War and military service in the early church

War, soldiers, and whether Christians may serve in the army. Part of Ethics.

First Apology 39Justin Martyr · ca. 150–155 · Isaiah's prophecy of swords into plowshares is fulfilled: the twelve apostles went out, and Christians now die rather than lie or fight.
Dialogue with Trypho 110.3Justin Martyr · ca. 155–160 · Christians have beaten swords into plowshares; each sits under his own vine, that is, is faithful to his own wife.
Against Heresies 4.34.4Irenaeus of Lyons · ca. 180–190 · The new covenant is not the rebuilding of the temple under Zerubbabel but the word of God that went out from Jerusalem and turned swords into ploughshares, fulfilled in Christ.
On Idolatry 19Tertullian · ca. 196–211 · A Christian may not become a soldier, nor may soldiers remain soldiers after believing, for the oath to Christ cannot be shared with the oath to Caesar, and Christ disarmed Peter.
Apology 42Tertullian · ca. 197 · Christians are not useless to society: they live, work, trade, farm, sail, and serve as soldiers like others, and pay their taxes honestly, abstaining only from pagan rites.
Arabic Pentateuch fragment XIX (on Num 25. 26)Hippolytus of Rome · unknown (transmitted in a medieval Arabic catena) · The catena retells Israel's sin with the daughters of Moab, Phinehas's zeal, the second census, the daughters of Zelophehad, the war against Midian, and the cities of refuge.
Apostolic Tradition 16Hippolytus of Rome · early third century
Commentary on Daniel 4.41-44Hippolytus of Rome · ca. 202-204 · On Daniel 11:2–34: the Persian kings, Alexander and his successors, and Antiochus Epiphanes, whose persecution and the revolt of Mattathias and Judas Maccabaeus are told from 1 Maccabees.
On the Crown 1Tertullian · 211 · A Christian soldier refused to wear the laurel crown at a donative, confessed “I am a Christian,” and was imprisoned; Tertullian defends him against Christians who called him reckless and asked where Scripture forbids the crown.
On the Crown 11Tertullian · 211 · Tertullian argues that military service itself is incompatible with the Christian's oath to Christ, since it involves the sword, executions, guarding temples, and pagan rites; soldiers converted in service must leave, avoid sin by every means, or suffer martyrdom.
On the Crown 12Tertullian · 211 · The military laurel, myrtle, and olive are sacred to pagan gods, and the crown is worn at vows to Jupiter, donatives, and triumphs; to wear it is to deny Christ, as Judas sold him for silver.
PG 12:1431 (Ps 45–46 LXX)Origen · ca. 220-254 · End of Ps 45 LXX (46):9–10 (wars ended under one Roman empire at the Saviour’s birth) and beginning of Ps 46 LXX (47): the nations clap at Christ’s victory, and God becomes king of all the earth.
Against Celsus 3.8Origen · ca. 248 · Origen argues from Hebrew names that the Israelites were not Egyptians, and says that Christians, forbidden to fight, have been protected by God, who has allowed only a few martyrs as examples while preserving the church.
Against Celsus 4.82Origen · ca. 248 · The bees' orderly 'wars' may teach humans to wage only just wars, but bees exist for humanity's sake, and it is man who works together with God's providence.
Against Celsus 5.33Origen · ca. 248 · Celsus asks where Christians come from and who founded their laws; Origen answers with Isaiah's prophecy of the nations streaming to the Lord's mountain: Christians are a people of peace founded by Jesus, who came from the Jews.
Against Celsus 8.73Origen · ca. 248 · Celsus urges Christians to serve in the emperor's army; Origen answers that Christians help the emperor more by praying for him and for just wars, like pagan priests who keep their hands free of blood, forming an army of prayer against the demons who cause wars.
Commentary on Matthew, Latin Series 102Origen · ca. 244–249 (Latin translation, 4th–5th century) · Jesus told Peter to sheathe his sword because he wants his disciples peaceable, armed only with the sword of the Spirit; Christians must not use the sword for military service or private revenge; he could have had legions of angels, who need him more than he them, but chose to suffer as Scripture foretold.
