Peter Brown, that great historian of early Christianity, has given the most cogent explanation for the arising of the cult of the saints in the late Roman world. He explains that the emphasis of early Christian preaching on judgment, on the human need for redemption from sin, brought to the minds of common people – among whom Christianity was early successful – their social and political condition. Having strictly limited powers to remedy any injustice they might suffer, or to clear themselves of any charges of wrongdoing, they turned, when they could, to their social betters in hope of aid. If a local patrician could befriend them – could be, at least for a time, their patron – then they had a chance, at least, of receiving justice or at least escaping punishment. “It is this hope of amnesty, ” Brown writes, “that pushed the saint to the foreground as patronus. For patronage and friendship derived their appeal from a proven ability to render malleable seemingly inexorable processes, and to bridge with the warm breath of personal acquaintance the great distances of the late- Roman social world. In a world so sternly organized around sin and justice, patrocimium [patronage] and amicitia [friendship] provided a much-needed language of amnesty.” As this cult became more and more deeply entrenched in the Christian life, it made sense for there to be, not just feast days for individual saints, but a day on which everyone’s indebtedness to the whole company of saints – gathered around the throne of God, pleading on our behalf – could be properly acknowledged. After all, we do not know who all the saints are: no doubt men and women of great holiness escaped the notice of their peers, but are known to God. They deserve our thanks, even if we cannot thank them by name. So the logic went: and a general celebration of the saints seems to have begun as early as the fourth century, though it would only be four hundred years later that Pope Gregory III would designate the first day of November as the Feast of All Saints. . Alan Jacobs
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The story of All Saints Day is a striking example of the way in which the historical literature of Christianity has been shaped by the social and political situation in which it arose. The idea that Christians should remember the saints was widely accepted in the early centuries, yet it took several centuries to develop into a fixed practice. The Christian world was still very much under the notion of sin, with its punishment at the hands of God. This idea was often reinforced by the fact that Christianity had only recently severed ties with Judaism, when Christians were still expected to imitate Jewish practices in all things.

Since Christians were not allowed to sacrifice offerings to their pagan gods, they faced the prospect of being punished by God for doing what was not considered sinful at all by Jews. It is in this context that we must understand the development of All Saints Day, in which Christians were encouraged to remember not just their own personal patron saints, but all the saints together on one day. On this day, it was believed that Christians could ask God to forgive them for their sins and receive His grace and mercy.

Source: Original Sin: A Cultural History

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