Purgatory at the Council of Florence

The Council of Florence (1430’s) actually started at the city of Ferrara (the home of Servant of God Girolamo Savonarola, OP, who was born around this time). It’s goal was the reunification of the Western and Eastern Churches* and a main point of contention was the doctrine of Purgatory.

Here’s a great article about it, which very clearly lays out the discussion by both parties:

During this month of November, it is helpful to remember exactly what agreement could be reached in the 15th century between the two Churches:

1. There is some kind of purification after death for some who die in God’s friendship
2. Prayers for the dead are established both by universal Church tradition, liturgy, and scriptures

In a sense, this represents the “minimalist” position a Christian can take on what purgatory is. The Eastern understanding still holds to this, as does the Catechism of the Catholic Church (1030-1032).

However, the Western tradition (small-t) that developed independently from the Greeks during the Middle Ages was a little more robust, and included things like:

1. Purgatory is a “place”
2. Purgatory involves “fire”
3. Purgatory is “temporal” (i.e. it has a time-component).
4. Indulgences authorized by the Church can remit some of this punishment either for yourself or for someone in purgatory (a common image is that we “pour” our prayers into a pool from which others can draw water)

We might consider this a “maximalist” position that Christians can take, although many 20th century theologians seemed to reconsider and ultimately disregard this view (most importantly Benedict XVI–hence the minimalist position in the CCC).

Key takeaways:

1. There is agreement on what purgatory is between the East and West
2. There is also a very robust speculation on how it operates in the West, which has not been dogmatically defined or mandated.
3. Keep praying for the dead.

*The council was successful and it was approved by the bishops, both Eastern and Western, who attended it. However, it was then rejected by many in the Eastern Churches after being approved. The whole thing is very sad.