The document was adopted at a meeting of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church on December 25-26, 2013 ( ).
The position of the Church regarding military service is based on the fact that military service is saving for a Christian, provided that he observes the commandments of love for God and neighbors, up to the readiness to lay down his soul “for his friends,” which, according to the word of Christ the Savior, is the highest manifestation of sacrificial Christian love (John 15:13).
The Russian Orthodox Church sees an urgent need to revive the spiritual foundations of military service, calling on military personnel to feat and prayer.
From the point of view of Christian doctrine, war is a physical manifestation of the hidden spiritual illness of humanity - fratricidal hatred (Gen. 4: 3-12). Recognizing war as evil, the Church blesses its children to participate in hostilities when it comes to protecting their neighbors and their Fatherland. The Church has always respected soldiers who, at the cost of their own lives and health, fulfilled their duty.
By preaching the gospel of Christ the Savior, the shepherd is called upon to inspire military personnel to military service. Maintaining peace in the soul is a very difficult matter, especially in the context of fulfilling military duty, which requires a warrior to carry out deep internal work on himself and special pastoral spiritual care. The purpose of a military priest is to become the spiritual father of military personnel, civilian personnel of military formations and members of their families, to help them understand their duty from a Christian point of view.
A military priest, in addition to the general requirements for the clergy of the Russian Orthodox Church, must have experience in pastoral service and be able to endure the difficulties and hardships associated with his service. At the same time, the personal example and firmness of spirit of a clergyman, especially in difficult situations, are important means of pastoral influence on military personnel.
Military chaplains are called upon to instill in military personnel the spirit of mutual assistance and fraternal support. At the same time, military chaplains should not take on functions beyond the scope of their status.
I. General provisions
1.1. This Regulation establishes the procedure for interaction between the dioceses of the Russian Orthodox Church (hereinafter referred to as the Synodal Department), federal government bodies that provide for military and law enforcement service (hereinafter referred to as military and law enforcement formations), as well as the military clergy 1 for questions:
- pastoral care and religious education of military personnel (employees) and members of their families;
- performing religious services and rituals on the territory of military and law enforcement formations 2 .
1.2. The military clergy organizes work with military personnel (employees) of the Orthodox faith (members of their families) on the principles of voluntariness and in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation, taking into account the specifics of military and law enforcement formations.
1.3. Diocesan bishops:
- exercise superior supervision and bear canonical responsibility for the liturgical and pastoral activities of military priests within their diocese;
- through the diocesan administration bodies, assist the clergy of their diocese and seconded clergy of other dioceses in carrying out relevant activities in military and law enforcement formations on the territory of the diocese.
1.4. The military clergy of the Russian Orthodox Church consists of full-time and part-time military clergy.
Full-time military priests are in positions of civilian personnel in military and law enforcement formations and in liturgical and pastoral activities are subordinate to the diocesan bishop of the diocese on the territory of which the military or law enforcement formation is located, and within the framework of official duties stipulated by the employment agreement (contract), they are subordinate to the commander (chief) of a military or law enforcement unit.
1.5. Freelance military priests carry out their activities in agreement with the commanders (chiefs) of a military or law enforcement formation on the basis of cooperation agreements between the Russian Orthodox Church, dioceses and military or law enforcement formations.
In terms of carrying out liturgical and pastoral activities in a military or law enforcement formation, freelance military priests are subordinate to the diocesan bishop of the diocese on whose territory the corresponding formation is located.
In relation to freelance military clergy sent from other dioceses, the diocesan bishop of the diocese on whose territory the military or law enforcement formation is located performs the functions provided for in clause 1.3 of these Regulations.
1.6. The relationship of the Orthodox clergy in the military collective with representatives of the clergy of other religions and Christian denominations is based on mutual respect and the principle of mutual non-interference in religious activities.
II. Requirements for military chaplains
2.1. Military chaplains must meet the following mandatory requirements:
- have pastoral experience that allows you to care for and educate military personnel (employees);
- have a higher theological education or higher secular education with sufficient pastoral experience;
- have a positive conclusion from a medical commission about your state of health.
2.2. Military chaplains holding regular positions in a military or law enforcement formation must be citizens of the Russian Federation and have no other citizenship.
2.3. Military priests may undergo special training necessary to perform their duties in the manner and under the conditions established by the Synodal Department for Cooperation with the Armed Forces and Law Enforcement Agencies together with the leadership of the military or law enforcement formation.
III. Tasks of the military clergy
3.1. The main tasks of the military clergy are:
- performance of divine services and religious ceremonies;
- spiritual and educational work;
- participation in events conducted by the command for the patriotic and moral education of military personnel (employees) and members of their families;
- assisting the command in carrying out preventive work to strengthen law and order and discipline, preventing offenses, hazing and suicidal incidents;
- advising command on religious issues;
- participation in the formation of relationships in groups based on the norms of Christian morality;
- promoting the formation of a healthy moral climate in the families of military personnel (employees).
3.2. The military clergy participates in the organization and conduct of educational and educational work with family members of military personnel (employees), interacting with various organizations, including military-patriotic and military sports clubs, veterans and other public organizations.
IV. Organization of the activities of the military clergy
4.1. Candidates for full-time positions of military clergy in military or law enforcement formations on the territory of the diocese are determined by the decision of the diocesan bishop.
Candidates are tested for professional suitability in accordance with the requirements determined by the Synodal Department for interaction with the Armed Forces and Law Enforcement Agencies and the leadership of a military or law enforcement formation.
If there are no obstacles, candidates undergo appropriate training according to programs developed by the Synodal Department and the Directorate for Work with Religious Military Personnel of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (hereinafter referred to as the RF Armed Forces).
Candidates are presented by the Synodal Department to the leadership of a military or law enforcement formation for appointment to regular positions.
4.2. If a candidate for a full-time position does not meet the established requirements, the diocese must submit information about another candidate to the Synodal Department for Cooperation with the Armed Forces and Law Enforcement Agencies.
If a cleric holding a full-time position is unable to fulfill his duties, he is subject to dismissal from office in the prescribed manner upon the proposal of the Synodal Department for Cooperation with the Armed Forces and Law Enforcement Agencies through the relevant body of the military or law enforcement formation. In this case, the diocese submits information about another candidate for the vacant position to the Synodal Department for Cooperation with the Armed Forces and Law Enforcement Agencies.
4.3. Full-time and part-time military priests remain clergy of the dioceses under whose canonical jurisdiction they belong.
4.4. Based on an appeal from the Chairman of the Synodal Department for Interaction with the Armed Forces and Law Enforcement Agencies, clergy may be sent for a certain period of time by the diocesan bishop, in whose canonical jurisdiction they are, to another diocese, on the territory of which a military or law enforcement formation is located, to carry out the service provided for in these Regulations.
If the diocesan bishop’s decision is positive, the chairman of the Synodal Department for Cooperation with the Armed Forces and Law Enforcement Agencies turns to the diocesan bishop of the diocese on whose territory the military or law enforcement formation is located, with a request to make a decision on the appointment of the seconded clergyman to the full-time position of a military priest.
By decision of the diocesan bishop of the diocese on the territory of which a military or law enforcement formation is located, a seconded clergyman may be sent to his diocese ahead of schedule.
4.5. In the event of redeployment of a military or law enforcement unit outside the diocese, the posting of full-time military priests to the place of new deployment is carried out in the manner provided for in clause 4.4 of these Regulations.
