Uriel

Uriel (, , , meaning “God is my light” or “fire of God”) is an archangel in Jewish and Christian traditions. The Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox and Anglicans call him “Saint Uriel the Archangel” or simply “Saint Uriel”.

 In Judaism and Christianity 
The Roman Catholic Church only recognizes three archangels which are mentioned in the Bible: Michael, Gabriel and Raphael. But according to the certain rabbinic and Christian traditions, there are four or even seven archangels, Uriel is generally the fourth. In the Deuterocanonical book 2 Esdras, Uriel is sent by God to answer the questions which are asked by Ezra.

The role of Uriel in Christian apocryphal traditions is different from answering Ezra's questions. He is said to have rescued John the Baptist from the Massacre of the Innocents(the murder of all boys under the age of two in the area of Bethlehem) as a child and reunited him and his mother Saint Elizabeth with John's cousin, Jesus. This is shown in Leonardo da Vinci's painting Virgin of the Rocks.

Uriel is often described as a cherub and the angel of repentance  and is the angel at the Gate of Eden. In The Apocalypse of Peter, Uriel is shown to be as cruel as any demon when enforcing repentance. He is also supposed to be one of the angels that buried Adam and Abel in Eden.

 Gallery 

Related pages
 St. Uriel's Episcopal Church

References

Category:Angels
Category:Christian saints