A Roman Catholic acquaintance recently asked me about the Oriental Orthodox view of purgatory. I know that it is not accepted, so I sent him a link to
the Southern US Diocese's literature on the subject. To me this is enough to settle the issue, of course. But for my friend, he pointed that it seems to him that the details about absolution for the dead contradict some of the reasons for not believing in purgatory.
He says that the objection that purgatory is against salvation is contradicted by the fact that the church absolves the soul of the departed. If the church absolves the soul of the departed, then doesn't that also deny that salvation is only through the blood of Christ?
How should I respond to this?
Comments
It is a weird objection from a Catholic (I wonder where he thinks the church has received the power to forgive sins in the first place...), but I want to answer it in a way that will stop these arguments against Orthodoxy (or equating Catholicism with it).
Forgive me, Mikhail, by the absolution of the dead I am referring to this passage that my acquaintance had a problem with: This is from the document I linked. My friend read that and said "Why do you need Christ then, if the church absolves people?"
It is a weird objection from a Catholic (I wonder where he thinks the church has received the power to forgive sins in the first place...), but I want to answer it in a way that will stop these arguments against Orthodoxy (or equating Catholicism with it).
I have to be honest with you that I do not see any statements of absolution in the prayer for the departed. Here are the words:
"And if he committed any sin towards you forgive and pardon him. Abolish the remainder of his punishment ...."
I have to say that the article you linked to is wrong in mentioning the word absolution. I will see to it to be changed.
Oh, okay. Thank you. Do you know where I might find the text of the prayer in English?
http://stshenoudajc.org/index.php/Download-Presentations/
There may be another online resource
There is a good example in legal/financial terms. Imagine you were purchasing a house and a credit report revealed a lien on the house from a previous owner. There has to be a governmental body (usually the secretary of the state) that has to keep track of liens and declare a property free and clear. The previous owner is the sinner. The lien is the sin. The governmental body that has authority to declare and absolve liens is the Church. The only difference in this example is the attachment of sin. A house that has a lien on it is attached to the house, not the previous owner. In the situation of sin, the lien or sin is attached to the sinner, not the body (or any other physical property).
So in the absolution of the dead, the Church declares that the departed soul does not have any sin retained on it. On the other hand, if the soul did sin while the person was still alive and did not repent, then that sin will be retained and stay attached to the soul in heaven/hell. In both cases, there is no purification process like purgatory after death.
The absolution of the dead (or any absolution) is not simply a legal affadavit of sin. It is a tool for mercy. Since God does not wish the death of a sinner but rather to return and live, he gave us a second chance and a medium of grace. An absolution is a declaration of God's mercy and compassion and grace. It is a fulfillment of his promise. But God also placed urgency for repentance. So one cannot wait till after death to rely on grace when God specifically said "Repent for the kingdom of God is near." He didn't say, "Repent when the kingdom of God has come and passed by".
Your friend's comment, "Why do you need Christ if the Church can absolve people?" is really an ignorant understanding of the sacrament of priesthood. It is Christ who absolves always. Christ passes authority for absolution to the Church. The Church cannot absolve sin without Christ.
I hope this helped.
Can you please refer me to the absolution you mentioned?
Thanks.