Purgatory
The idea of purgatory has roots that date back to antiquity. A primitive version called the 'celestial Hades' appears in the writings of Plato. The celestial Hades was understood as an intermediary place where the souls spent an undetermined time after death before either moving on to a higher level of existence or being reincarnated back on earth. Its exact location varied from author to author. Haraclides of Pontus thought it was in the Milky Way. Others situated it between the moon and the earth.
Pope Gregory the Great (590-604) established a connection between earthly penance and purification after death. He was concerned about what should happen when a sinner received absolution from a priest but died before penance (satisfaction) was completed. To him, it would be unfair to send such a person to the eternal fires of hell, but at the same time, he should not be sent to heaven along with those who had completed their program of penance. His solution was a new, although temporary, destination called purgatory. Here, souls of the dead could complete their penance and move on to the sin-free-zone of heaven. All Soul's day (commemorated on 2nd November) established in the 10th century, turned popular attention to the condition of the departed souls.
The idea of purgatory as a physical place (like heaven and hell) was 'born' in the late11th century. Medieval theologians concluded that purgatorial punishments consisted of material fire. These days, Catholic theologians regard 'fire' metaphorically and call it 'spiritual fire'.
In Dante's 14th century work The Divine Comedy, Purgatory is depicted as a mountain in the Southern Hemisphere. It is apparently the only land there. Souls who half-heartedly loved God and man find themselves at Mount Purgatory, where there are seven levels representing the Seven Deadly Sins (Pride, Envy, Wrath, Sloth, Avarice, Gluttony and Lust) with ironic punishments. For example, on the first level for Pride, the penitents are weighted down by huge stones. This forces them to look down in humility at the pavement. When they reach the top, souls will find themselves at the Garden of Eden itself. Thus, cleansed of all sins and made perfect, they will wait in this Earthly paradise before ascending to Heaven.
In 1999, Pope John Paul II referred to purgatory as 'a condition of existence', implying that it is most likely not an actual physical location or place, but is a state wherein 'those, after death exist in a state of purification, are already in the love of Christ who removes from them the remnants of imperfection.'
The idea of purgatory has roots that date back to antiquity. A primitive version called the 'celestial Hades' appears in the writings of Plato. The celestial Hades was understood as an intermediary place where the souls spent an undetermined time after death before either moving on to a higher level of existence or being reincarnated back on earth. Its exact location varied from author to author. Haraclides of Pontus thought it was in the Milky Way. Others situated it between the moon and the earth.
Pope Gregory the Great (590-604) established a connection between earthly penance and purification after death. He was concerned about what should happen when a sinner received absolution from a priest but died before penance (satisfaction) was completed. To him, it would be unfair to send such a person to the eternal fires of hell, but at the same time, he should not be sent to heaven along with those who had completed their program of penance. His solution was a new, although temporary, destination called purgatory. Here, souls of the dead could complete their penance and move on to the sin-free-zone of heaven. All Soul's day (commemorated on 2nd November) established in the 10th century, turned popular attention to the condition of the departed souls.
The idea of purgatory as a physical place (like heaven and hell) was 'born' in the late11th century. Medieval theologians concluded that purgatorial punishments consisted of material fire. These days, Catholic theologians regard 'fire' metaphorically and call it 'spiritual fire'.
In Dante's 14th century work The Divine Comedy, Purgatory is depicted as a mountain in the Southern Hemisphere. It is apparently the only land there. Souls who half-heartedly loved God and man find themselves at Mount Purgatory, where there are seven levels representing the Seven Deadly Sins (Pride, Envy, Wrath, Sloth, Avarice, Gluttony and Lust) with ironic punishments. For example, on the first level for Pride, the penitents are weighted down by huge stones. This forces them to look down in humility at the pavement. When they reach the top, souls will find themselves at the Garden of Eden itself. Thus, cleansed of all sins and made perfect, they will wait in this Earthly paradise before ascending to Heaven.
In 1999, Pope John Paul II referred to purgatory as 'a condition of existence', implying that it is most likely not an actual physical location or place, but is a state wherein 'those, after death exist in a state of purification, are already in the love of Christ who removes from them the remnants of imperfection.'
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