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In the Bible, the angels are men or have no gender. At Christmas, the angels are women and children.

(Photo: Colourbox)

When did angels change gender?

Angels were men without wings or completely without gender. Now they have become sweet women and children.

Nina Kristiansen journalist

Published 5 January 2025 - 00:01

The angel Gabriel came to the Virgin Mary and told her that she would give birth to Jesus. The angel Michael went to war against Satan, according to the Bible. The angel Raphael helped a man on a journey, according to Catholic writings.

Two men in shining clothes stand by the empty grave of Jesus.

"Angels are spiritual beings without a body, so neither man nor woman would be fitting for them. But the archangels are referred to as men in the Bible," says Oddvar Moi. He is a priest in the Oslo Catholic Diocese.

But today, it is female angels and angel children that adorn Christmas trees and church art.

First, they got wings

"Yes, it's often women and children," says Hallgeir Elstad, professor of church history at the University of Oslo.

So what happened?

"It probably happened gradually," he says.

The first transformation angels underwent was the addition of wings.

"In the Bible, angels aren't described as having wings. It wasn't until around 300 years after Christ that winged angels began appearing in church art," says Elstad.

The word 'angel' means messenger.

"Their role was to serve as messengers between heaven and earth, between God and humanity. People at the time imagined that angels needed wings to quickly carry out God's missions across the world," he says.

Archangel Michael's battle against Satan has been a popular motif in church art. Here, in a painting from the 1600s.

Then angels became good

In the Bible, angels are messengers and protectors, but they could also be evil. When God was angry with humans, he sent angels who took everything they owned. Or angels who brought plague and death.

"Today, angels have become idealised, seen as unequivocally good and positive beings," says Elstad.

Early Christians in the ancient church depicted angels as young men.

This remained the case for a long time, though artists occasionally added feminine features.

In the late Middle Ages, a gender shift occurred.

Hallgeir Elstad is a professor at the University of Oslo's Faculty of Theology.

Then they became women and children

"By the 1400s, angels could be depicted both as women and children, although male angels were still more common in art," says Elstad.

"Perhaps this shift reflected a broader focus on humanity. Faith came to include all people – men, women, and children," he explains.

While the inclusion of women in religious institutions has often sparked controversy, female angels did not seem to provoke the same debate.

"In the Catholic Church, Mary held an important role, and women could become saints, like Norway's St. Sunniva. So there were already female role models, which may be why female angels were not seen as controversial," says Elstad.

Encounters with angels

The Bible describes several encounters between angels and humans.

Today, 23 per cent of adults in Norway believe in angels, according to a survey conducted by Norstat for the magazine Strek in 2022 (link in Norwegian).

Even now, people report experiencing encounters with angels.

"When people share stories of angelic encounters today, they often describe feminine figures as well," says Elstad.

Traditions are mixed: In this Christmas figurine, the female angel has been given a Santa hat and a magic wand.

Then they became decorations

In the 1600s, the Baroque period emerged. Art from this era is extravagant.

"During this time, we see the emergence of plump, decorative cherub angels. They were primarily used for ornamentation in church art, perhaps more as decorative elements than genuine depictions of angels," says Elstad.