What is All Saints’ Day?

All Saints’ Day, on 1 November, is a feast of the whole company of Christ’s people. It includes those whose names the Church remembers and those whose faithfulness was known to very few.

The word saint can sound like an award for exceptional achievement. The feast directs our attention towards belonging to Christ and sharing in the life and hope Christ gives.

A fellowship larger than we can see

The 1662 collect for All Saints begins with God bringing the faithful together in the mystical body of Christ. Mystical here does not mean imaginary. It points to a communion whose life comes from Christ and cannot be measured simply by counting the people in one church building.

The prayer asks that we follow the saints in virtuous and godly living and come to the joy God has prepared. Remembering them has something to do with how we live now.

What does holiness look like?

The appointed Gospel is Matthew 5:1–12, the Beatitudes. Jesus speaks of the merciful, the peacemakers, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, and those who mourn. It is an arresting choice for a festival: holiness is not described as a life untouched by suffering.

We might remember a Christian who patiently made peace or showed mercy when it was costly. That is a prompt for gratitude and imitation, not a claim that we know everything about that person’s life. The feast leaves room for people whose service attracted no public recognition.

All Saints is distinct from All Souls, the commemoration of the faithful departed on 2 November in traditions that observe it. All Saints appears in the 1662 calendar; All Souls does not. The names should not be treated as interchangeable.

On All Saints’ Day, read the Beatitudes slowly. Which description unsettles your picture of a successful life? Bring that question to the collect. The prayer asks for holiness that can be practised, as well as a joy we await.

Consult Christ Church’s worship information for parish arrangements.