War Chaplain

May 11, 2023

Earlier today, Pope Francis declared that 21 Coptic Orthodox Christians, who were beheaded by Islamic militants in Libya in 2015, would be added to the Roman Martyrology. Francis made the announcement during an audience with Pope Tawadros II, the leader of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. The “21 Coptic New Martyrs of Libya,” as they are called, were martyred on February 15, 2015. Less than a week later, they were declared saints in the Coptic Orthodox Church by Pope Tawadros. The Copts celebrate their feast on the anniversary of their death, February 15, and it appears that this will also be their feast day on the Roman calendar.

The world was shocked in February 2015, when a 5-minute video was uploaded to the internet by ISIS militants. The video showed the 21 kidnapped men in orange jumpsuits being beheaded on a beach near the Libyan city of Sirte. 20 of these martyrs were Egyptian Copts who had gone to Libya to do construction work. The last member of the group, Matthew Ayariga, was a fellow worker from Ghana. It is said that he told the executioners, “Their God is my God. I will go with them.” There has been some question over whether he was already Christian or whether the witness of his 20 coworkers led to his conversion, but nevertheless, his Christian witness and solidarity are inspiring. It was reported that as they died, they chanted hymns and prayed aloud.

The deaths of these men as Christian martyrs is undeniable. The extraordinary photos of Blessed Miguel Pro, a Catholic priest who was executed by the Mexican government in 1927 during the Cristero War — taken just moments before the he was shot by the firing squad — are perhaps the only other photographic images recording a Christian martyrdom as it happened. And yet the recognition of the 21 martyrs as Catholic saints is unprecedented for several reasons.

The primary reason, of course, is that the Coptic Orthodox Church is not in full communion with Rome. The Copts are Oriental Orthodox (as opposed to Eastern Orthodox), because they split from the other Christian churches in the year 451 at the Council of Chalcedon due to differences over the nature of Christ. They are also referred to as “Non-Chalcedonian Orthodox Churches.” This means that they recognize the first three ecumenical councils, whereas the Eastern Orthodox recognize seven, and the Catholic Church recognizes 21 ecumenical councils.

After more than 15 centuries, our hope of reunion may seem remote. After all these years, the two Churches have independently developed their own traditions, theologies, forms of worship, and prayers. Yet some things have remained the same. Both Churches have maintained apostolic succession and the sacraments: Pope Francis is the successor of St. Peter and Pope Tawadros is the successor of St. Mark. In recent decades, the relationship between the Catholic Church and the Coptic Orthodox Church has become closer. For example, in 2017, Popes Francis and Tawadros made a joint statement indicating mutual acceptance of the validity of baptism in both Churches.

Pope Francis has praised the Martyrs of Libya many times, and today he recalled our shared baptism, as well as the blood of martyrs that enriches the Church. He said, “These martyrs were baptized not only in the water and Spirit, but also in blood, a blood that is the seed of unity for all of Christ’s followers.” In the past, the pope has discussed how we must realize that we, the baptized, have much more in common than what divides us. This shared recognition of sainthood between the two Churches is a significant step towards Christian unity.

This sets a new precedent. In 1964, when the Ugandan Martyrs were canonized by Pope Paul VI, St. Charles Lwanga and the other 21 Catholics among his companions were declared saints. The 23 Anglicans who were martyred alongside them were mentioned briefly in the pope’s homily, when he said, “And we do not wish to forget, the others who, belonging to the Anglican confession, met death for the name of Christ.”

Another reason why today’s announcement is unique was that Pope Francis did this by an official act. The Roman Martyrology is the official list of saints officially recognized by the Latin Church. Many Eastern Catholic Churches have their own processes for canonizing saints according to their traditions. Historically, when groups of Eastern Catholics have come into full communion with Rome, they will bring along their saints and prayers and traditions. Many of these saints aren’t officially canonized by Rome, and they are usually only venerated in their own tradition. By inscribing the names of these martyrs in the Roman Martyrology, Pope Francis has made it clear that these martyrs are to be venerated by Roman Catholics as saints.

Finally, in declaring them saints today, Pope Francis sidestepped the typical canonization process. They are saints, without having passed through the usual stages of Servant of God, Venerable, and Blessed. This “skipping” of steps is commonly referred to as “equipollent canonization.” Essentially, when a pope declares someone a saint by an official act, that person is recognized as a saint in the Church. This is not the first time Francis has moved a case along in this way. For example, when he canonized Popes John XXIII and John Paul II in 2014, he waived the requirement of a second miracle for John XXIII so that the two popes would be canonized on the same day. In 2013, he elevated the Jesuit Peter Faber, whose status had lingered at “Blessed” since 1872.

Perhaps the most interesting case is that of St. Gregory of Narek, an Armenian monk venerated as a saint in the Armenian Catholic Church and the Armenian Apostolic Church. Unexpectedly, Pope Francis named him the 36th Doctor of the Church in 2015. Living from in the mid-10th century through the early 11th, St. Gregory lived at a time when the Armenian Church was not in communion with Rome. After several failed attempts at reunion, the Armenian Catholic Church was officially recognized as an Eastern Catholic Church in 1742. Interestingly, the Armenian Catholic eparchy of Buenos Aires (established in 1989 by Pope John Paul II) is called the Eparchy of Saint Gregory of Narek. Perhaps this is how Pope Francis became familiar with the saint.

We Christians are blessed with a wide variety of saints from all sorts of backgrounds. They help make up the beautiful tapestry of the people of God — praying for us, interceding for us, and inspiring us. This is something worth celebrating.

