Editing Communion of saints (section)

{{Short description|Spiritual union of Christians}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2017}}
[[File:Saint John on Patmos.jpg|thumb|[[Revelation 5]]:8 presents the saints in Heaven as linked by prayer with their fellow Christians on earth]]
The '''communion of saints''' ([[Latin]]: {{lang|la|commūniō sānctōrum}}, {{Langx|grc|κοινωνίᾱ τῶν Ἁγῐ́ων|koinōníā tôn Hagíōn}}), when referred to persons, is the spiritual union of the members of the [[Christian Church]], living and the dead, but excluding the [[Damnation|damned]].<ref name=Sollier>{{citation |chapter-url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04171a.htm |author=Joseph Sollier |chapter=The Communion of Saints |title=The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 4 |location=New York |publisher=Robert Appleton Company (retrieved from New Advent) |year=1908 |access-date=1 April 2008 |archive-date=15 October 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061015012418/http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04171a.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> They are all part of a single "[[Body of Christ|mystical body]]", with [[Christ]] as the head, in which each member contributes to the good of all and shares in the welfare of all.

The earliest known use of this term to refer to the belief in a mystical bond uniting both the living and the dead in a confirmed hope and love is by Saint [[Nicetas of Remesiana]] ({{circa|335–414}}); the term has since then played a central role in formulations of the [[Christian creed]].<ref>[http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9055708/Nicetas-Of-Remesiana Nicetas of Remesiana] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080201234517/http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9055708/Nicetas-Of-Remesiana |date=1 February 2008 }}, Encyclopædia Britannica.</ref> Belief in the communion of saints is affirmed in the [[Apostles' Creed]].

The word ''sanctorum'' in the phrase {{lang|la|communio sanctorum}} can also be understood as referring not to holy ''persons'', but to holy ''things'', namely the blessings that the holy persons share with each other, including their faith, the [[sacrament]]s and the other spiritual graces and gifts they have as Christians.<ref>[[William Barclay (theologian)|Barclay, William]], ''The Plain Man Looks at the Apostles Creed'', pp.&nbsp;10&ndash;12</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P2B.HTM |title=''Catechism of the Catholic Church'', 948 |access-date=15 March 2020 |archive-date=1 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200301083521/http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P2B.HTM |url-status=live }}</ref>