Question...

[bs_cs]

Well

Comments

[ldjohnso]

The order is generally taken to go (from bottom to top): Angel, Archangel, Principality, Virtue, Power, Dominion, Throne, Cherub, Seraph. Principality is the highest rank on Earth, but third from the bottom to everyone else. The archangels Michael, Gabriel, Azrael and Israfel manage Earth, so they would be Aziraphale's most immediate superiors, and they are under the command of Metatron, who governs all the angelic host. As I see it, seraph, cherub, Throne, and angel are species designations, with specific physical characteristics, and 'archangel' seems to be a fifth species that can hold any rank and has a widely varying appearance. Going by this definition, there are fifteen members of the archangel species, and they hold varying ranks in Heaven. For instance, Michael, Sandalphon, and Uriel are Seraphs, Cassiel is a Power, and Raguel is a Principality. If an archangel was an Archangel or an Angel, Aziraphale would rank ahead of him, but from what I've seen Raguel has the lowest ranking of the lot (and is likely still ahead of

[amberdiceless]

It's also worth noting that the hierarchy isn't necessarily quite so cut-and-dried as it appears. The Third Sphere (composed of the choirs of Angels, Archangels and Principalities) isn't necessarily lower in authority per se than the other two, but is rather more removed from Heaven and concerned with earthly affairs. The First Sphere is likewise not necessarily most important, but is closest to God and most closely tied to Heaven.

Here are a couple of articles on the subject I found helpful:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angelic_hierarchy

http://www.spiritual.com.au/articles/angels/angels_uk.htm#Hierarchy

Although it looks like somebody has now removed the parts of the Wikipedia article that dealt with competing hierarchies. XD

For what it's worth, there appeares to be similar confusion about the ranks and characteristics of demons...

[bs_cs]

Yeah, that's the good and the bad about wiki...anybody can just come along and edit anything...

Thanks for the links. I appreciate it. =)