The Church towards Military Service and War in the light of selected canons of penitential books from the 6th to the 11th century

At the beginning of the history of the Church, the attitude of Christians to military service and war was varied. In later years, with the development of Christian doctrine and church discipline, these issues were regulated in detail by the provisions of individual councils and synods. The topic of Christian soldier also appears in penitentiary literature. Penitential books (libri poenitentiales), the subject matter of which actually covers the whole of human life in the context of the possibility of committing a crime - sin and its forgiveness by performing appropriate penance - also refer to the issues of Christian service in the army and participation in war. After analyzing the source text, the author would like to present primarily two issues in the article: the service of Christians in the army (royal or barbarian) and the problem of their participation in the war and the consequences for crimes committed during it. To present the subject, the author will use the canons of selected penitential books, in which interesting, from the point of view of the topic, issues appear