Michael (archangel)
Michael,[Notes 1] also called Saint Michael the Archangel, Archangel Michael and Saint Michael the Taxiarch[7] is an archangel in Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and the Baha'i faith. The earliest surviving mentions of his name are in third- and second-century-BC Jewish works, often but not always apocalyptic, where he is the chief of the angels and archangels, and he is the guardian prince of Israel and is responsible for the care of Israel.[8][9][10][11] Christianity conserved nearly all the Jewish traditions concerning him,[12] and he is mentioned explicitly in Revelation 12:7–12,[13] where he does battle with Satan,[14] and in the Epistle of Jude, where the author denounces heretics by contrasting them with Michael.[15]
"Saint Michael" redirects here. For other uses, see Saint Michael (disambiguation).
Michael
- 29 September ("Michaelmas" – Catholic Church, Anglican Communion and Lutheranism)
- 8 November (New Calendar Eastern Orthodox Churches)
- 8 November (Eastern Catholic Churches)
- 21 November (Old Calendar Eastern Orthodox Churches)
- 12th of each month in Coptic calendar (Coptic Churches)
- Many other local and historical feasts.
banner, scales, weighing souls, sword, slaying Satan or a dragon
Protector of the Jewish people,[1] Guardian of the Catholic Church,[2] Vatican City,[3][4] France, Germany,[5] Normandy, Kyiv, dying people, poor souls,[6] bankers, grocers, police officers, military personnel
Qur'an and other Muslim traditions[edit]
Michael is called Mika'il in Muslim works generally, but in the one instance in which he is mentioned in the Quran he is called Mikal.[25] The single Quranic mention comes in the QS 2:98, when the Jews of Medina challenged Muhammed to tell them the name of the angel from whom he received his revelations; when he told them it was Gabriel, the Jews said that Gabriel was their enemy, and that revelations came from Michael.[26] The hadith (sayings of and about the Prophet collected by his followers) quote Muhammed mentioning both Gabriel and Michael as two angels who showed him Paradise and hell, and in the early years of Islam the Muslims recited the names of both in the obligatory daily prayers (the salat).[27] The place of Michael, and some of the other archangels, is not clearly identified in the major sources, and among ordinary Muslims knowledge of them is drawn from non-Islamic sources, notably Jewish.[27]
Legends[edit]
Judaism[edit]
There is a legend which seems to be of Jewish origin, and which was adopted by the Copts, to the effect that Michael was first sent by God to bring Nebuchadnezzar (c. 600 BC) against Jerusalem, and that Michael was afterward very active in freeing his nation from Babylonian captivity.[158]
According to midrash Genesis Rabbah, Michael saved Hananiah and his companions from the fiery furnace.[159] Michael was active in the time of Esther: "The more Haman accused Israel on earth, the more Michael defended Israel in heaven".[160] It was Michael who reminded Ahasuerus that he was Mordecai's debtor;[161] and there is a legend that Michael appeared to the high priest Hyrcanus, promising him assistance.[162]
According to Legends of the Jews, archangel Michael was the chief of a band of angels who questioned God's decision to create man on Earth. The entire band of angels, except for Michael, was then consumed by fire.[163]
In literature, music, and art[edit]
Literature[edit]
In the 1667 English epic poem Paradise Lost by John Milton, Michael commands the army of angels loyal to God against the rebel forces of Satan. Armed with a sword from God's armory, he bests Satan in personal combat, wounding his side.[177]
In Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's translation of the mid-thirteenth century The Golden Legend, Michael is one of the angels of the seven planets. He is the angel of Mercury.[178]
Music[edit]
Marc-Antoine Charpentier, Praelium Michaelis Archangeli factum in coelo cum dracone, H.410, oratorio for soloists, double chorus, strings and continuo (1683).[179]
