What Is 'Victory' in the Orthodox Christian Ethics of War?

Abstract

The text reconstructs the protocol of 'victory' as part of the interruption of enmity and establishment of temporary peace. Different understandings of the enemy and enmity imply that victory in war and cessation of conflict can essentially determine the way war is conducted, and that they follow rules of war. Victory is supposed to be a crucial moment that characterizes the ethics of war. Particular testimonies and thematizations of victory in the Orthodox Christian tradition can provide an intro-duction into a potential ethics of war that could ensure a new relationship towards the enemy and killing the enemy.

Keywords

• ethics of war
• victory
• peace
• enemy
• interruption of enmity