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Image of a fiery purgatory by Annibale Carracci
PurgatoryFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Purgatory, according to Catholic Church doctrine, is
anintermediate state after physical death in which thosedestined
for heaven "undergo purification, so as toachieve the holiness
necessary to enter the joy ofheaven".[1] Only those who die in the
state of grace buthave not in life reached a sufficient level of
holiness canbe in Purgatory, and therefore no one in Purgatory
willremain forever in that state or go to hell. Thistheological
notion has ancient roots and is well-attestedin early Christian
literature, but the poetic conception ofPurgatory as a
geographically existing place is largelythe creation of medieval
Christian piety andimagination.[2]
The notion of Purgatory is associated particularly withthe Latin
Rite of the Catholic Church (in the Eastern suijuris churches or
rites it is a doctrine, though it is notoften called "Purgatory",
but the "final purification" orthe "final theosis"); Anglicans of
the Anglo-Catholictradition generally also hold to the belief,
along withmany Lutherans of High Church Lutheranism.
EasternOrthodox Churches believe in the possibility of achange of
situation for the souls of the dead through theprayers of the
living and the offering of the DivineLiturgy, and many Orthodox,
especially among ascetics,hope and pray for a general
apocatastasis.[3] Judaism also believes in the possibility of
after-deathpurification and may even use the word "purgatory" to
present its understanding of the meaning ofGehenna.[4] However, the
concept of soul "purification" may be explicitly denied in these
other faithtraditions.
The word "Purgatory", derived through Anglo-Norman and Old
French from the Latin wordpurgatorium,[5] has come to refer also to
a wide range of historical and modern conceptions of
postmortemsuffering short of everlasting damnation,[2] and is used,
in a non-specific sense, to mean any place orcondition of suffering
or torment, especially one that is temporary.[6]
Contents1 History of the belief2 In Christianity
2.1 Catholicism2.1.1 Heaven and Hell
2.1.2 Role in relation to sin
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Image of a non-fierypurgatory (Gustave Dor:illustration for
Dante'sPurgatorio, Canto 24)
2.1.2 Role in relation to sin2.1.3 Pain and fire2.1.4 Prayer for
the dead and indulgences2.1.5 As a physical place2.1.6 Catholic
statements
2.2 Eastern Christian churches2.2.1 Eastern Catholic2.2.2
Eastern Orthodox
2.3 Anglicanism2.4 Protestantism in general2.5 Lutheranism2.6
Methodism2.7 Mormonism
3 Judaism4 Islam5 Purgatory and the Life Review6 Cultural
references7 See also8 References9 External links
History of the beliefWhile use of the word "Purgatory" (in Latin
purgatorium) as a nounappeared perhaps only between 1160 and 1180,
giving rise to the idea ofpurgatory as a place[7] (what Jacques Le
Goff called the "birth" ofpurgatory),[8] the Roman Catholic
tradition of Purgatory as a transitionalcondition has a history
that dates back, even before Jesus Christ, to theworldwide practice
of caring for the dead and praying for them, and to thebelief,
found also in Judaism,[9] which is considered the precursor
ofChristianity, that prayer for the dead contributed to their
afterlifepurification. The same practice appears in other
traditions, such as themedieval Chinese Buddhist practice of making
offerings on behalf of thedead, who are said to suffer numerous
trials.[2] Roman Catholic belief inafter-life purification is based
on the practice of praying for the dead, whichis mentioned in what
the Roman Catholic Church has declared to be part ofSacred
Scripture,[10][11] and which was adopted by Christians from
thebeginning,[12] a practice that presupposes that the dead are
thereby assistedbetween death and their entry into their final
abode.[2]
Belief in after-life "temporary punishments agreeable to every
one's behaviour and manners" was expressedin the early Christian
work in Greek known as Josephus's Discourse to the Greeks
concerning Hades, whichwas once attributed to Josephus (37 c. 100)
but is now believed to be by Hippolytus of Rome (170235).[13]
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Our Lady of Mount Carmelwith angels and souls inPurgatory.
Baroque sculpturefrom Beniajan, Spain.
Altarpiece of the souls inpurgatory. Church of theImmaculate
Conception(Santa Cruz de Tenerife,Spain).
Shortly before becoming a Roman Catholic,[14] the English
scholar John Henry Newman argued that theessence of the doctrine is
locatable in ancient tradition, and that the core consistency of
such beliefs isevidence that Christianity was "originally given to
us from heaven".[15] Roman Catholics consider theteaching on
Purgatory, but not the imaginative accretions, to be part of the
faith derived from the revelationof Jesus Christ that was preached
by the Apostles. Of the early Church Fathers, Origen says that He
whocomes to be saved, comes to be saved through [a] fire that burns
away sins and worldliness like lead,leaving behind only pure
gold.[16] St. Ambrose of Milan speaks of a kind of "baptism of
fire" which islocated at the entrance to Heaven, and through which
all must pass, at theend of the world.[17] Pope St. Gregory the
Great says that the belief inPurgatory is established (constat),
and to be believed (credendum),insisting however, that the
Purgatorial fire can only purify away minortransgressions, not
iron, bronze, or lead, or other hardened (duriora)sins.[18] By this
he meant that attachments to sin, habits of sin, and evenvenial
sins could be removed in Purgatory, but not mortal sin,
which,according to Catholic doctrine, causes eternal damnation.
Over the centuries,theologians and other Christians then developed
the doctrine regardingPurgatory, leading to the definition of the
formal doctrine (as distinct fromthe legendary descriptions found
in poetic literature) at the First Council ofLyon (1245), Second
Council of Lyon (1274), the Council of Florence(14381445), and the
Council of Trent (154563).[2][19]
In ChristianitySome churches, typically those with a more
"Catholic" structure, recognizethe doctrine of Purgatory, while
many Protestant and Eastern Orthodoxchurches would not use the same
terminology, the former on the basis oftheir own sola scriptura
doctrine, combined with their exclusion of 2Maccabees from the
Bible. The latter because the Orthodox Churchesconsider Purgatory a
non-essential doctrine.
Catholicism
The Catholic Church gives the name Purgatory to the final
purification of allwho die in God's grace and friendship, but are
still imperfectly purified.[20]Though Purgatory is often pictured
as a place rather than a process ofpurification, the idea of
purgatory as a physical place with time is not part ofthe Church's
doctrine.[21]
Heaven and Hell
According to Catholic belief, immediately after death, a person
undergoesjudgment in which the soul's eternal destiny is
specified.[22] Some areeternally united with God in Heaven,
envisioned as a paradise of eternal joy,where Theosis is completed
and one experiences the beatific vision of God.
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Image of a fiery purgatory inthe Trs Riches Heures duDuc de
Berry
A depiction of purgatory byVenezuelan painter CristbalRojas
(1890) representingthe boundary betweenheaven (above) and
hell(below)
Conversely, others (those who die in hatred of God and Christ)
reach a state called Hell, that is eternalseparation from God often
envisioned as an abode of never ending, fierytorment, a fire
sometimes considered to be metaphorical.[23]
Role in relation to sin
In addition to accepting the states of heaven and hell,
Catholicism envisagesa third state before being admitted to heaven.
