The Holy Archangel Michael is one of the most celebrated of the Angels and bodiless powers. The Greek Fathers and many others place him over all the angels – as Prince of the Seraphim. He serves as the Defender of the Faith. Michael is most often invoked for protection from invasion by enemies and from civil war, and for the defeat of adversaries on the field of battle. Many Jews believe that he appeared to Moses as the fire in the burning bush and led Daniel from the lions’ den.
In the Roman Catholic Church, Saint Michael has four main roles or offices.
- He is the Christian angel of death, carrying the souls of all the deceased to heaven, where they are weighed in his perfectly balanced scales (hence Michael is often depicted holding scales).
- At the hour of death, Michael descends and gives each soul the chance to redeem itself before passing, thus consternating the devil and his minions.
- St Michael is the special patron of the Chosen People in the Old Testament and is guardian of the Church. It was not unusual for the angel to be revered by the military orders of knights during the Middle Ages.
- Last, he is the supreme enemy of Satan and the fallen angels.
In Orthodox Christianity he is called the Archistrategos, or “Supreme Commander of the Heavenly Hosts.” Roman Catholic Christians often refer to him as “Saint Michael”, an honorific title that does not indicate canonisation. He is generally referred to in Christian litanies as “Saint Michael the Archangel.” He is called “the prince of Israel” in the Book of Enoch.
The name Michael means “like unto God” and in the Talmudic tradition his name is translated as “Who is like El (God)?” As a question, it is understood as being rhetorical, implying the answer, “No one is like God.”
Michael is usually shown holding a sword in one hand. In the other, he often carries either a shield, a date-tree branch, a spear, or a white banner. Some icons of the Archangel Michael show the angel holding an orb in one hand and a staff in the other.
Michael is also represented in icons as standing on a horizontal body and with his left arm held high, holding a small image of a “baby”. The body represents a human being at the time of his death and the image of the “baby” represents the soul of the dead person. This icon came about because the Archangel Michael, along with the Guardian Angel is believed to escort the souls of the dead.
In Russian iconography he is most likely to be wearing red and can be shown trampling the devil under his feet. The devil is sometimes depicted as a dragon. This comes from the tradition that Michael was the main opponent of Satan in the battle for Heaven. Satan, previously called Samael, was always looking to discredit Israel, while Michael was its main protector. In the end, Satan attempted to drag Michael down in his fall from the heights, but Michael was rescued by God.
In the Eastern Orthodox Church his feast is celebrated on November 8. This is known as the Synaxis of Michael and all the Bodiless Powers of Heaven.
September 6 also celebrates the miracle of the Archangel at Colossae. Tradition tells that the pagans directed the stream of a river against the sanctuary of St. Michael there to destroy it, but Michael appeared and split the rock by lightning to give a new bed to the stream, diverting the flow away from the church and sanctifying forever the waters which came from the gorge.
In the Roman Catholic calendar of saints and the Lutheran Calendar of Saints, his feast day, once widely known as Michaelmas, is celebrated on September 29 and was one of the four quarter days on which accounts were settled and, in when terms began in universities.
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In Constantinople, Saint Michael was seen as the great heavenly physician. His principal sanctuary, the “Michaelion”, was at Sosthenion, about fifty miles south of Constantinople. It is believed that he visited Emperor Constantine and intervened in various battles.
He is said to have appeared, sword in hand, over the mausoleum of Hadrian, answering the prayers of Pope St. Gregory I the Great that a plague in Rome should end. In honour of this, the Pope named the mausoleum the “Castel Sant’Angelo” (Castle of the Holy Angel), by which it is still known. The sick slept in this church at night to wait for a manifestation of St Michael. His feast was kept there on June 9.
The Catholics of Egypt placed their life-giving river, the Nile, under the protection of Saint Michael. They adopted the Greek feast and celebrate it on November 12. On the twelfth of every month they celebrate a special Commemoration of the Archangel Michael. In addition, on June 12, when the Nile River begins to rise, they keep the feast of “St Michael for the rising of the Nile.”
In Normandy, France, Saint Michael is the patron of mariners. He is said to have appeared to St. Aubert, Bishop of Avranches in his famous sanctuary at Mont-Saint-Michel in the Diocese of Coutances in 708. His feast was universally celebrated in Normandy on October 18, the anniversary of the dedication of the first church, but is now confined to the Diocese of Coutances.
In Germany, Saint Michael replaced for the Christians the pagan god Wotan, to whom many mountains were sacred, hence the numerous mountain chapels of St. Michael all over Germany. He is also known as the patron saint of the German Nation. His picture bedecked the war standard of the old German Empire (the Holy Roman Empire).
I hope you have enjoyed learning about Archangel Michael today. Join us next week when we meet Gabriel.