Why is it called purgatory?

The Catholic Church gives the name "purgatory" to what it calls the after-death purification of "all who die in God's grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified.”

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Why do they call it purgatory?

Purgatory comes from a Late Latin verb meaning "to cleanse" — purge shares the same root. In Roman Catholic doctrine, souls atoned for past sins in purgatory before entering heaven. In fact, for centuries, purgatory was often regarded as an actual physical place.

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Who invented the idea of purgatory?

Finally, Dante invents an entirely new region of Purgatory. As you will remember, Hell had a region which was invented by Dante, where the indifferent were punished (described in Inferno III). This was outside of Hell itself.

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Where does the Catholic Church get the idea of Purgatory?

The purgatory of Catholic doctrine. At the Second Council of Lyon in 1274, the Catholic Church defined, for the first time, its teaching on purgatory, in two points: some souls are purified after death; such souls benefit from the prayers and pious duties that the living do for them.

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Does the Bible support Purgatory?

Roman Catholic Christians who believe in purgatory interpret passages such as 2 Timothy 1:18, Matthew 12:32, Luke 23:43, 1 Corinthians 3:11–3:15 and Hebrews 12:29 as support for prayer for purgatorial souls who are believed to be within an active interim state for the dead undergoing purifying flames (which could be ...

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What You Should Know About Purgatory

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Can souls in purgatory see us?

According to the writings and visions of countless saints and theologians, most people who die in a state of grace are not yet fully purified. Their souls are not ready to see God face-to-face or to embrace perfect union with Him. St.

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Who is the gatekeeper of purgatory?

The gate of Purgatory, Peter's Gate, is guarded by an angel bearing a naked sword, his countenance too bright for Dante's sight to sustain. In reply to the angel's challenge, Virgil declares that a lady from heaven brought them there and directed them to the gate.

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How long are you in purgatory?

A Spanish theologian from the late Middle Ages once argued that the average Christian spends 1000 to 2000 years in purgatory (according to Stephen Greenblatt's Hamlet in Purgatory). But there's no official take on the average sentence.

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How long is one minute in purgatory?

Time is warped in Purgatory; a minute in the real world corresponds to a year in Purgatory. It is basically a universe separated from the mortal plane.

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Why do Protestants not believe in purgatory?

The classic Protestant argument against Purgatory, aside from the lack of biblical support, is that Jesus' death eliminated the need for any afterlife redress of sin. Catholics reply that divine mercy doesn't exonerate a person from the need to be transformed.

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What is the last stage of purgatory?

Lust. The final terrace of Purgatory is that of Lust. Here Dante and Virgil meet Guido Guinizzelli and Arnaut Daniel, both lyric poets, and an intense, purging fire that cleanses the souls in this terrace.

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What is the punishment for Purgatory?

Answer: While the nature of the punishment of the cleansing fire of purgatory is not a defined doctrine, the common teaching on the pains of purgatory consists of two things: 1) pains of loss and 2) pains of sense.

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What are the 9 levels of Purgatory?

A Visitor's Guide to Dante's Nine Circles of Hell
  • First Circle: Limbo. The first circle is home to the unbaptized and virtuous pagans. ...
  • Second Circle: Lust. ...
  • Third Circle: Gluttony. ...
  • Fourth Circle: Greed. ...
  • Fifth Circle: Anger. ...
  • Sixth Circle: Heresy. ...
  • Seventh Circle: Violence. ...
  • Eighth Circle: Fraud.

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What do you do in Purgatory?

Christian traditions

Supporters of the Roman Catholic belief cite biblical passages in which there are intimations of the three major components of purgatory: prayer for the dead, an active interim state between death and resurrection, and a purifying fire after death.

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What happens to a soul that dies in purgatory?

In Purgatory, the souls of the monsters are fated to prey on each other for eternity. It appears that when a monster soul dies in Purgatory, they are dead for good. There are estimated to be 30-40 million souls in Purgatory.

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Where did souls go before Jesus died?

Their souls went to what we call paradise, the same place we as Christians will go after our demise.

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Can you pray someone out of purgatory?

This means that the Holy See has declared that we should reject any claims that a specific number of souls are released from purgatory with the recitation of the prayer. Nonetheless, the Church has always encouraged fervent prayer for those suffering in purgatory because our prayers help to alleviate their suffering.

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When did the idea of Purgatory begin?

The idea of Purgatory as a physical place (like heaven and hell) was "born" in the late 11th century. Medieval theologians concluded that the purgatorial punishments consisted of material fire. The Western formulation of purgatory proved to be a sticking point in the Great Schism between East and West.

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How to avoid purgatory and go straight to heaven?

We can avoid Purgatory living a holy life, staying away from sin, confessing our sins regularly, having the Holy Eucharist in a state of grace and practicing works of Mercy, especially having a devotion to the Holy Souls in Purgatory.

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What will happen to purgatory at the Last Judgment?

Those in purgatory will always reach heaven, but those in hell will be there eternally. The Last Judgment will occur after the resurrection of the dead and "our 'mortal body' will come to life again."

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Was Jesus the founder of the Catholic Church?

According to Catholic tradition, the Catholic Church was founded by Jesus Christ. The New Testament records Jesus' activities and teaching, His appointment of the twelve Apostles, and His instructions to them to continue His work.

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What's considered a mortal sin?

Mortal sins are also known as cardinal sins and are the more serious of the two types. These sins involve a grave matter committed with full knowledge and done freely and deliberately. Examples of mortal sins include murder, adultery, blasphemy, and idolatry.

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How many souls are released from Purgatory?

Gertrude received, from our Lord, the promise that, if this prayer is said, 1,000 souls are released from Purgatory.

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Which branch of Christianity believes in purgatory?

The Roman Catholic Church teaches that there is a place where sins are punished and a soul is purified before it can go to Heaven. This is called Purgatory .

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Why do Catholic Christians believe in purgatory?

The Catholic Church teaches that death is not the end. When someone dies, it is only their physical body that stops living. The eternal part of a person, the soul, may go to Heaven or Purgatory . Purgatory is where the souls with unforgiven sins will go, so that they can be purified and reach Heaven.

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