Some years ago, when I was a young seminarian, I served with an Episcopal priest who greatly disappointed me in conversation one day by telling me that he saw “no need” for angels. “There’s nothing that angels are described as doing that the Holy Spirit could not do instead.” This kind of heavenly economy had never been offered to me as a theological reason before. When I thought about it, I realized that there was nothing that we could do that the Holy Spirit couldn’t do better, and wondered whether we existed. It seemed silly to me to posit something as not existing simply because you saw no need for it.
Later that week I was in a prayer group with this same priest (in his parish where I worked). It was a fairly informal group, and I have to confess to pure naughtiness when I said to the group, “Father said he sees no need for angels.” I don’t know what I expected, but the response was a sudden torrent of people sharing stories about angels that were purely wonderful. It included a story by an elderly woman who told of seeing an angel by the bed of her dying child. By the end of the evening, my priest friend had recanted and professed a belief in angels.
That is a story from the confusing time of an Anglican seminarian. What do you do when your professor and mentor just ups and denies a cardinal doctrine of the faith? I didn’t know at the time, so I probably did something wrong – though the outcome was good.
In the years since then I have had occasion in sermon or in a class to share a story about an encounter with an angel, or the intervention and help of an angel (I have a few such stories to tell). Without fail the result has been the same as that first night in a prayer group in Chicago. The story I tell is met with a torrent of similar stories. It seems that many people have angelic encounters but (at least in the circles I was in) were afraid to tell anybody.
Apparently if you live in a two-storey universe and you tell about an encounter with a second-floor creature, some people are afraid of the consequences. Thus we have the strange phenomenon of living in a one-storey universe where God is everywhere present, where the holy angels surround us moment by moment, and at the same time we have a great conspiracy of silence not to tell anyone about how things really are. Secularism is just one large myth.
Tonight my wife and I prayed the Akathist to the Archangel Michael (we were offering intercession for a friend). At the end of the prayers my wife said quietly to me, “St. Michael has always been a good friend to us.” It was a time for me to pause and remember how many times through 33 years of marriage we have stood together and asked St. Michael to come to our aid. Sometimes it has been through our own need, other times for the needs of others. But what we have known has been the faithfulness of the “Chief Captain of the Heavenly Hosts” to do battle for us and protect us in all of our spiritual battles.
I do not have an answer for someone who would deny the Holy Angels and subscribe to some form of theological minimalism. With a God who doesn’t make two snowflakes alike, what place does minimalism play in the universe? I’m Orthodox – which is always maximalist. Our God is a great God.
O chosen leader of the heavenly hosts and defender of the human race, we that are delivered by thee from afflictions offer unto thee this hymn of thanksgiving; and as thou dost stand before the throne of the King of Glory, do thou free us from all dangers, that with faith and love we may cry unto thee in praise:
Rejoice, O Michael, great supreme commander, with all the hosts of Heaven!
Kontakion 1 from the Akathist to St. Michael
November 7, 2007 at 12:04 am
Pray unto this manner, “Our Father, who art in heaven…”
Matthew 6:
7But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.
8Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.
9After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
10Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven…”
Why are you then praying to an angel and asking for intercession? Our mediator is the Spirit of God and Jesus Christ, that is for the Church of God.
Revelation 19:
9Then the angel said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!’ ” And he added, “These are the true words of God.”
10At this I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “Do not do it! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”
Praying to them has nothing to do with why they should guard us. Those who follows God’s commandments has an angel who is responsible to guard them.
Psalms 91:11 For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;
14 “Because he loves me,” says the LORD, “I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
15 He will call upon me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him.
16 With long life will I satisfy him
and show him my salvation.”
November 7, 2007 at 12:25 am
If you don’t mind I’ll add an angel story of my own, one of many in my family. Years ago I was living in Fargo, ND. I was driving home late one night. So late it seemed as if no one else was on the road. I was going the limit on the street I was on (about 35) approaching a green light prepared to sail on through. Suddenly this voice yelled at me “Slow down!!!!!!!” I was so startled that I lifted my foot from the accelrator, but never got it to the brake. It was enough as another car going quite fast ran the red light in front of me. I had decelerated enought to keep out of the intersection. At least two lives were saved that night. My wife and I developed the expression “My guardian angel was working overtime” as a quick thank you and expression of gratitude for all of their tireless intercessions on our behalf.
This time of year, as we move toward the celebration of the Nativity of our Lord, is stuffed with the presence of angels.
