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Why the Church Stops at 3 Angel Names

“But prove all things; hold fast that which is good.” — 1 Thessalonians 5:21, Douay-Rheims

The case

Michael, Gabriel, Raphael. Why does the Catholic Church stop at 3 angel names? What about Uriel? It starts with a preacher in the 700s named Aldebert. He claimed he'd had supernatural favors since birth. He handed out his own fingernails and hair as relics.

The evidence

Every quotation below is printed in the words of the edition named under it. Nothing is paraphrased.

“claimed to have been honoured with supernatural favours from his birth”
Catholic Encyclopedia, article "Imposters", public domain, on Aldebert — read it at the source
“gave them pieces of his nails and hair as relics”
Catholic Encyclopedia, article "Imposters", public domain, on Aldebert — read it at the source
“on 25 October, 745, a synod at the Lateran”
Catholic Encyclopedia, article "Pope St. Zachary", public domain — read it at the source
“a miraculous letter from Jesus Christ which Adelbert pretended had fallen from heaven and had been picked up by the Archangel Michael”
Catholic Encyclopedia, article "Imposters", public domain — read it at the source
“angelus Uriel, angelus Raguel, angelus Tubuel, angelus Michael, angelus Adinus, angelus Tubuas, angelus Sabaoc, angelus Simiel”
Aldebert's prayer as read at the Roman council of 745, in Boniface's letters, ed. M. Tangl, MGH Epistolae Selectae I, p. 117, as quoted by T. D. Hill — read it at the source
“non angelorum praeterquam Michaelis, sed magis demones ... invocavit”
the Roman council of 745, in its own order, in Boniface's letters, ed. M. Tangl, MGH Epistolae Selectae I, p. 117, as quoted by T. D. Hill — read it at the source
“non plus quam trium angelorum nomina cognoscimus, id est Michael, Gabriel, Raphael”
the Roman council of 745, in its own order, in Boniface's letters, ed. M. Tangl, MGH Epistolae Selectae I, p. 117, as quoted by T. D. Hill — read it at the source
“Vel siquidem iste sub obtentu angelorum, demonum nomina introduxit”
the Roman council of 745, in its own order, in Boniface's letters, ed. M. Tangl, MGH Epistolae Selectae I, p. 117, as quoted by T. D. Hill — read it at the source

Our English: not angels, except for Michael, but rather demons he called on for help / we know the names of no more than three angels, that is, Michael, Gabriel, Raphael / under the cover of angels, Aldebert brought in the names of demons.

“And in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God into a city of Galilee, called Nazareth,”
Luke 1:26 (Douay) — read it at the source
“When Michael the archangel, disputing with the devil, contended about the body of Moses ...”
Jude 1:9 (Douay) — read it at the source
“For I am the angel Raphael, one of the seven, who stand before the Lord.”
Tobias 12:15 (Douay) — read it at the source
“The only Scriptural names furnished of individual angels are Raphael, Michael, and Gabriel”
Catholic Encyclopedia, article "Angels", public domain — read it at the source
“... the Book of Enoch, supply those of Uriel and Jeremiel”
Catholic Encyclopedia, article "Angels", public domain, on the names outside the Catholic canon — read it at the source
“The practice of assigning names to the Holy Angels should be discouraged, except in the cases of Gabriel, Raphael and Michael whose names are contained in Holy Scripture.”
Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy, Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, December 2001, no. 217 — read it at the source
“Archangels Gabriel, Raphael, Uriel, Selaphiel, Jehudiel, Barachiel, and Jeremiel”
Orthodox Church in America, the Synaxis of the Archangel Michael, November 8 — read it at the source

What’s established, and what isn’t

What the sources support, claim by claim — each one checked against the sources listed at the foot of this page:

Where the record stops short:

For your men’s group

  1. Three names are enough for the Church. Why does a man want a fourth?
  2. Aldebert handed out his own hair as relics and people took them. What makes a devotion start bending toward the man running it?
  3. Your guardian angel has no name you know. Does that make him less present to you, and why would it?

Every source

Found an error? [email protected] — errata corrected the day they’re found.

Drafted with AI assistance, founder-directed, and checked against the sources linked here. Our editorial standards.

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