'''Purgatory''' is the condition or [[process]] of [[purification]] or temporary punishment in which, it is believed, the [[souls]] of those who die in a state of [[grace]] are made ready for [[Heaven]]. This is a [[theological]] [[idea]] that has ancient [[roots]] and is well-attested in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_Christian early Christian] literature, while the [[poetic]] conception of purgatory as a geographically situated place is largely the [[creation]] of medieval Christian [[piety]] and imagination. | '''Purgatory''' is the condition or [[process]] of [[purification]] or temporary punishment in which, it is believed, the [[souls]] of those who die in a state of [[grace]] are made ready for [[Heaven]]. This is a [[theological]] [[idea]] that has ancient [[roots]] and is well-attested in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_Christian early Christian] literature, while the [[poetic]] conception of purgatory as a geographically situated place is largely the [[creation]] of medieval Christian [[piety]] and imagination. |