Purgatory
purgatory is a religious concept with a special presence in Catholic and Coptic theology. According to this doctrine, purgatory is not a physical space and is defined as a transitory state of purification and expiation of the soul in which, after death, people who have died in a state of grace suffer the temporary penalty that still due to forgiven sins and, perhaps, atone for their unforgiven venial sins in order to access God's beatific vision.
It is widely believed that since everyone who enters purgatory will end up entering Heaven sooner or later, Purgatory is not a form of Hell. It is stated that prayers to God for the dead, the celebration of the Eucharist and indulgences can shorten the stay of one or more souls who are in that state.
According to the official doctrine of the Catholic Church, the pains suffered are similar to those of Hell, but they are not eternal and they purify because the person is not inveterate in an option for evil. For this reason, Purgatory is the final purification of the elect, the last stage of sanctification.
Purgatory in the Bible
The Coptic and Catholic Churches believe that souls saved, but whose purification is not complete, experience a purification that takes place neither in heaven nor in the abode of the dead ("of the righteous") called sheol or hades in the Bible. The Catholic Church remembers the words of Jesus Christ referred to in Luke 12:58-59: to come to an agreement with him along the way, lest the adversary take you before the judge, and the judge hands you over to the guard, and he puts you in prison. I assure you that you will not leave there until you have paid the last penny. It is argued that if one cannot get out of Hell, there must be a place where that debt is cancelled, since, furthermore, speaking of the "Heavenly Jerusalem", the book of Apocalypse says: "Nothing stained shall enter her” (Rev. 21, 27). Then, with the parable of the official who did not want to forgive, in Matthew 18:21-35, Jesus compares the Kingdom of Heaven with someone who asks for forgiveness but denies doing so; even so, he warns that the man can fulfill his debt: “And the lord was so angry that he put him in the hands of the executioners until he paid all the debt. And Jesus added: «My Heavenly Father will do the same with you, unless each of you forgives his brother from your heart» ”(Matthew 18: 34-35). It should even be remembered that Jesus Christ taught to pray by setting the condition of being forgiven, forgiving: "...and forgive our debts, as we also forgive our debtors;" (Matthew 6:12). Thus, as in heaven there are no "executioners" to collect the debt, Catholicism conceives of an intermediate place where the saved purify the outstanding debts.
There is another passage in which Jesus Christ speaks of the existence of another world after this one, where sins are forgiven: "God will forgive even the one who says something against the Son of Man; but the one who speaks against the Holy Spirit, he will not forgive him neither in the present world, nor in the one to come & # 34;. (Matthew 12, 32).
In 1 Corinthians Saint Paul speaks more clearly about Purgatory:
The work of each one will be clearly seen on the day of Judgment because that day will come with fire, and the fire will test the quality of the work of each one. If the work that was built resists, you will receive your salary. If the work burns, he will be punished, although he will be saved as one who escapes from the fire (1 Cor. 3, 13-15).
We find a large number of saints who have experienced visits from souls in Purgatory, which are allowed by God to intercede more intensely for them after these supernatural encounters. It should be noted that in Purgatory there are as many stages as there are people, some souls remaining in a stage very close to hell and others close to heaven.
Purgatory in the Old Testament
Among the places in the Old Testament that both the Coptic Church and the Catholic Church interpret as related to atonement after death in Purgatory, are:
Many will be purified, emblazoned and refined; the wicked will proceed wickedly, and none of the wicked will understand, but the understood will understand.Daniel 12,10
To this third I will put it in the fire, I will melt it as silver melts, I will prove it as gold is tested. He will invoke my name, and I will hear it. I'll say, 'My people.' He will say, 'Yahveh is my God.'Zechariah 13,9
“But he presumed that a beautiful reward awaits believers who lay down in death, hence that their concern was holy and according to faith. He therefore commanded that sacrifice of atonement for the dead to be free from their sins.”2 Maccabees 12:45-46
From a Catholic and Coptic perspective, the above passages are thought to imply that in the "state of purgation" the souls will be able to be purified (cleansed) of the temporary punishment of certain sins, already forgiven as for the guilt; that other world cannot be Hell, since in it one is already condemned; neither will heaven, for nothing that has a stain will enter there, so this place must be a temporary state. What must be purified in Purgatory is the temporal penalty of sin, which remains even after confession. An example of this would be a slander. If it has been spread to other people, even if the person who said it confesses, that trace of his sin has already been spread and it will be difficult to erase.
Coptic Perspective
The Coptic Church, in addition to the previous passages, argues chapters 6 to 36 of the book of Enoch where Purgatory is described in detail; However, the Catholic Church does not include those chapters in its arguments because the book of Enoch is not within the Catholic Biblical canon, therefore it is not considered by Catholics as a book inspired by God. But the book of Enoch is an integral part of the Coptic biblical canon, because it is part of the Septuagint and because the book of Enoch is quoted by the apostle Saint Jude Thaddeus in the New Testament (Jude 1,14).
Perspective on the Protestant Church
Most Protestant churches reject the belief in Purgatory as well as the deuterocanonical books where mention is made of praying for the dead so that they may be freed from their sins.
Purgatory in the New Testament
Coptic and Catholic perspective
One of them, and perhaps the main one, is when the apostle Saint Paul talks about the day of judgment and about what will happen to those people who had faith and served God, but whose works were not so good. He explains it like this:
"One day you will see each other's work. It will be made public on the day of judgment, when all is tested by fire. The fire, then, will taste the work of each one. If what you built resists the fire, it will be rewarded. But if the work becomes ashes, the worker will have to pay. He'll save himself but Not without passing through the fire".1Cor 3.13-15
Let us note two fundamental aspects of what Saint Paul wants to teach about a believer in God: firstly, he affirms that if the work resists being examined, the person will be saved, in this case he is referring to a Christian who goes directly to be saved, without the need to go through a purification. But, he immediately adds that there is another situation where the person's work did not stand the trial and he does not say that he will be condemned, but that that Christian will have to pay or be punished and will be saved, but like someone who passes through the fire.
When we continue studying the Bible on this subject, we will find that the existence of Purgatory is a logical consequence of the holiness of God, because if He is the thrice holy (Isaiah 6,3), that is, the fullness of the holiness and perfection, then those who are next to Him must also be (Matthew 5,48). Therefore, whoever is faithful to God, but is not in a state of full grace at the time of death, cannot enjoy Heaven because the Bible itself says that in the heavenly city:
Nothing stained will enter (impure).Ap 21,27
So, accordingly, if a Christian cannot enter Heaven due to having some stain or impurity, nor suffer eternal punishment, it is clear that he will have to 'pay' for it. in this life or the next.
Apart from that, the background of what is quoted in Matthew 5, 25-26 establishes an analogy between "prison" and "state of grief" transitory for the debtor:
Make good with your adversary immediately as you go with him along the way; lest your adversary give you the judge and the judge to the guard, and You get in jailI assure you: You won't get out of there until you've paid the last cent.
This "prison" or "jail" eschatologically speaking, it cannot only be considered physical as such, and in a lesser case as Hell, because no one "goes out" of him in his final condemnation, considering himself to be another "state", where minor debts against his neighbor (venial sins) will be paid in full.
The Catholic Church has never taught that mortal sins are forgiven in Purgatory, but only venial ones that do not change the believer from the habitual or sanctifying state of grace, necessary to be saved. But mainly it is taught that in Purgatory the purification of the relics of sin is carried out.
Another quote from the New Testament with which Catholics and Copts explain the existence of Purgatory is Matthew 12, 31-32:
Anyone who utters a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not have forgiveness or in this world Neither in the other.
In this phrase, according to Saint Gregory the Great, it can be understood that some faults can be forgiven in this century, but others in the future century. Other authors like Saint Bede and Saint Bernard, among others, have the same idea. According to Saint Isidore of Seville these words prove that in the next life "some sins will be forgiven and purged by a certain purifying fire". Saint Augustine also argues: "some sinners are not forgiven even in this world or the next could not be truly said unless there were others (sinners) who, though not forgiven in this life, are forgiven in the world to come."
Early Church
Purgatory as a temporary state of purification was believed from the beginning by early Christians.
- Year 211. Tertullian: "We offer sacrifices for the dead..."
- Year 307. Lactation: "The righteous whose sins remained shall be drawn by fire (purification)..."
- Year 386. John Chrysostom: "We must not doubt that our offerings for the dead will bring them some comfort."
- Year 580. Gregorio Magno: "Respect to certain light faults, it is necessary to believe that before judgment there is a purifying fire..."
