Military priest. Military clergy. I. General Provisions

Recently, the first official graduation of military priests took place at the Military University of the Russian Defense Ministry. Fifteen people who received the positions of full-time assistants to the commanders of formations and military units to work with believing military personnel. A month they passed special training, and will soon go to the units.

For me, as a consistent atheist (with a touch of Gnosticism), this is one of the most controversial news of recent times. Painfully many questions arise in connection with the institution of chaplaincy in relation to our army. But let's start from the stove.

Since the 15th century, Orthodox priests have always been in the Russian army, instructing and helping the soldiers not to get lost in the monotony of army life and the horrors of war, if any. So, according to Vicki, in 1545 in the Kazan campaign with Ivan the Terrible, the Archpriest of the Annunciation Cathedral Andrei with the cathedral of clergy took part. It is not known what happened next, but I do not think that the priesthood was not present in the life of the army. And in the 17th century, under Alexei Mikhailovich, military priests were officially paid salaries, the same thing continued under Fedor Alekseevich and under our Europeanized Emperor Peter, who introduced the titles of chief hieromonk of the fleet and chief of field priests. And all this despite the schism and church reform. Late 19th century in the army Russian Empire served 5 thousand military priests and several hundred chaplains. And in the "Wild Division", for example, mullahs also served. At the same time, the priest was equated with an officer's rank and received a corresponding salary.

According to Archpriest Dmitry Smirnov, in the post-Soviet era, Orthodox priests immediately joined the army, but did their work free of charge. But in 1994, the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Alexy II and the then Minister of Defense Pavel Grachev signed a cooperation agreement. This document became the basis for the creation of the Coordination Committee for interaction between Armed Forces and the Russian Orthodox Church. In February 2006, the patriarch gave his blessing to train military priests, and in May of the same year, Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke out in favor of restoring the institution of military priests.

How many and what priestsnecessary

The President then, in 2011, gave the task to create an institute of military chaplains in the army and navy by the end of the year. At first, they were going to teach the priests at the Ryazan Higher Airborne Command School. Margelova, then - in one of the military universities in Moscow. And finally, the choice fell on the Military University of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation. Regimental regular priests appeared in Russian army in December 2012, but the first graduation of the "new priests" took place just now.

The chief priest of the Russian Airborne Forces, Priest Mikhail Vasiliev, in 2007 estimated the need for clergymen in the Russian troops as follows: about 400 Orthodox priests, 30-40 Muslim mullahs, 2-3 Buddhist lamas and 1-2 Jewish rabbis. In reality, there are Orthodox priests and mullahs in the army. Representatives of other confessions are not "called up". So what about representatives of other faiths? Discriminate them as minorities? Or create a whole unit of "spiritual support" for each unit? Or make assistants for work with believing military personnel universal ecumenists who are capable of both confession and namaz? Will they be given a tambourine and peyote then?

It is clear with the institution of chaplains in small and mono-confessional countries - there is no such problem. In a Catholic country it will be Catholics, in a Protestant country - Protestants, in a Muslim country - imams. But there are fewer of these on the map, most of the planet is gradually becoming tolerant, and almost Orthodox Copts have lived in Egypt alongside Muslims for centuries.

If we had faith in God the Emperor, as in the novels "Warhammer-40k", then everything would also be simple - it would be commissars performing the functions of a priest and inquisitor in one person. But we do not live in a fantasy world, everything is more complicated with us.

And there is another important aspect, moral. As you know, a schismatic pop, "patriarch" of the unrecognized Ukrainian Orthodox Church Filaret of the Kiev Patriarchate blessed the squads of punitive forces for the murder of Russians. It is clear that he is an impostor, that he is a former criminal and excommunicated from the Orthodox Church. But besides him, the same thing - a blessing for murder - was done by a number of Greek Catholic priests from Western Ukraine. And I really do not want Orthodox priests to be able to at least somehow become like such bloodthirsty, I am not afraid of this word, heretics.

Not an offensive, but a defense against evil

Still, you see, real, not formal Christianity is the opposite of war and murder. I may be an atheist, but the philosophical views of Berdyaev, Seraphim of Sarov and a number of other Christian philosophers are close to me and even dear to me. Therefore, I would like to distance him as much as possible from such an unpleasant and forced thing as war.

