Opponents also say that the apostle Paul often uses military terminology in allegories. And the Lord Himself speaks calmly about war: when one goes to war with twenty thousand soldiers against ten thousand soldiers of another. The Lord (the Church) always speaks the language of the audience, therefore examples, parables are given that are understandable to the listener, but the essence and content of what is said by the Church is the Gospel of the Kingdom of God. And since the spiritual life is a war, not against flesh and blood, but against demons, when describing the laws of spiritual warfare, the apostle gives analogies with earthly warfare to the catechumens! War in this world is a normal phenomenon (“You will hear of wars – do not be alarmed, for these things must happen, in this world there is no way without them, nation will rise against nation, kingdom against kingdom, love will grow cold, trust in God will disappear…”), therefore, this phenomenon of the reality of this world can be used in parables, in analogies, but in no case does it mean that Christians bless wars or participate in them! Therefore, in this world (the old covenant) the laws of the Kingdom of God are not applicable (“love your enemies…”, “do not judge…” and so on)!
The Lord Jesus Christ (and the Church in its apostolic mission) always addresses the people of the Old Covenant, including soldiers. But nowhere does it say that after turning to Christ (the Church), these soldiers killed, tortured, or oppressed! Before catechism-baptism, they killed, but after – nothing is written, but it is said by the Holy Spirit that they lived as citizens of the Kingdom of God, according to His law of Love. The Church testifies by the Holy Spirit that those baptized by the Holy Spirit have one goal and care – to preserve and increase the Grace of the Holy Spirit (communicate with the reverend Silouan of Athos, Seraphim of Sarov). The goal of life is to acquire the Holy Spirit! And killing is the way away from the Holy Spirit! Look at Christ (“You do not know what spirit you are of” – with these words, the Truth cools the hot-headed (fiery) apostles), the Apostles, the Saints – whom did they kill (was there no one to defend?!)? Before baptism by the Holy Spirit, they could have been robbers, soldiers who defiled themselves with the blood of others, but after knowing the Truth by the Holy Spirit – life in Heaven, in the Kingdom of God (the Church-Eucharist), and there they do not take up the sword-gun, they have another war and other methods and means of waging war!!!
But opponents say that in the hagiography of the Orthodox Church, there are many holy warriors (St. Demetrius of Thessaloniki, St. George the Victorious, St. Theodore Tyro, the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste, and others), and this, they say, indicates that Christians fight (of course, not in aggressive wars, but in holy, righteous, defensive ones)!? And I will respond to such an argument as follows: Saint Mary of Egypt is a saint, in the Kingdom of God, does this mean that her sinful life is a Christian way of life? The wise thief who was crucified to the right of Jesus Christ is a saint, so according to the logic of baptized pagans, this means that robbery, murder, terror, which he lived his whole life, is an ideal for all Christians, the ideal of Christian life? What madness and blasphemy (sacrilege) to think so! Holy warriors are not because they were warriors (fought just or holy righteous wars), but because they renounced all created things, took up their cross, and followed Christ (which they testified by the martyr’s end of their cross-bearing: they laid down their lives (their own, not others!!!) for their friends (first and foremost for their torturers), testifying to them about the Resurrection of Christ and the coming of the Kingdom of God, bringing their neighbors out of the demonic delusion of idolatry in this world (the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life) and confessed (even to death, great martyrdom), that “Only the Holy, only the Lord Jesus Christ to the glory of God the Father. Amen.” Therefore, warriors are glorified not because they were warriors, but because they became Christians! Similarly, Mary of Egypt and the wise thief are not saints because they lived sinful lives, but because they repented and were baptized by the Holy Spirit! The Church presents the fruits of the repentance of the Saint to the faithful to encourage them to be determined (which is so lacking in the catechumens) to embark on the path of repentance, to start living anew, according to God’s Commandments!
Name me at least one saint (that is, a Christian) about whom the Church testifies that he has the Holy Spirit and at the same time either killed (being in the Holy Spirit) or blessed killing (in a defensive war or, as Satan’s servants say, in a holy liberation – planting the “kingdom of God” with sword and fire). Someone will say: St. Sergius of Radonezh blessed Dmitry Donskoy to go to war against the Tatars and even added two monks (!?) one of whom started the battle with a duel. These are all (lies and) propaganda inventions of imperial historians and ideologists!!! This did not and could not have happened (the Holy Spirit testifies to this). Again, I remind you: a historian, an archaeologist, a scientist of this age is not an authority for a theologian (God-seer by the Holy Spirit)!!! And if you need arguments-facts in the flesh, then read critically the history (but not propaganda-imperial, that is, those historians who interpret facts as they like and fantasize, invent, manipulate, destroy artifacts, those who have lived in deception and war all the time: the collection (robbery) of Russian lands), with scientific chronology, archaeology, and the Life of St. Sergius, written by his disciple (which, despite the “corrections” of the imperial machine, when read carefully, will give an unambiguous answer). Anyone who has not yet acquired the Holy Spirit but has already understood the principles of Orthodox theology on a rational level (the mystery of hypostatic life, the principle of the person-hypostasis, which is the foundation of all things), will just as easily expose this evil and deception and testify that this could not have happened in principle (for a Christian to kill or bless killing). And from the history of mankind, we know what people are capable of justifying their evil and satanic passions! (For more details on the theology of the Battle of Kulikovo, “blessings” and their fruits, fantasies and inventions… if necessary, we will communicate via e-mail). I also note that there is no need to cite the men of the Old Testament as examples because the least (in the Kingdom of God, that is, in the Church of the Holy Spirit) Christian is greater than any greatest righteous man of the Old Testament (for example, John the Baptist). And let me remind you that the Church says about warriors (“holy” and “most holy”), who returned from the most holy war and shed blood (killed), that they should be excommunicated from the Eucharist for years! Whom? Heroes! Those who “laid down their lives for their friends,” as pagans say! Those who “showed the greatest love,” because according to Scripture, “there is no greater love!” as pagans in delusion mumble! Pagans see one thing, but the Church knows something completely different (“What is high, heroic in people is detestable before God”). Where the world sees victory, the Church sees great defeat, what the world calls great good, Christians know as great evil, which delays the revelation of the Kingdom of God in the souls of the participants (partakers) of that “good,” which in essence, from the perspective of Eternity, the Holy Spirit, is evil-sin. And it is clear even in the flesh that it is impossible to build happiness on someone else’s blood (even the most heroic) – the blood of warriors (defenders and occupiers), on someone else’s grief and tears of orphaned children and widowed women, on the suicides of war veterans…