According to Catholicdoctrine, some souls are not sufficiently free
from the temporal effects of sinand its consequences to enter the
state of heaven immediately, nor are theyso sinful and hateful of
Christ as to be destined for hell either.[24] Suchsouls, ultimately
destined to be united with God in heaven, must first becleansed
through purgatory a state of purification.[25] Through
purgatory,souls "achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of
heaven".[26]
Mortal sin incurs both temporal punishment and eternal
punishment, venialsin incurs only temporal punishment. The Catholic
Church makes adistinction between these two types of sin.[27]
Mortal sin is a "sin whoseobject is grave matter and which is also
committed with full knowledge anddeliberate consent",[28] and "if
it is not redeemed by repentance and God'sforgiveness, it causes
exclusion from Christ's kingdom and the eternal deathof hell, for
our freedom has the power to make choices for ever, with noturning
back".[29]
In contrast, venial sin (meaning "forgivable" sin) "does not set
us in directopposition to the will and friendship of God"[30] and,
although still"constituting a moral disorder",[31] does not deprive
the sinner of friendshipwith God, and consequently the eternal
happiness of heaven.[30] However,since venial sin weakens charity,
manifests a disordered affection for createdgoods, and impedes the
soul's progress in the exercise of the virtues and thepractice of
the moral good, it merits temporal punishment.[30]
According to Catholicism, purification from our sinful
tendencies can occurduring life. The situation has been compared to
that of someone who needsto be cleansed of any addiction. As from
any addiction, rehabilitation fromthe "disordered affection for
created goods" will be a gradual and probablypainful process. It
can be advanced during life by voluntary self-mortification and
penance and by deeds ofgenerosity that show love of God rather than
of creatures. After death, a cleansing process can berecognized as
a still necessary preparation for entering the divine
presence.[32]
The writings of Saint Catherine of Genoa explain: "As for
paradise, God has placed no doors there.Whoever wishes to enter,
does so. All-merciful God stands there with His arms open, waiting
to receive usinto His glory. I also see, however, that the divine
presence is so pure and light-filled much more than wecan imagine
that the soul that has but the slightest imperfection would rather
throw itself into a thousand
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Another image of souls being purifiedby flames in purgatory
hells than appear thus before the divine presence. Tongue cannot
express nor heart understand the fullmeaning of purgatory, which
the soul willingly accepts as a mercy the realization that that
suffering is of noimportance compared to the removal of the
impediment of sin."[33]
Pain and fire
Purgatory is commonly regarded as a cleansing by way of painful
temporal punishment, which, like theeternal punishment of hell, is
associated with the idea of fire.[34] While "pain of the senses"
(as opposed to"pain of longing" for the Beatific Vision) is not
doctrinally defined as being a part of Purgatory, theoverwhelming
consensus of theologians has been that it does involve pain of the
senses. Several ChurchFathers regarded 1Corinthians 3:1015
(http://tools.wmflabs.org/bibleversefinder/?book=1%20Corinthians&verse=3:1015&src=NKJV)
as evidence for the existence of an intermediate statein which the
dross of lighter transgressions will be burnt away, and the soul
thus purified will be saved.[34]
Fire was the Bible-inspired image ("We went through fire and
through water")[35] that Christians used forthe notion of
after-life purification.[36] St. Augustine described the fires of
cleansing as more painful thananything a man can suffer in this
life,[34] and Pope Gregory I wrote that there must be a cleansing
fire forsome minor faults that may remain to be purged away.[37]
Origen wrote about the fire that needs to purifythe soul[38] St.
Gregory of Nyssa also wrote about the purging fire.[39]
Most theologians of the past have held that the fire is in some
sense amaterial fire, though of a nature different from ordinary
fire, but theopinion of other theologians who interpret the
Scriptural term "fire"metaphorically has not been condemned by the
Church[40] and maynow be the more common view among theologians.
The Catechismof the Catholic Church speaks of a "cleansing
fire"[41] and quotes theexpression "purgatorius ignis" (purifying
fire) used by Pope Gregorythe Great. It speaks of the temporal
punishment for sin, even in thislife, as a matter of "sufferings
and trials of all kinds".[42] It describespurgatory as a necessary
purification from "an unhealthy attachmentto creatures", a
purification that "frees one from what is called the
'temporal punishment' of sin", a punishment that "must not be
conceived of as a kind of vengeance inflictedby God from without,
but as following from the very nature of sin."[43]
Prayer for the dead and indulgences
The Catholic Church teaches that the fate of those in purgatory
can be affected by the actions of the living.Its teaching is based
also on the practice of prayer for the dead mentioned as far back
as 2Maccabees12:4246
(http://tools.wmflabs.org/bibleversefinder/?book=2%20Maccabees&verse=12:4246&src=NAB),considered
by Catholics and Orthodox to be part of Sacred Scripture.[45]
In the same context there is mention of the practice of
indulgences. An indulgence is a remission beforeGod, through the
mediation of the Church, of the temporal punishment due to sins
whose guilt has alreadybeen forgiven.[46] Indulgences may be
obtained for oneself, or on behalf of the dead.[47] Despite
popularperception, the Catholic Church has never taught that
indulgences forgive any sins, for this is God's
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Catacomb inscriptionsinclude prayers for thedead.[44]
Statue of Our Lady of MountCarmel with souls inpurgatory begging
theintercession of Mary
jurisdiction alone. Any persons who have taught that acts of
charity such as indulgences can forgive sinshave been condemned as
heretics by the Catholic Church. It is also a heretical position to
suggest thatindulgences are applied no matter how strong a
Christian may be in his faith. An indulgence is dependent(or any
act of charity for that matter) on the present faith of the
individual Christian (see Johann Tetzel).
Prayers for the dead and indulgences have been popularly
envisioned as decreasing the "duration" of timethe dead spend in
purgatory, an idea associated with the fact that, in the past,
indulgences were measured interms of days, "quarantines" (i.e.
40-day periods as for Lent), or years, meaning, not that purgatory
would beshortened by that amount of time, but that the indulgences
were equivalent to that length of canonical
penance on the part of a living Christian.[48]When the
imposition of such canonicalpenances of a determinate duration fell
out ofcustom these expressions were sometimespopularly
misinterpreted as reduction of thatmuch time of a soul's stay in
purgatory.[48] Aprayer roll that once belonged to HenryVIII[49]
claimed that "this image of pitydevotedly say 5 Pater Noster, 5 Ave
Mariaand 1 Credo..." gave a pardon and reductionof time in
purgatory of "52,712 years and 40days of pardon".[50] In Pope Paul
VI'srevision of the rules concerning indulgences,these expressions
were dropped, andreplaced by the expression "partialindulgence",
indicating that the person whogained such an indulgence for a pious
actionis granted, "in addition to the remission of temporal
punishment acquired bythe action itself, an equal remission of
punishment through the interventionof the Church".[51]
Historically, the practice of granting indulgences, and the
widespread[52] associated abuses, led to thembeing seen as
increasingly bound up with money, with criticisms being directed
against the "sale" ofindulgences, a source of controversy that was
the immediate occasion of the Protestant Reformation inGermany and
Switzerland.[53]
As a physical place
The envisioning of Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory as places in the
physical universe was never a Churchdoctrine. Nonetheless, in
antiquity and medieval times, Heaven and Hell were widely regarded
as placesexisting within the physical universe: Heaven "above", in
the sky; Hell "below", in or beneath the earth.Similarly, Purgatory
has at times been thought of as a physical location.
In 1206, a peasant named Thurkhill in England claimed that Saint
Julian took him on a tour of Purgatory.He gave precise details,
including descriptions of what he called Purgatory's "torture
chambers", and waswidely believed, including by the Church
historian Roger of Wendover.[54]
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Dante gazes at purgatory (shown as amountain) in this
16th-centurypainting.
In Dante's fourteenth century work La divina commedia (The
Divine Comedy), Purgatory is depicted as amountain in the southern
hemisphere. It is apparently the only land there. Souls who loved
God and manhalf-heartedly find themselves at Mt. Purgatory, where
there are two levels, then Seven Levels representingthe Seven
deadly sins with ironic punishments. For example, on the first
level for Pride the inhabitants areweighed down by huge stones
which force them to look at examples of Pride on the pavement like
Arachne.When they reach the top they will find themselves at
Jerusalem's antipode, the Garden of Eden itself. Thuscleansed of
all sin and made perfect, they wait in Earthly paradise before
ascending to Heaven.
In 1999 Pope John Paul II referred to Purgatory as "a condition
of existence",[21] implying that it is mostlikely not an actual
physical location or place, but is a state wherein"those who, after
death, exist in a state of purification, are already inthe love of
Christ who removes from them the remnants ofimperfection."
In 2011 Pope Benedict XVI, speaking of Saint Catherine of
Genoa(14471510), said that in her time the purification of
souls(Purgatory) was pictured as a location in space, but that the
saint sawPurgatory as a purifying inner fire, such as she
experienced in herprofound sorrow for sins committed, when compared
with God'sinfinite love. She said that being bound still to the
desires andsuffering that derive from sin makes it impossible for
the soul toenjoy the beatific vision of God. The Pope commented:
"We too feelhow distant we are, how full we are of so many things
that wecannot see God. The soul is aware of the immense love and
perfectjustice of God and consequently suffers for having failed to
respondin a correct and perfect way to this love; and love for God
itselfbecomes a flame, love itself cleanses it from the residue of
sin."[55]
Catholic statements
The Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, first
published in 2005, is a summary indialogue form of the Catechism of
the Catholic Church. It deals with purgatory in the
followingexchange:[56]
210. What is purgatory?
Purgatory is the state of those who die in Gods friendship,
assured of their eternalsalvation, but who still have need of
purification to enter into the happiness ofheaven.
