What are the characteristics of the four living creatures?

“Around the throne, were four living creatures”⁶⁸⁵ (Rev. 4:6). These are the two hosts of the seraphim and the cherubim, whose intercession the Church always seeks. The Church celebrates their memorial feast on the eighth of Hathor, and calls them the incorporeal creatures, bearing the chariot of God.⁶⁸⁶ They bear the following characteristics:

• a. Dignity : St. John Chrysostom says of them: “I say to you, beloved children, none is like them in honor, whether in heaven or on earth, for they carry the throne of God; yet they cannot look at the living eternal Face. Created from light and fire, mighty, extremely fierce, they ask God to forgive the sins of humanity and to have mercy on them … Isaiah the prophet beheld their glory and proclaimed their honor (Isa. 6:1– 3), as did Ezekiel the prophet (Ezek. 1:4–28) and David, the father of prophets and father of Christ according to the flesh, as he said in his psalm: “He bowed the heaven and came down, with darkness under His feet. He rode upon a cherub and flew; He flew upon the wings of the wind” (Ps. 18:9–10).”

• b. They are without priestly thrones or crowns, for the Lord is their crown and they are His chariot.

• c. According to Ibn Al-Assal , they are “full of eyes all around” indicating their awareness of both present and future mysteries that the Lord reveals to them.

• d. “Each of them has six wings” — we praise God saying, “You are He around whom stand the cherubim and the seraphim, six wings to the one, and six wings to the other; with two they cover their faces, and with two they cover their feet, and with two they fly; and one cries to another, sending up the hymn of victory and salvation which is ours, with a voice full of glory.”⁶⁸⁷ Therefore it is fitting for a priest to follow their example, to cover his face with fear and trembling, to cover his feet with hope and

685 Some translations render this as “the four living animals.” To avoid the error of thinking that physical, irrational animals are intended here, the more common translation “living creatures” is to be preferred. This also is in keeping with the practice of all the fathers, such as Irenaeus, Athanasius, and Victorinus. 686 The Coptic Doxology of the Four Living Creatures (or Bodiless Creatures). 687 Liturgy of St. Gregory the Theologian.

confidence, and to let his heart soar with love and praise before the Lord who was slain for our sake.

St. John Chrysostom advises us saying: “I, John, your poor father, beseech you my beloved children, priests, and deacons that you do not approach the altar while being impure, but keep your bodies and souls pure if you desire to draw near the pure service. For you are like the heavenly seraphim who do not dare to look at the face of the living God, but stand before Him with faces bowed down, covered with their wings. O servants, you behold the body of the Son of God and His precious blood on the pure altar; you touch Him and eat Him while acknowledging the great honor that befits them. So, you must stand with joyful faces, fearful hearts, bowed heads, and eyes looking down; for you are like the cherubim and the seraphim who carry the great throne.”

Again, he says, “So when you conceive of the seraphim flying around that lofty and exalted throne, projecting their wings to block their eyes and cover their feet, their backs, and their faces, and uttering a cry full of amazement (cf. Isa. 6:1–2)—do not suppose that they have feathers and feet and wings. For these powers are invisible. But through these images, consider the unapproachableness and incomprehensibility of Him Who sits upon the throne. Truly He is unapproachable and incomprehensible even to them, and yet He consents to lower Himself; for He did not appear then in the way that He is. God does not sit, nor is He encompassed by a throne or enclosed by a place. But even if He was seated and sitting on a throne, with the angels flying around—all of which are signs of condescension, since He does not really sit—they were not able to see Him. Rather, being unable to bear the brilliant light shooting forth from Him, blocking their eyes by projecting their wings, they only gave praise, they only sang with great awe, offering the sacred song that proclaims His holiness. Will you not slink away and sink into the ground and hide, you who with such eagerness wish to pry into the providence of God, Whose power is ineffable, inexpressible, and inapprehensible by the powers above?”⁶⁸⁸

• e. Their form: They are incorporeal and invisible forces, but they appeared to John the beloved and the prophet Ezekiel thus: “The first living creature was like a lion, the second living creature like a calf, the third living creature had a face like a man, and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle” (Rev. 4:7).

