History Characters / TheDresdenFilesTheChurch

* FirstNameBasis: She speaks of people using their first names, unless pushed, at which point it becomes a Full Name Ultimatum with the exact tone and style the owner of the name uses.

* IKnowYourTrueName: Like Uriel, she can Know the True Name of any mortal. Harry realizes fighting her would be impossible because this includes his name.
* ReroutedFromHeaven: Her job is to avert this as the forces of Hell would steal even the souls of saints if they could and the nether region between the mortal world and the final destination is not one a mortal soul can safely traverse alone.

* GodsHandsAreTied: Throw a supernatural threat at the Carpenter house or other places under their purview, and they will stop them cold. Throw a mortal mugger or thief, and they will sit back and watch. They will not interfere with a mortal's freewill.

* MassiveNumberedOffspring: He has seven children with his wife Charity.

* [[Characters/TheDresdenFilesHarrysHousehold Harry and Harry's Household]]

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[[caption-width-right:200:The doctor is in the house.]]

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'''WARNING!''' Due to the books relying heavily on mystery and surprise, the pages would be virtually unreadable with excessive spoiler tags. Therefore, all spoilers except for the most recent novel (''Literature/PeaceTalks'') are '''UNMARKED'''. Tread carefully.

* LockedOutOfTheLoop: Michael's closest friends and family constantly hide secrets from him. Harry hid the fact that he grabbed Lasciel's coin, Charity hasn't told him about her former magical power, and he wasn't told about Molly being the Winter Lady[[/note]]at least until some point prior to ''Battle Ground'', where he and Charity had apparently figured it out off-page[[/note]] and Molly's role in Dresden's death. It's not really Michael's fault, but because he's placed on such a pedestal by his loved ones, no one wants to disappoint him.

* LockedOutOfTheLoop: Michael's closest friends and family constantly hide secrets from him. Harry hid the fact that he grabbed Lasciel's coin, Charity hasn't told him about her former magical power, and [[spoiler:he wasn't told about Molly being the Winter Lady[[/note]]at least until some point prior to ''Battle Ground'', where he and Charity have apparently figured it out off-page[[/note]]]] and Molly's role in Dresden's death. It's not really Michael's fault, but because he's placed on such a pedestal by his loved ones, no one wants to disappoint him.

* DetectEvil: Knights gain an awareness to the darker supernatural aspects of the world and, perhaps because God favors the Truth, can see through some disguises and camouflages supernatural monsters give off. Sanya demonstrates this in ''Small Favor'' by pegging Thomas as a White Court vampire seconds after seeing him. However, Harry also notes that it's possible

Somewhat self-explanatory. In addition to the normal things the actual Catholic Church does, the Church arms and supports the three Knights of the Cross, who travel the world righting wrongs and battling the forces of cosmic evil on a mission from God, whether or not they are actually, themselves, Christian. And all of them are backed up by the very highest of powers.

* {{Cincinnatus}}: According to Nicodemus (who isn't exactly reliable as a source), the average Knight only takes up the mantle for about 72 hours. That means that, while a few Knights like Michael devote their lives to being Knights, the vast majority of Knights only use their sword once or twice to deal with a single specific problem and then renounce the mantle forever.
* DetectEvil: Knights gain an awareness to the darker supernatural aspects of the world and, perhaps because God favors the Truth, can see through some disguises and camouflages supernatural monsters give off. Sanya demonstrates this in ''Small Favor'' by pegging Thomas as a vampire seconds after seeing him.

* {{Forgiveness}}: Their singular creed is to follow this ideal towards those who fight them. If the enemy surrenders and relinquishes his or her weapons, the Knight must abide by this and not attack further.

[[folder:The Swords]]

** In ''Peace Talks'' it is confirmed an Angel resides within the Sword and uses its Absolutist view to Judge each action the wielder takes and if that action is Just or Unjust.

** Michael is also shown to be this to a certain extent for Sanya and, after his Knighting, [[spoiler: Butters]].

** In ''Skin Game'' [[spoiler:he and Charity are set financially by the share of diamonds gotten in the heist]].

** In ''Skin Game'' after [[spoiler:he calls Uriel his friend and chooses to face down Nicodemus despite his injury, Uriel loans him his Grace of God to heal his injury]].
* GoodCannotComprehendEvil: He's described as shaking his head in baffled horror/shock in ''Skin Game'' [[spoiler:when he sees Nicodemus [[OffingTheOffspring kill his own daughter Deidre]] to get through the Gate of Blood]].
* GoodIsNotDumb: Michael is a very perceptive person, and while he may intentionally allow himself to get involved in another person's plans -- trusting in God to see him through it -- because he feels that it will give him the best opportunities to do some good, he's never blind to the risks. He also knew the entire time that Harry had picked up a Denarian coin to prevent Michael's son from getting possessed, and figured out that Molly [[spoiler: was the Winter Lady before she told him -- though admittedly, he had a great big honking clue in the form of Hades' statue]].

