Question on Greek Orthodoxism

Thank you, Dave and Spence06. Roman theologians at the Council of Florence explained the purgatory so: even when God forgives sins, his justice still requires the punisment for them. So the souls of those who haven't satisfied for their sins on the earth are punished by physical fire in the purgatory. It looks like Catholics have no such doctrine now?

Serg, I am not 100% sure on what your saying. Could you explain it more?

Thank you

Sergey, that's the question I've been trying to ask, and to no avail, several times. Maybe I haven't been clear enough in what I was asking. The Council of FLorence was where much of the doctrine of purgatory was defined...I've been wanting to know whether the RCC still maintains the doctrine of purgatory the way it was understood at the Council of Florence or if it has changed since then.

Sergius_Lucius said:

Thank you, Dave and Spence06. Roman theologians at the Council of Florence explained the purgatory so: even when God forgives sins, his justice still requires the punisment for them. So the souls of those who haven't satisfied for their sins on the earth are punished by physical fire in the purgatory. It looks like Catholics have no such doctrine now?

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Yes I do believe we hold to the same doctrine today. Spence pointed out some text from the CCC on purgatory, which is really our main source of information, especially for laity. So if you want a complete explanation of Catholic doctrine, the first step is to look there.

As you said though, even when God forgives sins, His justice requires the punishment for them. In essence, it's the coexistance of perfect mercy and perfect justice (i do not like to use the term punishment, however. in my opinion, it's more like a natural effect in the purging process; the spirit is cleansed through the compounded revelation of all our sins in one form or another, upon which our fragile soul must bare through, but that's just me being poetic ).

Thank you, Dave.

Spence06, I'd better quote the article from Catholic Encyclopedia (I found this after I asked my question):

Purgatory (Lat., "purgare", to make clean, to purify) in accordance with Catholic teaching is a place or condition of temporal punishment for those who, departing this life in God's grace, are, not entirely free from venial faults, or have not fully paid the satisfaction due to their transgressions.[...] That temporal punishment is due to sin, even after the sin itself has been pardoned by God, is clearly the teaching of Scripture.[...] In the West the belief in the existence of real fire is common.

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12575a.htm

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Hey Serg,
Now, I am not scholar, or I don't have a master and havn't studied years of the Catholic Church. But I will give a visiual that I use to understand, Life after this world.

Okay, Picture this. A young child, is out in the back yard of a house. The child's parents tell him, don't play in the mud, because no mud is allowed inside the house. Well, The child plays in the yard, but did slip a couple times in mud, but still got back up. Though he didn't mean to get muddy, he did feel sorry and geniulay wished to listen to his parents wishes. After a while, his parents called him to the back door. They saw that the child had some mud on him, so they took the hose, and washed him clean. They dried him off and carried him lovingly into the house.

Now, We can both agree that all in heaven is perfect. There is nothing less then perfect in heaven. We are less the perfect. I am not saying that Jesus's sacrafice wasn't enough to cleanse us, but the fact remains, that our souls do still have marks of the sin we commit. Just as sin would be the mud in my little story. Now, Purgatory, is when the child is washed down and cleaned. The parents still love him the same, and they will still allow him to get in, just he needs to be clean. So, If you can picture that, it kinda helps. It helps me, because I am a very visiual learner. I need to see it happen, then I can do it.

I believe it has stayed the same throughout the time, but its a question to put some research into. I hope that little story helped a little.

I am reminded of the parable of the Prodigal Son. The father in that parable readily accepted his sinful but repentent son into his house. He did not put him through a "purging" so that he could exhibit both perfect "justice" and perfect "mercy" at the same time.