Purgatory and “Toll Houses”: the Discussion on an Interim Post-mortem Condition in Orthodox Theology

Abstract

Besides the eschatological doctrine on the states of Heaven and Hell, Catholic Church has also developed a teaching about Purgatory. The closest teaching in Orthodox Church to Purgatory is a doctrine about areal of “toll houses”. But there is no consensus whether this teaching is a doctrine of the Church, private theological opinion or a heresy. This article analyses a teaching about “toll-houses” in the context of debates inside the Orthodox Church and compares it to Gnostic heavenly journeys and Catholic doctrine on Purgatory.