History of Purgatory

The Roman Catholic tradition of purgatory has a history that dates back, before Jesus, to the worldwide practice of praying for and caring for the dead. The same practice appears in other traditions, such as the medieval Chinese Buddhist practice of making offerings on behalf of the dead, who are said to suffer numerous trials. [http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9061946/purgatory Purgatory] in Encyclopaedia Britannica] Among other reasons, Roman Catholic belief in purgatory is based on the practice of prayer for the dead. [Catechism of the Catholic Church, [http://www.vatican.va/archive/catechism/p123a12.htm#III 1032] ]

The English Roman Catholic scholar Cardinal John Henry Newman argued that the "essence" of the doctrine is locatable in ancient tradition, and that the core consistency of such beliefs are evidence that Christianity was "originally given to us from heaven". [John Henry Cardinal Newman, "An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine", chapter 2, section 3, paragraph 2.] Roman Catholics consider the teaching on purgatory to be part of the faith derived from the revelation of Jesus Christ that was preached by the apostles. The descriptions and doctrine regarding purgatory then developed over the centuries. [Purgatory, Encyclopaedia Britannica Online]

Christian Antiquity

Offerings to the dead were known to ancient Jewish practice, and it has been speculated that Christianity may have taken its similar practice from its Jewish heritage. [George Cross, "The Differentiation of the Roman and Greek Catholic Views of the Future Life", in "The Biblical World" (1912) p. 106] In Christianity, prayer for the dead is attested since at least the second century, [Gerald O' Collins and Mario Farrugia, "Catholicism: the story of Catholic Christianity" (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003) p. 36; George Cross, "The Differentiation of the Roman and Greek Catholic Views of the Future Life", in "The Biblical World" (1912) p. 106; cf. "Pastor" I, iii. 7, also Ambrose, "De Excessu fratris Satyri" 80] evidenced in part by the tomb inscription of Abercius, Bishop of Hierapolis in Phrygia (d. "c". 200). [Gerald O' Collins and Edward G. Farrugia, "A Concise Dictionary of Theology" (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 2000) p. 217] Celebration of the Eucharist for the dead is attested to since at least the third century. [Gerald O' Collins and Mario Farrugia, "Catholicism: the story of Catholic Christianity" (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003) p. 36; George Cross, "The Differentiation of the Roman and Greek Catholic Views of the Future Life", in "The Biblical World" (1912) p. 106]