If the staff position occupied by a military priest is reduced, the seconded clergyman returns to serve in his diocese.
4.6. In their liturgical and pastoral activities, military priests are accountable to the diocesan bishop of the diocese on whose territory the military or law enforcement formation is located.
4.7. Controversial issues arising during the work of military priests are subject to settlement by the diocesan bishop of the diocese on the territory of which the military or law enforcement formation is located, together with representatives of the Synodal Department for Cooperation with the Armed Forces and Law Enforcement Agencies and the relevant bodies of the military or law enforcement formation.
4.8. Decisions on the promotion of military priests are made by the diocesan bishop of the diocese on the territory of which the corresponding military or law enforcement formation is located, upon the proposal of the Synodal Department for Interaction with the Armed Forces and Law Enforcement Agencies and (or) the commander (chief) of the military or law enforcement formation.
In relation to seconded clergy, decisions on promotion are made by the diocesan bishop of the diocese, in the canonical jurisdiction of which the seconded clergyman is located, on the recommendation of the diocesan bishop of the diocese in whose territory the corresponding military or law enforcement formation is located, as well as the Synodal Department for Cooperation with the Armed Forces and Law Enforcement Agencies or the commander (chief) of a military or law enforcement formation.
4.9. Decisions on the imposition of canonical punishments on clergy from among military priests are made by the diocesan bishop (church court) of the diocese on the territory of which the corresponding military or law enforcement formation is located, upon the recommendation of the Synodal Department for Interaction with the Armed Forces and Law Enforcement Agencies or the commander (chief) of the military or law enforcement formation .
In relation to seconded clergy, decisions on the application of canonical punishments are made by the diocesan bishop (ecclesiastical court) of the diocese, in the canonical jurisdiction of which the seconded clergyman is located, on the proposal of the diocesan bishop of the diocese in whose territory the corresponding military or law enforcement formation is located, as well as the Synodal Department for Cooperation with the Armed Forces forces and law enforcement agencies or the commander (chief) of a military or law enforcement formation.
4.10. Freelance military priests on the territory of the diocese are appointed by decision of the diocesan bishop.
The appointment of freelance military priests from among those sent from other dioceses is carried out in exceptional cases with the consent of the diocesan bishop, under whose canonical jurisdiction the sent clergyman is located.
4.11. After a clergyman is appointed to a full-time position, the commander (chief) of a military or law enforcement formation enters into an employment agreement (contract) with him.
4.12. A military priest, in the manner prescribed by the regulations of the relevant military or law enforcement formation, is provided with premises that allow him to perform divine services in accordance with church canons, as well as premises for non-liturgical work with military personnel.
4.13. To organize daily activities in a military or law enforcement formation, the command may allocate to a military chaplain the necessary means of communication, transportation for his service, and provide other necessary practical assistance.
On all issues of organizing his activities, including in the event of conflict situations, a military priest has the right to contact the diocesan bishop and (or) a higher commander (chief) of a military or law enforcement formation, the Synodal Department for Interaction with the Armed Forces and Law Enforcement Agencies for methodological and practical assistance and (or) to the head of the relevant military or law enforcement agencies.
4.14. Providing military priests with church utensils, religious literature, and other items for religious purposes, equipping military (including camp) churches is the subject of concern of the diocesan bishop of the diocese on whose territory the military or law enforcement formation is located.
4.15. The provision of official housing, payment of wages, ensuring the right to rest, medical care, education, pensions, benefits for large families and other social guarantees for full-time military chaplains are provided by the relevant military or law enforcement formation in the manner established by the current legislation of the Russian Federation.
V. Job responsibilities of a full-time military chaplain
5.1. A military chaplain is obliged to:
- base their activities on the Holy Scriptures, the teachings of the Orthodox Church, church canons, taking into account the traditions of the Russian army;
- focus on pastoral, spiritual and educational work among military personnel (employees), both individually and as part of units;
- know the basic provisions of the military legislation of the Russian Federation, as well as the provisions of regulatory legal acts relating to religious activities in military and law enforcement formations;
- participate in military rituals, ceremonies and other ceremonial events of a military or law enforcement formation;
- perform rituals and requirements at the request of military personnel (employees) and members of their families;
- provide the necessary pastoral support to military personnel (employees) who find themselves in difficult life situations, the sick and wounded, family members of military personnel (employees), as well as veterans and disabled people;
- organize and conduct church burials of military personnel (employees) and members of their families, their church commemoration, assist in maintaining military burial places in decent condition;
- assist the command of a military or law enforcement formation in overcoming violations of law and order and discipline, non-statutory rules of relationships, drunkenness, drug addiction, theft, bribery and other negative manifestations;
- to promote the maintenance of peace and harmony between military personnel (employees) of different religions, to prevent interethnic and interreligious hostility, to assist the command in resolving conflict situations;
- advise the command on issues of a religious nature, provide them and officials of military or law enforcement formations with assistance in countering the activities of destructive religious (pseudo-religious) organizations;
- comply with labor discipline and the requirements of current Russian legislation on the protection of state secrets;
- about conflicts that cannot be resolved at the local level, inform the diocesan bishop, the Synodal Department for Cooperation with the Armed Forces and Law Enforcement Agencies, and, if necessary, the higher command of the relevant military or law enforcement formation;
- whenever possible, provide assistance to military personnel (employees) of other religions in the exercise of their constitutional right to freedom of religion;
- perform other duties according to the position provided for in the employment agreement (contract).
— Military clergy are clergy of the Russian Orthodox Church who, on a full-time or freelance basis, provide pastoral care to military personnel (employees) of federal government bodies, which provide military and law enforcement service.
The Church does not single out any profession as much as military service. The reason is clear: the military, and representatives of law enforcement agencies in general, devote not only their strength and knowledge to their work, but, if necessary, their very life. Such a sacrifice requires religious understanding.
By the 19th century, the institution of military clergy had developed in Russia. He united the priesthood, which looked after the army and navy, into an independent church-administrative structure. Several years ago, the state and the Church took a step towards reviving this institution: full-time military chaplains again appeared in the army. In St. Petersburg, the work of the Church with the army and navy is coordinated by the department for interaction with the Armed Forces and law enforcement agencies of the St. Petersburg diocese, which celebrates its tenth anniversary in 2015.
The emergence of spiritual “special forces”
The first written mention of the priesthood in the Russian army dates back to the Kazan campaign of John IV (the Terrible) in 1552. A long siege was being prepared, and the king took care of the spiritual support of the soldiers. The Liturgy was served in the camp camp. Many warriors, led by the king, took communion and “prepared to begin the mortal feat clean.” Some researchers believe that priests previously accompanied the people's militia, but at first they were parish priests. After military campaigns they returned to their dioceses.“Special purpose” priests appeared in Russia in the middle of the 17th century, under Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, when the standing army that had been born two centuries earlier began to rapidly increase.
The development of the military clergy was further promoted by Peter I, who created a regular army and navy in Russia, and with them a full-time regimental and naval clergy. During hostilities, the first was subordinate to the field chief priest appointed in the army (usually from the “white” clergy), the second to the naval chief hieromonk. However, in peacetime, military priests were under the control of the bishops of the diocese to which the regiment or crew of the ship was assigned. Double subordination was ineffective, and in 1800 Paul I concentrated all control of the military clergy in the hands of the chief priest of the army and navy. The newly created position was filled by Archpriest Pavel Ozeretskovsky, with whose name the beginning of the institution of military clergy is associated.
