The term "saint" is a context-specific translation of the Latin "sanctus", meaning sacred, and originally referred to a sacred (extremely holy) person—however, since the 10th century, the Church has reserved the status of saint to people its official canon law (including calendar) has recognised for outstanding Christian service and conduct. When the Church of England was in union with Rome saints arose in the form of canonisation. Those martyrs and confessors recognised before the 10th century and since the break with Rome in the 16th century are generally still considered both "saints" and "Saints". "Hero/heroine" are sometimes to refer to those holy people whom the church synod or an individual church praises as having had special benevolence who have lived and died since the split with Rome. It considers such muted terms a reversion to a more simple and cautious doctrine which emphasises empowerment (subsidiarity) to all members and components of the church.
The provinces of the Anglican Communion therefore commemorate many of the saints in the General Roman Calendar, often on the same days. In some cases, Anglican Calendars have kept pre-1954 celebratory days that the Roman Catholic Church abolished or moved.
Like the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion has special holy days in honour of Jesus Christ, the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Apostles. Many of the parish churches in the Communion have the names Christ Church, and St. Mary the Virgin. The same can also be said for the four great patrons of Great Britain and Ireland, Saint George (England), Saint David (Wales), Saint Patrick (Ireland), and Saint Andrew (Scotland).
English and local saints are often emphasised, and there are differences between the provinces' calendars. King Charles I of England is the only person to have been treated as a new saint by some Anglicans following the English Reformation, after which he was referred to as a martyr and included briefly in a calendar of the Book of Common Prayer. This canonisation is, however, considered neither universal nor official in the Anglican Communion worldwide, and many national Churches list him as a martyr and not a Saint, or as neither.
There are several persons commemorated in the modern Anglican calendars who were opposed to the Roman Catholic Church. Of particular note are John Wycliffe and William Tyndale, for beginning the full translation of the Bible into English (a project which led to the Geneva Bible), and for writings against the Catholic Church.
The Oxford Martyrs, Thomas Cranmer, Nicholas Ridley, and Hugh Latimer, are also commemorated for the courage they showed in death, and for their belief in a free Church of England.
Ugandan martyrs
In the 19th century, a group of Anglican and Roman Catholic converts were martyred together in Uganda. On 18 October 1964, Pope Paul VI canonised the 22 Ugandan martyrs who were Roman Catholics.
Anglican Churches also commemorate various famous (often post-Reformation) Christians. The West front of Westminster Abbey, for example, contains statues of 20th-century martyrs like Maximilian Kolbe, Martin Luther King, Jr., Oscar Romero, Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Lucian Tapiedi (one of the Anglican New Guinea Martyrs).
Aelred of Hexham (1110–1167), Abbot of Rievaulx—January 12
Aidan (d. 651), Bishop of Lindisfarne, Missionary—
Alban (d. between 209–304), Protomartyr of Britain—June 22
Alcuin of York (c. 735–804), Deacon, Abbot of Tours
Aldhelm (c. 639–709), Bishop of Sherborne—May 25
Alfred the Great (849–899), King of Wessex
Alphege (954–1012), Archbishop of Canterbury, Martyr—April 19
