Angels of the Churches

St. John in the Apocalypse is shown seven candlesticks and in their midst, the

Son of Man holding seven stars (Apoc., 1:13, 20). The candlesticks represent the

seven Churches of Asia; the stars, the angels of those Churches. He is bidden to

write to the respective angels of those Churches and distribute to each his meed

of praise or blame. Origen (Hom., xiii in Luc., and Hom., xx in Num.) explains

that these are the guardian angels of the Churches, a view upheld by Dean

Alford. But St. Epiphanius (Hær., xxv) explicitly rejects this view, and, in

accordance with the imagery of the passage, explains it of the bishops. The

comparison of a teacher to a star is quite Scriptural (Dan., xii, 3). St. Augustine's

reason for interpreting angels of the Churches as the prelates of the church is

that St. John speaks of them as falling from their first charity which is not true of

the angels [Ep., xliii (al. clxii), n. 22].

Hugh Pope

Transcribed by Carl Horst

The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume I

Nihil Obstat, March 1, 1907. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor

Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York

The Catholic Encyclopedia: NewAdvent.org