seraph
The Seraphim (singular of Seraph , plurality Seraphim or Seraphe , in older language also Seraphin ; Hebrew שָׂרָף SARAF , שְׂרָפִים plurality śrāfîm ; latin : seraphim and seraphin [plurality] and seraphus [-i, m.]; Greek σεραφείμ serapheím [m. , Plural]) are angels who were created by God in the teachings of the Abrahamic religions and are subordinate to him.
The word seraphim , which means “those on fire” in Hebrew, is commonly used in the Tanakh for snakes. In Isa 6 : 1-7 EU , seraphim are fiery, six-winged angels who hover around God's throne and continually exclaim “holy, holy, holy”. This vision with the threefold invocation of holiness had a great influence on theology, literature and the arts.
Seraphs are mentioned in the Book of Enoch and in the Revelation of John . Tradition assigns them the fifth rank in the hierarchy of the angels of Judaism and the first in the order of the nine choirs of the angels of Christianity . In Islam Seraphim are seldom mentioned, but find reference as an angel in the "supreme council" that discuss the creation of man and to which some reports also Gabriel and Iblis count (Satan).
shape
According to Isaiah, the seraphim have six wings and a face, hands and feet. In art, the seraphim were sometimes depicted as six-winged human-like beings, and sometimes as beings that consist only of wings, for example in the dome of Hagia Sophia .
“In the year of King Uzziah's death, I saw the Lord. He sat on a high and lofty throne. The hem of his robe filled the temple. Serafim stood over him. Each had six wings: with two wings they covered their face, with two they covered their feet and with two they flew. They shouted to one another: Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of Armies. The whole earth is filled with his glory. The doorsteps shook at her loud cry and the temple filled with smoke. Then I said: woe to me, I'm lost. For I am a man with unclean lips and live in the midst of a people with unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, Lord of Armies. Then one of the serafim flew to me; In his hand he carried a glowing coal that he had taken from the altar with tongs. He touched my mouth with it and said: This has touched your lips: Your guilt has been redeemed, your sin atoned for. "( Isa 6 : 1-7 EU )
As part of the Sanctus, the chant of the Seraphim is part of all traditional Christian mass liturgies , including the celebration of Holy Mass according to the Roman rite .
The Apocalypse of John takes up Isaiah's vision (mixed with the throne-chariot vision from Ezekiel 1) and also speaks of six-winged beings around the throne of God ( Rev 4,1-11 EU ).
St. According to tradition, Francis received the stigmata through a seraph. That is why the saint's nickname is " Seraphicus ". The order of the Poor Clares , whose origin goes back to St. Francis, is also called the seraphic order .
Derived first names
Seraph is both a female and a male given name . Seraphina is another female equivalent, after which the asteroid (838) Seraphina was named.
See also
Web links
- Peter Riede: Serafim. In: Michaela Bauks, Klaus Koenen, Stefan Alkier (Eds.): The Scientific Biblical Lexicon on the Internet (WiBiLex), Stuttgart 2006 ff.
Individual evidence
- ^ Jerrold Seigel: Between Cultures: Europe and Its Others in Five Exemplary Lives. University of Pennsylvania Press, 2015, ISBN 978-0-812-29193-3
- ↑ Mir Valiuddin: The Quranic Sufism. Motilal Banarsidass Publ., 1987, ISBN 978-8-120-80320-6 , p. 69
- ↑ Robert Southey The Poetical Works, Collected by Himself, Volume 3 Longman 1838 digitized Jan. 4, 2012 page 68