29 September is Michaelmas also known as the Feast of St Michael and All Angels. Who was St Michael and what is Michaelmas all about? This is the story …
The name Michael
The name Michael appears as the name of several figures in the Bible. The name Michael comes from the Hebrew מִיכָאֵל, which means ‘who is God?’. The English spelling comes from the Greek spelling Μιχαήλ, where the Greek letter χ chi is usually written in English as ‘ch’. The name Michael is popular across European languages and appears in French as Michel, in Spanish as Miguel and as Mikhail in Russian. It is often shortened to Mickey.
Female form
The modern female form of the name Michael is Michaela. The biblical female form of the name is Michal, who was one of two daughters of King Saul (1 Sam 14:4) who married King David (1 Sam 18:27) but remained childless (2 Samuel 6:23). There are at least 10 other people called Michael in the Old Testament. The most well-known figure with the name Michael is the angel.
Angels in the Bible
Angels appear many times in the Old Testament but they do not get names until the post-exilic era, and even then, only a few angels are named. The main two named angels are Michael and Gabriel. Satan is described as a fallen angel. If you include the Apocrypha, you can also add Raphael (Tobit 12:15-22) and Uriel (2 Esdras 4:1, 5:20 and 10:28). The book of Enoch also mentions Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, and Uriel. Only Michael is specifically called an archangel (Jude verse 9). The Church historically recalled the angels on the Feast of St Michael and All Angels.
Michaelmas
The Feast of St Michael and All Angels became known as Michael’s Mass which was shortened to Michaelmas. This has been observed every year on 29 September since the early centuries. During the Middle Ages, Michaelmas was widely observed with customs including feasting, hiring fairs, and settling leases and rents. It became associated with the end of the harvest and a time of reckoning and new beginnings in the community.
Historically, Michaelmas was one of the historical quarter days of the year. The quarter days are Lady Day on 25 March, Midsummer Day on 24 June, Michaelmas on 29 September, and Christmas Day on 25 December.
It became a quarter day when new servants were hired and leases signed. It signalled the start of the autumn quarter of the year when quarterly rents were due, which is still the case for some commercial and agricultural leases. Oxford and Cambridge universities still talk of Michaelmas term.
Michaelmas is marked in traditional Catholic, Anglican, and Lutheran churches. It may not be observed in many evangelical churches outside these traditions, but it reminds us of spiritual warfare (Ephesians 6:12) and God’s angels on guard (Psalm 91:11-12).
Michael in the Old Testament
Michael is only named in three books of the Bible: Daniel, Jude, and Revelation. He is first named in the book of Daniel where he is called a prince (Daniel 10:13 and 10:21) and the protector of God’s people (Daniel 12:1). The idea of angels as protectors and guardians is echoed in Psalm 91:11-12.
Michael in the New Testament
The story of Michael is expanded in the New Testament. In Jude’s letter there is a mysterious reference to the archangel Michael disputing with the Devil over Moses’s body (Jude 1:9). This references a story in ancient Jewish tradition which was known to the readers if not to us today. It is in Jude where he is named as the archangel. St Paul wrote: “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first” (1 Thessalonians 4:16). In this verse Michael is not mentioned by name here, but it may be Michael who is referred to. Then in Revelation we read of Michael and his angels fighting against the great dragon (Revelation 12:7).
Patron Saint
The angels Michael and Gabriel are both considered saints in Church tradition. The Feast of St Michael and All Angels goes back to the sixth century, and it appears in the liturgy from the 7th century in the western Church. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, a related feast honouring all angels is celebrated on 8 November.St Michael’s role in spiritual warfare means he is considered as the patron saint of people who fight and face danger. The date of St Michael’s Day at the end of September also led him to be associated with harvest time, and so he is also considered the patron saint of grocers, bakers, and pastry cooks. St Michael is also considered the patron saint of soldiers, sailors, police officers, paramedics, firefighters, and all who fight for justice and protection. In 1941 Pope Pius XII even declared him to be the patron saint of radiologists.
Famous island churches dedicated to St Michael
Many churches are dedicated to St Michael or to St Michael and All Angels. They are often located in significant places or on hilltops. There are 816 churches in the Church of England dedicated to St Michael or St Michael and All Angels. The most famous places dedicated to St Michael are perhaps Mont Saint-Michel in Normandy, and St Michael's Mount near Penzance in Cornwall. These are both built on tidal islands and are now both major tourist attractions. The Norman Mont Saint-Michel appears on the Bayeaux Tapestry. The shared name is no coincidence because they are linked historically. The Cornish island was the site of an earlier Celtic monastery. It is said that King Edward the Confessor gave the site to the Benedictine order of Mont Saint-Michel, who established a link between the two monasteries which lasted until 1424.
St Michael in heraldry
Some places around the world have St Michael as a patron saint or are named after him and feature him in heraldic emblems. St Michael is considered the patron saint of Kiev in Ukraine, where there is a magnificent St Michael’s Monastery, and where he appears on the city coat of arms. The White Sea port of Arkhangelsk in northeastern Russia is named after Michael the Archangel, where he also appears on the city coat of arms. He is also considered the patron saint of Brussels, the capital city of Belgium, and appears on their coat of arms too, as well as the heraldic arms of Sunderland in England and Linlithgow in Scotland.
St Michael the brand name
In the UK, St Michael is probably best known as a label for clothes from the high street store Marks & Spencer. The brand name was introduced in 1927 and was registered as a trade name in 1928. The name was developed by the firm Corah and Sons of Leicester who supplied Marks & Spencer, who already had a line of women’s clothing under the brand name of St Margaret’s. The name St Michael’s is believed to have been chosen, not because of any link to the angel, but because the co-founder of Marks and Spencer who was Michael Marks.
Collect
The collect prayer on 29 September for Michael and All Angels is: “Everlasting God, you have ordained and constituted the ministries of angels and mortals in a wonderful order: grant that as your holy angels always serve you in heaven, so, at your command, they may help and defend us on earth; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.”
