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The [[Orthodox Church]] has neither explicitly recognized the term "purgatory" nor officially accepted such a state, which is distinct from the more general being "asleep in the Lord." In his book entitled ''Why Do We Reject Purgatory?'', [[Coptic]] [[Pope]] [[Shenouda III (Gayyid) of Alexandria|Shenouda III]] presents many theological and biblical arguments against Purgatory. For example, he refers to 1 Thess 4:16,17, "And the dead in [[Christ]] will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord", in which [[Apostle Paul|Paul]] describes the Last Day saying that those faithful who are still alive will meet the Lord with those who rise from the dead and then remain with Him always, and wonders, "Are these faithful (alive on the Last Day) exempt from Purgatory? Or is God showing partiality towards them?"^{[http://www.suscopts.org/messages/lectures/eschlecture7.pdf]}  However, a response to this objection from the Catholics is perhaps found in the Summa Theologica of Thomas Aquinas, in the discussion of the Final Conflagration. In discussing the The Final Conflagration (is the fiery apocalyptic purification/transformation , accepted by the Fathers, of the Old Heaven and Old Earth into the New Heaven and New Earth accepted by all on the Last Day, immediately preceding the fathers) it General Resurrection and General Judgment. It is said that for those still living at the time of the Conflagration, it will act as transform their bodies; thus technically, in Catholic thought, those found living may also die for a sort brief moment (ie, the "twinkling of an eye"Purgatorymentioned in 1 Corinthians).  According to the Summa,the Final Conflagration will act as "purgatory" for themthose found living who still need cleansing/healing: "There are three reasons why those who will be found living will be able to be cleansed suddenly. One is because there will be few things in them to be cleansed, since they will be already cleansed by the previous fears and persecutions. The second is because they will suffer pain both while living and of their own will: and pain suffered in this life voluntarily cleanses much more than pain inflicted after death, as in the case of the martyrs, because "if anything needing to be cleansed be found in them, it is cut off by the sickle of suffering," as Augustine says (De Unic. Bap. xiii), although the pain of martyrdom is of short duration in comparison with the pain endured in purgatory. The third is because the heat will gain in intensity what it loses in shortness of time."^{[http://www.newadvent.org/summa/5074.htm#article8]}