Anthony’s Cell
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St. John of Damascus on Angels: Nature, Ranks, and Ministry
7:37
What the video says
The video presents a reading from St. John of Damascus, 'Concerning Angels,' following opening singing and a Trisagion-style invocation. The text teaches that God created the angels out of nothing after His own image, as incorporal, rational beings with free will. It describes their nature: immortal by grace rather than nature, changeable as all created things are, and communicating without words.
Angels are secondary lights derived from the first light, circumscribed yet not bound by walls or doors, appearing to the worthy in forms they can perceive. They guard the divisions of the earth, govern human affairs, behold God according to their capacity, and dwell in heaven to sing His praise. Following Dionysius the Areopagite, the text lists nine ranks of heavenly essences in three groups, and affirms that angels were created before man but are not creators themselves.
Key moments
- God is the maker and creator of the angels, bringing them out of nothing into being after His own image, an incorporal race, 'a sort of spirit or immaterial fire,' as David says: 'He maketh his angels spirits and his ministers a flame of fire.'
- An angel is an intelligent essence in perpetual motion, with free will, incorporal, ministering to God; only the Creator knows the form and limitation of its essence, for only the deity is truly immaterial.
- The angel's nature is rational, intelligent, and endowed with free will, but changeable, with power to abide in goodness or turn toward evil; angels are not susceptible of repentance because they are incorporal, and they are immortal by grace, not by nature.
- Angels have no need of tongue or hearing but communicate their thoughts and counsels without uttering words; through the Word they were created and through sanctification by the Holy Spirit brought to perfection.
- Angels are circumscribed: when in heaven they are not on the earth, and when sent down they do not remain in heaven; they are not hemmed in by walls, doors, bars, or seals, and they reveal themselves in a changeable form the beholders can see.
- Whether angels are equal in essence or differ, God alone knows; they differ in brightness and position, and the higher share their brightness and knowledge with the lower.
- Angels are guardians of the divisions of the earth, set over nations and regions by their Creator; with difficulty they are moved to evil, and now they are altogether immovable by grace and their nearness to the only good.
- Following Dionysius the Areopagite, Scripture gives nine names for the heavenly essences in three groups: seraphim, cherubim, and thrones; dominions, powers, and authorities; rulers, archangels, and angels. Angels were created before man, and those who say angels are creators of any essence are 'the mouth of their father the devil,' for God alone is uncreated.
An audio reading from Anthony's Cell presents 'Concerning Angels,' a chapter from St. John of Damascus's An Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith. The reading follows opening singing and a Trisagion-style invocation, then works through the text in chapters covering the creation of the angels, their definition and incorporeal nature, free will and immortality by grace, communication without speech, their local limitation and manifestation to man, their guardianship of the earth, and the nine celestial orders.
St. John teaches that God created the angels out of nothing after His own image, as an incorporal race, 'a sort of spirit or immaterial fire,' citing David: 'He maketh his angels spirits and his ministers a flame of fire.' An angel is an intelligent essence in perpetual motion with free will, ministering to God, and only the Creator knows the form and limitation of its essence.
The angelic nature is rational and free but changeable, able to abide in goodness or turn toward evil; angels are immortal by grace rather than by nature, and they are not susceptible of repentance because they are incorporal. They communicate thoughts without words, created through the Word and perfected by sanctification of the Holy Spirit.
They are circumscribed, present in one place at a time, yet not hemmed in by walls, doors, bars, or seals, and they appear to the worthy in forms the beholders can perceive. They guard the divisions of the earth, are set over nations and regions, and behold God according to their capacity. Whether angels are equal in essence, God alone knows; they differ in brightness and position.
Following Dionysius the Areopagite, the text lists nine ranks in three groups: seraphim, cherubim, and thrones; dominions, powers, and authorities; rulers, archangels, and angels. Angels were created before man, and those who call them creators are 'the mouth of their father the devil,' for God alone is uncreated.
Main points
- God created the angels out of nothing after His own image, as 'a sort of spirit or immaterial fire,' quoting David: 'He maketh his angels spirits and his ministers a flame of fire.'
- Angels are intelligent essences with free will, immortal by grace rather than nature, changeable and not susceptible of repentance because they are incorporal.
- They communicate without words, are not bound by walls, doors, bars, or seals, and appear to the worthy in forms they can perceive.
- They guard the divisions of the earth, are set over nations and regions, and differ in brightness and position, though only God knows whether they are equal in essence.
- Following Dionysius the Areopagite, there are nine ranks in three groups: seraphim, cherubim, and thrones; dominions, powers, and authorities; rulers, archangels, and angels.