St. Michael's Day
Description:
In iconography, he was often portrayed as a warrior-protector, patron of God’s people in their struggle for freedom. And there was a war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought against them, but they did not stand, and there was no place for them in heaven. And the great dragon was cast down, the ancient serpent called the devil or Satan, who deceived the whole universe, was cast down to the earth, and his angels were cast down with him (Rev. 12:7-9).
The Fathers of the Church teach that it was Michael who was the cherub, placed at the gates of paradise to guard the way to the tree of life, who led the Israelites during the exodus from Egypt, through whom God gave the Ten Commandments in Sinai, who stood in the way of Balaam and defeated the army of the Assyrian king Sennacherib. Michael the Archangel is associated with other important biblical episodes.
In the Old Testament, Michael the Archangel appears mainly as the military patron of the chosen people. It is he who is the messenger of victory over the armies of the pagans. It would seem that the military function of St. Michael the Archangel was to pass into the Christian tradition. However, that did not happen. Not because the ancient Christians did not have patron saints of the army - they certainly did, but this role was performed mainly by martyrs.
Christian warriors appealed for intercession to Saints George, Theodorus, Demetrius and others. Saint Michael was prayed for his health. This is probably due to the fact that Michael the Archangel was perceived as the conqueror of evil spirits, which were considered the source of diseases.
In Phrygia, where the veneration of St. Michael was mainly formed, his importance as a healing angel also eclipsed the military image.
In many places of Asia Minor there are healing springs dedicated to St. Michael. The most famous source in the town of Herotope, near the Colossus, according to legend, created by the Archangel himself, where every weak person, having bathed and appealed to the Most Holy Trinity and St. Michael, received healing.
The feast of St. Michael, celebrated in the Catholic tradition on September 29, was considered a must in the Middle Ages, but, since the eighteenth century, gradually lost its meaning of celebration.
St. Michael is revered as his heavenly intercessor by the sick, dying, as well as doctors and ambulance drivers. He is also the patron saint of sailors, soldiers, policemen and, of course, knights of the Church.
In Ireland in the Middle Ages, the authority of the archangel Michael was not inferior to the authority of the Mother of God: an appeal to Michael was regularly combined with an appeal to the Virgin Mary, and could even stand in the first place: “St. Michael, pray for us, St. Mary, pray for us...” This is St. John's. Michael as a mediator between God and man is reflected in some images of the Last Judgment, where the Archangel Michael weighs the souls of the dead on the scales of justice.