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Of the many angels spoken of in the Bible, only four are called by name: Michael, Gabriel, Uriel, and Raphael. The Archangel Michael is the powerful agent of God who wards off evil from God’s people, and delivers peace to them at the end of this life’s mortal struggle. “Michaelmas,” as his feast is called in England, has long been one of the popular celebrations of the Christian Year in many parts of the world.
The Book of Revelation(12:7-9) describes Michael as the leader of the angels in victory over the dragon (identified with Satan) and the dragon's angels. Michael is often portrayed with a sword fighting or standing over a dragon. Observance of a day in honor of Michael dates from the fifth century. The feast of St. Michael the Archangel is traditionally celebrated on Sept. 29. In the 1549 BCP the feast was expanded to include all angels. The feast of St. Michael and All Angels is one of the major feasts of the church year in the Episcopal Church.
Michael is the patron saint of countless churches, including Mont Saint-Michel, the monastery fortress off the coast of Normandy that figured so prominently in medieval English history, and Coventry Cathedral, England’s most famous modern church building, rising from the ashes of the Second World War.
As St. Michael the Archangel is the patron of our parish, we are given the option to transfer the feast day to the last Sunday in September so that the parish can celebrate as a community.
