Theological glossary · FaithLogic

Communion of saints

The fellowship shared by all God's holy people — with Christ, with one another on earth, and (in most traditions) with the faithful departed.

Latin communio sanctorum, in the Apostles' Creed; sanctorum can mean 'of holy persons' or 'in holy things' (the sacraments).

Acts 2:42; 1 Corinthians 1:9; 10:16–17; 12:12–27; Ephesians 4:1–6; Hebrews 12:1, 22–24; 1 John 1:3, 7.

Understood as (1) the union of all believers with Christ and so with each other; (2) the sharing of spiritual goods, gifts, and burdens within the body; (3) the bond between the church on earth (militant), the departed being purified (in Catholic teaching), and the church in glory (triumphant). Catholic and Orthodox practice includes asking the saints' prayers; most Protestants affirm the fellowship but not invocation.

The phrase makes explicit that holiness and salvation are corporate — one belongs to a people, living and dead, not merely to Christ privately.

Whether the communion includes invoking the departed saints (Catholic, Orthodox) or only fellowship with them in Christ (Protestant); the status of prayers for the dead.

Open in the glossary for related terms and the doctrines this concept appears in.