How Many Archangels Are There? Why Traditions Give Different Answers
Research note: This article separates primary texts, later religious tradition and modern spiritual interpretation. Claims are kept within the evidence of the cited source.
The short answer: there is no universal number
How many archangels there are depends on which textual or religious tradition you are asking about. The evidence does not support one list that can simply be called the ancient list of archangels for everyone.
The safest approach is to identify the source first, then state what that source actually says.
The New Testament
The New Testament uses the word archangel in 1 Thessalonians 4:16 without naming the figure, and Jude 9 explicitly calls Michael the archangel. Michael is therefore the only named figure directly called an archangel in the New Testament text.
Gabriel is named in Luke and Daniel, but those passages call him Gabriel or an angel, not an archangel. This distinction matters when separating scripture from later Christian titles.
Catholic tradition: Michael, Gabriel and Raphael
Catholic liturgy commemorates Michael, Gabriel and Raphael as archangels. The Catechism names all three among the angels particularly celebrated in the Church's liturgy. Raphael's biblical story is found in Tobit, where he identifies himself as one of seven angels standing before God.
The Vatican's Directory on Popular Piety states that assigning names to holy angels should be discouraged except for Gabriel, Raphael and Michael, whose names are contained in Holy Scripture. That is why a Catholic list and a modern spiritual list should not be presented as interchangeable.
1 Enoch: seven holy angels
First Enoch 20 lists seven holy angels who watch: Uriel, Raphael, Raguel, Michael, Saraqael, Gabriel and Remiel. The exact spelling of several names varies across languages and manuscript traditions.
The Book of the Watchers is an ancient Jewish apocalyptic text. Scholarship on the Qumran fragments places material from this section centuries before the medieval angelologies that later became common in Europe. First Enoch is preserved as scripture in Ethiopian Orthodox tradition, while its canonical status is different in most other Jewish and Christian communities.
Orthodox tradition: seven or eight
The Orthodox Church in America describes a tradition of seven or eight archangels: Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, Uriel, Barachiel, Jehudiel and Selaphiel, with Jeremiel sometimes added. This list overlaps with 1 Enoch in some names but is not the same list.
That difference is historically useful. It shows why an article that simply says 'the seven archangels are...' without identifying a source can be misleading.
What about modern lists?
A popular modern spiritual list uses Michael, Jophiel, Chamuel, Gabriel, Raphael, Uriel and Zadkiel. That is not the seven-name list of 1 Enoch and not the Orthodox list above. It belongs to a later esoteric history, especially twentieth-century seven-ray teachings.
I treat that system separately in this series so that its spiritual symbolism can be explored without describing it as biblical or ancient.
Comments