211. How can we help the souls being purified in purgatory?
Because of the communion of saints, the faithful who are still
pilgrims on earth areable to help the souls in purgatory by
offering prayers in suffrage for them,especially the Eucharistic
sacrifice. They also help them by almsgiving, indulgences,and works
of penance.
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These two questions and answers summarize information in
sections 10201032[57] and 1054[58] of theCatechism of the Catholic
Church, published in 1992, which also speaks of purgatory in
sections 1472 and1473.[59]
Other authoritative statements are those of the Council of Trent
in 1563[60] and the Council of Florence in1439.[61]
Eastern Christian churches
Eastern Catholic
The Eastern Catholic churches are Catholic churches sui iuris of
Eastern tradition, in full communion withthe Pope. There are
however some differences between the Latin Church and some of the
Eastern CatholicChurches on aspects of purgatory. The Eastern
Catholic Churches of Greek tradition do not generally usethe word
"purgatory", but agree that there is a "final purification" for
souls destined for heaven, and thatprayers can help the dead who
are in that state of "final purification". In general, neither the
members of theLatin Church nor the members of these Eastern
Catholic Churches regard these differences as points ofdispute, but
see them as minor nuances and differences of tradition. A treaty
that formalized the admissionof the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church
into the full communion of the Roman Catholic Church stated:
"Weshall not debate about purgatory, but we entrust ourselves to
the teaching of the Holy Church",[62] implying,in the opinion of a
theologian of that Church, that both sides can agree to disagree on
the theologicalspeculations and opinions of what is called
Purgatory, while there is full agreement on essential
dogma.[63]Between the Latin-Rite Catholic Church and some other
Eastern Catholic Churches, such as the Syro-Malabar Catholic
Church, there is no variance about theological opinions of
Purgatory.[64][65]
Eastern Catholic Churches belonging to the Syriac Tradition
(Chaldean, Maronite and Syriac Catholic),generally believe in the
concept of Purgatory but use a different name like 'Sheol'. They
claim that this doesnot contradict with Latin-Catholic
doctrine.[66]
Eastern Orthodox
The Eastern Orthodox Church rejects the term "purgatory". It
admits an intermediate state after death. Itbelieves in the
determination of Heaven and Hell as stated in the Bible and that
prayer for the dead isnecessary.
"It is certainly not strange that the soul, having passed
through the toll-houses and finished forgood with earthly things,
should then be introduced to the truly other world, in one part
ofwhich it will spend eternity. According to the revelation of the
angel to St. Macarius ofAlexandria, the Churches special
commemoration of the departed on the ninth day after deathoccurs
because it is up to then the soul is shown the beauties of
Paradise, and only after this, forthe remainder of the forty days,
it is shown the torments and horrors of hell, before beingassigned
on the fortieth day to the place where it will await the
resurrection of the dead and theLast Judgement."[67]
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The Dormition of the Theotokos (athirteenth-century icon)
According to the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America:
The moral progress of the soul, either for better or for worse,
ends at the very moment of theseparation of the body and soul; at
that very moment the definite destiny of the soul in theeverlasting
life is decided. ... There is no way of repentance, no way of
escape, no reincarnationand no help from the outside world. Its
place is decided forever by its Creator and judge. TheOrthodox
Church does not believe in purgatory (a place of purging), that is,
the inter-mediatestate after death in which the souls of the saved
(those who have not received temporalpunishment for their sins) are
purified of all taint preparatory to entering into Heaven,
whereevery soul is perfect and fit to see God. Also, the Orthodox
Church does not believe inindulgences as remissions from purgatoral
punishment. Both purgatory and indulgences areinter-corrolated
theories, unwitnessed in the Bible or in the Ancient Church, and
when theywere enforced and applied they brought about evil
practices at the expense of the prevailingTruths of the Church. If
Almighty God in His merciful loving-kindness changes the
dreadfulsituation of the sinner, it is unknown to the Church of
Christ. The Church lived for fifteenhundred years without such a
theory.[68]
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Eastern Orthodox teaching is that, while all undergo a
Particular Judgment immediately after death, neitherthe just nor
the wicked attain the final state of bliss or punishment before the
last day,[69] with someexceptions for righteous souls like the
Theotokos (Blessed Virgin Mary), "who was borne by the
angelsdirectly to heaven".[70]
The Eastern Orthodox Church holds that it is necessary to
believe in an intermediate after-death state inwhich believers are
perfected and brought to full divinization, a process of growth
rather than ofpunishment, which some Orthodox have called
purgatory.[71] Eastern Orthodox theology does not generallydescribe
the situation of the dead as involving suffering or fire, although
it nevertheless describes it as a"direful condition".[72] The souls
of the righteous dead are in light and rest, with a foretaste of
eternalhappiness; but the souls of the wicked are in a state the
reverse of this. Among the latter, such souls as havedeparted with
faith, but "without having had time to bring forth fruits worthy of
repentance..., may be aidedtowards the attainment of a blessed
resurrection [at the end of time] by prayers offered in their
behalf,especially those offered in union with the oblation of the
bloodless sacrifice of the Body and Blood ofChrist, and by works of
mercy done in faith for their memory."[73]
The state in which souls undergo this experience is often
referred to as "Hades".[74]
The Orthodox Confession of Peter Mogila (15961646), adopted, in
a Greek translation by MeletiusSyrigos, by the 1642 Council of
Jassy, in Romania, professes that "many are freed from the prison
of hell ...through the good works of the living and the Church's
prayers for them, most of all through the unbloodysacrifice, which
is offered on certain days for all the living and the dead"
(question 64); and (under theheading "How must one consider the
purgatorial fire?") "the Church rightly performs for them the
unbloodysacrifice and prayers, but they do not cleanse themselves
by suffering something. But, the Church nevermaintained that which
pertains to the fanciful stories of some concerning the souls of
their dead, who havenot done penance and are punished, as it were,
in streams, springs and swamps" (question 66)."[75]
The Eastern Orthodox Synod of Jerusalem (1672) declared that
"the souls of those that have fallen asleepare either at rest or in
torment, according to what each hath wrought" (an enjoyment or
condemnation thatwill be complete only after the resurrection of
the dead); but the souls of some "depart into Hades, and
thereendure the punishment due to the sins they have committed. But
they are aware of their future release fromthere, and are delivered
by the Supreme Goodness, through the prayers of the Priests, and
the good workswhich the relatives of each do for their Departed;
especially the unbloody Sacrifice benefiting the most;which each
offers particularly for his relatives that have fallen asleep, and
which the Catholic and ApostolicChurch offers daily for all alike.
Of course, it is understood that we do not know the time of their
release.We know and believe that there is deliverance for such from
their direful condition, and that before thecommon resurrection and
judgment, but when we know not."[72]
Some Orthodox believe in a teaching of "aerial toll-houses" for
the souls of the dead. According to thistheory, which is rejected
by other Orthodox but appears in the hymnology of the Church,[76]
"following aperson's death the soul leaves the body and is escorted
to God by angels. During this journey the soul passesthrough an
aerial realm which is ruled by demons. The soul encounters these
demons at various pointsreferred to as 'toll-houses' where the
demons then attempt to accuse it of sin and, if possible, drag the
soulinto hell."[77]
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The Armenian Apostolic Church, against most of the other Eastern
Churches, does not maintain the doctrineof purgatory.[78]
Anglicanism
Purgatory was addressed by both of the foundation features of
Anglicanism in the 16th century: theThirty-Nine Articles of
Religion and the Book of Common Prayer.[79]
Article XXII of the Thirty-Nine Articles states that "The Romish
Doctrine concerning Purgatory . . . is afond thing, vainly
invented, and grounded upon no warranty of Scripture, but rather
repugnant to the Wordof God."[80] Prayers for the departed were
deleted from the 1552 Book of Common Prayer because theysuggested a
doctrine of purgatory. The 19th century Anglo-Catholic revival led
to restoring prayers for thedead.[81]
John Henry Newman, in his Tract XC of 1841 6, discussed Article
XXII. He highlighted the fact that it isthe Romish doctrine of
purgatory coupled with indulgences that Article XXII condemns as
repugnant tothe Word of God. The article did not condemn every
doctrine of purgatory and it did not condemn prayersfor the dead.
