Uriel (angel)

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Uriel
Saint Uriel mosaic in St John's Church, Warminster, Wiltshire, England.
Saint Uriel mosaic in St John's Church, Warminster , Wiltshire , England.
Holiday September 29 ( west ), November 8 ( east )
Patron saint Confirmation , art, poetry
Attributes Burning sword, book, fire in the palm of your hand, scroll, solar disk

Uriel ( Hebrew אוּרִיאֵל"The light of God" or "my light is God") is the name of an angel in Hebrew tradition. In contrast to the Roman Catholic liturgy, the Eastern Church liturgies know the invocation of Uriel together with the three canonical archangels . The angel, also called “lux vel ignis dei” (“light or fire of God”) in Latin , does not appear by name in the canonical books of the Bible , but exclusively in rabbinical and Gnostic writings as well as in non-canonical books and the Apocrypha .

Disagreement about belonging to the archangels

In accordance with Jewish tradition, Christianity taught the existence of three or four archangels until the Middle Ages , depending on whether “Uriel” was included. The exact number as well as the position of the archangels was a contentious topic of medieval angelology . This is due to the fact that in addition to the two in the Tanakh, that the Old Testament actually name listed Archangel name Gabriel and Michael "Uriel" as mentioning only in the pseudepigraphic and deuterocanonical writings and in the tradition of Kabbalah is to be found as well as the Angel names Chamuel, Haniel, Jophiel, Raguel, Sariel, Ramiel, Zadkiel and Raphael . For Raphael one could still cite the book of Tobit as source evidence. In Tob 12:15 it is stated that Raphael is one of the seven angels who stand before the Lord - a number that is also found in Zacharias 3 and 4 as well as the Apocalypse. Three of the seven are thus known from canonized texts: Raphael, Michael and Gabriel. Four are indicated differently depending on the tradition. After the renovation of the former Diocletian's thermal baths to the church “S. Mariae angelorum sive a septem angelis stipatae et circumdatae ”, which was consecrated by Pope Pius IV on August 5, 1561, the names known since the revelation of Blessed Amadäus in 1460 were adopted: Uriel, Sealtiel, Jehudiel and Barechiel. The revived veneration of the Archangels in the 16th century is also documented by Johann Greither, a baroque painter from the so-called Wessobrunn School , who in the parish church Maria Himmelfahrt in Weilheim in the eight fields of the cloister vault above the high altar in addition to Maria also the seven prince angels Michael , Gabriel , Raphael , Uriel, Jehudiel , Salatiel and Barachiel painted.

What remains to be determined is that his status as one of the four archangels and the seven angels close to God was changeable in the Roman Catholic Church, in contrast to the Eastern churches, which consistently recognized and recognized him. In the Roman Catholic Church he is not called as an archangel.

Surname

Stained glass window depicting the Archangel Uriel with the sun as an iconographic attribute in the cloister of Chester Cathedral

The name Uriels אוּרִיאֵל comes from Hebrew and is a noun compound . The word components are the Hebrew אוּר, transliteration 'owr, pronounced ur, with the possible translation variants “fire”, “light”, and also the Hebrew אֵל, transliteration el, with the German translation “God”. This results in the possible translations "the light of God", "my light is God", "God is my light / fire" for the compound. In apocryphal, Kabbalistic, and occult works, Uriel is often equated or confused with Nuriel, Uryan, Jeremiel, Vretil, Sariel, Suriel, Puruel, Phanuel, Jehoel, Jacob-Israel, and Israfel.

The Church Slavonic name is usually given with Uriil.

Judaism, Christianity

Since Hebrew did not have a vowel spelling until the 10th century , possible readings of the old Jewish name A- / E- / I- / O- / U-riel would come into question; the "ie" is still not taken into account. In texts such as Ambrose ( De fide III 20) and Sibylinnen II 215 one encounters Ariel and Uriel.

