In the beginning, before the visible world and man, God created heaven out of nothing, that is, the spiritual, invisible world, or angels. Angels are incorporeal and immortal spirits, endowed with intelligence, will, and power. God created countless numbers of them. They differ among themselves in their degree of perfection and the nature of their service and are divided into several ranks. The highest of them are called seraphim, cherubim, and archangels. There are nine Archangels: Archangel Michael, Archangel Gabriel, Archangel Raphael, Archangel Uriel, Archangel Salathiel, Archangel Jehudiel, Archangel Barachiel, Sariel, and Raguel. The word "angel" means "messenger." This name is given to incorporeal spirits because they proclaim the will of God to people. Angels dwell everywhere, but primarily in heaven, around the Throne of God. We ourselves are unable to see and sense God's glory—we need intermediaries who transform it so that it becomes accessible to us. Angels are these intermediaries, without whom we would never be able to sense and perceive, even in the slightest degree, the Divine light. All angels were created good, so that they would love God and one another and receive constant, great joy from this life of love. But God did not wish to force love, so He gave the angels the free choice of whether they wished to love Him—to live in God—or not. One, the highest and most powerful angel, named Dennitsa, became proud of his own power and strength; he refused to love God and fulfill God's will, but rather desired to become like God himself. He began to slander God, to resist and deny everything, and became a dark, evil spirit—the devil, Satan. The word "devil" means "slanderer," and the word "Satan" means "adversary" of God and all that is good. This evil spirit seduced and enticed many other angels, who also became evil spirits and are called demons. Then one of God's highest angels, the Archangel Michael, stood up to Satan and said, "Who is equal to God? No one like God!" And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against Satan, and Satan and his demons fought against them. But the evil force could not stand against the angels of God, and Satan, along with his demons, fell like lightning—down into the abyss, into Hades. "Hell," or "the abyss," is the name given to a place far from God, where evil spirits now reside. There they are tormented by their anger, seeing their powerlessness before God. All of them, through their impenitence, have become so entrenched in evil that they can no longer be good. They try to seduce every person with cunning and deceit, instilling false thoughts and evil desires in them, in order to destroy them. Thus, evil arose in God's creation. Evil is everything that is done against God, everything that violates God's will. And all the angels who remained faithful to God have since lived with God in unceasing love and joy, always fulfilling God's will. And now they are so entrenched in goodness and God's love that they can no longer do evil—they cannot sin, which is why they are called holy angels. The word "angel" in Russian means "messenger." God sends them to proclaim His will to people, and for this purpose, angels take on a visible, human form. God gives every Christian a guardian angel at baptism, who invisibly protects them throughout their earthly life and does not leave their soul even after death. Archangel Michael is the leader of the Heavenly Powers. Icons depict him in a menacing and warlike guise: a helmet on his head, a sword or spear in his hand. Archangel Michael established himself as the leader of the entire angelic world faithful to God. Since then, the Archangel has wielded a sword, for Satan, cast down from heaven, has not been appeased. The fallen angels are prevented from penetrating the higher realms of the universe, and therefore they have directed all their malice toward humans, and especially toward those who believe in God. Can the sword of Archangel Michael remain ineffective under such circumstances? Of course not! He never ceases to war with the angels of evil and darkness, protecting God's faithful children from harm. Angels are sent to earth to serve people. According to some Church teachers, man must replenish the number of fallen angels. This means we must enter the Council of Angels. How pure and holy our lives must then be! How else, here on earth, must we prepare ourselves for entry into the bright and holy assembly of Angels? To do this, we must acquire angelic thoughts and feelings, purify our hearts for love, and live according to the Gospel commandments. Summary: What does the word "angel" mean?