* HolierThanThou: Averted. See OpenMindedParent for just one example. When talking about Michael, Harry described him as "righteous". The person he's talking to, Susan, assumed he was talking about this trope. Harry corrected her, saying that he meant the word in its most literal sense - including enough humility to deny it, such as when Harry tells a frightened bystander in ''Small Favour'' that no, they aren't angels, but Michael is probably the closest to one that she'll ever see.

* LaserGuidedKarma: After years of serving the Lord with no monetary reward for their work, [[spoiler:they get one-fifth of the diamonds stolen from Hades' vault. Charity insists to Michael (who is still hesitant to take several million dollars of loot) that it's a divine gift. After all, they have children to put through college, and grandchildren to plan for]].
* LockedOutOfTheLoop: Michael's closest friends and family constantly hide secrets from him. Harry hid the fact that he grabbed Lasciel's coin, Charity hasn't told him about her former magical power, and [[spoiler:he wasn't told about Molly being the Winter Lady and her role in Dresden's death]]. It's not his fault, but because he's placed on such a pedestal that no one wants to disappoint him.

* NamesTheSame: InUniverse, with the Archangel. Lampshaded once when Sanya mentions he met with Michael and corrected himself saying he meant ArchangelMichael.

* OneLastJob: He comes out of "retirement" for a final adventure. [[spoiler: Atypically for the trope, he not only survives, he deals a terrible blow to his ArchEnemy in the process, and gets a pile of diamonds to help his family at the end of it.]]

** A close second is when he hears that the White Council [[spoiler: has expelled Harry]]. His response is a ClusterFBomb.

* AscendedFanboy: He gets to be a real, honest to goodness [[spoiler:Jedi [[ThePaladin Knight]], complete with a special sword of his own, with a mission from [[BigGood God]].]]
* BadassLongcoat: Grabs Harry's bulletproof one at the climax of ''Skin Game'', although the difference in their size means it fits him more like a Jedi robe . . .

* BunnyEarsLawyer: He may be a bit overfond of polka, but he's very good at remembering bits of random information and thinking about them logically, even when faced with a ZombieApocalypse.

* ChekhovsSkill: Harry taught him how to make a magic circle so Harry's magic wouldn't interfere with his technology. Later he draws a magic circle to prevent the undead armies from killing him and his drum.
* CoolSword: Wielding a Sword of the Cross is awesome enough, but when said Sword has reforged itself into a ''lightsaber''? Even moreso.

* CowardlyLion: At first, he runs in terror from a necromancer with some zombies. Later, he begins using {{magitek}} with Bob's help to fight back against supernatural predators. Then he becomes a Chicago defender.

** In ''Ghost Story'' he has Bob examine and then shadow Harry, without Harry knowing it, to ensure if Harry's shade is some trick or turns evil, Bob will end him.

* EmpoweredBadassNormal: As of ''Skin Game'', he is a [[ThePaladin Knight of the Cross]]. A [[Franchise/StarWars JEDI]] Knight of the Cross, lightsaber and all. A JEWISH Jedi Knight of the Cross, no less.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: In ''Dead Beat'', as Harry is being tortured by a former Denarian, he notes that When one of the black Denarius moves, usually the powers that be make sure a knight of the cross appears in their way. Harry hopes one will come, when Butters shows up to rescue him with mouse. What's a better counterpart to an ex-Denarian than a knight-to-be?

* HiddenDepths: Another layer gets peeled off with every appearance. Butters is probably the poster child for this trope; initially he appears as a polka-loving nerd, but by the time of ''Ghost Story'' he is one of Harry's most valuable allies, for his brains, his honesty and his incredible courage, considering he has nothing even resembling super-powers, or even ordinary strength, to take into battle with him.

* KnightInShiningArmor: He is defending Chicago in Harry and Molly's absence.

