The Guardian Angel with the Soul of One Fallen Asleep

"The guardian angel will not retreat from us, unless we drive him away by our evil deeds. As the smoke drives bees away, and stench the doves, even so our stinking sin drives away from us the angel who protects our life." - Saint Basil the Great

The Orthodox Christian Church believes that each baptized Christian is assigned a guardian angel. In the prayers for the making of a catechumen, we pray “Yoke unto his/her life a radiant angel…” From this point onwards, we are granted a guardian angel who protects us in ways we cannot fully understand. 

The Church inherited this belief from the Jewish teaching regarding the ministry of guardian angels as the Psalmist has declared, "The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, and delivers them" (Psalms 33:7). And again, "He will give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways" (90:11)

It is very important that we live by pure deeds and thoughts, lest our guardian angel turn away from us. We must strive to truly live our love for God, showing our faith in Him by a virtuous life. Then our angel guardian will stay with us from our spiritual birth in the baptismal font, until the day of our repose. After the end of our earthly existence, our holy angel will carry our soul into the next world, where he will transfer it into the hands of another angel. On the day of the Dread and Final Judgment our guardian angel will pray for our soul, so that the Lord Almighty, in His Divine Judgement, will have mercy upon us and save us. Then, we will forever be inseparable friends with our guardian angel, having found eternal peace in paradise through his prayers. 

May we always have his blessing! Amen.