposed in it became known as the “Nine Orders of Angels.” On the basis of the system proposed in it, today the entire hierarchy of angelic ranks is built in Orthodoxy, as well as in most Western directions of Christianity. For almost one and a half millennia it remains dominant.

Higher ranks of ethereal forces

According to this teaching, the highest level of the nine ranks of angels is occupied by spirits called seraphim, cherubim and thrones. The seraphim are considered to be the closest of them to God. The Old Testament prophet Isaiah likens them to fiery figures, which explains the origin of this word, translated from Hebrew as “fiery.”

The seraphim, who constitute the highest rank of angels, are followed by the cherubim. They are the main intercessors of the human race before God and prayer books for the salvation of the souls of the departed. That is why they have a name translated from Hebrew as “intercessor.” Sacred tradition tells of them as the guardians of the Heavenly Book of Knowledge, possessing such extensive information about everything in the world that the human mind cannot contain it. Their most important property is the ability to help people on the path of gaining knowledge and vision of God.

Heavenly support of earthly rulers

And finally, another angelic rank included in the highest triad - thrones. The name of the group of these disembodied spirits comes from the fact that it was they who were given the grace of God to support earthly rulers and help them carry out just judgment over their people. In addition, the peculiarity of the thrones is that the Creator was pleased to embed in them the knowledge of the paths along which human society is destined to move and develop.

It is generally accepted that thrones never interfere in human conflicts, but at the same time they are close to us, helping us gain spiritual insight and be filled with love for God. All representatives of the first highest triad are capable of entering into direct communication with a person.

Bearers of wisdom and creators of good endeavors

The middle triad is opened by the angelic rank ─ dominion. This, according to the classification of Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, is the fourth rank of angels. They embody the freedom that underlies the life of the entire visible world and is proof of their boundless and sincere love for the Creator. Dominions, like thrones, are in constant interaction with earthly rulers, giving them wisdom and directing their thoughts only to good endeavors.

In addition, these servants of God help people overcome the impulses of passion that overwhelm them and fight the temptations of the flesh, not allowing it to dominate the spirit. Dominions got their name due to the fact that they are entrusted with the control of all other angels, whose position on the hierarchical ladder is lower.

Executors of the Creator's will

The next stage of the middle triad is occupied by forces. From the treatise of Pseudo-Dionysius it is known that this category consists of angels, gifted with an indestructible divine fortress and capable of fulfilling the will of their Creator in the blink of an eye. They are the conductors of God’s grace, given to people through their prayers and petitions.

All the miracles that the Lord shows to his children occur with their direct participation. Being conductors of divine energy, the powers bring pious Christians deliverance from ailments and the fulfillment of their deepest desires. They also help the chosen sons of God to see the future. An important feature of the powers is the ability to strengthen a person’s spirit, give him courage and ease grief. Thanks to the angels standing on this ─ fifth hierarchical level, people cope with their life problems and overcome adversity.

Fighters against dark forces

They complete the middle triad of power. They are entrusted with an extremely important mission - to keep the keys to the dungeon in which the devil is imprisoned, and to put obstacles in the way of his countless army. They protect the human race from demonic obsessions and help fight temptations sent by the enemy of the human race.

Without ceasing the fight against the fallen angels, who are the embodiment of evil, the authorities at the same time protect pious people, confirming them in virtue and filling their hearts with love for God. They are entrusted with the responsibility of driving away bad thoughts from them, strengthening them in good intentions, and escorting those who have succeeded in serving God after death to the Kingdom of Heaven.

Patrons of nations and kingdoms

At the lowest level of the hierarchical ladder of angelic ranks are the last three categories of disembodied spirits, the eldest of which are the beginnings. They represent an invincible legion of defenders of the faith. The principles received their name due to the mission entrusted to them to lead the remaining two categories of angels and direct their labors to fulfill the will of God.

In addition, principles have another important purpose - to manage the construction of hierarchies among people. It is believed that none other than the beginnings invisibly anoint earthly monarchs to the kingdom and bless rulers of other ranks. In this regard, it is generally accepted that the Lord sends an angel of this category to each people, called to protect them from troubles and shocks. The basis for such a judgment may be the words of the Old Testament prophet Daniel about the angels of the Judean and Persian kingdoms, making sure that the rulers anointed by them were zealous not for personal wealth, but for increasing the glory of God.

The world of angels and archangels

And finally, the representatives of the last two groups who are closest to people are the archangels and angels. The word archangel translated from Greek means “great messenger.” In most cases, it is through his prophecies that people learn the will of the Creator. An example is the good news brought by the Archangel Gabriel to the Most Pure Virgin Mary. Archangels sometimes become the watchful guards of the Lord. In this regard, it is enough to recall the Archangel Michael, who blocked the entrance to Eden with a flaming sword.

The lowest ranks of the heavenly hierarchy are angels. They can also be called the disembodied spirits closest to people, helping in everyday life. The Holy Church teaches that at baptism, the Lord sends a special guardian angel to each person, protecting him throughout his subsequent life from spiritual falls, and if they occur, guiding him on the path of repentance, regardless of the severity of the sins committed.

Depending on how rich a person’s spiritual world is, how strong his faith in God is and what his purpose in life is, he may be under the tutelage of not one angel, but several, or even have direct communication with the archangels. It is important to remember that the enemy of the human race does not cease to tempt people and turn them away from serving the Creator, therefore angels and archangels, until the end of time, will be next to those in whose hearts the fire of faith burns, and protect them from the attacks of dark forces.

). To do this, they incarnated into a human body and descended to earth:

At that time there were giants on earth ( nephilim), especially from the time when the sons of God began to come in to the daughters of men, and they began to give birth to them: these are strong, glorious people from ancient times.

However, the “sons of God” in the Bible mean not only Angels, but also righteous people, thus, according to Jewish and Christian tradition, the meaning of this verse is that righteous people began to marry immoral people, succumbed to their influence, and they themselves have become morally inferior. From the point of view of church theology, the sons of God are the descendants of Seth, and the daughters of men are the descendants of Cain.

In the New Testament

...they are ministering spirits sent to serve those who are to inherit salvation

In most translations of the Bible, when mentioning the fallen and all kinds of angels who sinned (those who opposed God), they use a lowercase letter, and when mentioning the holy Angels, they use a capital letter.

Angel with a flower. 14th century

In religious tradition

In Judaism

Among the seven angels of Jewish mythology, only three are named in the Tanakh (Old Testament) by name: Michael, Gabriel and Raphael. The other four, Oriel, Reguel, Sariel and Jerahmiel, are mentioned in non-canonical literature (Book of Enoch). It is believed that four angels stand before the throne of God and guard the four cardinal directions: Michael, Gabriel, Oriel and Raphael.

In Kabbalah

Analogues in other traditions

For the ancient Greeks - minor gods.
For Buddhists - bodhisattvas.
For followers of Zoroastrianism - Amesha Spenta, Yazatas.

Literature

Ivan Benchev Icons of angels. Images of heavenly messengers. - M.: Interbook-Business, 2005.
Andreev I. Apocrypha. Christianity: Encyclopedic Dictionary.
Averintsev S. Angels, Archangels: Myths of the Peoples of the World.
Sophie Burnham The Book of Angels: Reflections on angels from the past to the present day, and how they relate to our lives. M.: Home shopping, 2001.

The orders of angels are an important part of Christian culture. After all, even in heaven there is a strict hierarchy.

We will help you understand angelic chinaz in this article.

The ranks of angels - what are they and why are they needed

The kingdom of God is like any organization. If these words seem blasphemous to you, then think about where people got their structure of society from? God made man in his own image and likeness, which means he handed down the hierarchy to us. Moreover, let us remember that Archangel Michael bears the title of Archangel, that is, the commander-in-chief of the heavenly army. This alone can say that the ranks of angels really exist.

Ancient icon Image of St. Michael the Archangel, leader of the heavenly army. Russia XIX century.

What are they created for? As in any organization, so in heaven, there must be a chain of command. Without it, disorder and anarchy will reign in the organization. And it was precisely for refusing to obey that the angel Lucifer was expelled. And let us remember that each of the angels has its own, so to speak, field of activity. So, without a clear hierarchy, it is simply impossible to establish order in such a structure. In general, the nine angelic ranks were created by God precisely in order to manage the heavenly kingdom as effectively as possible.

The Creator, naturally, is endowed with limitless power and possibilities - how else would he create the whole world? But you should understand that even he sometimes needs to escape from one problem in order to take care of another. Moreover, the real world is too fragile to withstand the direct intervention of a deity. Let's not forget about Archangel Gabriel, who is the Voice of God. After all, if the Creator turns to a person directly, then he simply will not withstand the power of the true voice and will die. This is why God needs help. Excessive power imposes its own limitations.

Nine angelic ranks

Yes, this seemingly monolithic organization has its problems. On at least one occasion, a rift was brewing among the angels. But it happened because of the first fallen angel, who was able to attract a few rebels to his side. From this we can conclude that the basis of the problems is not the reasonableness of the hierarchy, which no one questions. The problem is that only the Lord himself can be perfect in this world. Even Adam and Eve, his beloved children, succumbed to the temptations of the Serpent. Yes, you can make a discount on the freedom of choice given to them. But if their souls were completely pure, then the flattering speeches of the Enemy would not have had their destructive effect.

If we sum up all of the above, it turns out that there is no hierarchy in Heaven. Everything is like people. But should this be surprising? Unlikely. Any organization is designed to eliminate, so to speak, the human factor. In our case - angelic. It doesn’t always work out, but how could it be otherwise? Even such a perfect being as God can have mistakes.

