{"id":3001,"date":"2022-02-10T19:57:06","date_gmt":"2022-02-11T03:57:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/myagpeya.com\/blog\/?p=3001"},"modified":"2026-11-03T16:11:17","modified_gmt":"2026-11-04T00:11:17","slug":"purgatory-quotes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/myagpeya.com\/blog\/purgatory-quotes\/","title":{"rendered":"Purgatory"},"content":{"rendered":"

Since repentance is necessary for the remission of sins and purgatory is punishment for sins already remitted, how are “venial” sins already remitted in purgatory, since the sinner did not need to repent of them?<\/span><\/p>\n

One who desires to obtain reconciliation with God and with the Church, must confess to a priest all the unconfessed grave sins he remembers after having carefully examined his conscience. the confession of venial faults, without being necessary in itself, is nevertheless strongly recommended by the Church.<\/span><\/p>\n

Exodus 35:30-33<\/strong>
\nAnd Moses said to the children of Israel, \u201cSee, the\u00a0Lord<\/span>\u00a0has called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah;\u00a0<\/span>and He has filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom and understanding<\/span>,<\/strong> in knowledge and all manner of workmanship,\u00a0to design artistic works, to work in gold and silver and bronze,\u00a0in cutting jewels for setting, in carving wood, and to work in all manner of artistic workmanship.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Psalm 50:3<\/strong>
\nOur God shall come, and shall not keep silent; A fire shall devour before Him,<\/strong> And it shall be very tempestuous all around Him.<\/p>\n

1 Chronicles 29: 2-8<\/strong>
\nNow for the house of my God I have prepared with all my might: gold for\u00a0things to be made of<\/i>\u00a0gold, silver for\u00a0things of<\/i>\u00a0silver, bronze for\u00a0things of<\/i>\u00a0bronze,<\/strong> iron for\u00a0things of<\/i>\u00a0iron, wood for\u00a0things of<\/i>\u00a0wood, onyx stones,\u00a0stones<\/i> to be set, glistening stones of various colors, all kinds of precious stones,<\/strong> and marble slabs in abundance. Moreover, because I have set my affection on the house of my God, I have given to the house of my God, over and above all that I have prepared for the holy house, my own special treasure of gold and silver:<\/strong>\u00a0three thousand talents of gold, of the gold of Ophir, and seven thousand talents of refined silver, to overlay the walls of the houses;\u00a0the gold for\u00a0things of<\/i>\u00a0gold and the silver for\u00a0things of<\/i>\u00a0silver, and for all kinds of work\u00a0to be done<\/i>\u00a0by the hands of craftsmen<\/span>.<\/strong> Who\u00a0then<\/i>\u00a0is willing to\u00a0consecrate himself this day to the\u00a0Lord<\/span>?\u201d\u00a0Then the leaders of the fathers\u2019\u00a0houses,<\/i>\u00a0leaders of the tribes of Israel, the captains of thousands and of hundreds, with the officers over the king\u2019s work, offered willingly.\u00a0They gave for the work of the house of God five thousand talents and ten thousand darics of gold, ten thousand talents of silver, eighteen thousand talents of bronze, and one hundred thousand talents of iron.\u00a0And whoever had\u00a0precious<\/i>\u00a0stones gave\u00a0them<\/i>\u00a0to the treasury of the house of the\u00a0Lord<\/span>, into the hand of Jehiel\u00a0the Gershonite.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The three youth also walked through fire but weren’t purified or tested<\/p>\n

Isaiah 43:2\u00a0<\/strong>(through the fire doesn’t necessarily mean purification)
\nWhen you pass through the waters, I\u00a0will be<\/i> with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. <\/span>When you walk through the fire<\/strong>, you shall not be burned,<\/span>
\nNor shall the flame scorch you. <\/span>For I\u00a0am<\/i>\u00a0the\u00a0Lord<\/span> your God<\/p>\n

Zechariah 3:2<\/strong>
\nThen he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the Angel of the\u00a0Lord<\/span>, and Satan\u00a0standing at his right hand to oppose him.\u00a0<\/span>And the\u00a0Lord<\/span>\u00a0said to Satan, \u201cThe\u00a0Lord<\/span>\u00a0rebuke you, Satan! The\u00a0Lord<\/span>\u00a0who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you!\u00a0Is<\/i>\u00a0this not a brand plucked from the fire?\u201d<\/p>\n

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Amos 4:11-12<\/strong>
\n\u201cI overthrew\u00a0some<\/i> of you, As God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, <\/span>And you were like a firebrand plucked from the burning; <\/span><\/strong>Yet you have not returned to Me,\u201d <\/span>Says the\u00a0Lord<\/span>. <\/span>\u201cTherefore thus will I do to you, O Israel; Because I will do this to you, Prepare to meet your God, O Israel!\u201d<\/p>\n

Daniel 7: 9-10<\/strong>
\n\u201cI watched till thrones were\u00a0put in place, <\/span>And the Ancient of Days was seated; <\/span>His garment\u00a0was<\/i> white as snow, <\/span>And the hair of His head\u00a0was<\/i> like pure wool. <\/span>His throne\u00a0was<\/i> a fiery flame, <\/span>Its wheels a burning fire; <\/span><\/strong>A fiery stream issued And came forth from before Him. <\/span><\/strong>A thousand thousands ministered to Him; <\/span>Ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him. <\/span>The\u00a0court was seated, <\/span>And the books were opened.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Psalm 66:10-12<\/strong>
\nFor You, O God, have tested us; You have refined us as silver is refined. <\/span><\/strong>You brought us into the net; You laid affliction on our backs. <\/span>You have caused men to ride over our heads; We went through fire and through water;<\/strong> <\/span>But You brought us out to\u00a0rich\u00a0fulfillment.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

Isaiah 48:10 (NKJV)<\/strong>
\nBehold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.<\/span><\/p>\n

Isaiah 48:10 (Septuagint)<\/strong>
\nBehold, I have sold thee,\u00a0but<\/i>\u00a0not for silver; but I have rescued thee from the furnace of affliction.<\/p>\n

Daniel<\/strong>
\n“I beheld until thrones were set up, and the Ancient of days took His seat. His garment was as white as snow, and the hair of His head was like pure wool. His throne was composed of fiery flames and its wheels were set on fire. From before His presence there issued forth a rushing, fiery stream.”<\/p>\n

Zechariah 13:9-10 (NKJV)<\/strong>
\nI will bring the\u00a0one<\/i>-third through the fire, Will refine them as silver is refined, <\/span>And test them as gold is tested. <\/span><\/strong>They will call on My name, <\/span>And I will answer them. <\/span>I will say, \u2018This\u00a0is<\/i> My people\u2019; <\/span>And each one will say, \u2018The\u00a0Lord<\/span>\u00a0is<\/i>\u00a0my God.\u2019 \u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Romans 2:14-16 (NKJV)<\/strong>
\nfor when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do the things in the law, these, although not having the law, are a law to themselves,\u00a0who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves\u00a0their<\/i>\u00a0thoughts accusing or else excusing\u00a0them<\/i>)\u00a0in the day when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The word “work”, not “works” suggests people, not good works “\u201care you not my\u00a0work in the Lord?\u201d<\/p>\n

