Archangel Uriel in Orthodoxy
Literally, the name Uriel (Uriel) translated from Hebrew means “God is light.” It should be said right away that this archangel, as well as others, are found today not only in the Orthodox tradition, but are also actively used in esotericism, as evidenced by the mass of books containing spiritual practices addressed to one or another archangel.
Saint Archangel Uriel
In Orthodox culture, in icon painting, the Archangel Uriel is usually represented with a sword in one hand and a flame in the other. Since this archangel symbolizes light and enlightenment, his calling is considered to illuminate people’s path to the Lord, freeing them from sinful passions and attachment to the material world.
In addition, Uriel is the patron of science and the acquisition of knowledge.
More about the Archangels:
- Icon of Archangel Raphael
- Icon of St. Archangel Michael
- Archangel Gabriel in Orthodoxy
Highest angelic hierarchy
In the Orthodox Church, the Arkhangelsk ranks are divided into three types. Each hierarchy - higher, middle, lower - is represented by three ranks. The highest are the Orthodox archangels Seraphim, Cherubim and Thrones. The closest to the Holy Trinity are the “six-winged” fiery Seraphim. They burn with love for the Lord and encourage others to do the same. After them, close ones are the Cherubim, through whom the light of knowledge of God, enlightenment and understanding shines. The Cherubim are followed by Thrones, incomprehensibly and mysteriously bearing God. They serve to ensure that the Lord's justice is carried out.
General information about Uriel
The purpose of Uriel, first of all, is to remind humanity that we are, first of all, soul and energy and secondarily a material body. Probably for this reason, both Christian prayers and esoteric practices, so to speak, addressed to this archangel, are designed to awaken a person to spiritual life, creativity and a higher level of consciousness.
Interesting! For many church parishioners, faced with the mention of the name of any of the archangels in the sacred text, the question becomes important - what gender do these creatures belong to? Images of archangels, either female or male, also raise doubts. The clergy answer this question quite simply - archangels are spiritual entities, therefore everything corporeal cannot be in any way connected with them.
Physical and Emotional Healing from Prayer
The prayer that ascends to the archangel allows you to heal your legs, knees, hips, circulatory organs, and promotes a surge of physical activity and energy. Uriel helps a person learn to listen to the wisdom of his body.
Archangel Uriel performs great miracles. Prayer addressed to him gives strength to love, gives vitality, courage, endurance in relation to troubles. A person who believes and prays gains the desire to live, and the feeling of fear that oppresses his soul will disappear.
Archangel Uriel helps people find harmony with the divine and brings it to the whole world. Daily life with prayer acquires a special spirituality.
Mention in the Bible and Apocrypha
You can learn quite a lot about the Archangel Uriel from the apocrypha, namely from the Third Book of Ezra. According to the text, Uriel is presented as God's messenger for Ezra, in order to clarify for him the ways of the Lord. In addition, it says here that it was Uriel who was placed by the Lord at the gates of paradise after the Fall and the expulsion of the first people from Eden - Adam and Eve, in order to guard these gates.
There is a small mention of the name of this archangel in the Apocrypha of Enoch, where to the already existing descriptions of Uriel as a herald of divine light and spirituality in general, another of his names is added - the angel of thunder and vibrations.
Icon of Saint Archangel Uriel
It should be added that the “Revelation of Amadeus of Portugal”, a Catholic monk known in the 15th century, says that in those days the so-called cult of Uriel was known (the cults of other archangels are also known - Gabriel, Michael, Raphael, Selaphiel, Yehudiel , Barachiel).
Important! In the main text of the Holy Scriptures, the Archangel Uriel is not mentioned.
It was in the Catholic tradition that a special veneration of Uriel arose, but later a mention of this was included in the Lives of the Saints, written by Dmitry of Rostov in the 17th century.
Old Testament legends
The name of the Archangel Uriel became known thanks to the last book of the Old Testament (III Book of Ezra). The saint was sent by the Lord to the pious priest and scholar Ezra, who lived in the 5th century. before the Nativity of Christ. He appeared to give an answer about the signs and time when the end of the world would occur.
Ezra saw all the signs, but he was given instructions. The priest had to pray and fast for seven days to learn even more. After nightly conversations, Archangel Uriel reminded Ezra to constantly turn to the Lord, and then he would appear to him again.
God spoke to the priest through the mouth of his archangel Uriel: “The more tests you go through, the more you will be surprised. The present age is quickly rushing towards its end and cannot become a container for what was promised to the righteous in the future. This age is filled with weaknesses and lies.”
Image in the Orthodox tradition
As mentioned above, traditionally Saint Uriel is represented in icon painting holding a sharp sword in his right hand and a fiery flame in his left. These objects symbolically symbolize a zealous attitude towards God and a readiness to serve him, purifying with a sword and illuminating the path to Him with light.
