Military Service

The Old Catholic Church affirms that military service is morally permissible for believers. The church follows the just-war tradition: warfare can be morally justified when waged for a just cause, with right intention, as a last resort, with proportionality, and with reasonable expectation of success. Legitimate government authority may wage war to protect the innocent, maintain justice, and defend the realm.

Governments are ordained by God to maintain order, promote justice, and restrain evil (Romans 13:1-4). Soldiers serve as agents of legitimate authority and may participate in just wars without compromising their Christian faith. Individual believers may serve in the military, engage in police work, and participate in law enforcement as expressions of responsibility for community order and protection of the vulnerable.

However, individual conscience is respected: those conscientiously opposed to military service due to theological conviction should not be coerced. Yet the church does not adopt pacifism as its teaching or recommend it to the faithful. The dominant tradition is that Christians may serve in just military efforts. This reflects the church's integration of Christian faith with civic responsibility and classical just-war moral theology.