Just War Educational Resources for Episcopal Military Chaplains

In 2003, the General Convention called upon all Episcopalians, in considering questions about war and peace, to “seriously consider and utilize the Just War criteria developed over the centuries.”

This call is most relevant to the Church’s military chaplains, who “bravely tend to the spiritual and religious needs of [the] United States Armed Forces… and respond to the challenges facing today’s military personnel, including extended exposure to violence, injustice, hatred and hardship.”

This website offers educational resources, including primers and instructional videos, to enable military chaplains, and all Episcopalians, to answer the Church’s call to better understand the Just War tradition and to better serve those currently or previously in uniform. 

A grant from the Marie Louise Constable Trust Fund to the Standing Commission on World Mission in partnership with the Office of the Suffragan Bishop for Armed Forces and Federal Ministries funded the creation of these resources.

Consultation with a committee of experts and with Episcopal military chaplains who shared their perspectives in a survey conducted in 2021, at a symposium held in 2022, and in video testimonials formed the content of these educational materials.  

For more information, or to become involved in the Episcopal Church’s ongoing study of the Just War tradition and ministry to the military, please contact the Canon to the Bishop for Armed Forces and Federal Ministries, Office of the Presiding Bishop , The Episcopal Church, 3101 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016, 202-459-9998.