Jackson on Article XXII: Of Purgatory

The Article originally began with the words ‘* The doctrine of the School Authors, etc.’’ This was altered in 1563 to ‘‘ The Romish doctrine, etc.’ The reason is important. At the 22nd session of the Council of Trent (September 17th, 1562) an authoritative, but at that date only im- plicit, sanction was given to Purgatory and In- vocation of Saints, from which the other things

mentioned in the Article followed. Hence at the time the alteration was made (January, 1563) the doctrines in question were no longer the mere opinions of the ‘* School Authors,’’ but the recog- nised ‘‘ doctrine of the Romanists ’’; and their formal definition followed soon after, in December, 1563.

Four points are singled out by our Article, and it may be well to define a little more exactly what they are.

(1) The Romish Doctrine of Purgatory.

This was the theory that the intermediate state between death and judgment is one of penal suf- fering, the severity of which may be mitigated “ by the sacrifices of Masses, prayers, alms and other works of piety.’’* The beginnings of the doctrine are found in the writings of Gregory the Great (590-604). It was first authoritatively for- mulated by the so-called General Council of Florence (1439). The Council of Trent in its last session (1563), whilst admitting its practical evils, really confirmed the doctrine, saying that ‘‘ there is a Purgatory, and that the souls there detained are relieved by the suffrages of the faithful, but chiefly by the acceptable sacrifice of the altar.’’

(2) The Romish Doctrine of Pardons, or Indulgences.

’ This has already been dealt with under Article XIV. (‘‘ Of Works of Supererogation’’). — It_ need only be added that the Council of Trent,

whilst enjoining moderation in the use of Indul- gences, and directing that ‘‘ the treasures of the Church should not be made use of for gain but

• Council of Trent, Session XXV. Decret. de Purg.

for godliness,’’ nevertheless declared that ‘‘ the power of granting indulgences was given by Christ to His Church,’’ and it anathematises those ‘‘ who assert that indulgences are useless, or that the Church cannot grant them.”’

(3) The Romish Doctrine of ‘‘ Worshipping and adoration, as well of Images as of Reliques.”’

During the first four centuries there is no trace of image-worship, but only the use of symbols such as the sign of the cross and representations o! the Good Shepherd and, about the beginning of the fourth century, the introduction of pictures into Churches. After this period, however, the rise of image worship became rapid.. And the second Council of Nicea (787) ‘ordained that images should be set up, that salutation and re- spectful honour should be paid them, and incense should be offered ; but not the worship of ‘ latria,’ which is due to God alone ’’ (Bishop Browne, p 509). This was confirmed by the Council of Trent in a way that left the door open for those who go beyond the Nicene decrees and teach that ‘latria’’’ is due to the cross and to images of Christ. The growth of the worshipping of relics also dates from the end of the fourth century. No doubt an impetus was given to it by the alleged discovery of the cross by Helena, the mother of Constantine the Great. And later on the love of relic worship was further increased by the crusades of the fourteenth century.

(4) The Romish Doctrine of Invocation of Saints.

This too gradually grew up after the fourth century and received authoritative sanction at

the Council of Trent—‘‘ the saints reigning with Christ offer their prayers for men to God, and it is good and useful to invoke them as sup- pliants.’? A distinction is sometimes made be tween ‘‘ Invocation ’’ and ‘‘ Comprecation of Saints ’’—the latter denoting the practice of ask- ing God for the benefit of the prayers of the departed.

Such are the four points in the Romish Doc- trine which the Article condemns as “a fond (futilis) thing vainly invented, and grounded upon no warranty of Scripture, but rather repugnant to the Word of God.’’

The worshipping and adoration of images and relics is plainly forbidden in Scripture (see Exodus xx., 3-5, and 2 Kings, xviii., 4). The theory of indulgences depends mainly upon the doctrine of Purgatory, which is contradicted by such pas- sages as Phil. i., 23, and Rev. xiv., 13, and finds no support from 1 Cor. iii., 12-15, which deals with a man’s work, not his person, and certainly does not refer to any period between death and the Lord’s return. The doctrine of ’** Invocation of Saints ’’ rests partly on the doc- trine of purgatory and partly on the idea of the immediate glorification of the Saints, which is contradicted by Heb. xi., 40, and Rev. vi., 9-11. Moreover the tendency to worship beings belong- ing to the unseen world is plainly discouraged by Col. ii, 18-23, Rev. xix., 10, and xxii., 9. And the invocation of their prayers is rendered un- necessary by the Scripture Doctrine of the High Priestly Intercession of Christ in Heaven (Rom. viii., 34 and Heb. vii., 25).

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ARTICLE XXIII. Or MrnisTERING IN THE Con-