We never had crusades (they were against us), the Russians always perceived the war as a forced occupation. The presence of priests in the army somehow ennobles the war, which is wrong. If I understand at least something in spirituality, then going to war a person, albeit forcedly, leaves the sphere of spirituality, and therefore he needs to return to it after purification.

A blessing for war is already something from the category of Got mit uns or the American "We are God's Chosen Nation", megalomania that cannot end well. Therefore, if this institution finally takes root, only people who will understand this fine line between "comfort and cheer" and "bless to kill" should go to military priests. A priest in war is only mercy and the healing of souls, but in no way crusade or jihad.

By the way, the army is also talking about this. So, according to the Acting Head of the Directorate (for work with believing servicemen) of the Main Directorate for Work with the Personnel of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation Igor Semenchenko, "The task of the clergy in the Armed Forces is to create, taking into account the peculiarities of military service, the necessary conditions for believing servicemen to realize their religious needs.".

As you can see, "everything is not so simple." But I will not be a militant atheist brandishing a volume of Darwin and demanding "ban and abolish." Let this be an experiment, very careful and unobtrusive. And we'll see.

The Russian Ministry of Defense published a photo of Archimandrite Andrey (Vats) in message about the action "Give a book to a soldier" at the base in Armenia. The picture is notable for the fact that it captures the uniform of the military priests of the new model, the site notes. "Defend Russia"... On the eve of Orthodox Easter, Gazeta.Ru investigated the state of modern institute 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. V pre-revolutionary Russia this institution was legislatively approved even earlier - during the time of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich.

As a rule, in military formations Western countries clergymen of the main confessions and religions are presented, taking into account the peculiarities of demography. In most armies, Catholic and Protestant priests are represented in one way or another, often - rabbis and mullahs. Buddhist and Hindu clerics also work with the American military on a small scale.

It should be noted that religious diversity was also in the tradition of the Russian military before October revolution- in the Russian army, in addition to Orthodox priests, imams and rabbis served.

V Soviet years the military clergy remained out of work - indulgences during the Great Patriotic War are often mentioned, however, the full-scale involvement of priests in the life of the army still did not take place.

Combat unction

After the collapse of the USSR, a revival of tradition became apparent, but the actual decision on this issue was made only in 2009 by order of the then President Dmitry Medvedev.

Formally, the priests held the position of assistant commander for work with believing military personnel, later they were equated with the position of political officer. However, the reform went with a creak - according to 2012, the lack of clergy in the Russian army is 90%. At the same time, the authorities granted a respite from military service to those priests who did not want to work in this position.

In 2014 became known about the beginning curricula for the training of priests in the military universities of the country. "Starting this year, the development and implementation of training programs for military clergy will begin in five military educational institutions, primarily command ones," said Alexander Surovtsev, head of the department for work with believers.

They decided to liquidate the incomplete with the help of the country's chief priest - Patriarch Kirill ordered the recruitment of monks from stauropegic (that is, directly accountable to the primate) monasteries to recruit army posts.

However, as the magazine wrote in 2009 "Military Review", the shortage remained: instead of the required 242 "chaplains" only 132 were recruited, of which 129 are Orthodox, two are Muslims and one is a Buddhist.

In 2010, the Synodal Department of the Russian Orthodox Church for Cooperation with the Armed Forces instituted special media for Russian "chaplains" - "Bulletin of the 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 at the training ground in Crimea.

The Airborne Forces especially distinguished themselves in the field of instilling faith in the army. In 2013 it became known on testing a mobile church based on the KamAZ truck. It is interesting that the first samples of such a temple were produced at the Donetsk Metallurgical Plant, which later ended up in the combat zone of the Ukrainian conflict.

It was reported that this machine is intended for the spiritual "nourishment of the paratroopers during exercises and armed conflicts." It was proposed to equip all parts of the Russian Armed Forces with such mobile churches.

The new frontier was taken a few months later, when the public demonstrated landing of a mobile temple by parachute, which was practiced at a training ground near Ryazan.

“A parachute is the same means of transport, like a car or a bicycle, on which one can arrive at the place where the child of the Russian Orthodox Church is located,” one of the priests who participated in the training described the innovation.

In early 2016, a Russian group of troops in Syria demonstrated its 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 were carried out to install mobile temples in the country affected by Islamic terrorists.

"The abbot so-and-so will speak before you."