Specific examples of belief in purification after death and of the communion of the living with the dead through prayer are found in many of the Church Fathers. [Gerald O'Collins and Edward G. Farrugia, "A Concise Dictionary of Theology" (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 2000) p. 27.] The patristic authors often understood those undergoing purification to be awaiting the universal judgment before receiving final blessedness, and they also often described this purification as a journey which entailed hardships but also powerful glimpses of joy. [Anthony Dragani, " [http://www.east2west.org/doctrine.htm#Purgatory From East to West] "] Irenaeus ("c". 130-202) mentioned an abode where the souls of the dead remained until the universal judgment, a process that has been described as one which "contains the concept of... purgatory." ["Christian Dogmatics" vol. 2 (Philadelphia : Fortress Press, 1984) p. 503; cf. Irenaeus, "Against Heresies" 5.31.2, in "The Ante-Nicene Fathers" eds. Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1979) 1:560 cf. 5.36.2 / 1:567; cf. George Cross, "The Differentiation of the Roman and Greek Catholic Views of the Future Life", in "The Biblical World" (1912) p. 107] Both St. Clement of Alexandria ("c". 150-215) and his pupil, Origen of Alexandria ("c". 185-254), developed a view of purification after death; [Gerald O'Collins and Edward G. Farrugia, "A Concise Dictionary of Theology" (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 2000) p. 27; cf. Adolph Harnack, "History of Dogma" vol. 2, trans. Neil Buchanan (London, Williams & Norgate, 1995) p. 337; Clement of Alexandria, "Stromata" [http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/clement-stromata-book6.html 6:14] ] this view drew upon the notion that fire is a divine instrument from the Old Testament, and understood this in the context of New Testament teachings such as baptism by fire, from the Gospels, and a purificatory trial after death, from St. Paul. [Jacques Le Goff, "The Birth of Purgatory" (University of Chicago Press, 1984) p. 53; cf. ] Origen, in arguing against soul sleep, stated that the souls of the elect immediately entered paradise unless not yet purified, in which case they passed into a state of punishment, a penal fire, which is to be conceived as a place of purification. [Adolph Harnack, "History of Dogma" vol. 2, trans. Neil Buchanan (London: Williams & Norgate, 1905) p. 377. [http://www.ccel.org/ccel/harnack/dogma2.ii.iv.iii.v.html#ii.iv.iii.v-Page_377 read online] .] For both Clement and Origen, the fire was neither a material thing nor a metaphor, but a "spiritual fire". [ Jacques Le Goff, "The Birth of Purgatory" (University of Chicago Press, 1984) pp. 55-57; cf. Clement of Alexandria, "Stromata" 7:6 and 5:14] An early Latin author, Tertullian ("c". 160-225), also articulated a view of purification after death. [Gerald O'Collins and Edward G. Farrugia, "A Concise Dictionary of Theology" (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 2000) p. 27; cf. Adolph Harnack, "History of Dogma" vol. 2, trans. Neil Buchanan (London, Williams & Norgate, 1995) p. 296 n. 1; George Cross, "The Differentiation of the Roman and Greek Catholic Views of the Future Life", in "The Biblical World" (1912); Tertullian "De Anima"] In Tertullian's understanding of the afterlife, the souls of martyrs entered directly into eternal blessedness, [A. J. Visser, "A Bird's-Eye View of Ancient Christian Eschatology", in "Numen" (1967) p. 13] whereas the rest entered a generic realm of the dead. There the wicked suffered a foretaste of their eternal punishments, [A. J. Visser, "A Bird's-Eye View of Ancient Christian Eschatology", in "Numen" (1967) p. 13] whilst the good experienced various stages and places of bliss wherein "the idea of a kind of purgatory… is quite plainly found," an idea that is representative of a view widely dispersed in antiquity. [Adolph Harnack, "History of Dogma" vol. 2, trans. Neil Buchanan (London: Williams & Norgate, 1905) p. 296 n. 1. [http://www.ccel.org/ccel/harnack/dogma2.ii.iv.ii.ii.html#ii.iv.ii.ii-Page_296 read online] ; cf. Jacques Le Goff, "The Birth of Purgatory" (University of Chicago Press, 1984) pp. 58-59] Later examples, wherein further elaborations are articulated, include St. Cyprian (d. 258), [ Cyprian, "Letters" [http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/050651.htm 51:20] ; Gerald O'Collins and Edward G. Farrugia, "A Concise Dictionary of Theology" (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 2000) p. 27] St. John Chrysostom ("c". 347-407), [John Chrysostom, "Homily on First Corinthians" [http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/220141.htm 41:5] ; "Homily on Philippians" [http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/230203.htm 3:9-10] ; Gerald O'Collins and Edward G. Farrugia, "A Concise Dictionary of Theology" (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 2000) p. 27] and St. Augustine (354-430), [ Augustine, "Sermons" 159:1, 172:2; "City of God" [http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/120121.htm 21:13] ; "Handbook on Faith, Hope, and Charity" 18:69, 29:109; "Confessions" 2.27; Gerald O' Collins and Mario Farrugia, "Catholicism: the story of Catholic Christianity" (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003) p. 36; Gerald O'Collins and Edward G. Farrugia, "A Concise Dictionary of Theology" (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 2000) p. 27] among others.

