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All Saints Day and the Communion of Saints by The Rev. Joyce Stickney Some years ago, while worshipping at an Episcopal Church on All Saints Sunday, I spent the greater part of the service reading one-by-one the names of individuals (there were over 50 of them) who had been ironed on to a beautiful, large altar covering. Each of the individuals who had died in the last year was remembered and summoned in a sense to be present with us in this celebration connecting heaven and earth. There is a medieval legend of Jacobus de Voragine which gives an account of the first celebration of the feast of All Saints in year 605. It was instituted as a safety net, so that no saint would be forgotten or possibly offended. It was also made an occasion to rededicate to all these saints a temple which had previously been a Roman temple, the Pantheon, dedicated to all gods. The Romans said they had built this temple at the command of Cybele, the mother of all the gods. It was bigger and higher than any of their other temples. The base was designed to be circular, signifying the eternity of the gods. On the top of the roof the Romans constructed a gilded bronze battlement, on which stood statues of each of the gods representing each of the Roman provinces. Eventually this battlement collapsed leaving a hole open to wind and weather. When the Pope took over this temple from the Romans, he dedicated it to Mary and to all of the martyrs. Just as the Romans had come in great crowds to honor the gods, now the Christians came to celebrate on the feast of Mary and the martyrs, May 12. But the crowds that came to Rome were so large that the food supplies quickly ran out. For that reason the feast was later moved to November 1. The new harvest and the completed vintage provided a greater food supply. The feast then became solemnly observed throughout the world, this time to honor the saints. Ironically, the temple that was first constructed for all the Roman gods is now a church dedicated to all the saints - still with a hole in the ceiling where heaven and earth unite. For many, All Saints Day lends a healthy opportunity to grieve and engage that pain of loss which we suffer for the special people in our lives who have died. This year at our services on November 7th, all are invited to bring a name, memento, or photo to place at a small altar in thanksgiving and memory of those "saints" who have died in our lives. Some might choose to visit the grave site of loved ones who have gone before us, taking flowers, telling stories, viewing photos, lighting a candle… these are all ways of acknowleging that in death, the great leveling experience, our soul lives on to join the "communion of saints". With the development of a columbarium in our sanctuary, our awareness of the "communion of saints" is stimulated by this visible reality in our midst. We are joined in worship, which transcends time and place, with countless others and all of creation. This is why on the Feast of All Saints we also celebrate the sacrament of Baptism. The Church gives us new life in baptism and through this birth, we are joined and made one with all God's saints in heaven and on earth. This fellowship supports and upholds us on our earthly pilgrimage, until we also reach glory everlasting. At the 11 o'clock service we will welcome through baptism the newest saints among us.
Copyright © 2004 St. Augustine by-the-Sea
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