Despite the declared enthusiasm for interaction between the army and the church, this work is still in its infancy in the rank and file 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 "exemplary" in all respects. Other ex-servicemen interviewed by Gazeta.Ru say there is a lack of spiritual support for the soldiers.

According to the "Taman", contacts with the priests took place on the parade ground during general constructions. “Everyone goes to the parade ground, the brigade commander speaks on this or that issue. And then, for example, he says that today is such and such a holiday, the abbot of such and such will speak before you. A 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 outside the parade ground. As a rule, conscripts of Asian or Caucasian origin were out of order. And most of the soldiers remained in the ranks - "they did not want to stand out, although no one was punished for this."

According to the soldier, the soldier can theoretically talk to the priest personally by contacting the commander or political officer of the unit. “Nobody did that in my presence. More often soldiers turn to a psychologist, ”he clarifies.

“Many wore crosses, but there was not much talk about God. Everyone missed the girl, mom, family, food. Every evening the whole brigade sang a hymn ... 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 leading armies of the world has the institution of chaplains, military priests in one way or another perform an important social function - regardless of the real religiosity of the military.

For a young person, military service is stressful, and any psychological support should help to cope with it - both from full-time psychologists and from relatives, friends, officers and colleagues. Priests are also capable of playing this role.

The very same Archimandrite Andrey (Vats), serving on Russian base in Armenia, in 2013 formulated the role of clergy in the army is as follows: “We support and provide assistance to those soldiers who, due to our social reality, are lost. A lot of people come, tearing themselves away from their mother's skirt, and find themselves in an environment where there are only men. It's hard! Few are ready to put up with their own weaknesses, and even more so with others. That's why

a huge spiritual resource is needed for this soldier to overcome himself. This is where our help is needed! "

It is difficult to disagree with such a formulation - this does not require theological discussions. However, the Russian army still has a long way to go for the institution of military priests to begin to fully fulfill its tasks.

Who are the war priests? What hot spots do they serve and how do they live? Archpriest Sergiy Privalov, chairman of the Synodal Department for Cooperation with the Armed Forces, spoke about the role of military clergy in conflict points and how they help soldiers in the Obraz program in Constantinople.

What is special about military priests

Veronika Ivaschenko: To begin with, let me ask you: what role do the clergy play today in the armed Russian forces?

Sergiy Privalov: The role has always been high. This role is to bring a spiritual component to the service of the Fatherland.

Currently, a military priest - on the one hand, he is the same priest as in the parish. But there is one, perhaps the most cardinal difference in it. He is ready to be with the military. He is ready to be with those who defend our Fatherland, our Motherland, our distinctive traditions, our spiritual life. And in this case, the clergyman becomes not only among those who defend with arms. But he brings spiritual meaning to this armed defense.

Extra strength.

Not only additional spiritual strength, but, on the other hand, a moral component. Because a priest is a person who has a vocation from God. He introduces humanity into the military formation and understanding of the service to which the servicemen are called. People with weapons are responsible obedience for them. 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 the clergyman brings to the troops.

Orthodox priests in Syria

Father Sergiy, now our servicemen are participating in hostilities in Syria. Tell me, in some way in these difficult conditions, they are spiritually nourished by Orthodox priests?

Yes. Divine services are held almost daily. At the Khmeimim airbase, a full-time military priest is present along with the military. Moreover, on big holidays, great holidays, the Russian Orthodox Church sends additional priests and singers to participate in divine 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, in honor of the holy righteous warrior Fyodor Ushakov, should soon be consecrated. Here are the rulers, both of Tartus, and the ruler, who covers the Patriarchate of Antioch with an omophorion, and, in particular, the airbase in Khmeimim, blessed the construction of Orthodox ecclesiastical clergy. And just recently, they took part with Vladyka Anthony Akhtubinsky and Enotaevsky in the consecration of this chapel. The entire staff was present at the consecration.

Therefore, the priests are nearby. The priests are inside the military formations, they are together with the military, 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 war in the Middle East as an example. Is it really impossible to fight against that terrible enemy only with the help of weapons?

Of course. Therefore, the Russian Orthodox Church also prays. Our most important weapon is prayer. And the more followers of the Christian faith there are in the world, the cleaner, the more spiritual, the more peaceful humanity will become.