The notion of an interim state of souls after death developed only gradually, partly because it was of little interest as long as Christians looked for an imminent end of the world. The Eastern Church came to admit of of an intermediate state, but refrained from defining it, while at the same time maintaining the belief in prayer for the dead that was a constant feature of both Eastern and Western liturgies, and which is unintelligible without belief in an interim state in which the dead may be benefited. Christians in the West demonstrated much more curiosity about this interim state than those in the East: The Passion of Saints Perpetua and Felicity and occasional remarks by Saint Augustine give expression to their belief that sins can be purged by suffering in an afterlife and that the process can be accelerated by prayer.Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (Oxford University Press 2005 ISBN 978-0-19-280290-3), article "Purgatory"]

In the early fifth century, Augustine spoke of the pain that purgatorial fire causes as more severe than anything a man can suffer in this life. ["gravior erit ignis quam quidquid potest homo pati in hac vita" (P. L., col. 397), quoted in [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12575a.htm Catholic Encyclopedia: Purgatory] .] And Gregory the Great said that those who after this life "will expiate their faults by purgatorial flames," and he adds "that the pain be more intolerable than any one can suffer in this life." [Ps. 3 poenit., n. 1, quoted in [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12575a.htm Catholic Encyclopedia: Purgatory] ]

Early Middle Ages

During the Early Middle Ages, the doctrine of final purification developed distinctive features in the Latin-speaking West differing from its development in the Greek-speaking East.

Gregory the Great

Pope Gregory the Great's "Dialogues", written in the late sixth century, evidence a development in the understanding of the afterlife distinctive of the direction that Latin Christendom would take:

As for certain lesser faults, we must believe that, before the Final Judgment, there is a purifying fire. He who is truth says that whoever utters blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will be pardoned neither in this age nor in the age to come. From this sentence we understand that certain offenses can be forgiven in this age, but certain others in the age to come. [ Gregory the Great, "Dialogues" 4, 39: PL 77, 396; cf. associated with indulgences and other penitential practices, such as fasting. Through theology, literature, and indulgences, purgatory became central to late medieval religion.

Medievalist Jacques Le Goff defines the "birth of purgatory", i.e. the conception of purgatory as a physical place, rather than merely as a state, as occurring between 1170 and 1200. [Jacques Le Goff, "La naissance du purgatoire". (Bibliothèque des Histoires) Paris: Gallimard, 1981; an English translation is available under the title "The Birth of Purgatory", published by the University of Chicago Press (the English is referenced here).] Le Goff acknowledged that the notion of purification after death, without the medieval notion of a physical place, existed in antiquity, arguing specifically that Clement of Alexandria, and his pupil Origen of Alexandria, derived their view from a combination of biblical teachings, though he considered vague concepts of purifying and punishing fire to predate Christianity. [Jacques Le Goff, "The Birth of Purgatory" (University of Chicago Press, 1984) pp. 55-57.] Le Goff also considered Peter the Lombard (d. 1160), in expounding on the teachings of St. Augustine and Gregory the Great, to have contributed significantly to the birth of purgatory in the sense of a physical place.

While the idea of purgatory as a process of cleansing thus dated back to early Christianity, the twelfth century was the heyday of medieval otherworld-journey narratives such as the Irish Visio Tnugdali, and of pilgrims' tales about St. Patrick's Purgatory, a cavelike entrance to purgatory on a remote island in Ireland. [ [http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-260349/purgatory Online Encyclopaedia Britannica] ] The legend of St Patrick's Purgatory written in that century by Hugh of Saltry, also known as Henry of Sawtry, was "part of a huge, repetitive contemporary genre of literature of which the most familiar today is Dante's"; [ [http://www.catholicireland.net/pages/index.php?nd=3&art=367 Lough Derg: the spirit of a holy place] ; cf. [http://books.google.com/books?id=3HCMdlHfUvcC&pg=PA16&lpg=PA16&dq=saint+patrick's+purgatory+owen&source=web&ots=ko8TQT_hwa&sig=Pjjuj2057PoU9-TCAFv0_w9kX1A "Visions of the Other World in Middle English" by Robert Easting,] p. 16; [http://www.danteide.net/publications/patrick.html The legend of the "Purgatory of Saint Patrick": from Ireland, until Dante and beyond] .] another is the Visio Tnugdali. Other legends localized the entrance to Purgatory in places such as a cave on the volcanic Mount Etna in Sicily. [ [http://books.google.com/books?id=IoMobEcO83MC&pg=RA1-PA285&lpg=RA1-PA285&dq=word+purgatory+twelfth+century&source=web&ots=LgoKqminPl&sig=SXwfivd7Pn_3JBqY59wU9qXA6wA "A History of the Church in the Middle Ages" by F. Donald Logan] ] Thus the idea of purgatory as a physical place became widespread on a popular level, and was defended also by some theologians.

