Editing Communion of saints (section)

== Western Christianity ==
=== Roman Catholicism ===
In [[Roman Catholic]] terminology, the communion of saints exists in the '''three states of the Church''', the [[Churches Militant, Penitent, and Triumphant]]. The Church Militant ({{Langx|la|Ecclesia militans}}) consisting of those alive on earth; the Church Penitent ({{Langx|la|Ecclesia poenitens|links=no}}) consisting of those undergoing purification in [[purgatory]] in preparation for Heaven; and the Church Triumphant ({{Langx|la|Ecclesia triumphans|links=no}}) consisting of those already in Heaven. The damned are not a part of the communion of saints. Roman Catholics ask the [[intercession of saints]] in Heaven, whose [[prayer]]s are seen as helping their fellow Christians on earth ({{Confer}}[[Revelation 5]]:8).<ref>[http://www.ignitumtoday.com/2013/09/15/its-biblical-to-ask-saints-to-pray-for-us/ It's Biblical to Ask Saints to Pray for Us] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131129154402/http://www.ignitumtoday.com/2013/09/15/its-biblical-to-ask-saints-to-pray-for-us/ |date=29 November 2013 }}. Ignitum Today. Published: 15 September 2013</ref>

According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church:<ref>{{cite book |title=Catechism of the Catholic Church - The Communion of Saints |url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p123a9p5.htm |access-date=15 March 2020 |archive-date=22 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200222035053/http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p123a9p5.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

{{blockquote|946 What is the Church if not the assembly of all the saints? The communion of saints is the Church.<br>...
957 Communion with the saints. "It is not merely by the title of example that we cherish the memory of those in heaven; we seek, rather, that by this devotion to the exercise of fraternal charity the union of the whole Church in the Spirit may be strengthened. Exactly as Christian communion among our fellow pilgrims brings us closer to Christ, so our communion with the saints joins us to Christ, from whom as from its fountain and head issues all grace, and the life of the People of God itself"}}

=== Lutheranism ===
[[Martin Luther]] defined the phrase thus:

{{blockquote|"The communion of saints." This is of one piece with the preceding ["the holy catholic church"]. Formerly it was not in the creed. When you hear the word "church," understand that it means group [{{lang|de|Haufe}}], as we say in German, the Wittenberg group or congregation [{{lang|de|Gemeine}}], that is, an holy, Christian group, assembly, or, in German, the holy, common church, and it is a word that should not be called "communion" [{{lang|de|Gemeinschaft}}], but rather "a congregation" {{lang|de|eine Gemeine}}. Someone wanted to explain the first term, "catholic church" [and added the words] {{lang|la|communio sanctorum}}, which in German means a congregation of saints, that is, a congregation made up only of saints. "Christian church" and "congregation of saints" are one and the same thing.<ref>Luther, "Sermons on the Catechism", 1528. Reprinted in ''Martin Luther: Selections from his Writings'', John Dillenberger ed. p. 212.</ref>}}

[[Lutheranism]] affirms that the Church Militant and Church Triumphant share a common goal and thus do pray for one another. The [[Book of Concord]], the official compendium of Lutheran doctrine teaches:

"...&nbsp;we know that the ancients speak of [[prayer for the dead]], which we do not prohibit; but we disapprove of the application ''[[ex opere operato]]'' of the Lord's Supper on behalf of the dead."<ref name="BOC">{{Cite web|title = Defense of the Augsburg Confession - Book of Concord|url = http://bookofconcord.org/defense_23_mass.php#para94|website = bookofconcord.org|access-date = 2015-09-22|archive-date = 26 October 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151026044923/http://bookofconcord.org/defense_23_mass.php#para94|url-status = dead}}</ref> By the expression {{lang|la|ex opere operato}}, he meant the belief that the performance of the rite would of itself benefit the dead. 

The largest Lutheran denomination in the United States, the [[Evangelical Lutheran Church in America]], "remembers the faithful departed in the Prayers of the People every Sunday, including those who have recently died and those commemorated on the church calendar of saints".<ref name="WipfStock2016">{{cite book|last=Gould|first=James B.|title=Understanding Prayer for the Dead: Its Foundation in History and Logic|date=4 August 2016|publisher=Wipf and Stock Publishers|language=en |isbn=9781532606014|page=50}}</ref> In Funeral rites of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, "deceased are prayed for" using "commendations: 'keep our sister/brother ... in the company of all your saints. And at the last ... raise her/him up to share with all the faithful the endless joy and peace won through the glorious resurrection of Christ our Lord.'"<ref name="WipfStock2016"/> The response for these prayers for the dead in this Lutheran liturgy is the prayer of [[Eternal Rest]]: "rest eternal grant him/her, O Lord; and let light perpetual shine upon him/her".<ref name="WipfStock2016"/>

