Moscow, Russia – Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia has spoken for the establishment of a legal mechanism in Russia to regulate relationships between religious organizations and the army.
‘I welcome the idea of legitimizing the army chaplaincy and believe it will promote fruitful cooperation between religious organizations and the law-enforcement’, the patriarch said in an interview published by the Interior Ministry’s Schit i Mech newspaper.
Alexy II noted that a modern army is impossible without a religious component in the formation of the Motherland’s defender, and a full life of a person in the army ‘is unthinkable without religious freedom guaranteed by the Russian Constitution’.
‘Unfortunately, a real legal mechanism for ensuring this freedom for the believers who serve in the army has not been developed as yet. Special legislative actions are necessary because the special regime existing in military units puts restrictions on the opportunity for servicemen to enjoy spiritual care’.
He referred to the experience of other countries, showing that many problems in the army have been solved ‘through the institution of army chaplaincy supported by the state’.
‘The access of clergy to servicemen can be effectively ensured only if clergy are included in the organizational structure of the Armed Forces’, Alexy II stressed.
He says this practice has long existed in most of the countries in the world, including Great Britain, Germany, Canada, France, USA and others. The same way has been taken by Baltic countries and Armenia. A decision to establish army chaplaincy has been also made by Ukraine and Georgia.
At the same time the primate says there are no chaplains in the Russian Church today de jure, but de facto the military clergy do exist in Russia as pastoral work in the army and law enforcement has been carried out by parish priests in the dioceses where military units are deployed.