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According to medieval Christian theologians, the Angels are organized into several orders, or Angelic Choirs. The most influential of these classifications was that put forward by Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite in the Fourth or Fifth century, in his book The Celestial Hierarchy.

In this work, the author drew on passages from the New Testament, specifically Ephesians 6:12 and Colossians 1:16, to construct a schema of three Hierarchies, Spheres or Triads of angels, with each Hierarchy containing three Orders or Choirs. In descending order of power, these were:
First Hierarchy:
Seraphim
Cherubim
Thrones or Ophanim
Second Hierarchy:
Powers
Dominions
Principalities
Third Hierarchy:
Virtues
Archangels
Angels

During the Middle Ages, many other schema were proposed, some drawing on and expanding on Pseudo-Dionysius, others suggesting completely different classifications. Here is another example, which is expanded in the rest of this article:
First Hierarchy:
Seraphim
Cherubim
Archangels
Second Hierarchy:
Dominions
Virtues
Principalities
Rulers
Authorities
Powers
Thrones
Third Hierarchy:
Angels

Some authors limited the number of Choirs to seven.

Gli Angeli e i Demoni

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