Protestant perspective
Martin Luther, the founder of Protestantism, believed that it was useless to pray for the dead.
Orthodox Perspective
According to the doctrine of the Orthodox Church, it is precise and necessary to pray for the souls of the deceased, given that unless they have been saints and are already in Heaven or on the contrary are already in hell, the souls of those who died in friendship with God and repented of their sins, but still lacking purification, cannot enter Heaven on their own, but need the prayers of the Orthodox faithful to go up to Heaven, those souls are already saved but suffer due because they can see the happiness of Heaven but not enter it. The Orthodox Church does not believe in the existence of the purifying fire of purgatory, so the only method that the faithful departed have to ascend to Heaven are the prayers of the Orthodox Church asking God for purification and entry into Paradise.
Purgatory in the magisterium of the Catholic Church
The doctrine of Purgatory has been a constant teaching of the Magisterium of the Church. In addition to the Bible, the Church relies on apostolic tradition to define a doctrine. In the case of Purgatory, the Catechism cites Saint Gregory the Great and Saint John Chrysostom. But there are many quotes about Purgatory in the so-called Fathers of the Church, such as Saint Gregory the Great (540-604), Saint Caesarius of Arles (470-543), Tertullian (155-230), Saint Cyprian of Carthage (200?-258), Saint Augustine of Hippo (354-430), among others.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church refers to Purgatory or final purification in the following terms:
Those who die in the grace and friendship of God, but imperfectly purified, though they are sure of their eternal salvation, suffer a purification after their death in order to obtain the necessary holiness to enter into the joy of God.Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1054.
The Church has formulated the doctrine of faith regarding Purgatory above all in the Councils of Florence and Lyon, which refuted the Eastern Greeks: “The souls that departed from this world in charity with God, with true repentance of their sins, before having satisfied with true fruits of penance for their sins of work and omission, they are purified after death with the pains of Purgatory”.
It was formulated more extensively at the Council of Trent which insisted:
Take great care that the sound doctrine of Purgatory, received from the holy Fathers and sacred councils, is taught and predicted everywhere, and is created and preserved by the Christian faithful; those, however, that touch a certain curiosity and superstition, or know a clumsy profit, prohibit them as scandals and stumbling stones for the faithful.Council of Trent
Reference has also been made to Purgatory in the last ecumenical council, Vatican II (1962-1965)
The Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church dedicates a couple of points that summarize this doctrine:
Purgatory is the state of those who die in friendship with God but, although they are sure of their eternal salvation, they still need purification to enter the eternal bliss. By virtue of the communion of the saints, the faithful who are still on earth can help the souls of Purgatory by offering for them suffrage prayers, in particular the sacrifice of the Eucharist, but also alms, indulgences and works of penance.Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, 210-211
The Catholic Church, using current language, explains the doctrine of Purgatory in the following terms:
During our earthly life, following the evangelical exhortation to be perfect as the heavenly Father (cf. Mt 5:48), we are called to grow in love, to find ourselves firm and irrepressible in the presence of God the Father, at the time of "the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, with all his saints" (1 Ts 3:12). On the other hand, we are invited to "purify ourselves from all stains of flesh and spirit" (2 Cor 7:1; cf. 1 Jn 3, 3), because meeting with God requires absolute purity. All traces of attachment to evil must be removed and all imperfection of the soul corrected. Purification must be complete, and precisely this is what teaches the Church's doctrine of purgatory. This term does not indicate a place, but a condition of life. Those who after death live in a state of purification are already in the love of Christ, who free them from the residues of imperfection.
Sorrows of Purgatory
According to Catholic doctrine there is a substantial difference between Hell and Purgatory, and this is not a temporary Hell. Properly speaking, only in Hell is there a true penalty of damage, since it is the ultraterrestrial punishment for the current aversion of God, which does not occur in the souls in Purgatory. However, they can be distinguished:
- Dilation of the Glory. Treated by theological tradition as penalty of damageHowever, it is qualitatively different from that given in Hell, and it consists of the postponement of Heaven. The soul is deprived of the beatific vision (vision of God) while purging their sins. This penalty implies that the presence in Purgatory cannot be prolonged in time until beyond the Final Judgment.
- Meaningful penis. The tradition of the Latin Fathers is almost unanimous in favor of real and corporeal fire, similar to that of Hell, but a dogmatic statement has not yet been necessary. There are arguments in tradition, such as the questionnaire of Clemente VI to the Armenians, where he expressly asks "...if you think they are tormented with fire temporarily...". As to whether God uses demons for the administration of the punishments of Purgatory, St. Thomas (Purgatory, Suppl. a.5) explains no.
Suffrages
They are the aid that the faithful offer to the souls in Purgatory. Mainly they are:
- Offering Mass: Whether by sending the Mass to a priest, be it mentally offered by a deceased.
- Offering Communion: Catholics, Orthodox, Coptics and Lutherans believe that in communion is truly Christ. When they commune (receive Christ), they can offer it for the repair of souls who lack something to purify.
- Gregorian Masses: They are named in this way, to the series of Masses in which a deceased must be interceded for thirty days without interruption. His origin is linked to an episode narrated by Saint Gregory the Great.
- Indulgence: Forgiving is the remission before God of the temporary penalty for sins, already forgiven for guilt. The indulgence is partial or plenary as it frees from the temporary penalty due for sins in part or totally. Every faithful can profit for himself or apply for the deceased, as a suffrage, the indulgences both partial and plenary.
Other suffrages are: offering sorrows and joys, forgetting insults and forgiving those who offend us, offering various prayers, almsgiving and other works of mercy.
The Vow of Souls
Also called heroic act of charity, it consists of a complete donation of the satisfactory effects earned with good works, in favor of the souls in Purgatory.
In the words of Saint Augustine, all good works that are practiced in a state of sanctifying grace have the virtue of producing four effects: meritorious, propitiatory, impetratory and satisfactory. The meritorious effect increases the grace of the one who makes it, and cannot be ceded. The propitiatory appeases the wrath of God; the impretratory inclines God to grant what is asked of him. Finally, it is satisfactory because it helps to satisfy or pay the penalty for sins. It is this last satisfactory effect that is given to the souls in Purgatory, offering God compensation for the temporal penalty due. It is not a rigorous vow, nor does it require any formalism beyond doing it with the heart, but a voluntary assignment that can be rectified at any time. Nor should it be said heroic since you gain more than you give up.
Purgatory in the Fathers of the Church
Saint Perpetua (181 – 203 AD) in prison has two visions, in the first she sees her brother who was seven years old dead in a dark place where he was suffering. She prays for the eternal rest of her soul and after being heard she has a second vision where she sees her brother healthy and at peace. I saw that the place that she had previously observed gloomy was now illuminated, and Dinocrates, with a clean and well-dressed body, was looking for something to cool off. And where the wound had been, I saw a scar... Then I understood that he had been transferred from the place of punishment & # 34;
The Acts of Paul and Thecla was a work written in the II century (year 160) that tells the story of a woman who converted to Christianity after hearing the preaching of Saint Paul. She subsequently undoes her engagement with her boyfriend and dedicates herself to assisting him in evangelism. We read there a prayer of intercession for a deceased Christian to be transferred to the place of the just. “And after the exhibition, Tryfaena receives her again. Her daughter Falconilla hers had died, and he said to her in a dream: Mother, you should have this foreign Thecla in my place, so that she prays for me, and I may be transferred to the place of the just."
Abercius of Hierapolis (? – 200 AD), before dying, composed his own epitaph dated to the end of the II century or turn of the century III where he asks to be prayed for: "May each one who is agree with this and whoever understands it, pray for Abercio."
Clement of Alexandria (150 – 217 AD): the Stromata speak of the purification by “fire” that the soul undergoes after death when it has not reached complete holiness. "Through great discipline, the believer gets rid of his passions and goes to a better mansion than the previous one, he goes through the greatest of torments taking upon himself the repentance of the faults that he could have committed after his baptism. He is then further tortured by seeing that he has not achieved what others have already achieved. The greatest torments are assigned to the believer because the Justice of God is good and his goodness is just, and these punishments complete the course of expiation and purification of each one."
