In 2011, the Russian Ministry of Defense continues to work on the selection and appointment of clergy to regular positions in the Armed Forces. For this purpose, the Department for Work with Religious Military Personnel has been created within the structure of the military department, the main task of which is to implement the decision of the President Russian Federation on the revival of the army and navy clergy. The head of the department, B.M., talks about the specifics of the work of a military priest and the nature of interaction between the Church and the army in an interview with the Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate (No. 4, 2011). Lukichev.
— Boris Mikhailovich, what is the structure of your department, what is it currently doing, and at what stage is the implementation of the President’s decision to restore the institution of military clergy in the Armed Forces?
— The decision of the President of Russia to re-establish the military and naval clergy in the Armed Forces was initiated, as is known, by an appeal signed by His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus', as well as other leaders of traditional religious associations of Russia. It is determined by the logic of the development of state-church relations in our country over the past 15-20 years. These relations developed on the basis of modern legislation in the interests of cooperation between government agencies and religious associations.
The real situation in the troops and navy also prompted such a decision. Statistics show that believers in the Russian Armed Forces make up about 63% of all personnel, while, by the way, greatest number believers - Orthodox Christians. All of them are citizens of Russia, having the right to freely practice their faith and satisfy religious needs. Thus, the decision of the head of state is aimed at ensuring constitutional rights military personnel. Naturally, the fact was also taken into account that, in particular, the Russian Orthodox Church, like other traditional religious associations in Russia, having powerful spiritual potential, can and has been promoting for many years the intensification of spiritual enlightenment and the introduction of a moral dimension into the life of military groups.
The revival of the institution of the military priesthood is an organic part of the reform and modernization of the Armed Forces. Although in in a certain sense this is a revival in a new quality of what already existed in the Russian army.
At the initial stage, the formation of the structure of bodies for working with religious military personnel is largely an administrative issue. IN central office The Russian Ministry of Defense has created a department for working with religious military personnel, which I head. In four military districts, departments are formed within the personnel departments, the staff of which, in addition to the chief - a civilian - includes three clergy. Finally, the next level of the structure is assistants to formation commanders and heads of universities for work with religious servicemen. Simply put, these are divisional, brigade or university priests. Their religious affiliation depends on what faith the majority of the military personnel professes (to appoint a priest to a unit, believers must make up at least 10% of the total number). In total, 240 priestly positions and 9 civil servants have been established in the Armed Forces.
First of all, corresponding positions were created in Russian military bases abroad. The military personnel there are in difficult conditions, far from their homeland, so the priest’s help is most in demand there. Full-time military chaplains are already helping our soldiers abroad. In Sevastopol this is Archpriest Alexander Bondarenko, who was the first appointee in the ministry, in Gudauta (Abkhazia) - Priest Alexander Terpugov, in Gyumri (Armenia) - Archimandrite Andrey (Vats).
— Why did the Black Sea Fleet become a pioneer?
- This is hardly an accident. So, under Peter the Great, the military service of the monks of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra began on ships. It’s not for nothing that they say: “Whoever has not gone to sea has not prayed to God.” In our case, there was the good will of the fleet command. In addition, Archpriest Alexander, in the recent past - Marine officer, the Sevastopol resident found himself in right time and in the right place.
For other foreign military bases, the issue is not resolved so easily. This is due to the fact that candidates need to leave the country for an indefinite period of time and be separated from their families. At the same time, questions arise regarding the organization of liturgical services, educational activities and the life of a clergyman. In addition, the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation A.E. Serdyukov takes this instruction from the head of state very responsibly. He personally selects candidates, and the requirements for objective data, professional qualifications and even life experience are very high. If a priest joins a military team, he, of course, must be able to work effectively and solve specific problems with the commander, officers, soldiers, family members of military personnel, and civilian personnel.
— What are the specifics of the work of a military chaplain in general? Is it possible to formalize it somehow?
— Form is not an end in itself. We do not and will not set before the priest the task of conducting a certain number of soul-saving conversations, confessing and absolving the sins of so many repentant sinners, and serving, for example, five Liturgies in a month. IN to a greater extent Rather than the forms of work that the priest uses, we are interested in the results, the impact of his activities.
The work of a priest in a compound can be roughly divided into two components. Firstly, this is his liturgical activity, which is regulated by the hierarchy and internal church regulations. Naturally, taking into account the conditions of service, combat training plans, combat readiness and current tasks.
Secondly, this is the participation of the priest in educational, educational and other social work. This area of activity should be more closely integrated into army life. The military team lives according to the daily routine, in accordance with combat training plans and training schedules. Therefore, when regulating the work of a military chaplain, it is necessary to strictly fit it into the army schedule. To do this, the priest must plan his activities together with the commander and his assistant for working with personnel. The commander has a combat training plan: exercises, field trips or sea voyages, cultural and leisure activities are planned. In addition, the command knows what spiritual and psychological problems exist in the army collective, where problems with military discipline have arisen acrimonious relationship between military personnel, there is a need to maintain peace in military families, etc.
After the problems have been updated and areas of activity have been outlined, the commander says: “Father, dear, we have such and such tasks for moral education. How can you help? And the priest is already offering options. Let’s say he can take part in public and state training, give a lecture, hold a conversation in a team where there is hazing, work individually with a soldier who is “depressed,” etc. The forms of work of a priest can be very different, they are known. The main thing is that they serve to fulfill those tasks in the field of education, moral and spiritual enlightenment of military personnel, which they determined together with the commander. These decisions are formalized in the clergyman’s monthly work plan, which is approved by the commander.
— You talked about upbringing. Do the functions of the priest and the educational officer overlap in this case? IN Lately one often hears that, they say, the introduction of the institution of military priesthood will cause a mass dismissal of officers educational work.
- You're right, there are such rumors. They are caused by optimization measures educational structures. At the same time, some positions are being eliminated. But I would like to remind you that “after that” does not at all mean “as a result of that.” To think that a military priest will take the place of an educator is a profanation of the very idea of introducing the institution of military and naval clergy in the Armed Forces. This creates a cause for confusion that needs to be disavowed. The functions of a priest and an educational officer do not exclude or replace, but harmoniously complement each other. The task of the first is to educate and configure people to perform combat missions using means and methods that have already proven their effectiveness. And the priest in this case brings a moral component to this work, enriches and makes the entire system of working with personnel more effective. This is what we want to achieve. And, as far as I can tell, for the most part, officers understand this very well.
— But in the Regulations adopted by the Ministry of Defense on the organization of work with religious military personnel, the responsibilities of a clergyman include strengthening discipline and crime prevention...
— In this case, one should not confuse the general ideological goals and objectives that face the commander, educator and priest, and the responsibilities of each party. The documents indicate the participation of the priest in educational work and moral education, as well as its forms in peace and war.
About forms in Peaceful time we already talked. I would also like to note that wartime has its own specifics. In conditions of warfare, a person’s legal freedom is limited, everything is subordinated to a common goal. The commander makes a decision, primarily based on the task that the formation is solving. The principle of unity of command operates more strictly here; the commander’s orders are carried out unquestioningly. Based on the experience of past centuries, we can say that in a combat situation the priest should be near medical center as close as possible to the front line, provide assistance to the wounded, perform divine services and sacraments, help overcome the consequences of stressful situations, ensure a dignified burial of the dead and deceased, write letters to the relatives of wounded and killed soldiers. The personal example of the priest is of great importance here.
— If in the unit where the priest serves there is an Orthodox majority and some representatives of other religions, how should the priest behave with them? What to do with atheists?
— An atheist is a person who takes an active anti-God position. According to my observations, there are not many such people in the army. There are significantly more military personnel who simply do not feel like believers and do not “hear” their faith. But real actions show that they actually believe in something - some in a black cat, some in a flying vessel, some in the existence of some kind of absolute mind, etc. This means that to some extent they still live a unique spiritual life. And how to work with them should be suggested to the priest by his pastoral experience.
The same can be said for representatives of other religions. After all, an experienced priest can work not only with Orthodox Christians, but also with Muslims and Buddhists. He understands the essence of the problem, distinguishes Sunni from Shiite, knows many suras of the Koran, the moral meaning of which correlates with biblical maxims. Finally, he simply understands the soul of a person, especially a young person who is seeking. He can find an approach to both the believer and the heart of little faith. In addition, the priest must know in the places of deployment those clergymen of other faiths who, without prejudice to the cause, can be invited to meet with military personnel if necessary. In this sense, we take a tough position on only one thing: there should be no religious mission or discrimination on religious grounds in the army. We must not allow attempts to make a Muslim out of an Orthodox soldier and vice versa, so as not to create additional tensions. The main thing for us is spiritual enlightenment, moral education, ensuring the constitutional rights of military personnel and ensuring conscious motivation, a genuine attitude of people to fulfill their military duty.
— When should work with military personnel be carried out—on duty or off duty? What does the documents being developed say about this?
— Here it is impossible to comb all the formations where the positions of assistant commanders (chiefs) for working with religious servicemen have been introduced. For example, missilemen have intermittent combat duty: sometimes three days on duty, sometimes four. The sailors are on watch sea voyages changes every four hours. Motorized riflemen, tank crews and sappers can spend months in the field. Therefore, in the documents we only write general principles. But at the same time, in the Regulations you mentioned, it is written that the unit commander must provide the priest with a workplace, as well as a place reserved for worship. It can be a free-standing temple or a chapel, or a temple built into the building of a part. But there must be such a place. And at what time the priest will conduct his activities, he decides together with the commander, depending on the specific circumstances. The main thing is that all the activities of the priest: participation in public and state training, collective and individual conversations - be fixed in the general daily routine or class schedule.
— Who should be involved in the arrangement of the military temple - the priest or the command of the unit? Who allocates funds for the purchase of liturgical utensils, vestments and everything that is necessary for the performance of divine services?
— Formally, everything related to the acquisition of religious objects is the business of the Church. Who exactly - the priest himself, the military department or the diocese - is decided differently in each specific case. The Ministry of Defense budget does not provide for such expenses. The commander's responsibilities include determining the place where services can be performed, coordinating times with the priest, and assisting in organizing his activities. However, as practice shows, military personnel and members of their families willingly provide all possible assistance to the priest: they donate funds and help in whatever way they can. I know of cases where financial assistance to military churches was provided both by local authorities and wealthy people who had long ago lost their direct connection with the army.
— The system of subordination of the military priest raises questions. It turns out that he is subordinate to the commander, his diocesan bishop, the Synodal Department for Cooperation with the Armed Forces and Law Enforcement Institutions, and also coordinates his actions with the Right Reverend, in whose diocese the military unit in which the priest serves is located. Such a tangled ball.
