● Orthodox Remembrance Day: November 8
● Name means: Who is like God? (Hebrew)
● Archangel
● Attributes: Angel with (flaming) sword, with helmet, piercing the dragon as a knight,
staff, scales
● Patron: the Catholic Church and the Vatican Gendarmerie; the Germans, soldiers,
paratroopers, merchants, bakers, pharmacists, paramedics, tailors, glaziers, painters,
gilders, bank employees and radio mechanics; the poor souls, the dying and the
cemeteries; for a good death; against lightning and storms
According to tradition, Michael was the angel with the sword that drove Adam and Eve out of
paradise and guarded the Tree of Life (Genesis 3:23-24) and who gave Seth a branch from the
Tree of Knowledge. He is, when it matters and God wills it, the supreme warlord of all angels,
the “standard bearer of Christ,” as the legend Aurea writes. In the face of constant unrest in the
world, he also has the most to do to ensure peace and quiet. As a precaution, God has given
him the keys to heaven. But his patronages do not end there: as in the Old Covenant advocates
of Israel, so in the New of all Christendom. Michael is the angel of judgment, but at the same
time of justice. He guides the souls of the deceased and weighs them on the soul scale; Michael
(like Saint George) fights down the dragon, the epitome of barbarism and paganism. The range
of his patronages can be measured if he can also act as stable master of the holy horse
shepherds Flor and Lavr. The worship of Michael can be traced back to the 4th century in Asia
Minor (Phrygia), where it was concentrated in the town of Chonae.