1 Corinthians 3:9-16<\/strong>
\nFor we are God\u2019s fellow workers; you are God\u2019s field,\u00a0you are<\/i>\u00a0God\u2019s building.<\/strong>\u00a0According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder<\/span> I have laid the foundation<\/strong>, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it.\u00a0For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.\u00a0Now if anyone builds on this foundation\u00a0with<\/i>\u00a0gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw,\u00a0each one\u2019s work will become clear;<\/strong> for the Day will declare it,<\/strong> because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one\u2019s work, of what sort it is.\u00a0If anyone\u2019s work which he has built on\u00a0it<\/i>\u00a0endures, he will receive a reward.\u00a0If anyone\u2019s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.\u00a0Do you not know that you are the temple of God<\/strong> <\/span>and\u00a0that<\/i> the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone\u00a0defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which\u00a0temple<\/i>\u00a0you are.<\/strong><\/p>\n

2 Cor.12:2-4<\/strong>
\nI knew a man about fourteen years ago (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God
\nknows), such a one was caught up into the third heaven. And I knew such a man (whether in the body or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knows); how he was caught up into paradise<\/strong>, about which it is not lawful for a man to utter.<\/p>\n

Hebrews 1:3<\/strong>
\nwho being the brightness of\u00a0His<\/i>\u00a0glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins<\/strong>, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high<\/p>\n

Hebrews 9:13-14<\/strong>
\nFor if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without\u00a0spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?<\/strong><\/p>\n

1 Peter 1:22<\/strong>
\nSince you have purified your souls in obeying the truth<\/strong> through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart,<\/p>\n

1 Cor 15: 52-54<\/strong>
\nIn a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal\u00a0must<\/i>\u00a0put on immortality.\u00a0So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written:\u00a0\u201cDeath is swallowed up in victory.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Revelation 2:7<\/strong>
\nTo him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life<\/strong>, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Revelation 7:14<\/strong>
\nAnd I said to him, \u201cSir, you know.\u201d So he said to me, \u201cThese are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.<\/strong>
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\nRevelation 22:19 (ESV)<\/strong>
\nand if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life<\/strong> and in the holy city, which are described in this book.<\/p>\n

Revelation 21:22-26, 22:1-6<\/strong>
\nBut I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.\u00a0<\/span>The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine\u00a0in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb\u00a0is<\/i>\u00a0its light.\u00a0And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it.\u00a0Its gates shall not be shut at all by day (there shall be no night there).\u00a0And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into\u00a0it.\u00a0But there shall by no means enter it anything\u00a0that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb\u2019s Book of Life. And he showed me a\u00a0pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was<\/i>\u00a0the tree of life,<\/strong> which bore twelve fruits, each\u00a0tree<\/i>\u00a0yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree\u00a0were<\/i> for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him.\u00a0They shall see His face, and His name\u00a0shall be<\/i> on their foreheads. There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever.<\/p>\n

(Rev. xiv. 13)
\nBlessed arc the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth ; yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours’<\/p>\n

These verses have nothing to do with a “purgatory”. Neither did the early Church fathers understand them as such, except for some latter Roman fathers. Here are some reasons:<\/span><\/p>\n

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1. There is no “punishment” or “purification” mentioned anywhere in them. The fire in the context will only “test” and “reveal”<\/div>\n
2. The context speaks about “the Day”, not simply “a day”. “The Day” is scripturally always referring to Judgement Day. Even Catholics must admit there is no “purgatory” on or after Judgement Day.<\/div>\n
3. The context is about two ministers who are clearly both saved. One is rewarded. The other is not. It is not about one being purified and the other not.<\/div>\n
4. Both ministers are tried by the same “fire”. If the fire were “purgatory”, then Catholics must admit that everyone goes to purgatory. But this is not their doctrine.<\/div>\n
5. It does not say “saved through fire”. Rather saved “as through fire”. So something “like” or “as” fire is meant. Revelation explains to us that the eyes of God are “like a flame of fire”. Thus, it is evident that the “fire” of God’s omniscience is what is intended. God reveals the hearts and rewards:<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Revelation 2: 18-19, 23<\/div>\n
“These things says the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet like fine brass: \u201cI know your works, love, service, faith, and your patience; and as for your works, the last are more than the first…I am He who searches the minds and hearts. And I will give to each one of you according to your works.”<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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6. If “Purgatory” was divinely inspired, the early Church would have known it. But they didn’t. Purgatory is a latter invention. St. Jerome, for example, explains the above verses to be differing rewards and glory in heaven, not “purgatory”:<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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St. Jerome – Against Jovinianus (Book II)<\/div>\n
“If the man whose work is burnt and is to suffer the loss of his labour, while he himself is saved, yet not without proof of fire: it follows that if a man\u2019s work remains which he has built upon the foundation, he will be saved without probation by fire, and consequently a difference is established between one degree of salvation and another…Would you be assured that between one steward and another there is a great difference (I am not speaking of bad and good, but of the good themselves who stand on the right hand)?…But an Apostle who does not abuse this freedom, but labours with his hands that he may not be a burden to anyone, and toils night and day and ministers to his companions of course does this, that for his greater toil he may receive a greater reward…this is not the distinction of sheep and goat, but of sheep and sheep, star and star…Surely he who sows more and he who sows less are both on the right side. And although they belong to the same class, that of the sower, yet they differ in respect of measure and number.”<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
1. “suffer loss” is suffer loss. It is a loss of rewards and heavenly glory. There is zero mention of active “punishment”. You are trying to coerce what isn’t there.<\/div>\n
2. “The Day” or “That Day” is talking about one specific Day. If the Apostle was talking about a relative day, He would have said “a day” not “the Day”. “<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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2 Peter 3:10 But the Day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a …<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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2 Peter 3:12 as you anticipate and hasten the coming of the day of God, when the heavens will be ..<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Acts 2:20…the sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Matthew 24:36 No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but …<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town. Luke 10:12<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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… crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing. 2 Timothy 4:8<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ (Phil 1:5)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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I tell you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day …Matthew 26:29<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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3. You are agreeing with me. Both are saved. There is no mention of punishment.<\/div>\n
4. If the same “fire” is testing both, and that fire is “purgatory” as you say, then both must be in purgatory. Again, it does not say “saved through fire” but “saved as through fire”. The “as” means something “like” fire or “as if” fire. Regardless, there is zero mention of purification or punishment for either. This is Roman coercion into the verses. The “fire” is the fire of God’s omniscient revelation on the last Day.<\/div>\n
5. St. Jerome wasn’t explaining purgatory because it didn’t exist in his mind. If this was existing doctrine, he would have explained it. Purgatory is a later Roman coercion. St. Perpetua didn’t see her brother suffering in “fire”. There was nothing even “like fire”. Hence whatever she saw was not “purgatory”. Additionally, sound doctrine is based on scripture and Apostolic teaching, not visions and dreams.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Revelation 2: 18-19, 23
\nThese things says the Son of God,\u00a0who has eyes like a flame of fire<\/strong>, and His feet like fine brass:<\/span>\u00a0\u201cI know your works, love,<\/span>\u00a0service, faith, and your <\/span>patience; and\u00a0as<\/i>\u00a0for your works, the last\u00a0are<\/i> more than the first…I am He who\u00a0searches\u00a0the minds and hearts. And I will give to each one of you according to your works<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Raised up from sin, the sinner must still recover his full spiritual health by doing something more to make amends for the sin: he must “make satisfaction for” or “expiate” his sins.<\/strong> This satisfaction is also called “penance.” – Catholic Catechism<\/strong><\/p>\n

