Does God Bless Sin?

[Myrrh]

I've been told by an Orthodox priest that killing in war can't be a sin because God doesn't bless sin and God blesses war/instruments of war in the liturgy.

Is this Orthodox teaching?

[尼古拉前执事]

Killing, even in war is considered somewhat sinful still, as the canons call for a 3 year excommunication for killing in war, longer outside of war. For clergy, killing means being defrocked.

[Myrrh]

Hello Nikolai, I was told that no Orthodox church held to St Basil's canons for this or his view that killing in war was homicide, rather going with Athanasius and Basil's comment that 'the fathers said killing in war wasn't homicide'. Now, I did come back with my own arguments on this point, but I wondered what is actually being taught about this.

But the above are extra ammo, so to speak, to his main argument which is that, 'God doesn't bless sin, therefore, since in the liturgy (and the Orthodox believe as they worship) God blesses killing in war, war is not a sin'.

What do you think of his argument?

Myrrh

[GOCPriestMark]

. . . God blesses war/instruments of war in the liturgy.

Can you give a direct quote for the words of this 'blessing'?

[Myrrh]

Can you give a direct quote for the words of this 'blessing'?[/quote]

That what I asked, he said: "My Church blesses the weapons which kill and it blesses the military who kill. It has set services to conduct such blessings."

Do you have the wording for these blessings?