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Themiles Christianus'Christian soldier' ormiles Christi'soldier ofChrist' is a Christianallegory based onNew Testament military metaphors, especially theArmor of God metaphor of military equipment standing for Christian virtues[1] and on certain passages of theOld Testament from theLatin Vulgate.[2] The plural ofLatinmiles'soldier' ismilites or the collectivemilitia.[3]
By the 5th century, the Church had started to develop doctrines that allowed for Christian participation in battle, though this was limited by a requirement that the fighting must be undertaken to convertinfidels or spread theglory of Christ. Christians were not to fight for conquest or personal glory.[4]
The concepts ofmiles Christi andmilitia Christi can be traced back to the first century AD.[4] The phrasemiles Christi, derived from a letter fromPaul the Apostle[5] and much employed byPope Gregory VII, also appeared in theGesta Francorum in reference to the youngPrince Tancred,Bohemond,Godfrey andCount Raymond of Toulouse,[6] each of whom were Christian leaders in theFirst Crusade.
The metaphor has its origins in early Christianity of the Roman Empire, and gave rise to the contrasting termpaganus (hitherto used in the sense of'civilian, one lacking discipline') for its opposite, i.e. one who was not a soldier of Christ.[7]
Chivalry as the idealized image ofknighthood was a commonmoral allegory in early Christian literature.[4] During theSaxon Wars, Charlemagne's Christian knights attended Mass, surrounded by relics, before battles.[4]
Fragments from 15th c. Polish chroniclerJan Długosz describe thesanctification of weapons and a concept of knighthood that was grounded in religion.[4] It became a theme inart during theHigh Middle Ages, with depictions of aknight with his various pieces of equipment identified with variousvirtues. This parallels the development of the understanding in medievalChristendom of the armed nobility as defenders of the faith, first emphasized byGregory VII in the context of theInvestiture controversy and later made even more explicit with the actual military expeditions of thecrusades. Depictions of themiles christianus with the emblematic Armour of God however remained very rare in the medieval period and only became prominent after theProtestant Reformation.[8]
In theearly modern period, the understanding of the term again became more metaphorical, but it survives in various Christian orders or confessions; it is especially pronounced among theJesuits and in theSalvation Army, and it is the central theme of the 18th-century hymn "Soldiers of Christ, Arise" and the 19th-century hymn "Onward, Christian Soldiers."
There is a Korean-American religious group called the Soldiers of Christ, which became the center of a 2023 murder case.[9]