To Donatus 6Cyprian of Carthage · ca. 246 · From a mountain top Donatus should view the world's violence, where murder is called valour when done by nations.
1Anonymous · 295 (12 March) · Maximilian, presented as a recruit at Theveste, refuses military service as a Christian.
2Anonymous · 295 (12 March) · Maximilian refuses the soldier's seal, having the sign of Christ.
Acts of Maximilian 3Anonymous · 295 (12 March) · Maximilian is beheaded; his body is buried near Cyprian at Carthage.
Against the Nations 1.6Arnobius of Sicca · ca. 297–303 · Christ's teaching not to repay evil with evil has reduced war, and if all obeyed it the world would live in peace.
1Anonymous · 298 (30 October) · At the emperor's birthday feast the centurion Marcellus throws down his belt and arms.
2Anonymous · 298 (30 October) · Marcellus explains his act to the governor and is sent on to Agricolanus.
Acts of Marcellus the Centurion 4Anonymous · 298 (30 October) · Marcellus confirms his statements before Agricolanus.
Canons of Hippolytus, canon 13Anonymous · 4th century · Anyone given the power to kill is not received; soldiers who fought under orders but kept from evil speech and pagan crowns may be; officials who do not act with Gospel justice are separated.
Canons of Hippolytus, canon 14Anonymous · 4th century · A Christian is not to enlist voluntarily; a compelled soldier who sheds blood is kept from the mysteries until he repents with tears.
Church History 5.5.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · In a campaign against the Germans, Christian soldiers of the Melitene legion knelt and prayed while Marcus Aurelius's army suffered from thirst.
Church History 7.15.2Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · When Marinus was due for promotion to centurion, a rival accused him of being a Christian.
Church History 7.15.4Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Bishop Theotecnus made Marinus choose between his sword and the Gospels; he chose the Gospels.
Church History 8.4.2Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · When persecution began quietly in the army, many Christian soldiers gladly left the service rather than deny God.
Church History 8.4.3Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Offered the choice between their rank and their faith, many Christian soldiers chose to confess Christ.
Church History 8.4.4Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · A few soldiers were even put to death, though the persecutor, fearing the number of believers, did not yet dare a general attack.
Testament of Our Lord 2.2Anonymous · ca. 350–500
Acts of Julius the Veteran 1Anonymous · ca. 304 (27 May) · Julius, a veteran of twenty-six years' service, refuses the governor Maximus's offers and pleas to sacrifice and is sentenced to death.
Acts of Julius the Veteran 2Anonymous · ca. 304 (27 May) · At the place of execution Julius greets the imprisoned soldier Hesychius, prays to Christ, and is beheaded at Durostorum on 27 May.
Divine Institutes 5.17.12Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · The just man neither trades abroad nor makes war.
Divine Institutes 6.6.20Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · War destroys justice and human fellowship.
Divine Institutes 6.6.24Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · Philosophers' military ethics serve civil custom, not justice.
Divine Institutes 6.20.16Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · The just man may not be a soldier or bring capital charges.
Preparation for the Gospel 1.4.3Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 313–324 · Before Christ, the many rulers of the nations brought constant war, so that all went armed.
Preparation for the Gospel 1.4.4Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 313–324 · At Christ's coming, Augustus became sole ruler and the age of constant wars ended, as the prophets foretold.
Preparation for the Gospel 8.8.46Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 313–324 · Even enemies, their trees, their dead, and captive women are protected.
Preparation for the Gospel 8.12.6Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 313–324 · They make no weapons and engage in no trade.
Canon 3Anonymous · 1 August 314 · Soldiers who throw away their arms in time of peace are excluded from communion.
Demonstration of the Gospel 1.8.3Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 314–324 · The second, more human Christian way includes marriage, children, work, and just military service, with set times for devotion.
Demonstration of the Gospel 9.17.14Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 314–324 · Since Christ came, cities and nations no longer war with one another as before.