21 Coptic New Martyrs of Libya, Pray for Us!

Saint Columba 521-597 Feast day: June 9 Patronage: Ireland, Scotland, Derry, bookbinders, poets, floods

Saint Columba was born in Ireland of royal descent. He studied for the priesthood under many prominent churchmen, including St. Finnian, eventually becoming abbot. In 563, he sailed to Scotland evangelizing the pagans and establishing monasteries, including the abbey on Iona. Saint Columba is considered one of Irelands 12 Apostles loved by both the Irish and Scots.

“The Lord is my strength and my shield, in whom my heart trusts. I am helped, so my heart rejoices; with my song I praise Him.”

When I was a kid, between six and fifteen, one of our Pyrenees would escort me, off-leash, between my grandmother's house and mine. I'd just have to call him, and he'd show up and walk me there, placing himself between me and anything he considered threatening- Cranky farm animals, holes in the ground, bodies of water, etc.

That same dog found a (unfortunately deceased) lamb my grandfather had buried a few hours earlier, dug it up, realized it was cold and not breathing, and carefully carried it to our barn, where he covered it neck-deep in straw and tried to cuddle it warm again to bring it back to life.

One of our older dogs, at about sixteen years old (keep in mind, this breed tends to average out at about 12 years max) had arthritis in his hips, a bad back, and a respiratory issue, was fucking ancient and essentially palliative, but would still go stock-still out of nowhere, let out one subtle "boof", and then set out at an awkward-yet-speedy bunny-hop sprint at the slightest whiff of a cougar, bear, or wolf. Like, grampa would jump fences. Gentle geriatric giant would kick up to 7k to protect the family, never mind the three other, much younger fogs already on the case.

When I was a baby, like a literal in-diapers infant, he would lay on the ground and let me dress him up as a wizard and crawl all over him with zero complaint.

His nephew was 100lbs and often alarmed visitors who mistook him for a bear, yet never so much as bumped into a person in his life and feared only string and kittens.

Those coyotes thought they were dealing with a dog with a job. What they found was a dog with a family.

Let me listen to the heartbeat of Your love.

Please grant me all the graces and blessings You have for me.

Jesus, I trust in You.

It is up to us to daily don the full armor of God and to move forward with purpose. The Devil comes in many forms, and his agents will work mightily against us each day. Not today Satan, to me means that he will not get a hold on me, that he will not win with me, and that he will find me a barren landscape to his will.

Armed Pacifism

“Of the four wars in my lifetime, none came about because the U.S. was too strong.” Ronald Reagan Military Service

The Strength of the Military is an active deterrence, the dedication and tireless training of the military for times of trouble can be best summed up by Psalm 144:1 “Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle;” And it seems that even Benjamin Franklin would agree with President Reagan about deterrence stating that “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

The Latin Motto “Si Vis Pacem, para bellum” If you wish for peace, prepare for war, greatly emphasizes Teddy Roosevelts admonition to “Speak softly but carry a big stick.” The tactic diplomatic assertion, backed up by the militaries ability to do violence if required. Roosevelt described this philosophy as “the exercise of intelligent forethought and of decisive action sufficiently far in advance of any likely crisis” A truly Armed Pacifist mentality.

Many people in the modern age seem to question the place of fighting and the military when it comes to Christian teachings, but these things are not mutually exclusive. Military service is not only a civic principle but also biblical in scope and application. It does not make someone a bad Christian to defend the faith or the innocent, to “… defend the rights of the poor and needy” Proverbs 31:9. The innocent have always needed protectors, and God has always provided them: in the form of soldiers and warriors, men and women strong enough to take on the burdens of service. It is important to remember that our military greatly exemplifies biblical martial and moral teachings, and that it is an honor to serve and in no way goes against Christian teachings.

In fact, the both the bible and church history have a strong warrior tradition of prophets and members utilizing military service as a method to protect the people. David slew Goliath and was a great warrior and general (1 Samuel 17), Joshua retook the Promised Land (Joshua 1), and was the Lords servant in the destruction of Jericho (Joshua 6), Moses was a commander in the forces of Pharaoh (Numbers 31:14), and Samson was a defender of the faith (Judges 15:16). Even great historical figures in Christianity like Emperor Constantine, and the King Charlemagne who without Christianity would likely not exist today, were warrior generals.

Though pacifism and peace are strongly emphasized within Christian scripture, and more modern Christian tradition, the Christian Warrior is not a contradiction or hypocrisy. “For he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.” Romans 13:4. The soldiers and warriors of society, are guardians of civilization proving that “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:13 sacrificing their lives for their country further exemplifying the scripture “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Luke 10:27

Warrior Culture : Priest

Elite Warriors of the Church, the Priests were an order of Sacred Warriors that specialized in Vampire hunting. The Priest order recruits both males and females into their ranks, and mark them with a distinctive Cross Tattoo on their face. Priests are deeply spiritual and believe that their gifts are granted to them by God, they use this piety and focus, along with various weaponized holy symbols, to defeat their faster, stronger Vampire opponents.

Humanity eventually won the war against the Vampires largely due to Priest involvement, but the war devastated the surface and allowed for the now corrupted Church to establish a theocracy. Utilizing religious dogma the Church kept the populace in line using slogans like “faith, work, security,” and “to go against the church is to go against God,” forever reminding the world of their indebtedness to the Church for their salvation. With the war now over the Church had no real need for the near super-soldier vampire hunter’s services and disbanded the order; separating them to prevent them from becoming agitators against the church.