Tertullian (160 - 220 AD) refers to praying for the dead: "A woman is more tied to her husband when he is dead... In fact, she prays for his soul, and while both ask for refreshment for him, and offer (his sacrifice) on the anniversaries of his death. (216 AD)" "Every time the anniversary approaches, we make offerings for the dead as birthday honors. (211 AD)"
Origins (185 - 254 AD) refers that if a man leaves this life with minor faults having done things of value, he is condemned to fire that burns useless materials, and prepares the soul for the Kingdom of God: "For if on the foundation of Christ, you have built not only gold and silver but precious stones (1 Cor. 3); but also wood, cane or straw, what do you expect when the soul is separated from the body? Would you enter heaven with your wood and reed and straw and thus stain the kingdom of God? Or because of these obstacles, could you be left without receiving a reward for your gold and silver and precious stones? Neither of these cases is fair. It remains then, that you will be subjected to the fire that will burn the light materials; for our God, those who can understand the things of heaven are called the purifying fire." "But this fire does not consume the creature, but what it has built, wood, cane or straw. It is manifest that fire destroys the wood of our transgressions and then returns us with the prize of our great works."
Cyprian of Carthage (AD 200 – 258) writes: "It is one thing, when thrown into prison, not to leave until one has paid the last penny; it is another thing at the same time to receive the salary of faith and courage. One thing, to be tortured by long suffering for sins, to be cleansed and long purged by fire; another to have purged all sins through suffering. Finally, it is one thing to be in abeyance until the judgment of God on the day of judgment; another to be immediately crowned by the Lord." Cipriano notes that he offers sacrifices for the dead: "We always offer them sacrifices, as you will remember, as often as we celebrate the passions and the days of the martyrs in the annual commemoration." "Finally, too, make note of their days on which they departed, that we may celebrate their commemoration among the martyrs' memorials, though Tertullius has written, and writes to me, and entrusts the days when our blessed brothers pass in prison through the door of a glorious death to their immortality; and oblations and sacrifices are made here for their commemorations."
Lactantius (250 – 317 AD) writes: "But when he judges the righteous, he will also test them with fire. Then those whose sins exceed in weight or number will be scorched by fire and burned, but those whom justice and full maturity of virtue have imbued will not perceive that fire."
Cyril of Jerusalem (315 – 386 AD) notes: "We also remember all those who have already fallen asleep, first of all, the patriarchs, the prophets, the apostles, the martyrs, so that, for your prayers and your intercession, God accept our prayer. Then, also for the holy fathers and deceased bishops and, in general, for all whose lives passed among us, believing that this will be of the greatest help to those for whom we pray... we offer Christ dead for our sins, pretending that may the merciful God have compassion and be propitious both with them and with us"
Gregory of Nyssa (331 – 394 AD): “When he renounces his body and the difference between virtue and vice is known, he cannot approach God until he has purged with fire that cleanses the stains with which his soul is infected. That same fire in others will cancel the corruption of matter and the propensity for evil."
Saint Ambrose (395 AD) in his funeral oration where he prayed for the soul of the emperor who had died says: "Give, O Lord, rest to Your servant Theodosius, that peace that You have prepared for your saints.... I loved him, that's why I will follow him to the land of the living; I will not leave him until by my prayers and lamentations he is admitted to the holy mountain of the Lord, whom the merits of him call & # 34;
John Chrysostom (347 - 407 AD) affirms that this reminder by names in the celebration of the holy sacrifice as the best way to relieve the dead was a practice established by the Apostles: "Not in It was vainly decreed by the Apostles that the memorial of the mysteries should be made by those who have departed. They knew that there were many benefits here that could be obtained for them. When the entire people are standing with their hands raised, a priestly assembly and the wonderful sacrificial victim is offered, how can we not overcome God with our supplications? And we do this for those who have left in the faith" then he adds in another writing that "If the sons of Job were purified by the sacrifice of their father (cf. Jb 1, 5), why would we have of doubting that our offerings for the dead bring them any consolation? [...] Let us not hesitate, then, to help those who have departed and to offer our prayers for them"
Saint Augustine (354 - 430 AD) wrote on the subject: "purify me in this life and make me such that I no longer need corrective fire, caring for those who have to be saved, although, nevertheless as through fire. Why does this happen if it is not because they build here on the foundation, firewood, straw, hay? If they had built on gold, silver, precious stones, they would be free from both kinds of fire, not only from that eternal one, which will forever torment the wicked, but also from the one who will correct those who are to be saved through hell. fire."
