Who are the arc-angels?

Answer 1

Archangels are superior or higher-ranking angels. Archangels are found in a number of religious traditions, including Islam, Judaism and Zoroastrianism. In Biblical Christianity, the only archangel ever clearly named as being of the order is Michael.

The New Testament rarely speaks of angels, and makes only two references to archangels: Michael in Jude 1.9 and I Thessalonians 4:16, where the "voice of an archangel" will be heard at the return of Christ. Contrary to popular belief, Gabriel is never called 'archangel' in the Gospels.

In later Church tradition, however, there are three archangels: Michael, Gabriel, and usually Raphael; sometimes Uriel is given as a fourth. Eastern Orthodox tradition mentions "thousands of archangels" but venerates only seven of them by name. Uriel is included, and the other three are most often named Selaphiel, Jegudiel, and Barachiel.

Sometimes Satan (named Satanel in the Book of Enoch) is considered a fallen archangel whose original name was Lucifer.

Some Protestants view Michael as the sole archangel, as the only one explicitly described as such in the Protestant canon of The Bible.

In art, archangels are usually depicted with larger wings and many eyes. Some of the more commonly represented archangels are Gabriel, Michael, Raphael, Metatron, Uriel, and Satanel.