How To Pray For Enemies While At War
In the encampment of the Saracens they asked St. Cyril the Equal to the Apostles: “How could Christians wage war and at the same time keep the commandment of Christ about praying to God for their enemies?” To that, St. Cyril replied: “If two commandments were written in one law and given to men for fulfilling, which man will be a better follower of the law: the one who fulfills one commandment or the one who fulfills both?” To that, the Saracens replied: [Read more...]
In The Spirit of St. George: The Vocation of the Christian Warrior
The vocation of the Christian warrior is a dangerous and demanding one requiring as it does that the solider stand physically between the aggressor and his intended target and that he respond with force—even deadly force if needed—and yet do so without malice. This requires to be sure not only intense self-discipline and physical courage equal to any monastic asceticism, it also demands that the warrior bear the physical, psychological and spiritual scars of his service. This burden is made all the more difficult I think when military personnel (to say nothing of law enforcement professionals) are greeted with a lack of appreciation for the positive good of their service to say nothing of open hostility and moral censure what their service.