Military priests went through with honor all the battles of the 19th century that befell Russia in abundance. By the end of the century, the protracted process of forming a spiritual department was completed. The main power in it again began to belong to one person - the protopresbyter of the army and navy. Further, the vertical control looked like this: the main priests of the districts - the main priests of the armies - divisional, brigade, garrison deans - regimental, hospital and prison priests. As a church administrator, the protopresbyter of the army and navy was comparable in position to the diocesan bishop, but had more rights. The first to occupy this high post was Archpriest Alexander Alekseevich Zhelobovsky.
I serve the Fatherland: Earthly and Heavenly
The most numerous spiritual “detachment” before the revolution was the regimental priesthood. In the tsarist army, the priest was considered the main educator; he was supposed to inspire soldiers to be loyal to the Tsar and the Fatherland to the point of being ready to lay down their lives for them, setting an example in this. Russian priests took up arms only in exceptional cases, subsequently bringing church repentance for this. However, history has brought to us many cases when a priest with a cross in his hands led an attack that threatened to choke or walked under bullets next to a timid soldier, supporting his spirit. This was the field of ascetics unknown to the world, ardent servants of the faith.Military priests conducted services and monitored their attendance (by order of the troops, all personnel had to take communion at least once a year). They performed funeral services for their fallen fellow soldiers, informed their relatives of their deaths, and monitored the condition of military cemeteries, which as a result were the most well-groomed. During the battle, priests at the forward dressing station helped bandage the wounded. In peacetime, they taught the Law of God, held spiritual conversations with those who wished, monitored the improvement of churches, organized libraries, and parochial schools for illiterate soldiers. In the strict army hierarchy, the position of a regimental chaplain was equal to that of a captain. The soldiers were obliged to salute him, but at the same time the priest remained an accessible and close person to them.
"Military" department of our time
was recreated in 2005 by decree. Historically, it developed during the 19th century. The first dean known to us today can be called the rector of the square, Archpriest Pyotr Pesotsky, famous for the fact that he took the last confession from A.S. Pushkin. Father Peter Pesotsky participated in the Patriotic War of 1812 as the dean of the St. Petersburg and Novgorod militias.Today, the military deanery district includes 17 parishes, 43 churches (of which 15 are affiliated) and 11 chapels at military and law enforcement institutions in St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region. To coordinate work with law enforcement agencies, which was previously carried out separately at the level of individual parishes, a special one was created under the St. Petersburg diocese ten years ago. Since the founding of the department, the position of head of the department for interaction with the Armed Forces and law enforcement agencies and dean of “military” churches has been held by Archpriest Alexander - since April 2013, Hieromonk Alexy - and since April 2014. In May 2014, he was appointed deputy chairman of the superior Synodal Department.
The military deanery of the St. Petersburg diocese is under the jurisdiction of 31 churches and 14 chapels, including those being restored and those being designed.
Full-time clergy - 28 clergy: 23 priests and five deacons. The deanery supports 11 military universities.
In 2009, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and His Holiness Patriarch Kirill decided to introduce full-time military clergy into the Armed Forces. In our military district, he became the first full-time army chaplain, with the title of “educational assistant to the commander of the 95th command brigade of the Western Military District.” Like the pre-revolutionary shepherds, Father Anatoly conducts services, conducts conversations, and goes with his unit for teachings. What is its contingent?
“This is a unique case,” Father Anatoly shares his three years of experience in the army. — Many soldiers in the army see a priest for the first time. And little by little they begin to understand that he is the same person. They begin to slowly become interested in issues of faith. Only a few recruits come churched. They leave - much more. Everyone comes with different moods. And I must set them up to carry out military duty, explain that no one will help us except themselves and the Lord God. And the guys understand this.
Pastoral care: Ministry of Internal Affairs, Ministry of Emergency Situations, Drug Control
The work of the “military” department of the St. Petersburg diocese is divided into sectors according to the types of law enforcement agencies. The most important thing for everyone is pastoral care. Prayers and services (where there are churches), taking the oath in a solemn atmosphere in churches or in the presence of the clergy, the participation of priests in various events, the consecration of weapons, banners, spiritual conversations with leadership and personnel have become a sign of today in many law enforcement units and military training establishments.“We are trying to unite our efforts in the fight against such a terrible scourge as drug addiction,” says the rector of the Trinity-Izmailovsky Cathedral, who works with employees of the State Drug Control Service. — We started interacting with the tax police in 1996, and later, when the State Drug Control Service became its successor, we continued to cooperate with it. Recently, in our cathedral - for the first time since the revolution - a new management banner was consecrated: solemnly, according to military rank, in the presence of two hundred employees dressed in full dress uniform, with orders and medals.
Cooperation between the Church and the Ministry of Emergency Situations began with a sad reason.
“In 1991, a fire at the Leningrad Hotel killed nine employees,” says a colonel of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, who spent many years in the fire department, talking about the work of his sector. — Major General Leonid Isachenko, who was then the head of the department, invited a priest and initiated the construction of a temple-chapel of the Burning Bush icon of the Mother of God. For eight years we have been conducting an hour of spiritual culture with the operational management of the Ministry of Emergency Situations in St. Petersburg. We talk with senior management and personnel, watch films, organize pilgrimage trips.
To date, the department has reached agreements on cooperation between the diocese and the Leningrad Naval Base, the border department of the FSB of Russia in the Leningrad region, the courier service of the Federal Service of Russia in the North-West, the Leningrad Military District, as well as with the Central Internal Affairs Directorate, the North-Western Regional Command of the Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs RF, GUFSIN, All-Russian Police Association, Office of the Federal Drug Control Service.
School of Military Clergy
Where do “special purpose priests” come from? Someone accidentally ends up in this place, someone continues the “military” line of their secular life (for example, they graduated from a higher military school before ordination or simply served in the army), and someone specially studies at a “school.” In 2011, with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill, the first “School of Military Clergy” in Russia was opened at the “military” department on the basis of the Sunday school of the church-chapel of the icon of the Mother of God “Burning Bush”. In it, cadet priests are taught the specifics of military service: how to equip a tent for a camp church during field trips, how to set it up in the barracks, how and what a priest should do in a combat area. In 2013, the school had its first graduation.The “military” department also operates the St. Macarius theological and pedagogical courses, to which Orthodox Christians are invited who want to become catechists - assistants to the “military” priests. The training program lasts a year, course graduates are involved in educational service in various educational institutions and military units of the army and navy.
Priests in “hot spots”
In February - March 2003, even before the formation of the department, Archpriest Alexander Ganzhin was seconded to the Chechen Republic, where he supported employees of the Federal Agency for Government Communications and Information under the President of the Russian Federation (FAPSI). Since then, every year the clergy of the “military” department make 3-4 business trips to Dagestan, Ingushetia, and the Chechen Republic for pastoral care of the military units located there. One of these “fighting” priests is the rector of the garrison church of the Holy Trinity in Krasnoe Selo. Father Georgy is a former police captain, in the priesthood he has been in “hot spots” since the second Chechen war. In Chechnya, not far from Khankala, he had to not only serve services and hold high conversations with soldiers, but also bandage wounded soldiers under bullets.
