Letter 4

From: Ferrandus, deacon of Carthage To: Count Reginus Date: ~535 AD Context: Ferrandus writes to a military officer named Reginus on the ethical obligations of a Christian in military service, offering seven practical rules for the exercise of Christian virtue in a violent profession. Ferrandus, deacon, servant of Christ, to the noble Count Reginus, greetings in the Lord. You have asked me what it means to be a Christian who serves in military command, and I want to give you a serious answer in the form of seven practical rules. First: use violence only when it is genuinely necessary, never in anger or to satisfy personal honor. The violence that the soldier is authorized to use is a last resort and not a first impulse. Second: protect the civilian population from the troops under your command with the same energy you use against the enemy. Soldiers who harm those they are supposed to protect are not fighting a just war; they are simply committing organized crime. Third: treat prisoners with humanity. The enemy soldier who has surrendered is no longer an enemy; he is a person under your protection. Fourth: be scrupulously honest in your dealings with the soldiers under your command. They trust you with their lives; honor that trust with honesty about the situation. Fifth: pray. Not as a formality but as genuine communication with the God in whose service, ultimately, all legitimate authority exists. Sixth: maintain justice in your camp with the same strictness you apply to the battlefield. Corruption within the ranks undermines military effectiveness as surely as it undermines moral integrity. Seventh: remember that the end of military service is peace. A commander who loves war for its own sake has confused the instrument with the goal. Your servant in Christ, Ferrandus