"See also:" Anima sola, Gertrude the Great, Sabbatine privilege

Subsequent history

Latin-Greek relations

[
Basil Bessarion ("c". 1403-1472), Latin Patriarch of Constantinople.] In the 15th century, at the Council of Florence authorities of the Eastern Orthodox Church identified purgatory as a point on which there were principal differences between Greek and Latin doctrine. ["The Blackwell Dictionary of Eastern Christianity" (Oxford: Blackwell, 1999) p. 201; cf. Orthodoxinfo.com, [http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/death/stmark_purg.aspx "The Orthodox Response to the Latin Doctrine of Purgatory"] ] The Eastern Christians objected especially to the legalistic distinction between guilt and punishment and to the fire of purgatory being material fire. The decrees of the Council, which contained no reference to fire and, without using the word "purgatory" ("purgatorium"), spoke only of "pains of cleansing" ("poenis purgatoriis"), [ [http://catho.org/9.php?d=bx0#b1o Denzinger, 1304] ] were rejected at the time by the Eastern churches but formed the basis on which certain Eastern communities were later received into full communion with the Roman Catholic Church. ["The Blackwell Dictionary of Eastern Christianity" (Oxford: Blackwell, 1999) p. 202] At the Council itself, the Greek Metropolitan Bessarion argued against the existence of real purgatorial fire. In effecting full communion between the Roman Catholic Church and the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church by the Union of Brest (1585), the two agreed, "We shall not debate about purgatory, but we entrust ourselves to the teaching of the Holy Church," [Union of Brest (1585) [http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1595brest.html Article 5] ] implying that both sides need not dispute over the details. [Anthony Dragani, " [http://www.east2west.org/doctrine.htm#Purgatory From East to West] "] Furthermore, the Council of Trent, in its discussion of purgatory, instructed the bishops not to preach on such "difficult and subtle questions". [Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), entry on [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12575a.htm Purgatory] ; cf. Council of Trent, Session XXV, "De Purgatorio"] Today, the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Catholic Churches understand the Greek articulation of a "final theosis", or process of deification whereby the soul is transformed into perfect union with God, [Daniel B. Clendenin ed., Eastern Orthodox Theology (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1995) p. 184] and the Latin articulation of "purgatory" to be essentially equivalent — a final purification. [Anthony Dragani, " [http://www.east2west.org/doctrine.htm#Purgatory From East to West] "] However, some Eastern Orthodox Churches continue to see "purgatory" as a matter of contention. [ [http://www.ocf.org/OrthodoxPage/reading/ortho_cath.html "What Are the Differences Between Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism?"] ]

Protestant Reformation

During the Protestant Reformation, certain Protestant theologians developed a view of salvation (soteriology) that excluded purgatory. This was in part a result from a doctrinal change concerning justification and sanctification on the part of the reformers. In Catholic theology, one is made righteous by a progressive infusion of divine grace accepted through faith and cooperated with through good works; however, in Martin Luther's doctrine, justification rather meant "the declaring of one to be righteous", where God imputes the merits of Christ upon one who remains without inherent merit. [Diarmaid MacCulloch, "The Reformation: A History" (New York: Penguin Books, 2004) p. 119] In this process, good works done in faith (i.e. through penance) are more of an unessential byproduct that contribute nothing to one's own state of righteousness; hence, in Protestant theology, "becoming perfect" came to be understood as an instantaneous act of God and "not" a process or journey of purification that continues in the afterlife.