“After the battle, most people need to speak out, they want human participation, understanding, they want to be pitied,” says Father Georgy. — A priest in such a situation is simply a salvation. Today, fortunately, hostilities happen less and less often, but when they happen, I see that the guys are ready to lay down their souls just to save my life. I usually live with them in tents, I put up a temple tent next to them - we hold prayer services and baptisms in it. I take part in campaigns and during combat operations, if necessary, I provide medical assistance. A priest can refuse a military campaign, but we, priests, testify to our faith by our presence there. If the priest is cowardly, he will not be condemned, but priests will be judged by this act all their lives. We must be an example here too.
Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Kotkov, Doctor of Pedagogical Sciences, professor, author of the books “Military Clergy of Russia” and “Military Temples and Clergy of Russia”:
“The feat of the military priests has not been fully appreciated. The archives of the office of the Protopresbyter of the Army and Navy are located in St. Petersburg. I take many cases and see that no one has looked at them before me. And they contain colossal experience of the work of the military clergy, which must be studied today, when the understanding has again arisen that military power, combined with spiritual height, is an irresistible force.
Youth are our future
In addition to the confrontation with physical forces and technical power, there is also a quiet struggle for the minds of future warriors and future citizens. The loser may lose the future of his country.“The level of patriotic education in schools has now dropped significantly,” says the deputy chairman of the “military” department. — The hours of Russian history, literature, and the Russian language have been reduced. If in pre-revolutionary Russia children studied the Law of God from school and organically absorbed faith from birth, today they join the army not only as non-believers, but they don’t even really know the history of their country. How then can we cultivate the spirit of patriotism?
A program for the spiritual and patriotic education of youth, prepared by the “military” department, helps fill the gaps and “win back” young people from social networks and computer “shooters.” All churches of the military deanery have Sunday schools, and many have military-patriotic clubs. For example, teenagers are studying a course of basic military training that is forgotten today in secondary schools.
Large-scale projects for children and youth have become the hallmark of the department. This is a martial arts tournament included in the competition grid of the Ministry of Defense, dedicated to the memory of the warrior Yevgeny Rodionov, at which the mother of the hero-martyr Lyubov Vasilievna is always present; All-Russian gathering of military-patriotic and Cossack youth organizations named after the Holy Blessed Prince Alexander Nevsky, where teams compete in knowledge of history, combat, medical, and combat training. The children's historical forum “Alexandrovsky Flag” also attracts hundreds of participants from all over Russia.
The “military” department also cooperates with veteran organizations: this is the “Combat Brotherhood”, and associations of former special forces and intelligence servicemen. Veterans are frequent guests at various events and irreplaceable mentors for young people. The ovation given by the audience to the gray-haired war hero and the quiet chime of the orders on his chest can explain to girls and boys faster than any words what patriotism is.
Athletes and veterans
Another area of work of the “military” department is cooperation with martial arts clubs. Many people ask why Orthodox priests need to fight?“I’ll answer from my own experience,” says Hieromonk Leonid (Mankov). “I came to the gym when I was nine years old, and the first sport I became interested in was karate. Then he practiced hand-to-hand combat and competed. And this was very useful to me in the army, in “hot spots”.
Military shepherds look after the martial arts clubs “Alexander Nevsky”, “Fight Spirit” and the “Union of Mixed Martial Arts MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) of Russia”, the president of which is the famous athlete Fedor Emelianenko. They are friends with many famous coaches and athletes and regularly attend competitions.
Athletes are also confident in the need for such cooperation:
“A priest can help cope with many problems within a men’s team,” says Russian champion in hand-to-hand combat, Russian and European champion in jiu-jitsu, two-time Russian champion and world champion in combat sambo Mikhail Zayats. “There is a serious struggle going on here, not only externally, but also internally. When a martial artist achieves a high result, there is a risk of “star fever”, the danger of putting oneself above everyone else. Spiritual nourishment helps not to fall into this sin, but to remain, first of all, human under any circumstances.
Strong-willed
The deeper you dive into the work of the “military” department, the more you understand how grandiose its scope is. It is enough to look at the department’s website or pick up its newspaper “Orthodox Warrior” to understand that it is not for nothing that the “military” department received the title of the most information-open within the diocese. The number of events held is huge, wide and the scope of those involved in the sphere of cooperation with the department is from youth to veterans, from privates to generals. Fortunately, military priests today rarely have to raise a bullet-cut cross over their heads. But modernity has its own tasks. Uniting patriotically minded people around the idea of serving the Motherland is a high mission, voluntarily taken and worthily fulfilled today by the military priesthood. In the new television project “Strong in Spirit,” employees of the “military” department decided to talk about military exploits sanctified by the Orthodox faith.But perhaps it is precisely this epithet - “strong in spirit” - that is best suited both for the staff of the “military” department and for those who choose to serve as a military shepherd.
The last dean of the military clergy of the St. Petersburg diocese before the 1917 revolution was Alexei Andreevich Stavrovsky (from 1892 to 1918), who was shot in the fall of 1918 in Kronstadt and in 2001 canonized as a new martyr of the Russian Church.
Who are military chaplains? What “hot spots” do they serve in and how do they live? Archpriest Sergius Privalov, Chairman of the Synodal Department for Cooperation with the Armed Forces, spoke about the role military clergy play in conflict areas and how they help soldiers in the “Image” program in Constantinople.
What is special about military priests?
Veronica Ivashchenko: First, let me ask: what role do clergy play in the Russian armed forces today?
Sergiy Privalov: The role has always been high. This role is to bring a spiritual component to serving the Fatherland.
Currently, a military priest is, on the one hand, the same priest as in the parish. But there is one, probably the most fundamental difference. He is ready to be with the military personnel. He is ready to be with those who defend our Fatherland, our Motherland, our original traditions, our spiritual life. And in this case, the clergyman becomes not only one of those who defend with weapons. But he brings a spiritual meaning to this armed defense.
Extra strength.
Not only additional spiritual strength, but, on the other hand, also a moral component. Because a clergyman is a person who has a calling from God. He introduces humanization and understanding into the military formation of the service to which military personnel are called. People with weapons - for them this is responsible obedience. And the use of this most perfect weapon today should be in clean hands, with a moral tuning fork in the soul of every person. And this, first of all, is characteristic of what a clergyman brings to the army.
Orthodox priests in Syria
Father Sergius, our military personnel are now participating in hostilities in Syria. Tell me, somehow, in these difficult conditions, are Orthodox priests spiritually caring for them?
Yes. Divine services are held almost daily. At the Khmeimim air base, a full-time military chaplain is present with the military personnel. Moreover, on major holidays, great holidays, the Russian Orthodox Church sends additional clergy and choristers to participate in services not only at the Khmeimim airbase, but also at the Tartus naval base.
In Khmeimim, just recently, the consecration of an Orthodox chapel in honor of the Holy Great Martyr George the Victorious took place. And the temple in Tartus should soon be consecrated in honor of the holy righteous warrior Fyodor Ushakov. Here are the bishops, both Tartu and the bishop who covers the Antiochian Patriarchate with an omophorion and, in particular, the air base in Khmeimim, blessed the construction of Orthodox church ecclesiastical buildings. And just recently we took part with Bishop Anthony of Akhtubinsky and Enotaevsky in the consecration of this chapel. All personnel were present at the consecration.
That's why the priests are nearby. The priests are inside military formations, they are together with the military personnel, even in these so-called “hot spots”.
