All Saints’ Day
Commemorates all saints, known and unknown, on Nov. 1. All Saints’ Day is one of the seven principal feasts of the church year, and one of the four days recommended for the administration of baptism. All Saints’ Day may also be celebrated on the Sunday following Nov. 1.
Commemoration of All Faithful Departed (aka All Souls’ Day)
This optional observance is an extension of All Saints’ Day. While All Saints’ is to remember all the saints, popular piety felt the need to distinguish between outstanding saints and those who are unknown in the wider fellowship of the church, especially family members and friends. Commemoration of All Faithful Departed did not appear in an American Prayer Book until 1979, and it is celebrated on Nov. 2. It is also known as All Souls’ Day. Many churches now commemorate all the faithful departed in the context of the All Saints’ Day celebration.
from Don S. Armentrout’s An Episcopal Dictionary of the Church: A User-Friendly Reference for Episcopalians Church Publishing Inc., 2000.
