Uriel , Auriel (Hebrew: אוּרִיאֵל ʾŪrīʾēl, "El/God is my Flame"; Greek: Οὐριήλ Oúriḗl; Coptic: ⲟⲩⲣⲓⲏⲗ Ouriēl; Italian: Uriele; Geʽez and Amharic: ዑራኤል ʿUraʾēl or ዑርኤል ʿUriʾēl) or Oriel (Hebrew: אוֹרִיאֵל ʾÓrīʾēl, "El/God is my Light") is the name of one of the archangels who is mentioned in Rabbinic tradition and in certain Christian traditions.
Uriel is associated with the truth.
He is well known in the Russian Orthodox tradition and in folk Catholicism (in both of which he is considered to be one of the seven major archangels) and recognised in Anglicanism as the fourth archangel. He is also well known in European esoteric medieval literature. Uriel is also known as a master of knowledge and the archangel of wisdom.
In apocryphal, kabbalistic, and occult works, Uriel has been equated (or confused) with Urial, Nuriel, Uryan, Jeremiel, Vretil, Sariel, Suriel, Puruel, Phanuel, Azrael, and Raphael.
In the Secret Book of John, an early Gnostic work, Uriel is placed in control of the demons who help Yaldabaoth create Adam.
Uriel, Auriel or Oriel (male) / Urielle, Eurielle or Orielle (female) is also a name assimilated by the Celtic Brittanic culture, because of Urielle (7th century), sister of the Breton king Judicael, who popularised the name.
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In Judaism and Christianity
Name and origins
The angels mentioned in the canonical books of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) are generally without names. Of the Seven Archangels in the angelology of Judaism, only two of them, the archangels Michael and Gabriel, are mentioned by name in the canonised Jewish scripture.
Raphael features prominently in the Book of Tobit, which is accepted as canonical by the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and the Oriental Orthodox Churches; it is part of the apocrypha in the Lutheran churches and the Anglican Communion.
Where a fourth archangel is added to the named three, to represent the four cardinal points, Uriel is generally the fourth. Uriel is listed as the fourth angel by Christian Gnostics (under the name Phanuel). However, whether the Book of Enoch refers to the same angel by two different names is debated. Uriel means "God is my flame", whereas Phanuel means "God has turned". Uriel is the third angel listed in the Testament of Solomon, the fourth being Sabrael.
Uriel appears in the Second Book of Esdras, which is found in the Biblical apocrypha (and called "Esdras IV" in the Vulgate):
Et respondit ad mē angelus, quī missus est ad mē, cui nōmen Ūriel,
"And the angel, who was sent to me, whose name [was] Uriel, answered me",
In this, the prophet Ezra asks God a series of questions, and God sends Uriel to instruct him. According to the Revelation of Esdras, the angels who will rule at the end of the world are Michael, Gabriel, Uriel, Raphael, Gabuthelon, Beburos, Zebuleon, Aker, and Arphugitonos. The final five listed appear only in this book and nowhere else in apocryphal or apocalyptic works.
In Christian apocryphal gospels, Uriel plays a role, differing between the sources, in the rescue of Jesus' cousin John the Baptist from the Massacre of the Innocents ordered by King Herod. He carries John and his mother Saint Elizabeth to join the Holy Family after their Flight into Egypt. Their reunion is depicted in Leonardo da Vinci's Virgin of the Rocks.
In Enoch
The Book of Enoch, which presents itself as written by Enoch, mentions Uriel in many of its component books. In chapter IX, part of "The Book of the Watchers" (2nd century BCE), only four angels are named. Those angels are Michael, Uriel, Raphael, and Gabriel (though some versions have a fifth angel: Suryal or Suriel). However, chapter XX later lists seven angels' names and functions. Those angels are "Uriel, one of the holy angels, who is over the world and over Tartarus", Raphael, Raguel, Michael, Saraqâêl, Gabriel, and Remiel.
The Book of the Watchers (in the Book of Enoch), says that Uriel, Raphael, and Gabriel were present before God to testify on behalf of humankind. They asked for divine intervention during the reign of the fallen Grigori (fallen watchers). These fallen ones took human wives and produced half-angel, half-human offspring called the nephilim. Uriel is responsible for warning Noah about the upcoming great flood.
Then said the Most High, the Holy and Great One spoke, and sent Uriel to the son of Lamech, and said to him: "<Go to Noah> and tell him in my name 'Hide thyself!' and reveal to him the end that is approaching: that the whole earth will be destroyed, and a deluge is about to come upon the whole earth, and will destroy all that is on it."
After judgment has been brought upon the nephilim and the fallen ones (see The Book of Giants), including the two main leaders Samyaza and Azazel, Uriel discusses their fates:
And Uriel said to me: "Here shall stand the angels who have connected themselves with women, and their spirits assuming many different forms are defiling mankind and shall lead them astray into sacrificing to demons 'as gods', (here shall they stand,) till 'the day of' the great judgment in which they shall be judged till they are made an end of. And the women also of the angels who went astray shall become sirens.' And I, Enoch alone, saw the vision, the ends of all things; and no man shall see as I have seen."
Uriel then acts as a guide for Enoch for the rest of the Book of Watchers. He fulfills this capacity in many of the other books that make up Enoch.
In Anglican tradition
In the traditions and hagiography of the Episcopal and other Anglican churches, Uriel is mentioned as an archangel. He is recognised as the patron saint of the sacrament of confirmation. In some Episcopal churches, Uriel is also regarded as the keeper of beauty and light, and regent of the sun and constellations; in iconography he is shown holding in his right hand a Greek Ionic column which symbolises perfection in aesthetics and man-made beauty, in his left hand a staff topped with the sun. He is celebrated in the Anglican liturgical calendars on the Feast of the Archangels. The Church of St. Uriel the Archangel at Sea Girt, New Jersey is a testimony to Anglicans' devotion to Uriel.
The Anglican intercessional prayer to Saint Uriel the Archangel is as follows;
The longstanding motto of the University of Oxford, Dominus illuminatio mea ("The Lord is my light") is a translation into Latin of Uriel's name.
In esotericism and occultism
In Hermetic Qabalah, Uriel's name is commonly spelled Auriel. He is regarded as the archangel of the North, and of the element of Earth.
According to the teaching of the modern Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, Uriel is the archangel of North and of Earth, and is thus associated with the vegetation of the Earth. In iconography, he is depicted holding stems of ripened wheat and wearing robes of citrine, russet, olive, and black.
In popular culture
Uriel was the name of a psychedelic rock band that formed in London, U.K., in 1967 and released one album in 1969 under the pseudonym “Arzachel”. The band was eventually known as Egg.
Uriel is a major supporting character in Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint, going by the modifier « Demon-like Judge of Fire »
Uriel appears in the second season of the TV series Lucifer as a minor antagonist.
Uriel is a character in the later books of The Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher.
Uriel is the 63rd playable Warframe in the game of the same name. The Warframe has a devilish appearance and can summon three different demon-like entities, one of which is named Gulphagor, akin to the demon Belphegor, the embodiment of sloth.
Uriel is one of the two angel bosses (alongside Gabriel) present in The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth video game.
Uriel is a major antagonist in the fourth season of Supernatural. He is portrayed by Robert Wisdom and later by Matt Ward as a past version of the character in season 5.
Uriel is one of the archangels in the Good Omens TV series. They are portrayed by Gloria Obianyo.