From Fr. Angelo
The news today seems to be centered on two major topics; the natural disasters facing our nation, and wars that have broken out on two continents between the Ukraine and Russia and Palestine and Israel. Both conflicts have seen tremendous suffering both in the dead and wounded. Our President, in his latest address, prepared us for some level of involvement in both conflicts, which could potentially lead to our soldiers once again being called to military action. As a veteran myself, my prayers are with those soldiers who willingly answer this call to duty, and their spouses and families that must face the loneliness, pain, and ever-present possibility of loss of their loved one.
In this article I would like to recall our Orthodox theology as it relates to war. The Church is no stranger to war and the tragic consequences that result from it, and throughout her history has been critical of emperors and national leaders who seek to engage in conflicts which cost the lives of thousands of soldiers and civilians in a quest for glory or misplaced nationalistic ideals. The Church must remain a “voice crying in the wilderness” regarding the pursuit of peace. In their long history all Christian Churches, Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox have developed ways to address the proper response to conflict.
For the Catholic Church the answer, until recently, was their Just War doctrine; Article 5 § 23072317. Initially developed by St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas, it provided four conditions which must be met before a nation can engage in armed conflict…