Archangel Uriel: meaning, role, and feast day
Uriel is the archangel of illuminating light: the one who explains, reveals, and helps you understand what seemed obscure.
- light
- understanding
- revelation
Uriel at a glance
For you, he evokes the moment when a question finds its answer: seeking clarity rather than certainty.
- Name
- “God is my flame” (the variant Oriel reads “God is my light”)
- Named by
- Outside the canon
- Feast day
- November 8
Archangels are not calculated; Lenain’s 72 angels, however, can be read in your date of birth.
Who is the archangel Uriel?
Uriel does not appear in the Bible of the Western Churches. He is found in the Book of Enoch, where he is one of the four and then the seven archangels, set “over the world and over Tartarus,” and where God sends him to Noah; he returns in the Second Book of Esdras, as an angel sent to answer Ezra’s questions.
In 745, a council convened in Rome by Pope Zachary removed his name from the angels who may be venerated: only Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael remained permitted. The Orthodox Churches, by contrast, count him among their seven archangels, and the Anglican tradition celebrates him with them. His figure remains that of the angel who makes understanding possible.
Texts that name this archangel
| Text | Role in the text |
|---|---|
| 1 Enoch 9; 10; 19; 20:2 | One of the four, then of the seven archangels; “set over the world and over Tartarus” (20:2); sent to Noah |
| 2 Esdras 4:1 (4 Esdras in the Vulgate) | The angel sent to Ezra; a book outside the Catholic and Protestant canon |
According to the traditions
Eastern Churches
The Orthodox Churches venerate him among the seven archangels and celebrate him on November 8; the Russian tradition gives him a prominent place.
Western Churches
The Catholic Church has no longer venerated him since the Council of Rome of 745; Anglicans celebrate him on September 29 with the other archangels.
Jewish tradition
The Book of Enoch, an ancient Jewish writing left out of the canon, makes him one of the archangels and sends him to Noah.
The name
Uriel is read as “God is my flame”; his variant Oriel, “God is my light.” Both readings express the same image: a clarity that warms as much as it shows.
How the archangel is depicted
No set iconography in the West, where his name has been set aside since 745.
Feast days and places
- November 8 (Orthodox Churches, Synaxis of the Archangels)
- September 29 (Anglican tradition, Michaelmas)
- Council of Rome of 745 (Pope Zachary): his name is removed from the angels venerated in Rome, where only Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael remain accepted.
Much of what you read about him comes from modern lists; the ancient sources are limited to the Book of Enoch and the Second Book of Esdras.
Archangel Uriel: your questions
Is Uriel in the Bible?
Not in the Catholic or Protestant Bible. He is named in the Book of Enoch and in the Second Book of Esdras, called the Fourth Book of Esdras in the Vulgate; both texts remain outside the canon of the Western Churches.
Why doesn’t the Catholic Church venerate Uriel?
In 745, a council convened in Rome by Pope Zachary set aside several angel names, Uriel among them, to combat a cult judged excessive. Only Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael remained venerated in Rome, which the Church maintains today.
When is Uriel’s feast day?
For the Orthodox, his place is on November 8, the day all the archangels are celebrated together. The Anglican tradition celebrates him on September 29 with Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael; the Catholic Church, for its part, sets aside no feast for him.
And what about your own angels?
Uriel illuminates. In Lenain’s list, 72 angels cover the days of the year: which ones correspond to yours?
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