Angelology (ነገረ መላእክት): Prostration to the Holy Angels (ስግደት ለቅዱሳን መላእክት) in the EOTC Tradition – Part IV

In the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, prostration of respect (የአክብሮት/ የጸጋ ስግደት) is a sacred practice, symbolizing humility and reverence. While prostration of worship is reserved solely for God, the prostration of respect, or grace, is offered to holy beings such as saints and angels, acknowledging the honor God has bestowed upon them. This essay explores the significance of offering prostration of respect to the holy angels in the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church tradition, drawing on biblical teachings and the example of the Church Fathers to demonstrate the deep reverence and respect owed to holy angels.

The word "prostration" (መስገድ), as defined by the renowned Ethiopian scholar Aleka Kidine Wold Kifle, refers to humbling oneself—bowing, kneeling, falling face down, touching the forehead to the ground, and rising again. In the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, prostration is of two types: the prostration of worship, reserved exclusively for God, and the prostration of respect (grace/ ጸጋ), offered to saints and angels honored by God. The prostration offered to the holy angels signifies respect, acknowledging the honor conferred upon them by God. The word grace (ጸጋ) literally means wealth, good gifts, opportunities, education, honor, glory, favor, and acts of kindness given freely. When we offer prostration of grace to holy people and angels, we kneel in recognition of the honor and favor God has granted them.

The Holy Bible provides several references showing that holy angels deserve prostration of respect (grace).

In Genesis 19:1, it is written: “ሁለቱም መላእክት በመሸ ጊዜ ወደ ሰዶም ገቡ፤ ሎጥም በሰዶም በር ተቀምጦ ነበር። ሎጥም ባያቸው ጊዜ ሊቀበላቸው ተነሣ፤ ፊቱንም ደፍቶ ወደ ምድር ሰገደ.”

Similarly, Joshua 5:13-14 states: “እንዲህም ሆነ፤ ኢያሱ በኢያሪኮ አጠገብ ሳለ ዓይኑን አንሥቶ ተመለከተ፥ እነሆም፥ የተመዘዘ ሰይፍ በእጁ የያዘ ሰው በፊቱ ቆሞ ነበር፤ ኢያሱም ወደ እርሱ ቀርቦ፦ ከእኛ ወገን ወይስ ከጠላቶቻችን ወገን ነህን? አለው። እርሱም፦ አይደለሁም፤ እኔ የእግዚአብሔር ሠራዊት አለቃ ሆኜ አሁን መጥቼአለሁ አለ። ኢያሱም ወደ ምድር በግምባሩ ተደፍቶ ሰገደና፦ ጌታዬ ለባሪያው የሚነግረው ምንድር ነው? አለው ።”

In 1 Chronicles 21:16, it is recorded: “ዳዊትም ዓይኖቹን አነሣ፤ የእግዚአብሔር መልአክ በምድርና በሰማይ መካከል ቆሞ፥ የተመዘዘም ሰይፍ በእጁ ሆኖ ወደ ኢየሩሳሌም ተዘርግቶ አየ። ዳዊትም ሽማግሌዎችም ማቅ ለብሰው በግምባራቸው ተደፉ።”

Daniel 8:15-17 further confirms: “እኔም ዳንኤል ራእዩን ባየሁ ጊዜ ማስተዋሉን ፈለግሁ፤ እነሆም፥ የሰው ምስያ በፊቴ ቆሞ ነበር። በኡባልም ወንዝ መካከል፦ ገብርኤል ሆይ፥ ራእዩን ለዚህ ሰው አስታውቀው ብሎ የሚጮኸውን የሰውን ድምፅ ሰማሁ። እኔም ወደ ቆምሁበት ቀረበ፤ በመጣም ጊዜ ፈርቼ በግምባሬ ተደፋሁ፤ እርሱም፦ የሰው ልጅ ሆይ፥ ራእዩ ለፍጻሜ ዘመን እንደ ሆነ አስተውል አለኝ። ሲናገረኝም ደንግጬ በምድር ላይ በግምባሬ ተደፋሁ፤ እርሱም ዳሰሰኝ ቀጥ አድርጎም አቆመኝ” These biblical verses clearly show that angels deserve prostration of respect (grace).

The prostration of respect offered by the holy fathers to the holy angels, as revealed in the Holy Scriptures, serves as a model for us. Saint Paul encourages us to follow their example: “የእግዚአብሔርን ቃል የተናገሩአቸሁን ዋኖቻችሁን አስቡ የኑሮአቸውንም ፍሬ እየተመለከታችሁ በእምነታቸው ምሰሉአቸው::” (Hebrew 13: 7) We imitate their actions and the benefits they received. Just as they showed their love and respect for the holy angels through prostration of respect, we express our love and respect for the angels, whom God has honored, by kneeling before their images and offering prostration of respect. As discussed in another essay, all prostrations are not prostration of worship—there is also prostration of respect, which you can explore in my blog under the title Prostration of Grace for Saints: An Orthodox Christian Perspective.

