Purgatory

For other uses, see Purgatory (disambiguation).

Illustration for Dante's Purgatorio (18), by Gustave Doré.

Purgatory is what the Roman Catholic Church calls "the final purification of the elect" by which, it believes, "all who die in God's grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven."

All the ancient Christian Churches pray for the dead in the belief that they are thereby assisted. But the way the final purification of the dead is pictured developed distinctive features in the Latin-speaking West and the Greek-speaking East. In the West, the term purgatorium (cleansing) was used to name this process of purification, and purgatory was often described as a place of purging fire. Differences on these non-dogmatic elements were discussed at the Council of Florence.

Eastern Orthodox theology does not generally describe the process of purification after death as involving suffering, resulting in a distinctly Eastern understanding of the final purification, which nevertheless describes it as a "direful condition" from which, through the prayers and good works of the living, souls are delivered before the common resurrection and judgment, . Naturally, Greek theology does not employ the Latin term "purgatory", and the doctrine is often seen by Orthodox theologians as a doctrinal difference. Eastern Catholic Churches – including those of Greek tradition – in full communion with the Latin Catholic Church interpret the Greek articulation of a "final theosis" and the Latin articulation of "purgatory" as essentially equivalent expressions of a final purification.

During the Protestant Reformation, certain Protestant theologians developed a view of salvation (soteriology) that excluded Purgatory. Today, Protestants, with few exceptions, do not believe in a process of purification after death.

Roman Catholic Church doctrine

The teaching of the Catholic Church on Purgatory is stated succinctly in the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church as follows:

Purgatory is the state of those who die in God’s friendship, assured of their eternal salvation, but who still have need of purification to enter into the happiness of heaven. Because of the communion of saints, the faithful who are still pilgrims on earth are able 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.

In view, however, of the accretions that popular imagination has added, often in disaccord with the official teaching, the doctrine of the Church must here be stated in technical language.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church declares:

All who die in God's grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven. The Church gives the name Purgatory to this final purification of the elect, which is entirely different from the punishment of the damned. The Church formulated her doctrine of faith on Purgatory especially at the Councils of Florence and Trent. The tradition of the Church, by reference to certain texts of Scripture, speaks of a cleansing fire. This teaching is also based on the practice of prayer for the dead, already mentioned in Sacred Scripture: "Therefore [Judas Maccabeus] made atonement for the dead, that they might be delivered from their sin" (2 Macc 12:45). From the beginning the Church has honoured the memory of the dead and offered prayers in suffrage for them, above all the Eucharistic sacrifice, so that, thus purified, they may attain the beatific vision of God. The Church also commends almsgiving, indulgences, and works of penance undertaken on behalf of the dead.

The nature of this final purification from attachment to creatures so as to be able to enter into full union with God is expressed as follows:

Grave sin deprives us of communion with God and therefore makes us incapable of eternal life, the privation of which is called the "eternal punishment" of sin. On the other hand every sin, even venial, entails an unhealthy attachment to creatures, which must be purified either here on earth, or after death in the state called Purgatory. This purification frees one from what is called the "temporal punishment" of sin. These two punishments must not be conceived of as a kind of vengeance inflicted by God from without, but as following from the very nature of sin. A conversion which proceeds from a fervent charity can attain the complete purification of the sinner in such a way that no punishment would remain. … While patiently bearing sufferings and trials of all kinds and, when the day comes, serenely facing death, the Christian must strive to accept this temporal punishment of sin as a grace. He should strive by works of mercy and charity, as well as by prayer and the various practices of penance, to put off completely the "old man" and to put on the "new man" (cf. Ephesians 4:24).

Purgatory is imagined as a place, in the same way as Heaven and Hell are pictured as places. This picture has been and is used as a way of speaking about these after-life states. The idea that they are places within physical space is no part of the Church's teaching. Pope John Paul II explicitly excluded such an idea with regard to Purgatory, stating that "the term does not indicate a place, but a condition of existence".

As the Catechism of the Catholic Church states, the pain of purification has traditionally been likened to fire. The image of fire has been common in the West from at least the time of Saint Augustine, "the fire will be worse than anything a human being can suffer in this life", (In Ps. 37 n. 3 (PL, col. 397), and Saint Gregory the Great, who speaks of those who after this life "will expiate their faults by purgatorial flames," and adds that "the pain will be more intolerable than any one can suffer in this life.", (Ps. 3 poenit., n. 1). The image of fire appears in many other texts, including the Catechism of the Council of Trent, which under the heading "What we pray for" includes the following: "that we be not sentenced to endure the fire of purgatory, from which we piously and devoutly implore that others may be liberated." However, at the Council of Florence, the Greek participants "were assured that the Roman Church had never issued any dogmatic decree on this subject" of fire.