Our main weapon is prayer
Father Sergius, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill recently spoke about the ideal of a Christ-loving army, citing the example of the war in the Middle East. Is it really impossible to fight this very terrible enemy only with the help of weapons?
Certainly. That is why the Russian Orthodox Church prays. Our most important weapon is prayer. And the more followers of the Christian faith there are in the world, the purer, the more spiritual, the more peaceful humanity will become.
Therefore, the religion of love, Christianity, is a potential that people should resort to. They must compare other religions, and, first of all, those people who reject religion altogether and want to be the so-called. atheists. Or those who choose the path of pseudo-religion, terrorism. In this case, Christianity reveals the meaning and the basis to which one must resort in order to win the spiritual battle. In this case, prayer should be the natural state of the soul of an Orthodox warrior.
And perhaps this is why the demand for military chaplains is growing so much?
Of course, and especially in “hot spots”. When people feel that not only the force of arms is needed. You need confidence in your actions. You need confidence in the correctness of your service. Inside a military unit, formations. And the most important thing is that people, turning to Christ, receive this help. Many people put on Orthodox crosses for the first time. Many are baptized. Many come to confession and holy communion for the first time. This is, in fact, a joyful event for the clergy.
There are now about 170 full-time military chaplains
Tell me, how many military priests are there now?
There are currently about 170 military clergy. These are the ones who are regularly assigned. And more than 500 in various capacities, we call them freelance military clergy, serve in military units. He came periodically, performed divine services, and cared for his flock.
Tell me, can they be called chaplains, is this correct?
Well, in the Russian Orthodox Church the word "chaplain" is more associated with Catholicism or Protestantism. And in our everyday life they are sometimes called chaplains. Which may not be entirely correct, but there is a tendency to call military clergy the same as they are uniformly called in the West. But I think that every military clergyman, of course, does not change his spiritual inner content because of this.
Please tell us what are the requirements for their selection? Do they participate in military exercises with regular military personnel?
Firstly, the selection is quite tough. First of all, it concerns spiritual education. That is, we select those clergy who have a fairly high level of both spiritual and secular education. The second criterion is skills to work in a military environment. That is, they must have experience in pastoral service and care for military units. And third, of course, is health. That is, a person must be ready for this service, he must express a desire to undergo the appropriate selection through the Ministry of Defense, in personnel bodies. And only after this, and on the recommendation of the ruling bishop of his diocese, is he considered by the Synodal Department for Cooperation with the Armed Forces. And this decision is approved by the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation.
By the way, what are the most pressing issues in your department right now?
I would not say that some issues are particularly acute and we are not able to solve them. That is, everything that is happening today is a solvable problem.
Of course, one of these problems is the personnel composition of military clergy. We have 268 full-time positions, and so far 170 have been appointed. Therefore, in distant regions, in the north, the Far East, the full-time positions of military clergy are not yet fully staffed. And then an appropriate basis for spiritual enlightenment must be formed. That is, we really want the priest to be heard, so that the appropriate time and place are allocated where the priest talks about Christ, about the spiritual foundations of military service to the Fatherland. For this, we still need to go through a lot in the military environment, to ensure that we are understood, heard and given such an opportunity. Not only, as some say, with each soldier individually, but also with large units at the same time.
From officers to military chaplains
Father Sergius, many military priests were officers in the past, including you, right?
Right.
Please tell us, does it often happen that military men become priests?
Well, firstly, a person who himself has come to know Christ, he can no longer help but talk about him. If a person was previously in an officer position, then he understands that the next stage of his service is to carry the word of God already in the priesthood. But, again, among those whom he knows best and is best oriented in a given situation within military units.
And therefore, the percentage of those who were previously officers or completed military service, perhaps as contract soldiers, is quite high. But this is not the only and correct criterion for selecting military priests. Because there are military clergy who have never even served in the army.
But at the same time, in spirit and with their love, they are so close to the military units and to those guys who serve in the troops that they have acquired such authority. They truly became fathers to these military guys. Therefore, here we need to look at the spiritual calling. And the Lord himself calls. And if so, then a person cannot help but serve his neighbor. And who needs it most? Of course, the military. Because for them Christ is protection. For them, Christ is their support. For them, the Savior is the goal of life. Because it is precisely when they are inside in such difficult conditions that they turn to God sincerely. And in this case, the priest should be nearby. He must support the children with his prayer, and, first of all, spiritually instruct them.
More and more believers among the military
How do priests influence the relationships between military personnel? Maybe the situation with hazing has changed, do they affect moral development?
Probably, the most important thing is that a person’s attitude to society, to the world, to himself and to religion, in principle, has changed. That is, the number of believers and who consciously say that they are Orthodox, you spoke about 78%, now the percentage is even higher, more than 79%.
And the most important thing is that the guys, the military personnel, are not afraid to profess their faith. They consciously cross themselves, go to churches, and participate in divine services. This is probably the most important thing that happened with the arrival or participation of clergy in military units.
The second is a change in the internal climate inside military units. Military discipline has changed, or even improved. I think that in many ways these questions, of course, are not only for priests, and it is their merit that hazing is coming to naught. Firstly, these are very correct and competent decisions of the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation Sergei Kuzhegetovich Shoigu. And hazing itself, which involves a two-year conscription, when some are senior and junior in relation to other military personnel - this artificial division led to conflicts.
Now this is not the case. All serve only one year. This time. And secondly, the tasks that the armed forces solve have become, first of all, combat ones. People are being prepared for war. And therefore they try to treat their service accordingly. Exercises, transfers, regroupings.
This all suggests that there is no time to engage in any kind of hazing. It is clear that anything can happen. But the attitude of man to man within the military collective is changing for the better. Because they are now doing their duty. Sometimes away from their native land. And very often with the participation of serious events that require concentration, the brotherly shoulder of your colleague. All this, well, taken together, naturally improves the situation inside military units. And the priests are always nearby.+
That is, during field exercises, they go out with the military personnel, set up their tents, temple-tents, and try to pray with them. That is, this is, in fact, the real combat work of a military clergyman.
The Russian Ministry of Defense published a photograph of Archimandrite Andrei (Vac) in message about the “Give a Book to a Soldier” campaign at a base in Armenia. The photo is notable for the fact that it depicts the uniform of military priests of the new model, the site notes "Defend Russia". On the eve of Orthodox Easter, Gazeta.Ru looked into the state of the modern institution of army clergy.
In many countries of the world, regimental priests or chaplains have been in the army for several hundred years - for example, in the USA and Great Britain this institution has been functioning since the 18th century. In pre-revolutionary Russia, this institution was legally approved even earlier - during the time of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich.
As a rule, clergy of the main faiths and religions are represented in military formations of Western countries, taking into account the characteristics of demographics. Most armies are represented in one way or another by Catholic and Protestant priests, often by rabbis and mullahs. Buddhist and Hindu clergy also work with the US military on a small scale.
It is worth noting that religious diversity was also in the tradition of the Russian military before the October Revolution - in the Russian army, in addition to Orthodox priests, imams and rabbis served.
During the Soviet years, the military clergy remained out of work - relaxations during the Great Patriotic War are often mentioned, but the full-scale involvement of priests in the life of the army did not occur.
Battle Unction
After the collapse of the USSR, there was a revival of the tradition, but the actual decision on this issue was made only in 2009 by order of then President Dmitry Medvedev.
