Spirituality

Senior clergyman: 'angels have no wings'

By T.K. Randall
December 21, 2013 ·  79 comments

A statue of an angel in a cemetery. Image Credit: CC BY-SA 3.0 Brosen Father Renzo Lavatori, a senior clergyman who is an expert on the subject of angels, believes that although these spiritual beings are once again culturally relevant, the way in which they are depicted in stories and pictures is all wrong. He contends that angels are not physical beings as tradition suggests but are instead entities comprised almost entirely of light.

"I think there is a re-discovery of angels in Christianity," he said. "You do not see angels so much as feel their presence - they are a bit like sunlight that refracts on you through a crystal vase."Angels have persisted in stories and belief systems for more than 3,000 years with their name "angelos" meaning "messenger" in ancient Greek. Having no definitive shape or form, artists have come up with many different depictions of angelic beings over the centuries including the traditional image of a winged person with a halo and harp.

Despite the rising interest in angels however it seems that a lot of focus still lies in the areas of demons and demonology. "There is a lot more interference from diabolical forces," said Father Lavatori. "That is why you see queues of people outside the exorcists' offices in churches. Pope Francis talks more about the devil than about angels and I think rightly so. But it's still early, he will get round to the angels too."

Source: Sky News | Comments (79)

Tags: Angels