Holy Angel
Acrylic Paint on Ceramic Tile
9" x 18" x .75"

As previously promised, I am sharing one more icon that was done on a tile. This image was based on the fresco in the Lower Basilica of Assisi by Cimabue, a Florentine painter who lived in the 13th century.

Angels are the Bodiless Powers who were made by God before the creation of the physical world and without physical form or substance ("incorporeal"). St. John of Damascus explains, "When it is the will of God that angels should appear to those [men] who are worthy, they do not appear as they are in their essence, but, transformed, take on such an appearance as to be visible to physical eyes."

By God's grace and mercy, the Bodiless Powers are also conditionally immortal, but (unlike God Himself) are restricted by location and time: they cannot be in heaven and on earth at the same time, though they travel at lightning speed.

They are superior in nature and intelligence to man; and, like man, they have understanding and free will. Some of them are appointed to guard the faithful (guardian angels). They are "the most perfect spirits, superior to man in their spiritual powers" and "so far above us [men] as to be incomprehensible." The angels in heaven are perfect beauty in their love for and service to God. Continually before His face, the Bodiless Powers "are so filled with the grace of God, that they do not desire in any way to sin," according to Fr. Seraphim Slobodskoy.

All the Bodiless Powers share the common name of 'angel' - which means "messenger" in Greek - by virtue of their service: they "stand before the face of the Creator and serve Him." The Lord reveals His divine will to the Bodiless Powers closest to Him, and they in turn inform the others - a Hierarchy in service to Him! This simple name also describes quite well how man most often encounters the Bodiless Powers: as the heralds or messengers of God.

The Orthodox Church teaches that there are nine "choirs" or groups of angels: Angels, Archangels, Powers, Authorities, Principalities, Dominions, Thrones, Cherubim, and Seraphim (see Gen. 3:24; Is. 6:2; Eph. 1:21; Col. 1:16; 1 Thess. 4:16; 1 Pet. 3:22).

Angels in Orthodoxy, Theologic.com