7. Об Ангелах

We do not idolize angels, like the Hellenic poets and philosophers, we do not divide the incorporeal nature into female and male sex, we condemn indecent mixtures of invisible forces, we do not recognize them, as the heretics fable, as the creators of creation, we do not affirm that they are coeternal with the God of all. People need the female sex to reproduce the species. For, foreseeing this, the God of all so designed human nature; which is why he pronounced this blessing on the family, saying: “Grow and multiply, and fill the earth, and rule over it” (Gen. 1:28). Since death plunders the human race and, like some kind of reaper, reaps not only the old, but also the young, our nature, of necessity, has a need for workers and sowers who, in place of those reaped, would produce other classes and by their work would not yield victory to the hands of the reaper. For the immortal nature, the division of the sexes is unnecessary, because, since they do not decrease in number, they have no need for reproduction and, since they are not endowed with a body, for copulation. And the teacher of this is the Divine Scripture. For God did not create only two Angels, as two men, in the beginning, but He created as many darknesses as He pleased, because the nature, which is not subject to corruption, does not require reproduction. People, having a mortal body and subject to death, necessarily have a need for the female sex. And let no sensualist bring accusations against the Angels, out of ignorance taking as a pretext for blasphemy what is narrated by the wisest Moses: “having seen the sons of God, the daughters of men, that they were good, they girded them as wives” (Gen. 6:2). For it is extreme foolishness to attribute people to Angels. There were two kinds of people then: the race of Cains and the Seth; and the family of Seth was cursed, and the family of Seth had concern for piety; because Enos, the son of Seth, “hoped to call on the name of the Lord God” (Gen. 4:26). From that time on, those who came from him, called the sons of God, began to avoid mixing with the family of Cain. beauty, they violated the laws of their fathers and began to enter into marriage with them. Then this confusion introduced a vicious life. Therefore, hearing that in the Divine Scripture it is said: “I go in with the sons of God to the daughters of men” (Gen. 6:4), let us not blame the disembodied Angels, because people who were called sons of God dared to commit iniquity. And that this is really so is witnessed by the God of all, who said: “My Spirit shall not abide in these men [for ever], for they are flesh” (Gen. 6:3). And the historian also says: “The Lord saw... the earth, and it was not corrupted, as all flesh had corrupted its way upon the earth” (Gen. 6:12). And the God of all spoke to Noah: “Behold, I will destroy all flesh” (Gen. 6:17), and having commanded to build an ark, he added: “For I have found you righteous... in this generation” (Gen. 7:1). If the Angels had sinned, then the Lawgiver of Truth would not have punished people for this, and not ten, twenty, or a hundred people, but countless thousands of them. Therefore, the angelic nature has no need for the female sex, either for reproduction or for mixing. Divine Scripture teaches that there are many thousands of angels. It is said: “thousands of thousands serve Him, and darkness stands before Him” (Dan. 7:10). The angelic service is hymn. For blessed Isaiah says about the Seraphim that “I cried... and said: Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts, the whole earth is filled with His glory” (Is. 6:3); The divine Ezekiel said about the Cherubim that he heard “those saying: Blessed is the glory of the Lord from His place” (Ezek. 3:12). But the Angels not only sing songs, but also serve the Divine economy. And this is what the wise Paul taught us: “Are not all souls of service sent into service for those who want to inherit salvation” (Heb. 1:14)? Yes, and the Lord Himself spoke in the Holy Gospel: “Be careful that you do not despise one of these little ones,” the least of those who believe in Me: “Amen I say to you: Their angels... daily see the face of My Father in Heaven” (Matthew 18:10). And the godly prophet Daniel, or better yet, not he, but the Angel talking to him, calls some of them princes of the nations. For he says: “The prince of Persia “stood opposite me” (Dan. 10:13); he mentions the prince of the Hellenics and adds that he, interceding before God for the liberation of the Jews, was helped by no one else except Michael, their prince. And the great Moses in his song said: “When he divided the languages of the Highest, as if he had scattered the sons of Adam, the limits of the tongues according to the number of the Angels of God” (Deut. 32:8). And from what was said by Daniel and what was spoken by the Lord, it must be concluded that some of the Angels protect the nations, and some are entrusted with the care of each person separately, so that destructive demons do not harm or harm them. We believe that Angels were created by the God of all things, for this is what we have been taught. The hymnist David, calling on the Angels and heavenly powers to sing songs to the God of all, added: “That was spoken, and it was: He commanded, and it was created” (Ps. 149:5); and again: “Create Your angels spirits, and Your servants a fiery flame” (Ps. 103:4). And the three youths, blessing God in the cave, called all creation, and first of all the Angels, to communion in song. The song of the youths begins like this: “Bless all the works of the Lord, the Lord, sing and exalt Him forever” (Dan. 3:57). Then, immediately after this, the youths add: “Bless the Angels of the Lord, the Lord” (Dan. 3:58), teaching this that the Angels also form part of the works of God. The Divine Apostle taught us this more clearly. For, having mentioned our Lord Jesus Christ, he added: “For by Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible,” and leaving the visible as known, he enumerates the invisible ranks, “whether thrones, if dominions, if beginnings, if powers: all things were created by Him and in Him” (Col. 1:16). This is how we are taught to philosophize about Angels. You might be interested in: