Engaging with the dead has a long history in Christianity. Practically since people have died, humans have had some sense of how the dead still live in some form and might possibly be watching the earth. Of course, the Bible also provides warnings about communicating with the dead, and even laws against it.
The New Testament further clarifies the idea of the afterlife, yet much about it remains a mystery. As the church attempted to make sense of life beyond the grave, new doctrines and traditions emerged. Among these, All Souls’ Day developed into a major holiday.
What Are the origins of All Soul’s Day?
All Souls’ Day developed in the early Middle Ages. Catholics set aside this day to pray for the dead, especially those they believed to be in need of further salvation in purgatory.
The roots of the holiday begin in early Christian church practices which honored faithful believers who had died. By the third century, Christians regularly celebrated martyrs and saints with special days dedicated in their memory. The tradition soon extended to other dead believers, not just people considered special saints. As the Catholic church developed the idea of purgatory, this middle state of the dead, not heaven or hell, leaders began teaching that Christians could pray for them like they could pray for the living on earth.
The formal beginning of All Souls’ Day started in 988 AD. Abbot Odilo of Cluny (a French Benedictine monastery) made November a day to pray for souls in purgatory. He then taught other Cluniac monasteries to write Masses, prayers, and to have almsgiving for the dead (giving payments to the church to save people from purgatory). The idea continued to spread throughout Europe until it was adopted by the whole Roman Catholic Church.
All Souls’ Day follows All Saints’ Day (November 1), making a combined focus over two days—one day for the saints in heaven and a separate day for the dead who still need purification. The Catholic Church taught that prayers and financial giving to the priests helped these souls complete their journey to perfect union with God. Catholic doctrine aligned ideas of purgatory with others, like the communion of saints.
As Catholicism spread beyond Europe, especially into the “New World,” All Souls’ Day added other cultural expressions. In Mexico, it mixed with cultural traditions to form Día de los Muertos, where families honor the ancestors with altars, food, and decorations. In other regions, people visited cemeteries, lit candles on graves, or left offerings for their dead loved ones. As a Catholic holiday, it’s still observed all around the world.
What Is the Difference Between All Souls’ Day and All Saint’s Day?
Celebrated on November 1, All Saints’ Day honors all the saints, those Christians who have died and now live in God’s presence. The day began by recognizing well-known, canonized saints but developed to include the many faithful who lived for Jesus and rest in heaven, at least in the Catholic tradition. Some believers might be unknown to the world, but the church should celebrate each believer for being overcomers. All Saints’ Day celebrates God’s victory, joy, and fulfilling his promises. The holiday carries a glorious and triumphant tone.
In contrast, All Souls’ Day (November 2), in the Catholic tradition, prays for those who have died and might need more grace from God to escape purgatory, highlighting God’s mercy and hope. Protestants use the day for thankful prayers for faithful Christians who have died.
All Saints’ Day focuses on the communion of the saints, a bond between believers in heaven and those on earth. All Souls’ Day highlights the Church’s suffering, as in the souls still in purgatory. Together, they reveal the Catholic beliefs around the three states of the Church—the Church triumphant (saints in heaven), the Church suffering (souls in purgatory), and the Church on earth, able to affect change. Practically, All Saints’ Day becomes more of a joyful celebration, and All Souls’ Day proves more solemn and mournful.
How Do Different Denominations Observe All Souls’ Day?
Catholics believe in purgatory, an intermediate or temporary afterlife place where souls undergo purification before entering heaven. They teach that some believers die in God’s grace but still need to be fully cleansed from sins before reaching heaven. This addresses an issue where they believe some souls aren’t bad enough for hell, but didn’t attain the level of faithfulness on earth to be in heaven. Like priests and others can forgive sins with penance on earth, they apply these ideas to souls supposedly in purgatory.
For the Roman Catholic Church, All Souls’ Day is an official feast day. On November 1, Catholics attend Mass, offer prayers, and possibly attain indulgences through visiting cemeteries or other righteous acts. Catholics believe these actions help release souls from purgatory to fully experience life with God after death.
Eastern Orthodox Churches don’t observe All Souls’ Day, but they do have a few “Soul Saturdays” throughout their liturgy to pray for the dead. The Orthodox Church doesn’t believe in or teach purgatory, but they still believe in praying for the dead. While not purgatory, the Orthodox community teaches how the prayers of the living can help the souls of the dead while they wait (a sleep-like state) for the final judgment at the end. They have memorial services (Panikhidas) and bless graves, too.
Anglican and some Lutheran churches observe All Souls’ Day but refer to it as “The Commemoration of All Faithful Departed.” All Saints’ Day becomes more for canonized saints in Christian history in this tradition. The more liturgical Protestants don’t teach or affirm purgatory, but they do keep the day as a general time of prayer, remembering Christians who have passed away. The Anglican Book of Common Prayer doesn’t include All Souls’ Day as a feast day, but individual Anglican parishes have special prayers to honor the dead. Some High Church or liturgical Lutherans have the same.
