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Michael the Archangel and most importantly, reflect on how it affects Christians today. Join me on this journey as we discover the origins of this legend, while at the same time discovering the reality of a spiritual world and the cosmic battle between good and evil that is happening right now!
Make sure you are subscribed to my email list so as not to miss the next article in this series! Philip Kosloski Menu Skip to content. Inspiration Prayer Legends Comic Books. The legendary Sword o… According to legend, the line represents the blow with which St. Posted on Saturday, February 3, I reserve the right to delete comments that are offensive or off-topic. Samael took hold of the wings of Michael, whom he wished to bring down with him in his fall; but Michael was saved by God.
The idea that Michael was the advocate of the Jews became so prevalent that in spite of the rabbinical prohibition against appealing to angels as intermediaries between God and his people, Michael came to occupy a certain place in the Jewish liturgy: But appeal to Michael seems to have been more common in ancient times. Thus Jeremiah is said to have addressed a prayer to him. The rabbis declare that Michael entered upon his role of defender at the time of the biblical patriarchs.
It was Michael, the "one that had escaped" Genesis He announced to Sarah that she would bear a son and he rescued Lot at the destruction of Sodom. It is said that Michael prevented Isaac from being sacrificed by his father by substituting a ram in his place, and saved Jacob , while yet in his mother's womb, from being killed by Samael. Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer , xxxvi.
It was Michael who wrestled with Jacob and who afterwards blessed him. The midrash Exodus Rabbah holds that Michael exercised his function of advocate of Israel at the time of the Exodus also when Satan as an adversary accused the Israelites of idolatry and declared that they were consequently deserving of death by drowning in the Red Sea. Michael is also said to have destroyed the army of Sennacherib. The early Christians regarded some of the martyrs , such as Saint George and Saint Theodore , as military patrons; but to Michael they gave the care of their sick, and he was first venerated as a healer in Phrygia modern-day Turkey.
The earliest and most famous sanctuary to Michael in the ancient Near East was also associated with healing waters. It was the Michaelion built in the early 4th century by Emperor Constantine at Chalcedon , on the site of an earlier Temple called Sosthenion. A painting of the Archangel slaying a serpent became a major art piece at the Michaelion after Constantine defeated Licinius near there in , eventually leading to the standard iconography of Archangel Michael as a warrior saint slaying a dragon. In the 6th century, the growth of devotions to Michael in the Western Church was manifested by the feasts dedicated to him, as recorded in the Leonine Sacramentary.
The 7th-century Gelasian Sacramentary included the feast "S. Michaelis Archangeli" , as did the 8th-century Gregorian Sacramentary. Some of these documents refer to a no longer extant Basilica Archangeli on via Salaria in Rome. The angelology of Pseudo-Dionysius which was widely read as of the 6th century gave Michael a rank in the celestial hierarchy. Later, in the 13th century, others such as Bonaventure believed that he is the prince of the Seraphim , the first of the nine angelic orders. According to Thomas Aquinas Summa Ia.
Catholics often refer to Michael as "Holy Michael, the Archangel" [29] or "Saint Michael", a title that does not indicate canonisation. He is generally referred to in Christian litanies as "Saint Michael", as in the Litany of the Saints. In the shortened version of this litany used in the Easter Vigil , he alone of the angels and archangels is mentioned by name, omitting Saint Gabriel and Saint Raphael.
In the Roman Catholic teachings Saint Michael has four main roles or offices. The second and third roles of Michael in Catholic teachings deal with death.
7 sanctuaries united by a straight line: the legendary Sword of St. Michael. I've read a couple of articles on the mysterious Sword of St. Michael — a straight line across Europe of churches and shrines dedicated to the.
In his second role, Michael is the angel of death, carrying the souls of all the deceased to heaven. In this role Michael descends at the hour of death, and gives each soul the chance to redeem itself before passing; thus consternating the devil and his minions.
Catholic prayers often refer to this role of Michael. In his third role, he weighs souls in his perfectly balanced scales.
For this reason, Michael is often depicted holding scales. In his fourth role, Saint Michael, the special patron of the Chosen People in the Old Testament, is also the guardian of the Church; it was thus not unusual for the angel to be revered by the military orders of knights during the Middle Ages.
Thus, the nomenclature of villages around the Bay of Biscay reflects that history. This role also extends to his being the patron saint of a number of cities and countries. Roman Catholicism includes traditions such as the Prayer to Saint Michael which specifically asks for the faithful to be "defended" by the saint. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the Devil.
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly hosts, by the power of God, thrust into hell Satan, and all the evil spirits, who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. The Eastern Orthodox have always had strong devotions to angels, and the trend continues to date with the term "Bodiless Powers" applied to them. Archangel Michael is mentioned in a number of Eastern Orthodox hymns and prayer, and his icons are widely used within Eastern Orthodox churches. In Russia, many monasteries, cathedrals, court and merchant churches are dedicated to the Chief Commander Michael, and most Russian cities have a church or chapel dedicated to the Archangel Michael.
