St George's Anglican Church
A Traditional 1928 Prayer Book Parish

• Are these feast days a relatively recent addition to our days of observance in the Prayer Book or do they find their origin in the Early Church?

All Saints Day is one of the most important days in the Christian Year, usually referred to as a Holy Day of Obligation. Rome so designates it. Certainly it deserves that designation. Very few of BCP holy days are accorded an Octave! That elevates this feast above all but the holiest Christian festivals. The feast was adumbrated by a Feast of All Martyrs. It was in the 8th century that the name All Saints became current. The Church in England was one of the earliest to observe the Feast of All Saints; it has for centuries been particularly popular in the Anglican Church (as is witnessed by the Octave with which it was honored in our 1928 PB).

• Isn’t every Christian a saint?

Yes, every Baptized Christian who believes in the Faith is considered a saint. The Holy Scriptures are replete with fellow believers being referred to as saints. In the New Testament, St. Paul makes good use of this term. He calls the members of the Church at Ephesus “saints.”(Ephesians 1:1). Here are just a few Scripture passages which mention saints: Romans 8:27; I Cor. 1:2; 2 Cor. 9:1; Philip. 4:22 St. Jude 3; Rev. 5:8; Psalm 16:3; Job 5:;1 Deuteronomy 33:2; 1st Samuel 2:9

There is a distinction, however, between saints of the lower case “s” and those of the upper case “S.” Since early times in the Church there have been those within the Christian community who have led exemplary and devout Christian lives. They were held in great honor as being good followers of Christ. In a world which is starving for good role models, for leaders whose Godly convictions will not be compromised by the “Spirit of the Times,” there are numerous “Saints” who “finished their course” in this life and beckon us on to do the same. (Hebrews, 12:1)

• Is it okay to pray for our departed loved ones?

Yes. We are “Children of the Resurrection,” basking in the light of Christ’s Resurrection. And because Jesus conquered death on the cross and has Risen from the dead, death really no longer separates us from our loved ones. Death is not the end, but a mere interruption or pause to when we will be reunited with them again. Prayer is a wonderful way to have “communion” or fellowship with them in this life.

It would be unnatural to stop loving someone simply because they have departed into the next life. As love knows no boundaries, are love for them continues in prayer. As we ask the person sitting next to us in the pew or our neighbor to pray for us, so we can also ask are loved ones who have gone on before us to pray for us. In the “Prayer for the Whole State of Christ’s Church”, we pray for our fellow departed brothers and sisters in Christ.

• Are we to worship and pray to saints?

No. Again, we can honor and revere those Christians who have been exemplary disciples of Jesus and we can ask them to pray for us through Jesus, but we are not to worship them, as this is idolatry. Only God is to be worshiped. We should also remember, too, that we do not draw close to Christ through the saints or those departed, but rather we draw close to our loved ones through Christ. It has been said that the closest we can get to our loved ones in this life is in the Mass, for we have communion with Christ in His Body and Blood, and it is in Him that we have communion with the rest of Christ’s Body, the Church. As we behold Him in the Holy Eucharist, so, too, are our loved ones beholding Him; but they, see Him face to face and we through the veil of His Real Presence in the Blessed Sacrament. This is what the Creeds mean by “the communion of saints,” for we have communion with one another through Christ Jesus.