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→The Tradition of the Fathers and the Early Church
Fr. John McGuckin says that this argument is misleading since it does not deal with justifying killing during war. According to Fr. McGuckin, this letter was regarding sexual activity and uses a “rhetorical example of current opinion to show Amun that contextual variability is very important in making moral judgements.” For further information, please refer to the discussion on Canon 13 of St. Basil or [http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf204.xxv.iii.iv.iii.html The Letter of St. Athanasius to Amun].
'''Saint John Chrysostom''', ''On the Priesthood'' <BR>''Christians above all men are not permitted forcibly to correct the failings of those who sin. Secular judges indeed, when they have captured malefactors under the law, show their authority to be great, and prevent them even against their will from following their own devices: but in our case the wrong-doer must be made better, not by force, but by persuasion. ''
According to Fr. Stanley Harakas, there is no ethical reasoning for war in the writings of the Greek Fathers. Fr. Harakas states that the fathers wrote that only negative impacts arise from war. Even in unavoidable circumstances, Fr. Harakas mentions that the fathers thought of war as the lesser of greater evils, but none the less evil. Fr. Harakas declares that the term “just war” is not found in the writings of the Greek Fathers. The stance of the Fathers on war is ''pro-peace'' and an Orthodox just-war theory does not exist.
== The Canonical Tradition of the Orthodox Church ==