Oration to the Assembly of the Saints 15.3Constantine the Great · ca. 325 (dated variously 317–325) · Christ rebuked the disciple who drew a sword at his arrest, teaching that whoever takes the sword will perish by it.
On the Incarnation 51.4Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 318–325 · Idol-worshiping nations were constantly at war.
On the Incarnation 51.5Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 318–325 · Idolatry could not reform warlike peoples who lived by the sword.
On the Incarnation 51.6Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 318–325 · Converted to Christ's teaching, warlike peoples give up bloodshed and seek peace.
On the Incarnation 52.1Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 318–325 · Christ has brought the peace foretold in Isaiah 2:4.
On the Incarnation 52.3Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 318–325 · Hearing Christ's teaching, barbarians turn from war to farming and prayer, fighting the devil instead.
1Anonymous · 4th–5th century · Forty Cappadocian soldiers refuse to sacrifice under Licinius and are imprisoned.
Canon 12Anonymous · 325 · Christians who left the army for the faith but then bought their way back into it do long penance, which the bishop may shorten for the truly repentant.
Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 13.10Eusebius of Caesarea · 335–336 · Constant war meant that travellers went armed, farmers carried swords, and raiding neighbours was thought a virtue.
Life of Constantine 1.38.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 337–339 · At the Milvian Bridge Maxentius drowned in the Tiber in his own trap, like Pharaoh in the Red Sea, and the victors could sing Moses' song.
Life of Constantine 2.13.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 337–339 · Constantine always put God first in war and sought to avoid bloodshed.
Life of Constantine 2.13.2Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 337–339 · Constantine paid his soldiers for every prisoner taken alive, to spare enemy lives.
Commentary on Matthew 32Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 353–355 · Hilary treats Judas’s kiss (love of enemies), the sword and the servant’s ear, the trial before the high priest, Peter’s denials, Judas’s remorse and the potter’s field as the world bought by Christ’s blood for strangers, and Jesus’ answers to the priest and to Pilate.
Letter 106Basil of Caesarea · ca. 357–378 · Basil praises a soldier who shows that a Christian can keep perfect love for God in military life.
Moral Rules (Moralia) 78Basil of Caesarea · ca. 360-370 · Basil's seventy-eighth rule: soldiers must not use violence to extort or bring false accusations.
Titus of Bostra, Against the Manichees 2.22Titus of Bostra · ca. 360s · Wars arise from greed and are permitted by God; death itself is no evil but a natural transition that ends sin for the wicked and begins crowns for the righteous.
Titus of Bostra, Against the Manichees 2.23Titus of Bostra · ca. 360s · Death, appointed for all, is good, ending the toil of the righteous and the sins of the wicked; the blame for war lies with human purpose, not with God.
Homilies 18.4Basil of Caesarea · ca. 363-378 · Gordius appears in the stadium, confesses Christ before the magistrate, scorns threats and bribes, and is condemned; the whole city pours out to watch, and friends urge him to deny with his lips only.
Question 104, section 4Ambrosiaster · ca. 370–384 · Peter was allowed to wound but not to kill, for only a judge may put to death with the sword and Christians may not kill; the earlier command to take nothing suited a time of peace.
Apostolic Canon 83Anonymous · ca. 380 · Clergy may not hold military command.
On the Christian Faith 2.16Ambrose · ca. 378–380 · Ambrose sends Gratian to war against the Goths, reading Ezekiel’s prophecy of Gog as a promise of victory, and prays that Christ will grant the catholic emperor triumph after the disasters he attributes to the Arian faithlessness of the Danube provinces.
Letter 1 to Himerius of Tarragona, chapter 5Siricius, bishop of Rome · 385 · Penitents who return to military service, the shows, new marriages, or sexual relations are barred from communion except as viaticum at death.
Letter 6 to various bishops, chapter 3Siricius, bishop of Rome · 385 · Men who served in the army or the civil service, or who seek office through patrons, are not to be made bishops; candidates should be approved by people and bishop.
Letter 10, canons of the Roman synod to the bishops of Gaul, chapter 7Siricius, bishop of Rome · 385 · A baptized man who has served in the army is unfit for the clergy, since he can hardly have avoided the shows, violence and injustice.
