Seraph

thumb|A seraph appears to St Francis in Giotto’s fresco The Stigmata A seraph is a celestial or heavenly being originating in Ancient Judaism. The term plays a role in subsequent Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Quotes about Old Testament Then one of the seraphim flew to me, holding in his hand a burning coal that he had removed from the altar with a pair of tongs. He touched my mouth with it and said, “Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has been removed and your sin has been blotted out.” Book of Isaiah 6:6-7 NKJV. In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a high and lofty throne, and the train of his robe filled the temple. In attendance above him were seraphim. Each of them had six wings: with two they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with the third pair they flew. And they called out to one another, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. The entire earth is filled with his glory.” Isaiah 6:1-3 NKJV. Then I looked, and behold, a whirlwind was coming out of the north, a great cloud with raging fire engulfing itself; and brightness was all around it and radiating out of its midst like the color of amber, out of the midst of the fire. Also from within it came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance: they had the likeness of a man. Each one had four faces, and each one had four wings. Their legs were straight, and the soles of their feet were like the soles of calves’ feet. They sparkled like the color of burnished bronze. The hands of a man were under their wings on their four sides; and each of the four had faces and wings. Their wings touched one another. The creatures did not turn when they went, but each one went straight forward. As for the likeness of their faces, each had the face of a man; each of the four had the face of a lion on the right side, each of the four had the face of an ox on the left side, and each of the four had the face of an eagle. Thus were their faces. Their wings stretched upward; two wings of each one touched one another, and two covered their bodies. And each one went straight forward; they went wherever the spirit wanted to go, and they did not turn when they went. Book of Ezekiel 1:4-12 NKJV. New Testament Before the throne there was a sea of glass, like crystal. And in the midst of the throne, and around the throne, were four living creatures full of eyes in front and in back. The first living creature was like a lion, the second living creature like a calf, the third living creature had a face like a man, and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle. The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying: “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!” Book of Revelation 4:6-8 NKJV. Others Allorché dimorava nel romitorio che dal nome del luogo è chiamato Verna, due anni prima della sua morte, ebbe da Dio una visione. Gli apparve un uomo, in forma di Serafino, con le ali, librato sopra di lui, con le mani distese ed i piedi uniti, confitto ad una croce. Due ali si prolungavano sopra il capo, due si dispiegavano per volare e due coprivano tutto il corpo. A quell’apparizione il beato servo dell’Altissimo si sentì ripieno di una ammirazione infinita, ma non riusciva a capirne il significato. Era invaso anche da una viva gioia e sovrabbondante allegrezza per lo sguardo bellissimo e dolce col quale il Serafino lo guardava, di una bellezza inimmaginabile; ma era contemporaneamente atterrito nel vederlo confitto in croce nell’acerbo dolore della passione. Si alzò, per così dire, triste e lieto, poiché gaudio e amarezza si alternavano nel suo spirito. Cercava con ardore di scoprire il senso della visione, e per questo il suo spirito era tutto agitato. Mentre era in questo stato di preoccupazione e di totale incertezza, ecco: nelle sue mani e nei piedi cominciarono a comparire gli stessi segni dei chiodi che aveva appena visto in quel misterioso uomo crocifisso. Le sue mani e i piedi apparvero trafitti nel centro da chiodi, le cui teste erano visibili nel palmo delle mani e sul dorso dei piedi, mentre le punte sporgevano dalla parte opposta. Quei segni poi erano rotondi dalla parte interna delle mani, e allungati nell’esterna, e formavano quasi una escrescenza carnosa, come fosse punta di chiodi ripiegata e ribattuta. Così pure nei piedi erano impressi i segni dei chiodi sporgenti sul resto della carne. Anche il lato destro era trafitto come da un colpo di lancia, con ampia cicatrice, e spesso sanguinava, bagnando di quel sacro sangue la tonaca e le mutande. When he lived in the hermitage that is called Verna after the name of the place, two years before his death, he had a vision from God. A man appeared to him, in the form of Seraphim, with wings, hovering above him, his hands outstretched and his feet joined, thrust into a cross. Two wings extended over the head, two deployed to fly, and two covered the entire body. At that apparition the blessed servant of the Most High felt filled with infinite admiration, but he could not understand its meaning. He was also invaded by a lively joy and superabundant joy at the beautiful and sweet gaze with which Seraphim looked at him, of unimaginable beauty; but he was simultaneously terrified to see him thrust on a cross into the bitter pain of passion. He rose, so to speak, sad and glad, as joy and bitterness alternated in his spirit. He ardently tried to discover the sense of vision, and for this reason his spirit was all agitated. While he was in this state of concern and total uncertainty, behold: in his hands and feet began to appear the same marks as the nails he had just seen in that mysterious crucified man. His hands and feet appeared pierced in the center by nails, the heads of which were visible in the palms of his hands and on the backs of his feet, while the tips protruded from the opposite side. :Those marks were round on the inside of the hands, and elongated on the outside, and almost formed a fleshy growth, like a folded and rebated nail tip. So also in the feet were impressed the marks of the nails protruding on the rest of the flesh. The right side was also pierced as if by a spear thrust, with a wide scar, and often bled, soaking the cassock and underwear with that sacred blood. Seraph's vision by Saint Francis of Assisi, reported in Thomas of Celano , Vita Prima (in Italian). As quoted in Le Stimmate di san Francesco, Basilica di Santa Chiara in Assisi, 17 September 2013. See also Angel Archangel Cherub External links Category:People from the Bible Category:Angels Category:Abrahamic religions Category:Catholic saints Category:Book of Isaiah