A PERSPECTIVE ON MILITARY SERVICE THROUGH THE PRISM OF CHRISTIAN ETHICS

Abstract

The article is devoted to the theological and ethical reflection on the problem of military service for Christians in the face of an existential threat caused by armed aggression against Ukraine. In particular, it traces the evolution of the Christian attitude toward the use of force — from Biblical narratives and the Jewish concept of obligatory defensive war (Milhemet Mitzvah) to the classical tradition of “just war” (Augustine of Hippo, European Reformers) and the theology of resistance (D. Bonhoeffer, C. S. Lewis). Special attention is paid to modern Ukrainian realities: the official positions of the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organisations, the heads of the UGCC and the OCU, and the conceptual foundations of the “Declaration on the Restoration of Ukraine” are examined. It is substantiated that under the conditions of total war, the armed defence of the state and alternative non-combatant support for the military form a single paradigm of “active service.” Ultimately, the work demonstrates that armed resistance to the aggressor is not a violation of evangelical commandments, but a tragic yet morally legitimate expression of Christian responsibility and active love (agape) for one’s neighbour, whereas absolute pacifism in modern realities often proves to be a form of ethical “self-withdrawal.”