02 — The Nine Ranks

The one angelic creation is ordered. The tradition arranges the angels in nine ranks grouped in three triads — the scheme given classic form in the Celestial Hierarchy attributed to Dionysius the Areopagite. This section presents that hierarchy and its purpose (the descent of the divine light through purification, illumination, and perfection), and the scriptural basis of each of the nine names, noting honestly where the Fathers ordered the ranks differently. The authorship of the Corpus is deferred throughout to the dedicated Dionysius collection.

Tradition: Pan-Orthodox

Files

• the-dionysian-hierarchy.md — The three triads, the meaning of “hierarchy,” and the purpose of the ranks; the authorship question deferred to St. Dionysius.
• the-names-and-their-scripture.md — The scriptural source of each of the nine names, and the disputed variations in their ordering across the Fathers.

See Also

• St. Dionysius the Areopagite: The Celestial Hierarchy — the treatise that gave the tradition its nine ranks
• The Archangels — the named members of the lowest triad
• The Bodiless Nature — the angelic being that the ranks order