* LetsGetDangerous: He saved Harry's life by attacking Cassius. And later, subdued a gunman with an improvised taser. Later on in ''Literature/GhostStory'' he ''cripples'' Aristides by knowing ''exactly'' which bones to break.
* LovableCoward: Deconstructed, then subverted. His fear at the supernatural suddenly ramming its way into his life with zombies trying to catch him leads him to be a very panicky man during ''Dead Beat'' but after getting a rousing speech from Harry, he finds it in himself courage he never knew he had and rides with Harry into battle on a zombie t-Rex.

* MayDecemberRomance: By the time he starts dating Andi before Cold Days. By that point she's a few years out of college, so about mid to late twenties. Butters was 37 in ''Dead Beat'', so he's about 45 by Cold Days.

* NonActionGuy: Doesn't stop him from being useful when the need is there.
* {{Polyamory}}: Heavily implied in ''Peace Talks'' to be in a relationship with both Andi and Marci.

* SufficientlyAnalyzedMagic: With Bob the Skull's help. He may not have the power in magic, but with his mind, he can make formulas and theories beyond what Harry can understand.

* ThreesomeSubtext: In Peace Talks its very strongly implied that he's in a romantic relationship with with both Andi and her OldFlame Marci though he refuses to go into specifics.

** As of ''Skin Game'' this nearly defies belief. First off, using artifice spells and Bob as a portable magical battery, he's got a magical skateboard that travels at sub-motorcycle speeds, skill with an improvised whip that would put Indiana Jones or Simon Belmont to shame, and magical amnesia grenades. And that's all BEFORE he becomes the Lightsaber of Faith wielding Jewish Jedi Knight of the Cross. ItMakesSenseInContext.

* BroughtDownToBadass: As noted in BroughtDownToNormal, Uriel can become human, however one needs to remember he is a soldier of God and is still a skilled fighter even in a limited form. [[spoiler:In ''Skin Game'' he slashes the neck of one of Nicodemus' squires during the attack on the Carpenter house]].
* BroughtDownToNormal: It is possible for Uriel to invert the act of transubstantiation, the act of wine and bread becoming the blood and body of Jesus, and give his Grace of God, the core of his power, to another being to hold for this duration. [[spoiler:In ''Literature/SkinGame'' he lends Michael his angelic Grace so that Michael can temporarily take up ''Amoracchius'' again to face Nicodemus. He's mortal for the duration and if Michael were to abuse that power, he'd Fall. Michael, needless to say, doesn't.]]

*** He seems genuinely shocked [[spoiler:Michael would consider him his friend]].
*** He confesses to Harry he did not think he would see [[spoiler:the Sword of Faith being remade into a LaserBlade under his watch]].

* AFriendInNeed: In ''Skin Game'' [[spoiler:he gives Michael his Grace to make sure he can face down Nicodemus without his crippling injuries when Michael goes out to face him]].
* GodsHandsAreTied: Played with. In the same book that Harry calls him useless for refusing to use his powers to directly help the heroes, [[spoiler:Uriel risks his immortal life and (potentially) whole galaxies to help Michael Carpenter for a few days]].

* HumanityEnsues: Briefly in ''Skin Game''. [[spoiler: He lends Michael his Grace so that he can function enough for Harry not to have to go into the Vault of Hades alone with Nicodemus and his allies. The side effect for Uriel was transubstantiation, and possible Falling if Michael misused it.]]

* IdiotBall: He mentions how serious Names are, but the way humans toss their Names about so frivolously is, to him, like watching children play with grenades.

* LoopholeAbuse: Uriel is not above using these minor details, along with obfuscating, to get what he needs to happen, happen. In ''Skin Game'' he [[spoiler:cannot interfere with Michael and Nicodemus' deal as it is being made freely by their own free will. Uriel knows if Michael faces Nicodemus, he will be killed. So Uriel makes the only choice he can make. As Michael already made his choice to walk out, Uriel makes his choice to loan Michael ''his Grace of God'', healing his friend for a time]].

* WhatIsThisFeeling: In ''Skin Game'', [[spoiler:he physically hurts himself for the very first time after giving up his Grace, and the feeling reduces him to tears.]]
* XanatosSpeedChess: In ''Skin Game'' [[spoiler:he quickly rebounds a bad situation for the heroes by making one move Nicodemus failed to ever consider, and ended up turning a dark day into a good future]].

* WeaponOfChoice: The massive two-handed broadsword Amoracchius, which is ''Excalibur''.