[82]
As of the year 2000, the state of the doctrine of purgatory in
Anglicanism was summarized as follows:
Purgatory is seldom mentioned in Anglican descriptions or
speculations concerning life afterdeath, although many Anglicans
believe in a continuing process of growth and developmentafter
death.[83]
Although there is little talk about purgatory in Anglicanism,
the Book of Common Prayer includes prayersfor the dead, both that
they may be purged of defilements . . . contracted in their earthly
life and thatthey may increase in the knowledge and love of
God.[84]
Leonel L. Mitchell (1930-2012) offers this rationale for prayers
for the dead:
No one is ready at the time of death to enter into life in the
nearer presence of God withoutsubstantial growth precisely in love,
knowledge, and service; and the prayer also recognizesthat God will
provide what is necessary for us to enter that state. This growth
will presumablybetween death and resurrection.[85]
Anglican theologian C. S. Lewis (1898-1963), reflecting on the
history of the doctrine of purgatory in theAnglican communion, said
there were good reasons for "casting doubt on the 'Romish doctrine
concerningPurgatory' as that Romish doctrine had then become", not
merely a "commercial scandal" but also thepicture of purgatory as a
temporary Hell, in which the souls are tormented by devils, whose
presence is"more horrible and grievous to us than is the pain
itself", and where the spirit who suffers the tortures
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cannot, for pain, "remember God as he ought to do". Lewis
believed instead in purgatory as presented inJohn Henry Newman's
The Dream of Gerontius. By this poem, Lewis wrote, "Religion has
reclaimedPurgatory", a process of purification that will normally
involve suffering.[86]
Protestantism in general
In general, Protestant churches reject the doctrine of
purgatory. One of Protestantism's central tenets is solascriptura
("scripture alone"). The general Protestant view is that the Bible,
from which Protestants excludedeuterocanonical books such as 2
Maccabees, contains no overt, explicit discussion of purgatory
andtherefore it should be rejected as an unbiblical belief.[87]
Another view held by many Protestants is sola fide ("by faith
alone"): that faith alone, apart from any action,is what achieves
salvation, and that good works are merely evidence of that
faith.[88] Salvation is generallyseen as a discrete event that
takes place once for all during one's lifetime, not the result of a
transformationof character. However, most Protestants teach that a
transformation of character naturally follows thesalvation
experience. Instead of distinguishing between mortal and venial
sins, Protestants believe that one'sfaith dictates one's state of
salvation and one's place in the afterlife. Those who have been
saved by God aredestined for heaven, while those have not been
saved will be excluded from heaven. Accordingly, theyreject any
notion of a provisional or temporary afterlife state such as
purgatory.[89]
Some Protestants hold that a person enters into the fullness of
its bliss or torment only after the resurrectionof the body, and
that the soul in that interim state is conscious and aware of the
fate in store for it.[90] Othershave held that souls in the
intermediate state between death and resurrection are without
consciousness, astate known as soul sleep.[91]
A 2011 book on Purgatory by a Protestant
As an argument for the existence of purgatory, Protestant
religious philosopher Jerry L. Walls[92] wrotePurgatory: The Logic
of Total Transformation (2011) The book evoked reviews and news
stories. Itreceived a positive review in the Roman Catholic
University of Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews.
Historically informed, philosophically competent, and
theologically alert . . . as carefuland fair a discussion of the
doctrine of purgatory as one is likely to find.[93]
The book also generated a news story in Religion News Service
about its impact on Protestant views ofPurgatory.[94] The Christian
Century suggested that, if Protestants followed Walls logic, they
might accepthis view of an intermediate stage without calling it
purgatory.[95]
Walls book on PurgatorySurveying religious history, Walls finds
ancient intimations of Purgatory in its precedents and parallelsin
non-Christian religions. Within early Christianity, he finds
biblical hints of Purgatory and examinesthem. In a survey of
Christian writers whom he calls the Fathers and Mothers of
Purgatory, Wall finds the
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beginnings of the doctrine of purgatory in their writings. These
three sources led up to the birth ofPurgatory in the 12th century.
The 13th century saw the beginnings of Purgatorys adoption and
itsadoption as doctrine in 1274.[96]
Walls does not base his belief in Purgatory primarily on
Scripture, the Mothers and Fathers of the church, orthe Magisterium
(doctrinal authority) of the Roman Catholic church. Rather his
basic argument is that, in aphrase he often uses, it makes
sense.[97] For Walls, Purgatory has a logic as in the title of his
book.
Walls logic of Purgatory begins with the fact that at least most
Christians die far short of perfection.Given that fact there are
four broad possibilities:
1. They go to heaven with the sins, so heaven is not essentially
sinless.2. They will be lost and not go to heaven.3. At the moment
of death, God makes people holy by an instantaneous unilateral
act.4. The sanctification process continues after death until it is
complete.[98]
Walls quickly rules out the first two possibilities and
dismisses the third as the position of mostProtestants. Walls
accepts the fourth possibility as his, that is, he argues for the
existence of Purgatory.[99]
Walls documents the contrast between the satisfaction and
sanctification models of Purgatory. In thesatisfaction model, the
punishment of purgatory is to satisfy Gods justice. In the
sanctification model,Wall writes that Purgatory might be pictured .
. . as a regimen to regain ones spiritual health and get backinto
moral shape.[100]
In Roman Catholic theology, Walls finds that the doctrine of
purgatory has swung between the poles ofsatisfaction and
sanctification sometimes combining both elements somewhere in the
middle. He believesthe sanctification model "can be affirmed by
Protestants without contradicting their theology and find that
itmakes better sense than an instantaneous purging of sin at the
moment of death. [101]
Lutheranism
Martin Luther, founder of the Lutheran Church, believed that it
was of no avail to pray for the dead.[102]Nonetheless, a core
statement of Lutheran doctrine, from the Book of Concord, states:
"We know that theancients speak of prayer for the dead, which we do
not prohibit; but we disapprove of the application exopere operato
of the Lord's Supper on behalf of the dead. ... Epiphanius
testifies that Aerius held thatprayers for the dead are useless.
With this he finds fault. Neither do we favor Aerius, but we do
argue withyou because you defend a heresy that clearly conflicts
with the prophets, apostles, and Holy Fathers,namely, that the Mass
justifies ex opere operato, that it merits the remission of guilt
and punishment evenfor the unjust, to whom it is applied, if they
do not present an obstacle." (Philipp Melanchthon, Apology ofthe
Augsburg Confession).[103] The Anglo-Lutheran Catholic Church,
however, believes in the doctrine ofpurgatory, as well as papal
infallibility and all Roman Catholic dogma. Additionally, High
ChurchLutheranism, like Anglo-Catholicism, is more likely to accept
some form of purgatory.
Methodism
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Methodist churches hold that "the Romish doctrine concerning
purgatory ... is a fond thing, vainly invented,and grounded upon no
warrant of Scripture, but repugnant to the Word of God."[104] Its
founder JohnWesley believed that there is "an intermediate state
between death and the final judgment, where those whorejected
Christ would be aware of their coming doom (not yet
pronounced),[105] and believers would sharein the 'bosom of
Abraham' or 'paradise', even continuing to grow in holiness
there."[106][107] Methodismdoes not formally affirm this belief,
but maintains silence on what lies between death and the
lastjudgment.[105]
Mormonism
Mormonism, the group of beliefs espoused by The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints, teaches of anintermediate place for
spirits between their death and their bodily resurrection. This
place, called "the spiritworld," includes "paradise" for the
righteous and "prison" for those who do not know God. Spirits
inparadise serve as missionaries to the spirits in prison, who can
still accept salvation. In this sense, spiritprison can be
conceptualized as a type of purgatory. In addition to hearing the
message from the missionaryspirits, the spirits in prison can also
accept posthumous baptism and other posthumous ordinancesperformed
by living church members in temples on Earth. This is frequently
referred to as "baptism for thedead" and "temple work."[108]
Mormons believe that during the three days following Christ's
crucifixion, hepreached his gospel to inhabitants of spirit
prison.[109]
JudaismIn Judaism, Gehenna is a place of purification where,
according to some traditions, most sinners spend up toa year before
release.
