Question
Has the Orthodox Church, specifically the OCA, taken an official position regarding the issue of gun control?
Answer
Thank you for your enquiry.
The Orthodox Church does not assume “official positions” or issue “official statements” on such issues. This, however, does not mean that the Church does not offer opinions on such matters.
The Church affirms that which is revealed by God—in this instance, “thou shalt not kill.” In principle, the Church would say that guns are not, in and of themselves, “evil,” even though they can indeed be used for evil purposes, such as willfully shooting one’s classmates in a junior high school or knocking off a rival gang member or murdering one’s spouse because the nagging has pushed one beyond the brink of annoyance.
The bottom line, then, is that one must control how one uses one’s gun, discerning when it is right to use it and when it isn’t.