| About this site |
| About us |
| Our beliefs |
| Your first visit? |
| Contact us |
| External links |
| Good books |
| Visitor essays |
| Our forum |
| New essays |
| Other site features |
| Buy a CD |
| Vital notes |
| Spiritual/ethics |
| Spirituality |
| Morality/ethics |
| Absolute truth |
| Peace/conflict |
| Attaining peace |
| Religious tolerance |
| Religious hatred |
| Religious conflict |
| Religious violence |
| Laws and news |
| Religious laws |
| Religious news |
|
 | History of the belief in Purgatory | ||||||||||
| Current beliefs:
|
Overview:
Purgatory is a belief that is unique to the Roman Catholic Church.
| The Catholic church teaches that salvation is a gradual process of sanctification over time. Few people can be accepted directly into Heaven at death. Purgatory cleanses them from the temporal consequences of the sins that they have collected during their lifetime on earth. Eventually, a person will be eligible to be transferred to Heaven. |
| Conservative Protestants generally believe that salvation is achieved by a person repenting of their sin and trusting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Once this is done, one is assured that they will attain heaven at death. |
| Liberal Protestants, Agnostics, Atheists, Freethinkers, etc. generally reject the idea of Purgatory and Hell because the concept of imprisoning people for thought crimes (e.g. believing in the wrong God), and torturing them there for all eternity is incompatible with their interpretation of the Bible. |
With effort, all three concepts of Purgatory can be justified from biblical passages.
History of the belief in Purgatory:
Some of the early Church Fathers wrote about an intermediate state after death; a way station on the path to Heaven. Many wrote about the importance of issuing prayers for the dead. Such prayers only make sense if a third state - one other than Heaven or Hell - exists. After all, if the person who died is in Heaven, prayers would be meaningless; if the person was in Hell, then they are already lost and prayers would not help them. These early Christian writers included "Fathers Tertullian, Origen, Cyprian, Lactantius, Eusebius, Cyril, Gregory of Nyssa, Epiphanius, Jerome, Ambrose, John Chrysostom, Augustine, Gregory the Great, Venerable Bede and second-millennium theologians such as Anselm, Bernard, Aquinas and Bonaventure..." 1,2 Prayers for the dead are also found in early Christian catacombs and in early church liturgies.
"Both purgatory and prayers for the dead were upheld by the major councils, beginning with the Council of Carthage in 394 A.D."
Belief in Purgatory became a formal church 'dogma' only in the 16th century. The historical emphasis of the church had been that Purgatory is a dreadful place of painful, long-lasting punishment with fire. More recent references by the Pope imply that Purgatory is not "a place but [rather] a condition of life."
The Church defines Purgatory as: "a state of final purification after death and before entrance into heaven for those who died in God's friendship, but were only imperfectly purified; a final cleansing of human imperfection before one is able to enter the joy of heaven." (Catechism of the Catholic Church [CCC] Page 896).
During the Protestant Reformation, Martin Luther initially accepted the belief in Purgatory. In 1519 he said that its existence was undeniable. By 1530 he had changed his mind; he said that Purgatory could not be proven to exist from biblical passages. Later that year he rejected the concept of Purgatory entirely. Since that time, all Protestant denominations have not taught belief in Purgatory.
Roman Catholic beliefs:
The Roman Catholic church teaches that a "Particular Judgment" happens immediately at death. (This is different from the General Judgment that everyone will undergo on the "last day.") The "souls of those who have died in the state of grace suffer for a time a purging that prepares them to enter heaven." Souls spend time in Purgatory until fully cleansed of the temporal consequences of sin.The Church, drawing on Jesus' sacrifice on the cross, is able to grant its members absolution for their sins. At that point, the sins no longer have eternal consequences; that is, the transgression does not cause the perpetrator to be relegated to Hell for all eternity after their death. It does not prevent them from attaining heaven eventually. But there are often temporal consequences to sin. Jesus may have forgiven the individual for their transgression, but they may have harmed others. These temporal consequences have to be paid for. One requires cleansing before being allowed into Heaven. Such cleansing is the function of Purgatory.
Purgatory will be terminated for everyone at the time of the final general judgment of humanity. It would also end for an individual when they have been purified to the point where they can be admitted to heaven. This implies that two individuals with the same "sin load" -- one who died centuries before the general judgment, and another who died just before the judgment -- would spend a different length of time being purged of their temporal consequences of their sins. Also, those who have more living friends and family on Earth who pray for the fate of the deceased will presumably be released sooner than those who have no friends or family.