Thus, Protestant soteriology developed the view that each one of the elect (saved) experienced instantaneous glorification upon death. As such, there was little reason to pray for the dead. Luther wrote in Question No. 211 in his expanded "Small Catechism": "We should pray for ourselves and for all other people, even for our enemies, but not for the souls of the dead." Luther, after he stopped believing in purgatory around 1530, [ Diarmaid MacCulloch, "The Reformation: A History" (New York: Penguin Books, 2004) p. 580; cf. Koslofsky, "Reformation of the Dead" pp. 34-39] openly affirmed the doctrine of soul sleep. [ Diarmaid MacCulloch, "The Reformation: A History" (New York: Penguin Books, 2004) pp. 580-581; cf. Koslofsky, "Reformation of the Dead" p. 48] Purgatory came to be seen as one of the "unbiblical corruptions" that had entered Church teachings sometime subsequent to the apostolic age. Hence, the "Thirty-Nine Articles of the Church of England" produced during the English Reformation stated: "The Romish doctrine concerning Purgatory...is a fond thing vainly invented, and grounded upon no warranty of Scripture; but rather repugnant to the word of God" (article 22). Likewise, John Calvin, central theologian of Reformed Protestantism, considered purgatory a superstition, writing in his "Institutes" (5.10): "The doctrine of purgatory ancient, but refuted by a more ancient Apostle. Not supported by ancient writers, by Scripture, or solid argument. Introduced by custom and a zeal not duly regulated by the word of God… we must hold by the word of God, which rejects this fiction." In general, this position remains indicative of Protestant belief today, with the notable exception of certain Anglo-Catholics, such as the Guild of All Souls, which describe themselves as Reformed and Catholic (and specifically not Protestant) and believe in purgatory.

In response to Protestant Reformation critics, the Council of Trent reaffirmed purgatory as already taught by the First Council of Lyon, confining itself to the concepts of purification after death and the efficacy of prayers for the dead. It simply affirmed the existence of purgatory and the great value of praying for the deceased, but sternly instructed preachers not to push beyond that and distract, confuse, and mislead the faithful with unnecessary speculations concerning the nature and duration of purgatorial punishments. [ [http://www.crossroadsinitiative.com/library_article/775/Decree_on_Purgatory_Council_of_Trent.html Decree on Purgatory (1563)] ] It thus did not treat the elaborate medieval speculation that had grown up around the concept of Purgatory as part of Church teaching on the matter.

Saint Robert Bellarmine and Saint Alphonsus Liguori advocated asking for the prayers of the souls in purgatory, a notion not accepted by all theologians. Saints such as Francis de Sales spoke of purgatory as "under the earth". [ [http://www.angelfire.com/ms/seanie/desalespurgatory.html The Doctrine of Purgatory, by Saint Francis de Sales] ] Other highly regarded writers stated that some of the souls in Purgatory pass "their purification in the air, or by their graves, or near altars where the Blessed Sacrament is, or in the rooms of those who pray for them, or amid the scenes of their former vanity and frivolity". [ [http://www.opusangelorum.org/Formation/Purgatory.html Opus Sanctorum Angelorum] ] There are many other such speculations concerning the nature and duration of purgatorial punishments.

Anglican apologist C. S. Lewis suggested that, during the Reformation, the Church of England rejected purgatory only as it considered it to be understood by the Roman church, distinguishing this from the idea of purgatory in general and declaring that he believed in the latter. [, chapter 20. Extracts at [http://cafetheology.org/2007/08/26/cs-lewis-on-purgatory/ C.S. Lewis on "Purgatory"] and [http://www.angelfire.com/pa3/OldWorldBasic/purgatorycslewis.htm I believe in purgatory ...] ]

References