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=== The Church and the Roman (Byzantine) Empire ===
In the [[Byzantine Empire]], the enemies of the State were also the enemies of the Church. So the defense of the State also became the defense of the Church. The State was considered to be protected by God since it was connected to the Church. The Church has upheld its position on war and has never deserted its stance. [[Nicephorus II Phocas | Emperor Nicephoros Phocas]] of Byzantium (963-969) requested the Church to recognize the people dying at war to be classified as [[martyr]]s.
:The response was ''"How could they be regarded as martyrs or equal to the martyrs those who kill others or die themselves at war, when the divine canons impose a penalty on them, preventing them from coming to Divine Communion for three years."''
The Church has always condemned war, but has always been tolerant of the Christian soldiers that served in a military unit. War may be necessary under certain circumstances to protect the innocent and to limit even greater evils.
