A word of praise to the Holy Archangels, and Angels and other Heavenly powers

The authorship of the essay “A Word of Praise to the Holy Archangels, Angels and Other Heavenly Powers” ​​is attributed to St. Sophronius of Jerusalem. The author consistently praises each of the 9 angelic ranks, as well as the archangels Michael and Gabriel. The sermon contains a detailed description of all angelic orders. Angels appear as intermediaries between God and man, executors of His will, protectors and helpers. Turning to them in prayer is a way to receive help and protection from God. Oh, divine and immaterial (incorporeal) Armies of God! O Minds, gifted with spirit and reason! However, it would be better to gradually and according to rank proclaim you and exalt you and call you in prayer. Oh, you, Seraphim, equipped with six wings 2 and placed in the first rank of the heavenly Armies, with your fervor (zeal and love for God) you inflame all other Angels. You, who, due to unshakable steadfastness and freedom from flesh and materiality, a property that has been given to you from eternity, and the power of knowledge and flame, carry within you a certain image of the Divine likeness; you are rightly called “second lights”, occurring by virtue of illumination from the First Light, since you - as far as possible - directly receive from Him the greatest and endless radiance of the Trinity and One Dominion of It, free from any calculation, and make it acceptable to other Spirits and Minds. So, because of the power to ignite and purify, which you possess, and which you have learned to consume and purify all evil and all impurity, - being designated by the names of “burners” and “incinerators,” I pray you, the inner souls of my predisposition (uccessus), cleanse from the filth of vices and from the thorny matter that is associated with them, and, having burned it, introduce the divine word into my chest; and after the darkness of my heart within me has been driven out and dispelled, enlighten the feelings of my mind. Oh, you, Cherubim, many-eyed and facing four directions, known by your internal forces, your inherent form, corresponding to opposite relationships, namely, the power of thinking and the power of irritability; again, abundantly and greatly exalted by strength and heavenly exaltation; you are filled with all wisdom (for which reason you are also called sources and springs of knowledge) 3 ; improve me with the knowledge of the divine word, and thus inflame me to fight against the ancient serpent and greatly raise me from the earth to heights. Oh, Thrones, burning with jealousy, and unapproachable, you - who are the thrones of the Greatest God, His chariot and resting place, you - are above every low and ignoble and servile position, because you embrace among you His Highest King of all; free me from every error and unworthy deed, and make me worthy to be God’s glory and majesty. O Venerable Lordships, your name is derived from the fact that in your gift you represent the Divine Lordship and receive the communion of heavenly goods in the most direct manner and without any hindrance; grant me that I might be able to curb the confusions that spoil the mind and be above the demonic snares that seriously harm the soul even until the last breath of life. O Authorities, who, following the name corresponding to your service, cannot be shaken by any disturbance, and who from That One Principle, from Which all power flows, have received power and firmness; – give me strength against visible and invisible enemies who attack my soul and whose goal is to lead my mind into captivity, and who are trying to seduce my steps so that they do not follow God’s path. Oh, unshakable and mighty Forces, you, who, due to the firmness of your soul and strength and invincible superiority of strength, carry within yourself the mark of Divine omnipotence and strength, gird me, weak and infirm, with divine firmness and strength and make me capable of courageously trampling on these spiritual snakes and scorpions. Oh, ignorant of the deviation or encroachment of the Authorities, who, without any contradiction, received from the Divine and Beginningless Head of all authorities both your name and the dignity of the authorities, and who are the leaders of the third rank of Angels - help me, faithful (God) and assist me so that I can triumph over the cruelest enemies and even to the end undaunted and unharmed confront them. Oh, thrice holiest and most beloved and most honorable Prince of the sacred Heavenly Host and commander, Michael, coryphaeus of the Angels, most worthy of all veneration and praise and glorification, you who once revealed yourself as the leader of the Jewish people and most reliably showed them the path leading to salvation; and which you have time to blow on that great and terrible trumpet that announces all the ends of the universe, with the terrible sound of which, the dead who have been for centuries will rise from the hidden repositories of the earth, and the earth, like a rotating sling 4, will move from its foundations, and the elements will dissolve, and the sun will turn a different color and darken like the color of hair shirt; and the full moon will turn to blood; and the stars also, just as unripe figs fall from a fig tree when there is a strong wind, will fall from heaven to earth; and the universal ether (celestial sphere), as if covered with four