Their story
Uriel appears prominently in 2 Esdras, a post-biblical apocalyptic work also known as 4 Ezra. The book opens with the scribe Ezra grieving over Jerusalem's destruction and questioning God's justice. Uriel is sent to answer him: 'the angel that was sent unto me, whose name was Uriel, gave me an answer' (2 Esdras 4:1). Across chapters 4 through 10, Uriel responds to Ezra's questions about the fate of Israel, the justice of God, and the end of the age, using riddles (Ezra is told to measure a fire's weight or call back a passed day) that show why divine mysteries cannot be fully known to human understanding. Uriel later shows Ezra visions of the heavenly Jerusalem and interprets an eagle vision about the fall of Rome. In 1 Enoch, a separate work in the Ethiopian Orthodox canon, Uriel appears as one of four archangels (with Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael) with specific charge over the luminaries of heaven and the fate of the underworld. Post-canonical Christian tradition, especially in Coptic and Ethiopian Orthodox contexts, honors Uriel as one of the seven archangels who stand before God. Catholic tradition since the 1969 calendar reform recognizes only Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael as the three named archangels for liturgical purposes; Uriel does not appear in the Roman Missal but retains devotional presence in some traditions.
Why they matter
Uriel matters in Orthodox and pseudepigraphical Christian tradition as one of the four archangels named in the wider angelic literature, alongside Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael. His role in 2 Esdras as the interpreter of divine mysteries and the questioner-mentor to Ezra gives him a teaching register distinct from Michael's warrior role and Gabriel's messenger role. His scriptural attribution is unusually restricted: 2 Esdras and 1 Enoch, the two books that name him, sit inside specific Orthodox canons (Slavonic Bible, Ethiopian Orthodox) and outside the Catholic and Protestant Old Testaments. This makes Uriel a distinctly cross-canonical figure whose naming tradition, particularly among Latin American Catholic families, runs broader than his strict canonical status would predict. Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, and Uriel together form the four-archangel tradition attested across most branches of Eastern Christianity; the biblical angel names column reads Michael and Gabriel (Protestant canon), Raphael (Catholic and Orthodox), and Uriel (Orthodox and 1 Enoch) together in naming-decision context.
Key Bible passages
What people often get wrong
Uriel is not named in Protestant, Catholic, or Eastern Orthodox canonical Old Testaments in the strict sense. His attribution runs through 2 Esdras (also called 4 Ezra), which sits inside the Slavonic Bible and some Eastern Orthodox traditions, and 1 Enoch, which is scripture in the Ethiopian Orthodox canon. Catholic and Protestant scriptures exclude both books.
Uriel is not one of the three named archangels recognized in the modern Roman Catholic calendar, which keeps the feasts of Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael together at Michaelmas; Uriel is not part of the current Roman liturgical calendar. Coptic and Ethiopian Orthodox traditions include Uriel among the seven archangels who stand before God.
The identification of Uriel with the angel of the sun in some medieval Christian art is a devotional and iconographic tradition, not a direct biblical statement. 1 Enoch assigns Uriel specific charge over the luminaries of heaven, but the concrete 'angel of the sun' identification is later interpretive tradition.
The archangel Uriel discussed here is distinct from the Levite Uriel named in 1 Chronicles 6:24 and 15:5, who appears in canonical Old Testament scripture as a different figure sharing the same Hebrew name.
Common questions
Who was Uriel in the Bible?
Uriel is the angelic interpreter of 2 Esdras (also called 4 Ezra), sent to answer Ezra's questions about God's justice and the fate of Israel after the destruction of Jerusalem. He also appears in 1 Enoch as one of four archangels overseeing the luminaries of heaven. Uriel's scriptural attribution sits inside Slavonic and Ethiopian Orthodox canons and outside the Catholic and Protestant Old Testaments.
What does the name Uriel mean?
Uriel is Hebrew Uri-El, traditionally rendered 'God is my light' or 'flame of God.' The etymology combines uri ('my light' or 'my flame') with El ('God').
Is Uriel in the Catholic Bible?
Uriel is not in the Catholic Old Testament in the strict sense. The Book of 2 Esdras (4 Ezra), which names Uriel, sits in the Vulgate appendix but was excluded from the canonical Old Testament at the Council of Trent (1546). Uriel is honored in some Catholic devotional traditions but not in the modern Roman liturgical calendar.
Why does Uriel matter to Christians?
Uriel matters in Orthodox tradition (particularly Coptic and Ethiopian Orthodox) as one of the seven archangels who stand before God. His role in 2 Esdras as interpreter of divine mysteries gives him a teaching register distinct from Michael's warrior role and Gabriel's messenger role. Uriel's naming tradition, particularly among Latin American Catholic families, runs broader than his strict canonical attribution would predict.