9 angelic ranks of the heavenly hierarchy

We have already talked about how many angelic ranks there are in the Christian religion. There are 9 angelic ranks. Now let's get to the bottom of it - what are the ranks of angels and their names? The story needs to begin with the fact that the ranks are divided into triads of angels. They were created for a reason - each triad unites a certain group of angels. The first is those who are directly close to the Lord. The second emphasizes the divine basis of the universe and world dominion. The third is those who are directly close to humanity. Let's look at each in more detail.

Angelic ranks in Orthodoxy

The first triad consists of seraphim, cherubim and thrones. Seraphim are the creatures closest to God. These six-winged creatures live in constant motion. They are often confused with muses, who can also kindle the fire of life in the souls of mortals. But at the same time, seraphim can scorch a person with their heat. Cherubim are guardian angels. They are the ones that guard the tree of life, which appeared after the expulsion of Adam and Eve. The first representatives of the great Mistrust, because before the Expulsion the tree did not need to be protected. Thrones are not part of the interior. They are the third rank of the first triad, they are often called the Mirrors of Wisdom. They reflect divine providence, and with their help, heavenly souls can predict the future.

The second triad includes powers, dominations and authorities. The forces are engaged in transferring a piece of divine power to mortals. They help in difficult times to take one’s head, so to speak, and not despair. Dominions - the middle rank in the angelic hierarchy, personify the craving for freedom and independence, convey to people the craving to remove themselves from inequality. Authorities are the rank that closes the second triad. Some texts, the Gospels, for example, say that authorities can be both helpers of good and minions of evil. Carry out manifestations of divine power in the human world.

The third triad completes the hierarchy ladder. It includes the principles, archangels and angels. The Principles are the angelic rank that governs the human Hierarchies. There is a version that it was with their permission that the monarchs were anointed. Archangels are senior angels who control the angels themselves. As an example, Archangel Michael the Archangel, the chief of the angelic army. Angels are those who are most involved in people's lives. They bring messages from God, they fight in his name, they give him honor and glory.

These are all the angelic orders that exist in the Christian religion. In different interpretations there may be a different number of them, from 9 to 11. But the most reliable is the one mentioned in the works of Dionysius by the Areopagite. They were written at the end of the 5th or early 6th century. This is a whole collection of research texts, the purpose of which was to bring clarity to the lives of celestial beings. The theologian asked himself difficult questions and tried to answer them as clearly as possible. He did it. The key to such success was the researcher’s spirituality and the most powerful power of thought. He read many texts just to satisfy his and our curiosity. We can say that the theologian simply summarized everything that had been written before him. And this is true, but partially. Even such a seemingly simple job required titanic efforts.

Angelic ranks in Orthodoxy

There is a difference between Orthodox and Catholic culture. She also touched upon the roles assigned to the angelic ranks. Yes, if you look in general, the differences will not be striking. Still, even if they are different confessions, they are of the same religion. How are the angelic ranks different in Orthodoxy?

All 9 angelic orders are depicted in “The Assumption” by Francesco Botticini.

Firstly, there are no triads in the Orthodox religion. There are degrees here. There are also three of them, and they are called - Higher, Middle, Lower. They differ from each other in their “distance” from the divine throne. This in no way means that God loves the Lower degree less than the Higher. Of course not. It’s just that if the first is in direct contact with people, doing the will of God, then mortals almost never see the second.

The next big difference is the degree of personalization. In Orthodoxy, individual angelic personalities appear more often. They are given honor as intercessors and guardians. In Catholicism this happens much less often. Although here, like Catholics, there are 9 angels, 9 ranks of angels. Both faiths used the same texts, and minor differences can be attributed to different interpretations. Cherubic angels, for example, represent wisdom rather than guardianship. They have the highest spiritual wisdom and can use it. For the good, of course, by telling his fellow men how best to carry out this or that command of the Lord.

Let us dwell on the last degree, the lower angelic rank, their description and meaning. In Orthodoxy they are given the most attention, because they are more often shown to people. Some higher archangels are given names such as Michael, Gabriel, Raphael. Ordinary angels communicate most closely with people, even becoming personal guardians and intercessors. Guardian angels take custody of every mortal, instructing and helping him, pushing him along the path of God's Plan, the so-called Great Plan.

Angels are invisible and immortal, but just as invisible and immortal as the human soul. That is, to the extent that God grants them this prosperity. In Orthodoxy, angels are associated with two elements - fire and air. With fire they cleanse sinners, bring divine wrath and retribution. And they are like the wind, because they are transported across the earth with great speed in order to carry out the highest will as quickly as possible.

Angelic ranks are an important part of the heavenly kingdom, because without them there will be no order and discipline. It is with their help that it becomes clear how the hierarchy of divine essences works. It was from them that humanity gained an understanding of how their own society should work.