- Orthodox Remembrance Day: November 8
Uriel, also known as Phanuel or Suriel, is not named in the Bible.
Uriel is considered one of the Archangels alongside Gabriel, Michael and Raphael and one of the Seraphim constantly surrounding God. According to tradition, he punishes injustice among people and is the ruler of hell. He is often seen as the angel who guards the entrance to Paradise after mankind (Genesis 3:24), and as the one who announced the flood to Noah (Genesis 6)) or who, in the name of God, with Jacob argued (Genesis 32:24).
In the apocryphal 4th book of Esra, it is Uriel who leads Esra through heaven and hell. Rabbinic tradition sees him as the angel of the sun. In the Ethiopian Book of Enoch he keeps spiritual order in the universe, shuts up the abyss where the fallen angels are kept (Genesis 5), and promotes repentance and hope in those who will inherit eternal life. He was held in high esteem by the Church Fathers; Ambrose called him immortal; Isidore of Seville associated it with the fire that did not consume the bush before Moses (Exodus 2); The Venerable Bede invoked him as a protector in prayer.