Formally, the priests held the position of assistant commander for work with religious servicemen; later they were equated to the position of political officer. However, the reform went slowly - according to 2012 data, the shortage of clergy in the Russian army was 90%. At the same time, the authorities granted a deferment from military service to those priests who did not want to work in this position.
In 2014 became known on the beginning of training programs for the training of priests in the country's military universities. “Starting this year, the development and implementation of advanced training programs for military clergy will begin in five military educational institutions, primarily command ones,” stated then the head of the department for work with believers, Alexander Surovtsev.
They decided to eliminate the shortage with the help of the country's chief priest - Patriarch Kirill ordered that monks from stauropegial (that is, directly accountable to the primate) monasteries be recruited to fill army positions.
However, as the magazine wrote in 2009 "Military Review", the shortage persisted: instead of the required 242 “chaplains,” only 132 were recruited, of which 129 were Orthodox, two Muslims and one Buddhist.
In 2010, the Synodal Department of the Russian Orthodox Church for interaction with the Armed Forces established special media for Russian “chaplains” - “Bulletin of Military and Naval Clergy”. The online magazine publishes materials, for example, about unction at the Kapustin Yar training ground and about visit Archpriest Alexander Bondarenko to the training ground in Crimea.
The Airborne Forces especially distinguished themselves in the field of instilling faith in the military. In 2013 it became known about testing a mobile church based on a KamAZ truck. It is interesting that the first samples of such a temple were produced at the Donetsk Metallurgical Plant, which later found itself in the combat zone of the Ukrainian conflict.
It was reported that this machine is intended for the spiritual “nurturing of paratroopers during exercises and armed conflicts.” It was proposed to equip all units of the Russian Armed Forces with such mobile churches.
A new milestone was reached a few months later, when the public demonstrated parachute landing of a mobile church, which was practiced at a training ground near Ryazan.
“A parachute is the same means of transport as a car or a bicycle, by which you can arrive at the place where a child of the Russian Orthodox Church is located,” is how one of the priests who participated in the training described the innovation.
At the beginning of 2016, a Russian group of troops in Syria demonstrated their commitment to Orthodox ideals during a Christmas service at the Khmeimim base.
“This service brings love, peace, hope that with the coming of Christ the Savior peace will come to the Syrian land,” said Father Ilya, who conducted the service.
As far as is known, despite the presence of Russian troops and military priests in Syria, no operations to install mobile churches were carried out in the country affected by Islamic terrorists.
“The abbot so-and-so will speak to you.”
Despite the declared enthusiasm in the interaction between the army and the church, this work is still in its infancy among the rank and file of the army.
As a young man who served in the Taman division told Gazeta.Ru, this interaction is limited to several Orthodox holidays - Christmas, Maslenitsa and Easter. He noted that this is an even better option, since the Taman division can be called “demonstrative” in all respects. Other ex-soldiers interviewed by Gazeta.Ru talk about the lack of spiritual support for soldiers.
According to the “Tamaman”, contacts with the priests took place on the parade ground during general formations. “Everyone goes to the parade ground, the brigade commander speaks on one issue or another. And then, for example, he says that today is such and such a holiday, abbot such and such will speak to you. The priest comes out, congratulates the soldiers and sprinkles them with holy water,” said the young man.
Muslims, Jews and non-religious soldiers were asked to wait away from the parade ground. As a rule, conscripts of Asian or Caucasian origin failed. And most of the soldiers remained in the ranks - “they didn’t want to stand out, although no one was punished for this.”
According to the soldier, a soldier can theoretically communicate personally with a priest by contacting the commander or political officer of the unit about this. “No one has done this before me. More often, soldiers turn to a psychologist,” he clarifies.
“Many people wore crosses, but there was not much talk about God. Everyone missed their girlfriend, mother, family, food. Every evening the whole brigade sang the anthem... In short, it was fun, but there was no God,” the ex-soldier summed up.
Judging by the fact that a significant part of the world's leading armies have the institution of chaplains, military chaplains one way or another perform an important social function - regardless of the actual religiosity of military personnel.
For a young man, military service is stressful, and any psychological support should help him cope with it - both from regular psychologists and from relatives, friends, officers and colleagues. Priests are also capable of playing this role.
The same Archimandrite Andrei (Vats), serving at the Russian base in Armenia, in 2013 formulated The role of clerics in the army is as follows: “We support and provide assistance to those soldiers who, due to our social reality, are lost. Many people come, having torn themselves away from their mother’s skirt, and find themselves in an environment where there are only men. It's hard! Few are still ready to come to terms with their own weaknesses, much less with others. That's why
This soldier needs a huge spiritual resource to overcome himself. This is where our help is needed!”
It is difficult to disagree with this formulation - this does not require theological discussions. However, the Russian Army still has a long way to go before the institute of military chaplains begins to fully fulfill the tasks facing it.
The time when the first priests appeared in military squads is not known exactly. Peter I legally ordered that there should be clergymen attached to every regiment and ship, and from the first quarter of the 18th century, appointments of clergymen to military units (primarily the navy) became regular.During the 18th century, the administration of the military clergy in peacetime was not separated from the diocesan administration and belonged to the bishop of the area where the regiment was stationed. The reform of the management of the military and naval clergy was carried out by Emperor Paul I. By decree of April 4, 1800, the position of the field chief priest became permanent, and the management of all the clergy of the army and navy was concentrated in his hands. The chief priest received the right to independently determine, transfer, dismiss, and nominate for awards the clergy of his department. Regular salaries and pensions were determined for military shepherds. The first chief priest, Pavel Ozeretskovsky, was appointed a member of the Holy Synod and received the right to communicate with the diocesan bishops on matters of personnel policy without reporting to the Synod. In addition, the chief priest received the right to personally report to the emperor.
In 1815, a separate department of the chief priest of the General Staff and Guard troops was formed (later including the grenadier regiments), which soon became virtually independent of the Synod in matters of management. Chief priests of the Guards and Grenadier Corps N.V. Muzovsky and V.B. The Bazhanov also headed the court clergy in 1835-1883 and were confessors to the emperors.
A new reorganization of the administration of the military clergy took place in 1890. Power was again concentrated in the person of one person, who received the title of Protopresbyter of the military and naval clergy. During the First World War, Protopresbyter G.I. Shavelsky was for the first time given the right of personal presence at a military council; the protopresbyter was directly at headquarters and, like the once first chief priest P.Ya. Ozeretskovsky, had the opportunity to personally report to the emperor.
The number of clergy in the Russian army was determined by the staff approved by the Military Department. In 1800, about 140 priests served in the regiments, in 1913 - 766. At the end of 1915, about 2,000 priests served in the army, which was approximately 2% of the total number of clergy in the empire. In total, during the war years, from 4,000 to 5,000 representatives of the Orthodox clergy served in the army. Many of the career priests continued their service in the armies of A.I. Denikina, P.N. Wrangel, A.V. Kolchak.
The regimental priest was in double subordination: on church affairs - to the chief priest, on other issues - to the military authorities. Long service in the same regiment was very rare. Usually the clergyman constantly moved from regiment to regiment, on average every five years, and often from one end of the empire to the other: from Brest-Litovsk to Ashgabat, from there to Siberia, then to the west, to Grodno, etc.
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According to the instructions of G.I. Shavelsky, in addition to the above-mentioned duties, the regimental priest had to: assist the doctor in dressing wounds; manage the removal of the dead and wounded from the battlefield; notify relatives of the death of soldiers; organize in their sections of society assistance to the families of killed and maimed soldiers; take care of maintaining military graves and cemeteries in order; set up traveling libraries.
