The Hierarchies and Orders of Angels

A hierarchy is a sacred principality. And aprincipality means ruler and subjects. If we speak of the hierarchy of God and creatures, there is only one hierarchy. But if we consider only creatures who are dowered with God’s gifts, thereare many hierarchies. There is, for example, a human hierarchy;there is an angelic hierarchy. Indeed, among the angels themselves,there are three hierarchies according to three grades of angelicknowledge. But in God himself, that is, in the Blessed Trinity,there is no hierarchy. For there is no greater or lesser among the three Persons in God. All three Persons are one and the same God. The trinity is an order of distinct Persons, but it is not a hierarchical order.

The nature of a hierarchy requires a classifying of orders within it; these may be loosely described as upper, middle,and lower orders. In human social and political groups we have sucha classification: the nobility or aristocracy; the middle classes;the common people. Among angels there are three orders in each hierarchy (upper, middle, and lower orders), and, since there are three angelic hierarchies, there are, in all, nine orders of angels.

As we have noticed, our human knowledge of angels isnot direct and perfect; we cannot know angels as they are in themselves. In our imperfect way, we assign many angels to each order, even while we realize that, since each angel is a complete species, it has its own specific office, and, to that extent, its own order. We cannot discern what these specific offices and orders are. If star differ from star in glory, much more does angel differ from angel. Our classification of angelic orders is, therefore, a kind of general classification.

Among human beings, who are all of one species and nature, a hierarchy, in the true sense of sacred principality, is a hierarchy of holiness, that is, of God’s grace. But, as we have just recalled, angels are distinguished from one another, not only by the gifts of grace, but by their very nature; for each angel isthe only being of its specific kind. Each angel is essentially different from every other angel, whereas each human being is essentially the same as every other human being. Moreover,the gifts of grace are given to angels to the full of their natural capacity to receive them; this is not the case with human beings.

There are three angelic hierarchies. Each hierarchy has three orders. All the heavenly spirits of all hierarchies and orders are called angels. Thus the term angel is common and generic. The same name, usually with a capital letter, is the proper and collective name for the lowest order of the lowest hierarchy of heavenly spirits. We must therefore distinguish angel, which means any heavenly spirit from highest to lowest, from Angel which means a member of the lowest order of all.

The following hierarchies and orders exist among the angels: (a) The highest hierarchy includes the orders of (in descending order of rank) Seraphim, Cherubim, Thrones. (b) Themiddle hierarchy includes (in descending order of rank) the orders of Dominations, Virtues, Powers. (c) The lowest hierarchy includes(in descending order of rank) Principalities, Archangels, Angels. This classification is commonly, but not unanimously, accepted by learned doctors.

After the end of this bodily world, the angelic orders will continue to exist, but their offices will not be altogether the same as they now are, for they will then no longer need to help human beings to save their souls.

By the gifts of grace, human beings can merit glory ina degree that makes them equal to the angels in each of the orders. Therefore,human beings who get to heaven are taken into the angelic orders. But these human beings remain human beings; theyare not turned into angels.