A rank or choir within the traditional celestial hierarchy, distinguished by theological function and, in art, by characteristic attributes and modes of representation.
An angelic order is one of the traditional ranks within the celestial hierarchy. In the familiar nine-order system these are Seraphim, Cherubim, Thrones, Dominions, Virtues, Powers, Principalities, Archangels, and Angels.
Etymology
Order from Latin ordo, “rank, arrangement, sequence.”
Sculptor Notes
The word is useful in cataloguing sculpture because it distinguishes theological rank from generic visual type. A winged figure may be an angel iconographically without being identifiable as a particular order unless attributes or context make the distinction clear.
References
https://www.vatican.va/content/catechism/en/part_one/section_two/chapter_one/article_1/paragraph_5_heaven_and_earth.html; https://www.newadvent.org/summa/1108.htm