Since 1889, in terms of service rights, military clergy have been equated to the following army ranks: chief priest - to lieutenant general, archpriest - to colonel, priest - to captain, deacon - to lieutenant. In Rus', the defense of the Fatherland has always been considered a holy cause, but in the Russian penitential discipline, murder, even in war, for whatever purpose and under whatever circumstances it was committed, was condemned. Priests and monks, according to the 83rd Apostolic Canon and the 7th definition of the IV Ecumenical Council, are prohibited from participating in hostilities with weapons in their hands. But in Rus', especially in the early Middle Ages, representatives of the clergy sometimes, for various reasons, took direct part in battles. In the Battle of Kulikovo in 1380, with the blessing of Sergius of Radonezh, schemamonks Alexander Peresvet and Roman (Rodion) Oslyabya fought, later canonized.
V.N. Tatishchev points out the following cases of participation of clergy in wars: “What he remembers about monks and priests during the war, I find a circumstance from history: the Novgorodians Izyaslav the Second against his uncle Yuri the Second sentenced all the monks and clergy to dress up, and went; Sergius, abbot of Radonezh, sent two tonsured soldiers to Demetrius Donskoy, and they were beaten; Old Rus priest Petrila went to Lithuania with an army and won; During the invasion of the Kazan Tatars, the Kostroma abbot Serapion, having gathered monks and priests, defeated the Tatars. Maybe there was more, but the stories didn’t reach us.”
During the siege, many monasteries were turned into fortresses, where monastics sometimes armed themselves. Monks actively participated in the defense of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra from the Poles in 1608-1610; elders Ferapont and Macarius led the cavalry attack of the monks.
Another case is also known. Metropolitan Isidore of Novgorod in 1611, during the siege of Novgorod by the Swedes, served a prayer service on the walls of the fortress. Seeing that the archpriest of St. Sophia Cathedral, Amos, was fiercely resisting the enemies, the Metropolitan removed some kind of church penance from him. Amos fought until his house was burned down along with him.
In the 18th century, the only case known to us of the direct participation of a priest in a battle is reflected in the “Acts of Peter the Great.” It says that “Olonets priest Ivan Okulov in 1702, having gathered up to a thousand willing people, went beyond the Swedish border, defeated four enemy outposts, beat up to 400 Swedes and returned in triumph with the Reitar banners, drums, weapons and horses taken; What he couldn’t take with him, he consigned to fire.”
In the 19th century, we know of several cases of direct participation of clergy in battles. In 1854, the monks of the Solovetsky Monastery defended the monastery from an attack by an English squadron. In the same year, priest Gabriel Sudkovsky was awarded a gold pectoral cross on the St. George ribbon from the office of His Imperial Majesty “for assistance in repelling the Anglo-French steamships that attacked the Ochakov fortress battery on September 22, 1854, when he blessed everyone under gunfire and loaded the guns himself red-hot kernels." Moreover, later, while serving in the city of Nikolaev, Father Gabriel became famous as a man of prayer and fasting.
During the First World War, there were many among the clergy who wanted to volunteer to serve in the army with arms in hand, and in 1915 the Holy Synod approved a definition categorically prohibiting priests from joining the army for non-clerical positions.
In 1914-1917, clergy often led foot and horse attacks, but without weapons, only with a cross in their hands. During the Russian-Japanese War, 16 clergy were killed, at least 10 people were wounded and shell-shocked. The data we have identified suggests that by the summer of 1917, 181 clergy had suffered in the war. Of these, 26 were killed, 54 died from wounds and illnesses, 48 were wounded, 47 were shell-shocked, 5 were gassed. The number of those killed and those who died from wounds and diseases is 80 people. During the First World War, by 1917, at least 104 Orthodox clergy were or continued to be in captivity.
Speaking about the awards of the clergy, it should be said that by the beginning of the 20th century, the order of awards for white clergy looked like this: a legguard; purple skufia; purple kamilavka; pectoral cross from the Holy Synod; Order of St. Anne, 3rd degree; rank of archpriest; Order of St. Anne, 2nd degree; Order of St. Vladimir, 4th degree; club; Order of St. Vladimir, 3rd degree; gold pectoral cross from the office of His Imperial Majesty; a gold pectoral cross with decorations from the cabinet of His Imperial Majesty; Order of St. Anne, 1st degree; miter. For hieromonks, the skufya, kamilavka, and rank of archpriest were excluded from the above awards and the rank of abbot (given after receiving the Order of St. Vladimir, 4th degree) and the rank of archimandrite (given after receiving the club or the Order of St. Vladimir, 3rd degree) were added. Thanks to the presence of “spiritual” awards (skufia, pectoral cross, etc.), military priests could have a significant number of distinctions and even surpass the officers in this indicator.
Until 1885, clergy could wear orders, medals and other secular insignia over their vestments when performing services. Only since 1885, on the initiative of Emperor Alexander III, the wearing of secular insignia by clergy while performing divine services in sacred vestments was prohibited. “Exceptions to this rule were allowed only for the signs of the Order of St. George and pectoral crosses on the St. George Ribbon.”
For distinctions in the First World War, military priests were issued until March 1917: orders of St. Anne of the 3rd degree with swords - more than 300, without swords - about 500, orders of the 2nd degree with swords - more than 300, without swords - more than 200 , Orders of St. Anna 1st degree with swords and without swords - about 10, Orders of St. Vladimir 3rd degree with swords - more than 20, without swords - about 20, Orders of St. Vladimir 4th degree with swords - more than 150, without swords - about 100.
From 1791 to 1903, 191 Orthodox clergy received the pectoral cross on the St. George Ribbon, for the Russian-Japanese War - 86, from 1914 to March 1917 - 243. The Order of St. George, 4th degree, was awarded to 4 clergy during the 19th century, for the Russian -Japanese War - 1 and from the beginning of the First World War to March 1917 - 10.
The distinctions for which priests could be awarded orders with swords or a pectoral cross on the St. George Ribbon (based on our study of actual award practice) can be divided into three groups. Firstly, this is the feat of the priest in the decisive moments of the battle with a cross in his raised hand, inspiring the soldiers to continue the battle. Risking his life, the priest led the lower ranks. As a rule, this happened when regiment officers were killed or wounded. Hundreds of such cases are known. For example, this feat was performed in the First World War by the priest of the 318th Chernoyarsk Infantry Regiment, Alexander Tarnoutsky (was killed) and the elder hieromonk of the Bogoroditsko-Ploshchanskaya Hermitage of the Bryansk Uyezd, who served in the 289th Korotoyak Infantry Regiment Evtikhiy (Tulupov) (was killed). The priest of the 9th Kazan Dragoon Regiment, Vasily Shpichak, was the first to lead the regiment into the attack on horseback.
Another type of priestly distinction is associated with the diligent performance of his immediate duties under special conditions. Parting words and communion to wounded soldiers, blessings for battle were carried out by the clergyman at the risk of his own life. Sometimes, while giving communion to the wounded during the battle, the priest himself was seriously wounded. Often clergy performed divine services under enemy fire. For example, the priest of the 115th brigade of the state militia, Nikolai Debolsky, did not interrupt the service when, right during the great entrance, an enemy airplane suddenly appeared and dropped several bombs near the worshipers. The priest of the 15th Dragoon Regiment of Pereyaslavl, Sergius Lazurevsky, with the few soldiers who voluntarily remained, did not leave the all-night vigil service under shrapnel fire until he was shell-shocked.
