A Homily on the Synaxis of the Holy Chief Commander Michael and t

THE EIGHTH DAY


OF THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER

A Homily on the Synaxis of the


Holy Chief Commander Michael


and the Other Bodiless Powers

(From The Great Collection of the Lives of the Saints, Volume 3: November,


compiled by St. Demetrius of Rostov)

Translated into English and published by Chrysostom Press www.chrysostompress.org

Tthe Holy Church, which rejects the impious worship of
angels devised by idolaters and heretics of old, has received from the
divinely inspired Fathers the tradition of celebrating with reverence
the Synaxis of the Holy Angels. In the days of the Old Testament, the
people of God, having fallen away from their Creator, began to worship
that which the Lord created. They made idols after the likeness of
things visible, of that which is in heaven above and earth beneath, the
work of their own hands. At that time, when the people offered
oblations unto the sun, the moon, and the stars as gods, imagining that
these possessed living souls, they also began to worship angels. The
Book of Kings makes mention of this, saying that they burned incense unto Baal, to the sun, and to the moon, and to the twelve signs of the Zodiac, and to all the host of heaven, that is, to the angels; for the host of heaven is comprised of the angels, as is said in the Gospel: And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host.

This impious worship of the angels spread through many
lands in the days of the holy apostles. The holy Apostle Paul sought to
root it out when he wrote to the Colossians, saying, Let
no man beguile you in voluntary humility and worshipping of angels,
intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by
his fleshly mind, and not holding the Head,which is Christ; for
there were at that time certain heretics who made a show of humility
but proudly imagined that they were like the angels because of their
abstinence and the purity of their lives. These men taught that angels
were to be worshipped in the same manner as God. After this, there
arose other heretics who taught that the angels were the makers of the
visible creation and that they are more honorable and exalted than
Christ, the Son of God, since they are bodiless.These heretics called
the Archangel Michael the God of the Hebrews. Finally, still others
appeared, who devoted themselves to sorcery and deceived the people,
calling upon the demons whom they served under the name of angels. This
heresy grew especially strong in Colossae, a city under the
jurisdiction of the metropolitan see of Laodicea, where many secretly
worshipped the angels in an impious manner akin to idolatry. The local
council of the holy fathers that met at Laodicea denounced this heresy,
but while it anathematized and rejected the heretical worship of
angels, it decreed lawful the pious and proper veneration of the holy
angels as God’s servants and the guardians of the race of man,
establishing the celebration of the festival held in their honor on
this day. Thus it was in Colossae, where the evil and heretical worship
of the angels had once appeared in secret, that the Orthodox first
began to celebrate the feast of the Synaxis of the Angels. Many
splendid temples dedicated to the holy Archangel Michael were built
there, such as the most glorious and wondrous church erected in Chonae
over the wonder-working spring where the holy Chief Commander Michael
appeared to Saint Archippus. The council decreed that the feast of the
angels be celebrated in November, the ninth month counting from March,
when the world was created, since there are nine orders of angels,
according to Saint Dionysius the Areopagite, the disciple of the holy
Apostle Paul. Saint Paul was taken up to the third heaven, where he saw
how the holy angels are divided into ranks, and he told his disciple of
this. These nine ranks are grouped in three hierarchies of three
orders: the highest, the middle, and the lowest.

The highest hierarchy of angels, which is the nearest
to the Most Holy Trinity, consists of the seraphim, the cherubim, and
the thrones. Closest of all to the Creator and Fashioner stand the
seraphim, beloved of God, of whom Isaiah said, Seraphs stood round about Him: each one had six wings. They are like fire, because they stand nearest to Him of Whom it is written: Our God is a consuming fire, and His throne is like a fiery flame, and The sight of the glory of the Lord was like a devouring fire. Since they stand before such fiery glory, the seraphim are themselves fiery, as it is written: He maketh His angels spirits, and His ministers a flame of fire. They
burn with love for God and kindle the love of God in others, as their
name itself reveals, for in the Hebrew tongue "seraphim" means
"burning" or "consuming."

