Archangel Gabriel Cathedral

Orthodox believers on July 26 celebrate the Cathedral of the Archangel Gabriel – the second cathedral celebration of the year dedicated to the heavenly messenger. The first is set the day after the Annunciation, April 8 in the new style. The July celebration is intended to remind of all the appearances of this minister of God described in Holy Scripture and church tradition.

The name Gabriel translates as “fortress of God” or “God is my strength.” In the liturgical texts, he is called “the minister of miracles” and “the evangelist of salvation.” According to the biblical narrative, it was he who revealed to the prophets the secrets of the coming ages. The Old Testament tradition reports that the Archangel instructed Moses, who fled Egypt, in book wisdom: he told about the creation of the world and the first man, about the patriarchs, the flood and the division of languages, and also taught the basics of arithmetic, geometry and the structure of the heavenly bodies.

Centuries later, Gabriel interpreted to the prophet Daniel the visions of the change of kingdoms represented in the images of animals, and indicated the exact date of the Savior’s coming into the world. He later announced to Joachim and Anna the birth of a daughter through whom humanity would receive redemption. As guardian of the Virgin Mary, the Archangel brought her daily food while she was at the Temple in Jerusalem.

In the New Testament, his mission becomes key. He announces to Zacharias the conception of John the Baptist and strikes the priest with muteness for unbelief. Then, in Nazareth, he speaks to the Virgin Mary about the incarnation of the Son of God. And Joseph, the righteous, is comforted in a dream, explaining the mystery of the seedless conception. To the shepherds of Bethlehem, Gabriel was the first to announce the birth of Christ, after which he sings praise with an army of angels. Church tradition assimilates to him the strengthening of the Savior during prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane before the sufferings of the cross.

On Easter morning, it was this angel, according to the evangelists, who rolled the stone away from the tomb and informed the myrrh-bearing wives of the resurrection. The final chord of his ministry was the appearance of the Virgin on the Mount of Olives: he presented Her with a paradise branch and warned of the imminent transition to eternal life. In today’s celebration, the Church emphasizes the Archistratig’s constant petition for the Christian race and calls upon him to seek support in spiritual trials.