In fact, it has been concluded that the only differences enunciated by the Greek participants between their belief and the Western teaching were the two images of place and fire. Accordingly, Eastern Catholic Churches of Greek tradition generally avoid the image of fire, as well as the name "Purgatory", which is popularly associated with the idea of a place within space, while fully agreeing on the substance of the teaching about purification after death of Christians for final union with God. For the process of preparation for union with God, these Catholic Churches of Greek tradition may use, instead of the term "purgatory", the term "theosis", a concept accepted throughout the Catholic Church (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 460), though usually not explicitly linked with final purification. A Father of the Church, who belonged to the Greek tradition, seems to have linked theosis with the idea of an after-death process of purification by fire, writing that a person "... may afterward in a quite different manner be very much interested in what is better, when, after his departure out of the body, he gains knowledge of the difference between virtue and vice and finds that he is not able to partake of divinity until he has been purged of the filthy contagion in his soul by the purifying fire" (emphases added). Eastern Catholic Churches of other traditions freely use the name "Purgatory".

With regard to other secondary questions and theological hypotheses connected with Purgatory, the Catholic Encyclopedia] advises: "It is well to heed the warning of the Council of Trent when it commands the bishops 'to exclude from their preaching difficult and subtle questions which tend not to edification', and from the discussion of which there is no increase either in piety or devotion" (Sess. XXV, De Purgatorio)."

Purgatory in the Latin tradition, as generally pictured

See also: Prayer for the dead, The Divine Comedy, St. Patrick's Purgatory, Orvieto, and Penance

Purgatory is a "place or condition" of afterlife purification, the doctrine on which is associated with the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church. There are many aspects of the picture of purgatory that the Church has not defined (see, below, Roman Catholic Church Doctrine), resulting in much speculation: "Purgatory, for example, is usually thought of as having some position in space, and as being distinct from heaven and hell; but any theory as to its exact latitude and longitude, such as underlies Dante's description, must be regarded as imaginative." It is a common belief that the souls in purgatory are in a place where they are tormented by a material fire, but Pope John Paul II stated in 1999 that in fact the term purgatory "does not indicate a place, but a condition of existence", where "every trace of attachment to evil must be eliminated, every imperfection of the soul corrected. Purification must be complete."

Heaven and Hell

According to belief in particular judgment, the fate of souls is decided immediately after death. Souls that are entirely free from sin enter Heaven, a place or state of union with God, often seen as a paradise of eternal joy. In order to enter heaven, a soul must be free of sin - all sins must have been "paid for" or cleansed from the soul. Souls who have committed mortal sins that have not been absolved are believed to go to Hell - a state of separation from God, seen as a place or state of eternal pain and punishment. While they are alive, people may have their sins absolved through Penance.

Purgatory's role

Schematic diagram of the afterlife in Roman Catholic theology

Roman Catholic doctrine considers that sin is a commonplace occurrence in human beings, not limited only to particularly "bad" people - rather all persons, even saints, commit sins. Ideally sins are forgiven through the sacrament of Penance, but the sinful nature of human beings makes it probable that even fundamentally good human beings are likely to die having sins which have not yet been absolved.

Persons with sins that have not been absolved are not immediately eligible for heaven, due to their state of sin. But if the person has not committed any unabsolved mortal sins, they will not be destined for hell either. Therefore, the person is judged to be in some intermediate state - neither so sinful as to go to hell, nor sufficiently free of sin to enter heaven - and enters into Purgatory - a place or state of purification. Sins are purged from the soul in Purgatory, so that the soul may become free of sin. Once this purification is complete, the soul, now free from sins, may enter Heaven.

Venial vs Mortal sins

The Catholic Church considers that sins are evaluated according to their gravity and divided into venial ("pardonable") and mortal (i.e., deadly) sins. The Catechism of the Catholic Church sees this distinction on the basis of gravity as confirmed by human experience Mortal sins result in being sent to Hell unless by repentance is offered. Conversely, venial sins, "[do] not deprive the sinner of sanctifying grace, friendship with God, charity, and consequently eternal happiness".

According to Roman Catholic theology, venial sin, does not break the communion with God. If purification is not achieved, Roman Catholics believe this can be achieved after death in Purgatory. The purification can be completed by performing a ritual or by "a conversion which proceeds from a fervent charity can attain the complete purification of the sinner in such a way that no punishment would remain."

