Concept in Definition ABC

The concept that concerns us in this review has a special use and almost excluding on the religion Christian and in Judaism.

The term comes from the Latin concept purgare that refers to purify, clean.

According to Jewish and Christian beliefs, it is the place where the deceased cleanse their minor sins, and can, after a penance and washing of guilt, access the kingdom of heaven.

For the doctrine christian the purgatory is he a place where righteous men who have just physically disappeared must purify their imperfections before they can enjoy the eternal life that God grants themIn other words, in some way and in simpler words, purgatory is the antechamber to heaven by which most of the Righteous Christians, but who have made some mistakes, must pass to purge themselves of just the same and thus enjoy the kingdom of God.

The Protestants do not give it any type of entity but only recognize the existence of the hell and heaven, believing that salvation and eternal life will be achieved only from Faith.

The Catholic view of purgatory

Catholic theology, formally, speaks of purgatory as a state of purification to which after his death the people who have died without committing mortal sin, but who have incurred minor sins not forgiven, or serious sins already forgiven in life but without the relevant satisfaction penitential on the part of the believer, they must submit in order to purify those stains and finally access the beatific vision of God.

Turns out to be a condition essential For the deceased person to aspire to pass through purgatory, it is the fact that they have died in grace and in friendship with God, this does not imply that they die absolutely pure.

Some issues that could shorten the stay of one or more souls who are in the mentioned state are: the prayers for the dead, the celebration of the Eucharist and the indulgences.
This tells us that permanence in purgatory it is variable.

So, sincere prayers, realization of some sacrifices, penance, alms, among others can make the stay in it shorter.
And in the special case of Catholics, the fact of having confessed their sins while alive also acts as a mitigating and that will help the exit from purgatory is faster than in those cases in which they have not done.

On the other hand, it is important that we say that there are several areas within Purgatory, some closer to the hell, and others to heaven, the place in which the person is located will depend on the issues above mentioned.

The penalties once felt in purgatory are often said to be equivalent to those of hell in the sense of remoteness from God who they suppose, although they are not eternal as in the case of hell and will end up being purified, because in purgatory the person is not option for evil but quite the opposite, his presence there speaks of a predisposition and an intention to reach the last stage, that of sanctification.

The Jewish position

For the Jews, only those who have sinned go to purgatory and they will be housed in one of the seven levels that compose it, and depending on the seriousness of the offense they have committed.
Generally, the permanence sentences vary from one month to one year.
There is a special prayer, known as kadisch, which is prayed during the stay, it is also called the prayer of mourning.

Meanwhile, around the issue of purgatory there are many voices in favor and also several against, for example, the church Orthodox rejects it as well as most Protestant churches, on the other hand, the Coptic (Egyptian) church accepts it and spread; in the Islam there are some concepts similar to purgatory, confirming it in some way. There are even theologians and mystics who maintain that purgatory is actually the earth, experiencing purification after the death of the person.

With voices for or against, that of purgatory is a widely spread concept and contemplated by different religions.

We must say that when serious sins are committed and on top of that there is no repentance on the part of the person, their path it will be directly to hell, which is the place specially prepared to contain those who have behaved very badly in the lifetime.

In Greek mythology it was called Tartarus and was located below the Underworld presided over by the god Hades.

Topics in Purgatory