The Orthodox do not accept the doctrine of purgatory (and appendant doctrunes, such as transferrable merit of the saints and indulgences). The current Patriarch of Constantinople stated that purgatory is “among inter-correlated theories, unwitnessed in the Bible or in the Ancient Church that are not acceptable within Orthodox doctrine”. However, we do accept that prayers for the dead are beneficial to them. Regarding this issue, Kallistos Ware wrote “Of course we do not understand exactly how such prayer benefits the departed. Yet equally, when we intercede for people still alive, we cannot explain how this intercessions assists them. We know from our personal experience that prayer for others is effective, and so we continue to practice it.” In part, we support this matter by reminding ourselves that our God is the “God of the living, not of the dead” and that simultaneously He is the God of Abraham. Thus, if, as Christ has said, God is not the “God of the dead” and He is still the God of Abraham, then in some way we do not understand, the faithful, such as Abraham are still “alive in God”, or as we put it regarding fellow Christians “alive in Christ”. Thus, while they have “fallen asleep”, they are not under full death.
However, the most complete answer to purgatory came at the false council of Ferrara-Florence, when the faithful Orthodox hierarchs responded to this Latin doctrine. In that response, the gist was that the words quoted from the book of Maccabees only show that some sins may be forgiven after death; but by what means, nothing was known for certain. In any case, what has forgiveness of sins to do with punishment in purgatory? Only one of these can happen: either punishment or forgiveness, not both at once. That response went on for some length, refuting point by point the Latin doctrine.
It may be true that the words of some Orthodox teachers over the centuries could be interpreted to agree with purgatory, but we do not accept the infallibility of any single mortal teacher.
Regarding the fate of those whom the Evangelicals like to call “unreached”--we leave that up to God and do not have the pridefulness to presume He will condemn or save them. An Orthodox teacher (Theophan the Recluse) once wrote “Why do you worry about them? They have a Saviour Who desires the salvation of every human being. He will take care of them. You and I should not be burdened with such a concern. Study yourself and your own sins.”