File:Lonelysoul.jpg

depiction on a "holy card" of a soul being freed from purgatory

Nature of purgatory

Purgatory is pictured as a place within space and time. The pain of purification is likened to or identified as fire, a spiritual, perhaps a metaphorical, fire, rather than a material fire. The image of fire has been common in the West from at least the time of Saint Augustine: "the fire will be worse than anything a human being can suffer in this life", (Ps. 37 n. 3 PL, col. 397) and Saint Gregory the Great, who speaks of those who after this life "will expiate their faults by purgatorial flames," and adds that "the pain will be more intolerable than any one can suffer in this life."(Ps. 3 poenit., n. 1.)

Our Lady of Mount Carmel with angels and souls in Purgatory. Baroque sculpture from Beniaján (Spain)

This picture of purification by fire formed part of the exposition of the Latin Church's doctrine by Cardinal Julian Cesarini at the Council of Florence:

From the time of the Apostles, the Church of Rome has taught that the souls departed from this world that are pure and free from every taint, that is the souls of saints, immediately enter the regions of bliss. The souls of those who, following their baptism, have sinned, yet have thereafter sincerely repented and confessed their sins, but were unable either to perform the penances laid upon them by their spiritual father or to bring forth fruits of repentance sufficient to atone for their sins, are purified by the fire of purgatory — some sooner, others slower, according to their sins; and then, after their purification, they depart for the land of eternal bliss. The prayers of the priest, liturgies, and deeds of charity conduce much to their purification. The souls of those dead in mortal sin, or in original sin, go straight to punishment.

Other elaborations include beliefs about special favours granted to those who habitually recite particular prayers or use particular pious objects (see Sabbatine privilege).

Indulgences

Main article: indulgences

A doctrine and practice related to penance is that of indulgences. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

An indulgence is a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven, which the faithful Christian who is duly disposed gains under certain prescribed conditions through the action of the Church which, as the minister of redemption, dispenses and applies with authority the treasury of the satisfactions of Christ and the saints.

An indulgence is either "partial", if it removes part of the temporal punishment due to sin, or "plenary", if it removes all the temporal punishment due to sin. The faithful can gain indulgences for themselves or apply them to the faithful departed currently undergoing purification — i.e. the souls in purgatory — so that the temporal punishments due for their sins may be remitted. An indulgence is obtained "through the Church who, by virtue of the power of binding and loosing granted her by Christ Jesus, intervenes in favor of individual Christians and opens for them the treasury of the merits of Christ and the saints to obtain from the Father of mercies the remission of the temporal punishments due for their sins."

It is believed that by practices such as indulgences, almsgiving, prayer, fasting, and other penitential acts, the living can assist the souls in Purgatory.

Catholic spirituality

Monastic Liturgy of the Hours in German, with a rosary and attached crucifix

Prayer for the dead was customary throughout the early Church, continues today in all the ancient Churches. Inscriptions in the catacombs are in the form of prayers for those buried there. Other funeral monuments, such as the inscription of Abercius of Hieropolis in Phrygia (latter part of the 2nd century), beg the prayers of the living. Catholics and Orthodox, in harmony with Jewish custom, consider it "a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead that they may be loosed from sins" (2 Maccabees 12:39–46). They therefore pray frequently for the dead. One particular short Latin prayer, "May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace", which has been adopted by other traditions also, is often added to other prayers, such as grace after meals.

Latin, Greek (including Greek Orthodox), Coptic, Syrian, Chaldaean, and the other traditions represented in the Catholic Church offer the sacrifice of the Eucharist on behalf of the dead. When St Augustine's mother Monica was dying she told her two sons: "Lay this body anywhere, and do not let the care of it be a trouble to you at all. Only this I ask: that you will remember me at the Lord's altar, wherever you are."

Catholics endeavour to assist the dead also by gaining indulgences for them, by giving alms on their behalf, and through fasting and other penitential acts, in accordance with the exhortation of Saint John Chrysostom: "Let us then give them aid and perform commemoration for them. For if the children of Job were purged by the sacrifice of their father, why do you doubt that when we too offer for the departed, some consolation arises to them? since God is wont to grant the petitions of those who ask for others. ... Let us not then be weary in giving aid to the departed, both by offering on their behalf and obtaining prayers for them: for the common Expiation of the world is even before us. ... and it is possible from every source to gather pardon for them, from our prayers, from our gifts in their behalf, from those whose names are named with theirs. Why therefore do you grieve? Why mourn, when it is in your power to gather so much pardon for the departed?"

