Prayers for the Dead: Orthodox Response to Catholic Claims about Purgatory

 

1. “Prayers for the Dead are Ancient, not Medieval.”

• Catholic claim: The practice of praying for the dead is rooted in the Old Testament (2 Macc. 12:45), in Jewish tradition (Kaddish), and in early Christian writings (Tertullian, Chrysostom, Augustine, etc.), so it cannot be a medieval invention.
• Orthodox response: True — prayer for the departed is ancient and deeply rooted in both Judaism and Christianity. The Orthodox Church continues this practice through memorial services, the Divine Liturgy, and private prayers.
  However, the meaning of these prayers differs. Orthodoxy never saw them as a way to shorten time in a juridical “purgatory,” but as an expression of love, intercession, and hope in God’s mercy for those who died in repentance yet are not fully cleansed.

2. “Refusing to Pray for the Dead is a Novel Idea.”

• Catholic claim: Since early Christianity prayed for the departed, rejecting this practice is a recent Protestant innovation.
• Orthodox response: Agreed. The rejection of prayers for the dead by many Protestants is indeed novel. The Church has always prayed for her children, both living and departed. But Orthodoxy distinguishes between authentic tradition (prayers for the dead) and later theological developments (the Latin doctrine of purgatory).

3. “Most Christians Believe in Purgatory.”

• Catholic claim: Since Catholics (50%) and Orthodox (25%) pray for the dead, the majority of Christians hold to the doctrine. Even C.S. Lewis believed in purgatory.
• Orthodox response: Careful distinction is needed. Yes, the majority of Christians pray for the dead, but Orthodoxy does not believe in the Roman Catholic purgatory.
  The Orthodox understanding is not a temporary prison of fire or a legal debt system, but rather the soul’s purification and growth in God’s mercy through the prayers of the Church.
  As for C.S. Lewis, his reflections resemble the Orthodox sense of cleansing before entering God’s glory, not the Catholic system of indulgences and satisfaction.

4. “Doesn’t Purgatory Deny Christ’s Sacrifice?”

• Catholic claim: Purgatory doesn’t add to Christ’s sacrifice; it is God’s grace purifying the soul after death, since sanctification is ongoing.
• Orthodox response: Orthodoxy agrees that Christ’s sacrifice is totally sufficient. The difference lies in how purification is understood:
  
• Catholic theology historically framed purgatory in legal and punitive terms (temporary punishments, debt satisfaction, indulgences).
• Orthodox theology sees purification as the soul’s encounter with God’s uncreated light: for the pure, it is joy; for the impure, it is painful until they are made ready.
  It is not “time in a cosmic jail,” but the mystical process of the soul being made capable of eternal communion with God.
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5. The Orthodox Teaching in Summary

• We pray for the dead because love never ends, and the Church is one Body across life and death.
• We reject purgatory as a legalistic construct foreign to the Fathers.
• The Church’s prayers, almsgiving, and Liturgy can bring comfort and mercy to the departed.
• Christ’s sacrifice is sufficient — yet sanctification is ongoing, even beyond death, until the Final Judgment