for it is true, the fathers did pray for the dead; but how? "That God should show them mercy, and hasten the resurrection, and give a blessed sentence in the great day." But then it is also to be remembered, that they made prayers, and offered for those, who, by the confession of all sides, never were in purgatory, even for the patriarchs and prophets, for the apostles and evangelists, for martyrs and confessors, and especially for the blessed Virgin Mary: so we find it in Epiphanius f, St. Cyril 8, and in the canon of the Greeks, and so it is acknowledged by their own Durandus 1; and in their mass-book anciently they prayed for the soul of St. Leo: of which because by their latter doctrines they grew ashamed, they have changed the prayer for him into a prayer to God, by the intercession of St. Leo, in behalf of themselves; so by their new doctrine, making him an intercessor for us, who, by their old doctrine, was supposed to need our prayers to intercede for him; of which pope Innocent, being asked a reason, makes a most pitiful excuse 1. Upon what accounts the fathers did pray for the saints departed, and indeed generally for all, it is not now seasonable to discourse; but to say this only, that such general prayers for the dead as those above reckoned, the church of England never did condemn by any express article, but left it in the middle; and by her practice declares her faith of the resurrection of the dead, and her interest in the communion of saints, and that the saints departed are a portion of the catholic church, parts and members of the body of Christ; but expressly condemns the doctrine of purgatory, and, consequently, all prayers for the dead relating to it: and how vainly the church of Rome, from prayer for the dead, infers the belief of purgatory, every man may satisfy himself, by seeing the writings of the fathers, where they cannot meet with one collect or clause for praying for the delivery of souls out of that imaginary place. Which thing is so certain, that in the very Roman offices, we mean the vigils said for the dead, which are psalms and lessons taken from the Scripture, speaking of the miseries of this world, f Hæres. 75. Cateches. Mystag. 5. h De Ritibus, lib. ii. c. 35. 1 Innocent. P. de Cœleb. Missar. cap. Cum Martha. * Apologia confessionis Augustanæ expresse approbat clausulam illam Tinny, Dens det ei pacatam quietem, ad vitæ resurrectionem,” repentance and reconciliation with God, the bliss after this life of them that die in Christ, and the resurrection of the dead; and in the anthems, versicles, and responses, there are prayers made recommending to God the soul of the newly defunct, praying, he may be freed from hell and eternal death,' that in the day of judgment he be not judged and condemned according to his sins, but that he may appear among the elect in the glory of the resurrection;' but not one word of purgatory, or its pains. The other cause of their mistake is, that the fathers often speak of a fire of purgation after this life; but such a one that is not to be kindled until the day of judgment, and it is such a fire that destroys the doctrine of the intermedial purgatory. We suppose that Origen was the first that spoke plainly of it; and so St. Ambrose follows him in the opinion (for it was no more); so does St. Basil, St. Hilary, St. Jerome, and Lactantius, as their words plainly prove, as they are cited by Sixtus Senensis, affirming, that all men, Christ. only excepted, shall be burned with the fire of the world's conflagration at the day of judgment;' even the blessed Virgin herself is to pass through this fire. There was also another doctrine very generally received by the fathers, which greatly destroys the Roman purgatory: Sixtus Senensis says, and he says very true, that Justin Martyr, Tertullian, Victorinus Martyr, Prudentius, St. Chrysostom, Arethas, Euthimius, and St. Bernard', did all affirm, that before the day of judgment, the souls of men are kept in secret receptacles, reserved unto the sentence of the great day; and that before then, no man receives according to his works done in this life. We do not interpose in this opinion to say that it is true or false, probable or improbable; for these fathers intended it not as a matter of faith, or necessary belief, so far as we find. But we observe from hence, that if their opinion be true, then the doctrine of purgatory is false: if it be not 1 Liv. vi. Bibl. Sanct. Annot. 345. Bernardum excusandum arbitror ob ingentem numerum illustrium ecclesiæ patrum, qui ante ipsum huic dogmati auctoritatem suo testimonio visi sunt præbuisse; præter citatos, enumerat, S. Jacobum Apostolum, Irenæum, Clementem Romanum, Augustinum, Theodoretum, Ecumenium, Theophylactum, et Johannem, 22. pontif. Rom.: quam sententiam non modo docuit, et declaravit, sed ab omnibus teneri mandavit, ut ait Adrianus P. in lib. iv. sent. in fine Quæst. de Sacram. Confirmationis. true, yet the Roman doctrine of purgatory, which is inconsistent with this so generally received opinion of the fathers, is, at least, new, no catholic doctrine, not believed in the primitive church; and, therefore, the Roman writers are much troubled to excuse the fathers in this article, and to reconcile them to some seeming concord with their new doctrine. But, besides these things, it is certain, that the doctrine of purgatory, before the day of judgment, in St. Austin's time, was not the doctrine of the church; it was not the catholic doctrine; for himself did doubt of it: "whether it be so or not, it may be inquired; and, possibly, it may be found so, and possibly it may never:" so St. Austin. In his time, therefore, it was no doctrine of the church, and it continued much longer in uncertainty; for, in the time of Otho Frisingensis", who lived in the year 1146, it was gotten no further than to a 'Quidam asserunt :' some do affirm,' that there is a place of purgatory after death. And, although it is not to be denied, but that many of the ancient doctors had strange opinions concerning purgations, and fires, and intermedial states, and common receptacles, and liberations of souls and spirits after this life; yet we can truly affirm it, and can never be convinced to err in this affirmation, that there is not any one of the ancients within five hundred years, whose opinion in this article throughout, the church of Rome at this day follows. But the people of the Roman communion have been principally led into a belief of purgatory by their fear, and by their credulity; they have been softened and enticed into this belief, by perpetual tales and legends, by which they loved to be abused. To this purpose, their priests and friars have made great use of the apparition of St. Jerome, after death, to Eusebius, commanding him to lay his sack upon the corpse of three dead men, that, they arising from death, might confess purgatory, which formerly they had denied. The story is written in an epistle imputed to St. Cyril; but the ill luck of it was, that St. Jerome out-lived St. Cyril, and wrote his life, and so confuted that story; m Enchirid. c. 69. lib. xxi. de Civit. Dei, cap. 26. but all is one for that, they believe it nevertheless: but there are enough to help it out; and if they be not firmly true, yet, if they be firmly believed, all is well enough. In the 'speculum exemplorum' it is said, that a certain priest, in an ecstacy, saw the soul of Constantinus Turritanus in the eaves of his house, tormented with frosts and cold rains, and afterwards climbing up to heaven upon a shining pillar. And a certain monk saw some souls roasted upon spits like pigs, and some devils basting them with scalding lard; but a while after, they were carried to a cool place, and so proved purgatory. But bishop Theobald, standing upon a piece of ice to cool his feet, was nearer purgatory than he was aware, and was convinced of it, when he heard a poor soul telling him, that under that ice he was tormented and that he should be delivered, if for thirty days continual, he would say for him thirty masses: and some such thing was seen by Conrade and Udalric in a pool of water?: for the place of purgatory was not yet resolved on, till St. Patrick had the key of it delivered to him; which when one Nicholas borrowed of him, he saw as strange and true things there, as ever Virgil dreamed of in his purgatory, or Cicero, in his dream of Scipio; or Plato, in his Gorgias, or Phædo, who indeed are the surest authors to prove purgatory. But because to preach false stories was forbidden by the council of Trent, there are yet remaining more certain arguments, even revelations made by angels, and the testimony of St. Odilio himself, who heard the devil complain (and he had great reason surely) that the souls of dead men were daily snatched out of his hands, by the alms and prayers of the living; and the sister of St. Damianus being too much pleased with hearing of a piper, told her brother, that she was to be tormented for fifteen days in purgatory. We do not think, that the wise men in the church of Rome believe these narratives; for if they did, they were not wise but this we know, that by such stories the people were brought into a belief of it; and having served their • Hæc descripsimus, ut tamen in iis nulla velut canonica constituatur autoritas. lib. de 8. quæst. Dulcitii. c. 1. Dist. 3, exem. 4. Exempl. 60. Histor. Lomb. P Legend. 185. turn of them, the master-builders used them as false arches and centries, taking them away when the parts of the building were made firm and stable by authority. But even the better sort of them do believe them; or else they do worse, for they urge and cite the dialogues of St. Gregory, the oration of St. John Damascen de Defunctis,' the sermons of St. Austin upon the feast of the commemoration of All-souls (which nevertheless was instituted after St. Austin's death); and divers other citations, which the Greeks in their apology call Διαφθορὰς καὶ παρεμβολὰς αἱρετιζόντων, ' the holds and the castles, the corruptions and insinuations of heretical persons.' But in this they are the less to be blamed, because better arguments than they have, no men are tied to make use of. But, against this way of proceeding, we think fit to admo→ nish the people of our charges, that, besides that the Scriptures expressly forbid us to inquire of the dead for truth; the holy doctors of the church, particularly, Tertullian, St. Athanasius, St. Chrysostom, Isidor, and Theophylact, deny that the souls of the dead ever do appear; and bring many reasons to prove, that it is unfitting they should; saying, if they did, it would be the cause of many errors;. and the devils under that pretence, might easily abuse the world with notices and revelations of their own: and because Christ would have us content with Moses and the prophets, and especially, to hear that prophet, whom the Lord our God hath raised up' amongst us, our blessed Jesus, who never taught any such doctrine to his church. But, because we are now representing the novelty of this doctrine, and proving, that anciently it was not the doctrine of the church, nor at all esteemed a matter of faith, whether there was or was not any such place or state, we add this, that the Greek church did always dissent from the Latins in this particular, since they had forged this new doctrine in the laboratories of Rome; and, in the council of Basil, published an apology, directly disapproving the Roman doctrine of purgatory. How, afterwards, they were pressed in the council of Florence, by Pope Eugenius, and by their necessity, how unwillingly they consented; how ambiguously they answered; how they protested against having that half Deut. xviii. 11, &c. Isai. viii. 19. Vide Maldonat. in xvi. cap. S. Lucæ. |