I am an unworthy man, unworthy to be called an Orthodox Christian, not to speak of the priesthood, and I write, admittedly, from the comfort of my Mount Pleasant, SC, home. There is no Mount nearby, but it is, indeed, a pleasant seaside community on the East Coast of the United States.
As such, I ask myself: how to deal with ruthless, pitiless, pitiful souls who are so darkened that their life is spent taking the life of others—and worse, thinking that they are doing this at the direction of and with the blessing of God himself, with eternal reward?
Perhaps I will be criticized for my suggestion, sitting in my pleasant, mountless town, but we read recently that we must receive the Gospel as a child; and even a child will ask how could murder be returned by murder. Is violence—individual or large-scale—a possible Orthodox response?
What were the apostolic and post-apostolic, and later saint’s reactions to such vicious, vile, demonic actions?
How did the disciples respond to the beheading of John the Baptist, which we commemorated on August 29?
On the precipice of martyrdom, St Stephen, the Proto-martyr begged God to forgive his killers. Was there an apostolic uprising following that?
Hieromartyr Eutychius, disciple of St John the Theologian, was beheaded after starvation in prison, an attempt to burn him alive, and cruel beatings with iron rods…which were made to cease by his prayers. There is no account of retribution.
Thank you Fr John for this article.
As Elder Sophrony wrote in his book about St Silouan, the whole of the Church is like a great ocean through which a small stream of pure living water flows. Those who wish to drink from these living waters must renounce argument and become fools for Christ.
Love of enemies is like this. It is a refusal to resist evil doers in imitation of their wicked violence. It is incomprehensible to the world and thus bears witness to the Kingdom. As you well know, when we look away from the centre of our faith (Christ’s work on the Cross) we are in danger of forgetting our greatest, even our only, “evangelical tool”- willing martyrdom while praying for our enemies.
The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Orthodox Church. Let other religions grow according to their means; God has given us one Evangelical tool: to love each other as Christ loved us: while we were God’s enemies He did not despise us but died for us, for we who are violent know not what we do.
The Cross is our weapon of peace, and the Mother of God is our Protectress.
God help me to move closer to this pure stream of living waters that flows at the centre of our Holy Tradition, to which all the martyrs bear witness: Christ’s Kingdom is not of this world, if it were of this world His servants would fight. I need not resist an evil doer for all things are ordered according to the will of my Father in heaven.
Love;
-Mark Basil