To be a Christian means to be a man of peace and a worker of peace. All the fathers of the church unequivocally declared that Christians are the martyrs of peace. St. Nicholas Cabasilas states: Christians, as disciples of Christ who made all things for peace, are to be ‘craftsmen of peace – τεχνίτες ειρήνης. Christians are the peaceable race (eirenikon genon) remarks Clement of Alexandria. Nothing is more characteristic of a Christian than to be a worker for peace - writes Saint Basil.
At the start of the Divine Liturgy, in the Orthodox Church, the first three requests addressed by the celebrant refer to the great theme of peace:
1. In peace let us pray to the Lord.
2. For the peace from above, (translated usually in English for the peace of God) ...let us pray.
3. For the peace of the whole world...
After repeating the request for peace 18 more times, even to the last Prayer: Grant peace to your world, the Divine Liturgy ends with the exhortation of the Deacon: Let us depart in peace. From the beginning of the Divine Liturgy to the end, the idea of peace dominates.
But Christians do not only pray for peace and believe that God has destined the world to live in justice, peace, and unity, but because of their faith they are called to be active peace makers grounded in their faith. In peace, not in war, we are trained writes St. Clement of Alexandria. The Christians are not just peaceful people but are also peacemakers. The Lord Himself says: Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God (Math. 5:9).
We cannot be indifferent to the suffering of others, to injustices, wars, and conflicts and at the same time be Christians. Every Christian should be a martyr of peace, witnessing it through his life and deeds. St. John Chrysostom preached, “I don’t believe in the salvation of anyone who is not concerned with the salvation of the other.” He also critiqued the Church of his day by stating, “There are two types of Christian leaders: those who say, ‘my parish is my universe’ and others who say, ‘the universe is my parish.’” Obviously, this great Church Father held the latter view. He preached elsewhere, “The leader of the Church ought to care not only for the church that has been entrusted to him by the Spirit, but also for the entire Church existing throughout the world.”
The blessed peacemaker is one who bears witness to Christ and takes up his cross and is ready to lose his life for the Lord, because he believes His words: For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. (Math. 16:25) He is the one who, fortified by the grace of the Holy Spirit, enters in the human conflicts to witness the peace of Christ, the peace which is not as the world gives (Jn.14:27) The peace of Christ comes to birth in man's heart, it flows forth, becomes responsible and creative love, and acquires a social dimension. Only those who have found peace within themselves can reconcile others, because if we are not at peace with ourselves, we cannot be at peace with others, and we cannot be at peace with ourselves if we are not at peace with God. The deiform soul cannot nurse hatred against a man and yet be at peace with God – says St. Maximus the Confessor. The fight for peace cannot be separated from the fight for justice, for the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. (Rom. 14:17)
Peace is associated with love and holiness and the blessed peacemaker is the one who has love and sees in every person, whoever he is, the icon of God, and in his heart, there is no hatred and enmity. If we do not see the icon e God in every human being in this life, we will not see the Face of the Lord in the life to come, as St. Paul writes: Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord (Heb. 12. 14).
Being a peacemaker is not only good on the ethical level, but it is more on the ontological level, just as being good. By not being good and peaceful, it is our being that is crippled. Undoubtedly, we cannot achieve goodness and inner peace only with our own strength, if we are not strengthened by the grace of God, which happens only when we are in communion with Him and follow His commandments. By our own power, it is simply not possible to share in the peace of God, but with Him, all things are possible. God’s peace is a gift of God and part of His grace. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. (Gal.5:22-23). The peace of God, being an anticipation of the Kingdom is like a medicine against fear and protect our minds and hearts in turbulent and unstable times. St. Paul writes: And [may] the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard your minds and hearts through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Phil 4:7).
The blessed peacemaker is always a voice and a witness (martyr) of peace. He does not compromise the truth of the Lord, but lives, works, and says what the Lord says. We are not supposed to preach our private opinions, but the Word of God and “the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.”. We understand that in different times and to different people we will preach differently, but always identity of the message of the gospel must be preserved. Father Florovsky writes: “One has to be sure that one is preaching the same Gospel that was delivered and that one is not introducing instead any “strange gospel” of his own. The word of God cannot be easily adjusted or accommodated to the fleeting customs and attitudes of any particular age, including our own time. Unfortunately, we are often inclined to measure the Word of God by our own stature, instead to checking our mind by the stature of Christ. The ‘modern mind’ also stands under the judgement of the Word of God.”
In our times, where lies and half-truths rule, there is a desperate need for the prophetic role of the Church. We should keep alive this prophetic spirit, because if we lose this role, we will lose the real mission of the Church. The Church needs to say what God keeps saying. God is telling us that only peace comes from Him, not the war. Anyone who incites and justifies war does not come from God. We know from the Holy Scriptures how costly was, and it is and today, the phrase, thus says the Lord, for the prophets. All of them were persecuted and killed because they said, thus says the Lord. The Scriptures also tell us that there were men who prophesied only what the king and the people wanted to hear. These were the false prophets. These were liars who claimed to speak for God, but they were speaking for their own interests, deceiving people. The prophet Jeremiah denounces the false prophets and the priests who acted falsely with these words: With contempt have healed the calamity of My people incompletely, saying, “peace, peace.’ But where is peace? They were ashamed as those truly ashamed, for they did not recognize their dishonour. Therefore, they shall utterly fall when they do fall, and at time of their visitation they shall perish (Jer.6:14).
Unfortunately, often today the prophetic role is betrayed for different reasons—from fear, a lack of love, lukewarmness of faith, self-interest of different groups, or political and ethnic interests—always loving the glory of man more than the glory of God. We will be either prophets of the Most High, or false prophets. There is no middle way. A lukewarm faith cannot save. By not telling the truth to others, we show that we don’t love them. The greatest friend is the one who pushes us toward salvation, and not the one who says sweet words to us. Often the truth does not coincide with what the worldly power and people want to hear. Christianity is not to please the worldly power or entertain people, but to tell the truth and to save them. The prophetic role of the church is to say what God is saying.
In conclusion, I would like to say, I would like to say that we live in a time when peace is in danger and God is asking Christians to be witnesses (martyrs) of peace. Despite persecution and suffering, the Lord will not abandon us and will give us wisdom and courage to maintain the peace and joy of Jesus Christ who has overcome the world of darkness, hatred and evil, through His saving work. I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world - teaches us Our Lord (John 16:33).