Loading...As I said in my last post, the definitive doctrine of Purgatory did not exist before the 12th century, even though the basic *idea* had been around for a long time – the idea that even though Christ’s death brought salvation to the world, most people, except for the most holy saints, such as those who had been martyred for their faith, had still to pay for their sins. By the 13th century Purgatory had become an actual place of torment. Before then it was not so much a place as a condition of suffering to purge away sins.
The question is how early this idea existed. How long had Christians maintained that suffering was necessary for the sinner – even the believing Christian sinner – before they would be allowed into their eternal bliss in heaven? The idea is not part of the New Testament, although as we will see in a later post, there are some passages that could be used in support of the view.
The first place we find any reference to suffering in the afterlife that was incurred prior to being given an eternal reward is in
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Perpetua’s dream is interesting to me because it has the “ring of truth” from the standpoint of the crazy places our dreams can take us. Whether or not there was a Perpetua, it sounds very much like it could have been someone’s “real” dream, though perhaps with some character or name changes to make it fit the story. Regardless, as you say, the basic idea of a purgatory had been around a long time before it became official Church doctrine. I suspect that the idea of purgation through suffering is actually pre-Christian, and was reformulated later to fit the doctrinal needs and constraints of the medieval Church.
Wasn’t the belief back then that misfortune was the consequence of sin?.In the case of little Dinocrates,was his cruel cancer at age seven a punishment already?Or could the child’s suffering have been a punishment for his parents? We don’t know anything about that,so we need to stay with the first option:the cancer punished Dinocrates,who died in torment,like the martyrs.
Perpetua,of course,knows that she will be martyred.Her dream sounds almost like a rehearsal for her own martyrdom.
Dinocrates’ continued post-mortem abject suffering in Perpetua’s dream has no raison d’être in itself.Unless we could conceive of the necessary horror of a child being doubly punished (and with such severity)for unknown reasons.
The dream feels like a story created for the sake of demonstrating the miraculous power of prayer,a pillar of devotion and religiosity.
It seems as if the real theme is prayer,perhaps specifically,the prayer of an interceding saint,as saints were pillars of Roman Catholicism,with the cancer and the subsequent renewed affliction the story’s necessary set up.
I could compare the redeeming prayer following unending punishment to the inseparable duo “condemnation-salvation” of the Christian ethos.The state of condemnation must be “created “or established first.”Original sin” is a perfect example.The salvation that follows is then indispensable.
Some people (lots?) certainly thought that the afterlife hinged on good behavior. But you’re right, it’s a bit odd for a 7 year old to be tormented. My guess is that hte author didn’t actually think much about that — just wanted to show that Perpetua was so holy she could save a person from torment.
Professor Ehrman, I have always assumed that the Catholic Church (Western and Eastern combined and before the Great Schism) was the oldest christian church. After doing some Googling I found St. Ignatius of Antioch’s Letter to the to the Smyrnaeans (circa 110 AD) where he writes “Where the bishop is present, there let the congregation gather, just as where Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church.” My question is, was the term “Catholic Church” used widely by people of that era and why do historians refer to “the early church” instead of the early Catholic Church and “early church fathers” instead of bishops?
Good question. It’s because “CAtholic church” today means something specific (a denomination, or a group of denominatoins) and in Ignatius and other early writers it meant something quite general. The term catholic simply means something like “world-wide” or “universal” so in this passage in Ignatius it means something like “the whole church.” None of the forms of Christianity we are familiar with today are like the earliest churches, though all of them (not just the Catholic but your local Baptist!) claim to be the true and original form of the church.
The Orthodox Church also claims to be the true church and the other churches have the partial truth.
Perpetua in the story is an allagorical Jesus.. Prays to the one greater than themself to heal another, but does not get saved herself. Dead brother being healed is really interesting, implying a continuance of being in some form. Since the Cancer was a continuation after earthly life ended, then wherever he was, no new/additional suffering had been added. Could be “Cellestial Hades” or Sheol either one. I’m not convinced the afterlife continuation of cancer is a Penance to temporarily serve before healing.