Some opponents attempt to mislead others by claiming that prostration of respect for angels is only mentioned in the Bible when they become visible. However, whether angels are visible or not, their existence is certain, and their glory (ክብር) remains unchanged. We also believe that angels are always with us, as the Holy Scriptures teach us: “በመንገድህ ሁሉ ይጠብቁህ ዘንድ መላእክቱን ስለ አንተ ያዝዛቸዋልና፤ እግርህም በድንጋይ እንዳትሰናከል በእጆቻቸው ያነሡሃል።” (Psalms 91:11-12). Additionally, in Matthew 18:10, it is written: “ከነዚህ ከታናናሾቹ አንዱን እንዳትንቁ ተጠንቀቁ፤ መላእክቶቻቸው በሰማያት ዘወትር በሰማያት ያለውን የአባቴን ፊት ያያሉ እላችኋለሁና።”

The prostration Ethiopian Orthodox Christians offer to the holy angels is a prostration of respect. Whether they appear or not does not affect their glory (ክብር) in God's sight; their glory remains unaffected. It is naive to view appearance as a prerequisite for honoring and offering prostration of respect to the holy angels. Thus, the argument of whether they "appear" or "do not appear" is irrelevant. Just as we offer prostration of worship to God in the spirit of worship (John 4:24), we offer prostration of respect to the holy angels in the spirit of respect, following the example set by our fathers in the holy Bible.

Some skeptics cite Revelation 19:10 (“Do not bow for me” “አትስገድልኝ”) to argue that angels are not worthy of any form of prostration, whether they appear or not. However, this verse does not deny offering the prostration of respect to angels. Rather, its message emphasizes that we should offer prostration of respect. The identity and life of the evangelist Saint John show that the prostration he offered to an angel was done knowingly and with understanding. To claim that John the theologian, filled with the Holy Spirit (Revelation 1:10, 4:2), performed a prostration of worship to angels is blaspheming the Holy Spirit, who grants wisdom, understanding, and knowledge.

A person filled with the Holy Spirit knows exactly what he or she does and for whom he or she offers prostration of worship. Saint John, a great man who revealed and spoke of the divine mysteries (ምሥጢረ መለኮት), and who taught, “ልጆች ሆይ፥ ከጣዖታት ራሳችሁን ጠብቁ።” (1 John 5:21), would never have offered a prostration of worship to an angel. To believe otherwise is not only thoughtless but also an insult to the work of the Holy Spirit. The Bible clearly states that those who blaspheme against the Holy Spirit will not have their sin forgiven: “ስለዚህ እላችኋለሁ፥ ኃጢአትና ስድብ ሁሉ ለሰዎች ይሰረይላቸዋል፥ ነገር ግን መንፈስ ቅዱስን ለሰደበ አይሰረይለትም።” (Matthew 12:31-32).

What is the proper interpretation of the angel's statement, "Do not bow for me" (አትስገድልኝ) in Revelation 19:10? The angel told Saint John, "Do not bow to me" (አትስገድልኝ) for two reasons.

1.     For Humility: The devil was cast down and humbled due to his pride (Isaiah 14:12-15, Luke 10:18, Revelation 12:7-9). In contrast, the holy angels, having made humility their treasure, do not say, "Bow to us." However, as it is God's will that they are respected, He enabled His people to honor them (Daniel 12:1, 8:15). When Saint John bowed to the angel, the angel responded, "Do not bow to me," not because John was worshiping the angel, which God forbids, but because the angel humbled himself before John. It is like someone standing to honor a guest, who then says, “ኸረ አይገባም…”

What confirms that the angel’s reply was for humility is that he repeated the phrase “Do not bow to me” that he said in Revelation 19:10 again in Revelation 22:9. If it were not for humility, the angel would have told Saint John once, and Saint John would not have repeated the prostration. Similarly, the angel would not have repeated the phrase "Do not bow to me." John understood that he should honor the angel and offer a prostration of respect. When the angel appeared to him again, he bowed once more, and the angel responded with a similar phrase, emphasizing humility.

Therefore, the angel said, "Do not bow to me," not because offering prostration of respect to holy angels is a sin, but because it reflects humility. Concerning humility, our Lord Jesus Christ said: “ቀንበሬን በላያችሁ ተሸከሙ ከእኔም ተማሩ፥ እኔ የዋህ በልቤም ትሑት ነኝና፥ ለነፍሳችሁም ዕረፍት ታገኛላችሁ።” (Mathiew 11:29)

2.     To reveal the authority of the priesthood: Saint Paul wrote about the authority of priests in 1 Corinthians 6:2-3: “ቅዱሳን በዓለም ላይ እንዲፈርዱ አታውቁምን? በዓለምስ ላይ ብትፈርዱ ከሁሉ ይልቅ ትንሽ ስለሚሆን ነገር ልትፈርዱ አትበቁምን? የትዳር ጉዳይ ይቅርና በመላእክት እንኳ እንድንፈርድ አታውቁምን?” According to the interpretation by the Fathers of our Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, the “saints” (ቅዱሳን) mentioned here refer to priests and ministers, and priests even possess the authority to judge angels. In the story of the angel and Saint John on the island of Patmos, the angel instructed John the Evangelist, “Do not bow for me,” highlighting the authority of the priesthood besides humility, since John the Theologian was also a priest (Revelation 1:6). Therefore, Ethiopian Orthodox Church believers, as revealed in the Holy Bible, offer prostration of respect to the holy angels.

In conclusion, prostration to the holy angels, as practiced in the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, serves as an act of respect and acknowledgment of their honor. The Bible and the teachings of the Church Fathers consistently affirm the importance of showing respect to the angels, regardless of their visible presence. By following these examples, Ethiopian Orthodox Christians continue to honor the holy angels with reverence, recognizing their role in God's divine plan and their steadfast glory (ክብር) in His sight.