Anselm of Canterbury (c. 1033–1109), Archbishop of Canterbury
Augustine of Canterbury (d. c. 604), first Archbishop of Canterbury—
Benedict Biscop (c. 628–690), Abbot of Wearmouth—January 12
Birinus (c. 600–649), Bishop of Dorchester, Apostle of Wessex—September 4 (Church of England) December 3 (Roman Catholic)
Brigid (c. 451–525), Abbess of Kildare—February 1
Cedd (c. 620–644), Abbot of Lastingham, Bishop of the East Saxons—October 26
Chad (d. 672), Bishop of Lichfield—March 2
Charles I of England (1600–1649), King of England, Scotland, and Ireland—January 30
Columba (521–597), Abbot of Iona, Missionary—June 9
Crispin and Crispinian (d. c. 286)—October 25 Immortalized as Saint Crispin's Day in Henry V by Shakespeare
Cuthbert (c. 634–687), Bishop of Lindisfarne—Church of England March 20; Church in Wales September 4); 31 August Episcopal Church (USA) August 31
Dunstan (c. 909–989), Archbishop of Canterbury
Edmund the Martyr (d. 869), King of the East Angles, Martyr
Edward the Confessor (c. 1003 to 1005–1066), King of England—October 13 (Translation of relics)
Etheldreda (c. 636–679), Abbess of Ely—June 23
Felix of Burgundy (d. 647 or 648), Bishop, Apostle to the East Angles—March 8
Robert Grosseteste (c. 1175–1253), Bishop of Lincoln, Philosopher, Scientist
Hilda (c. 614–680), Abbess of Whitby
Hildegard (1098–1179), Abbess of Bingen, Visionary—September 17
Hugh (1135 to 1140–1200), Carthusian monk and Bishop of Lincoln—November 17
Julian of Norwich (c. 1342-c. 1416), Spiritual Writer, Mystic—May 8, May 13
Margery Kempe (c. 1373-after 1438), Housewife and Mystic
Margaret (c. 1045–1093), Queen of Scotland, Mystic—June 10 or November 16
Mellitus (d. 624), first Bishop of London—April 24
Kentigern (d. 614), Bishop of Cumbria—January 13
Ninian (4th or 5th century), Bishop of Galloway, Apostle of the Picts—September 16
Osmund (d. 1099), Bishop of Salisbury—December 4
Oswald (c. 604–642), King of Northumbria, Martyr—August 5
Paulinus (d. 644), Archbishop of York, Missionary—October 10
Petroc (d. c. 564), Missionary to the West Country—June 4
Richard, Bishop of Chichester (1197–1253)—
Richard Rolle (1290–1349) of Hampole, Spiritual Writer
Edmund Rich of Abingdon (1175–1240), Archbishop of Canterbury—November 16
Saint Swithun (d. c. 682), Bishop of Winchester—July 15 in England and July 2 in Norway
Theodore of Tarsus (602–690), Archbishop of Canterbury—September 19
Thomas Becket (c. 1118–1170), Archbishop of Canterbury, Martyr—December 29
William Tyndale (c. 1494–1536), Translator of the Scriptures, Martyr—October 6
The Venerable Bede (672 or 673–735), Monk at Jarrow, Scholar, Historian—Western Churches on May 25 and Orthodox Churches May 27
Wilfrid (c. 633-c. 709), Bishop, Missionary—
William of Ockham (c. 1287–1347), Friar, Philosopher
Willibrord of York (c. 658–739), Bishop, Apostle of Frisia—November 7
Wulfstan (d. 1095), Bishop of Worcester—January 19
The ninth Lambeth Conference held in 1958 clarified the commemoration of Saints and Heroes of the Christian Church in the Anglican Communion. Resolution 79 stated:
In the case of scriptural saints, care should be taken to commemorate men or women in terms which are in strict accord with the facts made known in Holy Scripture.
In the case of other names, the Calendar should be limited to those whose historical character and devotion are beyond doubt.
In the choice of new names economy should be observed and controversial names should not be inserted until they can be seen in the perspective of history.
The addition of a new name should normally result from a widespread desire expressed in the region concerned over a reasonable period of time.
