International Week 2006 All Saints Day and All Souls Day within the Christian tradition Ian Maher Mu

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International Week 2006All Saints Day and All
Souls Daywithin the Christian traditionIan
Maher(Multifaith Chaplaincy Co-ordinator,
Sheffield Hallam University)
Student and Academic Services Multifaith
Chaplaincy


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Student and Academic Services Multifaith
Chaplaincy

• All Saints Day All Souls Day

Closely connected but with distinctive emphases

• Commemoration of the Christian saints from across
  the centuries
• Commemoration of all the departed but with a
  particular focus on loved ones

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Student and Academic Services Multifaith
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• All Saints Day

• November 1 Western Christian Church
• Holy Day of Obligation for Roman Catholics
• Also Important for many Anglicans

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Student and Academic Services Multifaith
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• All Saints Day

Kept on the first Sunday after Pentecost by
Eastern Orthodox Christians
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Student and Academic Services Multifaith
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• So who is a saint?

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• What comes to mind when you hear the word
  'saint'?
• Can you give one or two examples of people that
  you regard as saints?

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Religious
Good person
Halo
Kind
Do-gooder
Holy
Morality
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Student and Academic Services Multifaith
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In the Christian context a saint is, first and
foremost, someone who is a follower of Jesus
Christ

• In the New Testament of the Bible there are
  numerous references to the 'people of God' or
  'the saints'
• The context makes it clear that this refers to
  those who belonged to the early Christian
  movement

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Student and Academic Services Multifaith
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New Testament references to 'saints' a few
examples

• Romans 8.27 And he who searches our hearts
  knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit
  intercedes for the saints in accordance with
  God's will.

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New Testament references to 'saints' a few
examples

• Ephesians 1.15 For this reason, ever since I
  heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your
  love for all the saints, I have not stopped
  giving thanks for you, remembering you in my
  prayers.

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Student and Academic Services Multifaith
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New Testament references to 'saints' a few
examples

• Revelation 5.8 And when he had taken it, the
  four living creatures and the twenty four elders
  fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp
  and they were holding golden bowls full of
  incense, which are the prayers of the saints.

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In the New Testament sense a saint is anyone who

• Believes in Jesus Christ
• Belongs to the Christian community
• Ordering his/her life according to the teaching
  of Christ

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The term 'saint' soon came to be associated with
people whose lives are exemplars of particular
Christian virtues
Martin Luther King Jr
St Therese of Lisieux
St Paul
St Maximilian Kolbe
St Francis of Assissi
Mother Teresa of Calcutta
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Establishing the Festival of All Saints

• Early commemoration of Christian martyrs
• anniversaries
• place of martyrdom
• joint commemorations

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Establishing the Festival of All Saints

• By the time of Diocletian's persecution there
  were too many martyrs to remember by name
• Church appointed common day for all the martyrs
• References to such a common day in the writings
  of St Ephrem the Syrian (373) and St John
  Chrysostom (401)

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Establishing the Festival of All Saints

• More saints commemorated as Church grew and
  developed not just the martyrs
• Evidence as early as 411of a day set aside in the
  Chaldean Calendar to remember the Christian
  faithful

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Establishing the Festival of All Saints

• People whose lives had stood out as examples of
  Christian virtues to be emulated
• A source of inspiration and encouragement in the
  Christian life
• Role models

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Establishing the Festival of All Saints
Pope Boniface IV On May 13 609 or 610
consecrated the Pantheon in Rome to the Blessed
Virgin Mary and all the martyrs, ordering an
anniversary.
Pope Gregory III (731-741) Consecrated a chapel
in the Basilica of St Peter to all the saints and
fixed the anniversary for November 1.
Pope Gregory IV (827-844) Extended the
celebration on November 1 to the entire Church.
Celebrating the lives of the Christian faithful
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The significance of All Saints Day for Christians

• Encouragement to live a good Christian life
• Inspiration, example, encouragement
• Lives of the saints mirror our own
• Flawed individuals, enabling identification
• 'The communion of saints'
• Recognition of a Christian community that spans
  the generations
• Saints in heaven interceding on our behalf

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Celebrating All Saints Day

• Many Christians will meet for worship
• A day of obligation for Roman Catholic
  Christians
• Including a vigil and an octave of prayer

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Celebrating All Saints Day

• UK celebrations are low key but much more visible
  in other countries
• For example, Poland, Spain, Mexico, Italy, and
  other countries where Catholicism is strong

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Celebrating All Saints Day
The All Saints/All Souls connection Commemoration
of departed saints overlaps for many Christians
with the commemoration of all the faithful
departed
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• All Souls Day

• November 2 Western Christian Church
• The Commemoration of all the Faithful Departed
• Kept two Saturdays before Lent in the Eastern
  Orthodox Church

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Purgatory and the 'ante-chamber' of heaven

• Purgatory where sins and transgressions not
  dealt with by departed souls are cleansed.
• Prayers, good works, and celebration of the Mass
  can help those who have departed this life
• The Eastern Orthodox Church speak of the
  'ante-chamber of Heaven'
• All that is impure and unholy stripped away
  before the soul meets the glory of the Divine

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Prayers for the dead ancient origins

• Christians have, from early times, prayed for the
  dead and undertaken penance on their behalf
• Scriptural basis in the Old Testament Job's
  sacrifices purified his sons (Job 1.5) Judas
  Maccabeus 'made atonement for the dead that they
  are delivered from their sin' (II Macc 12.46)
• Early liturgies and inscriptions on catacomb
  walls attest to the ancient nature of the
  practice of praying for the dead.

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Prayers for the dead ancient origins

• Early Christian writers such as Tertullian
  (c.155-238) and Cyprian (d.258) testify to the
  regular practice of praying for the souls of the
  departed
• Masses for the Dead replaced votive offerings to
  the gods for the dead as practiced within
  pre-Christian Roman religion

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Establishing the festival of All Souls

• By the 6th century Benedictine communities held
  commemorations for the departed
• In the 10th century Odilo, 5th Abbot of Cluny
  ordered all Benedictine communities to celebrate
  the festival
• Commemoration soon became universal with the date
  eventually being fixed as November 2

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The significance of All Souls Day for Christians

• A reminder to pray for the departed
• The Roman Catholic Catechism states that 'From
  the beginning the Church has honoured the memory
  of the dead and offered prayers in suffrage for
  them, above all the Eucharistic sacrifice . . .'
• Recognition of the continuation of life beyond
  this life
• Opportunity to pray for the 'poor souls'
• An act of charity for those with no one else to
  pray for them

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Celebrating All Souls Day

• Christians will meet together for worship
• Names of the recently departed read aloud in
  churches, set within the context of a
  Mass/Eucharist
• Time to reflect on the legacy of family
• Especially the Christian witness of departed
  family members
• Time to pray for loved ones who have died
• Entrusting them to the love and mercy of God

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Student and Academic Services Multifaith
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Celebrating All Souls Day

• Time to pray for loved ones who have died
• Entrusting them to the love and mercy of God
• Some Christians will visit the graves of loved
  ones

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Student and Academic Services Multifaith
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ALL SAINTS DAY ALL SOULS DAY
Time to honour and give thanks for the lives of
the saints known and unknown who have, by
their example, pointed people to Jesus
Christ Time to give thanks for the lives of our
loved ones who have died and to pray for
them Celebration of the lives of Christian
brothers and sisters who have lived on earth and
are now in God's nearer presence
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