Throne Angels: Biblical Terms, Christian Hierarchy and the Wheels Question
Throne angels, usually called Thrones, are a named order in Pseudo-Dionysius’s Celestial Hierarchy, grouped with cherubim and seraphim in its first hierarchy. Colossians 1:16 includes thrones among created things, but does not describe them as eye-covered wheels.
Sources: Colossians 1:15–17 (NABRE) · Pseudo-Dionysius, Celestial Hierarchy VIPseudo-Dionysius interprets their name through elevation, stability and openness to God. Ezekiel’s wheels belong to a separate visionary description; connecting that imagery to the order of Thrones requires an interpretation beyond the wording of Colossians.
Sources: Colossians 1:15–17 (NABRE) · Pseudo-Dionysius, Celestial Hierarchy VIIWhat does Colossians 1:16 actually say about thrones?
Colossians 1:16 names thrones alongside dominions, principalities and powers in a statement about creation through and for Christ. The surrounding verses identify Christ as the image of the invisible God and say that all things hold together in him.
Sources: Colossians 1:15–17 (NABRE)The passage encompasses heaven and earth, visible and invisible things. Its list of powers falls within that broad claim: even what bears authority belongs to creation and depends on Christ.
Sources: Colossians 1:15–17 (NABRE)The verse supplies the term thrones, but gives no faces, wings, wheels or eye count for it. It also does not arrange nine orders into three groups. The distinction matters when reading an angel chart: the occurrence of a name in Colossians and the arrangement of that name in a later hierarchy are separate pieces of evidence.
Sources: Colossians 1:15–17 (NABRE)Thrones in Pseudo-Dionysius’s hierarchy
Pseudo-Dionysius places Thrones, cherubim and seraphim in the first of three threefold orders in chapter VI of Celestial Hierarchy. His account describes this first grouping as nearest to God and immediately united to him. That is their place within this theological system; it is more specific than the list of power terms in Colossians.
Sources: Pseudo-Dionysius, Celestial Hierarchy VIChapter VII explains Thrones through an exalted condition, steadfast establishment in God and receptivity to divine participation. The name expresses a spiritual relationship to God in this account, rather than furnishing a physical description.
Sources: Pseudo-Dionysius, Celestial Hierarchy VIIThe grouping brings together names that also have their own textual histories. For those distinct scenes, compare seraphim in Isaiah 6 and cherubim in their different passages.
Sources: Pseudo-Dionysius, Celestial Hierarchy VIDo Thrones look like wheels covered with eyes?
Ezekiel describes wheels with eyes on their rims; the sources considered here do not establish that this is the literal body of the order called Thrones. Pseudo-Dionysius makes the symbolic distinction explicit in chapter II: bodily images of celestial intelligences are not literal fiery wheels or material seats for God to recline upon.
Sources: Pseudo-Dionysius, Celestial Hierarchy II · Ezekiel 1:15–16; 1:16–18 (NABRE)| Source | Description supplied | Limit for identifying a physical form |
|---|---|---|
| Ezekiel 1 and 10 | One wheel on the ground beside each of four living creatures; a wheel within a wheel; high rims filled with eyes. Chapter 10 identifies the creatures as cherubim and places four wheels beside them. | The vision describes wheels beside creatures; these passages do not name the Christian order of Thrones. |
| Colossians 1:15–17 | Thrones appear with other power terms among created things. | The passage gives no wheel or eye anatomy for thrones. |
| Celestial Hierarchy VII | The name Thrones conveys elevation, stability and receptivity to God. | This explanation of the name is a theological interpretation, not a drawing of a body. |
An identification of Thrones with Ophanim therefore needs its own named interpretive source; the shared setting of heavenly visions does not establish the equation by itself. For the wheels’ appearance and their place beside the creatures, read Ezekiel’s wheels and Ophanim.
Sources: Colossians 1:15–17 (NABRE) · Pseudo-Dionysius, Celestial Hierarchy VII · Ezekiel 10:9–10, 20–22 (NABRE)What role do Thrones have in that theological system?
In Pseudo-Dionysius’s account, Thrones embody steadfast openness to God. Elevation concerns freedom from attachment to what is base and earthly, while stability concerns their firm establishment in God.
Sources: Pseudo-Dionysius, Celestial Hierarchy VIIReceptivity means that they are attentively open to divine participation and manifest God, as chapter VII puts it. That paragraph does not assign them responsibility for weather, the decisions of earthly rulers or the distribution of justice across nations. Chapter II’s account of symbolic images also guards against treating their name as a material piece of heavenly furniture.
Sources: Pseudo-Dionysius, Celestial Hierarchy II · Pseudo-Dionysius, Celestial Hierarchy VIIThrones, God’s throne and cherubim: different questions
The throne-like form in Ezekiel’s vision is above the expanse over the living creatures. Ezekiel 10 identifies the creatures as cherubim, with wheels beside them. Those spatial relationships distinguish the visible throne-like appearance from the creatures below and the wheels alongside them. The separate accounts of the throne of God in biblical visions and cherubim beside the wheels explore those subjects further.
Sources: Ezekiel 1:22–28 (NABRE) · Ezekiel 10:9–10, 20–22; 10:1 (NABRE)| Expression | Referent in its source | Question it answers |
|---|---|---|
| A throne-like form in Ezekiel | An appearance above the expanse over the creatures. | Where is the throne-like appearance in the vision? |
| Thrones in Colossians | A power term included among created things. | How does the passage relate these powers to Christ? |
| Thrones in Pseudo-Dionysius | A named order grouped with cherubim and seraphim. | Where does this work place the order in its hierarchy? |
How should a depiction of Thrones be labelled?
Label a depiction of Thrones with the interpretation it represents and the source behind it. For an image based on Pseudo-Dionysius, a useful label is: “An interpretation of Thrones, the order discussed in Celestial Hierarchy VI–VII.” His explanation describes a spiritual condition, and chapter II treats bodily images as symbols of incorporeal intelligences.
Sources: Pseudo-Dionysius, Celestial Hierarchy II · Pseudo-Dionysius, Celestial Hierarchy VIIA label that cites Colossians 1:16 establishes the presence of the word thrones, rather than verifying the image’s wheels or eyes. For a wheel-based picture, look for the cited Ezekiel passage and for an explanation of any further identification with Thrones. That makes it possible to distinguish an illustration of a visionary scene from an interpretation of an angelic order, without treating either image as an anatomical record.
Sources: Colossians 1:15–17 (NABRE) · Pseudo-Dionysius, Celestial Hierarchy IIWhere to read the sources next
Colossians supplies the term, while Celestial Hierarchy supplies the grouping and an explanation of the name. Its chapter II explains why symbolic bodily imagery cannot be read as a literal portrait of the intelligences. For the separate wheel-description question, continue with Ophanim in Ezekiel’s visions. For the separate question of titles and individual messengers, read archangels and named messengers.
Sources: Colossians 1:15–17 (NABRE) · Pseudo-Dionysius, Celestial Hierarchy II · Pseudo-Dionysius, Celestial Hierarchy VI · Pseudo-Dionysius, Celestial Hierarchy VII- Read Colossians 1:15–17 for the statement about creation through Christ and the place of thrones within it.
- Read Celestial Hierarchy II for Pseudo-Dionysius’s explanation of symbolic bodily forms.
- Read Celestial Hierarchy VI for the three threefold orders, including the first grouping of Thrones, cherubim and seraphim.
- Read Celestial Hierarchy VII for the interpretation of Thrones through elevation, stability and receptivity.