Patristic angelology – synthesis of the Fathers of the Church (2nd-8th Centuries)

Catholic doctrine on the angels was developed by the Fathers of the Church between the second and the eighth century. This post synthesizes the contributions of the Fathers of the Church, Greek and Latin, to angelology, showing the continuity of Tradition from the first centuries to the medieval Scholastic synthesis.

Fathers of the 2nd-3rd centuries

Ignatius of Antioch (2nd century)

In his Letters, Ignatius refers to the angels as protectors of the Church. He states that “the orders of the angels” are part of the celestial liturgy parallel to the Eucharist.

Justin Martyr (2nd century)

In the Dialogue with Trypho, Justin affirms that the angels are the “heavenly mediators” between God and men, always subordinate to God.

Origen (3rd century)

Origen develops the first patristic systematization of angelology in Peri Archon (On First Principles) and in his biblical commentaries:

• Angels as free creatures: the angels were created free, some chose God, others fell
• Angels of the nations: each people has a protecting angel (cf. Dan 10)
• Personal angels: each of the faithful has a guardian angel
• Angelic hierarchy: the first patristic systematization of the various orders

Some theses of Origen (such as the apokatastasis, the possible final reconciliation of the Devil) were later condemned by the Second Council of Constantinople (553).

Fathers of the 4th century (the Cappadocian Fathers)

Saint Athanasius of Alexandria (296-373)

In the Vita Antonii, Athanasius narrates the battles of Saint Anthony of the Desert against the demons and describes the victory of Christ over the Evil One. This book was the basis of the angelological hagiography of desert spirituality.

Saint Hilary of Poitiers (315-368)

In De Trinitate, Hilary affirms that the angels “serve” the Trinity and share in the celestial liturgy, especially in the Sanctus.

Saint Basil the Great (330-379)

“Thus it is, according to the faith of the Church, that each of the faithful has at his side an angel, as protector and shepherd, to lead him to life” (Adversus Eunomium 3, 1).

This passage is quoted verbatim by CCC no. 336.

Saint Gregory Nazianzen (329-389)

In his Theological Orations, Gregory articulates a trinitarian theology that includes the participation of the angels in the song of glory to the Trinity.

Saint Gregory of Nyssa (335-394)

In De anima et resurrectione, Gregory develops the doctrine of the angels as models of risen humanity.

Fathers of the 4th-5th centuries

Saint John Chrysostom (347-407)

“Every Christian believer has an angel. Even the frailest, the poorest, the most overlooked has his guardian angel” (Hom. in Mt 59).

John Chrysostom developed a profound theology of the eucharistic liturgy as participation in the angelic song: the angels “celebrate” the Mass with us.

Saint Augustine (354-430)

Augustine devotes extensive treatment to the angels in:

• De Civitate Dei, books XI-XII: the fall of the rebel angels parallel to the fall of Adam
• De Genesi ad litteram: the angels are pure light created in the “Fiat lux”
• Enchiridion: a summary systematization of angelology

Augustine proposes that the fall of the angels was immediate, right after their creation. This thesis would later be adopted by Saint Thomas Aquinas.

“Existit substantia spiritualis et incorporea, quae proprie angelica est: et habet eandem voluntatem, qua aut bona aut mala fit” (De Civitate Dei XII, 1).

“There exists a spiritual and incorporeal substance, which is properly angelic: and it has the same will by which it becomes either good or evil.”

Saint Jerome (347-420)

In his Commentaries on the prophets (Daniel, Ezekiel, Revelation), Jerome develops the eschatological interpretation of the angels.

Saint Leo the Great (5th century)

In the Sermons on the Nativity, Leo the Great articulates the participation of the angels in the mystery of the Incarnation: the angels sing “Gloria in excelsis Deo” (Lk 2:14).

Fathers of the 6th-8th centuries

Saint Gregory the Great (540-604)

In his Hom. in Evang. (especially Hom. 34), Gregory the Great presents the tradition of the nine choirs of angels with definitive nomenclature. His homilies became the principal source of medieval Western angelology, parallel to the work of Pseudo-Dionysius (5th-6th centuries).

“Novem vero angelorum ordines diximus: quia videlicet esse, testante sacro eloquio, scimus Angelos, Archangelos, Virtutes, Potestates, Principatus, Dominationes, Thronos, Cherubim atque Seraphim” (Hom. in Evang. 34, 7).

“We have said that there are nine orders of angels: for we know, according to the testimony of Sacred Scripture, that there are Angels, Archangels, Virtues, Powers, Principalities, Dominions, Thrones, Cherubim and Seraphim.”

Saint John Damascene (676-749)

The De Fide Orthodoxa (II, 3) of John Damascene is the definitive synthesis of Greek patristic angelology. It articulates:

• Angels as pure spirits, rational, free
• Angels immaterial, but “relatively material” in comparison with God, who is fully spiritual
• The intuitive knowledge of the angels
• Immortality conferred by grace, not by nature
• Hierarchical choirs following Pseudo-Dionysius

John Damascene also treats of the fall of the angels:

“There is no repentance for them after the fall, just as there is no repentance for men after death” (De Fide Orthodoxa II, 4).

This statement is cited by CCC no. 393.

Patristic synthesis: the seven fundamental points

Patristic angelology articulates seven fundamental points that formed the basis of Scholastic and magisterial angelology:

1. The angels were created by God: they are neither co-eternal nor emanations.
2. The angels are pure spirits: intelligence and will, without a material body.
3. The angels are free: created good, some fell by their own choice.
4. The angels are immortal: by the grace of God, not by a necessity of nature.
5. There are angelic hierarchies: nine choirs according to tradition.
6. Each of the faithful has a guardian angel: a personal protector.
7. The angels sing the liturgy with us: participation in the celestial and earthly liturgy.

Continuity in the tradition

Patristic angelology flows into the Scholastic tradition:

• Saint Bonaventure (13th century): a mystical-theological synthesis of the Latin Fathers.
• Saint Thomas Aquinas (13th century): the supreme philosophical-theological synthesis.
• Domingo de Soto, Duns Scotus, Suárez (14th-16th centuries): speculative developments.
• Roman Catechism (1566): a post-Tridentine pastoral synthesis.
• Modern Magisterium: Vatican II, JPII, CCC.

Further reading

Pseudo-Dionysius | Saint Thomas – Treatise on the Angels | Roman Catechism | First Council of Braga

See also: What Is Angelology? The Angels in the Bible and in the Magisterium