Purgatory in other Christian traditions

Eastern Catholic Churches

See also: Eastern Catholic Churches

The Eastern Catholic Churches are a set of particular Churches which, together with the Latin Rite, form the Roman Catholic Church. Some of them initially split during the East-West Schism or much earlier, but were later "reunited". Others claim never to have been out of full communion with the Church in Rome. At present, Eastern Catholic Churches are said to make up about 2% of the Roman Catholic Church. They are "in full communion" with the Pope, subscribing, like the Latin Rite, to the same basic beliefs and teachings, including that on Purgatory, while differing in liturgy, tradition, and in various other ways.

One such difference between the Eastern and Latin churches regards the existence and nature of Purgatory. The Eastern Catholic Churches do not subscribe to a belief in "Purgatory" itself. The Treaty of Brest states "We shall not debate about purgatory. suggesting that the two sides will "agree to disagree on the specifics of what the West calls 'Purgatory'", while all Eastern Catholic Churches and, it is claimed, the Eastern Orthodox Church "agree with the Latin Church fully on both of ... (the) only two points (that) are necessary dogma concerning 'purgatory': 1) There is a place of transition/transformation for those en-route to Heaven, and 2) prayer is efficacious for the dead who are in this state."

Although not subscribing to Purgatory per se, the Eastern Catholic Churches do profess a belief in a somewhat similar concept of a "Final Theosis" which, like Purgatory, is a sort of purification in preparation for entry into Heaven (see below). Like the Latin Rite, members of the Eastern Catholic Churches celebrate a Liturgy for the Dead, and its members practice prayer for the dead.

Eastern Orthodox

See also: Eastern Orthodox Church

The Fedorovskaya icon of the Theotokos (Blessed Virgin Mary). She is understood as instrumental to man's theosis.

The Eastern Orthodox Church generally rejects the concept of Purgatory, at least as it is described by Roman Catholics. Some Eastern Orthodox dispute the Roman Catholic aspect of Purgatory that describes it as a place of punishment. According to one view, in the Eastern Orthodox Church "sin is a sickness to be healed and not a crime to be punished". This in contrast to Eastern Orthodox Church declarations, such as that of the Synod of Jerusalem, that there is indeed afterlife punishment for sin and that some are released from that punishment some time before the Last Judgment.

Eastern Orthodox prefer to speak of the transition from death to Heaven as "Final Theosis", rather than "Purgatory". Theosis, or deification, is understood as a journey in which the soul is transformed into perfect union with God. Similarly, the Eastern Orthodox holds that prayer is efficacious for those in the state of "Final Theosis", and that some sins can be forgiven after death.

Greek tradition, however, does not generally elaborate on the nature of the "temporary punishment" experienced and does not describe it in terms of suffering other than the punishment of enduring separation from God, i.e. the "waiting" itself; The souls of the righteous are in light and rest, with a foretaste of eternal happiness; but the souls of the wicked are in a state the reverse of this. Among the latter, such souls as have departed with faith, but without having had time to bring forth fruits worthy of repentance may be aided by the living towards the attainment of a blessed resurrection. The legalistic terminology present in the Latin tradition is not employed in the Greek, and the notion of redemption through "satisfaction" of sins is, according to John Meyondorff, not an articulation found in traditional Greek theology, which instead interprets sin as a spiritual disease that must be healed by divine love. The state in which souls undergo this experience is often referred to as "Hades", since Greek tradition, without denying the particular judgment of each soul at death, but instead explicitly affirming it, holds that neither the just nor the wicked attain the final state of bliss or punishment before the last day, with some exceptions for righteous souls like the Theotokos (Blessed Virgin Mary). The souls of those who died with faith, but "without having had time to bring forth fruits worthy of repentance..., may be aided towards 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 of Christ, and by works of mercy done in faith for their memory." Sometimes Eastern Orthodox, like other Christians, speak of the dead as "asleep in the Lord" (cf. 1 Thessalonians 4:14), though "sleep" here does not refer to the soul, but to the body, and, as other Christians, apart from those of Protestant tradition, also believe, the saints are understood to be able to intercede on behalf of the living (see Intercession of saints).

The Eastern Orthodox Synod of Jerusalem, held in 1672, declared that "the souls of those that have fallen asleep are either at rest or in torment, according to what each hath wrought" (an enjoyment or condemnation that will be complete only after the resurrection of the dead); but the souls of some "depart into Hades, and there endure the punishment due to the sins they have committed. But they are aware of their future release from there, and are delivered by the Supreme Goodness, through the prayers of the Priests, and the good works which 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 Apostolic Church 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 the common resurrection and judgment, but when we know not."