1471…”An indulgence is a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven,<\/strong> which the faithful Christian who is duly disposed gains under certain prescribed conditions through the action of the Church which, as the minister of redemption, dispenses and applies with authority the treasury of the satisfactions of Christ and the saints.”<\/p>\n

As for certain lesser faults [venial sins]<\/strong>, 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.<\/strong><\/p>\n

1472…Grave sin deprives us of communion with God and therefore makes us incapable of eternal life, the privation of which is called the “eternal punishment” of sin. On the other hand every sin, even venial, entails an unhealthy attachment to creatures, which must be purified either here on earth, or after death in the state called Purgatory. This purification frees one from what is called the “temporal punishment” of sin. – CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH <\/strong><\/p>\n

1473 The forgiveness of sin and restoration of communion with God entail the remission of the eternal punishment of sin, but temporal punishment of sin remains.<\/strong> While patiently bearing sufferings and trials of all kinds and, when the day comes, serenely facing death, the Christian must strive to accept this temporal punishment of sin as a grace. – CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH<\/p>\n

Catholic Catechism<\/strong>
\n1475 In the communion of saints, “a perennial link of charity exists between the faithful who have already reached their heavenly home, those who are expiating their sins in purgatory<\/strong> and those who are still pilgrims on earth. between them there is, too, an abundant exchange of all good things.”86<\/a><\/sup><\/span>\u00a0In this wonderful exchange, the holiness of one profits others, well beyond the harm that the sin of one could cause others. Thus recourse to the communion of saints lets the contrite sinner be more promptly and efficaciously purified of the punishments for sin.<\/p>\n

1498 Through indulgences the faithful can obtain the remission of temporal punishment resulting from sin<\/strong> for themselves and also for the souls in Purgatory.<\/p>\n

1479 Since the faithful departed now being purified are also members of the same communion of saints, one way we can help them is to obtain indulgences for them, so that the temporal punishments due for their sins may be remitted. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Council of Trent – Catechism for Parish Priests<\/b>
\nAmong them is also the fire of purgatory, in which the souls of just men are cleansed by a temporary punishment,<\/strong> in order to be admitted into their eternal country, into which nothing defiled entereth…We also beg of God that we be not cut off by a sudden death; that we provoke not His anger against us; that we be not condemned to suffer the punishments reserved for the wicked;<\/strong> that we be not sentenced to endure the fire of purgatory, from which we piously and devoutly implore that others may be liberated.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Council of Trent – Catechism for Parish Priests <\/b>
\nAmong them is also the fire of purgatory, in which the souls of just men are cleansed by a temporary punishment, in order to be admitted into their eternal country, into which nothing defiled entereth. The truth of this doctrine, founded, as holy Councils declare,’ on Scripture, and confirmed by Apostolic tradition, demands exposition from the pastor, all the more diligent and frequent, because we live in times when men endure not sound doctrine.<\/p>\n

St. Cyril of Jerusalem = Catechetical Lectures<\/strong>
\nFor the Lord Himself shall descendfrom heaven with a shout, with the voice ofthe
\nArchangel,andwith the trump of God. TheArchangel shall
\nshout aloud and say to all, Riseto meetthe Lord. Andfear-
\nful will be that descent of our Master. David says, Our God?*50*3*
\nshallcomeandshallnotkeepsilence; afireshall devourbefore
\nHim, andit shall be very tempestuous roundaboutHim,and
\nthe rest. The Son of Man shall come to the Father, accord- Dan. 7r
\ning to the text, with the clouds of heaven, and with a stream of fire, which is to try menb, following as His train. Then if1 Cor.3, any man’s works are ofgold, he shall be made brighter; if any man’s course of life be like stubble, and without substance, he shall be burned by the fire. And the Father shall sit, having rr*r\u2022,,
\nHis garment white as snow, andthe hair of His head like pure wooL And this is spoken after the manner of men\u00a0wherefore ? Because He is the King of those who are not
\ndefiled with sins ; for, He says, yoursinsshall be as white asla. 1,18.
\nsnow, andshall be as wool, which is the emblem of the for-
\ngiveness of sins, or of sinlessness itself.<\/p>\n

Origen – Commentary on Romans, Book 8<\/strong>
\n(8) But the end brings distress to all, and even those who are
\nblessed, whether they come from Israel or even from the Gen-
\ntiles, in the present age the word of evangelical doctrine
\npuri\ufb01es, so that they might be like those to whom the Lord was saying, \u201cBehold you are already clean on account of the word
\nthat I have spoken to you.\u201d323 But whoever should spurn the
\npuri\ufb01cation of the Word of God and of evangelical doctrine re-
\nserves himself for sorrows and penal puri\ufb01cations, when the
\n\ufb01re of Gehenna puri\ufb01es with torments the one whom neither
\napostolic doctrine nor the evangelical word have puri\ufb01ed,324 ac-
\ncording to what is written, \u201cAnd I will purify you with \ufb01re lead-
\ning to purity.\u201d325 But for how long a time and how many ages
\nthis purging, which is applied by means of penal \ufb01re, exacts tor-
\nments from sinners only he is able to know to whom \u201cthe Fa-
\nther gave all judgment\u201d;326 he who so loves327 his creation that
\nfor its sake he emptied himself from the form of God and took
\nthe form of a slave, humbling himself unto the point of
\ndeath,328 who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowl-
\nedge of the truth.329 Nevertheless, we should always remember
\nthat the Apostle wanted the present passage to be held as a mys-
\ntery in order that each of the faithful and perfect might silently
\nconceal its meaning within themselves as the mystery of God
\nand not publish these views indiscriminately to the imperfect
\nand to the less receptive. For the Scripture says, \u201cIt is good to
\nconceal the mystery of the king.\u201d3<\/p>\n

Jeffrey Trumbower<\/strong>
\nIf Dinocrates were a baptized Christian suffering punishment to
\npurify him of his sins, then we could say that Perpetua saw purgatory.
\nSuch an interpretation of Perpetua\u2019s visions . . . is virtually
\nimpossible for the historical Perpetua. . . . Thus, Perpetua cannot be
\nconnected with the doctrine of purgatory, except in the sense that
\nlater generations reinterpreted her vision in that direction. She did
\noffer to posterity a notion of the ef\ufb01cacy of prayer for the dead, which
\nbecame incorporated into the cultural construction of Purgatory, but
\nonly with limits on who could be helped that were not part of
\nPerpetua\u2019s original conception.<\/p>\n

Origen<\/strong>
\n\u201cThere is a resurrection of the dead, and there is punishment, but not everlasting, for when the body is punished
\nthe soul is gradually puri\ufb01ed, and so is restored to its ancient rank.\u201d<\/p>\n

