Purgatory

Definition and Meaning

The Korean term for purgatory, yeonok (煉獄), means "a place of refining by fire." It renders the Latin purgatorium ("a place of cleansing"). The Catholic Church describes purgatory as a state of purification through which souls who died in God's grace, but were not yet fully purified, pass before entering heaven. In Catholic teaching, purgatory is distinct from hell, the destination of those who are not saved. The Catholic Church also holds that the prayers and Masses of living believers can help the souls in purgatory.

Biblical and Historical Background

The Catholic Church cites the following passages in support of purgatory:

• 2 Maccabees 12: the account of Judas Maccabeus offering a sin offering for soldiers who had fallen in battle
• 1 Corinthians 3:15: salvation "yet so as by fire"
• Matthew 12:32

The Catholic Church accepts the books of Maccabees as deuterocanonical, but Protestants do not include them in the canon.

Prayer for the dead has been practiced since the time of the early church. In the Western church the doctrine of purgatory was gradually developed and was confirmed as official teaching at the Council of Florence (1439) and the Council of Trent.

In the late Middle Ages the sale of indulgences (certificates said to remit the punishment due to sin) became bound up with the doctrine of purgatory, and purgatory became a point of contention in the Reformation, with the Ninety-five Theses as the catalyst. The Reformers rejected purgatory for two reasons: it has no basis in Scripture, and it conflicts with the doctrine of justification, which holds that believers are justified through Christ's atonement alone. Chapter 32 of the Westminster Confession of Faith states that after death the souls of the righteous are received into heaven and the souls of the wicked are cast into hell, and that besides these two places Scripture acknowledges none.

The Eastern Orthodox Church prays for the dead but is generally understood not to accept the Western doctrine of purgatory.

Practice in the Korean Church

The Catholic Church in Korea observes November as the Month of the Holy Souls. On All Souls' Day, November 2, Masses are offered for the dead, and at funerals a prayer for the dead known as yeondo (煉禱) is offered.

Korean Protestant denominations, including Presbyterian, Methodist, Holiness, Baptist, and Full Gospel churches, generally do not accept purgatory. Likewise, Protestant memorial services are explained not as prayers for the salvation of the deceased but as services to remember the deceased and comfort the bereaved. In Protestant preaching and catechesis, the account of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19–31) and Hebrews 9:27 are frequently cited as evidence that one's destiny cannot change after death.

The Anglican Communion, to which the Anglican Church of Korea belongs, rejected "the Romish doctrine concerning purgatory" in Article 22 of the Thirty-nine Articles. At the same time, it maintains a tradition of praying for the dead.