The view of purgatory can be found in the teaching of the
Shammaites: "In the last judgment day there shallbe three classes
of souls: the righteous shall at once be written down for the life
everlasting; the wicked, forGehenna; but those whose virtues and
sins counterbalance one another shall go down to Gehenna and
floatup and down until they rise purified; for of them it is said:
'I will bring the third part into the fire and refinethem as silver
is refined, and try them as gold is tried' [Zech. xiii. 9.]; also,
'He [the Lord] bringeth down toSheol and bringeth up again'" (I
Sam. ii. 6). The Hillelites seem to have had no purgatory; for they
said: "Hewho is 'plenteous in mercy' [Ex. xxxiv. 6.] inclines the
balance toward mercy, and consequently theintermediates do not
descend into Gehenna" (Tosef., Sanh. xiii. 3; R. H. 16b; Bacher,
"Ag. Tan." i. 18). Stillthey also speak of an intermediate
state.
Regarding the time which purgatory lasts, the accepted opinion
of R. Akiba is twelve months; according toR. Johanan b. Nuri, it is
only forty-nine days. Both opinions are based upon Isa. lxvi. 2324:
"From one newmoon to another and from one Sabbath to another shall
all flesh come to worship before Me, and they shallgo forth and
look upon the carcasses of the men that have transgressed against
Me; for their worm shall notdie, neither shall their fire be
quenched"; the former interpreting the words "from one new moon to
another"to signify all the months of a year; the latter
interpreting the words "from one Sabbath to another," inaccordance
with Lev. xxiii. 1516, to signify seven weeks. During the twelve
months, declares the baraita(Tosef., Sanh. xiii. 45; R. H. 16b),
the souls of the wicked are judged, and after these twelve months
areover they are consumed and transformed into ashes under the feet
of the righteous (according to Mal. iii. 21[A. V. iv. 3]), whereas
the great seducers and blasphemers are to undergo eternal tortures
in Gehennawithout cessation (according to Isa. lxvi. 24).
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The righteous, however, and, according to some, also the sinners
among the people of Israel for whomAbraham intercedes because they
bear the Abrahamic sign of the covenant are not harmed by the re
ofGehenna even when they are required to pass through the
intermediate state of purgatory ('Er. 19b; ag.27a).[110]
IslamIn Islam also, Muslims believe hell is a temporary place of
punishment for some, eternal for others. Sinningbelievers who end
up in Hell will stay temporarily but eventually will be removed
only if Allah will permitthem to enter to paradise, otherwise
that's not the rule for those who will leave hell later on. And
those whorefuse to work God and submit to him (i.e. God) alone
[111] will remain in Hell eternally.[112]
Barzakh (Arabic: ), a term that appears in the Qur'an Surah 23,
Ayat 100, is the intermediate state inwhich the soul of the
deceased is transferred across the boundaries of the mortal realm
into a kind of "coldsleep" where the soul will rest until the
Qiyamah (Judgement Day). This concept corresponds to that of
soulsleep, not to that of purgatory.[113]
Purgatory and the Life ReviewThe life review undergone by those
who have had a Near Death Experience (NDE), can resemble a sort
ofpurgatory. This is what Bruce Horacek Ph.D and the International
Association of Near-Death Studies(IANDS) write about the Life
Review: "During a predominantly pleasurable NDE, usually while in
thelight, the NDEr may experience a life review. In this review,
the NDEr typically re-views (sees again) andre-experiences every
moment of his/her life. At the same time, the NDEr fully
experiences being every otherperson with whom the NDEr interacted.
The NDEr knows what it was to be on the receiving end of his/herown
actions including those that caused others pain. At this time, the
NDEr usually reports feeling profoundremorse, along with extreme
regret that the harm cannot be undone. At the same time, the NDEr
typicallyreports feelings consistent with unconditional love from
the light, which communicates forgiveness becausethe NDEr was still
learning how to become a more loving person. NDErs tend to say that
this "learning howto love" is the purpose of life."[114] In Richard
Matheson's novel What Dreams May Come, a newly deadcharacter sees
all the events of his life unfold in reverse, then later
experiences the same thing slowly, in aself-evaluation process that
the novel equates with purgatory.
Cultural referencesLiterary references to purgatory go back at
least as far as Dante Alighieri. In his Divine Comedy
storyPurgatorio, Mount Purgatory is split into different terraces
for those being made to be ready for heaven. Atthe top of Mount
Purgatory is the Garden of Eden.[115]
In the 1991 film Defending Your Life, purgatory is like Paradise
City in which souls hang aroundawaiting the verdict of their
hearings.[116]
Purgatory is mentioned in many television shows, including Star
Trek: Deep Space Nine, The Sopranos,Lost, Life on Mars, Ashes to
Ashes, Fringe, and Being Human.
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La Divina Commedia di Dante(Dante and the Divine Comedy),fresco
by Domenico di Michelino, inthe nave of the Duomo of
Florence,Italy
In the TV series Supernatural, purgatory is a place where the
soulsof monsters such as vampires and werewolves are sent to when
theydie, destined to hunt and feed on each other for eternity. It
alsoserves as the prison for God's first beasts, the Leviathans,
whoescape during the show's seventh season due to the actions of
theWinchesters' angelic ally Castiel, forcing the Winchesters to
try anddefeat them; the eighth season includes flashbacks to the
timeprotagonist Dean Winchester spent in Purgatory after killing
theLeviathans' leader.[117]
It is also mentioned in the anime Samurai X as Shishio
Makoto'sShip was named Purgatory.
In the South Park episode "Dead Celebrities", the experience
ofwaiting for an airplane to take off while on the runway is
referred toas purgatory.
In the 1999 film Purgatory by Uli Edel, a band of outlaws find
themselves in the town of Refuge, which isreally
Purgatory.[118]
In the 2015 film, Welcome to Purgatory, the afterlife is in
ruins. Can new arrivals put things right?[119]
In the TV series The Vampire Diaries, the Other Side was a
purgatory-like dimension where all supernaturalcreatures went after
they died, at least up until the Season 5 finale at which point the
Other Side wasdestroyed.
In the 2010 video game Mass Effect 2, Purgatory is the name of a
starship that was converted into a prison,infamous for the staff's
brutal treatment of prisoners.
In one episode of the cartoon, Animaniacs, the three leads wind
up in hell and take a boat to what the devilcalls purgatory, after
which they sing a short song about it.
In the anime "Angel Beats!", several teenagers find themselves
in a purgatorial world. They believe thatGod gave them unfair
lives, and they want to get back at him for it.
In the book series Incarnations of immortality by Piers Anthony,
many of the characters reside in Purgatory.
In TV series Sleepy Hollow also use purgatory as the world of
the dead and undead. The main character wasstuck in
purgatory.[120]
In the film, Wristcutters: A Love Story (2006), only those who
killed themselves inhabit the storyspurgatorial afterlife way
station.[121]
"Purgatorium" is one of the Final Dungeons in the 2013 videogame
"Shin Megami Tensei IV". TheDungeon has 7 floors, having an unknown
meaning up to now. The boss faced in the end is Merkabahinstead of
God. [122]
See also
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References
Anima SolaArafBosom of AbrahamDante's PurgatorioFuture
probationChristian views on HadesHeaven (Christianity)Christian
views on hellHistory of PurgatoryIndulgenceIntermediate
stateLimboParadisePenanceSheolSoul sleepSpirit world (Latter Day
Saints)Spirits in prisonSt Patrick's PurgatoryVenial sin
1. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1030
(http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p123a12.htm)2.
Encyclopdia Britannica: Purgatory in world religions:
(http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-
9061946/purgatory) "The idea of purification or temporary
punishment after death has ancient roots and is well-attested in
early Christian literature. The conception of purgatory as a
geographically situated place is largely theachievement of medieval
Christian piety and imagination."