In 1915, on the Galician Front, when the hieromonk of the 311th Kremenets Infantry Regiment, Mitrofan, was performing the liturgy, a shell hit the church, pierced the roof and ceiling of the altar, and then fell near the altar on the right side. Father Mitrofan crossed the bomb and continued the service. The shell did not explode, and the worshipers, seeing the calmness of the priest, remained in their places. At the end of the liturgy, the shell was taken out of the church.
In 1915, near the village of Malnov, the priest of the 237th Grayvoronsky Infantry Regiment, Joakim Leshchinsky, one and a half miles from the battle, performed a prayer for the granting of victory. At this time, “a shell hit the wing of the porch and, having evaporated by a miracle of God, immediately exploded in the corner five steps away. The force of the explosion was very great, for the corner of the large temple was torn off by the force of the explosion, a deep hole was formed near the drainage stone, and the stone was thrown to the side several steps and was torn into pieces. There is a lot of broken glass in the temple. One bullet hit the wall of the sacristy.” Father continued his service. Among the three hundred people praying there were neither killed nor wounded, only one person was shell-shocked.
The priest of the 6th Finnish Rifle Regiment, Andrei Bogoslovsky, standing on a dais, blessed every warrior who approached him. When the shooting started, he remained standing in the same place. His chest was protected by the monstrance hanging on his neck, giving the bullet flying into the heart a lateral direction.
Sometimes priests were killed while preparing the funerals of slain warriors during the ongoing battle. This is how the priest of the 15th Tiflis Grenadier Regiment, Elpidy Osipov, was killed. The priest of the 183rd Pultus Infantry Regiment, Nikolai Skvortsov, having learned that there were killed and wounded in the village occupied by the enemy, volunteered to go there for farewell and burial. By his example, he attracted several doctors and orderlies with him.And finally, the clergy performed feats possible for all army ranks. The first pectoral cross received on the St. George Ribbon was awarded to the priest of the 29th Chernigov Infantry Regiment, Ioann Sokolov, for saving the regimental banner. The cross was presented to him personally by Nicholas II, as recorded in the emperor’s diary. Now this banner is kept in the State Historical Museum in Moscow.
The priest of the 42nd artillery brigade, Viktor Kashubsky, when the telephone connection was interrupted, volunteered to look for the gap. The telephone operator, encouraged by his example, followed the priest and fixed the line. In 1914, the priest of the 159th Gurian Infantry Regiment, Nikolai Dubnyakov, when the head of the convoy was killed, took command and brought the convoy to its destination. The priest of the 58th Prague Infantry Regiment, Parthenius Kholodny, in 1914, together with three other ranks, accidentally encountered the Austrians, came forward with the icon “Savior Not Made by Hands” and, showing restraint, persuaded 23 enemy soldiers and two officers to surrender, bringing them into captivity.
Having received the Order of St. George, 4th degree, the priest of the 5th Finnish Infantry Regiment, Mikhail Semenov, not only selflessly performed his pastoral duties, but in 1914 he volunteered to carry the missing cartridges to the front line in an open area that was continuously bombarded by heavy artillery. He attracted several lower ranks with him and safely transported three gigs, which ensured the overall success of the operation. A month later, when the regiment commander, along with other officers and Father Mikhail, entered the room intended for them, there was an unexploded bomb. Father Mikhail picked her up, carried her out of the room and drowned her in a nearby river.
Hieromonk Anthony (Smirnov) of the Bugulma Alexander Nevsky Monastery, who was performing pastoral duties on the ship “Prut,” when the ship was broken and began to sink into the water, gave up his place in the boat to a sailor. From a sinking ship, wearing vestments, he blessed the sailors. The hieromonk was awarded the Order of St. George, 4th degree, posthumously.
Representatives of the parish clergy also performed feats. Thus, the priest of the Kremovsky parish of the Belgorai district of the Kholm diocese, Pyotr Ryllo, was performing a divine service when “shells exploded behind the church, in front of it and flew through it.”
Speaking about the churches of the Military and Naval Departments, it should be said that in the 18th century only camp churches attached to the regiments were under the jurisdiction of the chief priest. Since the beginning of the 19th century, more and more immovable churches were constantly transferred to the department of the chief priest (later the chief priest, protopresbyter): hospital, serf, port, military educational institutions and even churches, the parishioners of which, in addition to military officials, were local residents .
During the 19th century, we see the following change in the number of fixed churches of the Military and Naval Departments: in 1855 - 290, in 1878 - 344, in 1905 - 686, in 1914 - 671 churches. The altars of military churches were consecrated in the name of saints named after the emperors, in memory of significant events in the life of the royal family and in memory of events related to the history of the institution or the military victories of the regiment. Then the thrones were consecrated in the name of the saint whose feast day fell on the day of the memorable event.In many regimental churches and temples of military schools, memorial plaques with the names of military ranks who died in various campaigns, as a rule, officers by name, soldiers - in total, were fixed on the walls. Banners and all kinds of military relics were kept in the churches. The Preobrazhensky All Guards Cathedral housed 488 banners, 12 castles and 65 keys to the fortresses of European and Asian Turkey, conquered by Russian troops during the reign of Nicholas I, and other trophies. Elements of military symbols could be used in the decoration of churches. Thus, images of the Order of St. George were used in the decoration of the Church of the General and General Staff.
The fate of the career clergy of the Military and Naval Departments after the end of the First World War developed differently. Some people ended up in exile: in France, Czechoslovakia, Finland, Greece, etc. Of the clergy who remained in Russia, many died at the hands of the Bolsheviks during the Civil War, such as Alexy Stavrovsky, Nikolai Yakhontov, and the chief priest of the armies of the Southwestern Front, Vasily Griftsov. Some clergy were repressed during Soviet times, such as priests Vasily Yagodin, Roman Medved and others.
Some clergy, remaining in the Church, lived to a ripe old age and supported Soviet power during the Great Patriotic War. For example, Archpriest Fyodor Zabelin, who was awarded the golden pectoral cross on the St. George Ribbon, died in 1949 at the age of 81. During the Great Patriotic War, he served, with the permission of the German command, as the rector of St. Paul's Cathedral in Gatchina, and saved a Soviet intelligence officer from death by hiding him under the cover of the throne in the altar.
In our time, some former military priests have been canonized. Priest German Dzhadzhanidze was canonized by the Georgian Orthodox Church. The Russian Orthodox Church canonized former career priests, later bishops: Onisim (before tonsure - Mikhail Pylaev), Macarius (before tonsure - Grigory Karmazin), priests Nikolai Yakhontov, Sergius Florinsky, Elijah Benemansky, Alexander Saulsky and others.
In modern Russia, the traditional activity of Orthodox clergy in the troops, traditional for the Russian army, is gradually being revived.
Unfortunately, at present there is little research devoted to the Russian military clergy. To some extent, the “Memorable Book of the Military and Naval Clergy of the Russian Empire of the 19th - Early 20th Centuries: Reference Materials”, published as part of the historical project “Chronicle”, one of the tasks of which was the compilation of a database (Synodik) of the Orthodox clergy, can fill this gap. Russian Empire. In 2007, the Chronicle project was supported by the rector of the Moscow stauropegial Sretensky Monastery, Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov).