What is the view on Purgatory (what do Catholics actually believe and what verses do they use to prove it), what do we say, and what did early Church Fathers say?

By CopticBot.ai (Coptic Space Inc.) · Last reviewed 2026-10-10

The Roman Catholic View of Purgatory

In Roman Catholic dogma—defined primarily at the Councils of Lyon II (1274), Florence (1438–1439), and Trent (1545–1563)—Purgatory is defined as a state or place of temporal punishment and purification. Roman Catholicism teaches that when a person dies in God’s grace and friendship, they are guaranteed eternal salvation, but they may still carry:

1. Venial sins (minor offenses not fully repented of), or
2. Temporal punishment due for mortal or venial sins whose guilt (culpa) has already been forgiven through the Sacrament of Penance, but whose penalty (poena) has not been fully satisfied during earthly life.

According to this view, the souls in Purgatory undergo cleansing by means of temporal, expiatory suffering (traditionally understood as purgatorial fire). The Roman Catholic system links this to the "Treasury of Merits" (the superabundant merits of Christ, the Virgin Mary, and the saints) managed by the Roman Pope, who claims the authority to grant indulgences to remit this temporal punishment either for the living or for souls suffering in Purgatory.

Verses Used by Roman Catholics to Argue for Purgatory

Roman Catholic apologists typically cite several scriptural passages to defend the doctrine:

1. 2 Maccabees 12:42–46: Judas Maccabeus ordered a sin offering and prayed for soldiers who died carrying pagan amulets, "that they might be loosed from their sins." Roman Catholics argue this proves an intermediate state where sins can still be expiated after death.
2. 1 Corinthians 3:11–15: St. Paul speaks of building on the foundation of Christ with gold, silver, wood, or straw, stating that "each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work... If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire." Roman Catholicism interprets this fire as the cleansing flames of Purgatory.
3. Matthew 12:32: The Lord Jesus Christ states that whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit "it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come." Catholics infer from this that certain lesser sins can therefore be forgiven in "the age to come" (i.e., in Purgatory).
4. Matthew 5:25–26 / Luke 12:58–59: The parable where Christ warns to settle with your accuser lest you be thrown into prison: "Assuredly, I say to you, you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny." This prison is interpreted allegorically by Rome as Purgatory.

The Orthodox Refutation and View

The Church completely rejects the doctrine of Purgatory as a medieval, scholastic innovation that undermines the sufficiency of Christ's redemption on the Cross.

1. The Fullness of Christ’s Atonement

The Roman distinction between the forgiveness of guilt (culpa) and the demanding of satisfaction through punitive suffering (poena) distorts the nature of God's grace. When God forgives, He forgives fully:

"The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin." (1 John 1:7)

"He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed." (Isaiah 53:5)

Christ paid our debt completely on the Cross. God is not a petty creditor demanding that souls who died in His grace burn in torment to satisfy divine justice before entering His presence.

2. The Intermediate State

Orthodox theology distinguishes clearly between the intermediate state after death and the eternal state after the Second Coming:

• Upon Death: The body goes to the earth, and the soul departs to an intermediate place.
• The souls of the righteous go to Paradise (the "Bosom of Abraham"), a place of rest, comfort, and anticipation of the final Kingdom of Heaven.
• The souls of the wicked and unrepentant go to Hades, a place of darkness and sorrow, anticipating final condemnation.
• The Final Judgment: Neither Paradise nor Hades is the ultimate state. At the Second Coming, the general resurrection of the body occurs, followed by the Last Judgment. Only then are the righteous admitted into the Kingdom of God (Heaven), and the condemned cast into Gehenna (the Lake of Fire).

There is no third, intermediate burning chamber of expiation.

3. Prayers for the Departed

The Church has prayed for the departed since apostolic times, as seen throughout the ancient Divine Liturgies (such as the Liturgies of St. Basil, St. Gregory, and St. Cyril). However, praying for the dead does not imply Purgatory:

• We pray because the Church is one single, undivided Body of Christ—encompassing both the Church Militant on earth and the Church at rest.
• We ask God to grant rest, comfort, and forgiveness of human frailties and sins committed through human weakness in the flesh.
• These prayers are an act of love and intercession appealing to God's boundless mercy, not a mechanical financial transaction or satisfaction to buy a soul out of a torture chamber.

4. Rebuttal of the Prooftexts

• 1 Corinthians 3:11–15: St. Paul is writing about Christian ministers and teachers (their works and doctrines), not the purification of individual souls in an intermediate fire. The "Day" mentioned is the Day of Judgment (the Second Coming), not the moment immediately following individual death. The fire is metaphorical—it tests the quality of the minister's work, not physical fuel burning a disembodied soul.
• 2 Maccabees 12:42–46: This demonstrates the antiquity of offering prayers and supplications for those who have died, asking God for mercy. It says nothing about a place called Purgatory, satisfaction of temporal punishment, or indulgences.
• Matthew 12:32: The phrase "neither in this age nor in the age to come" is a standard Semitic idiom for never, as confirmed by the parallel passage in Mark 3:29: "has never forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation." It cannot be used to invent a place of post-mortem cleansing.

What the Early Church Fathers Taught

The consensus of the holy Church Fathers (consensus patrum) knows nothing of a purgatorial fire of satisfaction.

1. Rejection of Speculation (Origen vs. The Church):

The early root of ideas resembling purgatorial purification can be traced back to Origen of Alexandria in the 3rd century. However, Origen taught apokatastasis—the universal restoration of all rational creatures, where fire was purely medicinal and even demons and the devil would eventually be purified and saved. The Church rejected and condemned Origen’s speculative universalism. The ancient Church never adopted Origen's concept of a post-mortem purifying fire as dogma.

1. St. Athanasius the Apostolic and St. Cyril of Alexandria:

The Alexandrian Fathers consistently maintained that this earthly life is the sole arena for repentance. St. Cyril of Alexandria wrote plainly:

"Once departed from the body, men can no longer achieve anything toward their betterment, but remain as they were found, awaiting the righteous judgment."

1. St. John Chrysostom:

St. John Chrysostom frequently exhorted believers to pray for the dead and give alms on their behalf to bring them comfort, but he vehemently rejected the idea of repentance or satisfaction after death:

"Let us weep for those who have died in their sins... let us help them according to our power, let us find some assistance for them, small though it may be, yet still able to help them... but as long as we are here, we have good hopes; but when we have departed there, it is no longer in our power to repent, or to wash away any sins committed." (Homily on Philippians)

1. St. Mark of Ephesus at Florence (1438–1439):

When the Latin church attempted to impose the doctrine of Purgatory upon the Eastern delegates at the Council of Florence, St. Mark of Ephesus systematically dismantled the Latin position using Scripture and ancient patristic texts:

• He demonstrated that the fire of 1 Corinthians 3 is the eternal fire of judgment or the testing fire of God's presence, not a temporary purging fire.
• He affirmed that souls do not suffer a temporal material fire in an intermediate state, but experience either a foretaste of eternal joy or a foretaste of eternal grief.
• He confirmed that the Church prays for all departed souls out of love, trusting in God's mercy, completely rejecting the Roman concept that prayers buy off a punitive debt of temporal punishment.

The true Apostolic Faith teaches repentance in this life, salvation solely through the Cross of Jesus Christ, the intermediate rest of the righteous in Paradise, and the resurrection of the dead at the Last Day. Purgatory remains an alien, non-Orthodox doctrine.