Who (or What) are Archangels?
The archangels are near the top of the Devic Kingdom, which includes entities ranging from the lowliest elementals and nature spirits to the highest ranks of angels. They are under the direction of the 3rd Aspect of Deity--or what Christians call the Holy Spirit. Archangels are mentioned in both the Bible and the Koran. For example, Gabriel appeared to the Virgin Mary and also to the prophet Mohammed. They are also referred to in many Jewish, Christian and Islamic apocryphal texts. Archangels play a major role in the Qabalah, where one is assigned to each sephiroth, or divine emanation.
Artists have usually depicted archangels as male figures, whereas lower members of the devic kingdom have often been portrayed as female. Since there is no evidence that gender as we know it extends to the archangels, the male bias in artistic representation is simply cultural.
Uriel, Gabriel, Michael and Raphael are the four archangels mentioned most often in Hebrew, Qabalistic, Islamic, and Christian traditions.
Archangels are superior or higher-ranking angels. Archangels are found in a number of religious traditions, including Islam, Judaism and Zoroastrianism. In Biblical Christianity, the only archangels ever clearly named as being of the order are Michael and Gabriel; Raphael is mentioned in the Deuterocanonical book of Tobit, and Uriel is mentioned in the Pseudepigraphal Book of Enoch.
We have provided further information to these Archangels, on additional individual pages, which you can reach by clicking on the images to the right.