— A military priest is first and foremost a man of the Church. And what his administrative subordination within the church organization will be should be determined by the hierarchy. In this case, I can only express my personal thoughts on this matter. A reasonable and logical system of intra-church subordination of military priests existed in the Russian army until on January 18, 1918, by order No. 39 of the RSFSR People's Commissar for Military Affairs N.I. Podvoisky, the service of military chaplains was abolished. Then there was a church vertical, headed by the protopresbyter of the army and navy.
Something similar could be done today. Moreover, there is already one, which is the highest administrative level in this area and effectively coordinates the actions of priests in the troops. For example, if a priest is now nominated for appointment to a position, it is the head of the “military” department who writes the proposal to the Minister of Defense. And subsequently, it is the department that resolves all organizational issues and perplexities that arise for the appointed priest, so in fact, the system already exists, it just needs to be improved. From the point of view of solving combat missions, from the standpoint army command the vertical of the military department may be the optimal form of organizing the activities of the military clergy within the Church. But it seems that even with vertical subordination, the bishop in whose diocese the military unit is located should be able to know that in a military church “the word of Truth is rightly governed.” Of course, experience will show how all this will be implemented in real life, when we have the planned number of full-time military chaplains.
— Usually a priest is assigned to one or another temple. But what if there is no full-fledged church in the unit?
— Each time this should be decided individually. Many military temples stand either in the unit or on the border between the unit and a civilian settlement. In this case, the priest can be assigned to this temple and he will work with both military personnel and the population. If a priest is sent to a military base abroad or another closed military town where there is not yet a church, then for the time being it makes sense for him to legally remain in the diocese. It seems to me that in such circumstances the diocesan bishop could for some time continue to list him as a cleric of the church where the priest served before his appointment to the unit. At least until a religious building is built on the territory of the unit.
— Is it known today the number of churches and chapels located on the territory of military units?
“Right now we are completing an inventory of such religious objects located in the territories under the jurisdiction of the Russian Ministry of Defense. So far we have information about 208 churches and chapels of the Russian Orthodox Church alone. There was no information about churches of other denominations. It is clear that such a number of structures require great attention. As part of the reform, the number of military camps and garrisons is being reduced. And you understand that if in the town subject to reduction there is a chapel or temple, then when the military leaves this territory, their fate may be unenviable. What to do with such a temple? This is a very serious matter. Currently, by decision of the Minister of Defense and His Holiness the Patriarch, a joint working group has been created, co-chaired by the Secretary of State and Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation N.A. Pankov and Chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate. The group included five specialists each from the Russian Orthodox Church and the Ministry of Defense. Its task is to form a regulatory framework for religious objects in the territories of the Ministry of Defense, as well as to establish their accounting and further operation in accordance with the requirements of the law. The group held the first two meetings, at which, in particular, the tasks of registration and certification of religious objects were determined.
— As far as I understand, according to the employment contract concluded with a military chaplain, service in the unit is his main place of work.
- Absolutely right. The priest must spend the bulk of his working time in the unit. Of course, there should be no formalism. The commander and the priest together must determine the time the priest will be at the unit location and the form of his work. But if there is a church in the unit, then the priest can stay there most of the time, then the commander and everyone who wants to will know where they can come in their free moment to talk and receive spiritual consolation. In general, it goes without saying that the priest will be where he is most needed.
— How important is personal experience of military service for a military chaplain?
— Of course, personal experience military service plays a significant role in the work of a military chaplain. Such a person, when concluding a contract, knows where he is going. He does not need much time to adapt to the team, he knows the terminology, is familiar with the specifics of the service, etc. It is clear, however, that we cannot insist that only former military personnel become military chaplains. One way or another, we plan to organize additional professional training for assistant commanders (chiefs) hired to full-time positions in working with religious servicemen. For this purpose, short-term courses will be organized on the basis of one of the capital’s universities.
Prospects for the Institute of Military Chaplains in Russian army are assessed positively due to the fact that this initiative of the leaders of the largest religious communities in Russia finds support among Russian authorities and in society. The need for military clergy stems from the presence of a significant flock - religious military personnel, including those undergoing military service in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. However, the initiative also faces visible problems.
Story
Russian empire
According to Boris Lukichev, head of the department for work with religious servicemen of the main department for work with personnel of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, in the army Russian Empire 5 thousand military chaplains and several hundred chaplains served. Mullahs also served in national-territorial formations, such as the “Wild Division”.
In pre-revolutionary Russia, the activities of army and navy priests were secured by a special legal status. So, although formally the clergy did not have military ranks, in fact, in a military environment, a deacon was equated to a lieutenant, a priest - to a captain, the rector of a military cathedral or temples, as well as a divisional dean - to a lieutenant colonel, a field chief priest of the army and navy and a chief priest of the General Staff, Guards and Grenadier Corps - to a general - major, and the protopresbyter of the military and naval clergy (the highest ecclesiastical position for the army and navy, established in 1890) - to the lieutenant general.
This applied both to the monetary allowance paid from the treasury of the military department, and to privileges: for example, each ship's chaplain was entitled to a separate cabin and boat, he had the right to pester the ship from the starboard side, which except him was allowed only to flagships, ship commanders and officers , who had St. George's awards. The sailors were obliged to salute him.
Russian Federation
In post-Soviet Russia, according to the head of the synodal department of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) for interaction with the Armed Forces and law enforcement agencies, Archpriest Dimitry Smirnov, Orthodox priests resumed their activities in the troops immediately after the collapse of the USSR, but during the first two decades they did this for free and on on a voluntary basis.
In 1994, Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Alexy II and Russian Defense Minister Pavel Grachev signed a cooperation agreement - the first official document on relations between the church and the army in the Russian Federation. Based on this document, the Coordination Committee for interaction between the Armed Forces and the Russian Orthodox Church was created. In February 2006, Patriarch Alexy II allowed the training of military priests “for the spiritual care of the Russian army,” and in May of the same year, then Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke in favor of re-establishing the institution of military priests.
Modernity
Need
According to Sergei Mozgovoy, Chairman of the Committee on Freedom of Conscience of the National Assembly of Russia, in 1992, 25% of Russian military personnel considered themselves believers, and by the end of the decade their number began to decline. Archpriest Dimitry Smirnov, citing sociological data from the Russian Ministry of Defense, claims that the share of Russian military personnel who consider themselves believers increased from 36% in 1996 to 63% in 2008.
In February 2010, the Newsru.com portal reported, citing the Russian Ministry of Defense, that two-thirds of Russian military personnel call themselves believers, of which 83% are Orthodox, 8% are Muslim. According to the same portal, as of July 2011, 60% of Russian military personnel considered themselves believers, 80% of them were Orthodox.
According to VTsIOM, in August 2006, the introduction of the institution of military chaplains or other clergy representatives in the Russian army was supported by 53% of Russians. In July 2009, Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov estimated the need for military chaplains in the Russian army and navy at 200-250 people. According to Archpriest Dimitry Smirnov, the need is much greater: “In israeli army There is one rabbi for every 100 military personnel. In the USA there is one chaplain for every 500-800 military personnel. With an army of a million people, we need to have about one thousand clergy.”
Chief priest Russian Airborne Forces Priest Mikhail Vasiliev in 2007 assessed the need for clergy in Russian troops as follows: about 400 Orthodox priests, 30-40 Muslim mullahs, 2-3 Buddhist lamas and 1-2 Jewish rabbis.
Organization
The re-creation of the institution of military clergy is an initiative of the leaders of the largest religious communities in Russia, which was supported by the country's President Dmitry Medvedev in July 2009. On December 1, 2009, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation introduced the positions of assistant unit commander for work with religious servicemen, which will be filled by military priests. They will be classified as civilian personnel of military units, which fully corresponds to the position of Dmitry Medvedev.
The importance of this circumstance is also recognized by the clergy. In particular, the head of the synodal department of the Russian Orthodox Church for relations between church and society, Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, and the chairman of the Coordination Center of Muslims speak out in support North Caucasus Mufti Ismail Berdiev, Archpriest Dimitry Smirnov. The latter said in December 2009: “Epaulettes on the shoulders of a priest are not in our national tradition.” At the same time, he believes, “... the priest must be equated with senior officers so that he can be treated adequately in the officer corps.”
As Boris Lukichev, head of the department for work with religious servicemen of the main department for work with personnel of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, explains, this is the fundamental difference between the Russian system and the situation, for example, in Italy, Poland, and the USA. In the armies of the listed countries, chaplains serve - priests who have military ranks and are administratively subordinate to the unit commander. Russian military priests will submit to their church leadership, working closely with the unit commander in the educational aspects of their work.
It is noteworthy that the positions of assistant commanders for educational work are not abolished, and military chaplains will not duplicate their functions. They have no right to take up arms. In fact, they can be considered representatives of the clergy assigned to the army. The position of a military chaplain is contractual. The contract is concluded between the priest and the unit commander, in agreement with the Ministry of Defense. As of July 2011, 240 such positions were introduced. The official salary of such an assistant is set at 10 thousand rubles per month; taking into account allowances for the regional coefficient, for complexity and for length of service, the total amount of monthly payments can reach 25 thousand rubles. This money is paid by the state.
A number of church hierarchs consider these amounts to be insufficient. Thus, Archpriest Dimitry Smirnov recalls that the rank and salary of a regimental priest in the pre-revolutionary army corresponded to the rank of captain, and Archbishop Ignatius of Khabarovsk and Amur explains: “In order for a priest to devote himself entirely to service, he must be provided with a decent salary. The salary of military chaplains, regulated by the Ministry of Defense, is very modest. It is not enough to support a clergyman and his family. It is impossible to live on that amount. The priest will have to look for income on the side. And this will greatly affect his service, and his potential will be greatly reduced.”
At the beginning of 2010 " Russian newspaper» cited higher figures for the planned salaries of military chaplains - from 25 to 40 thousand rubles per month. It was also reported that they would presumably live in officer dormitories or service apartments, and each would be given an office at the unit headquarters. In July 2011, the same newspaper cited the example of military priest Andrei Zizo, serving in South Ossetia and receiving 36 thousand rubles per month.
In December 2009, the head of the department of the Main Directorate for Educational Work (GUVR) of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, Colonel Igor Sergienko, said that the created department for work with religious military personnel could be headed by a clergyman of the Russian Orthodox Church, but in October 2010, reserve colonel Boris Lukichev became the head of this department ; he still heads it today.
Implementation
The first 13 military priests were sent by the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church to serve at foreign bases of the Russian army in December 2009, but in July 2011, Boris Lukichev reported that out of 240 such positions, only 6 have been filled so far - at military bases of the Black Sea Fleet, in Armenia, Tajikistan , Abkhazia and South Ossetia; In addition, there is one military mullah in the Southern Military District. Lukichev explains this by the fact that candidates undergo a very careful selection - each one is personally approved by Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov.