The intensity and duration of the torment can be reduced by good works by the living, if they offer Masses, prayers "and other acts of piety and devotion." Fr. Paul O'Sullivan has suggested seven techniques that can be used by a person while they are alive on earth to avoid the fires of Purgatory entirely. 3 Many devout Catholics have a overwhelming fear of dying, because they feel that they will certainly suffer - either in Hell forever, or in Purgatory for many centuries or millennia.
Roman Catholic statements on Purgatory:
| Council of Lyons II (1274 CE):
|
| Council of Florence (1438-1443 CE):
|
| Council of Trent (1545-1563 CE)
|
| The Roman Catholic Catechism states: 5 |
1021: "Each will be rewarded immediately after death in accordance with his works and faith."
1023: "Those who die in God's grace and friendship and are perfectly purified [with no need of purgatory] live for ever with Christ"
1031: "The Church formulated her doctrine of faith on Purgatory especially at the Councils of Florence and Trent"
1032: "This teaching is also based on the practice of prayer for the dead..."
| Vatican II documents state: |
"The doctrine of purgatory clearly demonstrates that even when the guilt of sin has been taken away, punishment for it or the consequences of it may remain to be expiated or cleansed. They often are. In fact, in purgatory the souls of those who died in the charity of God and truly repentant, but who had not made satisfaction with adequate penance for their sins and omissions are cleansed after death with punishments designed to purge away their debt" (Vatican II documents, Page 75).
| The Revised and Updated Edition of the Catholic Encyclopedia explains: 6 |
"The souls of those who have died in the state of grace suffer for a time a purging that prepares them to enter heaven...It is an intermediate state in which the departed souls can atone for unforgiven sins before receiving their final reward."
| One source 7 quotes another edition of the Catholic Encyclopedia. It refers to Purgatory as |
"the condition or state for those who have not totally alienated themselves from God by their sins, but who are temporarily and partially alienated from God while their love is made perfect and they give satisfaction for their sins."
| Pope John Paul II issued a Papal bull on 1998-NOV-29, called the Bull of Indiction of the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000. Its title is "Incarnationis Mysterium." It suggests that Roman Catholics attempt to make a pious pilgrimage to Rome, Jerusalem or to another holy site. An appendix to the bull "Conditions for Gaining the Jubilee Indulgence" describes how church members can reduce or eliminate the interval in purgatory for themselves or loved ones, through indulgences. They could gain credit by abstaining from smoking or drinking or eating for a period of time. Alternative methods are to visit "the sick, the imprisoned, the elderly living alone, the handicapped, etc." 8 |
| Pope John Paul II used his Wednesday general audience during the period of late 1999-JUL to early 1999-AUG to discuss topics related to life after death. He had described heaven and hell; at his AUG-4 audience, he described Purgatory. He affirmed Roman Catholic theology that: "Before we enter into God's Kingdom, every trace of sin within us must be eliminated, every imperfection in our soul must be corrected. This is exactly what takes place in purgatory." But he continued by stating that Purgatory "does not indicate a place but a condition of life. Those who, after death, live in this state of purification are already immersed in the love of Christ which lifts them out of the residue of imperfection." Like Hell, Purgatory is not a physical place. He urged Christians to pray and do good works on behalf of those in purgatory, so that the latter will be released earlier than they would otherwise be. |
Sponsored link:
Indulgences:
An indulgence is "the remission or limited release from the temporal punishments one must suffer in this life or in purgatory for the sins a person has committed." 9 An act such as reciting a prayer, saying the rosary, or helping someone in need can gain for the individual a reduction of many days in their stay in Purgatory.