Islam

Based on four archangels and the equation Gabriel-Jibril, Michael-Mikhail, Israfil-Raphael + Uriel, Israfil , (إسرافيل, DMG Isrāfīl ), the "angel of the last judgment", equated. This is not mentioned explicitly in the Koran , but is connected with Sura 39 : 68. Israfil's attribution with a trumpet , which is not found in Uriel in the Christian tradition , apparently speaks against this thesis of equation . With consideration of the Apocalypse of Paul , an apocryphal writing of the 4th / 5th centuries. Century, in which Paul, who is raptured into the third heaven, is led by the two singing angels Uriel and Suriel, and the Oracula Sibylli , who portray Uriel as the escort of the dead to the throne of God and guardian of the gate of Paradise, one can recognize analogies to Israfil's attribution . However, the thesis that the Koran and Arabic literature actually receive Uriel as a figure of the Judeo-Christian tradition as Israfil is not clear from a scientific point of view.

Attributes

Archangel Uriel with a lantern, Assumption of Mary (Mattsies)

In contrast to Christianity , but analogous to the other angels, Uriel is not given attributes of divinity in Judaism . Especially in the Roman Catholic Church, due to the ostracism of the Council of Rome, no attributes were assigned to Uriel for a long time. It was only after the renewal of the angel images in the church of Palermo that the sword and the flame were de facto assigned to him, with the tacit approval of the church. On the Schrobenhausen prayer card from the 19th century, St. Archangel Uriel is shown with a sword dressed in a green undergarment and a red dalmatic , a fusion of classical attributes with modern elements.

In the Ethiopian and Orthodox Church its classic attributes are the staff, the globe of light (not to be confused with the sphaira ), the sword and the flame of fire on the open hand. More modern elements are the lantern and the incense bowl. A special feature of the Ethiopian Church, documented by Daniel Yilma in his book Pictures of the Ethiopian Church , is the frequent, if not officially anchored, depiction of Uriel in deacon clothing.

Holiday

On the feast of the Archangels, September 29, the Roman Catholic Church worships the archangels Michael, Gabriel and Rafael, who are testified to the Bible. Some ancient oriental churches, the Orthodox and the Ethiopian churches, however, still have their own memorial day for the Archangel Uriel. The Orthodox day of remembrance is, like most ancient oriental churches, on November 8th, whereas the day of remembrance of the Ethiopian church is on July 15th.

position

In the Roman Catholic Church, Uriel lost his position as archangel in the wake of the prohibitions on angel worship and cults, which are questionable from a church perspective. Thus in 343-380 in the synod of Laodicea the false worship of angels and the creation of angel cults were forbidden, which had a first high phase already in the time of the apostles. This was followed by the Council of Rome under Pope Zacharias in 745 with the stipulation that only the biblically attested archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael were allowed to be venerated as archangels, but not the only apocryphal attested Uriel. There is no evidence for the reference, which is sometimes made, that the Council's justification for the prohibition of invoking and worshiping the angels Uriel, Raguel, Adimis, Tophoas and Sabaoth was that these angels were in reality demons. Rather, the prayer of the heretic Adalbert, in which eight angels were invoked, was forbidden. Against the fundamental demonization of the angels mentioned and for the special prohibition of prayer by the Roman Council speaks u. a. a manuscript from the 9th century, which is in the Cologne Cathedral Library and in which Gabriel, Michael, Uriel, Raphael, Raguel, Barachael and Pantasaron are listed as short prayers. Theological research gives pastoral psychological and psychological reasons for the reference to angels and the efforts of the church to secure the power structures for the condemnation of the angels mentioned. Until the Council of Rome the name Uriel appeared in 3rd Ezra chap. 4., Apocryphal Apocalyptic , often found on and therefore very generally in the Septuagint . As can be seen from the Vatican Library, there was an attempt in the 15th century by the monk Amadeus Menez de Silva (around 1420 to 1482) to have the demonized angels officially recognized by the church, but this was categorically rejected, as was his later attempt to get Uriel recognized at least.

