What is the Communion of Saints?

The doctrine

The Communion of Saints is one of the articles of the Apostles' Creed, the foundational Catholic profession of faith: "I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church, the Communion of Saints." The doctrine teaches that the Church is a single living reality that extends beyond the boundary of physical death; the faithful in heaven, on earth, and in purgatory are united in the one Body of Christ.

The three states of the Church

The Catholic tradition distinguishes three states of the one Church:

• The Church Militant (in Latin, Ecclesia Militans): the faithful currently on earth, "militant" in the sense of striving against sin and evil in their pilgrimage toward God.
• The Church Suffering (Ecclesia Patiens) or the Church Penitent: the souls in purgatory, undergoing final purification before entering heaven.
• The Church Triumphant (Ecclesia Triumphans): the saints in heaven, who have entered into the beatific vision and reign with Christ.

These three states are not three separate Churches; they are three distinct conditions of the one Church. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that there is "but one Body of Christ" across all three states (CCC 954).¹

What the Communion of Saints permits

Three principal exchanges flow from the doctrine:

1. The intercession of the saints in heaven for the faithful on earth. The saints, who see the face of God, can and do pray for those still on the earthly journey. This is the foundation of the Catholic practice of asking the intercession of the saints.
2. The prayers of the faithful on earth for the souls in purgatory. The Catholic practice of praying for the dead, of having Masses offered for them, and of obtaining indulgences applicable to them, is grounded in this same communion. November is traditionally the month of prayer for the holy souls in purgatory; the Solemnity of All Saints (November 1) and the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (November 2) frame the month.
3. The veneration by the faithful on earth of the saints in heaven. The Catholic faithful honor the saints by their feasts in the liturgical calendar, by relics, and by Marian and saintly devotions. This veneration is not the worship (latria) due to God alone; it is the honor (dulia) due to the friends of God, with a higher degree (hyperdulia) reserved for the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The scriptural foundation

The doctrine is rooted in the New Testament. Saint Paul writes that the faithful are "fellow citizens with the holy ones and members of the household of God" (Ephesians 2:19). The Letter to the Hebrews speaks of "a great cloud of witnesses" (Hebrews 12:1) surrounding the faithful in their earthly journey. Saint John, in the Book of Revelation, depicts the prayers of the saints rising before the throne of God like incense (Revelation 5:8 and 8:3-4).

Sources

Footnotes

1. Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraphs 946 to 962, on the Communion of Saints. ↩