St. Jerome – Against Jovinianus (Book II) (Purgatory)<\/strong>
\nBut if any man buildeth on the foundation, gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay, stubble: each man\u2019s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall reveal it, because it is revealed in fire: and the fire itself shall prove each man\u2019s work of what sort it is. If any man\u2019s work shall abide which he built thereon, he shall receive a reward. If any man\u2019s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as through fire.\u201d If the man whose work is burnt and is to suffer the loss of his labour, while he himself is saved, yet not without proof of fire: it follows that if a man\u2019s work remains which he has built upon the foundation, he will be saved without probation by fire, and consequently a difference is established between one degree of salvation and another<\/strong>…Would you be assured that between one steward and another there is a great difference (I am not speaking of bad and good, but of the good themselves who stand on the right hand)?…<\/strong>The Lord himself made the rule that they who preach the Gospel, should live by the Gospel. But an Apostle who does not abuse this freedom, but labours with his hands that he may not be a burden to anyone, and toils night and day and ministers to his companions of course does this, that for his greater toil he may receive a greater reward…this is not the distinction of sheep and goat, but of sheep and sheep, star and star. Last And you cannot say that the mode of our manifestation before the judgment-seat of Christ is such that the good receive good things, the bad evil things; for he teaches us in the same epistle that he who soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly, and he that soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Surely he who sows more and he who sows less are both on the right side. And although they belong to the same class, that of the sower, yet they differ in respect of measure and number.<\/p>\n

St. John Chrysostom – Homilies on First Corinthians, Homily IX (Purgatory)<\/strong>
\nWherefore he said, \u201cHe shall suffer loss:\u201d lo, here is one punishment: \u201cbut he himself shall be saved, but so as by fire;\u201d lo, again, here is a second. And his meaning is, \u201cHe himself shall not perish in the same way as his works, passing into nought, but he shall abide in the fire<\/strong>. \u201cHe calleth it, however, \u201cSalvation,\u201d you will say; why, that is the cause of his adding, \u201cso as by fire:\u201d since we also used to say, \u201cIt is preserved in the fire,\u201d<\/strong> when we speak of those substances which do not immediately burn up and become ashes. For do not at sound of the word fire imagine that those who are burning pass into annihilation. And though he call such punishment Salvation, be not astonished. For his custom is in things which have an ill sound to use fair expressions, and in good things the contrary. For example, the word \u201cCaptivity\u201d seems to be the name of an evil thing, but Paul has applied it in a good sense, when he says, \u201cBringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.\u201d (2 Cor. x. 5.) And again, to an evil thing he hath applied a good word, saying, \u201cSin reigned,\u201d (Rom. v. 21.) here surely the term \u201creigning\u201d is rather of auspicious sound. And so here in saying, \u201che shall be saved,\u201d he hath but darkly hinted at the intensity of the penalty: as if he had said, \u201cBut himself shall remain forever in punishment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Theodoret of Cyrus – Commentary on First Epistle to the Corinthians
\n<\/strong>The teacher teaches what is right. Some follow him; others do not. Those who follow will be like gold and silver\u2014purified by the fire and shining when they emerge from it. The others will be burned up. But the teacher will not lose anything by this. If he has been faithful, he will receive his reward regardless.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

E. HAROLD BROWNE – An Exposition of the Thirty-Nine Articles (purgatory)
\n<\/strong>If Tertullian derived a notion somewhat resembling purgatory from a heretic, Origen derived a notion also bearing some resemblance to it from a heathen.<\/strong> His views of the nature of the human soul were borrowed from Plato.<\/strong> He believed it to be immortal and pre-existent, always in a state of progress or decline, and ever receiving the place due to its attainments in holiness, or defection to wickedness. Hence, he did not believe the purest souls of the redeemed, or the holy angels themselves, incapable of sinning, nor the very devils out of all hope of recovery.* In accordance with this theory, he was obliged to consider, that all the pains of the damned were merely purgatorial, and that their sins would be expiated by fire.<\/strong>\u00a0To this he applied those passages of Scripture, which speak of ‘ a fiery trial’ and of the fire as to ‘ try every man’s work, of what sort it is’ (i Cor. iii. 13\u201415). He held, that at the day of judgment all men must pass through the fire, even the saints and prophets…<\/strong>All must go to the fire. The Lord sits and purifies the sons of Judah…This theory of Origen is so far from being the same with the Romanist’s purgatory, that, first of all, he places it instead of hell; and secondly, so far from looking for it between death and the resurrection, he taught that it would take place after the resurrection, at the day of judgment.<\/strong> Yet to this speculation, the offspring of human reason aud Platonic philosophy, we may trace the rise of the doctrine, on which the Church of Rome has erected so much of her power, and which has been so fatally pregnant with superstition.<\/strong> The theories of Origen were interesting, his character and learning were captivating; and so his name and opinions had much weight with those who followed him. Accordingly, we find eminent writers both in the East and West embracing his speculations. Lactantius held all judgment to be deferred till the resurrection ; then eternal fire should consume the wicked, but it should try even the just. Those who had many sins would be scorched by it, but the pure would come off scatheless.* Gregory Nazianzen, with the same idea, speaking of various kinds of baptism, Moses’ baptism, Christ’s baptism, the martyrs’ baptism, the baptism of penitence, adds, ‘ and perhaps in the next world men will be baptized with fire, which last baptism will be more grievous and of longer duration<\/strong>, which will devour the material part like hay, and consume the light substance of every kind of sin.’ Ambrose again, using almost the words of Origen, says, ‘ that all must pass through the flames, even St. John and St. Peter.’ * And elsewhere he adopts Origen’s illustration of the Israelites and Egyptians passing through the Red Sea, comparing it with the passage of all men through the fire of judgment. Hilary too speaks of all, even the Virgin Mary, as to undergo the trial of fire at the day of judgment, in which souls must expiate their offences.<\/strong> Gregory Nyssen in like manner speaks of ‘ a purgatorial fire after our departure hence,’ and of ‘ the purging fire, which takes away the filth commingled with the soul.’ All these views spring from the same source, and tend to the same conclusion. They arise from Origen’s interpretation of i Cor. iii. 13\u201415; and they imply a belief, not in a purgatory between <\/strong>death and resurrection, but in a fiery ordeal, through which all must pass at the day of judgment<\/strong>; which will consume the wicked, but purify the just. We come now to St. Augustine. His name is deservedly had in honour, and his opinions have borne peculiar weight. He too, like Origen and Ambrose, speaks of the fire of judgment, which is to try men’s works.<\/strong>\u00a0But he goes further still. In commenting on the passage of St. Paul, so often referred to (1 Cor. iii. 1 1 \u201415), he says, that if men have the true foundation, even Jesus Christ, though they may not be pure from all carnal affections and infirmities, these shall be purged away from them by the fire of tribulation<\/strong>, by the loss of things we love, by persecution, and in the end of the world by the afflictions which Antichrist should bring; in short, by the troubles of this life. But then he adds, that some have supposed, that after death some further purging by fire was awaiting them who were not fully purified here, and he says, ‘ I will not argue against it, for perhaps it is true.”\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Confession of Dositheus (Eastern Orthodox, 1672) (Purgatory)<\/strong>
\nWe believe that the souls of those that have fallen asleep are either at rest or in torment, according to what each has done; \u2014 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
\ncondemnation.\u00a0 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 \u2014 by pouring forth tears, by kneeling while watching in\u00a0prayers, 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 \u2014 [their souls] depart into Hades, and there endure the punishment due to the sins they have committed.<\/strong> But they are aware of their future release from there<\/strong>, 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.<\/strong><\/p>\n