In other Christian churches, Uriel appears by name in many ancient litanies. The statement embedded in the eulogium of the Coptic Church “We venerate Uriel, as the fourth among the angels.” Secures his traditional position. Many ancient Oriental, Orthodox, Slavic and Ethiopian churches recognize Uriel as an angel, mostly also as an archangel. In these churches, Uriel is represented or depicted graphically, in prayers and in the scriptures used. mentioned and called by name. A large number of Christian free churches in the USA also recognize Uriel as an archangel, whereby depending on the case it would have to be clarified how strong the influence of the esoteric area is on the respective free church.

Text documents

In the books of the Bible recognized by the Western Church , as well as in the main works of other religions, Uriel is not mentioned by name, but exclusively in the 4th Book of Esra , which is one of the Old Testament Apocrypha and that only by the Old Oriental, Slavic churches and the Ethiopian Orthodox Church counted in the Bible.

Book of Ezra

The Archangel Uriel with Esdras . St Michael and All Angels' Church, Kingsland, Herefordshire. 14th Century

Uriel is mentioned in chapters 4, 5 and 10 of the ancient Jewish scripture 4th Ezra.

  • 4,1 "And the angel that was sent to me, named Uriel, answered me."
  • 4,36 "But the archangel Jeremiel answered them and spoke ..."; Jeremiel, Eremiel - here it can only be concluded from the text corpus that the quoted Jeremiel is to be equated with Uriel. Eremiel, on the other hand, is, according to the Apocalypse of Elias, the angel who guards the underworld.
  • 5:20 “So I fasted seven days, with many lamentations and tears, as the angel Uriel commanded me”.
  • 10:28 “Where is the angel Uriel, who came to me in the beginning? He himself sent me into the abundance of these horrors; now my intention is foiled, my request refused! "

Enoch

In addition to the text passages listed here, it is also mentioned in other chapters of the book.

  • Hen 9, 1 "Then Michael and Gabriel, Raphael, Surjal and Uriel looked down from heaven and saw the multitude of blood which had been shed on earth and all the injustice ..."
  • Hen 8: 1-4 “Michael, Uriel, Raphael and Gabriel looked down from heaven and saw the great amount of blood that was shed on earth and all the injustice that was done on earth. They said to one another: From the voice of their cries and the people ... The archangels said to the Lord: You are the Lord of Lords ... "
  • Hen 19.1 "Then Uriel asked: Here the angels who were present at the women, determining their leaders ..."
  • Hen 20, 1–2 "1. The following are the names of the angels who watch: 2. Uriel, one of the holy angels, who (is set) over noise and terror. "
  • Hen 31, 1–6 “1. Then I made a cycle to e ... To this, Uriel answered, one of the holy angels who was with me ... 6. Uriel, one of the holy angels who was with me ... "
  • Hen 26, 1–4 “Then I said: What are the signs of this blessed land, all these tall trees and the cursed land between them? 2. Uriel replied, e ... "
  • Hen 74, 1–15 “… 7. and Uriel the angel showed me the days, whom the Lord of glory, who is forever, set over all the lights of heaven 8. in heaven and in the world, that they would rule the surface of the sky, and appeared over the earth, and became leaders of the day and the night: the sun, and the moon, and the stars, and all the servants of heaven, who circulate with all the chariots of heaven. 10. So Uriel showed me twelve open gates for circling the chariots of the sun in the sky, from which the feet of the sun emerge. 11. And from them warmth goes out on the earth when they are opened in the times which are appointed for them, and for the winds, and for the spirit of the dew, when in the times the openings in the heavens are opened above End up …"
  • Hen 77, 11 "And in him there is a time when 28.12. And another arrangement showed me Uriel when light is brought into the moon, and from where it is brought out of the sun."

