The Quis ut Deus Tee
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Quis ut Deus: what it means and where it comes from
By PIETAS2 min read
Quis ut Deus is Latin for "Who is like God?" It is the meaning of the name Michael, set into the language of the Vulgate, and it is the phrase traditionally written beneath images of the archangel.
A question, not a boast
The phrase is easy to read as a war cry, and in tradition it is the cry of Michael in the war in heaven. But it is phrased as a question, and the answer is built in: no one. The whole argument against pride is contained in four words. The thing that cannot be like God is not defeated by being louder. It is answered by being small in the right way.
Why it sits under the saint
Painters and sculptors wrote it near Michael because it names who he is and what he stands for. The inscription turns a picture of a fight into a statement of humility: the angel who wins is the one who knew he was not God.
It is the phrase behind The Quis ut Deus Tee, and you can read more of the story of Michael himself in Who is Saint Michael the Archangel?
From the Alpha collection
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The Archangel Hoodie
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