St. Cyril of Alexandria – Commentary on Zechariah, Chap 13 (Purgatory)<\/strong>
\nThe third, or remnant\u2014namely, those from the line of Israel who believed\u2014he says he will pass through the fire, and fire them like silver and gold<\/strong>, the life of the saints not being without hardship, since it is true that \u201call who wish to live religiously in Christ will be persecuted.\u201d The divinely inspired disciples and all their fellow workers at that time were tested most of all, and they suffered hardship with them in administering to the nations the Gospel of Christ. They were called, in fact, to experience many tribulations and persecutions, and, as it were, fired, tested by trials, so as to be able to say with confidence, \u201cYou tested us, O God, firing us as silver is fired.\u201d<\/strong> What, then, is the benefit of this? And what will be the reward for those who suffer such hardship and are tested? They became God\u2019s own, his familiars and beloved; they were reckoned \u201ca holy nation, a royal priesthood, a people for his possession, in order that they might proclaim the mighty acts of him who called them out of darkness into his marvelous light<\/p>\n

Philip Schaff – History of the Christian Church (Purgatory)<\/strong>
\nThe sacrament of penance includes three elements,\u2014contrition of the heart, confession by the mouth (to the priest), and satisfaction by good works, such as prayer, fasting, almsgiving, pilgrimages, all of which are supposed to have an atoning efficacy. God forgives only the eternal punishment of sin, and he alone can do that; but the sinner has to bear the temporal punishments, either in this life or in purgatory; and these punishments are under the control of the church or the priesthood, especially the Pope as its legitimate head.<\/strong> There are also works of supererogation, performed by Christ and by the saints, with corresponding extra-merits and extra-rewards; and these constitute a rich treasury from which the Pope, as the treasurer, can dispense indulgences for money. This papal power of dispensation extends even to the departed souls in purgatory, whose sufferings may thereby be abridged.<\/strong> This is the scholastic doctrine. The granting of indulgences degenerated, after the time of the crusades, into a regular traffic, and became a source of ecclesiastical and monastic wealth. A good portion of the profits went into the papal treasury.<\/p>\n

St. John Chrysostom – Homily IV, on Colossians<\/strong> (Purgatory)
\nFor he hath fellowship with Him who rose again, with Him who liveth; wherefore he saith, \u201cAnd may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of mine own, even that which is of the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: that I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, becoming conformed unto His death;<\/strong> if by any means I may attain unto the resurrection from the dead.\u201d He saith, being made conformable unto His death,<\/strong> i.e. having fellowship; whereas He suffered from men, thus I too; wherefore he said, \u201cbecoming conformed\u201d and again in another place, \u201cand fill up on my part that which is lacking of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh.\u201d<\/strong> (Col. i. 24.) That is, these persecutions and sufferings work the image of His death<\/strong>, for He sought not His own, but the good of many. Therefore persecutions, and afflictions, and straits, ought not to disturb you, but ought even to make you glad, because through them we are \u201cconformed to His death.\u201d As if he had said, We are molded to His likeness;<\/strong> as he says in another place, where he writeth, \u201cbearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

St. Cyril of Alexandria – Commentary on Zechariah, Chap 11 (Purgatory)<\/strong>
\nThirty pieces of silver were brought by the nations as his wages, and by God\u2019s orders they were thrown into the smelter, thoroughly tested, as also Christ himself was tested. Our faith will not go without trial, you see, by God<\/strong>, who knows everything, as our life also will be put to the proof, blessed Paul saying, \u201cFire itself will test what sort of work each one has done.\u201d<\/strong> It is also written about Christ that \u201cthe Lord whom you see will come into his temple, the messenger of the covenant whom you desire. Lo, he is coming, says the Lord almighty: who will endure the day of his coming, or who can stand in his sight? Because he enters like a refiner\u2019s fire and like a fuller\u2019s soap, and he will sit refining and purifying them like silver and like gold.\u201d The divinely inspired David also sings somewhere in the person of every believer in Christ wishing to live an evangelical life, \u201cProve me, Lord, and try me, test my heart and my mind.\u201d The prophet refers, however, to the smelter in the house of the Lord; the Church of Christ tests each one\u2019s behavior and the sincerity of their love for Christ, and, enjoying a discernment of spirits, it knows precisely who, on the one hand, speaks with the Holy Spirit in naming Jesus Lord, and who, on the other hand, by Beelzebul calls him cursed, and as well who are \u201cthe true worshipers\u201d and, moreover, who come to us as wolves in sheep\u2019s clothing.<\/p>\n

CHRYSOSTOM – HOMILIES ON THE EPISTLES OF PAUL TO THE CORINTHIANS 9.5<\/strong>
\nOur faith is the foundation, and it is the same for everyone. But in life, not everyone is the same. Some are diligent, others lazy. Some are high achievers, others more average. Some do well in greater things, others shine in lesser matters. Some people\u2019s mistakes are more serious than others\u2019. This is why we find the variety here. Furthermore, the judgment applies to the effort, not to the results. A teacher cannot be faulted merely because his pupils refuse to listen.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Coptic Orthodox Diocese of Southern U.S. – Servants Preparation<\/strong>
\nAre you building with gold and silver or hay and straw? Are you properly preparing\u00a0for your lectures and meetings with the youth? Are you avoiding or neglecting\u00a0theological and doctrinal topics? Each one\u2019s work will be tested with the fire of false\u00a0teachings,<\/strong> temptation and sin. If the youth that you are serving endure these fires,\u00a0blessed are you, you shall receive a reward. But if they don\u2019t, then you have lost your\u00a0reward and you yourself will be scarcely saved!<\/p>\n

St. John Chrysostom – AGAINST THE ANOMOEANS 9.15. 51<\/strong>
\nIn the beginning, God shaped man, and man was an image of the Father and the Son. God said, \u201cLet us make man to our image and likeness.\u201d Again, when he wished to bring the thief into paradise, he immediately spoke the word and brought him in.<\/strong> Christ did not need to pray to do this, although he had kept all people after Adam from entering there. God put there the flaming sword to guard Paradise<\/strong>. By his authority, Christ opened paradise and brought in the thief.<\/p>\n

St. Augustine – TRACTATES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 111.2.<\/strong>
\nFor when he said to the [thief] \u2026 \u201cToday you will be with me in paradise,\u201d in respect to his human nature his own soul was on that very day to be in hell, his flesh in the sepulcher. But as respected his Godhead he was certainly also in paradise. And therefore the soul of the thief, absolved from his past crimes and already in the blessed enjoyment of his grace,<\/strong> although his soul could not be everywhere as Christ was, yet could on that very day be also with him in paradise, from which he, who is always\u00a0everywhere, had not withdrawn.<\/p>\n

St. Ephrem the Syrian – HYMN ON PARADISE<\/strong>
\nAdam had been naked and fair, but his diligent wife labored and made for him a garment covered with stains. The garden, seeing him thus vile, drove him forth. Through Mary Adam had another robe which adorned the thief; and when he became resplendent at Christ\u2019s promise, the garden, looking on, embraced him in Adam\u2019s place<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