Purgatory as you describe it, is a form of “Penance” (verb) and “Absolution”, which confuses me, as that eliminates “Forgivness”. Either one is forgiven or they pay a price (Penance). If the person pays the price for forgiveness, then Jesus’s suffering means nothing..
So I’m really interested in where you end up on the origination of Purgatory, as I have not yet found the origination of Penance and Absolution within the Catholic Church.. I’m sure if came from some sort of Creed.. So If I were you, I’d check all the different creeds and their origination.
Purgatory originated in the 12th century and became an official dogma in the 13th. YOu’re right about the difference between forgiveness vs. penance/absolution. I’ll be dealing with that in my next book — and so presumably on the blog soon. But the difference doesn’t even occur to most peole who lump them together as if sayig the same thing.
Looking through The Early Christian World (Esler) for the references to Perpetua, it seems the account of her martyrdom is contested chiefly because a later redactor made a coherent and moving read of her death, by incorporating her short jail diary with an introduction and conclusion?
The events of her jailing and death are pretty mundane. She has vivid dreams and believes them, but there are no supernatural events. She has slaves who she cares for as family. Guards are bribed. She has a trial and her dad’s emotions are described. She nurses her baby back to health before leaving it in the care of family. No one tries to apologize away her lack of husband. She is killed by beasts in an amphitheater during a Roman persecution under Severus.
No weird science fiction of the Martyrdom of Polycarp, with unbelievable allusions to the events of Jesus’ death and a body that will not burn up.
The martyrdom of Perpetua is almost too real in its plainness. A loving young mother with the devoutness and intelligence of Margery Kempe dies a cruel but probably real death.
A forgery?… Is the Latin grammar and word choice of the diary the same as the introduction/conclusion?
It’s actually much debated. The view you describe is the older standard view; scholars today often argue that the diary itself is the product of the supposed editor/redactor. But I’ve never considered anything about her imprisonment, trials, or excecution mundane. On the contrary, I’ve always found it astonishingly moving and powerful.
I see the vast array of “inspired” writings, including sacred texts as either:
1: Composed as a story for the edification of the local village.
2: Composed with a political/religious purpose – as for the “YWHW alone” party in the 7th C BCE Jerusalem.
3. “Inspired” in the same way as “Shakespeare is inspired”
or 4. Dreams which have pushed their way into the conscious mind – This might be quite important!
Fun game – take a story and try to see which applies. I like “the Harrowing of Hell” in the Gospel of Nicodemus!
And so all sorts of questions remained.
*Was he baptized ……?
Given Perpetua’s father’s stance toward her being a Christian it seems unlikely that he would have had his son baptized.
*Was he allowed happiness simply because of Perpetua’s fervent prayer, even though he wasn’t a Christian himself or baptized?
Wouldn’t the symbolism of the unreachable water in the pool lend itself to thinking he was not baptized?
Yup,I agree. And yup, it appears that it was because of her prayer. If he were a Christian then he probalby would not have been tormented!
As far as I can remember from my Catholic upbringing, Purgatory was not a place of torment, it was a place of waiting, like at a train station, for a train that could come in a few hours, or a few centuries, depending on the sins to be purged. The waiting time could be reduced by “indulgences”. Indulgences were acts of charity, prayers, masses, peregrinations, done by somebody on their behalf, and could be bought with money until Luther proscribed them.
Ah, nope. It was torment. Gotta “purge” those sins away, and that requires pain. (Fire, e.g.)
Not all Catholics believe or teach that. From the New World Encyclopedia:
https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Purgatory
“Of course, no one has determined exactly how the saved are cleansed in their state of purgatory or indeed how long the process takes. It is often deemed to be a period of numerous years, although the theory of “God’s Second in Hell” holds that this is an extremely painful process that is experienced immediately and then relieved. Others hold that some undergo much of their purgatory in their sufferings and trials encountered during their temporal lives”.