3. Olivier Clment, L'glise orthodoxe. Presses Universitaries de
France, 2006, Section 3, IV4. Gehinnom
(http://www.chabad.org/search/keyword_cdo/kid/10797/jewish/Gehinnom.htm)5.
"Purgatory," Oxford English Dictionary6. Collins English Dictionary
(http://dictionary.reverso.net/english-definitions/purgatory)7.
Megan McLaughlin, Consorting with Saints: Prayer for the Dead in
Early Medieval France (Cornell University
Press 1994 ISBN 978-0-8014-2648-3), p. 18
(http://books.google.com/books?id=DnEQQaTQy4wC&pg=PA18&dq=le+goff+purgatoire&cd=4#v=onepage&q=le%20goff%20purgatoire&f=false)
8. LeGoff, Jacques. The Birth of Purgatory. Trans. Arthur
Goldhammer. Chicago: U of Chicago P, 1986, Pg 36266
9. Cf. 2Maccabees 12:4244
(http://tools.wmflabs.org/bibleversefinder/?book=2%20Maccabees&verse=12:4244&src=NRSV)
10. Waterworth (editor), J. "The Council of Trent, Decree
concerning the Canonical
Scriptures"(http://history.hanover.edu/texts/trent/trentall.html).
Hanover Historical Texts Project. Retrieved 18 February2015.
11. Council of Trent. "Decree concerning the Canonical
Scriptures"(http://www.ewtn.com/library/COUNCILS/TRENT4.HTM). EWTN.
Retrieved 18 February 2015.
12. "1032". Catechism of the Catholic Church
(http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P2N.HTM). Retrieved18
February 2015.
13. Discourse to the Greeks concerning Hades, paragraph 114.
Newman was working on An Essay on the Development of Christian
Doctrine since 1842 (Encyclopdia
Britannica 1911
(http://encyclopedia.jrank.org/NAN_NEW/NEWMAN_JOHN_HENRY_1801_1890_.html),
i.e.Encyclopaedia Britannica Eleventh Edition, and sent it to the
printer in September 1845 (Ian Turnbull Kern,Newman the Theologian
- University of Notre Dame Press 1990 ISBN 9780268014698, p.
149).(http://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&hl=en&q=%22An+Essay+on+the+Development+of+Christian+Doctrine%22+published#hl=en&gs_nf=1&ds=bo&pq=%22an%20essay%20on%20the%20development%20of%20christian%20doctrine%22%20september&cp=73&gs_id=36&xhr=t&q=%22An%20Essay%20on%20the%20Development%20of%20Christian%20Doctrine%22%20%22sent%20to%20the%20printer%22&pf=p&tbm=bks&sclient=psy-
-
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Doctrine%22%20%22sent%20to%20the%20printer%22&pf=p&tbm=bks&sclient=psy-ab&oq=%22An+Essay+on+the+Development+of+Christian+Doctrine%22+%22sent+to+the+printer%22&gs_l=&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&fp=414ede989abc3fc6&biw=1366&bih=643)
He was receivedinto the Catholic Church on 9 October of the same
year.
15. John Henry Newman, An Essay on the Development of Christian
Doctrine, chapter 2, section 3, paragraph 2.16. Homilies on Exodus
6:4. See http://books.google.com/books?
id=sLpDsFbzv2wC&pg=PA330#v=onepage&q&f=false#page=33017.
Sermons on Ps. 117(116), Sermon 3, 14-15. See
http://www.documentacatholicaomnia.eu/02m/0339-
0397,_Ambrosius,_In_Psalmum_David_CXVIII_Expositio,_MLT.pdf#page=1618.
Dialogues, Book 4, Ch. 39. See
http://www.documentacatholicaomnia.eu/01p/0590-
0604,_SS_Gregorius_I_Magnus,_Dialogorum_Libri_IV-De_Vita_et_Miraculis_...,_LT.pdf#page=15919.
Denzinger, The Sources of Catholic Dogma (Enchiridion Symbolorum),
456, 464, 693, 840, 983, 998.20. Catechism of the Catholic Church,
10301031 (http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P2N.HTM)21.
Audience of 4 August 1999
(http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/audiences/1999/documents/hf_jp-
ii_aud_04081999_en.html)22. Catechism of the Catholic Church,
10211022 (http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P2L.HTM)23. Cf.
David L. Schindler, Love Alone Is Credible (Eerdmans 2008 ISBN
978-0-8028-6247-1), p. 222
(http://books.google.com/books?id=9uxX38ARtGcC&pg=PA222&dq=purgatory+fire+catholic&hl=en&ei=duQbTqe_LofOhAfXypjJBw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7&ved=0CEoQ6AEwBjgU#v=onepage&q&f=false)
24. Cf. CCC 10301032
(http://www.vatican.va/archive/catechism/p123a12.htm#III)25. CCC
10301032
(http://www.vatican.va/archive/catechism/p123a12.htm#III)26.
Purgatory is only for those destined towards heaven, and is viewed
as a preparation for the Beautific Vision. CCC
1054 (http://www.vatican.va/archive/catechism/p123a12.htm)27.
CCC 1854 (http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P6C.HTM)28. CCC
1857 (http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P6C.HTM)29. CCC 1861
(http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P6C.HTM)30. __P6C.HTM CCC
1863 (http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/)31. CCC 1875
(http://www.vatican.va/archive/catechism/p3s1c1a8.htm#IV)32. Jack
Mulder, Kierkegaard and the Catholic Tradition: Conflict and
Dialogue (Indiana University Press 2010
ISBN 978-0-25335536-2), pp. 182183
(https://books.google.com/books?id=5bOBVYHxXrEC&pg=PA182&dq=Mulder+unhealthy+attachment&hl=en&sa=X&ei=LM6KVLbWBsS17ga1n4DwAw&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=Mulder%20unhealthy%20attachment&f=false)
33. Quoted in Benedict J. Groeschel, A Still, Small Voice
(Ignatius Press 1993 ISBN
978-0-89870436-5)(https://books.google.com/books?id=oPuESCWr9RcC&pg=PT36&dq=Groeschel+purgatory&hl=en&sa=X&ei=ptOKVJSQFMar7AabgoHQAw&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=Groeschel%20purgatory&f=false)
34. Catholic Encyclopedia on Purgatory
(http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12575a.htm)35. Ps 66:1236.
Jean-Yves Lacoste, Encyclopedia of Christian Theology (Taylor and
Francis, 2004 ISBN 978-1-57958-250-0), p.
1322
(http://books.google.com/books?q=Lacoste+%22tested+by+fire%22&btnG=Search+Books&oq=)37.
"Each one will be presented to the Judge exactly as he was when he
departed this life. Yet, there must be a
cleansing fire before judgment, because of some minor faults
that may remain to be purged away. Does notChrist, the Truth, say
that if anyone blasphemes against the Holy Spirit he shall not be
forgiven 'either in thisworld or in the world to come'(Mt. 12:32)?
From this statement we learn that some sins can be forgiven in
thisworld and some in the world to come. For, if forgiveness is
refused for a particular sin, we conclude logically thatit is
granted for others. This must apply, as I said, to slight
transgressions." Gregory the Great [regn. A.D. 590604], Dialogues,
4:39 (A.D. 594).
38. "For if on the foundation of Christ you have built not only
gold and silver and precious stones (1 Cor.,3); but alsowood and
hay and stubble, what do you expect when the soul shall be
separated from the body? Would you enterinto heaven with your wood
and hay and stubble and thus defile the kingdom of God; or on
account of thesehindrances would you remain without and receive no
reward for your gold and silver and precious stones; neitheris this
just. It remains then that you be committed to the fire which will
burn the light materials; for our God tothose who can comprehend
heavenly things is called a cleansing fire. But this fire consumes
not the creature, butwhat the creature has himself built, wood, and
hay and stubble. It is manifest that the fire destroys the wood
ofour transgressions and then returns to us the reward of our great
works." Origen, Homilies on Jeremias, PG13:445, 448 ( A.D.
244).
39. "When he has quitted his body and the difference between
virtue and vice is known he cannot approach God tillthe purging
fire shall have cleansed the stains with which his soul was
infested. That same fire in others willcancel the corruption of
matter, and the propensity to evil." Gregory of Nyssa, Sermon on
the Dead, PG13:445,448 (ante A.D. 394).
