Despina Iosif is a lecturer at the Hellenic Open University and at College Year in Athens. She holds a PhD in Ancient History from University College London. Her area of specilization is early Christianity.
The early Christians were not of one mind when it came to war, violence and military service. There was a bewildering variety of opinion as to how they understood their place in the world. It seems however that generally they did not stand apart from society. On the contrary, they were happy to integrate and conform and they often accepted war and service in the army as activities which did not raise specific ethical problems.