ANGEL encyclopedia topics

angel, [Gr.,=messenger], bodiless, immortal spirit, limited in knowledge and power, accepted in the traditional belief of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam and other religions. Angels appear frequently in the Bible, often in critical roles, e.g., visiting Abraham and Lot (Gen. 18; 19), wrestling with Jacob (Gen. 32.24-32), and guiding Tobit (Tobit 5). The Bible also speaks of guardian angels, protecting individuals or nations (Dan. 10.10-21; Mat. 18.10). In the Gospels an angel announced the Incarnation to the Virgin Mary (Luke 1), and an angel at the empty tomb revealed the Resurrection (Mat. 28.1-7). While Judaism has no fixed ordering of classes of angels, Christianity has a specific hierarchy. Codified in its classic form in the 5th cent by St. Dionysius the Areopagite, in The Celestial Hierarchy. In descending order the ranks of angels are seraphim, cherubim, thrones; dominations, virtues, powers; principalities, arch-angels, and angels. Roman Catholics and the Orthodox venerate angels, and the cult of guardian angels is especially extensive in the West (feast of Guardian Angels: Oct. 2). Protestants have generally abandoned the cult of angels. In Christianity, the angels of Hell, or dark angels, or devils, are the evil counterpart of the heavenly host; the chief of them, Satan (or Lucifer), was cast out of heaven for leading a revolt. They are often viewed as the initiators of evil temptations. Famous literary treatments of angels are those of John Milton's Paradise Lost and Dante's Divine Comedy. Angels play an important role in many other religions. Later Zoroastrian theology has numerous classes of yazatas "worshipful beings." Zoroastrian notions of angels influenced the intricate theories of heavenly beings of Gnostic systems and Manichaeism. In Islam the four archangels Jibrail, Mikail, Israfil, and Izrail (the Angel of Death) often act in place of Allah. The Kiram al-Katibin are the recording angels. According to a popular tradition, each person has two scribe angels, the one on the right side recording good deeds, the one on the left taking note of transgressions. A lower order of angels is the jinn.

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Creswell, John Angel James

Creswell, John Angel James, 1828-91, U.S. Postmaster General (1869-74), b. Port Deposit, Md. He was a lawyer, U.S. Representative (1863-65), and U.S. Senator (1865-67), but his important work was done later as Postmaster General. He reorganized the Post Office Dept. to meet the expanding needs of the United States. One-cent post cards were introduced, postal treaties were revised, postal laws were recodified, money-order business was facilitated, free delivery was extended, methods of contracting with railways were improved, and the franking privilege was limited. Some reforms that Creswell advocated, such as a postal savings bank and postal telegraph, were adopted later.

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Cordero, Angel Tomás, Jr.

Cordero, Angel Tomás, Jr., 1942-, Puerto Rican jockey, b. Santurce. When he retired in 1992 he had won 7,057 races in 22 years. From 1977 to 1990 his mounts won over $5 million each year, a record. In 1976 he won the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont on Bold Forbes. He also won the Derby in 1974 (Cannonade) and 1985 (Spend a Buck), and the Preakness in 1980 (Codex) and 1984 (Gate Dancer). On retirement he returned to San Juan, trained horses, rode again briefly in 1995, and became a jockeys' agent.

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Angel Island

Angel Island, largest island in San Francisco Bay, W Calif. Explored by the Spanish in 1775, it came under U.S. control in 1851. The U.S. army used the island as a base from 1863 to 1946, and from 1955 to 1962 a radar and missile site was there. From 1910 to 1940 the island was also used to process mainly Asian immigrants to the United States, earning it the nickname "Ellis Island of the West." During World War II, enemy prisoners of war were confined on Angel Island. The island is now a state park.

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Angel Falls

Angel Falls, waterfall, Sp. Salto Ángel, 3,212 ft (979 m) high, SE Venezuela, in the Guiana Highlands. Springing from Auyán-Tepuí Mesa, it is the highest uninterrupted waterfall in the world.

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PCB

in full polychlorinated biphenyl

Any of a class of highly stable organic compounds prepared by the reaction of chlorine with biphenyl, a two-ring compound. The commercial product, a mix of several PCB isomers, is a colourless, viscous liquid that is almost insoluble in water, does not degrade under high temperatures, and is a good electrical insulator (see dielectric). PCBs became widely used as lubricants, heat-transfer fluids, and fire-resistant dielectric fluids in transformers and capacitors in the 1930s and '40s. In the mid 1970s they were found to cause liver dysfunction in humans and came under suspicion as carcinogens; their manufacture and use were consequently restricted in the U.S. and many other countries, though illegal dumping by manufacturers continued. They persist in the environment and have entered the food chain, causing great harm especially to invertebrates and fish.

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.

angel

Primarily in Western religions, any of numerous benevolent spiritual beings who mediate between heaven and earth. They often serve as messengers or servants of God or as guardians of an individual or nation. In Zoroastrianism the amesha spenta are arranged in a hierarchy of seven. Judaism and Christianity base their notion of angels on references in the Hebrew scriptures to divine servants and to the heavenly hosts. Two archangels (Michael and Gabriel) are mentioned in the Old Testament and two others (Raphael and Uriel) in the Apocrypha. Angels are mentioned throughout the Christian scriptures, and Christian tradition identifies nine orders of angels. Islam's hierarchy of angels descends from the four throne bearers of God to the cherubim who praise God, the four archangels, and lesser angels such as the hsubdotafazsubdotah (guardian angels). Seealso cherub; seraph.

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.

Angel Falls

Angel Falls (Salto Ángel), La Gran Sabana region of Bolívar state, Venezuela.

Waterfall, southeastern Venezuela. It lies on the Churún River, a tributary of the Caroní, southeast of Ciudad Bolívar. The highest waterfall in the world, the cataract drops 3,212 ft (979 m) and is 500 ft (150 m) wide at its base. It was named for James Angel, an American who crash-landed his plane nearby in 1937.

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.