During the late Middle Ages, "indulgences were employed by mercenary ecclesiastics as a means of pecuniary gain." 10 "...the practice of selling indulgence had degenerated into impenetrably murky financial and political transactions. In response to the wildly growing financial needs of the Papal Court, church institutions were given the rights to sell letters of indulgence as punishment for sin." 11 One type of indulgence, the "Peter Indulgence," was started by Pope Julius II in 1507 CE. It was collected from the faithful and used to finance the completion of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. One of the most successful salesmen of indulgences was Friar Johannes Tetzel (1465-1519). "He went from being a simple Dominican priest to Papal Commissioner for Indulgence." 12 He claimed that "a soul is released from purgatory and carried to heaven as soon as the money tinkles in the box." 13
In 1517 CE, Martin Luther became disgusted at Tetzel's sale of indulgences. Prince Albrecht, Bishop of both Magdeburg and Archbishop of Mainz had a handbook prepared for the guidance of his indulgence merchants. "Martin Luther read the instruction manual...in October of 1517. The things he read in this manual made it clear to him that as a Theologian he couldn't keep silent any longer. By nailing his theses onto the door of the Castle Church, Luther encouraged an open discussion over the sale of Indulgences." 14,15 This precipitated the Protestant Reformation. Actually Luther apparently wrote a letter to his superiors to which he appended 95 theses in addition to nailing them to the cathedral door at Wittenberg. Nailing notices to the cathedral door was a common practice at the time. The abuses of indulgences ceased during the Renaissance. The Roman Catholic Council of Trent rejected the abuse of indulgences. In 1567 Pope Pius V canceled all grants of indulgences involving any fees or other financial transactions.
One present-day writer discusses how indulgences can significantly lessen our time spent in Purgatory or perhaps even cancel it altogether. 3 For example:
| God will grant "100 to 300 days or more Indulgence" for a single recitation of a simple, short prayer. Repeating it 1,000 times in a single day (about once per minute that the person is not sleeping) would gain 300,000 days (about 821 years) indulgence. |
| A single Hail Mary of the Rosary will get a person more than 2,000 days indulgence. |
| These indulgences can be applied to our own credit, or may be applied to a soul in Purgatory. |
| In addition to the above Partial Indulgences, there are also Plenary Indulgences which may be obtained during life or at the time of our death. These allow a person to bypass Purgatory completely. "Pope St. Pius X ...granted a plenary indulgence at the hour of death to those who say at least after one Holy Communion the following prayer: 'Eternal Father, from this day forward, I accept with a joyful and resigned heart the death it will please You to send me, with all its pains and sufferings' " |
| Frequent "Confession, Communion and daily assistance at Mass" will also lessen one's time in Purgatory. |
Eastern Orthodox beliefs:
The Eastern Orthodox churches differ in beliefs from the Roman Catholic church. They have no formal doctrine about purgatory. "...Eastern Orthodox Bishop Kallistos Ware acknowledges several schools of thought among the Eastern Orthodox on the topic of purification after death...he writes that 'Today most if not all Orthodox theologians reject the idea of Purgatory, at least in [Roman Catholic] form.' " 16 However, Orthodox believers do pray and make offerings for the dead. For example, "Again we pray for the repose of the soul(s) of the servant(s) of God (name(s)), departed this life; and that he (she, they) may be pardoned all his (her, their) sins, both voluntary and involuntary." 17 When the unsuccessful attempt to rejoin the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches was made in the Council of Florence in 1438, all but one of the Eastern Orthodox representatives agreed to a statement about the existence of purgatory. The lone objector, St. Mark of Ephesus, disagreed on only minor points. 16
Protestant beliefs:
Much Protestant theology is based on the belief that Jesus paid for the sins of all believers -- past, present and future -- on the cross, circa 30 CE. Thus it makes no sense to expect a believer to have to make an additional payment before being admitted into Heaven.
They base these beliefs partly on a series of biblical passages:
| Psalms 103:11-12: |
| Hebrews 8:12 |
| Hebrews 10:17 |
However, individual denominations have different interpretations of the Bible:
| Conservative Protestant denominations: Protestant churches reject the concept of any
intermediate destination after life, like Purgatory. They have traditionally taught that persons who have
been saved during their lifetime will eventually pass to
heaven
at death. The vast majority of individuals - (those who have never trusted Jesus because
they never heard of the Gospel or because they heard the Gospel but rejected it)
will go to Hell for eternal punishment without any hope of cessation or
mercy. Many fundamentalist Christian denominations continue to teach this same belief. 1 Corinthians 3:13-15 is the key passage that has been used by Catholics in support of Purgatory:
Fundamentalist and other Evangelicals typically interpret the verse as referring to rewards given to previously saved individuals. A person is saved, purely on the basis of having repented and trusted Jesus as Lord and Savior. (Some faith groups deny that repentance is required). But once saved, they may receive a reward on the basis of their balance of good and bad works. The greatest reward is a crown of life (James 1:12); those who have a smaller accumulation of good works might receive a crown of righteousness (2 Timothy 4:8). Other passages referring to rewards given to the saved are: Matthew 5:12; Matthew 6:1-6; Matthew 10:40-42; Matthew 13:23; Matthew 25:14-30; 1 Corinthians 15:40-41; 2 Corinthians 4:17; Galatians 6:7; Ephesians 6:8; 1 Timothy 6:19; Hebrews 10:35; 2 John 8; Revelation 11:18. Christians who have done little while on earth would receive nothing in addition to their salvation. The phrase translated "he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire" in the KJV means that they would only be barely saved. The NIV Bible used by many conservative Christians translates the final phrase "but only as one escaping through the flames." i.e. like a person who barely escaped a burning house - he almost didn't make it. | ||||
| Liberal Protestant denominations: Liberal Protestant faith groups have long abandoned the idea of Hell as a
place of eternal punishment. The concept of Hell is seen as being incompatible with a
loving, understanding, caring God. They reject Purgatory for the same reason.