The Orthodox Confession of Peter Mogila, adopted, in a Greek translation by Meletius Syrigos, 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 unbloody sacrifice, which is offered on certain days for all the living and the dead" (question 64); and (under the heading "How must one consider the purgatorial fire?") "the Church rightly performs for them the unbloody sacrifice and prayers, but they do not cleanse themselves by suffering something. But, the Church never maintained that which pertains to the fanciful stories of some concerning the souls of their dead, who have not done penance and are punished, as it were, in streams, springs and swamps" (question 66).".

Protestantism

In general, Protestant churches do not accept the doctrine of Purgatory. Indeed, Purgatory, along with the practice of indulgences that Protestants associate with Purgatory, was a major source of the split between Catholicism and Protestantism.

One of Protestantism's central tenets is Sola scriptura, a Latin phrase which translates to "Scripture alone". Protestants believe that the Bible alone is the basis for valid Christian Doctrine and that the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church obscure the teachings of the Bible by convoluting it with church history and doctrine. Since the Protestant Bible contains no overt, explicit discussion of Purgatory Protestants reject it as an “unbiblical” belief. Another tenet of Protestantism is Sola fide-- "By faith alone". While Catholicism regards both good works and faith as being essential to salvation, Protestants believe faith alone is sufficient to achieve salvation and that good works are evidence of that faith. Instead of distinguishing between mortal and venial sins, Prostants believe that one's faith dictates one's place in the afterlife. Those who have been "saved" by God are destined for heaven, while those have not been saved will be excluded from Heaven. Accordingly, they reject the notion of any "third state" or "third place" such as Purgatory.

History

As formulated in the current Catechism of the Catholic Church, the doctrine of purgatory, also termed the “final purification”, is articulated as a purification after death prior to entrance into heaven, and explained as “based on the practice of prayer for the dead.”

Roman Catholics say that purgatory was taught since the time of the apostles. Church historians, however, sometimes describe purgatory as originating in the 2nd century (Harnack) or the 3rd century (Schaff-Herzog). Later estimates as to purgatory's origin, such as the Middle Ages (Le Goff), refer to purgatory in its much more specific and detailed form, which did not exist in the early Christian church. According to John Henry Newman, the Church fathers advocated "vague forms of the doctrine of Purgatory"

Christian Antiquity

A procession in the Catacombs of St. Callistus, Rome. The catacombs contain inscriptions that are often prayers for the dead.

Offerings to the dead were known to ancient Jewish practice, and it has been speculated that Christianity may have taken its similar practice from its Jewish heritage. In Christianity, prayer for the dead is attested to since at least the second century, evidenced in part by the tomb inscription of Abercius, Bishop of Hierapolis in Phrygia (d. c. 200). Celebration of the Eucharist for the dead is attested to since at least the third century.

Specific examples of belief in purification after death and of the communion of the living with the dead through prayer are found in many of the Church Fathers. The patristic authors often understood those undergoing purification to be awaiting the universal judgment before receiving final blessedness, and they also often described this purification as a journey which entailed hardships but also powerful glimpses of joy. Irenaeus (c. 130-202) mentioned an abode where the souls of the dead remained until the universal judgment, a process that has been described as one which "contains the concept of... purgatory." Both St. Clement of Alexandria (c. 150-215) and his pupil, Origen (c. 185-254), developed a view of purification after death; this view drew upon the notion that fire is a divine instrument from the Old Testament, and understood this in the context of New Testament teachings such as baptism by fire, from the Gospels, and a purificatory trial after death, from St. Paul. Origen, in arguing against soul sleep, stated that the souls of the elect immediately entered paradise unless not yet purified, in which case they passed into a state of punishment, a penal fire, which is to be conceived as a place of purification. For both Clement and Origen, the fire was neither a material thing nor a metaphor, but a "spiritual fire". An early Latin author, Tertullian (c. 160-225), also articulated a view of purification after death. In Tertullian's understanding of the afterlife, the souls of martyrs entered directly into eternal blessedness, whereas the rest entered a realm of the dead. The wicked suffered a foretaste of their eternal punishments, whilst the good experienced various stages and places of bliss wherein "the idea of a kind of purgatory… is quite plainly found," an idea that is representative of a view widely dispersed in antiquity. Later examples, wherein further elaborations are articulated, include St. Cyprian (d. 258), St. John Chrysostom (c. 347-407), and St. Augustine (354-430), among others.

