Archangels Michael & Gabriel: Feast Day, Iconography and Traditions
On the eighth of November the Church keeps the Synaxis of the Archangels Michael and Gabriel and of all the bodiless powers of heaven. In Greece it is one of the great name days of the autumn — and in countless homes, the icon of the Taxiarchis is the one that has watched over the family longest.
What the Synaxis is
Synaxis means a gathering. The Church does not single out one angel on this day; it gathers all of them — the whole unseen host that serves God and guards His creation — and honours them together, with the two archangels named in Scripture at their head.
The feast is old. It was fixed in the fourth century, around the time the Council of Laodicea warned against the worship of angels as if they were gods. The answer was not to forget them but to honour them rightly: as servants and messengers, never as rivals to their Maker.
Even the date carries meaning. The Church year once began in March, which made November the ninth month — one for each of the nine ranks of angels described by Saint Dionysius the Areopagite. And the eighth day points beyond the seven days of this world, to the age to come, where the angels already stand.
Michael: "Who is like God?"
The name Michael is itself a question, and an answer: Mi-cha-El, "who is like God?" No one — and that is the whole of his calling. He is the Archistrategos, the chief commander of the heavenly host, who in the Book of Revelation casts down the dragon, and who appeared to Joshua before Jericho as the captain of the Lord's army.
In Greece he is simply the Taxiarchis — the commander of the ranks — and he is loved as a protector. Sailors, soldiers and anyone facing danger have turned to him for centuries. Two of his icons are among the most venerated in the country:
The Taxiarchis of Mantamados, on Lesvos. Tradition holds that after a pirate raid in which the monks of the monastery were killed, the one survivor shaped the Archangel's face in relief from the earth soaked with his brothers' blood. The icon is dark, severe and unforgettable — not a gentle angel, but a guardian. Our Archangel Michael of Mantamados, aged by hand with beeswax over gold leaf, follows that prototype.
The Panormitis of Symi, in the Dodecanese. The patron of seafarers, whose silver-clad icon draws pilgrims by boat from across the Aegean. Islanders tell how the icon, carried away more than once, kept being found again at the same spot by the shore — where the monastery stands today. See our Archangel Michael Panormitis.
Gabriel: "God is my strength"
If Michael is the guardian, Gabriel is the messenger. His name means "God is my strength," and every time he appears in Scripture he brings word of something about to begin. He explained the visions of the prophet Daniel. He told the priest Zechariah that his barren wife would bear John the Forerunner. And he came to a young girl in Nazareth with the greeting the whole Church still repeats: Rejoice, full of grace.
That is why Gabriel so often holds a lily or a staff in his icons, and why the Annunciation is, in a sense, his feast too. He is the angel of good news.
Reading the icon
The icon of the Synaxis is one of the clearest lessons in Byzantine iconography, because nearly every detail has a meaning you can name.
The two archangels face each other and together hold a round medallion. Inside it is Christ — often as Emmanuel, the young Christ of the prophecy. The angels are not the subject of their own icon; they are holding up the One they serve.
Each holds a slender staff, the mark of a messenger sent with authority. In single icons Michael may instead carry a sword or spear, and sometimes the scales of judgement.
Look for the transparent sphere. In many icons the archangels hold a clear orb — called a mirror — marked with the letters of Christ's name. It means they see the will of God and reflect it; they have no other light of their own.
And notice the ribbons in their hair. Fine bands flutter from behind their ears. Iconographers call them the "hearing" ribbons: a sign that the angels are always listening for the next command of God. It is a small detail, and once you see it you will find it in every angel you ever look at.
Our Archangels Michael and Gabriel icon in a double-carved oak frame, a serigraphy finished with gold leaf, shows the two archangels together in the classic manner.
Name day and traditions
November 8th is a large name day. Χρόνια πολλά to every Michalis and Michaela, every Gavriil and Gavriela, every Angelos and Angeliki, and every Taxiarchis — the name given in villages where the Archangel's church is the heart of the place. Churches dedicated to the Taxiarches are everywhere in Greece, and on this day they are full.
For those who keep the Old Calendar, the feast falls on November 21st. And in the Greek diaspora the day is one more fixed point on which families scattered across the world still call each other.
If you are new to Orthodoxy: a name day matters more than a birthday in a Greek family, and an icon of the saint — or archangel — a person is named for is the traditional gift. It is not decoration. It goes on a wall, or into a prayer corner, and it stays.
The angel beside each of us
The Orthodox Church teaches that every Christian is given a guardian angel at baptism. That is why an icon of the archangels is so often the first icon placed in a child's room, and why it is a natural gift for a baptism. The Synaxis is, quietly, a feast for all of those guardians too — the ones whose names we do not know.
Choosing an icon of the Archangels
For a name day. The archangel the person is named for — Michael, Gabriel, or both together for an Angelos or Angeliki. If you are unsure, the Synaxis icon of both archangels is never wrong.
For a baptism or a child's room. The archangels together, or a guardian angel. Small to medium sizes suit a child's room well.
For someone who travels, serves or works in danger. The Taxiarchis — of Mantamados or of Symi — has been the protector of soldiers and sailors for generations.
On size: if you are choosing only one icon, choose 20×27 cm — about the size of a sheet of Letter paper (A4). It holds its own on a wall and works as the centre of a prayer corner. A good everyday choice is our Archangels Michael and Gabriel icon, made in that size among others.
If you would like to understand the difference between the techniques we make — lithography, serigraphy, gold leaf, silver — we have written a plain guide to Orthodox icon types.
Icons for this feast
Browse all icons of the Archangels →
Every icon we sell is made by hand in Greece, in the Byzantine tradition, and shipped worldwide. If you are choosing for a particular person — a name day, a baptism, someone far from home — write to us and we will help you pick. Questions are always welcome and no purchase is expected.