Some members of the clergy believe this state of affairs is the result of inaction and red tape by the military. Thus, in September 2010, the portal “Religion and Media” quoted an unnamed “high-ranking representative of the Moscow Patriarchate”: “On the part of the military department, there is complete sabotage of issues related to the determination of religious representatives in the army and navy.”
According to the same source, by September 2010, governing bodies for military chaplains should have been formed at district headquarters and in the fleets, but this was not done. Moreover, the leadership of the Ministry of Defense did not hold a single meeting with representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church on this issue.
However, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus' places responsibility for the red tape on church hierarchs - in particular, on the bishops of the Southern Federal District. The process of introducing the institution of military priests, according to Archpriest Dimitry Smirnov’s estimate given in December 2009, will take from two to five years.
There are no special premises for the work of military chaplains on the territories of military units yet, but Patriarch Kirill, speaking in May 2011 to students at the General Staff Academy in Moscow, said that such premises need to be allocated. In November 2010, Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov said that the construction of Orthodox churches in military units would be discussed by a working group that would be created specifically for this purpose in the ministry.
By mid-2011, according to Boris Lukichev, about 200 churches, chapels and prayer rooms were built in the garrisons of the Russian Armed Forces. This was done without orders and without government funding. In total, at the beginning of 2010, there were 530 churches operating on the territory of Russian military units.
Purpose
Patriarch Kirill believes that military priests will achieve a fundamental change in the moral atmosphere in the Russian Armed Forces and the gradual eradication of “negative phenomena in relations between military personnel conscript service" He is convinced that a positive impact will also be had on morale, because a person who has “religious experience of life” and is deeply aware that betrayal, evasion of one’s direct duties and violation of the oath are mortal sins, “will be capable of any feat.”
Boris Lukichev, head of the department for work with religious servicemen of the main department for work with personnel of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, is more skeptical: “It would be naive to think that a priest will come and there will be no incidents right away.”
According to Lukichev, the mission of military priests is different: “The service of military priests brings to the army a moral aspect, a moral dimension. What was it like during the war? The priest was always close to the fighters. And when a soldier was mortally wounded, he held a funeral service at the first aid station, where he saw him off on his last journey. Then he informed his relatives that their son or father died for the Tsar, the Fatherland and the faith, and was interred in accordance with Christian customs. It's hard but necessary work."
And Archpriest Dmitry Smirnov thinks this way: “We want every serviceman to understand what a Christian attitude to life, service, and comrade consists of. So that there are no suicides, escapes, or crossbows in the army. And the most important thing is to convey to the person in uniform why and in the name of what one must be ready to give his life for the Motherland. If we succeed in all this, then we will consider that our work has borne fruit.”
Abroad
By the beginning of 2010, the institution of military clergy was absent only in three major military powers of the world - the PRC, the DPRK and Russia. In particular, there are military chaplains who receive an officer's salary in all NATO countries.
This issue is resolved differently in neighboring countries. For example, in Moldova, military chaplains are appointed by official decrees and given military ranks. In Armenia, military chaplains report to their spiritual leadership in Etchmiadzin and receive salaries from the church, not the state.
In Ukraine, the Council for Pastoral Care under the Ministry of Defense, created to form an institute of military clergy (chaplaincy) in the armed forces, operates on a voluntary basis, and there is a discussion about the prospects of such an institution. Every year, gatherings of Orthodox military priests are held in Sevastopol, at which, in particular, these prospects are discussed. Representatives of all dioceses in Ukraine, as well as representatives of the military leadership of the republic, take part in them.
Prospects
Training centers
In February 2010, Patriarch Kirill announced that the training of military clergy would be carried out in special training centers. The duration of the training course will be three months. Until such centers are operational, the Russian Orthodox Church will allocate 400 candidates for this purpose. In November of the same year, Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov announced that the first such center would most likely open on the basis of one of the Moscow military universities.
A few months earlier, Archpriest Mikhail Vasiliev, deputy chairman of the synodal department of the Moscow Patriarchate for interaction with the Armed Forces and law enforcement agencies, indicated that such a training center would be opened on the basis of the Ryazan Higher Airborne Command School named after Margelov. He said that in addition to priests of the Russian Orthodox Church, mullahs, lamas and clergy of other faiths will be trained in this center. However, this project was not implemented.
In July 2011, Boris Lukichev informed that military priests would be trained at one of the departmental universities in Moscow, and that the training course would not include spiritual disciplines, but “military fundamentals,” including practical classes with trips to training grounds.
Confessions
In July 2011, Boris Lukichev stated that the introduction of the institution of military priests would not entail any discrimination against military personnel of non-Orthodox faiths: “Discrimination is excluded when Orthodox Christians go to church, and the rest dig from here until lunch.”
Two years earlier, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev pointed out the importance of this approach: “When introducing the positions of military and naval clergy... we must be guided by real considerations, real information about the ethno-confessional composition of units and formations.”
At the same time, he proposed the following option for implementing the interfaith principle: “If more than 10% of the personnel, brigade, division, educational institution are representatives of peoples traditionally associated with a particular faith, a clergyman of this faith can be included in the staff of the corresponding unit.”
Anatoly Serdyukov in response assured that the clergy of all major religions will be represented in the corresponding department under the central apparatus of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and departments in military districts and fleets, which will be created in the process of introducing the institution of military and naval priests.
Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin believes that the Russian army should contain clergy from all four main confessions of Russia. Archpriest Dimitry Smirnov states: “The interests of representatives of all traditional Russian religions cannot and should not be infringed upon in the army. And I hope this will not happen. We already know how to help a Muslim, a Buddhist, and a Jewish conscript.”
According to the chairman of the Congress of Jewish Religious Organizations and Associations of Russia (KEROOR), Rabbi Zinovy Kogan, an Orthodox priest, if necessary, can provide spiritual support to military personnel of other faiths. The representative of the Grand Mufti in Moscow, Rastam Valeev, shares a similar opinion: “I told the Muslim soldiers: if you don’t have a mullah now, go to an Orthodox priest.”
Objections
The idea of an institute of military chaplains also has opponents, who believe that when this institution actually starts working, there will be negative consequences. Thus, Associate Professor of the Department of Social and Cultural Activities of the Military University, Doctor of Historical Sciences Andrei Kuznetsov points out the imperfection of statistics: “In opinion polls, which, like a shield, supporters of the introduction of the institution of military priests hide behind, there is the fact that at the moment 70% of military personnel consider themselves believers... What do you mean believe? Do military personnel consider themselves believers or are they believers? These are different things. You can consider yourself anyone, today an Orthodox Christian, and tomorrow a Buddhist. But faith imposes on a person special duties, including conscious observance of basic regulations and commandments.”
Another problem that skeptics point out is what to do with the remaining 30% of the personnel while believers attend to their religious needs? If supporters of the institution of military chaplains believe that at this time officers-educators will deal with them, then Andrei Kuznetsov, appealing to his many years of experience of service in the Soviet and Russian armies, reproaches them for idealism: “I would venture to assume that in real situation everything will happen differently. After all, the army principle is that all personnel must be involved in any event.”
Another argument of opponents is Art. 14 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, declaring Russia a secular state.
Candidate of Legal Sciences, Associate Professor of the Combined Arms Academy of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, Professor of the Academy of Military Sciences Sergei Ivaneev doubts that “a clergyman, the main values of whose religious doctrine is concentrated on the concept of “salvation” or, as it is formulated in science, “deferred reward”,” will be able to help the commander in educational work - after all, it should form a completely different worldview among military personnel. In addition, Ivaneev notes,
Religion elevates faith in God (gods) to the main criterion of attitude towards a person: a co-religionist is ours, a non-religionist is not ours... The tradition developed by religion of feeling elbows only with co-religionists does not at all contribute to the unity of people in uniform.
Finally, citing relevant examples from the history of pre-revolutionary Russia, Andrei Kuznetsov expresses concern that the most important sacraments of the Christian Church can be used for the sake of politics.
Opinions
Power
You can invite representatives of various religious denominations to each unit, but will this be of any use? I would not make hasty conclusions... This will entail the problem of integrating religion into the education system of military personnel.
Yuri Baluevsky, Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces. "Military-Industrial Courier", May 3, 2006.
We studied the experience of world armies, armies where there is an institute of military clergy, and we believe that today there is no “one-time” solution to this issue in our multi-religious country... But what to do in conditions, for example, of a nuclear submarine, where 30% of the personnel are Muslims? This is a very subtle matter.
Nikolai Pankov, Secretary of State - Deputy Minister of Defense of Russia. Newsru.com, May 27, 2008.
Everyone has the right to receive spiritual support in accordance with their views. The constitutional principles of equality, voluntariness, and freedom of conscience must be observed in relation to all military personnel.
There is a decision by the head of state on filling full-time positions for military chaplains. And it will be strictly implemented. But, I repeat, I am not in favor of haste in this matter. Because the issue is extremely delicate. Currently, personnel work is underway, close cooperation is being carried out with the Russian Orthodox Church and other religious associations. If you rush, you will ruin the idea itself.
Boris Lukichev, head of the department for work with religious military personnel of the main department for work with personnel of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation. "Military-Industrial Courier", July 27, 2011.
Clergy
I think mandatory introduction Institute of Regimental Priests, since we need to educate our young people. However, the introduction of priests into the staff is a violation of the constitutional separation of state and religion.
Shafig Pshikhachev, I. O. First Deputy Chairman of the Coordination Center for Muslims of the North Caucasus. "Military-Industrial Courier", May 3, 2006.
I am for the Russian army to have chaplains, priests, and pastoral service to be carried out permanent basis... This is a worldwide practice, and it is difficult for me to understand why this is not yet the case in Russia.
The priest should be in the barracks next to the military. He must share the hardships of military service, the danger, and be an example not only in words, but also in deeds. In order to realize this potential of the church, an institution of military clergy is needed.
There are priests in the armies of all countries, including those countries that actively teach us about the separation of state and church.
Vsevolod Chaplin, archpriest, head of the synodal department of the Russian Orthodox Church for relations between church and society. Newsru.com, July 15, 2009.
The presence of clergy in the army will contribute to the growth of patriotism.
The initiative to introduce regimental priest positions in the army and navy did not come from us. Everything went naturally... We have 100 million Orthodox Christians in the country. Why, when joining the army, do many of them have to “temporarily” “say goodbye” to their faith? Personally, as a priest, I believe that this - the Church and the priest in the army - is generally the main thing! Not just one of the components, but the main thing! It's better not to drink or eat. The temple is a basic necessity.