=== Methodism ===
In [[Methodist]] theology, the communion of saints refers to the Church Militant and Church Triumphant. The Rev. Katie Shockley explains the communion of saints in the context of the Methodist sacrament of the [[Eucharist]]:<ref name="Shockley2017">{{cite web|url=https://www.umnews.org/en/news/ask-the-umc-what-does-communion-of-saints-mean|title=Ask the UMC: What does 'communion of saints' mean?|date=30 October 2017|publisher=[[The United Methodist Church]]|language=en|access-date=11 October 2018|archive-date=11 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181011133305/https://www.umnews.org/en/news/ask-the-umc-what-does-communion-of-saints-mean|url-status=live}}</ref>
{{blockquote|When we gather in worship, we praise God with believers we cannot see. When we celebrate Holy Communion, we feast with past, present and future disciples of Christ. We experience the communion of saints, the community of believers –– living and dead. This faith community stretches beyond space and time. We commune with Christians around the world, believers who came before us, and believers who will come after us. We believe that the church is the communion of saints, and as a believer, you belong to the communion of saints.<ref name="Shockley2017"/>}}

The communion of saints is celebrated in Methodism during [[Allhallowtide]], especially on [[All Saints' Day]].<ref name="Shockley2017"/>

Methodist theology affirms the "duty to observe, to pray for the Faithful Departed".<ref name="Walker1885">{{cite book |last=Walker |first=Walter James |url=https://archive.org/details/cihm_16943 |title=Chapters on the Early Registers of Halifax Parish Church |publisher=Whitley & Booth |year=1885 |page=20 |language=en |quote=The opinion of the Rev. John Wesley may be worth citing. 'I believe it to be a duty to observe, to pray for the Faithful Departed.'}}</ref> [[John Wesley]], the founder of Methodism, "taught the propriety of Praying for the Dead, practised it himself, provided ''Forms'' that others might."<ref name="HoldenWesley1872">{{cite book |last=Holden |first=Harrington William |url=https://archive.org/details/johnwesleyincom00weslgoog |title=John Wesley in Company with High Churchmen |publisher=J. Hodges |year=1872 |location=London |page=84 |quote=Wesley taught the propriety of Praying for the Dead, practised it himself, provided ''Forms'' that others might. These forms, for daily use, he put fort, not tentatively or apologetically, but as considering such prayer a settled matter of Christian practice, with all who believe that the Faithful, living and dead, are one Body in Christ in equal need and like expectation of those blessings which they will together enjoy, when both see Him in His Kingdom. Two or three examples, out of many, may be given:&ndash;'O grant that we, with those who are already dead in Thy faith and fear, may together partake of a joyful resurrection.'}}</ref> It affirms that the "saints in paradise" have full access to occurrences on earth.<ref name="Atkins2016">{{cite book |last=Atkins |first=Gareth |title=Making and Remaking Saints in Nineteenth-Century Britain |date=1 August 2016 |publisher=Manchester University Press |isbn=9781526100238 |page=227 |language=en |quote=In the other direction, he was willing to state unambiguously that the 'saints in paradise' had full access to happenings on earth.}}</ref>

=== Anglican Communion ===
The [[Anglican Communion]] holds that baptized Christians "are 'knit together' with them 'in one communion and fellowship in the mystical body of [Christ]'."<ref name="COI">{{cite web|url=https://www.ireland.anglican.org/our-faith/apck/the-communion-of-saints|title=The Communion of Saints|year=2005|publisher=[[Church of Ireland]]|language=en|access-date=11 October 2018|archive-date=23 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180823035911/https://www.ireland.anglican.org/our-faith/apck/the-communion-of-saints|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Church of Ireland]] teaches that:<ref name="COI"/>
{{blockquote|Christ's church includes the blessed dead along with those still on earth. We worship God 'with angels and archangels and with all the company of heaven' (Eucharistic Prayer, BCP 2004), with 'The glorious company of apostles&nbsp;... the noble fellowship of prophets&nbsp;... the white–robed army of martyrs' (Te Deum). In addition we observe saints' days when we thank God for their holy lives and pray that we may follow their examples.<ref name="COI"/>}}
In Anglican liturgy, "worship is addressed to God alone" and the Anglican Communion "does not pray to the saints but with the saints".<ref name="COI"/> However, Anglicans pray ''for'' the dead, "because we still hold them in our love, and because we trust that in God's presence those who have chosen to serve him will grow in his love, until they see him as he is."<ref>{{Cite book|title = The Book of Common Prayer|year = 1979|pages = 862}}</ref>

=== Reformed churches ===
The [[Westminster Confession]], which articulates the [[Reformed faith]], teaches that the communion of saints includes those united to Christ{{Snd}}both the living and the dead.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.reformation21.org/confession/2013/07/chapter-261.php|title=Through the Westminster Confession|last=Ryken|first=Phil|date=8 July 2013|publisher=[[Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals]]|language=en|access-date=11 October 2018|archive-date=11 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181011214453/http://www.reformation21.org/confession/2013/07/chapter-261.php|url-status=live}}</ref>