Saints devoted to the souls in Purgatory
This list shows some saints who defended, venerated or had visions of the souls in Purgatory according to the Catholic tradition:
- San Bernardo de Claraval (1090-1153)
- Saint Nicholas of Tolentino (1245-1305)
- Saint Elizabeth, Princess of Hungary and Duchess of Turingia (1207-1231)
- Santa Isabel, Queen of Portugal and Infanta of Aragon (1271-1336)
- Saint-Brigid of Sweden (1303-1373)
- Saint Catherine of Vadstena (1330-1381)
- Santa Lidwina (1380-1433)
- Santa Maria Magdalena de Pazzi (1566-1607)
- San Pedro de San José Betancur (1626-1667)
- Santa Gemma Galgani (1878-1903)
- St. Pius of Pietrelcina (1887-1968)
- Santa Faustina Kowalska (1905-1938)
- San Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer (1902-1975)
Coptic Church
The Coptic Church, on the other hand, accepts the existence of Purgatory. The only difference is that it uses another word. The main biblical basis for affirming the existence of Purgatory according to this Church is in the Book of Enoch in its chapters 6 - 36. Written before 160 BC. C., these focus on the theme of the Watchers and also make a detailed description of Hell, Purgatory and Paradise. In the Coptic Church, prayers are traditionally offered to God to show his mercy to the souls of the deceased who suffer in Purgatory and can enter Heaven.[citation required]
Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church shares with the Catholic the belief in the existence of some sort of intermediate state after the death of the justified before reaching Heaven, and also believes in the efficacy of prayers for the deceased who are are in that state. However, they do not equate their concept of the intermediate state with the Catholic concept of Purgatory, since they reject both that it is a third place apart from Heaven and Hell and that in said intermediate state the faithful are whipped by literal fire..
During the Council of Florence, the Orthodox delegation led by Mark of Ephesus debated with the Catholics about the existence of Purgatory. Mark of Ephesus rejected such a doctrine, holding instead that the faithful who die with small unconfessed sins (or who have produced no fruits of repentance for sins they have confessed), are cleansed from these sins either at their judgment post mortem with their same fear, or after the trial, when they are confined (but not permanently) in Hell, for the prayers and liturgies of the Church and the good works performed by the faithful. It must be said, however, that the Orthodox Church has no fixed dogma on the nature of said intermediate state, and among them there are different opinions on this point.
Islamic
In Islam there are superficially similar concepts with this doctrine, such as the Barzakh, the place, period or sequence of procedures through which the soul awaits the Final Judgment, in what Muhammad describes as "the worst hours of the life of a man." The idea that souls who go to hell can undergo purification there and reach heaven, allows some to think that Muslim Hell is more similar to Catholic purgatory than Christian hell. There is also the Araf, a high wall or barrier where those who have managed to escape from Hell wait, but have not yet been authorized to enter Heaven. The souls of the naturally innocent are also found in that border place: children or the insane incapable of distinguishing good from evil.
Zoroastrianism
Another place that responds in a similar way is the Hamistagan or Hamestagan of Zoroastrianism, where the souls of those who present a balanced balance between their good and bad deeds are given the opportunity (this is the main divergence with Christian Purgatory) they need to earn a place in Heaven.[citation needed]
In culture
There are numerous artistic manifestations related to Purgatory. Such as buildings, stained glass windows, carvings, altarpieces, command rods of the various brotherhoods, paintings, goldsmith works, and so we have iconographic samples of Purgatory, in all kinds of artistic manifestations.
Dante Alighieri mentions Purgatory in his greatest work, the Divine Comedy, it is one of the three parts of his work, and he imagines it as a mountain, divided into seven landings where the souls purge a distinct sin; and at the top is the Terrestrial Paradise.
Pedro Calderón de la Barca wrote a comedy entitled The Purgatory of Saint Patrick, based on popular legends about the saint and references to Purgatory.
The novel The City of the Great King by Oscar Esquivias is set in Purgatory.
Currently in the Church of the Sacred Heart of Suffrage (Rome) there are some relics, objects and testimonies about purgative souls.
One of the most important historiographical studies on religion in the XIII century, was the work The Birth of Purgatory by Jacques Le Goff, which delves into the historical conception of the origin of the concept that studied the emergence of this conception as an explanation made through history the ecclesiastical tradition that frames the notion of an intermediate place where they go those souls 'not so good' to enter directly to Heaven, and those 'not so bad' to be eternally damned.