* ChristianityIsCatholic: Averted; he's a Baptist, at least nominally. Although he, in his own words, "tried to be a good Baptist", in many ways he still acts with Shintoist philosophy.

* AttackAttackAttack: His chief problem in combat. [[TookALevelInBadass He grows out of it though.]]

* BigDamnHeroes: In ''Changes'' he arrives [[JustInTime just after Harry fell off a ladder]], in time to help Harry and save the other tenants in the fire.
* BlackVikings: Black people were a rarity, to say the least, in post-Soviet Russia. Sanya mentions that his skin colour turned heads even in Moscow, and that in the countryside he could cause car accidents just by walking down the road.

* FlatEarthAtheist:
** He got his sword ''directly from an archangel''. You wouldn't know it from his views on religion.

* FreudianExcuseIsNoExcuse: Growing up as a minority in Russia and being treated like a freak (in his own words, "I was a minority the way Bigfoot is a minority") was what caused him to initially join with the Denarians, especially since Rosanna, his recruiter, [[EqualOpportunityEvil didn't care he was black at all]]. However, Sanya is also thoroughly of the mindset that this does not justify anything he did while working for them.
-> "By the end of that time, Dresden, I wasn't much more than a beast who walked upright. Oh, I had thoughts and feelings, but they were all slaves to my baser desires. I did many things of which I am not-" "I did many things."[...] "I heard what Rosanna truly felt about me, heard her report about me to Tessa. [[HeelRealization And I finally understood what an idiot I'd been]]. [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere I dropped the coin in a canal and never looked back]]."

* NiceGuy: Yep, all of the Knights are incredibly nice people who would go out of their way to save anyone in need. This however also means that the saving deals with fighting monsters that normal people would piss themselves at the sight of.

* TheStrategist: Analyzes the landscape of Deamonreach, predicting how an enemy would prepare for battle there, indicating he is this.
* SwordAndGun: Specifically, Esperacchius and a Kalashnikov assault rifle.

* TwoferTokenMinority: He's a black man in ''Russia''. In his own words, for Moscow he was very strange. If he went into smaller towns, he had to keep off the main roads because he caused accidents due to motorists taking their eyes off the road to gawk at him, as he was "a minority in the same way that Bigfoot is a minority." For an added bit of diversity, he is descended from Saladin, a Kurd.

* WeaponOfChoice: ''Esperacchius'', once known as Durendal, forged into a cavalry saber. Also a Kalashnikov.

* Karrin Murphy (who weilds ''Fidelacchius'' in ''Changes'')
* Susan Rodriguez (who weilds ''Amoracchius'' in ''Changes'')

* LetsGetDangerous: He saved Harry's life by attacking Cassius. And later, subdued a gunman with an improvised taser. Later on in ''Literature/GhostStory'' he cripples Aristides by knowing exactly which bones to break.

* ReligionIsMagic: The exact nature of his faith-based powers is left unexplained, but it's suggested that they're based on how much He is willing to intervene at any given point. One time by a simple prayer Michael was able to undo most of the mental binding that freaking ''Mab'' put on Harry. All Harry noticed (in the midst of the trauma of realising that his mind had been screwed with) was Michael's hands became incredibly hot. He can also burn a swarm of conjured insects off Harry at one point, and his house has a safe room warded by angelic magic.

** Harry once visiting him finds him benchpressing 250lbs, and calls it Michael's ''light workout''. This is ''after''' Michael's retirement having ''' lost muscle mass''' due to it.

** Harry once visiting him finds him benchpressing 250lbs, and calls it Michael's ''light workout''. This is after Michael having ''' lost muscle mass due to retirement'''.

* ShipperOnDeck: Needles Harry throughout ''Grave Peril'' to confess his feelings to Harry, ASAP. Harry regrets not listening to him at the end.

** In ''Proven Guilty'', Harry steps up to first raid Arctis Tor to get Molly, Michael's eldest child, back from the Fetches (though [[MamaBear Charity]] is heavily involved), then puts his life on the line to ensure she gets clemency from the White Council - in the process, leaving him under the same suspended death sentence that she is. At the end of the same book, Michael reveals the sheer level of trust he has in Harry - he's known all along about how Harry has Lasciel in his head, and believes that Harry has at least taken up the coin (justified, since no one on record has resisted a Denarian's shadow for more than a few weeks), and he ''still'' trusted him to look after his family. He also offers to be there, if Harry ever wants to give up his magic to get rid of Lasciel's shadow.