Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, New York

This gray granite monument in the Green-Wood Cemetery at Brooklyn, New York, features an angel wearing armor and carrying a sword, clues enough to indicate which angel is represented here.  Only the Archangel Michael, one of three angels mentioned by name in the Bible, is clothed in armor.  The sword He carries represents a cross but also a weapon in his war against the devil’s warriors.  Archangel Michael is a Christian soldier fighting Satan’s hordes.   Archangel Michael is often represented standing on a worm, or as is the case in the monument, a dragon.  The Archangel Michael is also considered the guardian of souls.  In the East, however, Michael is the guardian of the sick.