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{{cleanup[[Image:tollhouses.jpg|right|thumb|350px|Needs a more balanced approach (much An Iconographic depiction of the text assumes that this theory is universally held). Also needs a lot of style work.}}Toll Houses]]The teaching of '''Aerial Toll-Houses''' regards the soul's journey after its departure from the body, and is related to the [[the w:particular judgment|particular judgment]]. In its most general form, it refers to the idea that after death, the demons attempt to find a basis for taking the soul to Hades, while the angels and the prayers of the living defend the soul if it can be defended. Whether the soul is finally seized by the demons, or taken to heaven depends on the state of the soul at death. In either case, the soul then experiences a foretaste of what it can expect after the [[w:final judgment|final judgment]]. According to Fr. Thomas Hopko, the teaching of the Toll Houses is found in virtually every Father of the Church .<ref>Fr. Thomas Hopko on the Toll-houses, http://audio.ancientfaith.com/illuminedheart/hopko_tolls.mp3</ref>

* The sixth toll-house is the toll-house of [[theft]], which includes stealing and robbery, whether small, big, light, violent, public, or hidden.

There is disagreement in certain circles regarding the status of this teaching within the Orthodox Church. Some, including [[Archbishop]] [[Lazar (Puhalo) of Ottawa]], consider this teaching controversial, even false (describing it as gnostic or of pagan origin). These accusations were later declared to be wrong by the Holy Synod of the Russian Church Abroad.<ref name="orthodebatelink">[http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/death/tollhouse_debate.aspx Holy Synod of the Russian Church Abroad]</ref> The traditional proponents of the teaching argue that it appears in the hymnology of the Church,<ref>January 27, The Recovery of the Holy Relics of our Father among the Saints John Chrysostom, Troparion 1, Ode 5 of Orthros: "Grant me to pass untroubled through the host of noetic satraps and the tyrannic battalion of the lower air in the hour of my departure..."</ref> <ref>Parakletike, Friday Vespers, Second Mode: "When my soul is about to be separated violently from the members of the body, then, O Bride of God, come to my aid; scatter the counsels of the fleshless enemies and shatter their millstones, by which they seek to devour me mercilessly; that, unhindered, I may pass through the rulers of darkness standing in the air."</ref> in stories of the lives of saints (for example, the Life of St. [[Anthony the Great]], written by [[Athanasius of Alexandria|St. Athanasius the Great]], the life of St. [[Basil the New]], and St. [[Theodora]]), in the homilies of St. [[Cyril of Alexandria]]<ref> St. [[Cyril of Alexandria]] ''Ephesi praedicata depoito Nestorio, ACO''.14(5².405D) as referenced by Lampe, G.W.H., ''A Patristic Greek Lexicon'', Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1961, p.1387</ref> in the Discourses of [[Abba Isaiah]],<ref>''The Twenty-nine Discourses of our Holy Father Isaiah,'' Volos, 1962, p. 37 (in Greek): "[Live] every day having death before your eyes, and concerning yourselves with how you will come out from the body, how you will pass by the powers of darkness what will meet you in the air, and how you will answer before God..."</ref> the [[Philokalia]], the [[Ladder of Divine Ascent]], and the [[Dogmatics of the Orthodox Church]] by Blessed [[Justin Popovich]]. Several contemporary Church figures speak about toll-houses.<ref>[http://orthodoxinfo.com/death/soul_taxing.aspx The Taxing of Souls] by Metropolitan Hierotheos (Vlachos)</ref> <ref>[http://orthodoxinfo.com/death/critic.aspx Answer to a Critic, Appendix III from The Soul After Death] by Father [[Seraphim Rose]] of Platina</ref> <ref>Vid. Ephraim, Elder, [http://www.amazon.com/Counsels-Holy-Mountain-Selected-Homilies/dp/0966700023 ''Counsels from the Holy Mountain,''] St. Anthony's Greek Orthodox Monastery, Arizona, 1999, pp. 436, 447.</ref> <ref>Cavarnos, Constantine, ''[http://www.amazon.com/Future-Life-According-Orthodox-Teaching/dp/0911165061 The Future Life According to Orthodox Teaching,]'' Center for Traditionalist Orthodox Studies, Etna, California, 1985, pp. 24-26.</ref> Secondly, not a single Church Father ever wrote even one sentence expressing doubt about this teaching (which is present in its most general form in the Church since at least fourth century), although their discussions of the topic are always about general struggles with "tax-collector" demons, lacking the details present in Gregory's vision (apart from one pseudo-Makarian story which also mentions numerous toll-houses and a bargaining over sins at each one). Thirdly, some of the greatest modern authorities of the Orthodox Church, such as St. Ignatius Brianchaninov<ref>A Word on Death, chapter "Aerial toll-houses"</ref> and St. [[Theophan the Recluse]],<ref>What is spiritual life, and how to obtain it, chapter "Perfect preparation for the Mystery of Repentance"</ref> insisted not only on the truthfulness, but on the necessity of this teaching in the spiritual life of a Christian.

*[http://pageswww.prodigysaintjonah.netorg/frjohnwhitefordarticles/tollhouses.htm Evidence for the Tradition of the Toll Houses found in the Universally Received Tradition of the Church]

*[http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/death/tollhouse_pomaz.aspx On the Question of the "Toll-Houses": Our War is not Against Flesh and Blood] by Fr. [[Michael Pomazansky]]