40. Catholic Encyclopedia on "poena sensus"
(http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07207a.htm#VI)41. CCC 1031
(http://www.vatican.va/archive/catechism/p123a12.htm#III)
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41. CCC 1031
(http://www.vatican.va/archive/catechism/p123a12.htm#III)42. CCC
1473 (http://www.vatican.va/archive/catechism/p2s2c2a4.htm). In his
2007 encyclical Spe salvi, Pope
Benedict XVI applies to the purgation of souls after death the
words of Paul the Apostle in 1Corinthians
3:1215(http://tools.wmflabs.org/bibleversefinder/?book=1%20Corinthians&verse=3:1215&src=NKJV)
about somebeing "saved, but only as through fire"; in the encounter
with Christ after death, Christ's "gaze, the touch of hisheart
heals us through an undeniably painful transformation 'as through
fire'. But it is a blessed pain, in which theholy power of his love
sears through us like a flame, enabling us to become totally
ourselves and thus totally ofGod" (Spe salvi
(http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/encyclicals/documents/hf_ben-xvi_enc_20071130_spe-salvi_en.html),
4647).
43. CCC 1472
(http://www.vatican.va/archive/catechism/p2s2c2a4.htm)44. Cabrol
and Leclercq, Monumenta Ecclesi Liturgica. Volume I: Reliqui
Liturgic Vetustissim (Paris, 1900
2) pp. cicvi, cxxxix.45. CCC 1032
(http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P2N.HTM)46. __P4G.HTM CCC
1471 (http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/)47. CCC 1479
(http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P4G.HTM)48. Indulgences in
the Church | Catholic-Pages.com
(http://www.catholic-pages.com/penance/indulgences.asp)49.
http://pressandpolicy.bl.uk/Press-Releases/British-Library-unrolls-Henry-VIII-s-pious-past-25d.aspx50.
Starkey, D. 2009. Henry Virtuous Prince p.202 Harper Perennial.
ISBN 978000724772151. Pope Paul VI, Apostolic Constitution on
Indulgences
(http://www.ewtn.com/library/PAPALDOC/P6INDULG.HTM), norm 552.
Section "Abuses" in Catholic Encyclopedia: Purgatory
(http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07783a.htm)53. Catholic
Encyclopedia: Reformation
(http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12700b.htm)54. King John by
Warren. Published by the University of California Press in 1961. p.
1155. General Audience Talk, 12 January 2011
(http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/audiences/2011/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20110112_en.html)
56. Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church,
210211(http://www.vatican.va/archive/compendium_ccc/documents/archive_2005_compendium-ccc_en.html#I%20Believe%20in%20the%20Holy%20Spirit)
57. Catechism of the Catholic Church, sections 10201032
(http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P2N.HTM)58. Catechism of
the Catholic Church, section 1054
(http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P2R.HTM)59. Catechism of
the Catholic Church, sections 14721473
(http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P4G.HTM)60. Decree
concerning Purgatory
(http://www.ewtn.com/library/COUNCILS/TRENT25.HTM#1)61. Denzinger
1304 old numbering 693
(http://www.catecheticsonline.com/SourcesofDogma7.php)62. Treaty of
Brest, Article 5
(http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1595brest.html)63. Doctrine
(http://www.east2west.org/doctrine.htm#Purgatory)64. Saint Alphonsa
Syro-Malabar Catholic Church
(http://www.stalphonsacatholicchurch.org/index.php?
option=com_content&view=article&id=96&Itemid=140)65.
Answers from the Bishop
(http://www.avona.org/bishop/bishops_answers.htm#.UZNohMphDCo)66.
http://www.qadishat.com/2013/11/all-souls-day-and-purgatory-in-syriac.html67.
Rose, Fr. Seraphim, The Soul after Death, St. Herman Press, Platina
CA. 199568. Death, The Threshold to Eternal Life
(http://www.goarch.org/ourfaith/ourfaith7076)69. John Meyondorff,
Byzantine Theology (London: Mowbrays, 1974) pp. 220221. "At death
man's body goes to
the earth from which it was taken, and the soul, being immortal,
goes to God, who gave it. The souls of men,being conscious and
exercising all their faculties immediately after death, are judged
by God. This judgmentfollowing man's death we call the Particular
Judgment. The final reward of men, however, we believe will
takeplace at the time of the General Judgment. During the time
between the Particular and the General Judgment,which is called the
Intermediate State, the souls of men have foretaste of their
blessing or punishment" (TheOrthodox Faith
(http://www.goarch.org/en/ourfaith/articles/article8029.asp)).
70. Michael Azkoul, What Are the Differences Between Orthodoxy
and Roman
Catholicism?(http://www.ocf.org/OrthodoxPage/reading/ortho_cath.html)
71. Ted A. Campbell, Christian Confessions: a Historical
Introduction (Westminster John Knox Press 1996 ISBN 0-664-25650-3),
p. 54
(http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&tbo=1&tbs=bks%3A1&q=Campbell+%22full+divinization%22&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=)
72. Confession of Dositheus
(http://www.cresourcei.org/creeddositheus.html), Decree 1873.
Catechism of St. Philaret of Moscow,
(http://www.pravoslavieto.com/docs/eng/Orthodox_Catechism_of_Philaret.htm#gen0)
372 and 376; Constas H.Demetry, Catechism of the Eastern Orthodox
Church (http://www.christusrex.org/www1/CDHN/catechis.html)p. 37;
John Meyondorff, Byzantine Theology (London: Mowbrays, 1974) p. 96;
cf. "The Orthodox party ...remarked that the words quoted from the
book of Maccabees, and our Saviour's words, can only prove that
somesins will be forgiven after death" (OrthodoxInfo.com, The
Orthodox Response to the Latin Doctrine of
Purgatory(http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/death/stmark_purg.aspx))
-
5/5/2015 Purgatory - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purgatory 20/22
(http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/death/stmark_purg.aspx))74. What
Are the Differences Between Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism?
(http://www.ocf.org/OrthodoxPage/reading/ortho_cath.html);
Constas H. Demetry, Catechism of the EasternOrthodox Church
(http://www.christusrex.org/www1/CDHN/catechis.html) p. 37
75. Orthodox Confession of Faith
(http://esoptron.umd.edu/ugc/ocf1c.html), questions 6466.76. In
both the Greek and Slavonic Euchologion, in the canon for the
departure of the soul by St. Andrew, we find in
Ode 7: "All holy angels of the Almighty God, have mercy upon me
and save me from all the evil toll-houses"(Evidence for the
Tradition of the Toll Houses found in the Universally Received
Tradition of the
Church).(http://pages.prodigy.net/frjohnwhiteford/tollhouses.htm)
"When my soul is about to be forcibly parted from mybody's limbs,
then stand by my side and scatter the counsels of my bodiless foes
and smash the teeth of thosewho implacably seek to swallow me down,
so that I may pass unhindered through the rulers of darkness who
waitin the air, O Bride of God" (Octoechos, Tone Two, Friday
Vespers).(http://www.anastasis.org.uk/weekday_vespers1.htm) "Pilot
my wretched soul, pure Virgin, and havecompassion on it, as it
slides under a multitude of offences into the deep of destruction;
and at the fearful hour ofdeath snatch me from the accusing demons
and from every punishment" (Ode 6, Tone 1 Midnight Office
forSunday). (http://www.anastasis.org.uk/weekday_vespers1.htm)
77. Death and the Toll House Controversy
(http://www.stlukeorthodox.com/html/evangelist/2000/deathtoll.htm)78.
Brewer, Ebenezer Cobham. The Wordsworth Dictionary of Phrase and
Fable (2001 ed.). Wordsworth Editions.
p.62.79. Colin Buchanan, Historical Dictionary of Anglicanism
(Scarecrow, 2006), 510.80.
https://www.churchofengland.org/prayer-worship/worship/book-of-common-prayer/articles-of-religion.aspx.81.
Colin Buchanan, Historical Dictionary of Anglicanism (Scarecrow,
2006), s.v. Petitions for the Departed, 356-
357.82.
http://anglicanhistory.org/tracts/tract90/section6.html.83. Don S.
Armentrout and Robert Boak Slocum, eds, An Episcopal Dictionary of
the Church (Church Publishing,
2000), 427.84. Book of Common Prayer (USA), 488,
http://www.bcponline.org/PastoralOffices/BurialI.htm.85. Leonel L.
