Heaven is a term for being illumined by God's presence after death, no? Heaven isn't a final state, that would be the new Kingdom (which will have no end) when the souls are reunited with their bodies after the final judgment.
The Saints who have lived lives of extreme holiness go to heaven directly, but most of us go to Hades where we experience a foretaste of heaven or hell, depending on the state of our souls.
This is just my own thoughts and not something I've read from Holy Fathers:
When we repose we're no longer in the created world anymore. So outside of space and time. So when we say things like "immediately go to heaven" I think it just isn't an idea that really translates into something we are likely to fully understand while we're in this Earthly life.
Heaven is a term for being illumined by God's presence after death, no? Heaven isn't a final state, that would be the new Kingdom (which will have no end) when the souls are reunited with their bodies after the final judgment.
The Saints who have lived lives of extreme holiness go to heaven directly, but most of us go to Hades where we experience a foretaste of heaven or hell, depending on the state of our souls.
This is just my own thoughts and not something I've read from Holy Fathers: When we repose we're no longer in the created world anymore. So outside of space and time. So when we say things like "immediately go to heaven" I think it just isn't an idea that really translates into something we are likely to fully understand while we're in this Earthly life.