Dmitry Smirnov, archpriest, head of the Synodal Department of the Russian Orthodox Church for interaction with the armed forces and law enforcement agencies. "Military-Industrial Courier", December 23, 2009.
If the church goes to the army, then it will be fair if the army comes to the church. This is when chaplains will be trained from ordinary priests (perhaps in one of the combined arms academies), who will become experts in the culture of peoples traditionally belonging to other religions. A Jewish chaplain must know them (these cultures), just like representatives of other religions... Rabbis in the army, I believe, will also appear over time. Today there are about a million Jews from mixed families, and they will also fulfill their military duty. In the meantime, military chaplains, who will be responsible for supervising all believers, must have first-hand knowledge of Judaism, Islam, and Buddhism as religions. I don’t see anything bad if at first the “functions of a rabbi” are performed by priests.
Zinovy Kogan, rabbi, chairman of the Congress of Jewish Religious Organizations and Associations of Russia (KEROOR). "Military-Industrial Courier", July 27, 2011.
Experts
The introduction of the institution of military chaplains who will work directly in the troops is positive step... Priests in the troops will help strengthen the morale of soldiers and officers in real combat conditions, as well as in regions with a difficult socio-political situation... At the same time, it should be noted that persons who hold atheistic views should not be forced to perform church rituals.
Igor Korotchenko, Chief Editor magazine " National Defense" Newsru.com, July 22, 2009.
The appearance of a clergyman in the unit calms the soldier. Young guys who came from civilian life are more willing to communicate with a priest than with a military psychologist.
Vladimir Khoroshilov, personnel department officer Separate division special purpose internal troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia. Infox.ru, November 16, 2009.
Modern Russian society is radically different from what existed before 1917. Therefore, if we are going to take into account the experience of the activities of the structures of the Russian Empire, then we should approach this very carefully and with adjustments for today. I believe that the actualization of the problem of introducing the institution of military priests is caused by the fact that the state, having not developed any more or less coherent ideology over the past two decades, has signed up for complete powerlessness to influence the spiritual and moral world of military personnel. And in order to “plug” this gaping hole, the Russian Orthodox Church is being called upon in an emergency manner... The decision to introduce the institution of clergy into the RF Armed Forces has not been sufficiently worked out and is premature.
Andrey Kuznetsov, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Associate Professor of the Department of Social and Cultural Activities of the Military University. "Military-Industrial Courier", January 20, 2010.
In a modern war, 400 priests, whose positions are now being introduced by the leadership of the Ministry of Defense in the troops, are unlikely to radically improve anything.
Leonid Ivashov, vice-president of the Academy of Geopolitical Problems. "Military-Industrial Courier", March 3–9, 2010.
religion education army clergy
The main figure in military church and in the entire system of spiritual and moral education of lower ranks and officers, the army and navy priest was present. The history of the military clergy goes back to the era of the origin and development of the army of pre-Christian Rus'. At that time, the servants of the cult were magi, sorcerers, and sorcerers. They were among the leaders of the squad and with their prayers, ritual actions, recommendations, and sacrifices contributed to the military successes of the squad and the entire army.
As the permanent army was formed, its spiritual service became constant. With the advent Streltsy army, which by the 17th century. has turned into an impressive military force, attempts are being made to develop and enshrine in the charters a unified procedure for carrying and providing military service. Thus, in the charter “Teaching and cunning of the military formation of infantry people” (1647), a regimental priest is mentioned for the first time.
In accordance with the army and navy governing documents, the regimental priest and hieromonk, in addition to conducting divine services and prayers, were obliged to “look diligently” at the behavior of the lower ranks, to monitor the indispensable acceptance of confession and holy communion.
To prevent the priest from interfering in other matters and not distracting military personnel from the work assigned to them, the scope of his duties was limited by a firm warning: “Do not get involved in any other business, less than start something of your own will and passion.” The line of complete subordination of the priest in military affairs to the sole commander found approval among the officers and became entrenched in the life of the troops.
Before Peter 1, the spiritual needs of soldiers were satisfied by priests temporarily assigned to the regiments. Peter follows example Western armies created the structure of the military clergy in the army and navy. Each regiment and ship began to have full-time military chaplains. In 1716, for the first time in the regulations of the Russian army, separate chapters “On the clergy” appeared, which determined their legal status in the army, main forms of activity, responsibilities. Priests were appointed to army regiments by the Holy Synod based on the recommendations of the dioceses where the troops were stationed. At the same time, it was prescribed to appoint “skilled” priests and known for their good behavior to the regiments.
A similar process took place in the navy. Already in 1710, the “Articles of the Military for the Russian Fleet,” which were in force until the adoption of the Naval Regulations in 1720, set out the rules for performing prayers in the morning and evening and “reading the word of God.” In April 1717, by the highest order, it was decided “to maintain 39 priests in the Russian fleet on ships and other military vessels.” The first naval chaplain, appointed on August 24, 1710 to Admiral F.M. Apraksin, there was a priest Ivan Antonov.
At first, the military clergy was under the jurisdiction of local church authorities, but in 1800 it was separated from the diocesan one, and the position of field chief priest was introduced in the army, to which all army priests were subordinate. The first head of the military clergy was Archpriest P.Ya. Ozeretskovsky. Subsequently, the chief priest of the army and navy began to be called protopresbyter.
After military reform 60s of the XIX century. The management of the military clergy acquired a fairly harmonious system. According to the “Regulations on the management of churches and clergy of the military department” (1892), all clergy of the Russian Armed Forces were headed by the protopresbyter of the military and naval clergy. In rank, he was equal to an archbishop in the spiritual world and to a lieutenant general in the military, and had the right to a personal report to the king.
Considering that the Russian army was staffed not only by Orthodox Christians, but also by representatives of other faiths, in the headquarters of military districts and in the fleets there was, as a rule, one mullah, priest, and rabbi. Problems of interfaith were also resolved due to the fact that the activities of the military clergy were based on the principles of monotheism, respect for other faiths and the religious rights of their representatives, religious tolerance, and missionary work.
In recommendations to military priests published in the “Bulletin of the Military Clergy” (1892), it was explained: “... all of us Christians, Mohammedans, Jews pray together to our God at the same time - therefore the Lord Almighty, who created heaven, earth and everything on earth , there is one true God for all of us.”
Military regulations served as the legal basis for attitude towards foreign soldiers. Thus, the charter of 1898 in the article “On worship on a ship” prescribed: “Infidels of Christian denominations perform public prayers according to the rules of their faith, with the permission of the commander, in a designated place, and, if possible, simultaneously with Orthodox worship. During long voyages, they retire, if possible, to their church for prayer and fasting.” The same charter allowed Muslims or Jews on board the ship to “read public prayers according to the rules of their faith: Muslims on Fridays, Jews on Saturdays.” On major holidays, non-Christians, as a rule, were released from service and went ashore.
The issue of interconfessional relations was also regulated by circulars of the protopresbyter. One of them suggested “to avoid, if possible, all religious disputes and denunciations of other confessions” and to ensure that regimental and hospital libraries do not receive literature “with harsh expressions addressed to Catholicism, Protestantism and other faiths, since such literary works may insult religious feeling belonging to these confessions and to harden them against the Orthodox Church and sow hostility in military units that is detrimental to the cause.” Military priests were recommended to support the greatness of Orthodoxy “not through words of denunciation of other believers, but through the work of Christian selfless service to both Orthodox and non-Orthodox, remembering that the latter also shed blood for the Faith, the Tsar and the Fatherland.”
Direct work on religious and moral education was entrusted for the most part to regimental and ship priests. Their duties were quite thoughtful and varied. In particular, regimental priests were entrusted with the responsibility of instilling in the lower ranks Christian faith and love for God and neighbors, respect for the supreme monarchical authority, to protect military personnel “from harmful teachings,” to correct “moral shortcomings,” to prevent “deviations from Orthodox faith“, during hostilities, encourage and bless your spiritual children, be ready to lay down your souls for the faith and the Fatherland.
Particular importance in the matter of religious and moral education of the lower ranks was given to the Law of God. Although the Law was a collection of prayers, features of worship and sacraments of the Orthodox Church, the soldiers, most of them poorly educated, in its lessons received knowledge from world history and the history of Russia, as well as examples of moral behavior based on the study of the commandments of Christian life. The definition of human conscience given in the fourth part of the Law of God is interesting: “Conscience is the internal spiritual force in a person... Conscience is an inner voice that tells us what is good and what is evil, what is fair and what is dishonest, what is fair and what not fair. The voice of conscience obliges us to do good and avoid evil. For everything good, conscience rewards us with inner peace and tranquility, but for everything bad and evil it condemns and punishes, and a person who has acted against his conscience feels moral discord in himself - remorse and torment of conscience.”
The regimental (ship) priest had a kind of church asset, volunteer assistants who collected donations and helped during church services. Family members of military personnel were also involved in the activities of the military church: they sang in the choir, were engaged in charitable activities, worked in hospitals, etc. The church helped to establish closeness between lower ranks and officers. On religious holidays, especially Christmas and Easter, officers were recommended to be in the barracks and share Christ with their subordinates. After the ceremony of Christ, the unit’s priest and his assistants went around the families of the officers, congratulating them and collecting donations.
At all times, military priests reinforced the impact of words with the strength of their spirit and personal example. Many commanders highly valued the activities of military shepherds. Thus, the commander of the Akhtyrsky Hussar Regiment, characterizing the military priest Father Raevsky, who participated in many battles with the French, wrote that he “was with the regiment continuously in all general battles and even attacks, under enemy fire... encouraging the regiment with the help of the Almighty and the blessed weapon of God (the Holy Cross), struck by a mortal wound... he certainly confessed and guided into the life of eternity with the holy sacraments; those killed in battle and those who died from wounds were buried according to church rites...” In a similar way, the head of the 24th Infantry Division, Major General P.G. Likhachev and the commander of the 6th Corps, General D.S. The Doctors characterized the priest Vasily Vasilkovsky, who was repeatedly wounded and awarded the Order of St. for his exploits. George 4th degree.
There are many known cases of the heroic service of priests who were in captivity or in enemy-occupied territory. In 1812, Archpriest of the Cavalry Regiment Mikhail Gratinsky, while being captured by the French, served daily prayers for the sending of victory to the Russian army. For spiritual and military exploits, the military priest was awarded a cross on the St. George's Ribbon, and the Tsar appointed him as his confessor.
No less selfless were the exploits of military priests in Russian-Japanese war 1904-1905 Everyone knows about the feat of the cruiser “Varyag”, about which the song was composed. But not everyone knows that together with his commander, Captain 1st Rank V.F. Rudnev served as the ship's chaplain, his namesake Mikhail Rudnev. And if commander Rudnev controlled the battle from the conning tower, then priest Rudnev, under Japanese artillery fire, “fearlessly walked along the blood-stained deck, admonishing the dying and inspiring those fighting.” The ship's priest of the cruiser Askold, Hieromonk Porfiry, acted in the same way during the battle in the Yellow Sea on July 28, 1904.
