Purgatory

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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



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]



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.



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



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



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]



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.



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]



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]



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]



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



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



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



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).



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.



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



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-



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)



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))



(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,



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}&notoc=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



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