The Angels and the Holy Ones

How the angels accompany the saints and share in the ministry of heaven and earth.

In the life of the Church, the holy angels and the saints are never far from one another. Both belong to the one company of heaven. Both stand before the throne of God. Both intercede for those still making their way through this life.

The saints are human beings who have been fully healed and transformed by the grace of God. The angels are spiritual beings who have remained faithful from the beginning. Yet in the Kingdom they share the same worship, the same joy, and the same love for those who struggle on earth.

Many of the saints lived in close awareness of the angels. Some were given to see them. Others simply lived in the quiet knowledge that they were never alone. The monastic tradition in particular has always held a deep sense of the angelic presence — the monks and nuns often spoke of trying to live “the angelic life,” meaning a life of purity, prayer, and unceasing attention to God.

In the icons of the Church we often see the saints and the angels depicted together. This is not artistic convention. It is theology in color. It shows us that the boundary between heaven and earth is thinner than we think, and that those who love God are already being drawn into the same communion.

When we ask the saints to pray for us, we are not turning away from the angels, and when we remember our guardian angel we are not neglecting the saints. All of them together form the great cloud of witnesses. All of them serve the same Lord. All of them rejoice when a sinner repents and when a soul draws nearer to Christ.

To remember the angels and the holy ones together is to remember that the Church is larger than what we can see. We walk this path in company — with the angels who have always served God, and with the saints who have finished the race and now rest in His light.