St. Athanasius – Expositio Fidei<\/strong>
\nBut He was begotten ineffably and incomprehensibly, for \u2018who shall declare his generation?\u2019 (Isa. liii. 8), in other words, no one can. Who, when at the consummation of the ages (Heb. ix. 26), He had descended from the bosom of the Father, took from the undefiled Virgin Mary our humanity (\u1f04\u03bd\u03b8\u03c1\u03c9\u03c0\u03bf\u03bd), Christ Jesus, whom He delivered of His own will to suffer for us, as the Lord saith: \u2018No man taketh My life from Me. I have power to lay it down, and have power to take it again\u2019 (Joh. x. 18). In which humanity He was crucified and died for us, and rose from the dead, and was taken up into the heavens, having been created as the beginning of ways for us (Prov. viii. 22), when on earth He shewed us light from out of darkness, salvation from error, life from the dead, an entrance to paradise, from which Adam was cast out, and into which he again entered by means of the thief, as the Lord said, \u2018This day shalt thou be with Me in paradise\u2019<\/strong> (Luke xxiii. 43), into which Paul also once entered. [He shewed us] also a way up to the heavens…<\/p>\n

St. Cyril of Jerusalem – Catechetical Lectures
\nVerily I say unto thee, This day shalt thou be with Me in Paradise;<\/strong> because to-day thou hast heard My voice, and hast not hardened thine heart.\u00a0 Very speedily I passed sentence upon Adam, very speedily I pardon thee.\u00a0 To him it was said, In the day wherein ye eat, ye shall surely die; but thou to-day hast obeyed the faith, to-day is thy salvation. Adam by the Tree fell away; thou by the Tree art brought into Paradise.\u00a0<\/strong> Fear not the serpent; he shall not cast thee out; for he is fallen from heaven.\u00a0 And I say not unto thee, This day shalt thou depart, but, This day shalt thou be with Me.\u00a0 Be of good courage:\u00a0 thou shalt not be cast out.\u00a0 Fear not the flaming sword; it shrinks from its Lord.\u00a0 O mighty and ineffable grace! The faithful Abraham had not yet entered, but the robber enters<\/strong>! Moses and the Prophets had not yet entered, and the robber enters though a breaker of the law.\u00a0<\/strong> Paul also wondered at this before thee, saying, Where sin abounded, there grace did much more abound.\u00a0 They who had borne the heat of the day had not yet entered; and he of the eleventh hour entered.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

St. Ambrose – Letter LETTER LXXI to Horontianus<\/strong>
\nAfterwards are taught in the garden the words of eternal life; in that place where the Lord permitted Himself to be taken, as John the Evangelist writes, signifying that our soul, or rather human nature, released from the bonds of error, is restored by Christ to that abode from whence in Adam she was cast.<\/strong> “Wherefore to the thief who confessed Him it is said, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with Me in Paradise. The thief had said, Lord, remember me when Thou comest into Thy kingdom. Christ answered not concerning His kingdom, but yet to the purpose, To-day thou shalt be with Me in Paradise, that is, What has been lost must first be restored, then the increase bestowed; that thus the progress may be through Paradise to the kingdom, not through the kingdom to Paradise.<\/strong><\/p>\n

St. Theophilus of Alexandria – HOMILY ON THE CRUCIFIXION AND THE GOOD THIEF<\/strong>
\n\u2018The gate of Paradise has been closed since the time when Adam transgressed, but I will open it today, and receive you in it.<\/strong> Because you have recognized the nobility of my head on the cross, you who have shared with me in the suffering of the cross will be my companion in the joy of my kingdom. You have glori\ufb01ed me in the presence of carnal men, in the presence of sinners. I will therefore glorify you in the presence of the angels.<\/p>\n

Fr. Michael Azkoul – The Toll-House Myth: The Neo-Gnosticism of Fr. Seraphim Rose<\/strong>
\nThere is every good reason not to confuse hell (Gehenna) and hades (abode of the dead). First, the condition of the soul immediately after death is temporary; heaven and hell are permanent. Second, if Abraham’s Bosom or “paradise” are the heavens, the Kingdom of God; and if “the place of torment” in Luke’s parable is hell, then, the Particular Judgment is silly speculation. Third, if the souls of the departed reside already in the Kingdom or in hell, then, God has judged the soul without\u00a0the body.<\/strong> Fourth, if souls are already in heaven and hell, the Final Judgment is meaningless. Fifth, if souls have entered heaven and hell, the prayers of the Church are not only superfluous but ludicrous. Finally, if hades and hell are the same; and if Christ, by descending into hell, has broken its power, to what purpose are the wicked consigned to Gehenna?<\/p>\n

Origen – (Homilies on Jeremias 13: 445, 448 [A.D. 244])<\/strong>
\n\u201cIf a man departs this life with lighter faults, he is condemned to fire which burns away the lighter materials, and prepares the soul for the kingdom of God<\/strong>, where nothing defiled may enter. For if on the foundation of Christ you have built not only gold and silver and precious stones (I Cor., 3); but also wood and hay and stubble, what do you expect when the soul shall be separated from the body? Would you enter into heaven with your wood and hay and stubble and thus defile the kingdom of God; or on account of these hindrances would you remain without and receive no reward for your gold and silver and precious stones?<\/strong> Neither is this just. It remains then that you be committed to the fire which will burn the light materials; for our God to those who can comprehend heavenly things is called a cleansing fire. But this fire consumes not the creature, but what the creature has himself built, wood, and hay and stubble. It is manifest that the fire destroys the wood of our transgressions and then returns to us the reward of our great works. (Homilies on Jeremias 13: 445, 448 [A.D. 244])<\/p>\n

St. Augustine – City of God
\nThe prophet Malachi or Malachias, who is also called Angel, and is by some (for
\nJerome1456 tells us that this is the opinion of the Hebrews) identified with Ezra the priest,1457
\nothers of whose writings have been received into the canon, predicts the last judgment,
\nsaying, \u201cBehold, He cometh, saith the Lord Almighty; and who shall abide the day of His
\nentrance? . . . for I am the Lord your God, and I change not.\u201d1458\u00a0 From these words it more
\nevidently appears that some shall in the last judgment suffer some kind of purgatorial pun-
\nishments; for what else can be understood by the word, \u201cWho shall abide the day of His entrance, or who shall be able to look upon Him? for He enters as a moulder\u2019s fire, and as
\nthe herb of fullers:\u00a0 and He shall sit fusing and purifying as if over gold and silver:\u00a0 and He
\nshall purify the sons of Levi, and pour them out like gold and silver?\u201d\u00a0 Similarly Isaiah says,
\n\u201cThe Lord shall wash the filthiness of the sons and daughters of Zion, and shall cleanse away
\nthe blood from their midst, by the spirit of judgment and by the spirit of burning.\u201d1459
\nUnless perhaps we should say that they are cleansed from filthiness and in a manner clarified,
\nwhen the wicked are separated from them by penal judgment, so that the elimination and
\ndamnation of the one party is the purgation of the others, because they shall henceforth live
\nfree from the contamination of such men.\u00a0 But when he says, \u201cAnd he shall purify the sons
\nof Levi, and pour them out like gold and silver, and they shall offer to the Lord sacrifices in
\nrighteousness; and the sacrifices of Judah and Jerusalem shall be pleasing to the Lord,\u201d he
\ndeclares that those who shall be purified shall then please the Lord with sacrifices of right-
\neousness, and consequently they themselves shall be purified from their own unrighteousness
\nwhich made them displeasing to God.\u00a0 Now they themselves, when they have been purified,
\nshall be sacrifices of complete and perfect righteousness; for what more acceptable offering
\ncan such persons make to God than themselves?\u00a0 But this question of purgatorial punishments
\nwe must defer to another time, to give it a more adequate treatment.\u00a0 By the sons of Levi
\nand Judah and Jerusalem we ought to understand the Church herself, gathered not from
\nthe Hebrews only, but from other nations as well; nor such a Church as she now is, when
\n\u201cif we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us,\u201d1460 but as
\nshe shall then be, purged by the last judgment as a threshing-floor by a winnowing wind,
\nand those of her members who need it being cleansed by fire, so that there remains absolutely
\nnot one who offers sacrifice for his sins. For all who make such offerings are assuredly in their sins, for the remission of which they make offerings, that having made to God an ac-
\nceptable offering, they may then be absolved.<\/p>\n

