The worship of angels (or angelolatry) primarily relates to either excessive honouring (or possibly invoking the names of) angels.
The Greek word angelos ("messenger") has some use in Greek religion relating to divine messengers.[1] The Hypsistarians worshipped the Hypsistos ("Most High)" and acknowledged the gods of traditional Greek religion as angels[2] but some modern scholars identify the Hypsistarian groups, with gentile God-fearers, to Hellenistic Judaism.[3]
In 1981, A.R.R. Sheppard published an inscription (from near Kotiaion) related to Holiness and Justice, personifications honoured, or worshipped, in areas of Phrygia and Lydia.[4] The significant discovery in the inscription was Sheppard's reading: ΦΙΛΑΝΓΕΛΩΝ (”Friends-of-angels”) an apparent evidence of pagan reverence of angels:
In 1996, Clinton E. Arnold, based on Sheppard's inscription, advanced the theory of a pagan, not Jewish, background to Colossians 2:8-23. Arnold argued for the general importance of angels in Asia Minor as a common folk practice in this region. He suggested that pagans were invoking the names of angels for protection following Jewish influences.[5]
However, in 2005 Hasan Malay revisited the inscription and argues that Sheppard likely misread a phi (Π) as a gamma (Γ) and the inscription should read ΦΙΛΑΝΠΙΛΟΙ, "Friends-of-the-vine" or "Vine-lovers", with no angels. Malay also published a second inscription, dated 161 CE, confirming the existence of associations devoted to the vine from nearby Katakekaumene in Cappadocia, now in the Manisa Museum.[6] Hence the Kotiaion inscription should read:
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Further information: Angels in Judaism |
The Hebrew Bible strictly prohibits worship of idols made in the likeness of anything in heaven, according to the first commandment found in Exodus 20:4. For this reason actual "worship" of angels is not documented in Judaism beyond the following:
One can theorize that the worship of angels was occurring in Ancient Israel, hence a law was made to prohibit this activity.[11]
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Further information: Angels in Christianity and Veneration |
Stephen, in Acts 7:42, comments on Old Testament worship of the Host of Heaven without making any connection to angels.
The primary contact point in the New Testament is the condemnation of the “worship of angels” in Colossians:
There is however a question as to whether the word used here in fact means "worship". The word used is simply the common word for "religion" (θρησκεία thrēskeia, Acts 26:5, James 1:26,27) not the word "worship" (λατρεία latreia, cf. verb form in Acts 7:42) used of God or pagan deities. This leaves open the possibility that what Paul meant was not actually Christians who bowed down and literally worshipped angels, but a wider range of uses perhaps including:[12]
and so on.
In the Latin Vulgate this had been rendered et religione angelorum, and this was rendered "religioun of aungelis" by Wycliffe.
Toward the end of the Book of Revelation, John of Patmos begins to worship an angel. The angel rebukes him, telling him to worship God instead (see Revelation 22:8–9).
The Angelici were a heretical sect of the 3rd century. Augustine supposes them thus called from their yielding an extravagant worship of angels. However Augustine provides no evidence for this charge and Epiphanius derives their name from the belief that God created the world through the angels.
While falling short of actual worship of angels 3rd century Gnosticism developed heavily ideas concerning the archons. Celsus repeats the charge of worship of angels against Aristides.[14]
The Yazidi religion has as its object beings that are generally referred to as angels. These are agents of a single god, which are worshipped in its stead.[15] The most relevant of these angels is Melek Taus, to which God has entrusted the world, but other figures of worship include Jabra'il, Mikha'il, Israfil, Dadra'il, Azrafil and Shamkil.