Therefore, the religion of love, Christianity, is such a potential that people should resort to. They should also compare other religions, and, first of all, those people who generally reject religion and want to be 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 soldier.

And, perhaps, this is why the demand for military priests is growing so much?

Of course, and especially in hot spots. When people feel that it is not only the force of arms that is needed. You need confidence in your actions. You need confidence in the righteousness of your ministry. Inside the military unit, formations. And the most important thing is that people, turning to Christ, receive this help. Many 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 joyous occasion for the clergy.

There are now about 170 full-time military chaplains

How many military priests are there now?

Today there are about 170 military clergymen. These are the ones that are regularly appointed. And more than 500 in various capacities, we call them freelance military clergymen, serve in military units. Coming periodically, performing divine services, nourishing the flock.

Tell me, can they be called chaplains, is that 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, perhaps, is not entirely correct, but there is such a tendency to call military clergy in the same way as they are uniformly called in the West. But I think that every military clergyman - he certainly 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?

First, the selection is quite tough. First of all, it concerns spiritual education... That is, we select those clergymen who have a sufficiently high level of both spiritual and secular education. The second criterion is the skills of working in a military environment. That is, they must have experience in pastoral service, nurturing military formations. And the third, of course, health. That is, a person must be ready for this service, he himself must express a desire to pass the appropriate selection through the Ministry of Defense, in the personnel bodies. And only after that, and on the recommendation of the ruling bishop of his diocese, it is considered by the Synodal Department for Interaction 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 now?

I would not say that some issues are especially acute and we are not able to solve them. That is, everything that is happening today is solvable problems.

Of course, one of these problems is the cadre of military clergy. We have 268 full-time posts, and so far 170 have been appointed. Therefore, in the distant regions, in the north, the Far East, the full-time positions of military clergy have not yet been fully completed. And then an appropriate base of spiritual enlightenment should be formed. That is, we really want the priest to be heard, so that the appropriate time and place would be allocated where the priest would talk about Christ, about the spiritual foundations of military service to the Fatherland. For this, we 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 priests

Father Sergius, many military priests were officers in the past, including you, right?

Right.

Please tell us how often it happens that the military becomes priests?

Well, first of all, a person who has come to know Christ himself, he can no longer but talk about him. If a person was previously in an officer's position, then he understands that the next stage of his ministry is to carry the word of God already in the priesthood. But, again, among those whom he knows the most and is best oriented in a particular situation within military units.

And therefore, here is the percentage of those who were previously an officer, or passed military service maybe, as a contract soldier, he is quite high. But this is not the only and correct criterion for the selection of military priests. Because there are military clergymen who have never even served in the army.

But at the same time, in spirit and in 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 really became fathers to these military guys. Therefore, here you need to look at the spiritual vocation. And the Lord himself calls. And if so, then a person cannot but serve his neighbor. And who needs it most? Of course, the military. Because for them Christ is protection. For them, Christ is the support. For them, the Savior is the purpose of life. Because just when they are inside in such difficult conditions, they turn to God sincerely. And in this case, the priest should be near. He must support the children with his prayer, and, first of all, spiritually instruct.

More and more believers among the military

And how do priests influence the relationship of military personnel? Maybe the situation with bullying has changed, do they affect moral development?

Probably, after all, the most important thing is that a person's attitude towards society, towards the world, towards himself and towards religion, in principle, has changed. That is, the number of believers who consciously say that they are Orthodox, you mentioned 78%, now there is even more percentage, more than 79%.

And the most important thing is that the guys, the military, are not afraid to practice their faith. They consciously baptize themselves, go to churches, and participate in divine services. This is probably the most important thing that happened with the arrival or with the participation of clergy in military units.

The second is a change in the internal climate within military units. Military discipline has changed, or even improved. I think that in many ways these questions are, of course, not only to the priests, and it is their merit that the 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 in itself hazing, which implies a two-year conscription, when one in relation to other military personnel is senior and junior - 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 are solving have become, first of all, combat ones. People are being prepared for war. And as a poet, they try to treat their ministry appropriately. Exercises, transfers, regroupings.

This all suggests that there is no time to engage in some kind of hazing relationship. It is clear that anything can be. But in better side the attitude of a person to a person within a military collective is changing. Because they are doing their duty now. Sometimes out of touch with their own native land... And very often with the participation of the most serious events that require concentration, the brotherly shoulder of their colleague. All this, well, in combination, naturally improves the situation inside the military units. And the priests are always there.

