In peace, let us pray to the Lord. This prayer opens the Orthodox Eucharistic assembly. The prayer for peace, for the highest messianic gift, the fullness of life, a foretaste of the Kingdom of God which comes and which is already here in Jesus Christ, is at the heart of Orthodox prayer. It is a prayer for reconciliation of humanity with God, of every person with their neighbor, divine peace reaching out to the whole cosmos, to our relation with the earth that we are called to cultivate and which in turn provides us with our food. Of course it is not a matter of a mere tranquility of the spirit, of hardening the heart, of spiritual sleep.
Trinitarian love is the source, the paradigm of all human peace and communion.
The peace received from God can shine on the world through men and women who have experienced prolonged self-discipline or an enlightening event, living out peace and reconciliation. The historical Orthodox Churches, along with other Churches, have blessed armies that go to war. Orthodox believers must examine their own consciences at this point. An honest, historical enquiry could be a useful tool, as the perceptive theologian and historian Father John Meyendorff has written. A simple allusion will have to suffice here.