St. Augustine – City of God
\nThe Platonists, indeed, while they maintain that no sins are unpunished, suppose that<\/strong>
\nall punishment is administered for remedial purposes,<\/strong>1519 be it inflicted by human or divine
\nlaw, in this life or after death; for a man may be scathless here, or, though punished, may
\nyet not amend.\u00a0 Hence that passage of Virgil, where, when he had said of our earthly bodies
\nand mortal members, that our souls derive\u2014<\/p>\n

St. Augustine – City of God, Book XXI<\/strong>
\nBut if it be said that in the interval of time between the death of this body and that last day of judgment and retribution which shall follow the resurrection, the bodies of the dead shall be exposed to a fire of such a nature that it shall not affect those who have not in this life indulged in such pleasures and pursuits as shall be consumed like wood, hay, stubble,\u00a0but shall affect those others who have carried with them structures of that kind; if it be said that such worldliness, being venial, shall be consumed in the fire of tribulation either here only, or here and hereafter both, or here that it may not be hereafter,\u2014this I do not contradict, because possibly it is true<\/span><\/strong>.\u00a0<\/span> For perhaps even the death of the body is itself a part of this tribulation, for it results from the first transgression, so that the time which follows death takes its color in each case from the nature of the man\u2019s building.\u00a0 The persecutions, too, which have crowned the martyrs, and which Christians of all kinds suffer, try both buildings like a fire, consuming some, along with the builders themselves, if Christ is not found in them as their foundation, while others they consume without the builders, because Christ is found in them, and they are saved, though with loss; and other buildings still they do not consume, because such materials as abide forever are found in them.<\/p>\n

St. Augustine – The Enchiridion, Chapter 68<\/strong>
\nAnd it is not impossible that something of the same kind may take place even after this life. It is a matter that may be inquired into, and either ascertained or left doubtful, whether some believers shall pass through a kind of purgatorial fire, and in proportion as they have loved with more or less devotion the goods that perish, be less or more quickly delivered from it.<\/p>\n

St. Augustine – The Enchiridion, Chapter 68<\/strong>
\nIt is not incredible that something like this should occur after this life, whether or not it is a matter for fruitful inquiry. It may be discovered or remain hidden whether some of the faithful are sooner or later to be saved by a sort of purgatorial fire, in proportion as they have loved the goods that perish, and in proportion to their attachment to them. However, this does not apply to those of whom it was said, “They shall not possess the Kingdom of God,”152 unless their crimes are remitted through due repentance. I say “due repentance” to signify that they must not be barren of almsgiving, on which divine Scripture lays so much stress that our Lord tells us in advance that, on the bare basis of fruitfulness in alms, he will impute merit to those on his right hand; and, on the same basis of unfruitfulness, demerit to those on his left–when he shall say to the former, “Come, blessed of my Father, receive the Kingdom,” but to the latter, “Depart into everlasting fire.”<\/p>\n

St. Augustine – OUR LORD\u2019S SERMON ON THE MOUNT, Chapter XI<\/strong>
\nThen, as to the expression \u201ctill thou hast paid,\u201d I wonder if it does not mean that punishment which is called eternal.99 For whence is that debt paid where there is now no opportunity given of repenting and of leading a more correct life? For perhaps the expression \u201ctill thou hast paid\u201d stands here in the same sense as in that passage where it is said, \u201cSit Thou at my right hand, until I make Thine enemies Thy footstool;\u201d100 for not even when the enemies have been put under His feet, will He cease to sit at the right hand: or that statement of the apostle, \u201cFor He must reign, till He hath put all enemies under His feet;\u201d101 for not even when they have been put under His feet, will He cease to reign. Hence, as it is there understood of Him respecting whom it is said, \u201cHe must reign, till He hath put His enemies under His feet,\u201d that He will reign for ever, inasmuch as they will be for ever under His feet: so here it may be understood of him respecting whom it is said, \u201cThou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing,\u201d that he will never come out; for he is always paying the uttermost farthing, so long as he is suffering the everlasting punishment of his earthly sins.<\/p>\n

St. Augustine – Exposition on the Book of Psalms<\/strong>
\nFor some even Catholic expositors, from a want of sufficient heedfulness, have pronounced contrary to the truth, that those who have sinned without the law perish; and that those who have sinned in the law, are only judged, and do not perish, as if they should be considered destined to be cleansed by means of transitory punishments, as he of whom it is said, \u201che himself shall be saved, yet so as by fire.\u201d<\/strong>\u2026The Psalmist also hath subjoined: \u201cTherefore I loved Thy testimonies.\u201d As if he should say: Since the law, whether given in paradise, or implanted by nature, or promulgated in writing, hath made all the sinners of the earth transgressors; \u201cTherefore I loved Thy testimonies,\u201d which are in Thy laws of Thy grace; so that not my but Thy righteousness is in me. For the law profiteth unto this end, that it send us forward unto grace. For not only because it testifieth towards the manifestation of the righteousness of God, which is without the law; but also in this very point that it rendereth men transgressors, so that the letter even slayeth, it driveth us to fly unto the quickening Spirit, through whom the whole of our sins may be blotted out, and the love of righteous deeds be inspired.<\/p>\n

EDWARD BACKHOUSE –\u00a0EARLY\u00a0CHURCH\u00a0 HISTORY TO\u00a0THE DEATH\u00a0OF\u00a0CONSTANTINE<\/strong>
\nAmongst the Christians of the second and third centuries there was a wide-spread belief that the soul when it leaves the body enters upon an intermediate state<\/strong>, to be exchanged at the resurrection for one of eternal duration, either of misery or happiness.<\/strong> Many believed also, that for the righteous this intermediate state would come to an end a thousand years before the general resurrection. This was the doctrine of the Millennium.<\/strong> It was supposed also, that the souls of the righteous, while in then separate abode, anxiously look forward to the time of their release, and it was for this release as well as for their refreshment during the term of imprisonment, that their surviving friends were accustomed to offer prayer.<\/strong> An illustration of this belief is to be found in the narrative of Perpetua’s martyrdom. When she was in prison, as related above, she prayed for her little brother, whom she saw tormented with thirst in a gloomy place; and in answer to her prayer the gloom gave way to light, and her brother, refreshed with abundance of water, ran off to play joyously after the manner of children. “By this,” she says, “I understood that he was translated from the place of punishment.”<\/p>\n

