Archangel Sariel: meaning, role, and origin
Sariel is the archangel of conscience: the figure who watches over the mind when it strays and helps it regain its uprightness.
- conscience
- uprightness
- return
Sariel at a glance
For you, this figure evokes returning to yourself: recognizing an error of judgment and choosing, without shame, a straighter path.
- Name
- “God is my prince”
- Named by
- Outside the canon
- Texts
- 1 Enoch 20:6
Archangels are not calculated; Lenain’s 72 angels, however, can be read in your date of birth.
Who is the archangel Sariel?
No Bible cites Sariel. In chapter 20 of the Book of Enoch, Saraqael, his other name, appears in the list of the angels who watch: he is set “over the spirits who sin in the spirit,” a phrase often understood as faults of the mind more than of deeds.
His name returns in other ancient Jewish texts. The War Scroll, found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, inscribes it on the shields of a tower, beside Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael. The Ladder of Jacob, an apocryphal writing, sends him to explain to Jacob his dream of the ladder. The Coptic Orthodox Church commemorates him under the name Suriel.
Texts that name this archangel
| Text | Role in the text |
|---|---|
| 1 Enoch 20:6 | One of the seven holy angels who watch, “set over the spirits who sin in the spirit” (under the name Saraqael) |
| War Scroll, Dead Sea Scrolls (1QM 9:15–16) | His name is written on the shields of a tower, with those of Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael |
| Ladder of Jacob (pseudepigraphon) | Sent to Jacob to explain the dream of the ladder |
According to the traditions
Jewish tradition
The Book of Enoch and the War Scroll of Qumran name him; he remains absent from the Hebrew Bible.
Eastern Churches
The Coptic Orthodox Church commemorates him under the name Suriel; the Church of Ethiopia reads the Book of Enoch, which names him.
Modern angelology
Recent lists attribute very varied, sometimes contradictory roles to him: some even make him a fallen angel, by confusion with Sahariel.
The name
Sari’el is read as “God is my prince” or “God is my chief.” The texts transcribe it in many ways: Saraqael in the Book of Enoch, Suriel or Souriel elsewhere. He is distinguished from Sahariel, one of the fallen watchers of the same book.
How the archangel is depicted
No set ancient iconography.
Good to know
- The Coptic Orthodox Church commemorates him under the name Suriel; not to be confused with Sahariel, one of the fallen Watchers of the Book of Enoch.
Sariel is often confused with Sahariel, a fallen watcher: the two names look alike, but the Book of Enoch clearly distinguishes them.
Archangel Sariel: your questions
Who is Archangel Sariel?
One of the seven holy angels who watch in the Book of Enoch, chapter 20, where he is called Saraqael and where he is set over the spirits who sin in the spirit. The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Ladder of Jacob also cite him. The Bible does not name him.
Is Sariel a fallen angel?
No, not in the Book of Enoch, which ranks him among the holy angels. The confusion comes from Sahariel, one of the fallen watchers of the same book, whose name is very close. A few modern dictionaries have mixed the two figures, with no support in the ancient texts.
Sariel, Suriel, Saraqael: are they the same?
Very probably: they are seen as transcriptions of the same name in different languages and copies, Hebrew, Greek, Coptic, or Ge’ez. Versana keeps Sariel, the most widespread form in English, and notes the others.
And what about your own angels?
According to Enoch, Sariel watches over spirits; find out the three of Lenain’s angels linked to your date and hour.
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