Digby’s elevation to Archangel is proclaimed as the Fosterite Church’s second Major Miracle, yet the promotion is less a triumph than a forced change of role. Digby resents leaving his work unfinished and fears that the new Supreme Bishop will mishandle it; Foster’s response makes clear that heavenly rank offers neither immediate satisfaction nor authority over Mike, whose protection lies beyond Fosterite control.

Announcement and Succession

After a secret conclave, the Fosterite bishops announce that Supreme Bishop Digby has been translated bodily to Heaven and promoted to Archangel, ranking below Archangel Foster. The news had been delayed until Huey Short’s elevation as the new Supreme Bishop was confirmed. Short is a compromise candidate accepted by the Boone faction after repeated casting of lots, so the announcement joins Digby’s promotion to a carefully negotiated succession at the head of the church.

The proclamation becomes public news, but its reception is divided. Newspapers issue denunciations, ignore the elevation, mock it, or report it without comment; the Fosterite congregation in England is described as small but militant. The competing responses expose the gap between the church’s declaration of a miracle and the skepticism with which outsiders receive it.

Digby’s Resistance

Digby is not pleased to have been promoted. Mike’s interruption left his work half finished, and Digby assumes Short will ruin what remains. Foster listens until the complaint runs out, then redirects him from the unfinished task to the new office: as an angel, Digby should stop nursing grievances. Foster reminds him that Digby himself was once incompetent, yet did well after being promoted, and argues that Short may likewise grow into his position.

The exchange treats advancement as a change that must be inhabited rather than merely awarded. Digby calms somewhat, but asks for intervention against Mike. Foster refuses: Digby should not have tried to interfere, and a request for a miracle would be rejected. The Martians have their own order, Foster says, and while they need Mike, the Fosterite hierarchy cannot touch him. The promotion grants Digby a place in Heaven’s structure, not jurisdiction over another system.

Work, Discipline, and Aftermath

Foster answers Digby’s frustration with a choice between taking a day in Muslim Paradise to recover his nerve and returning to work. He insists that performance, rather than complaint, is what the Boss wants, and presents angelic conduct as something that can be practiced: Digby should begin acting like an angel and, in time, feel angelic. Digby accepts the instruction and asks where to start, ending the scene not with a further miracle but with his reluctant readiness to resume work.

The episode is not consequential news to Jubal, who hears of the announcement only later. He briefly suspects Mike may have had a hand in the miracle, but dismisses the thought; whatever happened to the Supreme Bishops matters little to him so long as it does not become his problem. That mundane indifference contrasts with the church’s grand public claim and the private dissatisfaction of its newly elevated Archangel.

Significance

Digby’s promotion reveals the difference between a public miracle and the less glamorous work of succession. The church presents bodily translation and a new rank as evidence of divine order, while the scene itself focuses on unfinished duties, a contested successor, and an authority boundary that even Foster cannot cross. Digby’s new title does not solve the conflict that preceded it: it forces him to accept that Mike remains beyond his reach and that advancement entails service within limits.