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For the Peace from Above Other books published by the Orthodox Research Institute include: Charles B. Ashanin. Essays on Orthodox Christianity and Church History Rev. Dr. Steven Bigham. Early Christian Attitudes toward Images David G. Bissias. T e Mystery of Healing: Oil, Anointing, and the Unity of the Local Church V. Rev. Fr. Sebastian Dabovich. T e Holy Orthodox Church: T e Ritual, Ser- vices and Sacraments of the Orthodox Church V. Rev. Fr. Sebastian Dabovich. T e Lives of Saints: With Several Lectures and Sermons V. Rev. Fr. Sebastian Dabovich. Preaching in the Orthodox Church: Lectures and Sermons by a Priest of the Holy Orthodox Church Margaret G. Dampier. T e Orthodox Church in Austria-Hungary: T e Met- ropolitanate of Hermannstadt Protopresbyter George Dion. Dragas. Ecclesiasticus I: Introducing Eastern Orthodoxy Protopresbyter George Dion. Dragas. T e Lord’s Prayer according to Saint Makarios of Corinth Protopresbyter George Dion. Dragas. St. Cyril of Alexandria’s Teaching on the Priesthood Daniel Fanous. Taught by God: Making Sense of the Dif cult Sayings of Jesus Alphonse and Rachel Goettmann. T e Spiritual Wisdom and Practices of Early Christianity Fr. Stephen C. Headley. Christ af er Communism: Spiritual Authority and Its Transmission in Moscow Today Archimandrite Kyprian Kern. Orthodox Pastoral Service. Edited by Fr. Wil- liam C. Mills Matthew the Poor. T e Titles of Christ For the Peace from Above An Orthodox Resource Book on War, Peace and Nationalism Revised Edition Edited by Fr. Hildo Bos & Jim Forest orthodox research institute Rollinsford, New Hampshire Published by Orthodox Research Institute 20 Silver Lane Rollinsford, NH 03869 www.orthodoxresearchinstitute.org © 2011 Jim Forest and Fr. Hildo Bos All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, in- cluding photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retriev- al system, without permission in writing from the author or publisher. ISBN 978-1-933275-56-7 Table of Contents Introduction iii Chapter One: Defining Terms - Definitions from Dictionaries and Church Authors 1 Ethnarch, Ethnarchy 1 Ethnicity 2 Ethnophyletism (Racism) 3 Identity 4 Nation 6 Nation, Roman (Rum Millet) 7 Nationalism 8 Peace 9 State 11 War 11 Chapter Two: Reference Texts from Holy Scripture 15 Nation, Nationalism 15 National Identity of the Christians 17 Peace 18 Nonviolence and Martyrdom 23 Love of Neighbors and Enemies 26 War 29 Killing and Bloodshed 33 Church-State Relations 38 Spiritual Warfare 39 The Judgment 40 The Good Fight 41 Chapter Three: Canonical and Synodical Reference Texts 43 Early Church Documents of a Canonical Nature 43 Canonical Texts from the Apostolic Period 45 Canons from the Ecumenical Councils 46 Canons from the Local Councils 48 Canons of the Fathers of the Church 49 Statements of Pan-Orthodox Synods, Pan-Orthodox Meetings and Local Synods of 52 Orthodox Churches Case Study 1: The Definition of Religious Nationalism (Ethno-Phyletism) at the 1872 69 Local Synod of Constantinople Case Study 2: The 1986 Chambésy statement on “the contribution of the Orthodox Church 72 to the realization of the Christian ideals of peace, justice, freedom, fraternity and love between the nations as well as to the elimination of racial and other forms of discrimination” Case Study 3: Church, Nation and State in the Bases of the Social Concept of the Russian 86 Orthodox Church: Views from Different Perspectives Chapter Four: Reference Texts from Authors from the Patristic Period 95 Nation and Nationalism 95 Peace 101 Peacemaking 107 Nonviolence and Martyrdom 108 Love of Enemies 113 War 116 Killing and Bloodshed 117 State-Church Relations 127 The New Realities brought about by Christianity 128 Respect for Earthly Authorities 132 Church Neutrality 133 Spiritual Warfare 134 Case Study 4: Acts of the Martyrdom of Early Christian Soldiers 143 Case Study 5: Christian Soldiers in the Roman Army before Constantine the Great 147 Chapter Five: War, Peace and Nationalism War, Peace and Nationalism in Orthodox 151 Liturgical Texts and Prayers Case Study 6: Prayer for Peace in the Liturgy 173 Case Study 7: Commemoration of Warrior Saints in the Liturgical Services of the 175 Orthodox Church Chapter Six: Reference Texts from Modern Authors 193 Peace 193 Orthodoxy and National Identity 200 War 216 Church and States 222 Case Study 8: Orthodoxy, Culture and Nationalism at the Pan-Orthodox Consultation in 225 1936 Case Study 9: The Serbian Church and Milosevic 230 Chapter Seven: Various Recent Official Statements 235 Statements on Interreligious Tolerance and Dialogue 235 Patriarch Alexis II of Russia on Anti-Semitism 247 Statements on the War in Bosnia-Herzegovina, 1994 247 Statements on the Situation in Kosovo, March 1999 and March 2004 250 Peace Appeal of the Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church, 