They feel that God is not
in the business of torturing people with fire.
Caring humans, such as members of Amnesty International, condemn those countries which torture prisoners. Most liberal Protestants cannot conceive that God would establish systems of imprisonment and the infliction of pain which are worse than humanity at its most vicious and cruel. Even if Purgatory existed, many liberal Protestants would reject the concept that prayers by the living would influence the severity or duration of the torture being inflicted on the inmates. They might argue that If the prayers of the living influenced the punishment of the souls in Purgatory, then two individuals being punished for the same sins, would suffer different sentences in Purgatory, depending upon how many living Catholic friends and relatives each had. This would be fundamentally unjust. Orphans, only-children, and Protestants would be treated harsher than Roman Catholics from large families, even though they had committed the same sins while alive. | ||||
| Protestant statements on Purgatory:
| ||||
| An exception: C.S. Lewis, who wrote:
"Of course I pray for the dead. The action is so spontaneous, so all but inevitable, that only the most compulsive theological case against it would deter me. And I hardly know how the rest of my prayers would survive if those for the dead were forbidden. At our age, the majority of those we love best are dead. What sort of intercourse with God could I have if what I love best were unmentionable to him?" |
References:
The following information sources were used to prepare and update the above essay. The hyperlinks are not necessarily still active today.
- Robert A. Sungenis, "Purgatory," at: http://net2.netacc.net/
- "Purgatory," part of "Catholic Biblical Apologetics," at: http://www.cbn.org/
- Fr. Paul O'Sullivan, "How to avoid Purgatory," at: http://abbey.apana.org.au/
- "Catholic Prayers," at: http://www.webdesk.com/
- "Catechism of the Catholic Church," Image Books, New York, NY, (1995)
- Robert Broderick, Ed., "Catholic Encyclopedia," Thomas Nelson, Nashville, TN (1987), Page 502.
- "Purgatory" at: http://net2.netacc.net/
- Vatican Information Service, "Summary of Synod for Oceania," at: http://www.cin.org/
- "Indulgences," http://webusers.anet-stl.com/
- "The Catholic Encyclopedia, Indulgences," (1911). Online at: http://www.newadvent.org/
- Martin Luther, "The 95 Theses," at: http://www.wittenberg.de/
- "Lutherstade Wittenberg, Nailing the 95 theses onto the door of the Castle Church," at: http://www.wittenberg.de/
- D'Aubigne, "History of the Reformation," Vol. 1, pp. 241, 242).
- "Lutherstade Wittenberg, Nailing the 95 theses onto the door of the Castle Church," at: http://www.wittenberg.de/
- Martin Luther, "The 95 Theses," at: http://www.wittenberg.de/
- "Cleansed After Death: The Eastern Orthodox Don't Believe In Purgatory... Do They?," at: http://www.geocities.com/
- "Service Books of the Orthodox Church, vol. I: the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom," St. Tikhon's Seminary Press, (1984), Page 54. Cited in Ref. 26.
- Martin Luther, "Small Catechism," Question 211.
- The "Thirty-Nine Articles of the Anglican Church," Article 22.
- C.S. Lewis, "Letters To Malcom: Chiefly on Prayer --I believe in Purgatory," , Chapter 20, Paragraphs 7-10, pages 108-109. Online at: http://praiseofglory.com/
|
Home > Christianity> Christian beliefs > Afterlife > Purgatory > here |
Copyright ©1998, to 2006 by Ontario
Consultants on Religious Tolerance
Latest update: 2006-FEB-08
Author: B.A. Robinson
|
|