rows of clouds, will turn day into night; and the sky, like a scroll, will curl up and disappear; and every mountain and valley and island and city will be removed from their places; and the great and mighty of this world and the leaders and judges of the earth, like all the rest of the people, will humble themselves; because - as this example shows in modern times - people, due to the most severe sorrows and groaning and gnashing of teeth, will die of fear and horror. Then those who have remained alive until now, in one moment, as if in the twinkling of an eye, will die and immediately change 5; and then the sea and the rivers and hell, shaken by great fear of impending disasters and horror, will give up the dead whom they have imprisoned within themselves; then the righteous, truly lifted up into the heights by bright clouds, will be caught up to meet the Lord Christ in order to abide with Him in eternal life; and sinners will be sent away to the torment prepared for them; and, behold, when all these expected amazing things will happen at the sound of the trumpet that you will blow, then, O Holy Archangel, teacher of the erring, restorer of the fallen, protector of souls, preserver of bodies, drive away demons, and enlightener of all creation - then, I pray you, then do not refuse me to be my faithful patron in my position. Oh, most holy Michael, you - who, at God’s command, crossed the Red Sea, established the people of Israel in the Promised Land, and armed Joshua against the enemies, and freed the tabernacle of Moses from a fierce enemy, and also enlightened the souls of many other Saints - and also enlighten my inner feelings and illuminate my spiritual eye; and make my heart, agitated by the waves of this life, firm; and my mind, inclined to the earth, raise the mountain and to the heavenly good way of thinking; and strengthen my weakened hands in the fight against enemies experienced in fighting; and strengthen my dead feet, which leave the path leading to heaven; and lift up my neck, laden with sins; and heal my fetid and rotting wounds; and extinguish the heat of my ardent passions and emotional disturbances; and, finally, take care of my other painful misfortunes and labors. And again, you who exist both by your deeds and by name, Michael 6, I ask and, as far as it is in my spiritual strength, I beg you: so that when I leave the circle of this life, you appear to me benevolent and calming, and under the cover of your honest wings cover me and, having taken me away from the heavy and dark places of hell, place me in wonderful heavenly abodes, elevating me “even to the house of God, in the voice of joy and confession, the noise of the celebration” (Psalm 41:5). And you, too, the most divine and preeminent among the Angels, Gabriel, you - who are the most desirable and kindest giver of world joy and joy; you, who are the knowledgeable interpreter of God’s mysteries and the primary founder and manager of all good things; you - who, finally, are the leader and august prince of the sacred servants; Behold, instruct my mind and heart and direct them to the path of following in all things the will of God 7 and His commandments 8; You are the one who revealed to the Prophet Ezekiel at the river Chebar this truly divine vision (Ezek. 1); you - who previously freed Elizabeth's barren womb, at the command of God, from the bonds of infertility that held it and made her fruitful (Luke 1:5-25) - fill my also unfortunate and distressed soul with a well-known grace-filled beauty and inner joy and light; You - who filled the most blessed and most immaculate and the most sacred and purest soul of our Lady, the Mother of God Mary, with endless joy with the joyful and saving Annunciation (Lk. 1:26–38); and Eve’s sadness and her crying with your solemn promise of undoubted salvation turned into joy; and briefly express: he turned the sorrow of this world into joy; and when the garment of sorrow was torn off, he clothed them all in the solemn robe of joy; - also I, O Gabriel, the organizer and giver of true joy, - I ask and implore you: that you mercifully visit me, oppressed by a grave illness (or: grave sadness), and fill me with divine power and spiritual joy, as well as from the hellish torments of Belial 9 and the dangers from visible and invisible enemies, by your intercession and intercession before God, unite me a host of righteous and saints; and, moreover, in these places, which abound with all pleasures, he placed me in safety. Oh, you, all the rest of the Angels and Archangels, the heavenly host, the irresistible Host, the most valiant regiment, the multitude is enormous, the army is innumerable, the face (choir) is incomparable, the greatness that is beyond any impoverishment, the joy inexpressible, the triumph in the highest degree delightful, the power that surpasses all understanding, the accuracy is unlimited, the mobility of which is like no other, order infinitely complex (or: difficult to comprehend), inexpressible speed, indescribable being, glory that cannot be comprehended by the thoughts of the mind, the highest power of all strength and strength; you are servants of the King of all; you are winds and spirits, and waters, and princes, and cavalry, and infantry, and deacons (or: servants), and apostles, and preachers, and prophets, and evangelists, and interpreters of divine things, and guards, and defenders, and preservers, and