That is, at field exercises, they go out together with the servicemen, put up their tents, temples-tents, try to pray with them. That is, this is, in fact, the real combat work of a military clergyman.

Not everyone knows that there are military priests in the Russian army firsthand. They first appeared in the middle of the 16th century. It was the duty of the military priests to teach the Law of God. For this, separate readings and conversations were arranged. The priests were to become examples of piety and faith. Over time, this direction in the army was forgotten.

A bit of history
In the Military Regulations, the military clergy for the first time officially appeared in 1716, by order of Peter the Great. He decided that priests should be everywhere - on ships, in shelves. Marine clergy was represented by the hieromonks, their head was the chief hieromonk. Land priests obeyed the field "ober", in times of peace- to the bishop of the diocese where the regiment was located.

Catherine II slightly changed this scheme. She put at the head of only one chief, under whose leadership were the priests of both the fleet and the army. He received a permanent salary, after 20 years of service, he received a pension. Then the structure of the military clergy was adjusted over a hundred years. In 1890, a separate church-military department appeared. It included many churches, cathedrals:

· Prison;

· Hospital;

· Serfs;

· Regimental;

· Port.

The military clergy have their own magazine. Certain salaries were determined, depending on the dignity. The chief priest was equated with the rank of general, lower in rank - with the chief, major, captain, etc.

Many military priests showed heroism in the First World War and approximately 2,500 people received awards, 227 gold crosses were presented. Eleven clergy received the Order of St. George (four of them posthumously).

The institute of military clergy was liquidated by order of the People's Commissariat in 1918. 3,700 clergymen were dismissed from the army. Many of them were repressed as alien class elements.

Revival of the military clergy
The idea to revive the military priests arose in the mid-90s. Soviet leaders did not give the direction of broad development, but gave a positive assessment to the initiative of the ROC (Russian Orthodox Church), since an ideological core was needed, and a new bright idea had not yet been formulated.

However, the idea was never developed. A simple priest was not suitable for the army, people were needed from among the military, who would be respected not only for wisdom, but also for courage, valor and readiness for heroism. The first such priest was Cyprian-Peresvet. Initially he was a soldier, then he became disabled, in 1991 he was tonsured, three years later he became a priest and began serving in the army in this rank.

He went through the Chechen wars, was captured by Khattab, was at the firing line, was able to survive after being seriously wounded. For all this, he was named Peresvet. He had his own call sign "Yak-15".

In 2008-2009. special polls were conducted in the army. As it turned out, almost 70 percent of the military are believers. Dmitry Medvedev, who was then president, was informed about this. He gave the decree to revive the institution of military clergy. The order was signed in 2009.

They did not copy the structures that were still under the tsarist regime. It all started with the formation of the Office for Work with Believers. The organization created 242 units of assistant commanders. However, during the five-year period, all vacancies could not be filled, despite the multitude of candidates. The bar of requirements turned out to be too high.

The office began working with 132 priests, two of whom are Muslims and one Buddhist, the rest are Orthodox. For all of them, a new uniform and rules for wearing it were developed. It was approved by Patriarch Kirill.

Military priests must wear (even in training) a military field uniform. It has no shoulder straps, outer or sleeve insignia, but there are buttonholes with dark Orthodox crosses. During the divine service, a military priest is obliged to wear an epitrachelion, a cross and a rug over his field uniform.

Now bases for spiritual work on land and navy are being renovated and built. More than 160 chapels and temples are already in operation. They are being built in Gadzhievo and Severomorsk, in Kant and other garrisons.

St. Andrew's Naval Cathedral in Severomorsk

In Sevastopol, the church of St. Archangel Michael became militarized. Previously, this building was used only as a museum. The government decided to allocate premises for prayer on all ships of the first rank.

The military clergy begin new story... Time will tell how it will develop, how necessary and in demand it will be. However, if you look back at the past history, the clergy raised the military spirit, strengthened it, helped people to cope with difficulties.