The following have been identified as heroes of the Christian Church in the Anglican Communion (post-reformation individuals commemorated in the Church of England Calendar, excluding those primarily venerated by the Roman Catholic or Orthodox churches):
Lancelot Andrewes (1555–1626), Bishop of Winchester, spiritual writer, theologian
Anthony Ashley-Cooper (1801–1885), Earl of Shaftesbury, social reformer
Vedanayagam Samuel Azariah (1874–1945), bishop in South India, evangelist
Samuel Barnett (1844–1913) and Henrietta Barnett (1851–1936), social reformers
Richard Baxter (1615–1691), Puritan divine
Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906–1945), Lutheran pastor, martyr
William Booth (1829–1912) and Catherine Booth (1829–1890), founders of the Salvation Army
Thomas Bray (1658–1730), founder of the SPCK
John Bunyan (1628–1688), spiritual writer
Joseph Butler (1692–1752), Bishop of Durham, philosopher
Josephine Butler (1828–1906), social reformer
John Calvin (1509–1564), reformer
Wilson Carlile (1847–1942), founder of the Church Army
Edith Cavell (1865–1915), nurse
Charles I (1600–1649), king and martyr
Caroline Chisholm (1808–1877), social reformer
Thomas Cranmer (1489–1556), Archbishop of Canterbury, Reformation martyr
John Donne (1572–1631), priest, poet
Elizabeth Ferard (1825–1883), first Deaconess of the Church of England, founder of the Community of St Andrew
Nicholas Ferrar (1592–1637), deacon, founder of the Little Gidding Community
George Fox (1624–1691), founder of the Society of Friends (the Quakers)
Elizabeth Fry (1780–1845), prison reformer
Allen Gardiner (1794–1851), missionary, founder of the South American Mission Society
Isabella Gilmore (1842–1923), deaconess
Charles Gore (1853–1932), bishop, founder of the Community of the Resurrection
James Hannington (1847–1885), bishop of Eastern Equatorial Africa, martyr in Uganda
George Herbert (1593–1633), priest, poet
Octavia Hill (1838–1912), social reformer
Richard Hooker (1554–1600), priest, apologist, theologian
Eglantyne Jebb (1876–1928), social reformer, founder of 'Save The Children'
Samuel Johnson (1709–1784), moralist
John Keble (1792–1866), priest, tractarian, poet
Thomas Ken (1637–1711), Bishop of Bath and Wells
Geoffrey Studdert Kennedy (1883–1929), priest, poet
Edward King (1829–1920), Bishop of Lincoln
Apolo Kivebulaya (c. 1864–1933), priest, evangelist in Central Africa
Ini Kopuria (d. 1945), founder of the Melanesian Brotherhood
Hugh Latimer (c. 1487–1555), Bishop of Worcester, Reformation martyr
William Laud (1573–1645), Archbishop of Canterbury
William Law (1686–1761), priest, spiritual writer,
Charles Fuge Lowder (1820–1880), priest
Martin Luther (1483–1546), reformer
Janani Luwum (c. 1922–1977), Archbishop of Uganda, martyr
Frederick Denison Maurice (1805–1872), priest
Henry Martyn (1781–1812), translator of the Scriptures, missionary in India and Persia
Bernard Mizeki (c. 1861–1896), apostle of the MaShona, martyr
Harriet Monsell (1811–1883), founder of the Community of St John the Baptist
John Mason Neale (1818–1866), priest, hymn writer
John Henry Newman (1801–1890), Cardinal, tractarian, theologian
Florence Nightingale (1820–1910), nurse, social reformer
John Coleridge Patteson (1827–1871), first Bishop of Melanesia and martyr
Edward Bouverie Pusey (1800–1882), priest, tractarian
Pandita Mary Ramabai (1858–1922), translator of the Scriptures
Nicholas Ridley (c. 1500–1555), Bishop of London, Reformation martyr
Oscar Romero (1917–1980), Archbishop of San Salvador, martyr
Christina Rossetti (1830–1894), poet
Samuel Seabury (1729–1796), first Anglican bishop in North America
Priscilla Lydia Sellon, a restorer of the religious life in the Church of England
George Augustus Selwyn (1809–1878), first Anglican Bishop of New Zealand
Sadhu Sundar Singh ( 1889– ? ), evangelist, teacher of the Faith
Mary Slessor (1848–1915), missionary in West Africa
Mary Sumner (1828–1921), founder of the Mothers' Union
Jeremy Taylor (1613–1667), Bishop of Down and Connor
William Temple (1881–1944), Archbishop of Canterbury
Thomas Traherne (1636 or 1637–1674), poet, spiritual writer
William Tyndale (c. 1494–1536), translator of the Scriptures, Reformation martyr
Evelyn Underhill (1875–1941), spiritual writer
Henry Venn (1725–1797), John Venn (1759–1813), and Henry Venn the younger (1796–1873), priests, evangelical divines
Isaac Watts (1674–1748), hymn writer
Charles Wesley (1707–1788), evangelist, hymn writer
John Wesley (1703–1791), priest, evangelist, founder of Methodism
John West (1778-1845), missionary and the first Anglican priest in Western Canada
William Wilberforce (1759–1833), social reformer