The military clergy also served selflessly, courageously and heroically during the First World War. Confirmation of his military merits is the fact that, according to incomplete data, during the First World War the priests were awarded: 227 gold pectoral crosses on the St. George ribbon, 85 Orders of St. Vladimir 3rd degree with swords, 203 Orders of St. Vladimir 4th 1st class with swords, 643 Order of St. Anne 2nd and 3rd class with swords. In 1915 alone, 46 military priests were nominated for high military awards.
However, not all those who distinguished themselves on the battlefields had the opportunity to see their awards, to feel the glory and honor deserved in the harsh times of war. The war did not spare military priests, armed only with faith, the cross and the desire to serve the Fatherland. General A.A. Brusilov, describing the battles of the Russian army in 1915, wrote: “In those terrible counterattacks, black figures flashed among the soldiers’ tunics - regimental priests, tucking up their cassocks, in rough boots, walked with the soldiers, encouraging the timid with simple evangelical words and behavior... They remained there forever, in the fields of Galicia, without being separated from the flock.” According to incomplete data, more than 4.5 thousand clergy laid down their lives or were maimed in battle. This is convincing evidence that military priests did not bow to bullets and shells, did not sit in the rear when their charges shed blood on the battlefield, but fulfilled their patriotic, official and moral duty to the end.
As you know, during the Great Patriotic War there were no priests in the Red Army. But representatives of the clergy took part in hostilities on all fronts of the Great Patriotic War. Many clergy were awarded orders and medals. Among them - the Order of Glory of three degrees - Deacon B. Kramorenko, the Order of Glory of the 3rd degree - cleric S. Kozlov, the medal "For Courage" priest G. Stepanov, the medal "For Military Merit" - Metropolitan Kamensky, nun Antonia (Zhertovskaya).
Military priests in the Russian army will no longer surprise anyone - “priests in uniform” have organically fit into the modern Russian army. Before carrying the word of God into the ranks, army chaplains must undergo a month-long combat training course. Recently, such training began at the Military University of the Ministry of Defense. The “cadets in cassocks”, as if in spirit, told the special correspondent of “Culture” who visited there why they needed the army.
Shooting is canceled
Officially, according to the staff list, their position is called “assistant commander for work with religious servicemen.” The rank is high: one military chaplain cares for a large formation - a division, a brigade, a military college, that's several thousand people. Despite the fact that they themselves are not military personnel, do not wear shoulder straps, and by virtue of their clergy they are generally prohibited from picking up weapons, military chaplains undergo military training courses every three years.
The head of the department for work with religious military personnel, Alexander Surovtsev, believes that an army priest, although a spiritual person, must also have certain military knowledge. For example, to have an idea of the types and branches of troops, to understand how the Airborne Forces differ from the Navy and the Strategic Missile Forces from the Airborne Forces.
Training to improve military qualifications, Surovtsev tells Culture, lasts a month and is conducted at five military educational institutions throughout the country. The current group of priests at the Military University is the fourth since the spring of 2013. It has 18 Orthodox priests from various regions of Russia, most of them appointed to positions this year. In total, 60 representatives of the military clergy have already successfully completed training here, including 57 Orthodox Christians, two Muslims and one Buddhist.
Surovtsev himself is a career military man. But for the sake of his current position, he had to remove his shoulder straps - a civilian must manage the priests. “These chaplains have military ranks, but we have priests without shoulder straps,” smiles Alexander Ivanovich. Back in the early 90s, he was seconded to the Synodal Department of the Moscow Patriarchate for interaction with the Armed Forces and law enforcement agencies and in fact stood at the origins of the origins of the institution of military clergy in the army.
As Surovtsev said, within a month the cadet priests will have to master the basics of tactics and other sciences.
The further list of topics - spiritual and educational, moral and psychological, philosophical and political science, socio-economic - made my head spin. I think I’m not the only one, so military priests are especially looking forward to going “to the field” - to training grounds and shooting ranges. This year they will not be given weapons in their hands - there have been too many misunderstandings about the participation of their predecessors in the shootings. The media was full of photographs of priests with Kalashnikovs, the captions were not very kind. Therefore, this time the Ministry of Defense decided not to expose themselves, and not to substitute the priests. True, some complain.
If you can’t shoot, then what will the priests do at the shooting range? Watch how military personnel make holes in targets and bless them for a well-aimed shot. Practical training for priests includes familiarization with a field station for working with religious military personnel, which will be deployed at one of the training grounds in the Moscow region. This type of tent is also available at the Military University - in case the cadets and students who are constantly studying here leave for field training. Assistant to the head of the university, Archpriest Dmitry Solonin, will tell everything and show his fellow priests who arrived for advanced training - many brought with them camp sets of church utensils. By the way, the Russian Army also has a permanent camp temple - so far there is only one, in Abkhazia, on the territory of the 7th Russian military base in the city of Gudauta. The local archpriest Vasily Alesenko believes that soon a permanent church will be built for them. “Everything is God’s will,” he told me. “Well, a little help from the Ministry of Defense.”
And just the other day, Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation, Army General Dmitry Bulgakov, announced that the construction of chapels has been completed on two Arctic islands where Russian troops are stationed. There will be four of them in this region - on the islands of Kotelny, Wrangel, Franz Josef Land and Cape Schmidt.
In addition to classes (this is 144 training hours), military chaplains also have The cultural program. They will visit the Central Museum of the Armed Forces, the Studio of Military Artists named after M.B. Grekov, will go to the Borodino field, where they will serve a prayer service. And on November 3, they are entrusted with participating in the evening service in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, where the next day a solemn service will take place in honor of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God.
Shepherd of Orthodox Sheep
I’ve always wondered how the army addresses military chaplains? Do they have military uniforms or camouflage cassocks? Are soldiers supposed to salute their priests, after all, they are an assistant (consider a deputy) to the commander?
“I overheard our priests deciphering the word “priest” - shepherd of Orthodox sheep,” Alexander Surovtsev smiles. - In general, that’s true... There are no special recommendations for contacting priests in the army. There is definitely no need to give honor - their rank is not military, but spiritual. Most often the priest is addressed as “father.”
Father Oleg from Kostroma echoes Surovtsev: “You need to earn your appeal. So you come to the commander, introduce yourself by last name, first name, patronymic, and church rank, and then it depends on the relationship, on what result you bring. But most often they are called, of course, father.”
I heard everything - the Holy Father, and even “Your Eminence” from the lips of the authorities, many hesitated, not knowing what to call it, laughs Archpriest Oleg Khatsko. “But it’s better to give the commander the opportunity to choose the treatment himself.”
Priest Dionisy Grishin from the Airborne Forces training center (himself a former paratrooper) also remembers, not without a smile, how he experimented with greetings.
I approach the line of soldiers and roar in a deep voice: “I wish you good health, comrade soldiers!” Father Dionysius shows naturally. - Well, in response, as expected, they answer: “We wish you good health...” - and then there is confusion. Some fell silent, others said randomly, “comrade priest,” “comrade priest.” And somehow a mischievous guy came across, who also spoke in a deep voice, while his comrades were wondering how he would say: “We wish you good health, comrade priest!” I just laughed, but later I just said hello, not in a military way.
With the form, everything is also simple - the priests serve in church clothes, as it should be. But they are given field camouflage - upon request. It’s more convenient to move through forests and fields in it and during exercises, and it doesn’t get as dirty as a cassock.
During the service, of course, there can be no question of any military uniform,” explains priest Evgeniy Tsiklauri from the Russian military base Kant in Kyrgyzstan. - But when sometimes you put on a uniform, you feel more favor from the soldiers. Here Muslim military personnel become more open, they see you as a comrade, a fellow soldier. By the way, regarding Muslims, we managed to agree that a local imam would read sermons to them on a freelance basis.
Military chaplains don’t get too hung up on fasting either.
Posting in the army is optional, we will only advise what you can abstain from, the priests say. - It also depends on the intensity of the service. In pre-revolutionary Russia, the army fasted in groups - a week for each unit. And Peter I at one time demanded permission from the patriarch not to fast during wars and campaigns.
But the main thing for a military priest is not the form, but the content: his task is to increase the morale of the unit.
In Chechnya, during the war, soldiers reached out to the priest, hoping to find moral support from him, an opportunity to strengthen their spirit by hearing a wise and calm word, reserve colonel Nikolai Nikulnikov recalls in a conversation with Culture. “As a commander, I did not interfere and I myself always treated the priests with respect - after all, they walked with the soldiers under the same bullets.” And in peaceful life, while serving in the Ulyanovsk airborne brigade, I became convinced that the word of a priest disciplines. If the fighters have been to confession with a good priest or just at a church service, you certainly don’t expect drinking or other violations from them. You can say: like the priest, so is the regiment. They know how to set people up to complete a task without any commands.
Gentlemen Junkers
In the Russian army, according to statistics, 78% are believers, but few people have knowledge that extends beyond the Lord’s Prayer. “There are many believers, but few are enlightened,” complains Father Vasily. “But that’s our purpose—to strengthen the spirit and mind of our flock.”
Guys now come to the army with faith in their hearts, we only help them, says Archpriest Oleg Novikov from the Kostroma Academy of Radiation, Chemical and Biological Protection. “This year, immediately after entering the academy, forty young men came to the temple. And no one forced them to do this.
Father Oleg recalls an episode 17 years ago, when the film “The Barber of Siberia” was filmed in Kostroma - 300 school cadets were involved. They were given cadet uniforms, which they wore neither during classes nor even during discharges to the city. To get used to the character. Grandmothers cried on the streets, recognizing the cadets' uniforms - the same as in the surviving photographs of their fathers.
At that time I was already the rector of the church, which was located on the territory of the school, and all these three months we lived together with the cadets,” continues the archpriest. - And I noticed how guys change literally before our eyes...
When Nikita Mikhalkov and the actors left for Moscow on New Year’s Eve, the “junkers” got a vacation from working in cinema. It would seem that we could relax. But no! They became so accustomed to their new essence that when they entered the church, they sang “Our Father” and other prayers even better and more conscientiously than in the presence of their film mentors.
They did it absolutely sincerely, that’s what’s important,” says Father Oleg. - Not under duress, but solely of one’s own free will.
Oleg Novikov himself also graduated from the Kostroma Military School.
