Exploring Angelology (ነገረ መላእክት) in the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church: A Brief Overview – Part I

In the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, angels play a pivotal role in spiritual life and human affairs. Known as divine messengers and servants of God, they carry out His will, reconcile people with God, protect the faithful, and bring messages of salvation. This essay provides a brief overview of angelology (ነገረ መላእክት) in the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, exploring their roles, nature, and significance, as rooted in scripture and tradition.

The word "angel" has two key meanings. First, it refers to a chief or officer, as seen in Revelations 1:20, 2: 1 and 3:1, where the seven leaders of the church are called angels. The second meaning, highlighted in Hebrews 1:14, refers to angels as "messengers" or "those who are sent." This definition explains the angels' role as beings sent from God to serve and assist humanity. As stated in the verse, "ሁሉ መዳንን ይወርሱ ዘንድ ስላላቸው ለማገዝ የሚላኩ የሚያገለግሉም መናፍስት አይደሉምን?", angels are spiritual beings sent to carry out divine missions. They are also referred to as the "heavenly hosts" or "army," as seen in Luke 2:13: "ድንገትም ብዙ የሰማይ ሠራዊት ከመልአኩ ጋር ነበሩ። እግዚአብሔርንም እያመሰገኑ…". These hosts, or armies, are a multitude of angels who serve God and carry out His will.

Angels are of two kinds: angels of light and evil angels. The latter belongs to the army of the devil, the prince of darkness. To distinguish God’s angels from others, we use the term "holy," as seen in Revelation 12:7-9.

Angels were created on the first day (Sunday), as noted in the Book of Jubilee (ኩፋሌ) 2:6-8. The Psalmist David confirms this: “በእግዚአብሔር ቃል ሰማዮች ጸኑ፥ ሠራዊታቸውም ሁሉ በአፉ እስትንፋስ” (Psalm 33:6). In contrast, humanity was created on the sixth day (Friday) as recorded in Genesis 1:26–31. Some scholars propose that angels, being created earlier, are seen as humanity’s older brothers.

Holy angels are swift as fire and powerful as the wind, faithfully carrying out God’s will. As the Psalmist declares, “መላእክቱን መንፈስ የሚያደርግ፥ አገልጋዮቹንም የእሳት ነበልባል።” (Psalm 104:4), they are described as spirits and servants like fire, highlighting their unmatched speed and power in executing divine commands.

The number of angels is immeasurable and beyond human comprehension. Revelation 5:11 intensely illustrates their vastness: “አየሁም፥ በዙፋኑም በእንስሶቹም በሽማግሌዎቹም ዙሪያ የብዙ መላእክትን ድምፅ ሰማሁ፤ ቍጥራቸውም አእላፋት ጊዜ አእላፋትና ሺህ ጊዜ ሺህ ነበር፥” This verse emphasizes the countless holy angels who tirelessly serve, glorify, and praise God.

Holy angels do not experience hunger, thirst, or the need for clothing and shelter. As stated in Tobit 12:17-19, “እኔም ተገለጥኩላችሁ፤ ነገር ግን እይታን አያችሁ እንጂ ከእናንተ ጋር አልበላሁም፤ አልጠጣሁምም,” angels are not bound by human needs. They also lack gender, as seen in Matthew 22:30-31: “በትንሣኤስ እንደ እግዚአብሔር መላእክት በሰማይ ይሆናሉ እንጂ አያገቡም አይጋቡምም,” meaning they do not marry or reproduce. Furthermore, angels are immortal, as stated in Luke 20:35-36: “…እንደ መላእክት ናቸውና፥ ሊሞቱም ወደ ፊት አይቻላቸውም,” showing they do not die but live eternally as God's children.

The roles of the holy angels include:

They continually praise God, saying, "Holy, holy, holy" (Isaiah 6:3). They deliver God's message to His people, as they did for Hagar (Genesis 16:7-11), Abraham (Genesis 22:11-18), Zechariah (Luke 1:11-13), and the Virgin Mary (Luke 1:26-31).

Additionally, they intercede and reconcile people with God, as seen in the angel's words: “የእግዚአብሔርም መልአክ መልሶ፦ አቤቱ፥ የሠራዊት ጌታ ሆይ፥ እነዚህ ሰባ ዓመት የተቈጣሃቸውን ኢየሩሳሌምንና የይሁዳን ከተሞች የማትምራቸው እስከ መቼ ነው? አለ። እግዚአብሔርም መልሶ ከእኔ ጋር ይነጋገር ለነበረው መልአክ በመልካምና በሚያጽናና ቃል ተናገረው።…ስለዚህ እግዚአብሔር እንዲህ ይላል፦ ወደ ኢየሩሳሌም በምሕረት ተመልሻለሁ፤ ቤቴ ይሠራባታል፤” (Zechariah 1:12).

Moreover, they impart understanding (ማስተዋል) and wisdom (ጥበብ) to humans, as Saint Gabriel did for the prophet Daniel (Daniel 8:16-17, 9:21-23) and Saint Uriel for Ezra (Ezra 2:1). They also save people from destruction, as they saved Lot from Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 19:1-29) and protected the three young men from the burning fire (Dan. 3:12-30).

Similarly, Psalm 34:7 states, “የእግዚአብሔር መልአክ በሚፈሩት ሰዎች ዙሪያ ይሰፍራል፥ ያድናቸውማል።” This verse affirms that the angel of the Lord surrounds and protects those who fear Him. They also guard our ways, as written in Psalms 91:10-12: “ክፉ ነገር ወደ አንተ አይቀርብም፥ መቅሠፍትም ወደ ቤትህ አይገባም። በመንገድህ ሁሉ ይጠብቁህ ዘንድ መላእክቱን ስለ አንተ ያዝዛቸዋልና፤ እግርህም በድንጋይ እንዳትሰናከል በእጆቻቸው ያነሡሃል።” This passage assures that angels protect and keep us from harm.

Holy angels are the servants of the Church, the body of Christ. They proclaimed the birth of our Lord and rejoiced at His birth in the manger in Bethlehem (Luke 2:10-12). They announced His birth to the shepherds (Luke 2:13-14) and accompanied Him during His exile to Egypt (Matthew 2:13). They strengthened Him in the Garden of Gethsemane (Luke 22:43) and, according to tradition, sprinkled His blood on the world. They declared His resurrection (Matthew 28:5-7, Luke 24:4-7) and, at His second coming, will raise the dead with Him (Matthew 24:30-31, 1 Thessalonians 4:16).

Likewise, the holy angels instructed the Ethiopian eunuch to be baptized (Acts 8:26), guided the apostles, and spread the gospel among the nations (Acts 10:3-6). They comforted St. Paul during the storm at sea, assuring him that no one would perish (Acts 27:20-25). The holy angels are always with Christ and His body, the Church—the believers. As Hebrews 1:14 states: “ሁሉ መዳንን ይወርሱ ዘንድ ስላላቸው ለማገዝ የሚላኩ የሚያገለግሉም መናፍስት አይደሉምን?” They serve us, guarding us from danger and destruction.

In conclusion, holy angels in the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church express God's divine presence and serve as protectors and guides for the faithful. Their immense spiritual power, strict devotion, and continual intercession reveal the deep connection between the heavenly and earthly life. As messengers of God's grace and servants of His will, angels continue to play an integral role in the life of the Church and its followers, inspiring respect and reverence in the hearts of believers.