Who is Raguel?

If you ever come and visit my parish, you may notice the following icon on the iconostasis:

When people visit my church and notice this icon, they often ask me who this is. Raguel is an angel which is not named in the canonical writings of the Bible. He is, however, spoken of in the non-canonical work, the Book of Enoch.

“And these are the names of the Holy Angels who keep watch. Uriel, one of the Holy Angels; namely the Holy Angel of the Spirits of Men. Raguel, one of the Holy Angels; who takes vengeance on the world, and on the lights. Michael, one of the Holy Angels, namely the one put in charge of the best part of humankind, in charge of the nation. Saraqael, one of the Holy Angels; who is in charge of the spirits of men who cause the spirits to sin. Gabriel, one of the Holy Angels, who is in charge of the Serpents, and the Garden, and the Cherubim.

Book of Enoch, Chapter 23

His name means “Friend of God” and is often referred to as the archangel of justice, fairness, harmony, vengeance and redemption.

It might seem strange to some that we render an icon of a character in a non-canonical book, but if the Epistle of Jude can refer to that non-canonical work and still remain Scripture, why not?

PWJ: S2E22 – AA – Louis Markos

Today I speak to Dr. Louis Markos, Professor in English at Houston Baptist University and author of the book Heaven and Hell: Visions of the Afterlife in the Western Poetic Tradition. In this work, Professor Markos devotes a chapter to The Great Divorce, as well as the book to which Lewis was responding, Blake’s The Marriage of Heaven and Hell.

Dr. Markos is a fount of knowledge and I learned so much in this interview. In the episode, Dr. Markos explains to us why the Pagan classics are important, how the Romantics reinterpreted earlier works to re-imagine good, evil, Heaven and Hell…

S2E22: “After Hours” with Louis Markos (Download)

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Music Monday: Hundred Miles

Another song from Crowder, “Hundred Miles”:

Bless the Lord, oh my soul
Sing praise to Him and Him alone
Bless the Lord, oh my soul
Sing praise with me, you Heavenly hosts

And I can’t help myself
There is no one else
Like You, God
And I could sing a song
A hundred miles long
But it won’t compare

And I can’t help myself
‘Cause there is no one else
Like You, God
And I could sing a song
A thousand miles long
But it won’t compare

Hallelujah, sing to the Lord
Hallelujah, my soul, my soul rejoice
Hallelujah, sing to the Lord
Hallelujah, my soul, my soul rejoiceMy soul, my soul rejoice

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