Early Middle Ages

Gregory the Great with a dove alighting on his shoulder while the pontiff writes his homilies, an ancient tradition about the saint.

During the Early Middle Ages, the doctrine of final purification developed distinctive features in the Latin-speaking West differing from its development in the Greek-speaking East. Pope Gregory the Great's Dialogues, written in the late sixth century, evidence a development in the understanding of the afterlife distinctive of the direction that Latin Christendom would take:

As for certain lesser faults, we must believe that, before the Final Judgment, there is a purifying fire. He who is truth says that whoever utters blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will be pardoned neither in this age nor in the age to come. From this sentence we understand that certain offenses can be forgiven in this age, but certain others in the age to come.

For Gregory, God was further illuminating the nature of the afterlife, sending visions and the like, whereby, more fully than before, the outlines of the fate of the soul immediately beyond the grave were becoming visible, like the half-light that precedes the dawn. Visions of purgatory abounded; Bede mentioned a vision of a beautiful Heaven and a lurid Hell with adjacent temporary abodes, as did St. Boniface. In the seventh century, the Irish abbot St. Fursa described his foretaste of the afterlife, where, though protected by angels, he was pursued by demons who said, "It is not fitting that he should enjoy the blessed life unscathed..., for every transgression that is not purged on earth must be avenged in heaven," and on his return he was engulfed in a billowing fire that threatened to burn him, "for it stretches out each one according to their merits... For just as the body burns through unlawful desire, so the soul will burn, as the lawful, due penalty for every sin." Already in the early fifth century, St. Augustine had described the role of fire in the process of purgation, writing that the pains of purgatorial fire "will be more severe than anything man is able to suffer in this life". In the ninth century, Haymo stated that prayers and lamentations of the living, supported by almsgiving and masses, would shorten the period of purgatorial suffering. Others who expounded upon on the doctrine include Rabanus Maurus and Walafrid Strabo, to name just two.

High Middle Ages

In 1054, the Bishop of Rome and the four Greek-speaking patriarchs of the East excommunicated each other, triggering the East-West Schism. The schism split the church basically into the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches. In the West, the understanding of purgatory continued to develop.

By the twelfth century, the process of purification had acquired the Latin name, "purgatorium", from the verb purgare: to purge. Dogmatic definition of purgatory was given in 1254 . Against those who denied purgatory the Catholic Church asserted: "[W]e, since they say a place of purgation of this kind has not been indicated to them with a certain and proper name by their teachers, we indeed, calling it purgatory according to the traditions and authority of the Holy Fathers, wish that in the future it be called by that name...". By this time, Latin theology had developed a sophisticated understanding of the afterlife articulated in legalistic terminology, and the understanding of purgatory had become fully integrated with indulgences and other penitential practices.

Subsequent history

Latin-Greek relations

Basil Bessarion (c. 1403-1472), Latin Patriarch of Constantinople.

In the 15th century, at the Council of Florence authorities of the Eastern Orthodox Church identified purgatory as a point on which there were principal differences between Greek and Latin doctrine. The decrees of the Council, however, formed the basis on which certain Eastern Communities were later received into full communion with the Roman Catholic Church. At the Council, the Roman Catholic Church assured the Greeks that no dogmatic decree on the exact details of the process of purification had been issued, and Bessarion (Latin Patriarch of Constantinople) argued against the existence of real purgatorial fire. In effecting full communion between the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Catholic Churches in the Union of Brest (1585), the two agreed, "We shall not debate about purgatory, but we entrust ourselves to the teaching of the Holy Church," implying that both sides need not dispute over the details. Furthermore, the Council of Trent, in its discussion of purgatory, instructed the bishops not to preach on such "difficult and subtle questions". Today, the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Catholic Churches understand the Greek articulation of a "final theosis", or process of deification whereby the soul is transformed into perfect union with God, and the Latin articulation of "purgatory" to be essentially equivalent — a final purification. However, some Eastern Orthodox Churches continue to see "purgatory" as a matter of contention.

Reformation & Protestantism

During the Reformation, certain Protestant theologians developed a view of salvation (soteriology) that excluded purgatory. This was in part a resulted from a doctrinal change concerning justification and sanctification on the part of the reformers. In Catholic theology, one is made righteous by a progressive infusion of divine grace accepted through faith and cooperated with through good works; however, in Martin Luther's doctrine, justification rather meant "the declaring of one to be righteous", where God imputes the merits of Christ upon one who remains without inherent merit. In this process, good works done in faith (i.e. penances) are more of an unessential byproduct that contribute nothing to one's own state of righteousness; hence, in Protestant theology, "becoming perfect" came to be understood as an instantaneous act of God and not a process or journey of purification that continues in the afterlife.

