early Christian fathers

• what did Origen propose about the purifying fire that the soul encounters after death?


  Symbolic process of purification for souls - refined before heaven.
• how did St. Augustine's views contribute to shaping the later concept of purgatory?

  He suggested there was a middle state where souls can be cleansed
• According to St. Augustine, what was the role of prayers and almsgiving for the dead?


  posthumous purification