Purgatory
Eastern Orthodox beliefs
Sponsored link.
Overview:
The Eastern Orthodox churches differ in beliefs from the
Roman Catholic church. They have no formal doctrine about purgatory. According
to Eastern Orthodox Bishop Kallistos Ware:
"...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.' " 1
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." 2
The Council of Florence, 1438
When the unsuccessful attempt to
merge the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches was made at the
Council of Florence, the Roman Catholics and all but one of the Eastern Orthodox
representatives agreed to a statement about the existence of purgatory:
The Council reached a near consensus that:
"But if souls have departed this life in faith and love, while nevertheless
carrying away with themselves certain faults, whether small ones [what Catholics
call "venial sins"] over which they have not repented at all, or greater ones
for which - even though they have repented over them - they did not undertake to
show fruits of repentance: such souls, we believe, must be cleansed from this
kind of sins but not by means of some purgatorial fire or a definite punishment
in some place." 1
The lone objector, St. Mark of Ephesus, disagreed on only twp minor points: he
did not believe that torture in Purgatory was limited to fire. He believed that
it could take many forms, and so preferred the use of the generic term "pains" in place
of "fire." He also objected to Purgatory being referred to as being
"in some place." He wrote:
"The souls of those who depart this life with true repentance and in the love of
God, before they have rendered satisfaction for their trespasses and negligences
by worthy fruits of repentance, are cleansed after death by cleansing pains."
1
This near consensus ended shortly after the council when most of the Eastern
Orthodox represented retracted their agreement.
Sponsored link:
"The Confession of
Dositheus," 1672:
A Synod of Eastern Orthodox Churches in 1672 produced "The Confession of
Dositheus" which defended traditional church beliefs which were under
attack by supporters of Calvinism. Chapter 6, Decree 18 teaches that the souls
of the dead are taken immediately either to Heaven or Hell. By implication,
Purgatory does not exist as a location separate from Hell. However, souls of those who have committed mortal sins
while alive on Earth, and who have repented, and who have done good works, will
eventually be released from Hell at some time before the general resurrection of
all. The Confession states:
"We believe that the souls of those that have fallen asleep are either at
rest or in torment, according to what each has done; — for when they are
separated from their bodies, they depart immediately either to joy, or to
sorrow and lamentation; though confessedly neither their enjoyment nor
condemnation are complete. For after the common resurrection, when the soul
shall be united with the body, with which it had behaved itself well or ill,
each shall receive the completion of either enjoyment or of condemnation."
"And the souls of those involved in mortal sins, who have not departed in
despair but while still living in the body, though without bringing forth
any fruits of repentance, have repented — by pouring forth tears, by
kneeling while watching in prayers, by afflicting themselves, by relieving
the poor, and finally by showing forth by their works their love towards God
and their neighbor, and which the Catholic Church has from the beginning
rightly called satisfaction — [their souls] 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." 3
Today, few Eastern Orthodox
theologians believe in Purgatory. According to Wikipedia, the Eastern church
accept an:
"... intermediate state after death, but refrained from defining it so as not to
blur the distinction between the alternative fates of Heaven and Hell; it
combined with this doctrine a firm belief in the efficacy of prayer for the
dead, which was a constant feature of both East and West liturgies. Such prayer
is held to be unintelligible without belief in some interim state in which the
dead might benefit.""Eastern Orthodox teaching is that, while all
undergo a Particular Judgment immediately after death,
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), 'who was borne by the angels
directly to heaven'."
"Eastern Orthodox theology does not generally describe the situation of the
dead as involving suffering or fire. ..." 4
The following information sources were used to prepare and update the above
essay. The hyperlinks are not necessarily still active today.
- "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. 1.
- "The Confession of Dositheus: Decree 18," 1672, CRI/Voice, Institute, at:
http://www.cresourcei.org/
- "Purgatory," Wikipedia, at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/
Site navigation:
Copyright © 1998 to 2008 by Ontario
Consultants on Religious Tolerance
Latest update and review: 2008-DEC-06
Author: B.A. Robinson
|
