Dominations live to serve and love the Lord. Their eternal desire is to resemble him as perfectly as possible, to follow and imitate him in everything. This resemblance to which the Dominations adhere frees them from the temptation of supremacy as well as from servility. To the lower angelic choirs, they transmit the need to imitate the Highest in order to be better united with him.
The Domination Angels place under their vigilant orders all the spirits that are inferior to them, but these orders which they carry out are not directly given to them by God. The Dominations, in effect, are subject to the angels of the first order. They obey them freely, not under duress, knowing they are obeying God by listening to his assistants.
Prudence and justice, which are the capital qualities of a good king, are the virtues proper to the Dominations (St. Bonaventure added goodness and severity). The Domination Angels aspire to build the kingdom of God on this earth, they work there with all their power. Thus they are sometimes invoked for the conversion of heretics, sinners, and infidels. They support missionaries and defend souls against laxity and discouragement.
In the passage from St. Paul quoted above, the Dominations are mentioned without any word of comment or explanation. According to Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, they occupy first place in the second angelic hierarchy.
(The name given to the holy Dominations means, I believe, an unlimited elevation towards that which is above, freedom from all that is earthly, and from all internal inclinations to the bondage of discord. A liberal superiority to severe tyranny, freedom from degrading servility, and all that is low, for they are not altered by any inconsistency. They are true lords, who perpetually aspire to true excellence and the source of all lordship. They do not turn towards vain shadows but give completely themselves to that true authority, always united with the source of Godlike excellence).
Dominations are below the Angels Thrones
Mechthild Thaller describes them in the following terms – The angels of the Domination choir wear a white dress, adorned with precious stones. They wear a shield on their chest on which the name of God is written. Their right-hand holds a scepter. Their face shines like the splendor of the sun, the splendor of their crown is blinding.
She attributes to them the mission of cooperating in the extension of the kingdom of God on earth, assisting the men – priests, teachers, missionaries – who work there apostolically. Thaller writes about Domination Angels – The sixth angelic choir is that of Dominations. God assigns them to those who have to teach, from a university chair, from the pulpit or in the confessional (in the case of spiritual leaders), to missionaries, and to all those who want to extend the kingdom of God on earth.
The superiors of convents and seminaries also receive the protection of such an angel, provided that they show devotion to him and give glory to the name of God. We must pray to them for the extension of the kingdom of God on earth, for the conversion of all heretics. and the unbelievers, for the doubters and Catholics in name only. They come to help the souls who invoke them in desperation, but unfortunately, they are not often thought of.
The German Cistercian Gertrude d’Helfta (1256-1301 / 2), placing them two degrees lower, assigns them as a task the glorification of the Sovereign God, while the blessed Jean Ruysbroeck sees in the Dominations rather a role of protection and government of creatures. As if to say that the approaches to the mystery are various, without necessarily contradicting each other.
Domination angels are mentioned in Ezekiel’s vision of the color emanating from God’s throne.
- While I was looking, a storm wind came from the north, a big cloud with a fire that was enveloping itself; around it and from the middle of it emanated a great splendor like the color of Hashmal (translated as: incandescent bronze) in the midst of the fire.
(Ezekiel, 1,4)
Below are the names of the Dominations angels
25 – NITHAIAH – Peace of mind
26 – HAAIAH – Diplomacy, subtlety
27 – YERATEL – Career, improvement
28 – SEHEIAH – Happy longevity
29 – REIYEL – Liberation
30 – OMAEL – Multiplication
31 – LECABEL – Decision-making power
32 – VASARIAH – Clement justice