Selaphiel

Selaphiel is an individualized archangel in Eastern Orthodox devotional lists of angels. The Hebrew form of the name is given as שְׁאַלְתִּיאֵל (Šəʾaltīʾēl / Šăʾaltīʾēl), translated "I have asked God," framing the angel in an intercessory role. In the apocryphal 6th-century text The Conflict of Adam and Eve, God sends Selaphiel (with the angel Suriyel) to bring Adam and Eve down from a high mountain and take them to the Cave of Treasures; this narrative appearance is attested in that apocryphal source rather than in standard canonical liturgy.

In iconography Selaphiel is typically shown in an attitude of humble prayer with downcast eyes and arms crossed over his breast. He is also sometimes depicted kneeling and holding or swinging a thurible (incense censer); prayer and the thurible are presented as his primary attributes.

Across the cited sources Selaphiel is described as a heavenly intercessor who presents human prayers before God; some Christian traditions explicitly identify him with the angel of Revelation 8:3–4 who offers incense with the prayers of the faithful. In some Orthodox devotional traditions he is said to aid in interpretation of dreams, assist in breaking addictions, protect children, preside over exorcisms, and rule over music in heaven. The apocryphal Conflict of Adam and Eve describes him being sent by God to rescue Adam and Eve from deception. These roles are reported as functions attributed to him in tradition and literature rather than as empirically documented powers.