The First Hierarchy
Seraphim
Function and Philosophy
The Seraphim Choir is the highest and most magnificent of the nine accepted Angelic choirs. Without question they are the closest in all of heaven to the very throne of God, and their primary function is to circle the incomprehensibly beautiful throne in perpetual adoration of the Lord. This is a task that is not nearly as monotonous as it may seem to mortals, given the nature of the angels (who have perfect powers of concentration) and the delight that such an honour actually brings to the spirits.
The Seraphim are almost always identified with fire-not the burning, painful flames and heat of hell, but the healing flame of Love. They are literally living flames. The intensity of their adoration and pure Love of God pure out of them as a flawless reflection of the divine Love that emanates from the Lord. Like the rising sun, each angel radiates such light that even the other holy beings, the cherubim and the thrones, cannot look upon them.
Characteristics According to Enoch,
each Seraphim has six wings. In the Old Testament Book of Isaiah (6:1-3) he writes "...I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and his train filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim; each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew." In the Book of Revelation (4:8) is another possible reference: "And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to sing 'Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty who was and is and is to come!"
Members of this Angelic Choir
Seraphiel
Gabriel
Michael
Metatron
Uriel
Nathanael
Jehoel
Satan (before his fall)
Cherubim
Function and Philosophy
The Cherubim Choir is the second of the nine accepted choirs of angels, placed second as well in the first triad of the angelic hierarchy(with the seraphim and thrones). They are some of the most powerful and awe-inspiring of all angels, standing below only the seraphim in direct closeness to God. Their illuminative knowledge and wisdom are thus so great as to be utterly incomprehensible to the mortal mind, blinding the blessed human who has the honour of actually beholding them in this world.
In Islamic lore, the Cherubim was allegedly created out of the tears shed by the archangel Michael for all the sins of humanity. They are the first angels to be encountered in the Old Testament, being posted in the Book of Genesis in the east of Eden to ensure that no one entered after the expulsion of Adam and Eve. Their chief task in the celestial hierarchy is to sing the praises of God, but they are also declared in occult lore to have the responsibility of driving the chariot of the Lord, a key symbol of heaven. The Cherubim are also given the task of maintaining the records of heaven and seeing to the details necessary to keep order in the Heavenly Host.
Characteristics
Cherubim had the bodies of a winged bull, an eagle, or a sphinx and the faces of men or lions. As is clear from Ezekiel's encounter, the cherubim possess four wings and four faces, symbolizing their eternal vigilance and knowledge, which reaches every direction of Creation. They are also often presented with peacock feathers bearing a host of eyes, again in reference to their all-seeing omniscience.
Members of this Angelic Choir
Cherubiel
Gabriel
Ophaniel
Raphael
Uriel
Zophiel
Thrones
Function and Philosophy
Thrones belong to the first and highest triad of the heavenly host, standing just below the Seraphim and Cherubim. This position makes them some of the most powerful angels in service to the Lord. According to St. Thomas Aquinas, the Thrones have the task of pondering the disposition of divine judgments. In other words, they carry out or fulfill the divine justice of the Lord. Like their counterparts in the first angelic triad, they come the closest of all Angels to spiritual perfection and emanate the light of God with mirrorlike goodness. They, despite their greatness, are intensely humble, an attribute that allows them to dispense justice with perfect objectivity and without fear of pride or ambition. Because they are living symbols of God's justice and authority, they are called thrones and have as one of their symbols the throne.
Characteristics
This group of Angelic Princes are often called "Wheels." It is said that they were the actual wheels of the Lord's Heavenly chariot. "The four wheels had rims and they had spokes, and their rims were full of eyes round about." They are also frequently referred to as "many-eyed ones."
Members of this Angelic Choir
Jophiel
Zaphkiel
Oriphiel
Raziel