drive away (predators), and gatherers, and guides, and judicial investigators and weighers (of our deeds and intentions), and makers of calculations, and trustees, and educators, and assistants, and lights, and lamps, and lamps, and mountains, and valleys, and clouds, and judges, and initiators (of the trial), and speakers, and lawyers, and reflectors of accusations (of our enemies), and champions for us, and the divine stronghold and our protection, and reflections of God and His images, and sailors, and ships and helmsmen (in our everyday voyage). You are the ones who direct the sky along its most perfect course; which in the fastest and most impetuous movement cross the air; which fill the sky and the ether; who are present with every person as his guardians and guides; who unswervingly fulfill the will of the Creator; which you directly hear the voice of His words; which you continually grow and prosper and in unceasing growth ascend higher and higher (because only God, in whom no change takes place, is higher than any growth 10; which are called “heavenly bodies”; which are called “Minds” and “God’s Tabernacle”; which are called “Coals” and “Wheels” and “Flames”; which bear the names of “Mysteries” and “Explainers of the Mysteries”; and it is also said about you that you are “Friends of the King of all” and “Performers of heavenly music”, as well as “Servants of the Mysteries” and “Servants”. So, since you are adorned with such great glory and filled with such advantages, then I deservedly ask and pray for your favorable attitude towards me, oh, good and blameless Angels and Archangels; yours - oh, pure spirits, - I beg your magnificence, to keep my life unharmed, my hope unshakable, my behavior impeccable, my love for God and neighbor unchanged and free from all damage. I pray, guide me in everything and guide me on every saving and godly path. Again, oh divine souls, I wish that you would pray and most of all pray to God for me when, with the last breath of my life, I will be forced to come out of this humble vessel of mine (my body), and that you will be the scales weighing all my deeds, and the appraisers of everything that I have either openly done or secretly intended to do, and that then either all of you, or only those from your rank, God will then send to me, so that you would accept my unfortunate and pitiful soul - show yourself to be condescending and merciful to me, and the scales, which I have destructively loaded with my worthless deeds, you would mercifully lift and strive, as servants of the only merciful God, to unload it in any way and manner. And even, instead of good and honest deeds, on which it would be possible to rely on hope, bring to the middle the boundless mercy of God, praying to the merciful and merciful God - oh, you most worthy of praise and the highest Minds - so that, through your intercession, all those sorrows, illnesses and griefs and disasters that I have ever suffered in my life would be worthy of being accepted as compensation for my bad deeds; and instead of condemnation and those terrible torments that I rightfully deserve, these sufferings of mine would allow relief and indulgence to be given to me; so that when the enemy was completely surpassed and at the same time defeated by God's mercy, there would be great joy in heaven due to the fact that my unfortunate soul was saved (according to the word of the Lord): “Rejoice with Me, friends, for I have found a sheep,” which was once lost in the mountains (Luke 15:6). And finally, when the final day comes and the end of the world is already at the door, and the heavens will shake, and the firmament will tremble, and the foundations of the earth will tremble, and the abyss of the abyss will be numb with fear, and the hells will be numb with horror, and the vast sea limits will turn into fire, and all the elements will dissolve like wax in the face of fire, and those hiding in earthly shelters will perish, (and then) be resurrected (exsuscitabuntur) 11, and the image of this world will pass, and the terrible Judge will appear in the very light, and you, ahead of His Coming, will run through the borders and ends of the earth, in order to gather all the dead who have died from eternity into one and present them all together before the incorruptible Judge, so that everyone will give an account of every deed and every thought and plan - then - I pray to you and will not stop praying until the end of my life, you, who are all you illuminate and carry, by the authority of God, His public service, and therefore you flaunt your well-known royal dignity, that with the scepter and the cane and the spear, in the hands of which you are depicted on icons 12, you clearly demonstrate the power to pacify and punish given to you 13 - then, then, I pray you, be merciful to me, pitiful and unfortunate, as kindest princes of This King, have mercy on me, and through your intercession with God, free me from this sorrowful and wrathful sentence, which sends me to eternal fire. And, on the contrary, of this joyful and sweet call to a life completely carefree and in no way lacking in anything, make me, along with my colleagues and people close to me, whose names and titles are known only by the One for Whom nothing is unknown, make me participants, and declare the joy that has no end, the heir. O Lord, Savior, God and Word, You who dwell in the highest, Who have