Angels-HIERARCHY OF ANGELS

In the ancient Western world, and particularly in the civilization of
medieval Europe, it seemed natural that reality should be organized
according to an ascending hierarchy of levels—a hierarchy that has
been referred to as the Great Chain of Being. According to this argument,
all of creation extends in a gradient fashion from the simplest
organisms through more complex forms up to the human race. Unwilling
to accept man as the pinnacle of creation, philosophers such as
Thomas Aquinas and John Locke extended the chain upward to God.
The enormous gap these philosophers found to exist on this ladder
between human beings and God was their argument that an angelic
kingdom ought to exist. This basic concept was not seriously challenged
until the scientific revolution of the early modern era, which collapsed
the West’s traditional, ladderlike worldview into one level of matter in
motion (or, in the case of those who continued to defend the reality of
the spirit, into a comparatively simple duality of spirit and matter).
Given this view of reality, it was natural that the angels should be
regarded as occupying a hierarchy of levels. One of the earliest
schemas was that of the early sixth-century theologian Dionysius the
Areopagite. His Celestial Hierarchy was the most influential treatise in
Christian angelology and received added authority when adopted
many centuries later by Thomas Aquinas. The Dionysian scheme
describes nine choirs of angels, grouped into three hierarchies. In
descending order they are as follows: seraphim, cherubim, thrones;
dominions, virtues, powers; principalities, archangels, angels. Only
the last two choirs have contact with human beings; in them are
placed all of the angels, named and unnamed, of the biblical tradition.

DIONYSIAN HIERARCHY OF ANGELS
First Order: Closest to God
Seraphim “the fiery spirits” usually pictured with six wings and
flames; they constantly sing God’s praise and regulate
heaven; led by Uriel
Cherubim depicted with multi-eyed peacock’s feathers to symbolize
their
all-knowing character; led by Jophiel
Thrones “the many eyed ones” represented as wheels of fire to
symbolize divine majesty; led by Japhkiel
Second Order: Composed of the priest-princes of the court of heaven
Dominions carry scepter and sword to symbolize the divine power
over all creation; led by Zadkiel
Virtues the “brilliant” or “shining one” are associated with acts of
heroism; led by Haniel
Powers prevent the fallen angels from taking over the world and
keep the universe in balance; led by Raphael
Third Order: Constituted by the ministering angels
Principalities represent the protectors of princes; guardian angels of
cities, nations, and rulers; led by Camael
Archangels carry God’s messages to humans and command God’s
armies of angels in the constant battle with the “Sons of
Darkness”; led by Michael
Angels celestial beings closest to humans, they are the
intermediaries between God and mortals
According to another Dionysian work, The Ecclesiastical Hierarchy,
the angelic orders are reflected in the structure of the earthly
church, and also form a continuum between God and the believer.
Despite the popularity of the Dionysian schema, many others
have been proffered by a wide variety of thinkers. Sometimes these are
minor variations, such as in the work of Dante, who exchanges the
places filled by the archangels and principalities in The Celestial Hierarchy.
Other schemata are completely different, even in the names
assigned to the various levels. In the Zohar, for example, we find the
following hierarchy, in descending order:
1. Malachim
2. Erelim
3. Seraphim
4. Hayyoth
5. Ophanim
6. Hamshalim
7. Elim
8. Elohim
9. Bene Elohim
10. Ishim
Gustav Davidson, in the appendix of his Dictionary of Angels
(1967), outlines thirteen such structures and alludes to several others.
Despite this plethora of schemata, almost all contemporary authors
writing about angels (with the notable exception of those with traditional
Judaic and Islamic perspectives) refer exclusively to the Dionysian
hierarchy. Even such an unorthodox author as Rudolf Steiner
derives his schematic structure more or less directly from Dionysius.