We are waiting for replenishment of our ranks

Archpriest Dmitry Solonin, head of the sector for interaction with the Ground Forces of the Synodal Department, assistant to the head of the Military University for work with religious servicemen:

It is quite obvious that not only the past five years, but all previous centuries of interaction of traditional religions with the army have had, are and will continue to have a beneficial influence and effect. Our mission is extremely important. The military clergy in fact absorbs the most trained and motivated priests, and in their places they show results. According to the reviews of commanders, chiefs of military units and subunits, heads of military universities (recently), our work has been characterized as constructive, positive, contributing to the strengthening of the Armed Forces. Only one conclusion can be made - the result is positive.

We look to the future with hope and hope that, after all, the status of a military priest in the army will change. The status of civilian personnel does not correspond to our level, because a military priest is in any conditions next to the troops he takes care of, and is exposed to dangers - both in the North Caucasus and in any other "hot spots". At the same time, he does not have any social guarantees, payments and preferences that military personnel have. In this regard, not only I, but all military priests are convinced of the need to work on the issue of changing the status of a military priest.

Since the overwhelming majority of military priests are married, they must be confident for their families, confident that in the event of an emergency - injury or death - families will be protected.

What else can I say? Everything else moves forward, develops, and it depends on us how successful this interaction will be, because personality plays a very important role. In terms of percentage, the distribution is such that sometimes there can be one clergyman for several thousand personnel. Imagine, this person must be bright, charismatic, a person must be highly educated and confirm his faith with his whole life, otherwise all beautiful words will be useless. This is extremely important. I believe that all fathers do it. We are waiting for the replenishment of our ranks.

Perhaps, after all, it will be decided at the seminaries to open courses for military clergy, so that already from the seminary bench the priest would begin to prepare, be formed and the result would be a ready result. This is very important, it seems to me.

A very big step has been taken in five years

Archpriest Alexander Bondarenko, Assistant Commander of the Black Sea Fleet for Work with Believers:

In five years, a very big step has been taken towards the revival of the military clergy. Many regular posts have been introduced, military clergymen are engaged with the military on a regular basis. Priests Black Sea Fleet go on warships to the Mediterranean, Atlantic and Pacific Ocean... In addition, they are engaged not only in the care of the military, but also carry out a diplomatic mission. When ships call at ports of other states, the activities of military clergymen also contribute to the establishment of diplomatic relations with Russia. With Greece, for example, we participate in joint events dedicated to the day of Theodore Ushakov in Corfu, where our clergy take part in divine services in Greek churches, processions and prayers.

The cruiser "Moskva" is equipped with a marching temple. When the flagship of the Black Sea Fleet enters the ports of other states, the leadership of these cities or countries must visit the ship's temple and, seeing the attitude of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation to faith, to God, they understand that we bear love and strive for peace. Thus, their attitude towards the Russian Federation and the Armed Forces is changing.

Five years is not only summing up the results, but also plans for the future. Today we must not stop developing. If 10 years ago we visited military units on holidays, held conversations, now a priest should be at least in every brigade, meet with personnel every day, I think, even in every regiment and on every ship of the 1st rank, and must constantly participate in field trips, exercises, ships at sea. Our ships of the Black Sea Fleet are constantly in the Mediterranean Sea, providing security there, displaying the St. Andrew's flag and, of course, priests create an opportunity to fulfill the religious needs of servicemen, who have been torn from home for a long time. If there is a priest in the brigade who can regularly go to sea, this is already a positive factor, but this issue has not yet been resolved in all brigades, this is one of the development prospects.

First of all, you need to work with the officers

Archpriest Victor Luzgan, assistant commander of the Engels airbase Long-range Aviation :

The main purpose of the priest is to give the opportunity, first of all, to the military urgent service who, by virtue of the fulfillment of their duty, are physically cut off from civil free life, to satisfy religious needs. In fact, this task is deeper - it is strengthening the spirit of the army, it is work with both the officers and family members - this is a complex work.
As for these five years, purely psychological obstacles between servicemen and clergymen have practically been overcome. Many cliches, misunderstandings remain, but they do not see us as an outside link, but see really helpers, even internally feel the effective help of interaction - this is the most important achievement. New forms of work are emerging. In our union, a year ago, I began to practice a new event. At the formation of the aviation formation, when the entire composition is present, the anthem of Russia is played, the flag is raised, the task is set for a week, I perform a prayer service for the beginning of a good deed and bless the military personnel for the coming week, sprinkling with holy water. Thus, joint prayer takes place. This tradition began with an accident when a pilot died, now it has been decided not to "hit the tails" when a disaster struck, but to precede the work with a prayer to God so that this disaster does not happen. This tradition appeared in addition to the old ones - the consecration of aircraft, equipment, weapons, living quarters, blessings, visiting temples, participating in festive events, conducting conversations, both collective and individual. Months are held to strengthen friendship in the team, to counter the use of drugs, alcoholic beverages, and to counter suicides. These problems are especially typical for contract servicemen, who often come to the army due to the disorder in civilian life.

