For God had something better in mind for us, so that (the saints) would not reach perfection without us. (Heb 11:40)

Tomorrow is All Saints Day in the Western Church, and in the coming weeks the Armenian Church will celebrate All Saints in our own way. Of course, in our church the name for all Saints is much longer; as if we got paid by the word! Though, in the case of All Saints, our lengthy Armenian name has much significance. We call the feast of All Saints, Տօն ամեն սուրբերու, հին եւ նոր, ծանոթ եւ անծանոթ; The Feast of All Saints; Old and New, Known and Unknown.  Now that is a striking title, that begs many questions. We know St. Hripsime and St. Gregory the Illuminator-they are old and well known-but who are these saints new and unknown? Just how close are they?  Might their names be in our bulletin for requiems or might they even be here today? Well we just may be talking about your grandma, about the person sitting next to you, or about our children whose saintliness is now just a seed. You might say that the Armenian way of celebrating all saints, breaks the fourth wall of holiness. Like when an actor on stage starts talking directly to the audience and breaks the invisible wall separating drama from reality, The Feast of All Saints; Old and New, Known and Unknown breaks down the invisible wall separating the ‘sacred’ past from the ‘ordinary’ present. For us, the saints aren’t just the ancient famous few, and they aren’t buried in the past. The saints are also the unknown many from recent times and even today, and even the holiest saints of yesterday cannot be perfected without us, here today.