The divinely wise cherubim stand next after the
seraphim in the presence of God the All-knowing, Who dwells in
transcendent light. These angels, who abide in God’s ineffable light,
themselves ever shine more brilliantly than the orders below them with
the light of righteousness and the knowledge of God and His wisdom.
They are themselves radiant and illumine others; therefore, they are
called cherubim, which in Hebrew means "much wisdom," or "an effusion
of wisdom." Through the cherubim wisdom is poured out, and through them
the noetic eyes of others are illumined, enabling them to see the glory
of God and to know Him.

The thrones stand after the cherubim before the
exalted throne on high. They are called God-bearing by Saint Dionysius,
since, according to the explanation offered by Saint Maximus the
Confessor, God noetically rests upon them as upon noetic thrones. Saint
Basil writes that they are called God-bearing not according to their
essence but because of the grace vouchsafed them and the service
entrusted to them. The flesh of Christ the Lord, however, is
God-bearing by essence, hypostatically joined with God the Word
Himself. Christ’s flesh bears God the Word in an undivided union and is
called, and ever remains, His true and living flesh, but the thrones
are called God-bearing because they bear God within themselves in an
ineffable and inexpressible manner, not by nature but because of the
grace and service entrusted to them. Seated upon them in a way that
cannot be described, God ordains His judgments, as David said: Thou hast sat upon a throne, 0 Thou that judgest righteousness.
Therefore, it is through the thrones that God brings to pass His
righteous judgments, for they are the ministers of His justice,
imparting to the tribunals of magistrates here below, and to kings and
lords, the ability to pass righteous judgment.

There are three ranks in the middle hierarchy of the
holy angels as well: dominions, powers, and virtues. The dominions are
so called because they rule over the angels subject to them, while they
are themselves free, since, as Saint Dionysius says, they have set
aside servile fear and ever serve the Lord willingly and gladly. They
pour down upon the authorities ordained by God here below power to rule
wisely and to exercise dominion judiciously, governing well the lands
entrusted to them. They also teach us to rule over our senses, to
subdue our disorderly lusts and passions, to subject the flesh to the
spirit, to exercise authority over our will, and to prevail over every
temptation.

The powers, full of divine might, serve the mighty and
powerful will of the all-powerful and omnipotent Lord without
hesitation or delay. They work exceedingly great marvels and impart the
grace to perform similar miracles upon those of God’s favorites who
have been deemed worthy to work wonders, to heal every illness, and to
foretell the future. Likewise, the holy powers strengthen men as they
labor and are heavy laden in bearing the yoke of their various burdens,
strengthening them to fulfill the obligations of their station in life
and helping the feeble in their weakness. They assist every man to be
patient and not to weaken in trials, but to endure everything that
comes to pass with nobility of soul and resolute courage, humbly giving
thanks to God, Who orders all things for our benefit.

The virtues bear their name because they have
authority over the devil. They subdue the power of the demons and ward
off the temptations which the spirits of evil bring upon men, and they
forbid the demons to harm men as they desire. The virtues confirm those
who labor for virtue’s sake in their spiritual undertakings and
struggles, protecting them, lest they be deprived of the spiritual
kingdom. Those who war with their passions and desires the virtues’
help in the day of battle, assisting them in dispelling every wicked
thought and the enemy’s calumny and in overcoming the devil.

The three orders in the lowest hierarchy are the
principalities, archangels, and angels. The principalities are so
called because they rule over the angels below them and direct them to
fulfill God’s commands. It is they who watch over the world, protecting
and guarding every kingdom and principality, every province and people,
tribe and nation, for each of these has its own angel of this rank as
guardian and governor. According to Saint Gregory, it is the duty of
this order to teach men to render to all in authority the honor due
their station. These angels usher worthy men into such positions as
they merit and instruct them not to use their offices for their own
gain or profit, nor to become vainglorious or full of conceit, but to
honor God, to increase His glory and to spread word of it, for the
benefit of all those under their authority.

The archangels are the great messengers of good,
eminent, and wondrous tidings. According to the renowned Dionysius, it
is they who deliver prophecies to men, enlightening them so that they
may know and understand the will of God. They learn of God’s will from
the higher ranks and entrust the secrets thereof to the angels below
them, who in turn declare them to men. Saint Gregory the Dialogist says
that they spread abroad the faith among men, illuminating their minds
with the light of the knowledge of the Holy Gospel and revealing to
them the mysteries of the Orthodox faith.