On the Duties of the Clergy 1.29Ambrose · ca. 386–390 · Justice and good faith bind even in war, as Moses, Joshua, and Elisha show, and faith in Christ is the foundation of justice, whose form is the Church.
On the Duties of the Clergy 1.35Ambrose · ca. 386–390 · Fortitude, highest of the virtues, needs justice and prudence, as David showed, and its glory belongs also to the martyrs and Daniel, who conquered by faith.
On the Duties of the Clergy 1.40Ambrose · ca. 386–390 · Scripture also has heroes of warlike fortitude: Joshua, Gideon, Jonathan, and the Maccabees, above all Eleazar, who died killing the king’s elephant.
Letter 47.5Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · Augustine rejects killing in self-defence except for soldiers and officials acting for others, and holds that one is not guilty of harm arising from lawful things such as a wall.
Letter 138.14Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · Patience lives in the heart, but correction, like a father's or even a just war, may be applied with goodwill for the wrongdoer's good; the prosperity of vice is God's sharpest punishment.
Letter 138.15Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · Christian teaching does not forbid military service, as John the Baptist's words to soldiers show; citizens formed by it would be the state's salvation.
Letter 189.4Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · Military service does not exclude pleasing God, as David, the centurion, Cornelius and the soldiers instructed by John the Baptist show.
Letter 189.6Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · Augustine counsels Boniface to keep faith even with enemies, to wage war only of necessity for the sake of peace, and to show mercy to the conquered.
Letter 220.6Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · Augustine argues that Boniface's armed followers force him to feed their worldly desires by doing what God forbids, citing 1 John 2:15–17.
Letter 220.12Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · Augustine says that since Boniface's wife has not consented to continence he must at least keep conjugal chastity, love God rather than the world, and seek peace.
Letter 230.3Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · Darius says he has at least postponed war, hopes for lasting peace through Augustine's blessing, and asks his prayers for the empire.
Homilies on Matthew 84.1John Chrysostom · ca. 390 · Peter’s sword-stroke, rebuked and undone by a miracle of healing, shows the disciples’ zeal and Christ’s gentleness; he had let them carry swords only as a sign of the coming betrayal, and he declines the legions of angels so that the Scriptures may be fulfilled, speaking in lowly terms to suit their fear.
On Free Choice of the Will 1.5Augustine of Hippo · ca. 387–395 · Evodius argues that human law rightly permits killing in self-defense and war to prevent greater evils, yet doubts that those who kill for perishable goods are free of sin before divine providence; Augustine approves the distinction between human law and divine punishment.
Sermon 302.15Augustine of Hippo · ca. 391-430 · It is malice, not soldiering, that makes soldiers oppress; John the Baptist corrected soldiers, toll collectors and all the people alike, and everyone should hear and live in peace.
Life of Saint Martin 2Sulpicius Severus · ca. 396–397 · Martin, son of a pagan officer, becomes a catechumen as a boy, is forced into the army at fifteen, and lives there like a monk.
Life of Saint Martin 4Sulpicius Severus · ca. 396–397 · Before a battle Martin asks Julian for his discharge as a soldier of Christ, offers to face the enemy unarmed, and the enemy surrenders.
Against Faustus the Manichaean 22.74Augustine of Hippo · ca. 398–400 · Augustine defends Moses' wars as obedience to God and argues that what is evil in war is the love of violence, revenge, and domination, not war waged under God's or lawful authority, citing John the Baptist, Christ, and the centurion.
Against Faustus the Manichaean 22.75Augustine of Hippo · ca. 398–400 · Augustine argues that the ruler has authority to declare war and soldiers must obey, that even under a wicked king a soldier may be innocent, and that war commanded by God is certainly just.
Against Faustus the Manichaean 22.76Augustine of Hippo · ca. 398–400 · Augustine explains that the patriarchs waged wars to show that earthly kingdoms are God's gift, while Christ and the martyrs suffered without resisting to show that the heavenly kingdom is to be sought, and notes the victories of Christian emperors.