Often, staff psychologists who work in units are unable to help servicemen who find themselves in difficult circumstances. Then they bring the servicemen to our temple.

I have been working with military personnel for the eleventh year and I am convinced that first of all it is necessary to work with the officers. In our Long-Range Aviation, the commander is a believer, he goes in the vanguard, and the subordinates adjust, try - visit the temple, partake of the sacraments of the Church. Everything is built on a voluntary basis. If the leaders are believers, then the subordinates willy-nilly will follow their example. This is true in the army.

Of course, there are a lot of difficulties. The most basic problem is personnel. There are not enough priests at all, and the military clergy, as a rule, requires the best priests available. No bishop wants to give up priests. Now the Patriarch has blessed the monastics to participate in this matter, this, of course, will bring a new stream. I think all this will develop, deepen, and take on complete forms.

The spirit of the warrior determines a lot. At one time I read a book about Suvorov and was amazed at one fact. During the French campaign, when crossing the Alps, the Russians were the attacking side, and in terms of military tactics, the attacking side usually loses 3-4 times more personnel than the defending side. So the losses from the Russian troops in relation to the French were 1:17. That is, for one Russian there were 17 killed Frenchmen. That's what fighting spirit means.

The military clergy is a special cohort; in order to work among the military, you need to love them. They are very sensitive to falsity, and do not accept strangers. I served 23 years in the Armed Forces, and when I became a priest, I had a desire to return to the army, to help the servicemen find faith. I started from scratch - I organized a parish in the garrison, built a church, now we have a large Sunday school - 150 people, and soon a kindergarten is on the way.

I hardly leave the barracks

Priest Ilya Azarin, Assistant Head of the State Center for Aviation Personnel Training and Military Tests named after V. Chkalov (Lipetsk):

I have been in office for three years. The results are visible, people are changing, and the commanding staff is changing, they swear less, and this is a big shift. They already understand that this is a sin. And if the command staff understands that this is a sin, then they will tell their soldiers that they cannot say that. This became possible after the priest began to work in the army.

There are many who want to ask a question, but there is no one to answer. After I was appointed assistant to the head of the Lipetsk Aviation Center, a person appeared who could answer. The desire to acquire religious knowledge has intensified today. It is necessary to explain to those approaching the sacraments of Baptism and Wedding the meaning of what is happening. After all, a priest has no right to perform the sacraments if people start rashly. The main task of a priest in the army is to monitor the moral and ethical appearance of the servicemen, to do everything to ensure a normal life, since our educational structure has not yet risen to its feet, it is necessary to somehow replace it. As for me, I organize cultural events for soldiers, officers - both secular and church. In our aviation regiment, we have a temple in honor of the patron saint of the Air Force, the prophet Elijah. The parishioners are mainly conscripts.

One of the tasks for the future is the creation of another temple - in honor of the icon of the Mother of God "Blessed Sky" on the territory of the military town. My initiative was supported by the commander and military personnel. Not everyone in life has the opportunity to build a church and, for the military personnel of our garrison, such obedience was determined. There is someone to build a temple for, there are veterans, whose ranks are thinning every year and who are buried in the officer's temple. If there is a temple, dear, and even a military one, in the creation of which they will also take part, there will be a global motivation. There is a negligible number of residents who are against the construction of the temple, but veterans convince them of the need to solve this problem. Even the general, the head of the aviation center, Alexander Nikolaevich Kharchevsky, said that the church should have a Sunday school, a military-patriotic club.

Completing these tasks does not diminish the importance of the current tasks. Now a new replenishment is coming, they need help to get up in line. They see that the priest is at work, i.e. psychologically they are already calm. I practically do not leave the barracks, what is needed - I will tell you, I will tell you. In addition, there is work in the moral aspect and spiritual and psychological support - pilgrimage, sightseeing trips, organization of concerts.