Christian

Christian

A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...

s have been present in the military

Military

A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...

since at least the 2nd century. Marinus of Caesarea

Marinus of Caesarea

Marinus of Caesarea was a Roman soldier, who, for being a Christian, suffered martyrdom.-Life:A soldier in a Roman legion, Marinus was promoted to the position of centurion. Before he was able to assume the post, a rival claimed that before a centurion could accept the post, he was to offer a...

, Julius the Veteran, and other military saint

Military saint

The military saints or warrior saints of the Early Christian Church are prominent in the history of Christianity...

s were Christians who were soldiers, although other Christians, such as St Maximilian, were conscientious objector

Conscientious objector

A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, and/or religion....

s, believing that the Bible supported Christian pacifism

Christian pacifism

Christian pacifism is the theological and ethical position that any form of violence is incompatible with the Christian faith. Christian pacifists state that Jesus himself was a pacifist who taught and practiced pacifism, and that his followers must do likewise.There have been various notable...

.

Under the Emperor Diocletian

Diocletian

Diocletian |latinized]] upon his accession to Diocletian . c. 22 December 244  – 3 December 311), was a Roman Emperor from 284 to 305....

, attempts were made to purge Christians from the army. However, the Roman army continued to include many Christians, and the presence of large numbers of Christians in his army may have been a factor in the conversion of Constantine I

Constantine I

Constantine the Great , also known as Constantine I or Saint Constantine, was Roman Emperor from 306 to 337. Well known for being the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity, Constantine and co-Emperor Licinius issued the Edict of Milan in 313, which proclaimed religious tolerance of all...

 to Christianity

Christianity

Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...

.

The presence of Christians on both sides led to the unofficial Christmas truce

Christmas truce

Christmas truce was a series of widespread unofficial ceasefires that took place along the Western Front around Christmas of 1914, during the First World War...

s of World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, commemorated in the film Joyeux Noël.

Today, military chaplain

Military chaplain

A military chaplain is a chaplain who ministers to soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines and other members of the military. In many countries, chaplains also minister to the family members of military personnel, to civilian noncombatants working for military organizations and to civilians within the...

s minister to Christians serving in the military forces of many countries, and organisations such as the Armed Forces Christian Union

Armed Forces Christian Union

The Armed Forces Christian Union —formerly Officers' Christian Union— is a British Christian organization with origins in the mid-19th century Army Prayer Union. As of 2007 General Sir Richard Dannatt is its vice-president...

 (UK) and Officers' Christian Fellowship

Officers' Christian Fellowship

Officers' Christian Fellowship is as of 2009 a 15,000 member organization—made up of U.S. Military officers—growing at 3% per year represented at 80% of military installations. It is a Christian parachurch organization founded in 1943...

 (US) are made up of Christians in the military.

See also

• Christian soldier
• Christianity and violence
  Christianity and violence
  The relationship of Christianity and violence is the subject of controversy because some of its core teachings advocate peace, love and compassion while other teachings have been used to justify the use of violence. Peace, compassion and forgiveness of wrongs done by others are key elements of...
  
  
• Janissary
  Janissary
  The Janissaries were infantry units that formed the Ottoman sultan's household troops and bodyguards...
  
  
• Just War
  Just War
  Just war theory is a doctrine of military ethics of Roman philosophical and Catholic origin, studied by moral theologians, ethicists and international policy makers, which holds that a conflict ought to meet philosophical, religious or political criteria.-Origins:The concept of justification for...
  
  
• New Testament military metaphors
  New Testament military metaphors
  The New Testament uses a number of military metaphors in discussing Christianity, especially in the Pauline epistles.In Philippians 2:25 and Philemon 1:2, Paul describes fellow Christians as "fellow soldiers"...
  
  
• Christian pacifism
  Christian pacifism
  Christian pacifism is the theological and ethical position that any form of violence is incompatible with the Christian faith. Christian pacifists state that Jesus himself was a pacifist who taught and practiced pacifism, and that his followers must do likewise.There have been various notable...