Christian · Greek · c. 500 CE
De Coelesti Hierarchia (The Celestial Hierarchy)
Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite
The text that fixed the nine choirs in three spheres. Nearly every later Christian angelology is a gloss on this arrangement.
Read De Coelesti Hierarchia (The Celestial Hierarchy) in full at the linked edition →Hierarchies from this text
What this text attests · 9
| Name here | Rank given | # | Powers described |
|---|---|---|---|
| First choir of the first sphere | 1 | Their name signifies burning; ever in motion around the divine, imparting their own heat downward. | |
| Second choir of the first sphere | 2 | Their name signifies fullness of knowledge; they receive and transmit divine wisdom. | |
| Third choir of the first sphere | 3 | Free from all base attachment, they bear God and are open to receive him. | |
| First choir of the second sphere | 4 | A lordship free of servility, ordering the ranks beneath without tyranny. | |
| Second choir of the second sphere | 5 | An unshakable courage in all godlike activity, never failing through weakness. | |
| Third choir of the second sphere | 6 | An ordered authority, not abusing its power but rising toward the source of power. | |
| First choir of the third sphere | 7 | A godlike princeliness, turning toward the Principle and stamping its likeness on those below. | |
| Second choir of the third sphere | 8 | They unite the lowest angels to the principalities and interpret the higher illuminations downward. | |
| Third choir of the third sphere | 9 | They complete and close all the orders, and are sent to human affairs. |
