Da Origene ad Agostino: posizioni e discussioni sulla natura angelica tra Oriente e Occidente

In keeping with the Jewish tradition, in which angelology occupies a remarkable place, the problem of the nature of angels becomes the object of reflection even in early Christianity. In the Alexandrian tradition, in the third century, Origen, after presenting a substantial equality of all rational creatures at the first moment of creation, proposes a distinction between them in his De Principiis. This distinction is based on their use of free will. Created free to choose, some rational creatures remained attached to the good, while others turned away. Hence, the origin of angels, men and demons. Thus, beginning with Origen, instability becomes an essential quality of the angelic nature to the extent where it plays a key role in the polemical conflicts of the fourth century concerning the nature of the Holy Spirit. In the West, in the fourth century, Augustine of Hippo, in contrast to Origen's teaching, emphasises the stability of the angels. Endowed with a spiritual nature and free will, angels, who are bearers of stability and superior to human beings, become the backbone of the civitas Dei.