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Ananiel is confessed by Coptic hymnody among the seven archangels who stand before the throne of God. In the liturgical doxologies and the Psalmody of the Church his name is joined with Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, Suriel, Sedakiel, Sarathiel, and Ananiel — the heavenly host whom the Coptic Orthodox Church honors as ministering spirits sent forth to serve those who shall inherit salvation (Hebrews 1:14).
The Church understands these archangels in the pattern that Scripture sets down. Raphael declares, “I am Raphael, one of the seven holy angels, which present the prayers of the saints, and which go in and out before the glory of the Holy One” (Tobit 12:15); and Saint John beheld “the seven angels which stood before God”, to whom were given seven trumpets (Revelation 8:2). It is among this sevenfold company of intercessors that the Synaxarium and the hymns of the Church name Ananiel.
The office of the archangels is to stand in the presence of the Lord, to offer the prayers of the saints before His glory, and to be sent forth in His service. They behold the face of the Father in heaven (Matthew 18:10) and they rejoice over every sinner who repents (Luke 15:10). With Ananiel and his fellow archangels, the countless ranks of heaven cry without ceasing, “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty” (Revelation 4:8), and the Church on earth joins her voice to theirs in the Liturgy.
In her worship the Church entreats the Lord to grant mercy and peace through the intercessions of the heavenly ranks and the archangels who minister before Him. The Coptic tradition preserves Ananiel’s remembrance not as a separate historical episode but as a holy name confessed in praise among the archangels — a witness that the worship offered below is one with the unceasing worship of heaven, where these blessed spirits glorify God and intercede for His people.
May his intercession be with us. Amen.