Bethel 10/11/01 Service

All Souls' Day - The Day of the Dead (1859) by William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825-1905)

All Souls' Day, also known as the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed and the Day of the Dead, is a day of prayer and remembrance for the souls of those who have died, which is observed by some Christian denominations. All Souls' Day is often, although not exclusively, celebrated in Western Christianity; Saturday of Souls is a related tradition more frequently observed in Eastern Christianity. Practitioners of All Souls' Day traditions often remember deceased loved ones in various ways on the day. Beliefs and practices associated with All Souls' Day vary widely among Christian churches and denominations.

In contemporary Western Christianity the annual celebration is held on 2 November, and is part of the season of Allhallowtide that includes All Saints' Day (1 November) and its eve, Halloween (31 October). Prior to the standardization of Catholic observance on 2 November by St. Odlio of Cluny during the 10th century, many Catholic congregations celebrated All Souls Day on various dates during the Easter season as it is still observed in some Eastern Orthodox Church and associated Eastern Catholic Churches. Churches of the East Syriac Rite (Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, Chaldean Catholic Church, Assyrian Church of the East, Ancient Church of the East) commemorate all the faithful departed on the Friday before Lent.

Combined celebrations of All Saints and All Souls
In some countries, All Saints' Day is a public holiday, but All Souls' Day is not. Consequently, people visit graves and conduct other All Souls' Day practices on All Saints Day instead. Countries where All Souls' Day traditions are observed on All Saints' Day in this fashion include Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the Czech Republic, France, Finland, Germany, Guatemala, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, the Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Serbia, and Sweden.

Popular customs
Many All Souls' Day traditions reflect popular notions associated with purgatory. For example, ringing bells for the dead was believed to comfort them in their cleansing, while the sharing of soul cakes with the poor helped to buy the dead a bit of respite from the suffering of purgatory. In the same way, lighting candles was meant to kindle a light for the dead souls languishing in the darkness. Out of this grew the traditions of "going souling" and the baking of special types of bread or cakes.

Religious Observance by denomination

Anglican Communion
All Souls Anglican Church in the Diocese of Sydney, a parish dedicated to All Souls

In the Church of England it is called The Commemoration of the Faithful Departed and is an optional celebration; Anglicans view All Souls' Day as an extension of the observance of All Saints' Day and it serves to "remember those who have died", in connection with the theological doctrines of the resurrection of the body and the Communion of Saints.

In the Anglican Communion, All Souls' Day is known liturgically as the Commemoration of All Faithful Departed, and is an optional observance seen as "an extension of All Saints' Day", the latter of which marks the second day of Allhallowtide. Historically and at present, several Anglican churches are dedicated to All Souls. During the English Reformation, the observance of All Souls' Day lapsed, although a new Anglican theological understanding of the day has "led to a widespread acceptance of this commemoration among Anglicans". Patricia Bays, with regard to the Anglican view of All Souls' Day, wrote that:

All Souls Day (November 2) is a time when we particularly remember those who have died. The prayers appointed for that day remind us that we are joined with the Communion of Saints, that great group of Christians who have finished their earthly life and with who we share the hope of resurrection from the dead.

As such, Anglican parishes "now commemorate all the faithful departed in the context of the All Saints' Day celebration", in keeping with this fresh perspective. Contributing to the revival was the need "to help Anglicans mourn the deaths of millions of soldiers in World War I". Members of the Guild of All Souls, an Anglican devotional society founded in 1873, "are encouraged to pray for the dying and the dead, to participate in a requiem of All Souls' Day and say a Litany of the Faithful Departed at least once a month".

At the Reformation, the celebration of All Souls' Day was fused with All Saints' Day in the Church of England or, in the judgement of some, it was "deservedly abrogated". It was reinstated in certain parishes in connection with the Oxford Movement of the 19th century and is acknowledged in United States Anglicanism in the Holy Women, Holy Men calendar and in the Church of England with the 1980 Alternative Service Book. It features in Common Worship as a Lesser Festival called "Commemoration of the Faithful Departed (All Souls' Day)".

Methodist Churches
In the Methodist Church, saints refer to all Christians and therefore, on All Saint's Day, the Church Universal, as well as the deceased members of a local congregation are honoured and remembered. In Methodist congregations that celebrate the liturgy on All Souls Day, the observance, as with Anglicanism and Lutheranism, is viewed as an extension of All Saints' Day and as such, Methodists "remember our loved ones who had died" in their observance of this feast.