Other mentions

Otherwise, Uriel appears by name only in rabbinical and Gnostic writings as well as in controversial or non-canonical books and apocrypha. "These are the names of the holy angels who watch: Uriel is one of the holy angels, namely the angel set over the host of angels and Tartarus ." - Uriel, one of the four archangels, leads the dead to the throne of God after he has the Hades has opened the gates (Oracula Sibyllina), and guards the gate of paradise. In apocryphal writings it is said that he accompanied Elisabeth and her little son John, who later became “John the Baptist”, on the run in the desert and later led the four month old John out of the desert. “And I fasted, weeping and weeping for seven days, as the angel Uriel commanded me.” (4 Ezra 5:20) led to Uriel being considered an angel of penance and punishment. In the apocalypse of the apostle Paul, 4. – 5. In the 19th century, which is also known in Slavic translations, it is reported that Paul , who was raptured from the third heaven, was accompanied to paradise by an angel. Two singing angels called Uriel and Suriel stand before the throne that is set up for Paul in a tent of light.

Through his writing "Gabriel does not die, Raphael does not die, Uriel does not die." In III. 3. De fide, the Church Father Ambrosius gives his knowledge of St. Angel Uriel again and puts this under the archangels.

The more recent mentions include, on the one hand, the writings of Isidore of Seville (580 - 636), who, in addition to the three archangels listed in the Bible, lists Uriel as the fourth archangel in his writings and him with the fire that precedes the thorn bush Moses did not consume, brought in connection. On the other hand, Beda Venerabilis (* 673, +735) invocations of Uriel as protector, which are documented in his records from the Jarrow Monastery in Sunderland (English National Library).

A rather unusual mention is due to the prohibition of one at the time of St. Boniface composed and spread prayer through the Roman Synod of 745. In his prayer the heretic Adalbert called upon eight angels: Uriel, Raguel, Tubuel, Michael, Inias, Tubuas, Sabaol, Simiel.

The identification of Uriel with the angel who guards the entrance to Paradise after the fall of man ( Genesis 3:24) and who announces the Flood to Noah (Genesis 6) or in his name is based not on names mentioned, but rather on interpretations of individual authors God's wars with Jacob (Genesis 32:24).

Representation in sacred buildings

This list does not claim to be complete and is only intended to document that there are depictions of Uriel with and without depictions of attributes in various sacred buildings, including the Roman Catholic Church.

Roman Catholic sacred buildings, Germany and Austria
Roman Catholic sacred buildings, other
  • Hieronimus Monastery in Granada, Spain. Column representations of the 7 archangels with names and attributes.
  • Chapel in Parroquia de Sopó, Colombia , 17th century
  • Church in Lima , Peru , effigy. Attribution and attribute representation.
  • Church in Manila , Philippines , altar. Attribution and attribute representation.
  • Clydach Parish Church, Wales, circa 1900.
Other sacred buildings
  • St John the Baptist Ukrainian Orthodox Church

Dixonville, PA, USA

  • SS Peter & Paul Ukrainian Orthodox Church

Carnegie, PA, USA

  • St Thomas Orthodox Chapel, All Saints Camp

Emlenton, PA, USA

Kargopolje, the northern sky

The name Kargopolje refers to a Russian, cultural-theological phenomenon from the 17th to 19th centuries. Century, whose monuments can still be found today mainly in the Arkhangelsk region, but also in the Murmansk region and in Karelia . Uriel is represented by name and the flaming sword as an attribute.

Antiphons and prayers

Antiphons

  • Prayer cards in renewal in Christ, Savator Munido. 5/2001, Sep / Oct 2001, 10th year, gaming.
  • Prayer cards by Carl Poellath, Schrobenhausen . Early 19th century: “To St. Uriel, the light and fire of God: O splendor of divine majesty! O strength of invincible violence! O flame of fiery love! Light up our minds and hearts so that we are not tempted; shield us with the sword of your might. "
  • Source unknown: “O Uriel, sword of God, enlighten us that we may see, enlighten us that we may understand. Protect us from all harm. "