Oil painting of a young John Calvin.

Thus, Protestant soteriology developed the view that each one of the elect (saved) experienced instantaneous glorification upon death. As such, there was little reason to pray for the dead. Luther wrote in Question No. 211 in his expanded Small Catechism: "We should pray for ourselves and for all other people, even for our enemies, but not for the souls of the dead." Luther, after he stopped believing in purgatory around 1530, openly affirmed the doctrine of soul sleep. Purgatory came to be seen as one of the "unbiblical corruptions" that had entered Church teachings sometime subsequent to the apostolic age. Hence, the Thirty-Nine Articles of the Church of England produced during the English Reformation stated: "The Romish doctrine concerning Purgatory...is a fond thing vainly invented, and grounded upon no warranty of Scripture; but rather repugnant to the word of God" (article 22). Likewise, John Calvin, central theologian of Reformed Protestantism, considered purgatory a superstition, writing in his Institutes (5.10): "The doctrine of purgatory ancient, but refuted by a more ancient Apostle. Not supported by ancient writers, by Scripture, or solid argument. Introduced by custom and a zeal not duly regulated by the word of God… we must hold by the word of God, which rejects this fiction." In general, this position remains indicative of Protestant belief today, with the notable exception of certain Anglo-Catholics, such as the Guild of All Souls, which describe themselves as Reformed and Catholic (and specifically not Protestant) and believe in purgatory.

Interpretations

Catholic scholar John Henry Cardinal Newman, aged 23.

The historical development of the doctrine of purgatory has been the subject of many interpretations, especially concerning its origins. Part of the divergence of views has resulted from different definitions as to what constitutes the essence of the doctrine.

Catholic scholar and apologist John Henry Newman, in his Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine, argued that doctrines such as purgatory should be expected to develop over the course of the history of the Church. In this view, the essence of the doctrine is locatable in ancient tradition, and remains consistent throughout doctrinal development, but that “large accretions” are to be understood as “true and legitimate results” — indeed, Newman considered this evidence that Christianity was “originally given to us from heaven”. Newman wrote:

Moreover, the very scale on which [the developments] have been made, their high antiquity yet present promise, their gradual formation yet precision, their harmonious order, dispose the imagination most forcibly towards the belief that a teaching so consistent with itself, so well balanced, so young and so old, not obsolete after so many centuries, but vigorous and progressive still, is the very development contemplated in the Divine Scheme.

Protestant theology generally does not articulate such a view on doctrinal development, and certain Protestant scholars consider purgatory to be an “unbiblical” belief not derived from revelation. Hence, Adolf Harnack, a nineteenth century Protestant historian, argued that purgatory entered the Church via Hellenistic philosophy and thus represented an infusion of "unrealistic" and "unbiblical" ideas into Christianity. Notable exceptions include Anglican apologist C. S. Lewis, who suggested that, during the Reformation, the Church of England rejected purgatory only as it was then understood by the Roman church, distinguishing this from the idea of purgatory in general and believing in the latter.

Jacques Le Goff, medievalist and self-professed agnostic, argued that purgatory was “born” between 1170 and 1200, when purification after death was first said to be carried out in a specific place. Le Goff acknowledged the notion of purification after death in antiquity, arguing specifically that Clement of Alexandria, and his pupil Origen, derived their view from a combination of biblical teachings, though he considered vague concepts of purifying and punishing fire to predate Christianity. Le Goff also considered Peter the Lombard (d. 1160), in expounding on the teachings of St. Augustine and Gregory the Great, to have contributed significantly to the “birth” of purgatory. Le Goff’s view, however, has been criticized by fellow historians and scholars. Historian Alan E. Bernstein held that, “the insistence that there was no purgatory until it was conceived as a place represented by a noun seems unnecessarily strict,” and stated that, “Le Goff leaves us with a tangle of abstractions.” Historian Richard Trexler considered Le Goff’s “so-called birth of purgatory” to have been arrived at in part by “a priori” criteria and even occasional “tautological reasoning”, writing that, "From Christianity’s earliest records, the faithful are found performing suffrages to and for their dead, as if both were able to influence each other’s death.”