Against Faustus the Manichaean 22.77Augustine of Hippo · ca. 398–400 · Augustine notes that Christ himself changed his commands about purse and sword, showing that God's precepts differ according to the times without inconsistency.
Canon 8Anonymous · ca. 397–400 · One who served in the army or the imperial service after baptism may not become a deacon.
Letter 2, chapter 2Innocent I, bishop of Rome · 401–417 · A man who served as a soldier after baptism may not become a cleric.
City of God 1.1Augustine of Hippo · 413–426 · Augustine introduces the pagan enemies of the city of God, many of whom survived the sack of Rome only by taking refuge in Christian churches, yet now blame Christ for the disaster.
City of God 1.6Augustine of Hippo · 413–426 · Augustine shows from the examples of Marcellus at Syracuse and Fabius at Tarentum that even the most restrained Roman conquerors never granted asylum in temples.
City of God 3.10Augustine of Hippo · 413–426 · Augustine argues that Rome would have been better off small and peaceful, like Numa's Rome, than enlarged by endless wars, and that peace depended on God's higher power, not the demons.
City of God 3.13Augustine of Hippo · 413–426 · Augustine describes the rape of the Sabine women and the war it caused between Romans and their fathers-in-law, and Romulus's elimination of his co-ruler Tatius.
City of God 3.14Augustine of Hippo · 413–426 · Augustine condemns Rome's war with Alba, its mother city, including the fight of the Horatii and Curiatii and the killing of the Horatian sister, as the fruit of the lust for domination.
City of God 3.18Augustine of Hippo · 413–426 · Augustine recalls the devastation of the Punic wars, the capture of Regulus, and a flood and fire at Rome in which the pontiff Metellus had to rescue the sacred objects of Vesta, showing their powerlessness.
City of God 3.19Augustine of Hippo · 413–426 · Augustine describes the disasters of the second Punic war, especially Cannae, after which Rome armed slaves with weapons from the temples and the senate gave up its gold.
City of God 3.30Augustine of Hippo · 413–426 · Augustine traces the chain of civil wars from Marius and Sulla to Augustus, in whose reign Christ was born, noting how Cicero was betrayed by the young Octavian.
City of God 4.6Augustine of Hippo · 413–426 · Augustine quotes Justin's history on Ninus of Assyria, the first king to make war on his neighbors for the sake of empire, and calls such conquest great robbery.
City of God 4.15Augustine of Hippo · 413–426 · Augustine argues that good men prefer peaceful neighbors to conquest, that Rome's just wars were made possible by others' iniquity, and that victory is the gift of the true King of kings, not of Jupiter.
City of God 5.22Augustine of Hippo · 413–426 · Augustine shows from Roman history that wars were long and disastrous before Christian times, so the length of present wars cannot be blamed on Christianity.
City of God 15.4Augustine of Hippo · 413–426 · The earthly city seeks earthly peace through war; its goods are real gifts of God, but loving them above heavenly goods brings misery.
City of God 19.7Augustine of Hippo · 413–426 · Augustine describes how differences of language divide the human race and how the peace of empire was bought with terrible wars, and says that even the wise man who wages just wars must grieve over their necessity.
City of God 19.12Augustine of Hippo · 413–426 · Augustine argues that all beings desire peace: warriors, robbers, and even the monster Cacus seek it in their own way, pride perversely imitates God's peace, and even a corpse is governed by the peace of natural order.
On Faith and Works 19Augustine of Hippo · ca. 413 · John the Baptist taught soldiers and tax collectors how to live before baptizing them, showing that moral instruction belongs to preparation for baptism.
The Passion of the Martyrs of Agaunum 2Eucherius of Lyon · ca. 443-450 · Under Maximian the Theban legion, Christian soldiers from the East, refused to persecute Christians.
The Passion of the Martyrs of Agaunum 4Eucherius of Lyon · ca. 443-450 · Led by Maurice, Exuperius and Candidus, the legion tells Maximian they will serve him but not deny God or persecute Christians.