(A side note on minimalism, I recently heard a Catholic woman ask her priest, Father, what does the Holy Spirit do, isn’t Jesus enough?).
November 7, 2007 at 1:02 am
what does the Holy Spirit do, isn’t Jesus enough?
I am sure that if He chose to, the Father could save us with one hand tied behind His back. As it is, He seems to have chosen to use both hands.
November 7, 2007 at 3:22 am
How can we know if angels hear our prayers?
How can we know if we should be praying to angels?
November 7, 2007 at 7:38 am
At least you were a seminarian when your belief in angels was questioned. I was a sophomore in a Catholic high school when we were told that angels were “just myths,” so of course believed what I had been taught. It took 30 years for me to regain my belief in the existence of angels, and I still haven’t repaired whatever relationship I may have had with my guardian angel.
November 7, 2007 at 8:55 am
Thank you for encouraging belief in angels! Thank you also for the reference to the Akathist to St. Michael. I hope to take my children to celebrate Divine Liturgy on the ocassion of the Synaxis of the Archangel Michael and the Other Bodiless Powers. God is so very good to us!
November 7, 2007 at 10:05 am
Sadly, a number of people whose Biblical training did not include the communion of saints, are alarmed by prayers to saints or angels, having confused prayer with worship when they are not at all the same thing. Unlike those who have jettisoned the Tradition of the faith, and substituted modern Bible interpretations, the Orthodox faith has always taught the intercession of the saints (the Scriptures are quite clear that they are going to do this whether we ask them or not) or of the angels.
Asking a saint to pray for me, or asking an angel to act on my behalf is no different than someone asking me to pray for them – in fact it is exactly the same – with the exception that one of the saints or an angel will pray better and more strongly than I will.
The practice of asking for the prayers of the saints is a proven fact of the life of the early church, even if not found explicitly in the Scriptures. The verse quoted above forbids worship, which of course the Church has never taught. But someone needs to teach some people that worship and prayer are two different things. Why is that hard to understand?
I know that angels hear us because the Scripture is repleat with such stories. How do I know if we should be saying such prayers? Because the Church and the saints of the ages and the teachings of the Holy Fathers tell us it is good and useful. When in need I pray to God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. I also ask the prayers of saints to join with me in my prayers and the angels. as well. I need all the help I can get. My prayer relationship to God is not just a “me” thing. As you will notice, the Lord’s Prayer says, “Our Father,” not “My Father.” Doesn’t the Our include the saints in heaven? They are praying with us. I give some time in the near future to do a posting on the prayers of the saints (and angels). But for this morning that’s all I can say.
For protestants who are troubled by this, I understand. You have not been properly taught. But this is the faith of the Fathers of the Church and the faith that has always been held by Christ’s Holy Orthodox Church. The question is rather, “Why after 1500 years of uninterrupted practice, did the Reformation try to destroy such a practice?” How could Reformers who despised Holy Tradition read the Scriptures and interpret them better than those who had read and taught the Scriptures faithfullly for 1500 years? The Eastern Church did not have indulgences and merits and the thintgs most attacked in Rome. But we did honor the saints and their relics as is fitting and properly defined by the 7th ecumenical council.
I am a member of the Church, which is One. I am One with the saints in heaven (for they are also members of the One Church). How dare someone forbid me to ask the prayers of my brothers and sisters, members of the One Body of Christ? Do you think they are dead and no longer capable of prayer? That contradicts the clear teaching of Scripture. They stand about as a great cloud of witnesses (and it is us they are cheering on by their prayers).
Those who forbid asking the prayers of the departed or praying for the departed are among those who have created a two-storey universe and seek to divide the Church between the living and the dead. This cannot be since Christ, who is our life, reigns with them and refuses them no good thing. The Church is One and all the bad Bible interpretations cannot make it into two! The Church is One.
November 7, 2007 at 10:15 am
Elmantheman,
In order to have a more complete reading of Revelation, which explicitly refers to angels as well as saints bearing our prayers to God:
Rev. 8:3-4
“Then another angel, having a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense, that he should offer it *with the prayers of all the saints* upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, ascended before God from the angel’s hand.”
There is a similar sentiment expressed in Rev. 5:8 regarding the Holy Saints’ intercession for the people of God:
“Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and *golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.*”
November 7, 2007 at 10:30 am
Of course, the saints are those called in the Church of God. When a person dies, he cannot add nor subtract anything which he did already but awaits the judgement day if he’s not included in the first ressurection.