The four living creatures have also been interpreted symbolically in a number of ways:

First : St. John Chrysostom says: “God made them to intercede on behalf of humanity and the rest of the creation — beasts, cattle, and birds of the air — for they are closer to Him than all the heavenly hosts.”

688 St. John Chrysostom, On the Providence of God by St. John Chrysostom (St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood, 2015) 3: pp. 42–43.

Second : St. Gregory of Nazianzus and the scholar Origen see these creatures who carry the throne of God as symbols of the four faculties of the soul, sanctified by the Lamb of God. These faculties are: anger, whose symbol is the lion; (holy) desire, whose symbol is the ox; speech, whose symbol is the one with a face like that of a man; and spirituality, whose symbol is the soaring eagle.

Third : St. Jerome sees in them a symbol of the redemptive work of the Lord: the one with a face like that of a man is a symbol of the incarnation; the ox is a symbol of Him who was led to the slaughter on the cross; the lion is a symbol of the resurrection; and the eagle is a symbol of the ascension.

Fourth : St. Irenaeus⁶⁸⁹ also sees in them a symbol of Christ’s work of redemption: the one with a face like that of a man is a symbol of His incarnation; the ox is a symbol of His sacrificial and priestly roles, since He intercedes for us; the lion is a symbol of His royal authority; and the eagle is a symbol of His sending of the Holy Spirit.

Fifth : the scholar Origen sees in the harmony of the four faces together (the lion, the eagle, the ox, and the human) a symbol of the restoration of sanctified living creatures to their original tame nature. In the Messianic era, the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the goat; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox (Isa. 11:7). This perfect harmony will be realized at the second coming of Christ.

Sixth : The four creatures are a symbol of the Holy Church, carrying the divine life within her, and these four are the bishops, priests, deacons, and laity who are the chief pillars that work together for the sake of the Lord Christ. Any weakness in any of the pillars causes the Church to lose her balance and harms her mission.

Seventh : These heavenly creatures invite us to have the face of a lion, the face of a man, the face of an ox, and to fly with the spiritual eagle:

• a. The faithful ought to behave with a royal spirit like a lion , not fearing Satan or being terrified of sin; for the Savior has given us authority to tread on serpents and scorpions and upon all the power of the enemy (Luke 10:19).

• b. We should cherish the spirit of our adoption by God and delight in the inner kingdom of God and our partaking of the divine nature. All these things encourage us to remember that we are humans , that we may hear the Lord’s words: “Learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart” (Matt. 11:29).

• c. As believers, we ought to imitate the Lord, the Savior of the world, by practicing spiritual priesthood in our constant prayers for all humanity, even for those who oppose the truth and for enemies, and to be willing to sacrifice ourselves (like an ox) .

689 St. Irenaeus of Lyons, Against Heresies 3.11.8 (ANF 1:428).

• d. As for the eagle, as believers, we ought to fly with the apostle Paul, soar high amidst the matters of heaven , and grow in glory day by day. We will be like an eagle borne on powerful wings to the heights, seeing from afar with keen sight, and able to perceive divine mysteries, according to one’s spiritual level.

Eighth : Many early Fathers saw in the four living creatures a symbol of the four evangelists, although there was some variation in how they applied this symbolism. St. Irenaeus says, “It is not possible that the Gospels can be either more or fewer in number than they are. For, since there are four zones of the world in which we live, and four principal winds, while the Church is scattered throughout all the world, and the pillar and ground (1 Tim. 3:15) of the Church is the Gospel and the spirit of life; it is fitting that she should have four pillars, breathing out immortality on every side, and vivifying men afresh. From which fact, it is evident that the Word, the Artificer of all, He that sits upon the cherubim, and contains all things, He who was manifested to men, has given us the Gospel under four aspects, but bound together by one Spirit.”⁶⁹⁰