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In Roman Catholic theology, Purgatory is a place of cleansing after the particular judgment. One of the first documents to mention purgatorium was a letter from the Benedictine Nicholas of Saint Albans to the Cistercian Peter of Celle in 1176 (Haggh, 1997). The Anima Sola, a "lonely soul," prays for deliverance from the fires of Purgatory; from a holy card.
1 Theology and history
After death, persons who had repented of their sins but had not expiated them are purged before entering Heaven. Everyone who enters Purgatory will eventually reach Heaven, therefore it is not some lesser form of Hell. Prayers for the dead and indulgences can shorten one's own or loved one's stay in Purgatory: "We believe that alms, sacrifice, and other benefits can be of help to the dead" (Denziger §427, 1208). In Catholic theology, some sins — i.e. those against the Holy Spirit — may not be forgiven "neither in this life nor in the future" ( Mt 12:32); whereas "fire will test the work of each one [i.e. individual person], of what kind it [the work] is" ( 1 Cor 3:13), so that a kind of after-death processing may be assumed to exist, assuming that one accepts the Scriptures as part of their religious faith. The dogma of Purgatory was clarified by the Catholic Church in 1254 (see Denziger §456: "[W]e, since they say a place of purgation of this kind has not been indicated to them with a certain and proper name by their teachers, we indeed, calling it purgatory according to the traditions and authority of the Holy Fathers, wish that in the future it be called by that name..."). Before that time the essential concept was referred to by Clement of AlexandriaClement of Alexandria (Titus Flavius Clemens), was the first member of the Church of Alexandria to be more than a name, and one of its most distinguished teachers. He was born about the middle of the 2nd century, and died between 211 and 216. His Life He ( 202Deaths Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyon ( martyred) Perpetua (martyred) Felicitas (martyred) Yuan Shao, Chinese warlord 202.) ¹ , TertullianQuintus Septimius Florens Tertullian (b. 150- 160, d. 220- 240) is a highly ambivalent character in early Christianity. On one hand, he was the first great writer of Latin Christianity. He was born, lived, wrote, and died in Carthage, in what is today Tun (ca. 210Events Caracalla is Roman Consul Births Dexippus, Greek historian Mani, founder of Manichaeism (approximate date) Deaths Sauromates II King of Bosporus Claudius Galen, Greek scholar Monoimus, Arab gnostic (approximate date) Zhou Yu, Chinese strategist 210), Cyprian of Carthage ( 253For the book see 253 (book . Events Pope Lucius I succeeds Pope Cornelius. Aemilianus becomes Roman emperor. Valerian I becomes Roman emperor. He appoints his son Gallienus as his junior colleague. Births Deaths Pope Cornelius Aemilianus, Roman emperor Tr), LactantiusLucius Caelius (or Caecilius?) Firmianus Lactantius was an early Christian author who wrote in Latin (around A. 240 around 320). Lactantius, a native of North Africa, was a pupil of Arnobius (according to Methodius, Chastity 9. 2) and taught rhetoric in v ( 307Events March 31 After divorcing his wife Minerva, Constantine marries Fausta, the daughter of the retired Roman Emperor Maximian. Galerius unsuccessfully invades Italy and names Licinius as Augustus. Jin Huai Di becomes emperor of China. Marcellus I becom), Cyril of Jerusalem ( 350), Gregory of Nyssa ( 382), St. John Chrysostom ( 392), and St. Augustine ( 411), ² among others. Christian doctrine is normally clarified in this fashion, with concepts having clear roots being given explicit names by dogmatic decree at a later time (see papal infallibility for another example). Various additional Scripture verses cited in support of a period of purgation after death and/or efficacy of prayers for the dead include Dan 12:10; Zech 13:9; Mal 3:2-3; 2 Mac 12:42-45; Mt 5:26; Lk 12:47-48; Lk 12:58-59; 1 Cor 3:13-15; Apoc 21:27; and others.