Other Protestants, like Baptists, Pentecostals, and Evangelicals, don’t observe All Souls’ Day in any way. They reject the doctrine of purgatory as unbiblical, generally teaching souls have their chance to be saved while alive. Upon death, judgment can’t be changed (Hebrews 9:27).
Is All Souls’ Day Biblical and Should Christians Celebrate It?
As a formal observance or holiday, All Souls’ Day doesn’t appear in the Bible, since it developed a thousand years after Christ. However, there are some verses supporting praying for the dead, depending on interpretation.
One of the most common verses used to support praying for the dead is 2 Maccabees 12:44-46, which is part of what people call the Deuterocanonical books. Catholics and Orthodox consider the Deuterocanonical books as Scripture, but Protestants and Evangelicals don’t. In these verses, Judas Maccabeus offers sacrifices and intercedes for fallen Jewish soldiers, expressing it as a “holy and pious thought” to pray for the dead to be forgiven. These soldiers didn’t have time to personally repent for anything they may have done before falling in battle. But they gave their lives for a holy cause, to the Maccabees, so they should be prayed for and sacrificed for so they can have a good afterlife. This passage supports the idea that praying for the dead has important impacts.
From the Protestant and Evangelical canon, which doesn’t include the Deuterocanonical books, a couple of passages have more indirect support. 1 Corinthians 15:29 mentions believers being “baptized for the dead,” which Paul doesn’t condemn, but we have no more information about the practice. At the very least, some believers had committed to follow Jesus but died before being formally baptized, and perhaps others got baptized on their behalf. Even more indirectly, Paul prays the Lord will show mercy to Onesiphorus “on that day,” the day of judgment (2 Timothy 1:16-18), which could imply Onesiphorus had already died. While Catholics see these verses as more evidence, the text doesn’t clearly support the practice of praying for the dead, as though it can change salvation status.
At the same time, Scripture does support honoring the memory of faithful Christians who have died. Hebrews 11 lists the “heroes of the faith” who have died, using their example to learn from and emulate. In the next chapter, connected to the heroes of faith, Hebrews 12:1 describes dead saints as a “great cloud of witnesses,” watching believers on earth.
Many Christians argue against praying for the dead, especially to help their salvation, due to how the New Testament consistently teaches, “It is appointed for man once to die, and after that comes judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). The Bible generally encourages us to honor and celebrate men and women of faith who came before us, throughout history, but this honoring never seems to cross into trying to benefit the eternal destiny of the dead through prayers or sacrifices, especially in the Evangelical canon.
The overwhelming biblical evidence urges us to preach the Gospel to the living, while there’s hope. While living, unrepentant sinners are already doomed to eternal death, or hell, and no one can be good enough on their own to escape such a fate. Only through faith in Christ, not based on acts of righteousness, can anyone have eternal life now and forever. Never does the New Testament even hint that someone can be righteous enough to get almost there, or enough to sway God in the afterlife through prayers and sacrifices. Such a doctrine would go against salvation by grace alone through faith in Jesus.
What Are Some All Souls’ Day Prayers?
Since purgatory isn’t a biblical idea, we’ll focus here on some prayers for the faithful departed.
1. Prayer of Thanksgiving:
“Father, we thank You for the lives of Your saints who have gone before us. We rejoice that they now dwell with You in glory. Their faith inspired us, their love pointed us to Christ, and their example strengthens us today. Help us walk in the path they walked, pursuing Christ with boldness, until we, too, join the great cloud of witnesses before Your throne.”
2. Prayer of Celebration:
“Lord Jesus, we praise You for defeating death and opening heaven to all who trust in You. Today, we remember with joy those we love who now see You face to face. Let their memory stir up hope in us. Let their legacy remind us to live for what is eternal, not what fades. Thank You for the gift of their lives and the victory they now share with You.”
3. Prayer for Endurance Inspired by the Faithful:
“Holy Spirit, strengthen us as we remember the faithful ones who endured to the end. May their stories spur us on in our own journey of faith. Give us courage to live with the same devotion, humility, and hope. Let their witness remind us that this life is not the end, and that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.”
These prayers participate in All Souls’ Day to celebrate and give thanks for those who have gone before, people who endured, living victorious in Christ. These Christians can encourage us to live so we, too, can say with Paul, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7).
Peace.
Read More about All Souls' Day:
All Souls' Day: Christian Origin, Traditions, and Prayer
What's the Difference between Halloween, All Saints' Day, and All Souls' Day?
Are All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day the Same?
Photo credit: Unsplash/Annie Spratt
