The direct testimonies cited by Roman Catholic writ- ers from the fathers to the belief of their respective ages as to the existence of a purgatory are very numerous. We may instance among the Greeks, Clement of Alexan- dria, Stromata, vii, 12 ; Origen, Horn, xvi, c. 5, 6, in Jeremiam; vi, Horn, in Exod.; xiv, Horn, in Levif.; xxviii, Horn, in Numb. ; Eusebius, De Vila Constantini, iv, 71; Athanasius, Qucest. xxxiv, ad Antioch.; Cyril of Jerusalem, Cat. Mystag. v, 9 ; Basil, Horn, in Psalm. v, 7 : Gregory of Nazianzum, xii, Orat. de Laude A tha- nasii ; Gregory of Nvssa, Orat. de Bapt. ; as also Epi- phanius, Ephraem, Theodoret, and others. Among the Latins, Tertullian, Cyprian, Arnobius, Lactantius, Hilary, Ambrose, and, above all, Augustine (from whom many passages are cited), Paulinus of Nola, and Gregory the Great, in whom the doctrine is found in all the fulness of its modern detail. The epitaphs of the catacombs, too, occasionally supply Romish controversialists with some testimonies to the belief of a purgatory, and of the value of the intercessory prayers of the living in obtain- ing not merely repose, but relief from suffering for the deceased; and the liturgies of the various rites are still more decisive and circumstantial. Beyond these two points, Romish faith, as defined by the Council of Trent, does not go. The council expressly prohibits the popu- lar discussion of the "more difficult and subtle ques- tions, and everything that tends to curiosity or super- stition, or savors of filthy lucre."
Of the further questions as to the nature of purgato- ry, there is one of great historical importance, inasmuch as it constitutes one of the grounds of difference between the Greek and Latin churches. As to the existence of purgatory, both these churches are agreed, and they are further agreed that it is a place of suffering ; but, while the Latins commonly hold that this suffering is " by fire," the Greeks do not determine the manner of the suffer- ing, but are content to regard it as " through tribula- tion." The decree of union in the Council of Florence (1439) left this point free for discussion. Equally free are the questions as to the situation of purgatory ; as to the duration of the purgatorial suffering ; as to the prob- able number of its inmates; as to whether they have, while there detained, a certainty of their ultimate sal- vation; and whether a "particular judgment" takes place on each individual case immediately after death. Throughout the Eastern liturgies there is no express mention of the purgatorial suffering of souls in the inter- mediate state. In the apostolical constitutions and in the liturgy of St. Chrysostom, the Church prays for those who rest in faith (irrrkp ru>v iv ttigtu avairav- oapiviov etiftupii', lib. viii, c. 13). In other liturgies, as of St. James, St. Mark, and St, Basil, there is prayer for the rest and forgiveness of the departed (rag ipvxac avcnravGov: St. Mark). Even in the Roman canon there is only a prayer for those resting in Christ, and a common inscription in the catacombs over the depart- ed is In pace. Such statements are not, indeed, neces- sarily inconsistent with the departed Christian being
PURGATORY
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in a state of Buffering; f>r even then he would rest from the sorrows ami trials of life, and have the assured hope of eternal life. Still, where there is no direct al- lusion (as in the Mozarabic and Galilean missals I to the suffering of the departed, we cannot fairly and reason- ably suppose thai a state of suffering is implied when id departed are said to he at rest. Such an expr< ssion musl be taken in its ordinary meaning as de- noting a mure or less perfect happiness. I The theory of the early Church, which may be called tin- "Judgment- day Purgatory," we treat of below.) See Bellarmine, ]>, Purgatorio; Suaresius, /'• Purgatorio; and on the Creek portion of the subject, Leo Allatius, De Utriusqvt in DogmaU d\ Purgatorio Perpetud Consensione. The mediaeval doctrine and practice regarding pur- gatory wore among the leading grounds of the protest of the Waldenses and other sects of that age. The Re- formers as a body rejected the doctrine.
In the modern Romish < 'hutch the doctrine of purga- tory lias led to others more directly injurious and cor- rupting. By the terror which it inspires it gives the priesthood power to impose penances; it leads to in- dulgences (q. v.) and prayers lor the dead, lor it is held that i ho Bufferings in purgatory may he greatly miti- gated and shortened by the prayers, the services, the masses, the charities, and other works of supererogation of their friends upon the earth. The extent to which this doctrine has been employed in increasine- the in- come of the Church receives a significant illustration in one singular fact. There exists a purgatorial insurance company which, for a certain premium paid annually. insures the payor a given number of masses for his soul in the event of his death, and the certificates of this in- surance company may be seen hung up on the walls in hundreds of rooms in the tenement-houses of our great cities, i specially of New York.
Protestantism, in rejecting the doctrine of purga- tory, takes the -round that it is inadmissible to de- pend upon any authority outside of the Uible and not in harmony therewith. It not only, however, re- fuses to admit the authority of tradition or the testi- monies of the fathers, lint, at the same time-, alleges that most, if not all. of the passages quoted from the fathers as in favor of purgatory are in themselves in- sufficient to prove that they held any such doctrine as that now taught by the Roman Catholic Church, some of them properly relating only to the subject of prayer for the dead (q. v.), and others to the doctrine of Lim- bo (q. v.). That the doctrine of purgatory is the fair development of that which maintains thai prayer ought to be made tor the dead. Protestants generally ackmra I- edge, bni refuse to admit that the fathers carried out their views to any such consequence. ForOrigen says. " We, alter the labors and Strivings of this present life, hope to be in the highest heavens," not in purgatory. So Chrysostom, "Those that truly follow virtue, after thej .lie changed from thi- life, are truly freed from their fightings, and loosed from their bonds. For di .nil. to such as live honestly, is a change from worse things to better, from this transitory to an eternal and immortal life that hath no end." Maearius. speaking of the faithful, says, "When they go out of their bod- ies, i be elioirs of angels receive their souls into their proper places, to the pure world, ami so lead them to tie- beid." Hence Athanasius says, -To the right- eous it is not death, but only a change, for they are Changed from this world to an eternal rest. And as a man comes out of prison, so do the saints go from this trouble-, ,ini. in,, to ti„. good things prepared for them." 1 . these lather.- were- no purgatorians, since they