Every year on November 21, many churches in our country hold services dedicated to the icon of the Archangel Uriel; as a rule, on these days, prayers are read and an akathist is sung before the image of the archangel.
What requests can you make to Archangel Uriel?
You can contact Archangel Uriel with requests that correspond to his area of responsibility. Since Uriel is the patron saint of all people who have devoted themselves to the study of science, researchers, teachers, students and schoolchildren can turn to the angel. If your intentions are pure, and what you want is necessary for a good purpose, Uriel will help you achieve your goal - be it pacifying an unjust boss or passing an exam to a strict teacher.
Uriel is also related to the realm of creativity and inspiration. If a person is in creative stagnation, an angel can give him inspiration. Uriel is related specifically to writing; it makes sense for writers and poets to turn to him. Prayer to Uriel will also help when writing a school essay, dissertation, or speech for a speech.
As the patron and defender of Russia, any resident can turn to him with questions related to faith. If a person wants to protect a holy place from encroachment or preserve a corner of nature from the hands of vandals, the angel Uriel will help.
Uriel is an angel who brings the light of God, instructs on the path of life and bestows enlightenment. The archangel is also approached with requests to give instructions on the correct behavior in a given situation. If someone close to you is about to do the wrong thing, has turned away from God, or is in a difficult situation, it is worth asking an angel for guidance on the right path.
If a person is confused or has lost direction on the path of life, feels lonely and lost, Uriel will instill peace and harmony in the soul. Prayers to Uriel are also recommended for people who are overcome by melancholy and depression, as well as thoughts of suicide. The angel will help you make a decision in any situation, shed light on lies and help reveal deception, see all the facets of the situation and emerge victorious. Uriel will restore the ability to love and be loved, give resistance to life's difficulties and teach you how to cope with them.
Image in fiction
The image of the Archangel Uriel, in addition to spiritual literature, is captured on the pages of works of art by such world-famous authors as John Milton and Joost van den Vondel.
Dutch playwright Joost van den Vondel wrote three tragedies in which the Archangel Uriel appears as one of the characters. Thus, in “Lucifer,” Uriel is presented as a valiant warrior, one of the main characters in the war between God and Lucifer that unfolded on the pages of the tragedy.
Archangel Uriel is usually depicted with a sword
In the second work, “Adam in Exile,” the appearance of Uriel marks the finale, where he appears to readers as an angel and a judge at the same time, and here his main function is the expulsion of Adam and Eve from paradise. In the third tragedy, “Noah,” the archangel appears at the very beginning of the work, even before the Great Flood happened; here he allows only “God’s” people onto the ark, not allowing sinners to be saved.
In John Milton's Paradise Lost, Uriel appears as the ruler of the Sun in canto three. His image in this work is associated with a plot about the deception of the archangel by Satan, who temporarily took the form of a simple angel and found out the secret of where the new world created by the Lord is located, where Adam and Eve were transferred.
Uriel, having revealed the deception, descends on a ray of sun to earth, where he manages to warn the Archangel Gabriel about Lucifer’s attempted invasion.
Uriel's Instructions
The instructions of the archangels do not belong to canonical church literature, but such texts are no less popular among readers. Instructions are nothing more than small texts transmitted from the archangels through people who are a kind of translators, or otherwise hear the voices of angels and archangels.
In Orthodoxy, Archangel Uriel symbolizes light and enlightenment
In the system of religion, such people are also called prophets who receive information through signs. In terms of content, the instructions of the Archangel Uriel often contain topics such as:
- the structure of the universe and its laws;
- energy flows;
- gaining spiritual strength.
Law of Attraction
People are increasingly convinced that like attracts like. Therefore, if we consider a person from the point of view of energy, then what quality it is in him (at the moment), he attracts the same people (with similar energy) into his life. High quality attracts love, happiness, joy, understanding, unity, and prosperity into life. And vice versa.
Currently on Earth, the bulk of people are those who have not yet completely overcome low energy within themselves. Because when this happens, they will physically not be able to stay here, but will immediately move on to live in a world of higher vibrations.
But already now there are people who have overcome the darkness within themselves and are completely tuned in to the light, who see life through the eyes of the Lord. In fact, this is a great inner work - to be able to constantly live in true joy, happiness, beauty, love. These people help others in purifying themselves and improving themselves.
They live on Earth, among the majority, but they themselves are no longer from this world. The purity and liveliness of their energies, the beauty of the soul attracts only the best to them: magic, sincere love, devoted friendship, well-being, the highest skill.
It is natural to see such radiant inhabitants of the Earth among doctors (including alternative medicine), teachers, and people of art. They, like torches of God’s love, lead the masses.
And it is through such people that Angels, including Archangel Uriel, communicate with our planet. Source: www.nastroy.net