no beginning and hold everything in Your power, Who possess great power and give life to everyone and inspire awe; You - Who created heaven and earth and everything that is contained within them with a single movement of the will; You are the one who first planned to create Angels, and your plan became a deed: because what you planned, you did it with one word and created it perfectly. Then, with the same skill and with the same ease, You created man from the dust of the earth in Your image and likeness and created him only as something a little less in comparison with the Angels, and endowed with free will, and set him up to be king and ruler over all created nature, and this, of course, so that he would enjoy those benefits that You had prepared for him in paradise, and what benefits he enjoyed it until, having been captured by the serpent and the woman, he violated Your Divine commandments by actually tasting the fruit of the deadly tree; Now, for this reason, he immediately lost his royal dignity and, having been expelled from paradise, was subjected to punishment worthy of his actions, namely: crying and servitude, sweat of the brow, labor and hardships, grief and sadness, and what is truly more painful than all punishments, finally, he plunged himself into the death that was due to him and dissolution in the earth from which he was initially taken and created. But You, Lord, being truly merciful and compassionate, did not at all despise Your property, which is most dear to You from all other things, so that it remained under the violence of the devil; but decreed to bring into execution this awe-inspiring Mystery, which You have determined from the ages: having exhausted Yourself 14, You, Who are the Wisdom of the Father, and the Mind, and the Word, and the Mark, and the Limit, and the Image, and the Seal, and the Son and His expressed Image. Because You were born - through the action of the Holy Spirit - in the womb of the Immaculate Virgin and received from Her a birth that surpasses all understanding. Because You did not at all violate the virginity of Your Most Pure Mother, but, being incorporeal - in a way known only to You - You entered Her womb, and then were born from Her, clothed in flesh, leaving the gates of Her virginity closed, as they were before. Then You picked up the cross, took a drink made from gall and vinegar mixed together, and was pierced by a spear that pierced Your side. Finally, having voluntarily endured death, You put death itself to death, and endowed the whole world with immortality, and Your image, which had suffered a stumble and lost its form, You restored intact and the ancient oath that happened to us because of eating from the tree, the fruits of which God forbade man to eat, completely removed from us 15 . So, You are the King and Creator of everything, You are the Creator of so many and such amazing things, you created everything that exists before for the common benefit of mortals; and the ability to punish those subject to punishment not without fatherly love, when, sitting at the judgment seat, You call everyone to the court, honor me, along with all those whose memory I keep in my heart, to stand at the right hand (on the right side of) You. Oh, You, Who watch over everything and know the secret, my sins that I have ever committed, consigning them to oblivion, open for me the doors of the Palace of immortality, that is, heavenly glory. Oh, Immortal Zhenishe, grant us the ability to hear the voice of Your blessing! O Benefactor, count me among the righteous and make us partakers of Your joy - through the prayers of Your Immaculate Mother, and the Holy Angels, and the Apostles, and the Prophets, and the Martyrs, and all the Righteous Ones from time immemorial - You, who with Your Father and the Holy Spirit, are blessed now and ever, and unto the ages of ages Amen 16. It is possible that in Greek the original was simply “Six-Winged”. The text in brackets belongs to the original. Funda - a sling, which was a belt to which a stone was attached, which was launched by the rotational movement of the sling. Here it is appropriate to cite a note from the publisher of the text: “According to St. Sophronia, living during the onset of the Last Judgment, will die and change at the same moment. However, others believe that they will not die, but will only change into a state of immortality.” Nota 2, col. 3317–8. "Michael" means "Who is like God." Orig. “universa Dei judicia” - the courts of God. Orig. "justificationes" - justifications. Belial at up. Paul "Beliar", according to rabbi. lit. the same as "Satan". The text in brackets belongs to the original, the last words were added by us. Not everything is clear here, and it is possible that it is Latin. the translation is not accurate, or should we translate this not as “resurrected”, but as “they will become agitated,” “they will go mad.” The words “With whom you are depicted on icons” were added by us. In orig. the words “You demonstrate the authority given to you” are placed in brackets. A theological expression meaning that God, immortal and omnipotent, came to earth as a man, taking on all its weakness, poverty and death. Here we have slightly expanded the original text. Sophronu Hierosolymorus episcopi sanctorum Archangelorum, et Angelorum, caeterarumque coelestium Virtutum Encomion. Migne P.G.t. 87 3, col. 3315–3322. You might be interested in: