Andreas Merkt - Before the Birth of Purgatory

Thirty years after Jacques LeGoff published his famous “La Naissance du Purgatoire” it is time to tackle anew the questions when, how and why the idea of a temporary and purifying suffering in the afterlife came into being. Since 1981 a series of important studies have been published suggesting a birth of this notion long before the high middle ages (Brown 1997, Bremmer 2002, Merkt 2005, Moreira 2010). At least its “prenatal” development seems to start as early as the second century. 

This lecture tries to tie up lose ends of this research. Special emphasis will be laid on the theological premises and historical conditions which helped to shape the idea. The paper will examine how, positively or negatively, purgatory correlates with Gnosticism, apocalypticism, and popular religion. It will also be compared with other postmortal destinations such as Abraham’s bosom, paradise, and Hades.