Mitchell, Praying Shapes Believing: A Theological Commentary on The
Book of Common Prayer
(Church Publishing, 1991), 224.86. C. S. Lewis, Letters to
Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer (Mariner Books, 2002), 108-109.87.
Robert L. Millet, By what Authority?: The Vital Question of
Religious Authority in Christianity (Mercer
University, 2010), 66.88. Alan Richardson, John Bowden, eds, The
Westminster Dictionary of Christian Theology (Westminster John
Knox, 1983), s.v. sola fide, 545.89. Alan Richardson, John
Bowden, eds, The Westminster Dictionary of Christian Theology
(Westminster John
Knox, 1983), s.v. salvation 519.90. John Calvin wrote: "As long
as (our spirit) is in the body it exerts its own powers; but when
it quits this prison-
house it returns to God, whose presence it meanwhile enjoys,
while it rests in the hope of a blessed Resurrection.This rest is
its paradise. On the other hand, the spirit of the reprobate, while
it waits for the dreadful judgment, istortured by that
anticipation" (Psychopannychia by John
Calvin)(http://ude.net/bible/psychopannychia__by_john_calvin.htm)
91. Martin Luther, contending against the doctrine of purgatory,
spoke of the souls of the dead as quite asleep, butthis notion of
unconscious soul sleep is not included in the Lutheran Confessions
and Lutheran theologiansgenerally reject it. (See Soul Sleep
Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod.)
(http://www.wels.net/cgi-bin/site.pl?1518&cuTopic_topicID=78&cuItem_itemID=5245)
92.
https://www.hbu.edu/Choosing-HBU/Academics/Colleges-Schools/School-of-Christian-Thought/Departments/Department-of-Philosophy/Faculty/Jeremy-Neill-(1).aspx.
93. Keith E. Yandell, Review of Jerry Walls, Purgatory: The
Logic of Total Transformation in Notre DamePhilosophical Reviews,
2012.08.13. Online at
http://ndpr.nd.edu/news/32432-the-logic-of-total-transformation/
94. David Gibson, Religion News Service, October 29, 2014, Does
purgatory have a prayer with Protestants?online at
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/religion/does-purgatory-have-a-prayer-with-protestants/2014/10/29/3dda34ce-5fa9-11e4-827b-2d813561bdfd_story.html.
Accessed April 28, 2015.
95. The Christian Century, August 2, 2012. Online at
http://www.christiancentury.org/reviews/2012-07/purgatory-jerry-l-walls.
Accessed April 28, 2015.
96. For example, Jerry L. Walls, Purgatory: The Logic of Total
Transformation (Oxford, 2012), 10-14, 17.97. For example, Jerry L.
Walls, Purgatory: The Logic of Total Transformation (Oxford, 2012),
71.98. Jerry L. Walls, Purgatory: The Logic of Total Transformation
(Oxford, 2012), 6.99. Jerry L. Walls, Purgatory: The Logic of Total
Transformation (Oxford, 2012), 6.
100. Jerry L. Walls, Purgatory: The Logic of Total
Transformation (Oxford, 2012), 76, 90.101. Jerry L. Walls,
Purgatory: The Logic of Total Transformation (Oxford, 2012),
90.102. Question 201 of Luther's Small Catechism with Explanation
(Concordia Publishing House, 1991 edition) answers
the question "For whom should we pray?" as follows: "We should
pray for ourselves and for all other people,
-
5/5/2015 Purgatory - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purgatory 21/22
Wikimedia Commons hasmedia related to Purgatory.
External linksIs Purgatory in the
Bible?(http://www.catholiceducation.org/en/controversy/theological-disputes/is-purgatory-in-the-bible.html).
A Catholic answer.Is Purgatory a Biblical
Concept(http://www.equip.org/article/is-purgatory-a-biblical-concept/#christian-books-2).
A Protestantanswer.Church Fathers on Purgatory
(http://www.churchfathers.org/category/salvation/purgatory/)Purgatory
(http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/483923/purgatory).
Encyclopdia BritannicaOnline. 2009.English c. 1200 wall painting
with an image of a ladder, reminiscent of icons such as
the(http://www.paintedchurch.org/chaldon.htm)Ladder of Divine
Ascent, which has been interpreted as a
the question "For whom should we pray?" as follows: "We should
pray for ourselves and for all other people,even for our enemies,
but not for the souls of the dead" The Lutheran Church Missouri
Synod(http://www.lcms.org/pages/internal.asp?NavID=2687)
103. Apology XXIV, 96
(http://www.bookofconcord.org/augsburgdefense/23_mass.html)104.
"The Twenty-Five Articles of Religion (Methodist)"
(http://www.crivoice.org/creed25.html). CRI / Voice,
Institute. Retrieved 2009-04-11.105. "What happens after a
person dies?"
(http://archives.umc.org/interior.asp?ptid=16&mid=5029). The
United
Methodist Church. Retrieved 10 March 2011. "John Wesley himself
believed in an intermediate state betweendeath and the final
judgment, where those who rejected Christ would be aware of their
coming doom (not yetpronounced), and believers would share in the
"bosom of Abraham" or "paradise", even continuing to grow
inholiness there. This belief, however, is not formally affirmed in
Methodist doctrinal standards, which reject theidea of purgatory
but beyond that maintain silence on what lies between death and the
last judgment.""
106. "What happens after a person dies?"
(http://www.umc.org/site/apps/nlnet/content3.aspx?c=lwL4KnN1LtH&b=4746355&content_id={94F6F768-0EA6-4C1B-B6B6-0C88EC04E8A2}¬oc=1).
TheUnited Methodist Church. Retrieved 10 March 2011. "Purgatory is
believed to be a place where the souls of thefaithful dead endure a
period of purification and cleansing, aided by the prayers of the
living, prior to theirentrance into heaven. Although John Wesley
believed in an intermediate state between death and the
finaljudgment, that idea is not formally affirmed in Methodist
doctrine, which reject the idea of purgatory butbeyond that
maintain silence on what lies between death and the last judgment.
(Methodist Doctrine: TheEssentials by Ted A. Campbell)"
107. Robin Russell. "Heavenly minded: Its time to get our
eschatology right, say scholars,
authors"(http://www.umportal.org/article.asp?id=5101). UM Portal.
Retrieved 10 March 2011. "John Wesley believed inthe intermediate
state between death and the final judgment where believers would
share in the bosom ofAbraham or paradise, even continuing to grow
in holiness there, writes Ted Campbell, a professor at
PerkinsSchool of Theology, in his 1999 book Methodist Doctrine: The
Essentials (Abingdon). That view has not beenofficially affirmed by
the Church."
108. ChristianDataResources.com
(http://www.christiandataresources.com/mormonbeliefs2.htm)109.
http://eom.byu.edu/index.php/Spirit_Prison110. "There are three
categories of men; the wholly pious and the arch-sinners are not
purified, but only those between
these two classes" (Jewish Encyclopedia: Gehenna
(http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=115&letter=G))
111. 99 Names of Allah
(http://www.faizani.com/articles/names.html)112. Gardet, L.
"Jahannam," Encyclopedia of Islam.113. For detailed explanation of
Human Lives according to Islam please check this lecture.
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5G1Cyj7gt9k)114. Impact of the
Near-Death Experience on Grief and Loss, by Bruce Horacek, Ph.D and
by IANDS, 2003,
lands.org (http://www.iands.org/support/grief-and-loss.html)115.
Dante http://oll.libertyfund.org/titles/2310. Accessed April 30,
2015.116. Greg Garrett, Entertaining Judgment: The Afterlife in
Popular Imagination (Oxford University, 2015), 179.117.
http://www.supernatural.tv/?p=3420118.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0158131/.119.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1643249/. Accessed April 30, 2015.120.
http://www.tv.com/shows/sleepy-hollow/episodes/121.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0477139/122. Shin Megami Tensei IV.
[Nintendo 3DS Game]. Irvine, CA:Atlus
-
5/5/2015 Purgatory - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purgatory 22/22
"purgatorial ladder"
Retrieved from
"http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Purgatory&oldid=660794263"
Categories: Afterlife places Catholic theology and doctrine
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