Daniel 12:
9 He replied, “Go your way, Daniel, because the words are closed up and sealed until the time of the end.
10 Many will be purified, made spotless and refined, but the wicked will continue to be wicked. None of the wicked will understand, but those who are wise will understand.
1 Corinthians 1
1Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes,
2To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ—their Lord and ours:
3Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
4I always thank God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. 5For in him you have been enriched in every way—in all your speaking and in all your knowledge—
6because our testimony about Christ was confirmed in you.
7Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. 8He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.
For more visit http://www.esoriano.wordpress.com
November 7, 2007 at 10:42 am
Thank you for the article, and for your lengthy response here which helps answer some questions.
For me, I can understand the teaching about one-storey, and cloud-of-witnesses, and it makes a certain amount of sense. Theologically.
But when I read stories of angels, or miraculous saints, or wonder-working relics, I struggle with what is simply unbelief. The little boy has cried wolf too many times… and what I mean is that I have seen too many charlatans, too many fakers, illusionists, and drug-induced hallucinations. How can the tales of – for example – Helen of Sinope, who’s severed head reportedly cures headaches – possibly be true in any meaningful sense?
When there are entire wards in psychiatric hospitals with people who see aliens, hear voices, or believe they are Abraham Lincoln – what am I to believe about other people who see saints and angels?
I know, just because one thing is false does not mean that something similar is also false. Still, it makes it hard, so hard, to believe…
Pray for me…
November 7, 2007 at 10:51 am
Elman,
Precisely, the 24 elders offer up the prayers of the saints; as you said, the prayers of those in the Church–so does the holy Angel. They all offer up prayers to The Lamb.
The holy ones and bodiless powers do offer supplication on behalf of us–St. John had gone to the trouble of actually explaining what the bowls and censer represented rather than leave it to the imagination–they offer intercession before the throne of The Lamb which is Christ our God.
the sinner,
Rdr. Lucas
November 7, 2007 at 11:05 am
Thanks for explaining in more detail father Stephen. It is helpful.
November 7, 2007 at 11:15 am
Thank you Father – I needed that …
November 7, 2007 at 12:21 pm
Yet one should not go looking for angelic encounters / miracles etc. As Lewis said, these tend to occur at the great ganglions of history, at times of great danger, misery and martyrdom. Wurmbrand desribed his own experiences with the angelic reality – at the depths of his imprisonment in communist Romania. And having experienced that, one should hold onto that not as a moment/event to be reverenced in and of itself, but as a moment/event that points to Christ. It is always possible that the means of God’s saving grace, be they physical or phenomenological, become more important than their originator. They are windows, or markers – treated otherwise, their fate might become like that of the Bronze Snake Moses made in the desert, which had to be destroyed.
In everything, Christ.
November 7, 2007 at 12:49 pm
elman,
I understand what you’re saying. I’m completely familiar with Protestant Bible arguments on the topic. But you’re simply wrong. Protestantism does not know how to read the Bible, having cut itself off from the living Tradition of the faith once and for all delivered to the saints. The Scriptures you quoted are not even quite to the point. If you have a proper point to make, then make it, but this is the Orthodox faith. If you want to disagree with it, fine. But I would much rather someone want to find out what we believe and why. We know what Protestants believe and are not persuaded that the modernism of the Protestant world which changes moment by moment and has no internal agreement amongst themselves is an answer to the faith of the Church that has preserved the faith since the beginning. I’m sorry. but there it is.
I will post comments here if they add to discussion, but if it’s just going to be flaming the site with Scipture attacking the intercession of the saints, then I doubt that I will post it.
For those who would like to read more on the Orthodox veneration of saints and asking their intercession, I recommend an article on the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese’ website.
November 7, 2007 at 1:14 pm
Fr. Stephen:
Thanks for this.
Some folks might find helpful the online page from Fr. Thomas Hopko’s series
( http://oca.org/OCchapter.asp?SID=2&ID=14 ).
Others of us have found and can recommend as well Archbishop Puhalo’s book “On the Angels”. Short and to the point ( http://www.synaxispress.com/bookstore5.html ).
Going back to find these is always a good reminder: “visible and invisible” …. from the Creeds we pray everyday… it is so easy for the words to elide off our lips and cease to remind us of what they mean that every now and again, it’s good to have an article like this… to jar us out of the routine and back to reality that there is a reason as well to the order of our prayers… even if we often hasten to get to the parts that focus on our more immediate needs. Thanks for this reflection!
