Byzantine Emperor Phocas's Gift And The Survival Of Classicism

All Saints' Day is a Christian holiday observed by many Western churches on November 1 and by Eastern churches on the first Sunday after Pentecost. Today, this holiday honors all Saints of the church, including those not known by name.

The first All Saints' Day occurred in 609 C.E. when Pope Boniface IV accepted the Roman Pantheon as a gift from the Byzantine Emperor Phocas. Boniface dedicated it as the Church of Santa Maria Rotonda in honor of the Blessed Virgin and all martyrs.