At one time he was a cadet at the Kaliningrad Higher naval school and Novikov’s namesake is Archpriest Oleg Khatsko. He studied well, did not violate discipline - in three years of study, he was AWOL only twice, one of which turned out to be a collective one - in protest against the injustice of the teacher. But then one day he felt that this was not his military career, he wrote a report and left.
Friends, especially those who are still serving in Kaliningrad, joke: they say, was it worth leaving the school to come back here again, even as a military chaplain?
When we were already saying goodbye to the heroes of this essay, a chant was heard within the walls of the Military University. The priests unanimously said: “It is worthy to eat as one truly blesses You, the Mother of God, the Ever-Blessed and Most Immaculate and the Mother of our God-o-o...”
This is a prayer at the completion of any good deed,” explained Alexander Surovtsev. - And our cadets-priests went through another course of lectures and enriched themselves with knowledge that will help them in communicating with their military flock. It's not a sin to sing.
Salary for a priest
The decision to create an institute of military clergy in the Russian army and navy was made on July 21, 2009.
The first in 2011 was Father Anatoly Shcherbatyuk, who was ordained to the rank of priest at the Church of Sergius of Radonezh in the city of Sertolovo, Leningrad Region (Western Military District). Now there are more than 140 military chaplains in the army. Their composition is proportional to the ratio of believing military personnel.
In pre-revolutionary Russia, as Boris Lukichev, the first head of the department for work with religious servicemen in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, told Culture, the activities of priests were secured by a special legal status. Formally, clergy did not have military ranks, but in fact in the military environment a deacon was equated to a lieutenant, a priest to a captain, a rector of a military cathedral and a divisional dean to a lieutenant colonel, a field chief priest of armies and navies and a chief priest of the General Staff, Guards and Grenadier Corps - to major general, and the protopresbyter of the military and naval clergy (the highest ecclesiastical position for the army and navy, established in 1890) - to lieutenant general.
The church “table of ranks” influenced the salaries paid from the treasury of the military department and other privileges. For example, each ship's priest was entitled to a separate cabin and boat, he had the right to pester the ship from the starboard side, which, besides him, was allowed only to flagships, ship commanders and officers who had St. George's awards. The sailors were obliged to salute him.
In the Russian army, Orthodox priests resumed their activities almost immediately after the collapse Soviet Union. However, this happened on a voluntary basis and their activities strongly depended on the will of a particular unit commander - in some places priests were not even allowed on the threshold, but in others the doors were thrown wide open, and even senior officers stood to attention in front of the clergy.
The first official cooperation agreement between the church and the army was signed in 1994. At the same time, the Coordination Committee for interaction between the Armed Forces and the Russian Orthodox Church appeared. In February 2006, Patriarch Alexy II gave his blessing for the training of military priests “for the spiritual care of the Russian army.” Soon Russian President Vladimir Putin approved this idea.
The priests' salaries are paid by the Ministry of Defense. Recently they were given a 10 percent bonus for the difficult nature of their service and long working hours. It began to cost 30-40 thousand rubles a month. As Culture learned, the defense department is now considering the possibility of equating their salaries to what military personnel receive in a similar position as an assistant commander of a formation - it will be approximately 60,000. God's help you can live.
Orthodox clergy who were on the staff of the military department and looked after the army and navy.
The tradition of the participation of clergy in military campaigns developed in Rus' soon after the establishment of Christianity; the institution of military clergy was formed in the 18th century. The first document in which a military priest in Russian is mentioned. army, - charter “Teaching and cunning of the military formation of infantry people” of 1647. One of the chapters of the charter determines the salary of military ranks and the regimental priest. One of the earliest documents testifying to the presence of priests in the navy is a letter from Admiral K. I. Kruys in 1704, containing “Painting for officers, sailors... and other ranks of people who should be in Crimea for the perfect armament of seven galleys, one hundred brigantines." According to the “Rospis”, 7 priests were required for 7 galleys, and 3 priests for 100 brigantines.
The formation of the institution of military clergy is associated with the reforms of Peter I Alekseevich. In the “Military Regulations”, approved on March 30, 1716 (PSZ. T. 5. No. 3006), ch. “On the Clergy” determined the legal status of priests in the army, their responsibilities and main forms of activity. The “Military Charter” established the position of field chief priest; it was introduced in wartime among the ranks of the general staff under the field marshal or general commander of the army. The field chief priest controlled all regimental priests, conveyed orders from the commander regarding the time of worship and thanksgiving prayers, and authorized conflict situations between military clergy, punished the guilty.
In April 1717, by royal decree it was established “in Russian fleet keep 39 priests on ships and other military vessels,” initially these were white clergy. Since 1719, the practice of appointing monastics to the fleet was established (although sometimes clergy from the white clergy were also allowed). Before the establishment of the Holy Synod, the right to determine hieromonks for service in the fleet belonged to the Alexander Nevsky Monastery and its rector, Archimandrite. Theodosius (Yanovsky; subsequently Archbishop of Novgorod). In the “Maritime Charter” (PSZ. T. 6. No. 3485), approved on January 13. 1720, the rights, duties and financial status of the naval clergy were determined, at the head of which during the summer navigation or military campaign was placed the “primary priest” (chief hieromonk), usually from the Revel squadron of the Baltic Fleet. The first chief hieromonk was Gabriel (Buzhinsky; later Bishop of Ryazan). Individual priests were appointed only to large vessels - ships and frigates. On March 15, 1721, an instruction was approved regulating the activities of ship priests (“Clause on Hieromonks in the Navy”). Based on the “Points,” a special oath was developed for the military and naval clergy, which differed from the oath of parish priests.
Regimental priests and naval hieromonks were obliged to conduct divine services, perform religious services, administer the Holy Mysteries to the seriously ill, assist doctors, and also “watch diligently” over the behavior of the troops, and supervision of confession and communion of the military was one of the main responsibilities, but there was a firm warning: “Don’t get involved in any more business, let alone start something out of your own will and passion.”
In 1721, the appointment of clergy to the army and navy came under the jurisdiction of the Holy Synod, which ordered the bishops to determine from their dioceses the required number of hieromonks to staff the army, etc. In peacetime, it was subordinate to the diocesan bishops. On May 7, 1722, the Synod appointed Archimandrite as temporary chief hieromonk at the head of the clergy setting off on the Persian campaign. Lawrence (Gorku; later Bishop of Vyatka). In the instructions of the Synod on June 13, 1797 (PSZ. T. 24. No. 18), in connection with the increase in the scope of duties of field chief priests, they were given the right to elect divisional deans to assist in the management of the clergy in wartime.
Imp. Pavel I Petrovich by decree of April 4. 1800 united the administration of the army and navy clergy under the leadership of the chief priest of the army and navy, whose position became permanent (existed in both war and peacetime). The chief priest of the army and navy was a member of the Holy Synod. After the death of Paul I, the circle of rights and responsibilities of the chief priest of the army and navy was several. revised times. In 1806, his department was placed in the same position as diocesan departments.
27 Jan In 1812, the “Institution for the management of a large active army” was adopted (PSZ. T. 32. No. 24975). The position of field chief priest was introduced into the ranks of the General Staff of each army, intermediate between the chief priest of the army and navy and the senior dean (the position was introduced in 1807). The field chief priest carried out his duties in peacetime and war; during the war, the clergy of hospitals located in areas declared under martial law, deans and clergy of the fleet connected with the army under the control of one commander-in-chief, and the clergy of churches in those places were subordinate to his department , where the main apartment was located when the army moved. Field chief priests were usually appointed by the Holy Synod on the recommendation of the chief priest of the army and navy and by the emperor. In each army, the position of senior dean was introduced - an intermediary between the military authorities, the field chief priest and the clergy of the army. In 1812, for individual corps, as part of the corps headquarters, the positions of corps priests (from 1821 corps deans) were established, who led the clergy entrusted to them with the rights of field chief priests of the army. Subordinate to the senior deans and corps priests were the army (divisional), guards and naval deans.
In 1815, imp. the decree established the position of chief priest of the General Staff (from 1830 chief priest of the Main Staff and a separate Guards Corps, from 1844 chief priest of the Guards and Grenadier Corps), who had equal rights with the post of chief priest of the army and navy. The Synod spoke out against the division of control of the military clergy. The appointment to both positions remained with the emperor, but he approved the chief priest of the army and navy from candidates nominated by the Holy Synod. Chief priests of the General Staff, then the Guards and Grenadier Corps in 1826-1887. also headed the court clergy in the rank of protopresbyters, were imp. confessors, rectors of the court cathedral Winter Palace in St. Petersburg and the Annunciation Cathedral in the Moscow Kremlin. Since 1853, chief priests received the right to appoint and dismiss regimental priests without prior permission from the Holy Synod. Since 1858, chief priests were called chief priests.
The first chief priest of the army and navy was Archpriest. Pavel Ozeretskovsky (1800-1807), who used under the emperor. Paul I had great influence and relative independence from the Synod. On May 9, 1800, all military ranks were ordered to refer spiritual matters to the chief priest, bypassing the consistory, for which an office was formed. In 1800, an army seminary was created, in which the children of the army clergy studied at public expense (closed in 1819).
In the 1st half. XIX century the salaries of the military clergy were increased, pensions and benefits were introduced for elderly and sick military priests, their widows and children. Among the chief priests of the Guards and Grenadier Corps, Protopr. Vasily Bazhanov (1849-1883). He started creation of a bank at the churches of his department, supplied them with books. In St. Petersburg he established the Nikolaev almshouse for elderly clergy of the spiritual department, as well as for their widows and orphans. By his order, houses were built for clergy in a number of regiments, and parish charitable societies and brotherhoods were organized at certain churches. In 1879, the Charitable Society for the Care of the Poor, the clergy department of the chief priest of the army and navy, was established; it was taken under the patronage of the leader. Kng. Maria Feodorovna (later empress). The society's funds supported shelters, Mariinsky in Kronstadt and Pokrovsky in St. Petersburg.
Known to many examples of courage shown by clergy during the Patriotic War of 1812. The first among the clergy to be a holder of the Order of St. George of the 4th degree was the priest of the 19th Jaeger Regiment Vasily Vasilkovsky, who participated in the battles of Vitebsk, Borodino, Maloyaroslavets, he was several. wounded once, but remained in service. Priest of the Moscow Grenadier Regiment, Fr. Myron of Orleans in the Battle of Borodino walked under heavy cannon fire ahead of the grenadier column and was wounded. In the 19th century the clergy took part in the Caucasian wars. In 1816, the position of corps priest of a separate Georgian corps was introduced (from 1840 chief priest of a separate Caucasian corps, from 1858 chief priest of the Caucasian army), in 1890 the position was abolished. A number of heroic deeds of field priests during the Crimean War of 1853-1856 are known. The priest of the Mogilev regiment, Archpriest, showed particular courage on the battlefield in March 1854. John Pyatibokov, who raised the soldiers to attack after the death of the officers, was among the first to climb the walls of the tour. fortifications and was shell-shocked. Prot. John was awarded the order St. George of the 4th degree and awarded the nobility with a charter. The state took care of material support priests during the war, and after its end - on the appointment of benefits for losses incurred, on the issuance of established salaries, pensions for a shortened period and awards for service in the army.