November 7, 2007 at 2:01 pm
“I understand what you’re saying. I’m completely familiar with Protestant Bible arguments on the topic. But you’re simply wrong. Protestantism does not know how to read the Bible, having cut itself off from the living Tradition of the faith once and for all delivered to the saints. The Scriptures you quoted are not even quite to the point. If you have a proper point to make, then make it, but this is the Orthodox faith. If you want to disagree with it, fine. But I would much rather someone want to find out what we believe and why. We know what Protestants believe and are not persuaded that the modernism of the Protestant world which changes moment by moment and has no internal agreement amongst themselves is an answer to the faith of the Church that has preserved the faith since the beginning. I’m sorry. but there it is.”
wonderful answer
November 7, 2007 at 2:31 pm
Father, bless.
The Holy Archangel Michael is my patron saint, I really appreciated this post.
And, I also have a couple of angel stories, it indeed is very humbling.
November 7, 2007 at 7:00 pm
“I am One with the saints in heaven . . .”
“No one is as knowledgeable as the sinner in matters of Christianity. No one if not the saint. And in principle, it’s the same person. . . . The sinner extends his hand to the saint [or angel], since the saint reaches out to help him. And all together, the one through the other, the one pulling the other, they form a chain that rises up to Jesus, a chain of fingers that can’t be disconnected. . . . The one who is not Christian is the one who does not offer his hand.” -Charles Peguy as quoted and translated by Charles Taylor
November 7, 2007 at 10:10 pm
Amen.
November 7, 2007 at 10:13 pm
There is no image of God anywhere in Scripture in which He is not surrounded by crowds. He is the Lord God of Hosts (Sabbaoth). I do not understand why some want to insist on an individualized God for an individualized Christian – neither is taught in the Bible. These are modernist innovations and depart from Scripture and the Tradition. God is Trinity – and man exists only as a communion. If you are not in communion with the saints, then you most certainly are not in communion with Christ. “As the body has many members, so also is Christ,” the Apostle teaches us.
November 8, 2007 at 8:11 am
“Apparently if you live in a two-storey universe and you tell about an encounter with a second-floor creature, some people are afraid of the consequences. Thus we have the strange phenomenon of living in a one-storey universe where God is everywhere present, where the holy angels surround us moment by moment, and at the same time we have a great conspiracy of silence not to tell anyone about how things really are. “
Yes, I am always afraid to tell anyone my angel story for fear they will think I’m nuts. I share it only after I have grown to know people well and no longer fear rejection by them.
And yet, when I remember it, I am warmed by the comfort I received that night, by the knowledge that God loves me and forgives me. When I forget and “demand” proof, when I want to know why I don’t receive blessings I ask for, I am reminded of the angel who visited me and the words he said – and I am humbled and confess that I have not learned, like Paul, to be content in my circumstances. I realize that God blessed me beyond measure with that one encounter which I had no right to expect that one, much less want something more.
Perhaps some angel experiences are never meant to be broadcast about, but were always intended to be imtimate, quiet encounters.
November 8, 2007 at 11:18 am
Anam,
I readily agree, and would not have us adopt a spiritual life where everyone was always sharing their intimate spiritual details with everyone, as is the case in some circles. I simply wanted to point to the irony that there are many more people who have had such experiences than we would guess by the way such experiences are treated. In the course of my priesthood, such stories, when shared, have almost always been prefaced by, “You’re not going to believe this but…”
People have “one-storey” experiences, but are frightened to speak, I think, because the “two-storey” worldview dominates and makes it all sound weird. Remaining quiet because humility and privacy are a good thing is another matter in itself.
November 8, 2007 at 12:08 pm
Tardily as usual, so please pardon me, but I want to respond to Bill Moore’s questioning about angels. You said, Bill, that you have seen too many charlatans, fakers, illusionists, drug-induced hallucinations, heard of people who see aliens and hear voices, and you asked what are you to believe about other people who see saints and angels; that those things make it “hard, so hard, to believe…”
But isn’t the presence of counterfeit in and of itself evidence of the existence of the real thing? Would there be counterfeit currency if there were not genuine currency, for example?
It seems to me that satan’s very effort to mimic the truth works against him.
Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain! : P
Ronda
November 8, 2007 at 12:11 pm
Ronda,
Well made point.
November 8, 2007 at 12:35 pm
Thanks for the response, Rhonda. You’ll get no argument from me on the point you make. I was only trying to point out some of the reasons why I – and perhaps others – will be reluctant to accept such reports at face value.