Prayers

  • Modified version of the Archangel prayer by Father Wilhelm Auer, around 1900: “O you holy seven princes of the heavenly army, who stand near the face and throne of God and keep the greatest secrets and offices for the protection of the believers, we implore you to help us against all temptations of the infernal spirits and pray the immaculate Lamb of God for us, whom we also worship devoutly and invoke with confidence. O flame of fiery love, above all you strengthen our souls and give us strength to serve here in God's name at all times! Amen."

art

Gown with Uriel picture in front of candles; Gift of the Societas Urielis to the Ethiopian Pastor Daniel 2005
Uriel window mural in St. James' Church, Grimsby, Lincolnshire, United Kingdom

art

Uriel appears, in the Byzantine and occidental area, mostly together with the archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael. When depicting Uriel in the circle of the seven archangels, i.e. additionally with Jehudiel, Barachiel and Sealtiel, the corresponding artist followed the vision of Amadeus Menez de Silva (1420–1482).

The reason for the frequent depiction of Uriel in Christian art up to the Middle Ages, especially with the three archangels still recognized by the Roman Catholic Church, is the fact that in addition to Michael, Gabriel and Raphael Uriel as one of the Seraphim , i.e. the angels who Surrounding God all the time was true. The oldest mosaics with Uriel images can be found in the Roman church of Santa Maria Maggiore from around 400 and in Sant'Apollinare Nuovo in Ravenna (520-530) as well as other images in an ancient tomb from the 5th to 6th centuries in Sofia , in folk scenes from Egypt, such as the fresco in Bawit. Likewise in the dome mosaic in the Sophia Cathedral in Kiev from the 11th century, the southern portal of the Abbey Church of Saint-Gilles in Provence and in numerous Byzantine mosaics from the 12th century in Sicily. The representation in the apse in the cathedral of Monreale as well as in the crossing of the Martorana church in Palermo are among the most beautiful pictures of Uriel.

Around 1200, Uriel was still depicted on the wooden ceiling of St. Michael in Hildesheim and on the panel paintings from the schools of Siena and Parma from the 13th century. A later picture of Uriel comes from Egid Quirin Asam in 1721 in the monastery church of Weltenburg . New representations and mentions are the inscription on a Russian icon from 1789, where it is referred to as the "shining fire of God, illuminator of the night", as well as the Schrobenhausen prayer card, from the 19th century.

One of the best-known examples from the field of "jewelry and decoration" is the gold plate with the names: Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, Uriel, found in the Vatican in 1544 at the opening of the tomb of the wife of Emperor Flavius ​​Honorius , and the old Jerusalem cross the cathedral treasure to Hildesheim (Hanover), on the four ends of which the four archangels Uriel and Raphael, Michael and Gabriel stand.

Pictures and window pictures

  • Picture “Uriel, Dei”, painting, 17th century, unknown artist, National Art Museum, La Paz, Bolivia.
  • Picture “Oracion al Arcangel Uriel”, 17th century, unknown artist, Caracas, Venezuela .
  • Archangel Uriel window picture, Holy Trinity Church Tansley, Derbyshire, UK.
  • Window picture "Saint Uriel", St. Peter's Episcopal Church Salisbury, Maryland, USA.
  • Uriel window mural, St James' Church, Grimsby, Lincolnshire, UK.

music

“Uriel - And God saw the light that it was good, and God separated the light from the darkness” from Haydn's oratorio The Creation - one of the few works of music in which Uriel as the archangel was thematically taken up.

Representation in popular culture

In the US television series Lucifer , Uriel is a master strategist and can thus influence the future. He is destroyed by his older brother Lucifer to save Chloe Decker from a chain of events that Uriel wanted to start, which would otherwise have meant her death.