1999 253 Statement of the Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church of Albania, 1999 254 A Cry of World Orthodox Youth Regarding the Kosovo and Metohija Crisis, 1999 254 Serbian Orthodox Peace Appeal, 2004 255 Message of the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Albania in the Wake of the Events in 258 Kosovo, 2004 Appeal of the Standing Conference of the Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas 259 (SCOBA) for the Restoration of Peace and Order in Kosovo, 2004 Statements on the War against Iraq, 2003 260 Case Study 10: Orthodox Americans, the Orthodox Peace Fellowship, and Iraq 279 Chapter Eight: Essays and Texts 295 Address to the Conference on peace and Tolerance Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew 295 The Contribution of Religion to the Establishment of Peace in the Contemporary World (Excerpts) Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew 301 “May Peace and Justice once more Reign in the Balkans” Archbishop Anastasios of Albania 308 Exorcising War Metropolitan George of Mount Lebanon 314 After The Kosovo Crisis: Implications for the Churches Bishop Irenej (Bulovic) of Backa (Serbia) 322 An Orthodox Peace Witness? John H. Erickson 335 The Orthodox Church and Peace — Some Reflections Olivier Clément 347 Following Christ in a Violent World Jim Forest 362 The Teaching on Peace in the Fathers Fr. Stanley S. Harakas 377 The Sanctity of the Military Endeavor Anton Kartachov 402 Ethnicity, Nationalism and Religion V. Rev. Dr. Georges Tsetsis 408 Nonviolence and Peace Traditions in Early & Eastern Christianity Fr. John McGuckin 422 Chapter Nine: Study and Action Guide 445 Bibliography 445 Internet Links 456 Addresses 458 Introduction Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God. Matthew 5:9 In peace, let us pray to the Lord. For the peace from above and the salvation of our souls, let us pray to the Lord. Opening litany of the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom All religious communities must turn to the very depth of their doctrine and to the best pages of their respective traditions in order to f nd the principles of a sacred anthropology which puts the emphasis on sincere respect of the whole human person. Archbishop Anastasios of Albania ince the early days of the Church, Christians have struggled to Scome to terms with Christ’s words of peace and His example of peace. In Christ’s life, as recorded in the New Testament, it is striking that He neither killed anyone nor summoned any of His disciples to kill. Indeed, the f nal miracle Christ performed before His execution was to heal an enemy’s wound, an injury caused by the Apostle Peter in an attempt to defend his master. Yet, in the course of more than twenty centuries of Christian his- tory, we see Christians of en involved in war and, in surveying the iv For the Peace from Above calendar of saints, f nd not only those who refused to take part in war but also those who served in the military, though no one has been canonized due to his skill as a soldier. Besides the millions of Christians who have fought in armies, of en against fellow Christians, we also f nd many priests, bishops and theologians who have advo- cated war and blessed its weapons. Our subject is an urgent one. Many people today live either near conf ict areas or are directly touched by war or in areas where terror- ist actions may suddenly occur. Everyone on the planet is in some way af ected by wars in progress or wars in the making as well as the consequences of wars in the past. Every day thousands of Christians struggle in thought and prayer with some of the most dif cult of questions: May I f ght injustice by violent methods? Am I allowed to kill in combat? Are there limits on what I can do in the defense of my country? Am I as a Christian allowed to disobey demands that I believe are unjust or violate the Gospel? When the demands of my country seem at odds with the demands of the Kingdom of God, how do I respond to this conf ict? Rarely do we f nd easy answers to these and similar questions. T us, those of us in the Orthodox Christian tradition search for help in Holy Scripture, the canons provided to us by ecumenical councils, the witness of the saints, the writing of the Fathers of the Church as well as theologians of recent times. Imitation of saintly forebears alone, however, will not solve our problems. Dif erent eras have adopted dif erent attitudes. Also many of today’s problems never existed before, not least the changed char- acter of war in an era of weapons of mass destruction, terrorism and mass propaganda. Yet knowledge of the thought and action undertak- en by the Orthodox Churches on the issues of war and peace in recent decades surely can help us f nd ways out of the dead ends that many communities are experiencing today.