The Innovations of the Roman Church #6 Purgatory

This is extracted, unedited, from “The Innovations of the Roman Church” by Apostolos Makrakis (1831-1905). 

Having a background in Judaism, the notions of Purgatory and the associated Original Sin have never made sense to me.

The sixth innovation of the Popes is that of Purgatory. According to the Papists, sinful souls (but what soul, besides that of Jesus, is righteous?) enter it after death and are purified through the prayers of the Popes. When, however? Whenever the relatives of the deceased pay the requisite sums, the amount of which depends upon the sins of the deceased and the financial status of the living, unless they are Willing to let their beloved be condemned to everlasting punishment. On the basis of this Purgatory the Popes have brought forth their life-saving “indulgences” in behalf of both the living and the dead, which have resulted in the rise of Protestantism with its many heads.

Protestantism, in seeking to eradicate heresy by means of its own heresy, and error by means of its own error, and falsehood by means of its own falsehood, contributed rather to the consolidation of the Papal heresy. The Biblical saying, “If the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch,” is applicable to them. If Luther and his followers had adopted the dogma of the Eastern Orthodox Church, neither Protestantism nor Romanism would have been in existence today, but only a single flock under the chief shepherd Christ.