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May 2001, Page 8.
Index of articles.
Questions:
index,
Homeopathy,
Downs baby,
Bloodthirsty OT,
Marriage prep,
Creed,
Real Devil.
Worship:
index,
Common Worship,
Our Father,
Creed,
New books.
In this issue:
(May 2001)
Vicar's Letter,
STV,
Question.
In our "Questions to the clergy" slot, John will try to answer any query you throw at him, without hesitation, deviation or repetition...
The "Communion of Saints"?
Q. What is the “Communion of Saints” which we are supposed to believe in?
A. This comes at the end of the Apostles’ Creed (in Morning Prayer):
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.
The last three of these lines go together (because forgiveness is the gateway to eternal life with God), the first is on its own, and the remaining two are both about how believers relate here on earth.
The word “communion” means fellowship, and it is saying that the people who are part of the one church aren’t just part of an organisation, but they are brothers and sisters together, a family.
The word “saints” means all who believe and trust in Jesus, in the same way that when Paul writes a letter to (for instance) the Philippians he writes “To all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi” (Phil 1:1), meaning all the church members.
The clause dates to the fourth century, when the mainline church was having trouble with a purity-sect (the Donatists), who believed that if you didn’t live a perfect life you weren’t really a Christian at all, even if you think you believe, meet with other Christains, and put your faith into practice. The mainline church used this clause in their creed to emphasise the way Paul used the word “saint”.
But after the Donatist controversy passed, the issue died, and the clause wasn’t kept when the Nicene Creed was drafted later.
I guess there are two points worth making for the modern church:
(1) Although we might meet in different congregations we must never lose sight of the fact that we are still the same family as the people who come to the other service. It is up to both congregations to take a lively interest in Sunday Club and to care about the welfare of the retired. If we catch ourselves saying “that’s not our problem, it’s the other service’s problem” then we’re wrong.
(2) This clause in the creed is nothing to do with our unity with the saints who have died and now see God face to face. Some Christians have argued that we ought to ask the departed saints to pray for us - but the bible assures us that we need only one mediator between us and God: the man Christ Jesus (1 Tim 2:5).
John Hartley