Hi Elizabeth, I made it "Right Behind" you!
That seems quite a bit different from the RC Purgatory. We believe those in purgatory are definitely saved.
Can Christian prayers undo a soul's damnation after death? Or do I misunderstand what you are saying.
My Dearest Eddie in Christ,
Christ is in our midst! He is and always shall be!
Yes the Holy Mysteries (the sacraments) are awesome. Without them I know that I could not be saved. I need God's grace everyday and Holy Confession and Holy Communion have helped me tremendously.
The Orthodox Faith teaches that we must repent now, not in the hereafter. That is why we pray, "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner." as many times as we can throughout the day.
After all, St. Paul told us to pray unceasingly.
We don't know the mind of God, but He knows what is in our heart, if our spirit is in agreement with His Holy Spirit. How do you know if a soul is in purgatory, heaven, or hell? No one knows. To trust in one past moment when we felt saved is presumption. We must live every moment of our lives as if we were going to die the next. We must be repentant and pray for our loved ones giving them a good example.
Purgatory is a Roman Catholic doctrine. Orthodoxy teaches that we can pray for the souls (per Tobit) but if a person hates another person, then there is little we can do. Hatred damns a soul.
Universal Salvation was condemned by an Ecumenical Council, the same council which condemned Origen. Therefore, we cannot say that everyone is saved, or that everyone we pray for will be saved. Prayer is not wasted however. Everyone of our friends, relatives and acquaintances who die, should be included in our prayers. That is our Christian obligation, and is taught by the RCC and the EOC.
Hope this helps.
Check out
www.oca.org especially Orthodox Christianity as Father John has excellent responses to questions like this.
YSIC
Elizabeth