Adolf Harnack – History of Dogma<\/strong>
\nAs in every philosophy of religion, an element of free thinking appears very plainly here also. The eschatological hopes can only have been maintained in vigour by the conviction that the world is of God. But we must finally refer to the fact that, even in eschatology, Gnosticism only drew the inferences from views which were pressing into Christendom from all sides, and were in an increasing measure endangering its hopes of the future. Besides, in some Valentinian circles, the future life was viewed as a condition of education, as a progress through the series of the (seven) heavens; i.e., purgatorial experiences in the future were postulated.<\/strong> Both afterwards, from the time of Origen, forced their way into the doctrine of the Church (purgatory, different ranks in heaven). Clement and Origen being throughout strongly influenced by the Valentinian eschatology…Even purgatory, prayers for the dead, and many other things raised in speculative questions and definitely answered, are found in those Coptic Gnostic writings and are then met with again in Catholicism.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

J. Tixeront – History of Dogmas<\/strong>
\nSeveral texts would indicate that St. Ephrem had some idea of the existence of purgatory or some state intermediate between heaven and hell<\/strong>. At any rate, he proved at length against Bardesanes the possibility of the resurrection of the body, its fitness, justness and reality. This resurrection will be followed by the judgment… After the judgment is pronounced, all men \u2014just and sinners \u2014pass over the fire that gushes forth from the depth of hell. While this fire does no harm to the just, it seizes and holds the reprobate. The former are assigned places in heaven according to their merits, and their bodies become pure, subtle and agile. The reprobate, on the contrary, are punished in proportion to their sins. Will this punishment be everlasting? Two passages of St. Ephrem’s writings seem to betoken some uncertainty on his part regarding this question: but, if we look at them more closely, we notice that in them he is merely posing an impossible hypothesis. Elsewhere he teaches plainly that the punishment, as well as the reward, will be eternal.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yet it is to be observed, that many of the very prayers, alleged
\nby the Roman Catholic controversialists, do of themselves prove,
\nthat those who composed them could not have believed the persons
\nprayed for to be in purgatory. The prayers for the dead in the
\nancient Liturgies are offered for all the greatest saints, for the
\n“Virgin Mary, the Apostles and martyrs, whom even the Roman
\nChurch has never supposed to be in purgatory…The Liturgy called
\nSt. Chrysostom’s prays for all departed in the faith, patriarchs,
\nprophets, apostles, &c. : and ‘ especially for the holy, immaculate,
\nblessed Theotokos, and ever-virgin Mary.” This alone is sufficient
\nto prove, that prayer for the dead did not presuppose Purgatory,
\nand was in no degree necessarily connected with it.<\/p>\n

As the Hebrews went through
\nthe Red Sea, so all must pass through the fire of the judgment,
\nAs the Egyptians sank in the sea, so wicked men shall sink in the
\nlake of fire : but good men, washed in the blood of the Lamb, even
\nthey, like Israel, must pass through the flood of flame ; but they
\nshall go through it safe and uninjured.’ All must go to the fire.
\nThe Lord sits and purifies the sons of Judah…This theory of Origen is so far from being the same with the
\nRomanist’s purgatory, that, first of all, he places it instead of hell ;
\nand secondly, so far from looking for it between death and the
\nresurrection, he taught that it would take place after the resurrec
\ntion, at the day of judgment.<\/p>\n

Gregory Nazianzen, with the same idea, speaking of various kinds of baptism,
\nMoses’ baptism, Christ’s baptism, the martyrs’ baptism, the baptism
\nof penitence, adds, ‘ and perhaps in the next world men will be
\nbaptized with fire, which last baptism will be more grievous and of
\nlonger duration, which will devour the material part like hay, and
\nconsume the light substance of every kind of sin.’<\/p>\n

But then he adds, that some
\nhave supposed, that after death some further purging by fire was
\nawaiting them who were not fully purified here, and he says, ‘ I
\nwill not argue against it, for perhaps it is true.” He does not set
\nit forth, as an article of faith. He does not speak of it, as a doc
\ntrine of the Church. He does not propound it, as an acknowledged
\ntruth. He does not lay it down, as a settled opinion. He merely
\nalleges it, as a probable conjecture. He holds it to be uncertain,
\nwhether all tribulation is to be borne here, or some hereafter ; or
\nwhether some hereafter instead of some here.<\/p>\n

Ante-Nicene Fathers – Volume 3 (Latin Christianity)<\/strong>
\nThe \u201cActa,\u201d detailing the sufferings of Perpetua and Felicitas, has been held by all critics to be a genuine document of antiquity. But much difference exists as to who was the compiler. In the writing itself, Perpetua and Saturus are mentioned as having written certain portions of it; and there is no reason to doubt the statement. Who the writer of the remaining portion was, is not known. Some have assigned the work to Tertullian; some have maintained that, whoever the writer was, he was a Montanist, and some have tried to show that both martyrs and narrator were Montanists. <\/strong>The narrator must have been a contemporary; according to many critics, he was an eye-witness of the sufferings of the martyrs. And he must have written the narrative shortly after the events.<\/p>\n

Now when those who have died arrive at the region to which the spirit conveys each one, they \ufb01rst submit to judgement,<\/strong> both those who have lived honorable\u00a0and holy lives and those who have not. Those who are found to have lived indi\ufb00erently journey to Acheron<\/strong>, embark upon certain vessels provided for them, and on these they reach the lake; there they dwell, undergoing purgation by paying the penalty for their wrongdoings<\/strong>, and are absolved, if any has committed any wrong, and they secure reward for their good deeds, each according to his desert<\/strong>; but all who are found\u00a0to be incurable because of the magnitude of their o\ufb00ences, through having committed many grave acts of sacrilege, or many wrongful and illegal acts of killing, or any other deeds that may be of that sort, are hurled by the appropriate destiny into Tartarus, whence they nevermore emerge. -Plato, The Other World (Phaedo)<\/strong><\/p>\n

When the dead arrive at the place to\u00a0which each has been led by his guardian spirit, they are \ufb01rst judged as to whether they have led a good and pious life. Those who have lived an average life make their way to the Acheron and embark upon such vessels as there are for them and proceed to the lake. There they dwell and are puri\ufb01ed by penalties for any wrongdoing they may have committed; they\u00a0are also suitably rewarded for their good deeds as each deserves. Those who are deemed incurable because of the enormity of their crimes, having committed many great sacrileges or wicked and unlawful murders and other such wrongs\u2014their \ufb01tting fate is to be hurled into Tartarus never to emerge from it. – Plato, The Other World (Phaedo)<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Virgil – The Aeneid, Book VI (70 BC – 19 BC)
\nAnd so the souls are drilled in punishments, they must pay for their old offenses.<\/strong> Some are hung splayed out, exposed to the empty winds, some are plunged in the rushing floods\u2014their stains, their crimes scoured off or scorched away by fire.<\/strong> Each of us must suffer his own demanding ghost. Then we are sent to Elysium\u2019s broad expanse, a few of us even hold these fields of joy till the long days, a cycle of time seen through, cleanse our hard, inveterate stains and leave us clear ethereal sense, the eternal breath of fire purged and pure.<\/strong> But all the rest, once they have turned the wheel of time for a thousand years: God calls them forth to the Lethe, great armies of souls, their memories blank so that they may revisit the overarching world once more and begin to long to return to bodies yet again.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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