Who is in the Communion of Saints?
As early as the second century, Christians gathered for worship at the tombs of the martyrs, celebrating the power of God’s grace in the lives of these faithful men and women. From this came the early understanding that the phrase ‘the Communion of Saints’ referred to the enduring bond between the faithful on earth and the faithful who had gone before, especially those whose witness was crowned with martyrdom. While all Christians are properly called saints, the word “saint” soon became a title of honour referring to exemplary lives among the faithful, and most notably the lives of martyrs. The celebration of saints as we know it (i.e. those who served God but died in the faith rather than for the faith) comes later, about the 7th century. Egbert of York brought the festival to England and by the 9th century it had become a major feast in the church calendar in England. Today, we continue to celebrate a Communion of Saints that embraces all Christians, past present and future; includin