The place of Michael in the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria is as a saintly intercessor , where he is seen as the one: He is celebrated liturgically on the 12th of each Coptic month. Many Protestant Christians do not call upon the intercession of saints. Protestant denominations generally recognize only two archangels, Michael and Gabriel , usually emphasizing Michael, unlike Judaism, Roman Catholicism, and Eastern Orthodoxy which may at times recognize seven and in rare cases eight archangels, with Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael generally regarded with an elevated status, e.
Citing Hengstenberg , John A. Lees, in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia , states: Michael continues to be recognized among Protestants by key churches dedicated to him, e. Michaelis Church, Hamburg and St. Seventh-day Adventists , believe that Michael is another name for the eternal Son of the Father, the Heavenly Christ, and another name for the Word-of-God as in John 1 before he became incarnate as Jesus. According to Adventist theology, Michael was considered the "eternal Word", and not a created being or created angel, and the one by whom all things were created.
The Word was then born incarnate as Jesus.
Seventh-day Adventists believe the name "Michael" is significant in showing who he is, just as " Immanuel " which means "God with us" is about who Jesus is. They believe that name "Michael" signifies "one who is God" and that as the "Archangel" or "chief or head of the angels" he led the angels and thus the statement in Revelation Seventh-day Adventists believe that "Michael" is but one of the many titles applied to the Son of God, the second person of the Godhead. According to Adventists, such a view does not in any way conflict with the belief in his full deity and eternal preexistence, nor does it in the least disparage his person and work.
And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my Lord unto his servant? Devotion to Saint Michael flourished in the Middle Ages, particularly among the monastic orders as they viewed themselves as warriors of Christ. A great, yet largely unknown, sign of this devotion is the existence of a perfect ley-line, known as the Sword of St.
Michael, which connects a line of monasteries from Ireland to the very heart of the faith, the Holy Land. Let us take a journey through these spiritual battlegrounds. The first shrine to Saint Michael is known as Skellig Michael, a craggy mountainous island off the West coast of Ireland. The monks lived in stone huts and were not only subject to the deprivations inherent to their ascetic life, but also the hardship of sustaining themselves given the difficulty of maintaining crops and herds in such a hostile environment.
Despite harsh living conditions, the monks remained faithful. In return for their fidelity, God rewarded the small community with miracles. As Giraldus Cambrensis, a XII century Cambro-Norman Archdeacon in Wales, recounts, the wine used for the consecration in the Mass was constantly in full supply, despite the lack of grapes on the island.
Another event that is certainly due to the work of Divine Providence was that after a hundred years of Viking raids — which resulted in the death of countless monks — a hermit of Skellig Michael baptized Olaf Trygvasson, the King of Norway, who in turn brought the multitude of his subjects out of the darkness of heathenism.
He instructed the archbishop to go to the grotto, gather stones, inscribe them with the initials MA Michael Archangel and bless them, and distribute them to the sick. The Quran mentions him in 2: A great, yet largely unknown, sign of this devotion is the existence of a perfect ley-line, known as the Sword of St. The archangel is often depicted on iconostases' doors as a defender of the sanctuary. The rabbis declare that Michael entered upon his role of defender at the time of the biblical patriarchs. Chapter 8 "Christ, and Michael the Archangel". Martin spoke of as the year in which Michael overcame the dragon.
It is also said that Skellig Michael is the location where St. Patrick waged his final battle against the serpents, expelling them from Ireland forever.
Like Mont-Saint-Michel, it is on an island accessible by foot only when the tide permits. Interestingly enough, many of the religious structures on the island were built by the same monks of Mont-Saint-Michel who received the island as a gift from Saint Edward the Confessor, the King of England in the XI century.
Long before it was occupied by any order, the island was a site of pilgrimage because of frequent apparitions of Saint Michael. According to sources from the Early Medieval period, the Archangel who is also the patron saint of fishermen, would guide nearby sailors to safety. Later, the property was seized by the crown and used as an outpost against the anti-Monarchist, anti-Catholic forces of Oliver Cromwell.
Today, the site can still be visited, although much of the monastery has been assumed by secular buildings. Like its holy patron, Mont-Saint-Michel reflects the harmony and sacrality of the union of the religious and military spirit. Easily one of the most recognizable landmarks of Christendom, the abbey-fortress on the Norman coast of France traces its origins to the VIII century when St. Albert, bishop of Avranches, was instructed by Saint Michael in a series of visions to build an abbey on the island. Around that time, France was plagued by attacks from the Vikings. Because of this new pagan threat, the Franks placed themselves under the patronage of Saint Michael, their defender.
Eventually, the Northmen — or Normans — settled down and converted to Catholicism. Naturally, their affinity with all things military brought them into the fold of St.