Heavenly Hosts
Extra-Biblical Angels
The angels named beyond the biblical canon — and the books that preserve them.
Alongside the Scriptures, the Church inherited a body of older Jewish writings — the Book of Enoch, the Shepherd of Hermas, and their kind — that name and describe angels not found in the received canon. These works were never numbered among the Scriptures, yet they shaped the way the early Church spoke of the heavenly hosts. Each is gathered here by the book, with its own story and the beings drawn from it —catalogued for study, never for veneration.
Apocryphal · Second TempleThe Book of Enoch (1 Enoch)c. 3rd century BC – 1st century ADA Second Temple Jewish apocalypse attributed to Enoch, the seventh from Adam — the fullest ancient witness to the Watchers, the giants, and the named angels of the heavenly court.Explore the book →Apocryphal · Apostolic FathersThe Shepherd of Hermasc. early–mid 2nd century AD (Rome)An early Christian book of visions, commandments, and parables, revealed to Hermas by an angel of repentance in the form of a shepherd — once read almost as Scripture, and rich in its angelology.Explore the book →
3 extra-biblical named angels are catalogued across these works.