literature

  • Lexicon of Christian Iconography Vol. 4, 1968, Col. 407f. (not evaluated)
  • Philippe Faure: The fourth Archangel Uriel in the Medieval West. Elements for the story of an elusive outcast in Micrologus - Nature Science and Medieveal Societies 23 (2015), 249-287.
  • Rosemary Guiley: Encyclopaedia of Angels. New York 1996, ISBN 0-8160-2988-1 .
  • Heinrich Krauss: Small encyclopedia of angels. From Ariel to Zebaoth. Munich 2001.
  • Michael Mach: Uriel. In: K. van der Toorn; B. Becking; Pieter W. van der Horst (Ed.): Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible. Leiden ea 1999, pp. 885-886.
  • Paul Perdrizet : L'archange Ouriel. Étude d'archéologie génerale. In: Seminarium Kondakovianum. 2: 241-276 (1928). Digitized .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ See Heinrich Krauss: Small Lexicon of Angels: from Ariel to Zebaoth. Munich 2001.
  2. ↑ Analogous to the sevens as a reference to the perfect number elsewhere, cf. Acts 6.1-8.1.
  3. ↑ a b c cf. http://www.heiligenlexikon.de/Stadler/Uriel.html [accessed on December 22, 2013].
  4. ↑ Which leads to the introductory phrase "в христианской традиции один из семи архангелов" (German: "in the Christian tradition one of the archangels") of the Russian Wikipedia in the article about Uriel.
  5. ^ H. Fries: Handbook of theological basic concepts 1. Edited by J. Michl. Münster 1962, p. 272.
  6. ↑ See text under Uriel's picture: “Uriel draws a sword across his chest, a flame shines on his left near his feet”.
  7. ↑ Cf. Dmitrij Rostovskijs representation of Uriel in Mettheim: Flammendes Schwert.
  8. ↑ See Synodus Laodiciae, Canon XXXV. "Non oportet christianos derelicta ecclesia dei abire ad angelos idolatriam non minandam congregationes facere, quae omnia interdicta sunt. Quicumque autem inventus fuerit occulte huic idolatriae vacans, sit anathema, quoniam derelinquens dominum nostrum Iesum Christum filium dei accessit ad idola. "; available at http://www.documentacatholicaomnia.eu/01_20_0363-0364-_Synodus_Laodiciae.html [accessed December 23, 2013].
  9. ↑ See cf. Col. 2: 18-19.
  10. ↑ Colossians 2, 18-19: "Don't let anyone deprive you of your price of battle who pleases himself in apparent humility and veneration of the angels ... and who does not keep his head".
  11. ↑ a b cf. Hefele, Conc.-Gesch. B. III.
  12. ↑ Angels work "on the one hand in helping to build a self, on the other hand in maintaining an existing self." In: Ellen Stubbe: The reality of angels in literature, art and religion. Münster 1995, p. 61.
  13. ↑ CG Jung: Collected Works, XIII. Olten 1978, p. 660.
  14. ↑ See Mabillon Tom. II. Analect, p. 682.
  15. ↑ s: The fourth book Ezra / Chapter 4 Book Ezra at Wikisource [accessed December 20, 2013].
  16. ↑ http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/4013/pg4013.html Henoch at Projekt Gutenberg [accessed December 20, 2013].
  17. ^ Dc etymologia. VII 5: Gabriel, Michael, Raphael, Uriel "duces et principes" with description of their properties (PL 82, 273).
  18. ↑ Beda Venarabilis, Excerpt. Patr. Collecs .: Gabriel, Michael Raphael Uriel, Rumiel and Paniel; Ven. Bedae opera omnia III col. 500 [Colon. 1612]. Cod. 174 of the Episcopal Library Cologne, 9./10. Century
  19. ↑ See picture: Archived copy ( Memento of the original dated December 24, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. [accessed December 22, 2013]. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / abtei-gruessau.eu
  20. ↑ a b c See: Archived copy ( Memento of the original dated December 24, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. [accessed December 22, 2013]. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.himmelsboten.de
  21. ↑ See http://stainedglass.llgc.org.uk/object/3909 [accessed December 22, 2013].
  22. ↑ a b c cf. http://www.archangelicons.com/ [accessed December 22, 2013].
  23. ↑ Cf. u. see further information: http://www.sagen.at/doku/oksana/kargopol_2_2.html [accessed on December 22, 2013].

Web links

Commons : Uriel  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files