In the end XIX century The heyday of the institution of military clergy began. In 1888, all military and naval clergy were subordinated to the chief priest of the Guard, Grenadiers, Army and Navy. On July 24, 1887, the regulation on new service rights and salaries for the maintenance of the military clergy was approved (3 PSZ. T. 7. No. 4659); from 1889, the provisions extended to the naval clergy. According to the regulations, the chief priest of the guard, grenadier, army and navy was granted the rights of a lieutenant general, the chief priest of the Caucasian Military District - the rights of a major general, the full-time archpriest-dean - the rights of a colonel, the non-staff archpriest and dean-priest - the rights of a lieutenant colonel, the priest - the rights a captain or company commander, a deacon - the rights of a lieutenant, a full-time psalm-reader from the clergy - the rights of a lieutenant. Instead of the previously existing heterogeneous (very modest) salaries, a salary corresponding to officer ranks was established. The clergy of the military department of the European districts were given the right to periodic increases in their salaries for length of service, while the priests were prohibited from collecting payment for services from soldiers, which was previously practiced.
On June 12, 1890, the regulation “On the management of churches and clergy of the military and naval departments” was issued (3 PSZ. T. 10. No. 6924), in accordance with the Crimea, instead of the position of the chief priest of the guard, grenadier, army and navy, the position of protopresbyter was established V. etc. His candidacy was elected by the Synod on the proposal of the Minister of War and approved by the emperor. On matters of church administration, the protopresbyter received instructions from the Synod, on matters of the military department - from the Minister of War. He had the right to personal reports to the emperor, and was equal in rank to archbishop and lieutenant general. Under the protopresbyter there was a spiritual government, consisting of a presence and an office and corresponding to the consistory under the diocesan bishop. The positions of divisional and naval deans, appointed by the protopresbyter, and in peacetime subordinate to local bishops, were retained. The protopresbyter also appointed regimental and naval (from hieromonks and widowed priests) priests. In wartime, field chief priests were appointed in each army. The military clergy continued to be subordinate not only to the church, but also to the military authorities, which in some cases created difficulties, since the legal spheres were not clearly demarcated.
After the release of the “Regulations” of 1890, attention began to be given to Special attention deanery in performing divine services and the religious and moral education of the troops: sermons, extra-liturgical conversations and religious and moral readings, teaching the Law of God in regimental training teams. Military priests began to organize parochial schools not only for soldiers, but also for the local population. In wartime, they were charged with helping to bandage the wounded, performing funeral services for the dead and arranging their burial. In addition, like other clergy, they kept and kept documentation: inventories of regimental churches and their property, income and expenditure books, clergy records, confessional lists, metric books, etc., and compiled reports on the morale of the troops.
Since 1890, the journal has been published. “Bulletin of the Military Clergy” (in 1911-1917 “Bulletin of the Military and Naval Clergy”, in 1917 “Church and Social Thought” (Kyiv), in 2004 the publication was resumed). Since 1889, regular meetings of military pastors and audit trips of the protopresbyter of the army and navy to military districts were held. Since 1899, priestly positions in the military department were provided primarily to persons with an academic education. In 1891, the department of military clergy consisted of 569 clergy and clergy (Catholic chaplains, rabbis, Lutheran and evangelical preachers, mullahs, subordinate to the Department of Spiritual Affairs of Foreign Denominations of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, also served in the army and navy).
During the Russian-Japanese wars of 1904-1905 The regulation “On the field control of Russian army troops in wartime” came into force on February 26. 1890 (3 PSZ. T. 10. No. 6609). The post of field chief priest was introduced in the Manchurian army - the head of all clergy in the army and the rector of the main apartment church. The war was marked by the heroic service of both military and naval priests, some of whom died. Among the priests of this war, Mitrofan of Srebryansky (later schema-archim. Venerable Sergius), who served under the 51st Dragoons, is famous Chernigov regiment. Prot. Stefan Shcherbakovsky during the Battle of Tyurenchen on April 18. 1904, together with the 11th East Siberian Regiment, he went on the attack twice with a cross in his hands, was shell-shocked, despite his serious condition, and gave farewell to the dying soldiers. For his courage, he was awarded the Order of St. George 4th degree. Aug 1 1904, during sea battle in the Korean Strait, the ship's chaplain of the cruiser "Rurik" Hierom. Alexy (Okoneshnikov) inspired the crew of the sinking cruiser. Jerome. Alexy, along with the surviving sailors, was captured, as a clergyman he was released, took the banner out of captivity and delivered a report about the death of the cruiser. He was awarded a gold pectoral cross on the St. George ribbon. The same award was awarded to the ship's priests for the Battle of Tsushima on May 14, 1905. Porfiry (cruiser "Oleg"), Hierom. Georgy (cruiser "Aurora").
After the end of the war, changes were made to the regulations “On the management of churches and clergy of the military and naval departments”; in wartime, the positions of the chief priest of the front armies and priests at army headquarters were introduced. In 1910, a funeral fund for employees of the military clergy department was established. In the same year, the Synod adopted a mobilization plan, which provided for the conscription of clergy during the period of mobilization of the army according to wartime states and in replacement of those who left during the fighting. Religious warehouses were to be created in the armies and navies. and propaganda literature.
On July 1-11, 1914, the 1st congress of the century was held in St. Petersburg. and etc., which was attended by 40 priests from the troops and 9 from the fleets. At the section meetings, in particular, the problems of relationships with the regimental authorities, the behavior of clergy in military operations were considered; during the battle, the priest’s place was determined at the forward dressing station. The congress developed and adopted a memo-instruction for the military chaplain.
During the First World War, a field office of the protopresbyter was organized at the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief. etc. and a warehouse for church literature. The mobilization schedule of 1910 began to take effect; thousands of parishes were called upon to recruit clergy to new regiments. Before the war, the department of the protopresbyter consisted of 730 priests; during the war, over 5 thousand priests served in the army; they not only performed their direct duties, but also taught soldiers to read and write, read them letters from their relatives, and helped compose reply letters. Chaplains, rabbis, and mullahs also served in military districts. In the circular 3 Nov. 1914 Protopr. Georgy Shavelsky turned to the Orthodox Church. priests with a call to “avoid, if possible, all religious disputes and denunciations of other faiths.” In 1916, new positions were established: army preachers for each army, chief priests of the Baltic and Black Sea fleets. In the same year, under the jurisdiction of Protopresbyter V. and M. D. the question of the Uniates in Galicia and Bukovina, occupied Russian troops. Protopr. George preferred to meet the spiritual needs of the Uniates and not demand that they join the Orthodox Church. Churches. By the definition of the Synod on January 13-20. In 1916, a commission was created “to satisfy the religious and moral needs of Russian prisoners of war”, which could send priests to Austria-Hungary and Germany.
During the war several bishops submitted petitions to take priestly places in the army and navy. The first of them was the Bishop of Dmitrov. Trifon (Turkestanov), who served in 1914-1916. regimental chaplain and divisional deans. Tauride ep. Demetrius (afterwards Anthony (Abashidze)) several. for months in 1914 he served as a ship's chaplain in the Black Sea Fleet.
One of the first in 1914, the priest of the 58th Prague Regiment, Parfeny Kholodny, was awarded a golden pectoral cross on the St. George ribbon for his courage. In 1914, the priest of the 294th Chernigov Infantry Regiment, John Sokolov, saved the regimental banner from captivity. The feat of the priest of the 9th Kazan Dragoon Regiment Vasily Spichek, who raised the regiment to attack, is well known. The priest was awarded the Order of St. George 4th degree. The abbot had military awards. Nestor (Anisimov; later Metropolitan of Kirovograd), who voluntarily served at the front, organized and led a sanitary detachment. During the entire war, more than 30 military priests were killed or died from wounds, more than 400 were wounded and shell-shocked, and more than 100 were captured, which significantly exceeded the losses in previous wars.
High assessment of the activities of the military clergy in the first place world war gave in 1915 supreme commander led book Nikolai Nikolaevich (“We must bow at the feet of the military clergy for their magnificent work in the army” - quoted from: Shavelsky. T. 2. P. 102). However, the influence of the clergy weakened in conditions when military priests, representing the state. apparatus, performed the role of spiritual superiors in the army, and especially with the approach of the revolution. Gene. A.I. Denikin wrote that “the clergy failed to cause a religious upsurge among the troops” (Denikin A.I. Essays on Russian Troubles: In 3 vols. M., 2003. Vol. 1. P. 105).
After the February Revolution of 1917, the military clergy continued to be active. 2nd All-Russian Congress in. and M.D., held in Mogilev on July 1-11, 1917, was welcomed by the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, General. A. A. Brusilov. In the spirit of the times, the congress established the election of all military and spiritual positions. As a result of a secret vote on July 9, protopr. G. Shavelsky retained his post. 16 Jan In 1918, the institute of military clergy was abolished by order No. 39 of the People's Commissariat for Military Affairs (SU. 1918. No. 16. P. 249).
Military priests remained in the White Army. 27 Nov 1918 Denikin appointed protopresbyter Volunteer Army and the fleet of G. Shavelsky. In the troops of Admiral A.V. Kolchak there were more than 1 thousand military priests, the general. P. N. Wrangel - more than 500. March 31, 1920 Sevastopol bishop. Veniamin (Fedchenkov), at the request of Wrangel, accepted the position of manager in. and M.D. with the title of Bishop of the Army and Navy. He represented the Church in Wrangel's government, went to the front to perform services, and provided reception and accommodation for refugee clergy. After the capture of Crimea by the Red Army in November. 1920 bishop Veniamin, together with units of the Volunteer Army, emigrated to Istanbul and continued to patronize the Russians. military clergy in Turkey, Bulgaria, Greece, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. On June 3, 1923, by decision of the foreign Synod of Bishops, he was relieved of his duties as manager of the church. and m.d.
In the 90s XX century The Russian Church again began to minister to military personnel. In 1995, for these purposes, the synodal Department of the Moscow Patriarchate for interaction with the Armed Forces and law enforcement agencies was created. Gatherings of priests caring for military units have resumed (held in 2003, 2005).
