How did Protestant reformers view purgatory and the penitential system?

Protestant reformers of the 16th century largely rejected the Roman Catholic doctrine of purgatory and the broader penitential system, viewing them as unwarranted theological innovations and sources of corruption.1

For reformers like Martin Luther, the system of indulgences—which relied on the belief that the living could reduce the temporal punishment of sins for themselves or the dead through good works or monetary payments—epitomized the false teaching of "works-righteousness". This doctrine suggested that salvation could be earned through human effort, a concept that contradicted the reformers' core belief in justification by faith alone.213

Luther and other reformers argued that salvation is a free gift of God, not something to be purchased or amortized through the Treasury of Merit. Consequently, the Protestant Reformation led to the widespread rejection of the medieval penitential structure, including the necessity of confession for salvation and the practice of seeking remission for sins through the church's administrative mechanisms.23