The angels occupy the lowest position in the hierarchy
of heaven and are the closest of its ranks to men. They reveal the
lesser mysteries of God and His intentions to men, whom they guide to
live virtuously and righteously. Each of the faithful is entrusted to
one of them. They support those of us who stand firm, and they raise up
the fallen. Even if we sin, they do not forsake us but are always ready
to help us, if only we desire it.

Nevertheless, the name angel is
proper to the higher ranks of heaven, for even if each has its own
place and position and its own name which accords with the manner of
grace bestowed upon it, that is to say, seraphim, cherubim, throne, and
so forth, they are still all called angels; for in this sense the name
refers not to what they are in essence but to the manner of service
they perform. All of them alike are angels, since they fulfill God’s
commands, as it is written: Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister? Each
order has its own ministry, and their ministrations differ, because the
wise Creator does not reveal the mysteries of His divine will to each
rank equally. He manifests His sacred will to the lower orders through
the higher and through the latter commands the former to fulfill the
dictates of His will, as may plainly be seen in the book of the Prophet
Zechariah. This book tells how, after a certain angel had spoken with
the prophet, that angel met another angel, who commanded him to return
to the prophet and to reveal to him the future of Jerusalem. Thus it is
written, Behold, the angel that talked with me
went forth, and another angel went out to meet him, and said unto him,
Run, speak to this young man, (that is, to the prophet Zechariah) saying, Jerusalem shall be inhabited as a town withoutwalls for the multitude of men and cattle therein, for I, saith the Lord, will be unto her a wall of fire round about. Saint
Gregory expounds, "When one angel says to the other, Run, speak to this
young man, there can be no doubt that certain angels dispatch others
here and there and that the lower ranks are sent while it is the higher
orders that send them." Similarly, we find in the prophecy of Daniel
that one angel tells another to explain to the prophet the vision which
he saw. Therefore, it is clear that the lower ranks of angels learn of
the will and intentions of the divine Creator from the higher orders
and are sent by the latter to do His desire.

It is fitting that the Orthodox Church here below
should celebrate the synaxis and seek the aid of all nine orders of the
holy angels on the eighth day of this month of November, sending up
fervent entreaty unto them; for on the fearful day of judgment, which
the divine teachers of the Church call the eighth day, when He Who is
the Son of Man and God, the righteous Judge, shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, as the Lord Himself prophesied in the Holy Gospel, all the ranks of angels shall be gathered together. He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds that
is, from the east, the west, the north, and the south. May the Lord
then summon us, who reverently celebrate the Synaxis of the Angels,
into the choir of the chosen!

The holy Chief Commander Michael, the faithful servant
of the Lord, was appointed by God as general and commander over the
entire assembly of the nine angelic orders. When Satan exalted himself
in pride, fell away from God into perdition, and was cast into the
abyss, Michael called together all the ranks and hosts of angels and
cried out with a mighty voice, "Let us attend! Stand aright before Him
Who created us, and do not consider doing what is not pleasing to God.
Behold what has befallen those created with us, who until now were
communicants of the divine light! Behold how they were straightway
exiled from light into darkness because of pride, cast from the heights
into the abyss! Behold how the morning star, which lit up the dawn, has
fallen to earth and been crushed!"

When Michael, who stood foremost among the seraphim,
the cherubim, and all the ranks of heaven, said this to the entire
assembly of the angels, they glorified the most holy and undivided
Trinity, one in essence, the one God; and together they chanted the
triumphal hymn: "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Sabaoth, heaven and
earth are full of Thy glory!"

It is this assembly of the holy angels that we
venerate on the present feast of the Synaxis of the Angels; for they
ever glorify the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit attentively and
harmoniously, with one mind, heart, and voice. May we mortals also
glorify Him unto the ages. Amen.

The local Council of Laodicea, which rejected the
impious worship of angels in its thirty-fifth canon but decreed lawful
the pious veneration of angels and established the feast of their
synaxis, was held shortly before the first great ecumenical council
which met in the city of Nicea. The Council of Laodicea was convened in
the year 319 after the Nativity of Christ, or according to certain
authorities, in the year 320 or 321, while Saint Silvester was Pope of
Rome. Thirty-two bishops attended this council, over which the
Metropolitan of Laodicea Nunechius presided. Some say that Theodotus
was Metropolitan at that time, but it is more likely that it was
Nunechius who presided at the council.