Violence and Christian Culture: Interpretation of the Problem of Sv. Ambrose of Milan
Christianity as a world religion is one of the important aspects of world historical and cultural development. The topic of violence, considered in its context, is of an interdisciplinary nature, affecting the spheres of culture, history, ethics, religion, sociology and political science. Chronologically, the era of St. Ambrose of Milan (IV century) is far from us. Despite this, his judgments have not lost relevance due to their dogmatic fidelity and canonicity of church principles, as well as the role of wars and violence in the history and modernity of mankind. The name of St. Ambrose of Milan is often mentioned in medieval studies in connection with the emergence of the concept of "just war" (bellum justum). However, his judgments about the problem of wars and violence in Christian society, despite their brevity (the Bishop does not have works devoted directly to the war), are more profound. The author shows the priority importance of the relationship of violence with the semantic motivation of its application in the views of the Bishop. Unfortunately, this aspect if often neglected by the researchers focusing only on the transition from the ideas of Christian pacifism to the legalization of the war. The characteristics of complex civilizational processes, the radical transformation of the status of the Church at the state level, as well as the peculiarities of the anti-militarist tradition of early Christianity allow us to imagine more deeply the complexity and importance of the problem of violence that arose before the Church at that time. St. Ambrose of Milan first showed the way to solve it, which became the basis of theological ideas in the Catholic and Orthodox traditions up to the present time. Therefore, the topic we are considering has a timeless character, linking the historical and cultural tradition of the past and contemporary realities.