The archangel Barachiel has many names, such as Saint Barachiel, Barkiel, Barbiel, Baraqiel, or Barchiel. In ancient Hebrew the angel's name translates to mean "The Blessings of God". The angel is heavily honored and recognized by the Eastern Orthodox church, and partially recognized in Catholicism. The angel's origins can be traced back to the Third Book of Enoch which is an Old Testament Apocryphal, where he is claimed to be a prince amongst angels, and having hundreds of thousands of angelic subordinates. In this same book he is included within four of the Seraphim class of angels, and ruler over the second level of heaven and order of confessors. Barachiel is also mentioned by name in the Almadel of Solomon, where again he is described as being an angelic prince of the first and fourth chora. In this later book, he is briefly mentioned as being the angel who has complete dominion over the earth's lightening, or thunder bolts.
There has been much academic debate within Christian theological institutes, as to whether or not the archangel Barachiel is the same angel as Baraqiel, a fallen angel who followed Lucifer, and was eventually banished from heaven. Some Christian scholars have concluded that he is the same fallen angel, while others believe that the two angels are separate, and the confusion arose from the similarity in their names. I attempted to uncover an official Church stance on the subject, and it would seem that debate on this subject is still ongoing. With that said it is probably unlikely that a conclusion will be reached on the subject any time soon, so for the time being it is up to you to make up your own firm conclusion. Do bear in mind that Lucifer was also a princely angel, and he had many legions of angelic followers just like Barachiel, so there are definitely some parallels between the two characters, and the way they are initially described.
Within Eastern Orthodox iconography art, the archangel Barachiel is often times depicted pressing a long stemmed white rose against his chest with his right hand. In these same artistic interpretations of the angel he is also usually seen wearing a long flowing blue or red robe. In iconography where he is not holding a rose, he is sometimes seen instead with rose petals sprinkled in his garments. These artworks are quite different than how Barachiel appears in Catholic art, where he is often depicted holding an over flowing bread basket, and the staff or rod of life. These two symbols represent Christian parenthood, and the responsibility that Christians have in raising children that walk in the path of God. Outside of painting, you can very often times see the archangel Barachiel in early period Catholic sculpture, where he is usually standing with his arms stretched outward, and holding the Holy Christian Bible firmly within his right hand.
Outside of Christianity, Barachiel isn't recognized as an archangel within Judaism or Islam. The Protestant church also does not officially recognize him, as Michael and Gabriel are the only two archangels recognized within the Protestant bible, and even Gabriel's status is under scrutiny. Within the occult and angel worshipping traditions, Barachiel is often associated with the Zodiacal sign Pisces or Scorpio, and even occasionally he's named as the prince or ruler over the planet Jupiter. As is the case with some of the other lesser known archangels, some Christian religious scholars believe that Barachiel may have originated within angel worshipping cults during the time of the Apostles, as mentioned in the book of Colossians. Hence his name always seems to be taken with a grain a salt, and his status never seems to be sanctified or official. We really hope that you enjoyed this very brief article, do please browse around our website some more.