Jerome. Savva (Molchanov)
Temples of the military-spiritual department
In the 18th century areas on the outskirts of cities began to be allocated for the permanent deployment of military units. Barracks, outbuildings, and churches were built on this land. One of the first military churches was the Transfiguration of the All Guards Cathedral in St. Petersburg, founded on July 9, 1743 (architect D. A. Trezzini, rebuilt in 1829 after a fire by V. P. Stasov). Afterwards In the capital, a cathedral of all artillery was erected in the name of St. Sergius of Radonezh (consecrated July 5, 1800), c. Vmch. St. George the Victorious in the General Staff Building on Dvortsovaya Square. (February 1, 1822), etc. Initially, military churches did not have a unified system of subordination. 26 Sep. In 1826, a decree of the Synod followed, transferring them to the military-ecclesiastical department.
Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in St. Petersburg. Archit. V.P. Stasov. 1835 Photograph. Beginning XX century (CSC Archive " Orthodox Encyclopedia")
Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in St. Petersburg. Archit. V.P. Stasov. 1835 Photograph. Beginning XX century (Archive of the Central Scientific Center "Orthodox Encyclopedia")
Temples of the military clergy were divided into permanent and camp. The first were erected at regiments (or smaller military formations), garrisons, fortresses, military educational institutions, hospitals, prisons, and military cemeteries. Among the camp churches, land and ship churches stood out. The construction of churches was entrusted to the commission for the construction of barracks under the Military Council. In 1891, there were 407 military and naval churches.
In 1900, Minister of War A.N. Kuropatkin submitted a report to the emperor with a proposal to allocate funds for the construction of new churches at military units, to develop a type of military church focused on large capacity and efficiency. The model for military churches was approved on December 1. 1901. According to it, a separate building with a capacity of 900 people was to be built for the church. for a regimental church or 400 people. for battalion. For the needs of church construction, the military department allocated 200 thousand rubles in 1901, in 1902 and 1903. 450 thousand rubles each In total, 51 churches were built from 1901 to 1906. One of the first to be founded was the church of the 148th Caspian Infantry Regiment in the name of the Military Medical Center. Anastasia the Pattern Maker in New. Peterhof (consecrated June 5, 1903). In 1902-1913. The Kronstadt Naval Cathedral was erected in the name of St. St. Nicholas the Wonderworker is a grandiose temple-monument to Russian sailors. A prayer service for the start of construction was held on September 1. 1902 rights. prot. John of Kronstadt in the presence of the chief commander of the Kronstadt port, Vice Admiral S. O. Makarov. In 1913, there were 603 military churches, according to the maritime department - 30 coastal churches, 43 ship churches, including at a floating military prison in Sevastopol. Each military unit and each military school had their own temple festival and heavenly patron. Military churches kept battle flags, weapons and armor of famous military leaders, the memory of the soldiers killed in battles was immortalized.
On July 15, 1854, in Sevastopol, according to the design of K. A. Ton, the Admiralty Cathedral in the name of Equal Apostles was founded. book Vladimir. Due to the outbreak of the Crimean War, work was interrupted; the lower church was consecrated in 1881, the upper one in 1888. The cathedral is the tomb of Russians. admirals M. P. Lazarev, V. A. Kornilova, V. I. Istomina, P. S. Nakhimova. From 1907 to 1918, its rector and dean of the coastal commands of the Black Sea Fleet was Sschmch. prot. Roman Bear. In the cathedral of the Life Guards of the Izmailovsky Regiment in the name of the Holy Trinity (founded in St. Petersburg on May 13, 1828, architect Stasov) trophy tours were kept. banners captured during the Russian tour. wars of 1877-1878 In 1886, a Column of Glory, cast from 108 rounds, was installed in front of the cathedral. guns. In 1911, in St. Petersburg, near the Naval Cadet Corps, the Church-monument to the Savior on Water was erected. On the walls were mounted boards with the names of sailors (from admiral to sailor) who died during the Russo-Japanese war. wars, and the names of ships. Near the iconostasis they installed the rescued banner of the Kwantung naval crew that defended Port Arthur.
Camping portable churches, as a rule, were spacious tents with a throne, an antimension, a folding iconostasis and an icon - the patroness of the part. During the Russian-Japanese wars of 1904-1905 At the headquarters of the commander of the Manchurian army, located in a special train, there was a church car - the residence of the field chief priest. In 1916, the Committee for the construction of mobile churches at the front was formed. Floating churches were erected on the Caspian and Black Seas. On the front line, worship was often held in the open air.
Divine services in the army and navy were held, as a rule, on Sundays and holidays, in the so-called highly solemn days: on the name days of members of the imp. family, on the anniversary of Russian victories. weapons and on holidays of military units and ships. Attendance at divine services was mandatory for all personnel of the Orthodox troops. confession, which was supported by special orders from the commanders of military units.
IN . M. Kotkov
Military clergy awards
Since 1797, representatives of the clergy, by decrees of the emperor, special merits began to be awarded with orders. Military clergy received the Order of St. Anna, equal to A. book Vladimir, St. George and golden pectoral crosses on the St. George ribbon. The last 2 awards were awarded only for military distinctions. In 1855, the military clergy received the right to attach swords to orders granted for distinction in combat situations, which had previously been the privilege of officers.
In accordance with imp. by decree of August 13. 1806, all submissions of military clergy for awards were made through military authorities. The spiritual authorities could only express their opinions. Clergymen were nominated for awards on the same basis as military personnel. In 1881, the highest representatives of the clan received the right to independently award subordinate clergy with skufia. and m.d.
Merits for which a military priest could receive most of the possible awards, no regulations were not specified. The exception was the statutes of the orders of St. Vladimir and St. Anna. In the statute of the Order of St. Anna, as amended in 1833, provided for the rewarding of clergy for “exhortations and examples for regiments in battles”, for preserving the health and morality of soldiers (if “for three years in a row there are no people guilty of violating military discipline and tranquility between residents, and the number the number of escapees will not exceed one person in a hundred"). The right to be awarded the Order of St. was extended to the priests of the military department. Vladimir 4th degree for 25 years of service while participating in military campaigns and 35 years along with officer ranks in peacetime. This practice was also extended to deacons, if they were worthy to receive the Order of St. before serving 35 years in the priesthood. Anna 3rd degree.
In wartime, the legally required time frame for receiving the next award (at least 3 years) was canceled. The presence of orders gave the right to promotion, receiving a higher salary, and the choice of daughters as wives. educational establishments at the expense of the capital of the orders. Orders were removed from a clergyman who was defrocked.
The number of awards given to the clergy, including the military, has grown steadily since the end. XVIII century until 1917 Until mid. XIX century orders, all degrees of which provided the right to hereditary nobility, were a rare award for a priest. After the Order of St. Anna's 2nd and 3rd degrees ceased to bring this advantage, and awards began to be practiced more widely. For example, in Russian-Japanese. during the war, individual clergy were awarded the Order of St. Anne of the 2nd and 3rd degrees and St. Vladimir 4th degree. The Order of St. remained more rare awards for military clergy. George and a golden pectoral cross on the St. George ribbon.
During the Russian-Japanese war, military priests received the Order of St. Anna 2nd degree with swords - approx. 70, without swords - approx. 30, 3rd degree with swords - approx. 70, without swords - approx. 80; St. Vladimir 3rd degree without swords - approx. 10, 4th degree with swords - approx. 25, without swords - approx. 25. During the First World War, until March 1917, military priests received the Order of St. Anna 1st degree with and without swords - approx. 10, 2nd degree with swords - more than 300, without swords - more than 200, 3rd degree with swords - more than 300, without swords - approx. 500; St. Vladimir 3rd degree with swords - more than 20, without swords - approx. 20, 4th degree with swords - more than 150, without swords - approx. 100. Order of St. George from the beginning XIX century by March 1917, 16 people were awarded. Until 1903, at least 170 people received the golden pectoral cross on the St. George ribbon for Russian-Japanese. war - 82 people, from 1914 to March 1917 - 244 people. OK. 10 clergy were awarded the Order of St. George and the soldiers St. George's Cross from March 1917 to March 1918. At least 13 people were awarded the pectoral cross on the St. George ribbon. in the armies of Kolchak, Denikin, Wrangel. For clergy awarded for distinction in the First World War and the Civil War, awards were approved by the Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad of Mansvetov (1827-1832), Protopres. Vasily Ivanovich Kutnevich (1832-1865), archpriest. Mikhail Izmailovich Bogoslovsky (1865-1871), archpriest. Pyotr Evdokimovich Pokrovsky (1871-1888). Chief priests (chief priests) of the General Staff, Guards and Grenadier Corps: Archpriest. Alexy Topogritsky (1815-1826), archpriest. Nikolai Vasilievich Muzovsky (1826-1848), protoprep. Vasily Borisovich Bazhanov (1849-1883). Protopresbyters army and navy: Alexander Alekseevich Zhelobovsky (1888-1910), Evgeny Petrovich Akvilonov (1910-1911), Georgy Ivanovich Shavelsky (1911-1917).
Arch.: RGIA. F. 806 [Spiritual government under the protopresbyter of the military and naval clergy]; RGVIA. F. 2044. Op. 1. D. 8-9, 18-19, 28; F. 2082. Op. 1. D. 7; GARF. F. 3696. Op. 2. D. 1, 3, 5.
Lit.: Nevzorov N. East. Essay on the management of the clergy of the Military Department in Russia. St. Petersburg, 1875; Barsov T. IN . About management rus. military clergy. St. Petersburg, 1879; Bogolyubov A. A . Essays on the history of the management of military and naval clergy in biographies, chap. its priests from 1800 to 1901. St. Petersburg, 1901; Zhelobovsky A. A., protopr. Management of churches and Orthodoxy. clergy of the Military Department // Century of the Military Ministry: In 16 volumes. St. Petersburg, 1902. T. 13; Kallistov N. A., prot. East. a note about military shepherds who participated with their military units in the Crimean War during the defense of Sevastopol and were awarded special insignia. St. Petersburg, 1904; Shavelsky G. I., protopr. Military clergy in Russia's struggle with Napoleon. M., 1912; Tsitovich G. A . Temples of the Army and Navy: Historical-stat. description. Pyatigorsk, 1913. 2 hours; Smirnov A. IN . History of the naval clergy. St. Petersburg, 1914; Senin A. WITH . The army clergy of Russia in the First World War // VI. 1990. No. 10. P. 159-165; History of the naval clergy: Sat. M., 1993; Klaving V. IN . Military churches of Russia. St. Petersburg, 2000; Kapkov K. G . St. George's Awards grew. clergy // 11th All-Russian. Numismatic Conf. St. Petersburg, April 14-18. 2003: Abstract. report and message St. Petersburg, 2003. pp. 284-286; Kotkov V. M. Military clergy of Russia: Pages of history. St. Petersburg, 2004. 2 books.