B
November 8, 2007 at 3:02 pm
[...] un articol al doamnei preotese de ieri şi update-ul de la Creştin Ortodox. ro pe wp. Ro/ Despre Sf. Arhanghel Mihail şi o destăinuire specială de la părintele Stephen./ Pentru a downloada gratui, în pdf, [...]
November 8, 2007 at 7:19 pm
Happy feast day to all who call on St. Michael or any other angel as their patron.
November 8, 2007 at 7:27 pm
Ronda, good point! Unfortunately, unless we guard and promote the reality, the coin of spiritual things is greatly devalued by the existence of so many fakes. In economics the saying is “Bad drives out good”. Unless the quality of the money supply is maintained with active measures by government, everybody suffers economically.
Perhaps we need to speak more directly about who angels are (not the personal experiences so much) but the reality and the presence of them, describing them correctly.
Fr. Stephen, thank you for your effort in that regard.
November 9, 2007 at 2:48 am
“If any one believes, he is in the communion of faith; if he loves, he is in the communion of love; if he prays he is in the communion of prayer. Wherefore no one can rest his hope on his own prayers, and every one who prays asks the whole Church for intercession, not as if he had doubts of the intercession of Christ, the one Advocate, but in the assurance that the whole Church ever prayer for all her members. All the angels pray for us, the apostles, martyrs, and patriarchs, and above them all, the Mother of our Lord, and this holy unity is the true life of the Church.” (Alexei Khomiakov, † 1860)
November 10, 2007 at 5:28 am
Hi All,
I am researching my D.Min on the current physical manifestations of the Glory of God. You guys seem to have / know of these kinds of experiences. Would you please send me some testimonies… I need all the assistance I can get! gloryquestionnaire@mweb.co.za You may even direct me to some websites of testimonies if you know of any.
Regards Clare (South Africa)
November 11, 2007 at 3:21 am
Father, I haven’t read all the comments on this wonderful post just yet, but I wanted to say thank you for this simple statement you made: “For protestants who are troubled by this, I understand. You have not been properly taught.” it takes a lot of courage and resolve to make such a statement in these ecumenically-minded days. but it really is the only thing an Orthodox can say. we can argue Scripture, we can talk semantics or historical context. but in the end, protestants have not benefitted from the splendor of the teachings of the true Church of Christ, and that is the issue. “they have not been properly taught.” thank you, Father Stephen.
July 15, 2008 at 2:43 pm
I recently lost a very important ring that was given to me as a present from my aunt. I do not want her to find out that I’ve lost it, and I’m still looking for it but I may need to replace it. So I went to the jewelry store where my aunt bought it, and told the saleswoman the story, and she told me about her friend who lost her wallet at a bar, so she prayed to St. Michael who she said is known to help people find things. And a week later, she went back to that bar and it was sitting on the mantel of the fireplace with nothing missing in it. So I was just wondering if its true that Saint Michael is known to help people find things?
July 15, 2008 at 4:28 pm
I’ve not heard St. Michael associated with finding things so much as St. Vonorius, and St. Antony of Padua.
October 25, 2008 at 4:01 pm
Comments on Fr. Stephen’s quote:
“I served with an Episcopal priest who greatly disappointed me in conversation one day by telling me that he saw “no need” for angels. “There’s nothing that angels are described as doing that the Holy Spirit could not do instead.”
For many years, I subscribed to a similar view, believing that the Holy Spirit was all one needed.
Yes, the Holy Spirit is all one needs, but alas, one is easily led astray into the dark corners, where powerful and unseen forces are at work, whose sole agenda it is to destroy the Church, and all who profess faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
In some cases, so powerful is the grip on the soul, that the powers cannot be overcome without God’s direct help. It is here that angels and archangels come into play.
This year has been quite a year. A few hours before Holy Pascha, I visibly experienced what the Orthodox Church calls Holy Fire. I had not heard of such a thing at the time, nor indeed was I aware that the evening in question was the evening before Holy Pascha. In fact, I was familiar with neither the Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar nor the Paschal cycle. Frankly, I would never have remembered the date in question had it not been for another extraordinary event. But I can see now, that my experience of the Holy Spirit up to that point, was in some vital way, limited.
I digress. Let me just say this. Within a month of Pascha, I encountered the angel of the Lord’s Presence, but this is another story.
As somebody once said. It is by grace that we became sons and daughters of God. Christ is the Son of God in His very nature.
October 26, 2008 at 4:30 pm
[...] November, Father Stephen, an Orthodox priest and convert, posted a commentary on his blog that struck a [...]
November 3, 2008 at 8:31 am
How Great is Our God!