Friday, November 21, 2008

Synaxis of St Archangel Michael

Michael (Hebrew: מִיכָאֵל‎, Micha'el or Mîkhā'ēl; Greek: Μιχαήλ, Mikhaíl; Latin: Michael or Míchaël; Arabic: ميخائيل‎, Mikhā'īl) is an archangel, one of the principal angels in Christian and Islamic tradition. He is viewed as the field commander of the Army of God.

St Michael is the special patron of the Chosen People in the Old Testament and is guardian of the Church; it was thus not unusual for the angel to be revered by the military orders of knights during the Middle Ages. He is the supreme enemy of Satan and the fallen angels.

In the Roman Catholic and the Lutheran calendar of saints, his feast day, once widely known as Michaelmas, is celebrated September 29 and was one of the four quarter days on which accounts were settled and, in England, when terms began in universities. In the Eastern Orthodox Church his principal feast day is November 21, Synaxis of St Archangel Michael, when he is honored along with the rest of the "Bodiless Powers of Heaven" as their Supreme Commander.

St Michael is the patron saint of Messrs. Andreja and Borko Komnenovic, prominent Serbian monarchists and dear friends of mine. Happy Patron Saint's Day, sons!

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Съ днемъ ангела, as we say in Russian! God save our monarchs, and may He bless those Michaels celebrating today! OrthodoxWiki also has a nice article on the holy archangel here, and there is an English translation of your wonderful saint Bishop Nikolai Velimirović's writings on him here, from the Prologue of Ohrid, of course.