Purgatory in art and culture

Perhaps the best-known instance of purgatory in the arts is Dante's Purgatorio, the second book of his Divine Comedy. Likewise, the Ghost in William Shakespeare's Hamlet may also presuppose a belief in purgatory, and the themes of afterlife and judgment feature heavily in the play. In Boswell's "Life of Johnson" the following dialogue is recorded:

"Boswell: "What do you think, Sir, of Purgatory, as believed by the Roman Catholicks?" Johnson. "Why, Sir, it is a very harmless doctrine. They are of opinion that the generality of mankind are neither so obstinately wicked as to deserve everlasting punishment, nor so good as to merit being admitted into the society of blessed spirits; and therefore that GOD is graciously pleased to allow of a middle state, where they may be purified by certain degrees of suffering. You see, Sir, there is nothing unreasonable in this." Boswell. "But then, Sir, their masses for the dead?" Johnson. "Why, Sir, if it be once established that there are souls in purgatory, it is as proper to pray for them, as for our brethren of mankind who are yet in this life." Boswell. "The idolatry of the Mass?" Johnson. "Sir, there is no idolatry in the Mass. They believe GOD to be there, and they adore him."

Subsequently, purgatory has been featured in more recent works by authors such as Nick Bantock and Piers Anthony, and in the 1999 movie Purgatory starring Sam Shepard.

Many medieval altarpieces and other works of art feature purgatory amongst scenes of the afterlife. More recently, in the nineteenth century Gustave Doré produced a series of Illustrations for Dante's Purgatorio.

Some people belive that the surivivors of the plane crash in the ABC TV series "LOST" are in Purgatory

Sources

• Akin, James. How to explain Purgatory to Protestants
• Blackwell Dictionary of Eastern Christianity (Oxford: Blackwell, 1999)
• Catechism of the Catholic Church, available online
• Catechism of St. Philaret (Drozdov) of Moscow
• Catholic Encyclopedia of 1914, Purgatory
• Clendenin, Daniel B. (ed.). Eastern Orthodox Theology (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1995)
• Demetry, Constas H. Catechism of the Eastern Orthodox Church
• Dragani, Anthony. From East to West: Purgatory
• Haggh, Barbara. "The meeting of sacred ritual and secular piety: endowments for music", in Companion to Medieval & Renaissance Music (Oxford University Press, 1997)
• Harnack, Adolph. History of Dogma trans. Neil Buchanan (London, Williams & Norgate, 1995)
• MacCulloch, Diarmaid. The Reformation: A History. Penguin/Allan Lee (2003)
• O' Collins, Gerald and Mario Farrugia. Catholicism: the story of Catholic Christianity (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003)
• O' Collins Gerald, and Edward G. Farrugia. A Concise Dictionary of Theology (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 2000)
• Meyondorff, John Byzantine Theology (London: Mowbrays, 1974)
• Russian Orthodox Information Center, The Orthodox Response to the Latin Doctrine of Purgatory, given at the Synod of Ferrara-Florence
• Watkins, C. S. "Sin, penance and purgatory in the Anglo-Norman realm: the evidence of visions and ghost stories", in Past and Present 175 (May 2002)

See also

• Afterlife
• Christian eschatology
• The Divine Comedy
• Hades
• Heaven
• Hell
• Indulgence

• Limbo
• Mortal sin
• Penance
• Purgatorial society
• Soteriology
• St. Patrick's Purgatory
• Venial sin

External links

• Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1030-1032
• CatholicBridge.com, Purgatory — Ecumenical article by David MacDonald concerning Evangelical and Catholic belief
• Catholic Answers, Purgatory — Catholic apologetic article
• NewAdvent.org, Purgatory — 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia article
• bringyou.to/apologetics — Readings from the Church Fathers and other sources on Purgatory, by Phil Porvaznik
• EWTN.com library, Heaven, Hell and Purgatory according to Pope John Paul II — Article from the newspaper of the Holy See, L'Osservatore Romano, July-August 1999
• JewishEncyclopedia.com, Purgatory — Article by Kaufmann Kohler in the online Jewish Encyclopedia
• New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, Purgatory — Article by C. A. Beckwith in the 19th century Protestant encyclopedia (ed. Philip Schaff)
• Purgatory account in the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
• Purgatory article in Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
• I Believe in Purgatory... — excerpt from C. S. Lewis's Letters To Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer, chapter 20
• Frequently Asked Questions at Holy Souls Online
• Purgatory and praying for the dead on Catholic Apologetic
• "Prisoner of the King: Thoughts on the Catholic Doctrine of Purgatory", H. J. Coleridge, 1889. retrieved 24 May 2007
• Three Purgatory Poems, a scholarly history of Purgatory from Medieval Institute Publications